Garza Podcast - 7: Mama & Papa Garza

Episode Date: March 29, 2021

I am honored to have my Mom and Dad on the podcast. We talk about meeting Korn, how you stay married after 62 years, and the deep connection between the Garza family and Selena. SPONSORS: Click this link to purchase from Sweetwater & help support the podcast: imp.i114863.net/rnrmVB

Today, we have the most special guest on our podcast. They've been married 62 years, fucking crazy. And they share with us deep, insightful, yet simple life lessons that they've learned throughout their whole lives that we get applied to our very own. We go into a lot. We go into the origins and connection that dates back decades between suicide silence, Texas, and Selena. Yeah, you hear that correctly. Kind of crazy.

I'm extremely honored to have him here on the podcast. I hope you all enjoy. Let's get into it. My parents, Mama and Papa Garza. And here we go. Hey, Mama and Dad. Hi. What's up, Mama and Dad?

Hey, nothing. Everything is good, especially right at the moment. I'm taking it all in. I'm enjoying it. As also famously known, Mama and Papa Garza. Mama Garza. To all our suicide fans. As the world knows, you guys.

Anyone, anyone of the family or any band members or friends that have ever come here, have always called you guys Mama and Papa Garza? Mama Garza. It's very cool. Very cool. What's it like being after seeing, after so many years and so much history, what's it like being in this room now? Oh, my gosh.

Well, it really looks like it's a studio. It's a studio. It used to be a garage for the cars. And now the way it's all fixed up. It's a studio. Nice. Looks nice. Wow.

It used to be actually a living room where all your brothers were here with their friends and their music, like Ozzy and all those other ones. And then it transformed him to disco with Robert. And then it was your dad with his band practicing here. Yeah. And then later on in the years, as you started growing up, you were in high school. You would bring your friends here and you guys would jam. So it has a lot of history. It does.

You guys probably heard some racket coming out of this room. A lot of it. From zero notes, from not knowing how to play drums. You were amazing parents and just letting that happen. I believe that everybody needs a glitch in their life that they want to pursue, and nobody should interfere with it, most of all us, because we know through dad being a young musician to now, it all followed through with the rest of you.

Yeah. He had those little things that you both did as parents as, you know, me being a baby, has this... When now I... Now I could look back and like, wow, that's why we're here. You know, I had this freedom just a bang on pots and pans. There you go. And it's cool.

Did you live here when this was cars in here? Or no? No, no. No, we never opened it. Wow. We decided just to make a living room out of it like a TV. The kids would come and go out of this door right here to the pool. Whoa.

The kids' friends that would come, even with you. Yeah. would come through here and enjoy it. Wow. Our home is to enjoy. It's a moment for everyone to have a moment in their life. They can think back and remember it. Well, mission accomplished.

You guys said it, especially with such a big family and multiple kids. Yes. You guys did the best you could. The best we could. Wow. Working two jobs. Wow. Working two jaws, making sure everybody had what they needed.

Yeah. And grow up and be men, not boys, and know how to treat their families the way, you know, we did it. Yeah. Let them grow up and be themselves. Wow. All right, mom and dad. So you're both originally from Texas. That's great.

Right? Yes. All right. So for the people watching and listening also, possibly. family members. Can we get exactly where in Texas? Okay. I was born in Ashington, Texas, which is about how many miles from Corpus Christi? 130. About 130 miles from Corpus Christi.

South, right? Okay. So my birth father family and my mom's family lived there. So that church that's there in Ashington is where I was baptized in my. mother was married then later on all the family on his side moved to Corpus Christi so I you know stayed in Corpus until by the age of five wow then moved to Toledo Ohio wow yeah that's crazy yes when did you move to Ohio when I was five years old.

Yes. My mother decided to take us, that's where her family lives. Yeah. So I was there until the age of 13, and then I would come in the summer. And if I didn't get back in time, I would start school in Corpus. And we were just like, you know, we missed each other. Yeah. We were in junior high in Driscoll.

Yes. We were in Driscoll. And then we didn't know each other at all. But he had gone to my grandma's house when he was. young with one of his aunts and uncles. So we played there. Wow. That's crazy. We didn't know each other.

But, you know, he knows my cousins, you know, Raymond and the Haudhis family. Yeah. Yeah. And it was probably, you know, I don't know about now, but especially back then, it was probably a way smaller town, so everyone probably knew

like each other very well. In Ashton, everybody's related. Yeah. cousins, aunts, uncles, whatever. Corpus is the same thing because he comes from a large family. Yeah. You know, he has his own history, which is amazing. And he'll tell you all about it because he led a very amazing life.

Yeah. How about you, Dad? Well, I was born in a little town called Tynan, Texas. Yes. It's in a big county. It's very small. But my father used to work in the farm. and stuff so it was good for him and that's where he started his family our family

and then when I was about a year old we moved to Corpus Christi and that's where I actually grew up and went to school there and I got interested in music when I was in seventh grade well I was interested in music before that way way before that Because I used to go to, I used to work in the fields, you know, picking cotton, all the stuff when I was eight, nine years old, 10 years old, 12. So I had an uncle, I had a, he would take people in a truck and take him over to the camps, you know, where they did all the field work. I used to join them. So come the weekend, we used to go to a, they would take us to a dance hall. And I would see all these groups coming in, you know, different groups.

and right away I got interested in music, you know. But the only thing I had in my hand, you know, was a harmonica that I learned how to play it real fast. Yeah, yeah. I used to play music with the harmonica. I was, what, eight, nine years old. But then when I got in school, I took up the trumpet. I played in the, at Driscoll Junior High.

and we later moved to Ella Barnes, junior high. I needed school for closer to the house. And I played in the band. And I was, I became first chair in the first chair in the playing with trumpets. So when I went to high school, they put me in with the first section, even though I was sophomore. I played with all the big guys and all the guys that were really good. So I played with them. But I wanted to play in the stages, you know.

