If you haven’t heard the self-titled album from the Latin hard-rock band Chango, you’re missing out on some great psychedelic tunes. I posted the album for download a year ago, you might still be able to find a link to it on this page. When I first shared Chango, I wrote, “The style is something like salsa-infused jazz-rock. Chango was a six-member band that featured three percussionists, a bassist, a keyboardist and a guitarist.” The God Chango, explains the liner notes, is “the representative of unbridled sexuality.” The relentless rhythms on the album alone would be proof of such inspiration, but for the moans and sighs on the album’s final track.
A few months ago, Jose “Pepe” Gomez left a comment on the blog saying that he appreciated the exposure while hinting that a great and untold story about Chago was waiting to be told. So, I told him I wanted to hear the story. We’ve been exchanging e-mails for a month now, and…wow. You’re going to love this fucking interview, I swear to God.
To start, Pepe was born in March of 1944. His musical career began in Miami, Florida in 1963, where he formed a band called the Drones. The group was signed to a contract by Arthur Aaron (manager of The Rascals) and moved to New York City, but in 1967 Pepe was married and the group disbanded. In 1967 he started Chango. He met George Tacktikos through several auditions, and the two shared an instant bond. This was just the beginning…
Evan: How did this all start?
Pepe: In 1967 I was living in Brooklyn, NY and had a top 40 group, but always wanted an original group. I had written lots of songs, some with Latin riffs, some rockish, I got together with a bass player and wrote some of Mira Pa’ca, Chango, and Walk On Hell (on piano).
Evan: What was the name of your top 40 group?
Pepe: The Beatles!
Evan: Ha! So where’d you get Chango from?
Pepe: The name came easy, since in Cuba the African slaves brought over their religion, called Santeria, and their seven Gods each represent a different power. Chango is the strongest, full of power, always dancing, womanzing and thunderous. So, I thought that since I wanted a group that was to synchronize those rhythms (heavy rock, Latin riffs and powerful stage presence)…the guitar player had 16 Marshall amps (100 watts each), we had a B3 organ with 12 amps and 2 Leslies. I think we were the loudest band in those days next to MC5.
Evan: How were the songs composed on Chango. Who wrote them? Or was it a band effort?
Pepe: I composed all the songs. Some were co-written, mainly with George, but sometimes I would agree to have the other guys names in them (to avoid animosity). Now, here comes the strange triangle: my cousin Dino Andino — who plays timables (and has since passed away two years ago) — was living in San Francisco. He used to jam with Carlos Santana in 1967 when they were called “The T&A Blues Band” (tits and ass). Santana was playing in clubs when Bill Graham (who was crazy about Cuban music — I believe he dances in the film Bugsy) died in a heli-crash with Stevie Ray Vaughan…Well, Bill told Carlos that if he were to fuse Cuban music with rock and the electric guitar he would sign him with Columbia records, so he gave Carlos “Oye Como Va” — written and previously recorded by Tito Puente – – and the song became a HIT because of Carlos’ appearance at the Woodstock festival. He also borrowed Peter Green’s (Fleetwood Mac) “Black Magic Woman”, and the rest is history. Not because of the songs, that sound always existed, EXCEPT Carlos used the electric guitar! And, ironically, he shied away from that sound, going towards Hinduism and that crap. Joe Cuba’s “Never Go Back To Georgia” was done in the ’50s and sounds similar, too.
Evan: Where did you record the album?
Pepe: My cousin Dino was called to Woodstock to be a part of the Fabulous Rhinestones with Harvey Brooks (Electric Flag), Marty Grebb (The Buckinghams) — by the way he plays on my second LP — Kal David (Illinois Speed Press), so he called me and I told him about “Chango”. He came down to NYC and jammed with us and quit the Rhinestones. By that time I had put together a 5-piece band (needed a conga player), moved the whole band, wives, kids, pets to Woodstock, NY, and as soon as we started playing the local towns — including all the major gigs in the Cattskill Mountains — developed a cult following. We went to the city and several labels got interested, but Jimi Hendrix’s manager wanted us to sign with Reprise and then he died in a plane crash, so Mr. Albert Grossman (Dylan’s manager, Foghat, The band) entered hte picture. We all knew each other. Mr. Grossman signed us to record Chango at his Bearsville Studio. Todd Rundgren wanted to produce it, but Dino said no. So, we produced it ourselves (Dino and I).
Evan: How long did the recording process take? Since you produced it, was it just you guys in the studio or were there engineers? How long did it take?
