LOS FABULOCOS FEATURING KID RAMOS Source: MySanantonio.com Date: 02/2009 Writer: Miranda Koerner

Los Fabulocos isn't 50s-tinged rock. It's not Bakersfield-style country. It's not tejano, conjuncto or Cali-Mex music.
It's all of the above. And it's fabulous.

“We try to let people know this music is traditional American roots music,” singer and bassist James Barrios said.
“People say it's Cali-Mex—it's traditional American music. We like the San Antonio conjuncto style, and that's shown on our CD.”

The music is as much of a mixture as the band that creates it.

Each member of Los Fabulocos are fans of a different genre, from country to blues.

The band is made of Jesus Cuevas, singer and button accordion maestro, bassist James Barrios, drummer Mike Molina and Dave Ramos, who is better known as blues sensation Kid Ramos.

All four musicians come from East Los Angeles and grew up in a mix of cultures, including a strong Mexican-American upbringing.

Originally, each member of the band followed an individual music career before coming together four years ago.
“It's like a big mix of different styles without one overstepping the other,” Barrios said.

“All the influences (from all the players) are very slight. One doesn't overpower the other. It's evolved from us playing together.”

The CD includes rock hits, original pieces and recreations of classic Mexican cancionero tunes in both English and Spanish.

Barrios said that many of the songs center around subjects foremost in the band's life, such as home, family and love.
“We've got a big fan base of ages—people from 18 to their 70s,” Barrios said.

“We do family shows where people bring the grandparents and uncles and aunts and kids. The songs are older. A lot of people reminisce, “You know my dad played that” or “When I was young, I heard that on the radio.”

Barrios said they are fans of another era of music, about 30 or 40 years ago.

“Even when we write our songs, they're not contemporary but people resonate with simple lyrics and love songs,” Barrios said.

“A lot of them are love songs. We don't try to get too heavy. We're not trying to change music. We're just trying to play music that we love.”

Along with having fans of all ages, Los Fabulocos has fans of all ages as well.

The group recently traveled the blues festival circuit in Europe, where Barrios said he experienced his favorite moment performing yet.

“We went to Norway and played for the audiences over there and it was fantastic,” Barrios said.

“Talk about language barrier—but they understood the music. Good music is good music. If you're open to the people, they'll feed off of it. They really got it and understood it. We had a fantastic time.”

For Los Fabulocos, their music is about one thing: having a good time.

Barrios said every performance is like a backyard barbeque. The band doesn't work off a set list and often plays five to six hours without repeating a single tune.

“As long as people are having a good time, that's what we enjoy playing,” Barrios said.

“Our goal is to make sure the people are having fun. Forget about their troubles and the money and the economy and the stuff we hear every day. Go out to a place and hear some live music and have fun, just for a little bit.”

If you want to show Los Fabulocos how much you like their music, you only have to do one thing: dance.

“(We play at veteran centers back home) and from the time we stop to the time we finish, those people dance non-stop,” Barrios said.

“It may be an old couple dancing in a circle--just walking. For people in their 80s to be dancing and holding each other like they haven't in a long time—that's the biggest compliment.”