That was my interest. Yeah. So when I was actually at Ella Barnes in junior high, I was playing the dance music already by myself with the trumpet. One of the guys already played, one of the guys that played in the band also, the junior high band, he said, hey, you know, I played with the, they used to call it a conchonto

because they had accordions. And he says, I played with this group, and they needed a trumpet player, you want to go? So I went. And we started playing, you know, the cities surrounding the corpus. And we went up to Houston, San Antonio, and stuff, traveled. And we got paid a lot of money, something like $10. $5,000.

Every gig. Five. Wow. I'm talking like, that was around 1958, 57, 58. 58, wow. And then right away, when I got in high school, I decided I won my own band. So I picked up 10 guys. I had 10 pieces of band.

You had the three trumpets and three saxophones, a singer, guitar player, and bass player and drummer. And I was doing right, you know, except they didn't pay much. And after we got married, you know, that was not going to, you know, make it for us to support a family. So we migrated to Fort Worthle about one year, 1962, and in 63 we moved to California. And then there is history. Yes, but you also, when you were in high school,

not only did you play, but you were up there. Everybody looked up to Pabloito Garza, Oscar Martinez, all these big bands. But he played like in the exposition hall. If you ever went to Texas, you even played in Corpus, I believe. It's a big, big Coliseum. And he played with Conjunctos and big bands, and he was in the middle of everything. And he loved every minute of it. Yeah.

By that time, I knew him. Because we met in high school. Wow. But you know, we didn't come up, we didn't, I didn't have money. No. We didn't have any money to support a band, you know, I mean to progress, I mean to go into the big time, you know, to record records and stuff. I had ideas.

Yeah. But without money you can, I could not go to a studio and say, I want to do this, I want to do that. Yeah. You can do it. Some other guys made it big, you know, and I didn't do it. big, you know, and then people like Freddy Martinez, he was a big, big star. You know, he became a millionaire, now he's got a record company.

Wow. And people like that, they made it, but he had money, you know, from his parents and his grandfather. They had musical history in their family. They even own a ballroom. Wow. You know, it's, yeah. The Galvan Bar Room.

It was very famous for everybody. Everybody played there, but it was owned by his family. Wow. So due to that, he tried, his mother helped him and his dad, but it wasn't enough there. It's too much competition in Corpus, big bands. Of course, it sounds like it. Big bands, you know.

The one from San Antonio, the one that you always talk to me. Oh, yeah, yeah. Sonny Osuna and Sun Liners. Big bands. Ciro Lopez, big band, Oscar Martinez, and then the younger ones like him and all the little bands, you know, they took over. And you know that, you know. Yeah. There were headliners.

Yeah. So, uh, so, Dad, you were already playing big shows before you guys even got married. Right. Yes. Yeah. So you were already on the stage like early teens. Yes. Shredding.

Shredding. Wow. He was a trumpet player and a good one. And you would have been proud because he would get up there and tear it up. And I mean, 10 young kids up there. Yeah. The one of them became a school superintendent. And they're all big now.

And the one that's with Selena and the old shows where Selena started, that was one that he played with too. Wow. So, yeah. And I, I know when, I learned music real fast. And so I wanted a certain song, a certain way. So what I did, I would write the music for each one. The three saxophones, write first, second, and third.

The trumpets for a second and third, you know, and I would tell them, this is the way it goes, and they would read the music. We had stance, you know, where the music won, you know, like when you see a big band playing. Yeah. Yeah. Well, all the music, I wrote it.

I would write the music and that was still a sophomore, you know. Wow. In high school. He would write music. His mom got him a little piano, well, not a little one, but a piano. He would sit there and write music for all the band members in his band. So they read the music. And they didn't have big speakers like you.

They had little rinky-tick little... Tiny little speakers. Tiny little speakers, you know. Nothing big like what you guys have or what's out there right now with the, you know, metal, they have this big, cute. And they all sounded great. So the music was pretty raw, you know, I mean, without electronics. I mean, just the amplifier for the guitar and the bass. And then a couple of little speakers for the sound system.

Whoa. That's it. Yeah. And nowadays, you know, it's different. Yeah. Yeah, it is. Totally different. But raw music is, I mean, it stays with you.

Forever. That's true. Forever. I mean, we were just talking about it last night because you had a dream about his Ciro Lopez. Yeah. That's his favorite, you know, idol. And time just goes, so what I say, take advantage of the moment.

I never stopped him from playing because you can't do that. That's somebody's gift. You have a gift, he has a gift, and I say, go. You know, everybody has an idol. like you have an idol with corn, right? Yes. Okay, in my idol was Isidro Lopez. He was one of the first bands that was a big band.

Back then in the 1950s, the big bands played, you know, music for big dances, big parties, real sophisticated, you know, high top, you know. But Isidro had this big band, and he started playing the music that we like to dance to, with the accordion with the little groups. Yeah. But he was playing it with the horns and stuff, trumpets and saxophones and keep. It was big. He became big.

Yeah. So he became my idol. I still, you know, I was looking up in the music because when we travel in the car when I listen to his music. Yeah. And not only that, I don't want to speak about this, but I'm going to anyway. Let's do it. When I die. You know, when I die, I, you know, usually when you go to a funeral home,

playing all this little music with the organ, real soft and, you know, just real nice music. But I want his music to be played equally. Which you don't hear that. It's like you're saying, when I die, I want. Chorn to play. Corn to be playing in the background. I will. Yeah.

There you go. At the funeral home. Wow. Well, I want it's hitros' music to be on my funeral home. Let's do it. I believe, that's what he wants. You know, the life of the person, it was not, you know, like that rinky-ding soft music.

He is music. Yeah. So that's what he wants. Yeah. And if he was alive, he'd probably have him there in person. yeah all right well cool well then we'll get the big PA put it put it in there we'll rent a PA

do it it it has to be at the church and they will do it over there no but they have they have they have speakers you know and they they play music but they play a real soft you know just soft music well with how big the family is we're probably gonna need a fucking amphitheater I'm a, oh, catch that word.

Whoops. No, it's okay. It's okay. But it's, you know, this is what he's always wanted. You know, and that's everybody's wish and that's his. Yeah. I think that's a great one. Yeah.