Pepe: Side A took one take and some overdubs, and if you listen closely at the end…those moanings are real, perhaps the first cunnilingus recorded live! It was done with a young groupie and a mmber of the group who shall remain anonymous (not me). John Holbrook of England — who was on everybody’s albums/rehearsals — was the engineer. We would find abandoned A-frame homes in the mountains and ask the owners if we could jam. The answer was always “Yes”. Larry Coryell, David Sanborn, Maria Muldaur, Taj Mahal, Garth Hudson, Peter Yarow…we were always jamming. The album took approximately 6-8 weeks. It was dangerous grounds. Snow, ice, and the studio was on top of the mountain.
Evan: Once it was completed, did you tour in support of the record? How did it finally get released?
Pepe: We would play at key joints in NYC at the request of record companies, and although we would receive offers (I didn’t know shit about this) Dino said that we should go west to California, where we had better connections. We landed in Ojai, this time with 6 musicians, 3 roadies, five cars, 3 trucks full of equiptment, pets, etc. Dino knew this guy Jonathan Vigoda (Stevie Wonder’s lawyer). He heard the tape and sold it in 3 days to ABC Dunhill over Chrysalis and Motown. ABC had Steely Dan (nice guys), and the Ohio Players, so they didn’t know where to put us.
Evan: Who the hell designed that trippy album cover? As soon as I saw it for the first time I thought, “I need to own this.”
Pepe: The cover was done by this dude in NYC, Michael Capello. The painting was huge, like 10′ x 10′. They hung it at Tower Records on Sunset Boulevard. Anyway, they shrunk it. Everybody liked it. We just told the guy who Chango was and he did his thing.
Evan: The album, after its release, received a lot of comparisons to Santana. Do you think this was warranted?
Pepe: I think the comparisons are valid, except when we played at the Capitol Theater with Santana and the Mahavishnu Orchestra. They didn’t want us to play again! But its okay, all our songs were original, as opposed to good covers of other artists’ songs. In retrospect, I should have covered a couple. Record companies want you to cover hits.
Evan: If you had to pick a song or two off Chango for new listeners to hear, what would they be, and why?
Pepe: “Walk On Hell”. I sat down at the piano and was mad at my ex-wife, so there. “Caminando” means “walking”, and it was as much a Dino and I collaboration about just walking in the sun, and it has this West Coast feeling as opposed to the East Coast. They’re always mad at something!
Evan: After the album was released, were you able to tour more? Did the album receive good press or radio play?
Pepe: After the album was released, we could have signed with the William Morris Agency, but they were in NYC. So we signed with APA and started a US tour for about 4 or 5 months. Radio stations picked up on it nationwide. The album climbed the Billboard Chart to 154, but the big problem we had was distribution. We would play in Chicago and go to the record stores the next day to check, and the album wasn’t there. That year Billboard picked 3 groups to “make it big.” Bad Company, The Manhattan Transfer, and Chango. Guess who didn’t make it? They had the three album covers side-by-side.
Anyway, the tour. Opened for Ike and Tina Turner. We played Los Angeles at Pitschel Players April 30th to May 3rd. Denver’s Hobart’s Field with Larry Corryel, Dallas’ Travis Field with Gino Vannelli, Houston with Travis St, Styx, Rush, Canned Heat. Austin with Ted Nugent (I think he kicked our asses). Atlanta with Gino Vanelli. Jacksonville/Miami/Baton Rouge (Neville Brothers). Birmingham, Alabama and Rockingham, NC at the Speedway. 15 bands. We were #6 among Kiss, Aerosmith, Bob Seger…a strange thing happened when we took the stage. It was sunny and 75 degrees. We started playing “Chango” and the wind and rain started to pour. It destroyed the stage. People got pissed. End of concert.
Evan: What other gear did you use in your live/studio setup?
Pepe: We had a forty-foot long trailer full of anvil cases. I used a double bass, Slingerland 26″ bass drums, snare, hi-hat, 8 zildjian cymbals, 1 paiste gong, beels, timbales, and other assorted percussion along with 16 microphones. The B3 organ. I think George used a Gibson hollowbody and some Fender Strats. Bass was fender with 8 speakers. We had a complete light show along with dry ice and psychedelic shit. We had our own sound guy, light guy, gopher roadies (3), road manager for traveling, motels, chicks, whatever. We had a limousine in Woodstock (old), but not in California. We recorded to a 16-track board. We had a makeup chick, vestiary (mostly bought in second hand from freaky stores).
Evan: You seem to have a lot of stories about Woodstock. Want to share another one?
