Dude Cervantes & the Panchos – The Ride Or Die Of Dude Cervantes & the Panchos
This showcase was recorded live at the Hotel Café in April 2023 & produced by Southern California musician Dude Cervantes. There are 6 tracks featured on The Ride Or Die Of Dude Cervantes & the Panchos (Drops Nov 28/Blind Owl Records/42:57) which ignites the twin blistering lead guitars of Mr. Cervantes & Dylan Donovan.
Latin syncopation adds to the set, a roots-rock element & a grungy fuzz swipe. A cover of Santana’s classic “Samba Pa Ti,” is a reach that the band respectfully pulls off. While there’s quite a good mix of genres laid out by only 4 musicians with lots of muscle. The group has authoritative vocals & on “Lessons Learned” a good rootsy ballsy Del Lords, Beat Farmers, Bo Deans & Los Lobos prominence. It’s not as grungy as more traditional garage rock. There’s even a Standells’ “Dirty Water” & The Gentry’s “Keep On Dancing” crease in the opening tune. By the second “Dreamers” they’re more drenched in a proto-punk aesthetic ala NYC’s The Dictators (“Stay With Me”). The vocals are aggressive & the twin guitars are prominent. Toward the conclusion they even touch upon a Beej Chaney & the Suburbs (“Superlove,” & “Love Is the Law”) growl quality. Musically, the well-arranged & ambitious “Blood In the Water” is more of a signature sound for Dude Cervantes & the Panchos. Superb ‘60s jam band guitar interplay & trade-off with the picking & tonalities equally dueling like Mike Bloomfild & Elvin Bishop on the Paul Butterfield Blues Band’s masterful “East/West” (1966) instrumental. Imaginative, well-played & absolutely Coolsville.
Also, with a Spanish flavor is “Everyone, Everywhere, Everything” — cleverly laid out vocally with gnarly guitar ripples grinding & twisting. Not in a haphazard manner but in a grandiose absorbing saturated way. It’s not for everyone but a splendid guitar cracking good unadorned performance. The music isn’t soft pedaled, or bluesy pristine in an Eric Clapton style. It’s dependent more on a blend of sounds with a badass vocal treatment. They manage to lock into their necessary groove rather quickly.
A little vocal treatment is applied to the long “Billion Dollar Art” performance but it’s the guitar interplay that’s again, most captivating. This song has the most definitive melody & nothing is too heavy-handed. A Lynyrd Skynyrd precision guitar interplay dominates the conclusion. They seem to know how much icing to spread on each slice of their musical cake. They’re also not too punk, not too garage or commercially sweetened pop-rock. Its interesting music played with an exciting coherence.
Highlights – “Lessons Learned,” “Dreamers,” “Blood In the Water,” “Everyone, Everywhere, Everything” & “Billion Dollar Art.”
Musicians – Ryan Grenda (bass/bgv), & Justin De La Vega (drums/percussion) with Jody Bagley (keyboards).
Color image courtesy of the band’s Facebook. CD @ Apple + https://www.blindowlrecords.com/products/dude-cervantes-the-panchos-the-ride-or-die-pre-order-vinyl-cd & https://dudecervantes.com/
Song Premiere: https://americanahighways.org/2025/10/02/song-premiere-dude-cervantes-and-the-panchos-lesson-learned/