So it's crazy how, like, your idols to stay with you, like, for, it seems to be for life. Yes. Yes. Yeah. Wow. That's crazy. there's a lot there um so when you so you went from fort worth to to california yes yes why california uh and what year too okay in in uh it's 62 63 uh my buddy lupe garza i'm excuse me cisteros

he's a godfather Yeah, yeah. Okay. He became my best friend, you know. And he and I, he played trumpet at the time and not the base, you know. So we both came to California to look for work because, I mean, there was no money in Texas. I mean, I had school up to 10th grade and then I quit because I got buried, started a family. So therefore, I didn't have any school to go work and go.

get good money. So Lope, my compadre Lube, went to San Ana and his wife, Olga, started working at St. Joseph, and Lupe started working at UCI, you know, as an orderly, you know. And, his wife, Olga, she worked in St. Joseph, she was in LVN, a nurse, you know, a nurse. And she says, you know, why don't you guys come over here? And I talked to the guy who hires and all that, and he'll probably get sure. Well, when we came to California, I had $35 in my pocket, you know, and that's it. And I went like, I got here like on a Thursday, on Friday. I went over to the hospital and applied and talked to...

Mr. Guiney. He was the guy who hired people. He was an HR manager. So he said, well, oh, I had a little experience in Fort Worth because the guys see the bed that I played with over there. They were in the hospital. So then I worked in the hospital too for about less than a year. But I were just transporting patients, you know, in the gurney,

from the floor to surgery. So when I went there, I said, I would like to work in surgery if it's possible. He says, well, we don't have any openings for an orderly in the OR. But they raise a place where you can work and then you can work up. You know, and I said, what's that? I said, you can start, it's a janitor. You're working, mopping floors and stuff.

I said, I'll take it. You know, on Monday, the following Monday, I started working. And then I progressed. from hopping floors on the first three months they transferred me to the OR. There was an opening. So then I became an orderly. I was transporting patients for surgery. But then when you bring a patient, there was only six operating rooms in the boarding.

You bring six patients up, getting ready for surgery. And there was nothing for me to do. So I would go downstairs and look at the instruments and stuff. And then I start going into the rooms on my own and helping. put the patient on the table and stuff like that. And my manager was a nun. There were sisters. This is called sisters of St. Joseph.

She was very good to me, you know, and she knew I had a family and she treated me so good. After about three months doing that, she says, would you like to work in the rooms with the doctors? I said, I like to learn, yeah, oh yeah. And she knew that I had the ability to learn, you know, because I learned fast. Well, within a year that I was hired,

I was already working with the doctors. I'll tell the experience when they left you alone. Oh, this one guy took me under his wing to teach me the fundamentals of surgery. You know, how to scrub your hands and then put on a gown and gloves and get all the instruments ready. And then the doctor comes in and starts working.

And he was teaching me, you know, for a little while. And one time he said, no, you're doing pretty good. I said, then was it this emergency case? He was an appendix. This guy, this patient had an appendix, so I take it out. So it says, I'll be in, you know, don't worry about it. Just go set up the case on your own and then I'll come in and I'll be with you. So don't worry about that.

It said, okay, so I was setting up all the instruments and stuff. They bring the patient in and then they're getting ready to put the patient to sleep. And I looked, hey, I was telling everybody, hey, where's Bill? Where's Bill? You know? And I said, oh, he'll be right in. And then all of a sudden, you know, the door said windows, you know, a little window. And then here comes Bill.

And he's looking through the window. And he says, he says, and I would wait with my hand. I said, come over here, you know, so you can be with me. He says, you're on your own, buddy. Wow. And I did it, you know, by myself, you know. And from then on, it was just I learned, bring up. And I ended up, yeah, a couple years later working.

They were a pioneer in earning heart surgeries, you know. So I got in the heart team. And that's what I was working with, the heart doctors. Wow. So 55 years later, I stayed there at the hospital, you know. And then I retired from there about two years ago, a year and a half. Very, very recent. Yeah.

Yes. And so the listeners and viewers know you're both 78. Right. So, Dad, you were working until 76. Yes. That's gangster. Yeah. I was supposed to retire at 65.

Yeah, the classic age. Yeah, 65 was going to retire. But then I had a heart problem and they I had the surgery but I was planning to retire that year, you know, this was, I'm talking about the end of February, right? I was going to retire in May. So when they did the surgery, I came home to recuperate. I said, what am I going to do? I can't do anything, you know? I mean, just sit around because I couldn't do every work anyway. Yeah. Because of the surgery. So, uh, I said, uh, what am I going to do? I can't do anything, you know, you know? I mean, just sit around because I couldn't do every work anyway. Yeah. Because of the surgery. So, so. So, uh, I said, oh, I'll just stay there and work because I still could work. Yeah. So I stayed 10 more years. Wow. That was in 2008.

So I retired, what, in 19, 2019. Wow. And that hospital is a very, it's a very busy hospital here in SoCal. And it's also very physically, especially for you, not only physically, but mentally. Yeah. Yeah. Demanding. You had to be on it because there's a person there in surgery.

Oh, yeah. What do you think that did for you as far as your longevity? Like you still being here aware and still be able to focus? Do you think you're working for that long? helps you maintain that? Yes, exactly. Yeah. Yeah.

I'm so glad. I'm sure the family can agree that you didn't retire at 65. I always remember being a kid hearing that. I'm like, oh, I hope he does, and that's bad news. Well, his friends in Texas retired at 65 or less. Yeah. And he's gone back to Texas, you know, golf tournaments or whatever. Yeah.

So he looks up his old friends from school. they don't look nothing like your dad they had just done nothing just nothing just at home but his his work the only reason he didn't go

wanted to retire it wasn't the work he could have worked more it was the traffic that got worse from Orange County to here the traffic from Orange County to here and then leaving the house instead of five to leave at 4.30 just to get to work, you know, early now because his cases started at seven.