Pepe: The two most freaky ones were that we were invited by Paul Butterfield to see his blues band. The Band, Todd Rundgren, Foghat, The Rhinestones and some dudes from a group called Orleans were invited to see Paul play in NYC at the old World’s Fair arena, which holds five-to-eight thousand people. We went to see Paul play. There was a group backstage with us that were going to open for Paul. It was their first gig and we were talking and bullshitting with them. We asked the name of their group, and the blonde guy with the long hair said “Led Zeppelin”. We said, “What?” “Led Zeppelin,” they replied. They started playing while people were still coming in, and I thought they were good but nothing out of the ordinary. Their last song was “The Lemon Song,” with Jimmy Page playing the guitar with a bow. Frankly, I didn’t think much of them, but what do I know?
Evan: That’s…insane. Did you ever bump into them again?
Pepe: Later, in 1975, while were gigging in Los Angeles (at the Troubadour, Rainbow, Starwood, etc.) we were staying at the Hyatt House on Sunset, on the third floor. In the hallway once, Robert Plant recognized me, and we exchanged greetings. At the bar, Jeff Beck, George Foreman and the late Keith Moon and Tommy Bolin were sitting, so I sat down between Moon (who kept asking me where I could score an ounce of coke) and John Bonham (who was drunk and asking about his Corvette). Sadly, they both died along with Bolin, Michael Bloomfield, et al…
Evan: Wait — you said there were two freaky stories about Woodstock? That took place in LA…
Pepe: Right. The other one in Woodstock was…we would play all the small towns and watering holes along with universities. Buffalo, Schenectady, Kingston, New Paltz…we got booked to play in Rutherford, Connecticut, where we were to open for a group we did not know. The bill was Cheech & Chong and Chango. It was a round, gyrating stage. Then we got a two-month contract to play in the Catskill Mountains at a place called Su Casa. It was at the top of a mountain and there was snow, but I believe it was springtime when we got there. 200 people. Naked. Sitting by the pool, or inside the bar, everyone was naked! People would come from NYC to this place to unwind and sleep in tents outside. Naked chicks would pull us into their tents. A different one every hour. We played with clothes on though, although we were stoned on tequila, peyote, shrooms and I don’t know what else. I bet that place still exists. On the way back we ran out of gas and had to steal some from a nearby town’s car dealer, only to later go down a 100 ft. embankment. End of story.
Evan: Sadly, you hinted that there were a lot of problems with your record label and the “business” of the music industry. What happened?
Pepe: The problem with the label was their distribution, and the fact that they always wanted 2 or 3 songs short of 3 minutes with commercial appeal. They took “Mira Pa’ca”, which I thought was a good commercial tune. IT went to #4 on the national radioplay list (remember in those days we didn’t have Internet/MTV/YouTube, which makes it easier for the artists, we had to play and it was concerts, saloons, bars, and hit the road). The best estimate of sales — and I spoke to a few people about this — is 300,000 units sold, because ABC made 3 pressings of 125,000 each. I don’t know which album you have because in 2000 I went to Amoeba records and bought a Chango album and discovered that it was made by a European label, Akarma Records. I tried to find a lawyer but the best one is expensive, and he wrote, “I have a claim against the artist. The record companies distributing the subject albums and others ‘in the chain of commerce’ for several causes of action which may include, but not limited to, copyright infringement.” Unfortunately he wants $5,000. He is one of the best. His name is Paul Menes. I tried with other lawyers but no one seems to follow this. Akarma and Comet Records, both in Italy, are selling my creation while I have never received a penny. That movie The Soloist ain’t got nothing on me. I can make 3 movies of my life.
We parted with ABC and signed a one record deal with Phonogram Mercury. The 2nd album was recorded in Ojai, CA, Nashville, TN and Bogalusa, LA. Our lawyer hired Santana’s engineer Bob “Deputy Dog” Breaul to produce our album and although it was released and people from all over the world send me emails, it didn’t sell well.
Evan: When and how did Chango cease to exist?
Pepe: George quit and became a born-again Christian. Blinky got arrested for heroin and sent to the slammer. Fights started and I had to write shit I didn’t want to write just to please the label. I wrote 300 songs for them, and they chose 9, of which 7 are shit anyway. The best ones that sounded like the first album, I don’t know where they are now. In the year 1999 or so I got contacted by a Declan Hickey of England who had bought 300 vinyls at a record shop and fell in love with the album. He had a group called The Soul Of 81 Winkles and asked my permission to record it and I agreed. The record was well accepted and played on hundreds of European and Asian radio stations.
Evan: Thank you so much, Pepe. This is a lot to process but it is truly an amazing story.
I’ve got a great memory for a 65-year old fart. See you, Evan.
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Chango – Walk On Hell
Chango – Caminando
Chango – Mira Pa ‘Ca
