San Francisco Voice

Mambo Street is something like a cover band except that they recreate all of the songs, giving them a Latin twist, to make them sound unique.  They take the old and make it new, pouring passion into every moment to own their sound.  In this interview, we hear from Rudy Ramirez, one of the seven guys who make up the band about how it formed, how it works and what it’s all about.  Check out their website for info on upcoming gigs and other stuff you might want to know about them. 

What’s the story on how you met and decided to start playing together? David Mercado and I met way back in 1975 in a Cumbia band called Anaconda.  We became friends and would play music in other bands from time to time.  In January of 1998, he called me and asked if I wanted to start a band with him.  “What do you want to play?”  I asked.  “Whatever we want.  Dance music.”  He replied.  Then I remembered that back in 1977, I was playing with a Latin jazz band that was playing jazz standards without a drum set.  Instead, everything was “Latinized”, that is, using only Latin percussion:  guiro, timbales, maracas, congas, bongos, etc.  Emilio Castillo from Tower of Power caught our act and said that was our hook and that we should make a demo tape and send it to Fred Rubenstein from CBS Records.  Well, the band broke up before we could ever get the recording off the ground, but the idea stayed with me all that time.  I told David about my idea, he liked it and Mambo Street was formed.  We decided that Mambo Street would be an “avocation”.  That is, a hobby that pays.  No illusions about “making it” or going “big time”.  Just have some fun, make a little money and feel young again.  So far, so good!

What’s your favorite song to perform live and why? Our favorite song (now this is subjective on my part since everyone has their own pick, but I am going solely on energy and enthusiasm) is Barcelona Nights by Ottmar Leibert.  We kick it off with flute and acoustic nylon guitar and then get into a mambo groove that not only we feel it, but our audience does as well.  It is a barn-burner for sure!  On top of that, Rene, our bongo player, plays timbales on it and rips a mean-ass solo!

 Are all of your songs cover songs or are there some originals in there?  Our creative process is in arranging cover songs, thus making them our own.  No one, for some unknown reason has come up with an original tune.  It’s much easier and satisfying to take an established song and re-arranging it to meet our needs and feel good about it.

Can you describe the process of how you go about reinventing old songs to have the twist that makes it a Mambo Street song?  That task usually falls on me.  I will start with an idea of how we could approach the song and everyone puts their two cents in.  Very collaborative, democratic effort, I might add.  I then add a “montuno” or groove line in the middle to give it that salsa flavor and then we decide solos and an ending.  For example, On Broadway by the Drifters.  Tito Puente did it some years ago and did a credible job.  We just took it and ran with it.

 Do you have a favorite SF venue?  Carnaval may not be a venue per se, but it is a wonderful event to play in.  The one venue we really enjoy playing at is The Little Fox in Redwood City.

Which spots in the city can you be found in when you’re just out and about?  Mission District - upper and lower pretty much.  We’re all from there and some of us never left.

Describe the average fan of the music you play. Someone who loves to dance!  Some one who recognizes the songs and appreciates our creative efforts in reconstructing them.

If the band was a San Francisco landmark, which one would it be and why?  The fact that the Mission District gave birth to different genres of music and diverse outlooks on how to approach music.  Mambo Street is just that.  That is our niche.  We play old school music with a Latin twist and make the magic happen.  It is unmistakable!  I see it in people’s eyes, hear it in their cheers, and watch how they groove to the music.  That is power.  Awesome, wonderful, magical power.  And that power translates into pure, unadulterated joy!

What are the band’s goals?  Staying busy playing nice, big venues and festivals.

If there was anything that you could make sure your fans knew, what would it be?  Just this:  middle age is not a death sentence.  We can get down with the same intensity (and perhaps more so) as we did when we were younger because we now have a better understanding of music and life in general.  We have wisdom on our side.  We are the elders and torch bearers of the Mission District.

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