Yeah. So he had to be there. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. If the traffic wasn't so getting so ridiculous, do you think you might still still be there? Oh, yeah. Yes.

I enjoyed doing the work I was doing, you know. I enjoyed the doctors I work with. It was a specialty that I did. But, you know, after my surgery, I didn't do any more heart cases. I did vascular surgery, you know, like fixing the, the, you know. the, you know, where the blood flows, you know, the arteries, the arteries and the veins, and all that, you know, around the heart and the groins, you know. Yeah.

So I started working with the vascular surgeons until, you know, I quit. Wow. And they were trying to hold on to you there. Oh, yeah. Yeah. One of the doctors said, you know, he said, Paul, they called me Paul, you know, Pablo would they call me Paul. well you know if you retire next year

I'll retire too because I don't know who's going to be able to help me so he retired he did retire he did retire oh shit really yeah yeah wow he retired a couple of months later

you know actually because they sent me an invitation to go to his retirement party so oh my gosh but he was an avid golfer you know yes yeah

wow especially I had to privileged to work there for a couple years and seeing like the such respect given to you from like from from from the doctors was like kind of like you know little things that you kind of taught me without even teaching me that i that this day with you know like you know like you know like do like like do good work always seen like where and where where that takes you yeah you know and i cared i cared by my work and i i have to be perfect You know, there's no room for mistakes, see?

And, well, in fact, the hospital was permitting students that are learning how to work in the rooms and stuff, technicians and nurses. They come, like, interns and come to the hospital, and then we're supervising them. And I always said, I said, you know, if they give me a so-and-so person, you know, And they said, well, I'm going to be with you today, Paul. I said, okay, that's fine. Come in. The only thing I have to tell you is I can teach you everything I know and give you all the pointers.

However, I want to know if you're here for the job, for the money, or you're here because you want to and enjoy it and be care, care towards the patients. So otherwise, I don't want to waste my time with you. You can go with somebody else, but. If you want me to teach you, and I will, you know, and I did. By the time they get out of that class, you know, they were very appreciative of what I told them. Yeah, that's true. Wow.

Yeah. That's true. So in the latter years that I worked there, you know, coming towards my retirement, I was mostly teaching other people, you know, teaching them the ropes, you know. It's not just like by the book. is working with the doctor and trying to read his mind what is next you know

like when I work with the heart doctors I worked a lot of years I working with a baby doctor that you did nothing but baby hearts crazy so I was helping them do that

and he's the doctor's concentrating right here at one spot doing his work with a little heart, you know, a little like a piece, you know, like, you know, a very small, like a piece or, you know, very small heart. And he has to work in there and fix it, you know. So he doesn't have too much time to turn around and say, give me this, give me that. No, you know, I would always put the instrument in his hand that I knew he needed next, say. And then he started sewing the repair where he was. going to do inside the heart and I would give him the right

material to do it, you know, the sutures. Yeah. And I just work with him so good, you know, and he really appreciated, you know. Wow. Wow. It's a fantastic life. Yeah. And also, once he was done with work, he played on the

weekend. Oh, yeah. I remember seeing that. On the weekend. Well, you saw when he would go play at Irwindale. Right, or here, the weddings. But he was playing in a nightclub seven days. Yeah. So he would come home for work, eat dinner, sleep, and then go play, and then go to work. And focus.

Yeah. And then, yeah, and then on top of that, be a dad. Yes. Yeah. That's a 24-hour thing. Yeah. So I didn't have too much time to spend with the kids, actually. But in the early, I think that in the early years, you know, in the early years in the 70s.

Yeah. I work every night, but, and then they work and job. But after a while, I just did weekends. Yeah. Playing with the group, with the band. Wow. Yeah, even that, like, you know, being like literally in Typer, seeing that, another life lesson that I still carry with me,

juggling, you know, this, that, and this, and that all at all at the same time, life, music, and a very important job. And also you need to, other people rely on you. You know, I've seen that my whole life. Yes. You know, it's crazy. Yes. It takes two.

Yeah. To work together to make things happen. Absolutely. You know, the children, the work. I worked. I worked graveyard come in. The kids would go. He would be at work, my mom.

So it took quite a bit of, especially with the kids I had. Yeah. Well, you know, and the thing that came to mind was when I was growing up, I had a hard time, you know. with my language before going to school I spoke Spanish only yeah and we were very poor I mean we didn't know my father oh yes you know he had a good job still you know we were seven also seven kids and so it was hard very hard then I went to go I was picking cotton you know at eight or nine years old 10 years old I was making money and um So I said, I always had it in mind, I said, when I grow up, if I have children, they're not going to work like I did.

So when I was here, I was making money, and she was working nights, and I would work at two jobs to have money so the kids could have anything they wanted. Yeah. And the other thing was for them, I didn't teach him. I should have done it, though. speak Spanish to them. Yeah, we didn't. We didn't. To all your brothers and sisters

and I didn't. We didn't. I said, I don't want them to speak Spanish so they can focus on English and just go up. Well, when we were growing up in Texas, you weren't allowed at all to speak Spanish.

They would whack you. You know, teachers. They had to learn. But when I moved to Toledo, Ohio, that's all they spoke with English. So I had no clue what he was going through until later when we got married.

Then I could see it. I could see what they were doing, you know, to the little ones. And the kids that he went to school were just as poor as he was. So they had to hide with their little burritos somewhere in a corner. It was embarrassing to be eaten in a tortilla. A tortilla, a burrito. Now you go and you go everywhere. There's burritos, tacos.

well in his time and my time we couldn't do it you would have to hide and that's what they did you know they hid from the um the other people and make fun of you and he went to school barefooted and i went to school with heart new shoes wow so we've been through a different phases of our life with people and situations that made us stronger and we had to stick together yeah So I never taught my kids because he knew more about Spanish or whatever more than I did. So he never did. Yeah. And I never, you know, you know that. We only spoke Spanish when we had to talk about the kids. Yeah. So they wouldn't understand.

