Rancho Alegre Interview - Bene Medina
Recorded in 2011 - Moose Lodge, Austin Texas
Bene Medina is one of those rare musicians who have created a lasting legacy into future generations through teaching. Known as El Maestro, San Antonio's Bene Medina has, at one time or another, probably given a lesson to every young accordion player in town. Either as an independent instructor or one of the founding instructors at the Conjunto Heritage Taller.
Bene is also an incredibly technical musician, meticulous in his playing and known for difficult pieces that show how sophisticated Conjunto can be.
Rancho Alegre Interview - Gilbert Alba
Back in 2011, we caught up with Austin's own Gilbert Alba. The veteran Tejano musician has had a long storied career in central Texas and beyond, spending time in numerous bands including Dave Gutierrez y Su Orquesta, Ruben Ramos and the Mexican Revolution. and most notably, The Latin Breed, as well as his own band, The Super City Band.
Rancho Alegre Interview - Augustin Ramirez
Recorded in 2011 at the Flamingo Ballroom.
Augustin Ramirez is a Tejano icon. Beginning his career in the early 1960s and riding the tide of the popularity of horn-driven Orquesta Tejana into the 1980s, "El Guti" has been one of the most popular musicians for over 60 years.
Full disclosure, his music has always been a mainstay here at Rancho Alegre, so landing this interview was extra exciting for us.
Since then, he continued touring all over the US but has slowed down in the past two years. But he still gets out there from time to time.
Rancho Alegre Interview - Jaime y Los Chamacos
Recorded in 2011 at Cuauhtemoc Hall, San Marcos, Texas.
We met up with the legendary Jaime y Los Chamacos before a show and got to learn about the life and career of Jaime DeAnda.
A lot has happened since this interview, notably that Jaime and the rest of the band parted ways in 2018. Tejano Nation has covered the different sides to the story, with band ownership at the heart of the dispute.
Here's what we played:
Frank Reflects and Looks to the Future
So as a lot of you may know, I have been ill since last year, and I am improving, with the hopes that by December of 2011 I will be back in action. A lot of people doubt me when I say that I have changed, from a party hungry maniac who lives for the day and could care less about tomorrow.
Saving Tejano and Conjunto with Social Media and the Internet
Nowadays, almost everyone has a Facebook account. It used to be Myspace a few years ago, but now it’s Facebook, and then after that, it will be the next big thing. People use it for various purposes. Me, for example…since I live away from most of my family and friends, I use it to keep in touch with them and share things I find amusing or interesting.
But I also use it to connect with other Tejano and Conjunto fans, bands, record labels and radio stations. And I’m not alone.
You Can Still Listen Even If You Don?t Understand Spanish
Hello again music fans!
Something that has been rolling around in my noggin for a while is how to spread the gospel of Tejano and Conjunto to my fellow music lovers who don’t speak Spanish. I figured I would start with this sentiment…”Don’t let the Spanish scare you.”
Rancho Alegre Reviews ? Ricky Naranjo y Los Gamblers ? Gambler Style
Rancho Alegre hit up Turntable Records this past weekend and picked up Gambler Style, the new release from Ricky Naranjo y Los Gamblers! Like it was Christmas morning, we tore into it, popped it into the CD player and we weren’t disappointed.
Rancho Alegre News ? Los Texas Wranglers Win at the Austin Music Awards!
Rancho Alegre would like to congratulate Los Texas Wranglers for their recent wins at the 2011 Austin Music Awards!
Duets in Tejano and Conjunto Music
You know it really pisses me off…in country music and rock and other genres, you have so many duets, it ain’t even funny. Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty. Johnny and June. Kenny Rogers and Sheena Easton. Springsteen and Sting. All over the map. The duet albums that Frank Sinatra did. And all the other artists who released duet albums.
Rancho Alegre Spotlight: Tortilla Factory 1973 and 1974
We here at Rancho Alegre were saddened to hear of the passing of Tony “Ham” Guerrero, leader and founding member of the legendary Tortilla Factory. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Guerrero family, and we express our deepest condolences. Ham influenced countless musicians over the years, and he will be greatly missed, but his legacy will live on.
Rancho Alegre Spotlight ? Al Mu?iz
Al Muñiz is a character. And at Rancho Alegre, we love characters. We especially like exceptionally talented, passionate characters who have paid their dues in the industry and are doing what they love to do.
Rancho Alegre Spotlight: ?She?s About a Mover? by Ruben Naranjo
Here at Rancho Alegre, we talk. A lot. Frequently we’ll have more than one topic going at once. During Saturday’s marathon discussion, Frank mentioned that Ruben Naranjo did a cover of She’s About a Mover. So when we got home, I listened to it. And I listened again. And again. It was mind-blowing.
Rancho Alegre's Goal
First of all, Rancho Alegre Entertainment started Rancho Alegre Radio to preserve a lot of the old recordings that are no longer being produced, as well as to help promote new recordings that aren’t being played on the radio. Especially since we live in Austin, where Tejano radio stations are scarce and Conjunto stations are non-existent. More projects to come include Traders Village (in the final development phase), where you can trade music with no fees.
Manuel ?Cowboy? Donley Feature in the Statesman
A couple weeks back, the Austin American-Statesman featured one of our local legends, Manuel “Cowboy” Donley. Check out this lovely piece, written by Juan Castillo, complete with a couple of pictures and a brief performance by the man himself….