Yeah. Oh, yeah. So we would say, you know what? You guys still do it with me? So I was speaking Spanish out of nowhere. I go ahead. they're saying something about me. They're saying something.

No, no, no, no, no. Something is happening, but it's not good. That's what your brother John would say. John has a lot of stories. Him and Mark and Paul. I mean, these walls could talk. But, yeah, that's the only time we did it. Yeah.

So, you know, but he, you know, that's the way they were in Texas back then. Yeah. I mean, obviously, probably the other brothers and me are like, I wish, like, when you more Spanish. But back then, like, that's like a reason to speak English. Yes. Such a different time. It was a different time for us, and we could not speak our language. So if they say, well, how come you never learned or they never taught you?

We couldn't. Yeah. We had to. He had to learn it. And I, you know, I just didn't speak it at all. because I wanted my children to grow up with the same advantage I did with speaking English only. But, you know, even with my mom, you know, I have my sister Janie and my mom and her husband were driving to Ohio, Toledo, somewhere. And they stopped somewhere in the middle of Texas somewhere.

And they refused to take my mom's order. because my sister's white skin and my dad but my mother's my color so they refuse to so I know her story and I know his story so they hurt me yeah yeah those moments I mean probably I stay with you forever it does so when he came to California to work at St. Joseph

especially with our background in Texas he was afraid because that was the way he was treated there to come here with all wide and mixture he thought he was going to have the same reception and it threw him off base because they just embraced him and it just took off they were nice to me they were wonderful they will always help me wow it worked yeah so you can see the the difference yeah and that's also another good reason to move to california at that time yeah definitely that's what other reasons that was another reason and The first time they paid me, I was stunned because of the check, you know.

Yeah. Of course, it was still under $2 an hour. It was something like $1.95 an hour. Whoa. But still. Yeah. But still a lot, right? You know.

For us. At the time, at the time, it was good, you know. Yeah. And over there, I was paying like in Fort Worth, that one year that I worked there, I was getting paid about $0.96 an hour. Yeah. So there was a big difference when I received the first check. You said, oh man, this is where I want to work.

Wow. It's the same reaction you got from Anjos to St. Joseph when you first got your check, you went like... Yeah, I don't want to see her and compare stories. I mean, like me getting $6 when you're five an hour and your dad got like under a dollar an hour. That is crazy. I was, when I started to work, when I started working, I was getting a $1.60 something an hour. Wow. And I worked like the size eight hours.

I would stay over or come in early. So, you know, for our family, for our home. Yeah. Yeah. Wow. And both you worked so, so hard for like two less than two bucks an hour. Yeah. Yeah.

Well, when I started working. And my first job was at Taco Village where he worked the one downtown, right? And I worked the one further away. Yeah. And I was getting $25 a week. And I worked from 10 to 10. Wow. At night.

It's a half a day. And no car, we only had one car. So if he was busy, I would walk it. You know, we don't ask nobody for anything. think we just do it yeah we i walked home or if he was you know in the area and he wasn't working on the other side you know he would pick me up yeah but most of the time i walked it home dang and my mom would help me with uh your brother paul because i we have to work but it you couldn't advance you know to save money because everything went that's why we're here

Those are very valid reasons to make such a big move. Well, because Pabloito was born in Corpus Christi. He was, yeah. Your older brother, John. Robert was born in Fort Worth. Oh, wow. Yes, it's St. Joseph. A different St. Joseph.

In Fort Worth. It happened to be St. Joseph. It's St. Joseph. That's a weird coincidence. But it was a different company, different sisters. Yeah. But he was born in Fort Worth. Fort Worth. So we, when Pablo decided to come here with your Nino, Loupe, and Olga,

John was born here. Then on everybody was born in California. Yeah. They must know in St. Joseph here in Orange. Wow. Yes. So we have a history with them. Yeah. Some of the doctors would, the insurance would pay for my delivery and stuff and the doctors would return it back to him would give him the money wow yeah Dr. Humphrey was so nice

they were nice to me because I helped yeah you know and I didn't have clothes for my kids to bring him home so the nurses would gather whatever and they sent us things home yeah we were poor we were very poor that's

that's crazy you didn't know that No. Yes, so probably Pablo Jr. and Robert, they probably also were a big piece, so we should probably move to California. Yes. Yes, because we wouldn't have made it in Corpus at all. The jobs were there, but... Without school?

But here, Sister Clara Marie gave him the option to move forward, because she saw something in your dad. that it was he said go get her he doesn't sit back and wait for things to happen i mean he makes them happen yeah so she saw that in him and gave him that big opportunity that that's where we're in this house yeah i was i was so appreciative of the sister you know sister clara marie that uh when the twins were born um one of them we named her claire marie yeah after the nun Wow. She was amazing, you know. Even today, we still, you know, we still think of her because she gave us a big opportunity. I worked at St. Joseph for only for a little bit. I started as a housekeeper. Really? Yeah. Wow. Still do housekeeping. I started as the housekeeper. And then John came along and I didn't pursue it. Wow. So did you go straight to?

Orange County from Fort Worth? Yes, yes. Because Nina lived in Orange County. So we lived in their house for about a month. Yeah. Yeah. And then it was time to move. So by then, we were settling down a little bit.

So I was able to get an apartment. The mini apartments in Santa Ana. Yeah, yeah. Oh, you don't want to go there now. No, now, yeah, probably. No, now, yeah, probably. No, we moved there. He took us out of it from there.

gave us a little apartment for us, and then, you know, he went to work. We only had one car. Yeah. So there was one day I walked with the two kids. We walked from Yerina's house back to my apartment and Minnie, and I stopped at a dealership. Yeah. I didn't have no license. I had no money.

I had nothing. We had nothing. So I go in there and look in at cars. and the gentleman there said, you know, here, you know, you like this, wife, said, yeah. But, you know, I don't have this. I don't have anybody. He'll take it home, you know, see, about with your husband things and that. What?

So, yeah, he gave me a car to take home. Yeah. Yeah. So I took it home. I don't know how to drive, okay. I have my kid. So I took it home. And I think I picked you up in the car.

What the heck? How does that happen? You tell me. A Guardian Asia was with me because we got a car. So I got to pick him up. We come home and then I told him the story. So he goes back there and he made the deal with for the car. Wow.

I wish I would have kept that car. It would have been the vintage car. It's a vintage. It was a 1959 Chevrolet. Impala. Impala. Impala. Oh.

It's right. It had the winks in the bed real nice. Yes. Yes. Yes. I love driving that thing. I go like, oh, it's hard. So later on my, after that happened, we were settled,

and my mom decided to come to California. So her and my sister go to the same place and get a car. They got a car. They got a car. I'm giving cars away. Hey, this guy's getting free cars. It better stop by. You get to talk by.

Well, go here. She got the same thing. Same car? Everybody's got a car. Wow. That's fucking nuts. I was walking in Fort Worth. And I mean, the heat, you know Texas heat.

And I would walk with Boblito and I was pregnant with Robert. And I would walk to the grocery store and I walked back with my little boy. And then it turned out one time his car didn't work. So he had to walk in the snow to get to work. It was cold. You know, friends? Friends are friends, and there's no friend. They just live not too far from us, and they wouldn't stop buying him.

Right. He walked. He put double socks, double pants. They could have offered to give him a way home to work. Because my car wasn't working. Yeah. I had two socks, two pants. And it was a freezing cold.

So in the jacket, it was like 19 degrees. It snowed. So I walked. But once we moved here, man, it was a different story. Yeah. Yep. So in life you deal with a million things. And you can sit back and, you know, say, oh, woe is me. You know, you have to just dust yourself up and him and I are go-getters. Absolutely. I got up and I saw it. Mark was born. We had Mark in San Antonio. I said, I have to help. So I went walking to three places

So those three places called me But I picked one Because you know So I was there like over 20 some years Whoa That's crazy Yep And we were just

And we went to Hawaii for the first time And we were like Oh That was in the 70s Yes We were like But I said Hawaii Where's that?

But it, you know, like right now I feel it paid off staying in one place working. Working there in the same place. Yeah. Yeah. You know, I don't jump around. I stay where I'm at. And he, you know, as you know, he was there 55 years. I know. 55. And I remember after they did the dinner or all, one of the nuns came into the bathroom while I was washing my hands.

and she said, please take care of Paul. I said, oh, I have for over 60 years. I said, I think I'm doing a good job. Yeah, you both seem to find that something. So we're still in March. March 5th was your anniversary, so you just celebrated your 62nd anniversary. Right.

Two years. Yes. How do you do that? Well, we don't think about it. We're crazy. We laugh. We do all kinds of stuff. He says, he's very spontaneous.

He said, let's go out to Lent. He said, okay, we end up in Pichanga. And then he said, That's a casino. Casino. Everybody knows Pichanga's a casino. So we go have lights and there he goes, he makes this funny noise

do it that means can I go gamble oh there you go and I said go ahead dad loves the gamble and then he looks at his watch

and says okay I'll be you know I'll be back in an hour I'm walking around going to gift shops and we do that in Vegas he said we're going to Vegas on a golf

I said okay back at my goodies and we're gone and we tell you take care Leo yeah yeah Wow.

So we find things. We talk about our life, how we started. My cousin was in school with him in junior high. And, you know, he was a girl. He was a heart drop in school. Of course. A heart drop for the girls. Their girls were like, oh.

And I'm like, what? Yeah. So my cousin said, he knew him, he said, you know, Paulito, I have a girl just right for you. Oh, okay, you know, time went on. This was in junior high. This was in junior high. So that one year, I didn't go back to Toledo. So I started high school where he was.

Huh. I was in PE, and he had bands, so we had to walk, you know, see each other come in from school. Yeah. So he tells his friends. that's going to be the mother of my children. I said, oh wow. I didn't even know him. One of my neighbor friends.

Garcia. Mingo. Domingo. Domingo. I had him in a home room. And they were in a home room together. And they had to walk from the P.E. From P.E. To the gym and stuff like that. Yeah.

So then the Ben Hall was over here. So we were outside before we went to the Ben room. We were outside. waiting and we see all the girls go by and then that's when I saw her and I told me go see that over there it's gonna be my wife wow I was only 16 yeah so it just went on and I don't know how we connected then we you know kind of had a soda at the soda shop next to the high school and you know so that one day we're sitting in the Quad area, my cousin happens to walk by, my two cousins.

And he looks at him, he says, I told you. Yeah. Go, that's my prima. That's my cousin. Yeah. In General High, Jesse was Jesse Juarez. He played the tuba. But he was a nice person.

He said, you know, I got the right girl for you. it was my cousin. But he didn't tell me who it was or anything. Yeah. Nothing. I didn't know her for nothing. We didn't know each other. And then we got to another school, to high school.

And I just met her on my own. Yeah. We met each other on her own. It's just a coincidence. And then when Jesse comes over and sees us together, he said, oh, man. Yeah, this is the girl I was talking about for you. And I said, well.

Here we are. But it was so funny because one of his friends, also a friend of mine, we had Pee together, and she was going to have a kinsanera. And I said, oh, okay, are you going to go, Mary? I said, oh, I don't think so. I said, who's playing? She said, Pablo Garza. I said, I don't know that band.

Well, he says, that's the one that's walking you down to him. I said, oh, he plays. So I did go. So I did go. Yeah, he's playing up there. It was fun. Yeah. It was exciting.

Wow, so you saw Dad's band play and that was it. Well, yeah. I think we connected right away. We would talk that, you know, maybe when after high school, maybe a little bit of college or whatever. Yeah. We would get together and get married. But he wasn't. Well, he saw me at a dance.

and this particular young man was just a friend of mine. We had a biology together, and that was my dance partner, and I was his dance partner. So every time we were at a dance, he would wait and grab me, we danced. So every time he would walk over to dance with me, your dad, I was already gone. So he would walk back to his little corner. I never got to dance. Only one time, and then, that's when he said to wait for him. I said, okay.

Wow. without knowing nothing about each other, just that we connect it. You guys just connected. It was just. Connected for a life. That happened in the fall, you know, like after school starts, you know, in the fall. And that happened during that time. So by Morrish, come Marish, we got married.

Yeah. Because I was going back to Toledo. They were going to send her back to Toledo. I was going back to Toledo. And I said, well, my uncle is here. You know, I'm leaving. I'm going to go. Because that was the thing, that I would come and stay and then go back.

That was my life. I would come and visit the family and then go back. So, I'm going back to Twitter. When I told my dad, I said, let's take her home. I said, I don't want to go home. I was talking too easy about it. These people were making all kinds of decisions. He told me, and I said, I don't want to go anywhere.

I'm going to go to Toledo. His dad went to my dad's house to ask for my hand. I did know. I said, well, what are these people making decisions, you know? So, I mean, people, you know, relatives, uncles and aunts and all that, they said, you know, they're not going to last, you know, they're too young. They're not going to make it. Well, here we are. Still kicking.

Wow. Still kicking. Wow. But be very strong in will, we're very strong. If I don't like something, he'll back me up. I'll back him up, whatever it is. And there's no ifs or buts about it. And that's it.

You guys back each other up? Totally. 100%. Even with the music, I backed him up until he decided, you know, his heart just wouldn't take it. But that's the way it's been. Wow. well that's something that you can't you know read about in a book that's that's pure life experience pure life yeah yes wow yes and um i hope that we have taught our kids something which now they

do some of them will call and say you know god mom i'm sorry if i you know for all the things i do when i was going yeah that's kind of what you do when you're doing it's oh man it's such a jeez When we get older, unfortunately, when it comes with time and age, that's when we really appreciate what our parents did for us. I hear that from John and Paul. Yeah, John. John and Paul are like right there. And Robert apologizes left and right because he's not the only one, but one of them.

He used to do the disco here. Was it Robert that put up the disco ball? Yeah, there was a disco ball. Well, if you can't see, we have a disco ball up in this room, and I did that. Me and Cici did that out of respect because of the stories I used to hear that used to happen in this room. There used to be parties and disco parties. I'm like, oh, well, we got to continue this whole vibe. So we got a disco ball in here now.

Well, see, dad had all the equipment, you know, the turntables. He had all that all set up there, the speakers. And the kids, we would go to, drive to Texas. Yeah. And we drove. And the kids would stand out there on the door, bye, mom, don't worry, bye, bye, bye. Oh, kissy, kissy. Well, we had no clue that these kids here of mine and your dad's already had flyers at the high school.

Oh, I mean flyers. And they were charging at the door. Oh, my gosh. Charging at the door. charging money at the door. And I go, oh, my God. And Paolo, we walk in. You know, I go directly to the trash can.

Why? Because if the house looks clean, it's too clean. Yeah. So I walk and I go straight out to the backyard, open up the trash cans, and there's beer, bottles. And I said, look, Paolo. Yep. That's something I learned from me. young age. Don't put anything in the trash that I don't want my parents to see.

You know? I still do it. Not for you, but, you know, when the kids were here. It's a habit, too, yeah. It's a habit. Then I go and I look in the backyard. Because the front yard had nothing but ivy. You know, a plant, it just grows up in the house and everything.

So the kids, they had their parties, I would go to the front. And I'd be cutting, clipping. Well, I would bring out bottles. I mean, being bottles, big chunk of bottles of liquor. Handles of liquor. Champagne. And in the other eye, I mean, I go, so I took it out. I ripped it all off.

Well, so there's no place to hide the handles. Oh, they would. Now, at that point, they probably evolved and started burying them. Yes, in the backyard? In the hill? Yeah, once I get a shot. trouble I'll find some bottles. I wouldn't be

surprised because I bought a BB gun and I hit it. I took one of the vents. I unscrewed him and put the BB gun in there. Yeah. And I screwed it back and I said they can't find it there. When I went to get it, it was gone. Whoa. They knew

all my secret places. Yeah. Wow. A BB got it, but it was long as I stuck it in there. Yeah, you can't get anything past your parents. You know? And he said, it's okay. No, it's not okay.

Because I wouldn't tell him the whole story. Yeah. Because I didn't want the kids to get in trouble because they were already in trouble with me. So he was working too hard for me to jump him at the doors. Tom Dick and Harry. Yeah. So I took it on myself too. So I was called all kinds of names.

That's crazy. I wouldn't. Afterwards, after everybody was. gone and everything. Then I would discuss it with him. This is the what they did. Or they would discuss it with him at the lunches that you guys had at the Goodfellows. The kids, you know, Robert and Paul and everybody would discuss what they did when they were younger. Yeah. Yeah. And dad goes, I didn't know that. Yeah, well, I did.

What a trip. It is. It was the Wizard of Oswald. Yeah. The Yellow Brick Road. It hasn't. It's not done yet. No, it's still going, especially the history in this room. You know, it's still going. I remember being, you know, in Pampers walking through the hallway and seeing Dad's band practice. Yeah.

And I was just thinking about this today. I'm like, I think Dad had probably equal amount, if not more power than us. I remember there's like two subs. There's just two big sub. I'm not over exaggerating bigger than this couch. Two subs, then two speakers on top of the subs, and then two speakers on top of those speakers. This was a wall of speakers.

And if you're like a little kid walking in and dad had like three keyboards, yeah, yeah, we have two here, the stack keyboards and one right here. And then Pablo Jr. had his sick-ass drum set right here in the corner, which, you know, when I had a band, I always put the drums in this corner because I just saw dad, I do it out because it probably sounds. sounds the best. It's like, man, just the vibe and history that this room has. Yeah.

And it's still going. Yes, it is. From disco parties to definitely bands. All of you, all of you are saying all of you put together. Everyone has played an instrument. Yeah. Babolito, he started with the accordion. I put him in accordion lesson.

He still talks about it. He said, oh, Mom, maybe you were the bigger. He says, but you learn music. Then he went into the trumpet, you know. Then he went into drums. Yeah. But Robert has always played trumpet himself. And John plays sex.

So he was good at it too, but he didn't pursue it. Mark wanted to play a keyboard piano. I thought he was going to do classical music. He didn't pursue that. It's a unique gift. that only very few have and pursue it. Yeah. Yeah, a lot of people in the family are rippers.

It's something. They either shred the harmonica to the keyboards, to the drums, to the guitar. It's just ingrained in the Garza DNA. Well, look at you when you were younger. You made noise. To you, it's music. It wasn't noise like it bothered me. It didn't bother me.

I thought it was fun because that, gave you, you know, something you wanted to do. I didn't know if it was going to be drums, what it was going to be. Because at that point when dad was practicing, you were in limbo. You didn't know what you wanted to do until dad took you to a concert. Yeah. And then you knew what you wanted to do. Yeah.

That was corn. That was corn. You said, I'm going to be up there, just like your dad. Same words. Wow. Same words. Yeah. for so many years.

I'll just watch, you know, Dad's band practice here and then seeing a band just jamming in a room and then seeing what happens in here and then that energy transferred over to a music hall. Right. And then I'll see Dad's band actually perform in front of real people.

Right. And then these big halls and Dad, you had your own PA system and there's people dancing and seeing people happy and, like, you know, for years being like a baby to, You know, seeing that for years, I know I want to play music because seeing dad, you know, just playing, see how fun it was.

And it's like, that's, that pretty much just, just lit a fire that is still going. Then, of course, then when dad took me to go see corn, that, that was really it. Am I, this style music, this, this, I want to meet and want to hang out with them. I want to play with them. Exactly. And that, and that's it. You remember the phone call that you gave me? at one o'clock in the morning

you were touring one o'clock okay cool no it was one o'clock but you were touring somewhere in Utah I don't know and corn was there

you were playing oh yeah you called mom remember the picture in the wall oh yeah and I said yes at first I got kind of scared I said oh what happened

and then you went on and then what your dad did what he opened up for you yeah it was 2009 yeah that was corn happened a hot hop on three shows that that that we were playing that that summer and then uh you know second show me Mitch and uh Alex did this walk out after the show and uh and met and met the corn guys and I

finally met my my favorite guitar player person yes and I was like dang yeah yes I love that guy yeah he's he is a very special person yes he is even like you know I had a moment with him last week I'm like oh like this is there's just a special right it is a very a very special guy And how was it for, especially you, Dad, you like taking me to that show. And then fast forward, I don't know how many years later, you both went to Vegas. Yeah. Yes. And then I was, it was so, it's at the House of Blues.

And if you're not familiar with the House of Blues in Vegas, the House and Blues there is in a casino. I believe it's the Mandalay Bay. Yes. And I was just in the middle of the casino in front of the venue. talking to a fan and then you and you guys just just walked out by all you guys showed up on oh hey mom and then out of this side i see monkey i'm like oh my god and especially that guy he i only seen him a couple of times i'm on tour of the guy and i only that's my probably the second time i saw him i'm like oh shit there he is my parents are here oh my god i learned that moment what it's like

to be a sober blackout you went but i was my mom blown where I cannot function. I was like there's I was just like oh my god you guys you guys have to meet all it's like fucking freaking out and you guys were letting me be me and luckily he's a very you know down-the-earth guy he was letting me be a fan

and also being present in the moment and seeing a guy like that just turn off or be in a moment like he like paused what he was doing whatever he was doing he paused he was walking probably towards and saw that and realized oh wait this is his parents he stopped what he was doing he took off his glasses yes and started

talking you guys I'm like that it just just the amount of class plus the situation it was too much it was too much for me he said can I hug you said yes you know gave me a big hug and I go like I'll never forget that what was it like meeting him to me I was excited what was that like oh I get you know that's awesome because I knew what he meant the band meant to you corn was it's up to two to Today, I looked up, looked them up, and they got some shirts because they're going to do some streaming. I said, I'm going to get Christopher one. So even today, you know, I follow him. I follow corn because of you.

So when I saw him, it was unbelievable. I mean, he's a huge, huge star. I mean, he's with a big band. And it was, it was not in my lifetime. I just hear him on, you know. radio and but to see him like up front yeah if you thought you were throwing cookies you did my stomach was doing flip-up but I gave him a hug yeah it's a once in a lifetime and I hope you remembers mama Garza I'm sure I'm sure he does the crazy what a moment like this being so

mind-blown you know especially you know dad actually being at the concert when I was 12 yeah yes You know, playing here Back then, it was called the Black Bucer Pavilion and it's evolved to the Glen Helen Amphitheater where all at the Oz Fass and Mayhams were ever held But back then was just them and Rob Zombie

In 1999 Yeah That's where the kids said Where did you, where did Dad go? I said he went I said Rob Zombie And Rob Sammy, what was dead During him? Well, he took Chris

Rob Zombie Mom Rob Zambi and his prime insane show. Hey. Like the live show is insane. Hey, that's all there was here. Rob Zambi and Ozzy, Iron Maiden. We had all the albums here that were playing in this room.

Yeah. Yeah. We're not too old. Oh, no. We're still hip. Yeah, of course. Yeah, no. We're just parents right now.

Yeah. We're taking it in. Because time waits for man and we take every opportunity to connect even if it's hi miho how are you doing can i help you it's connecting with you i don't even though you're a grown man i'm still your mom of course and i say miho i don't baby you because you know you have your own things going but we're always in the background no you guys are are always there in everything that i do especially things that are just some conscious things I learned with, you know, being a kid to now.

And it's like, I mean, I owe everything I have to, like, to the support of, of you guys. And especially everything I know in, and, uh, with music, you know, dad, you know, without even, like, telling me, seeing dad at such a young age to up, you know, as a teen, he, like, this scene and play. Mm-hmm. You know, seeing, like, dad taught me just how to just play. And then seeing out. Put everything in it. And then see what happens.

We could throw down live and just play. And I was like, oh, that, and it's still with me. Well, Dad always said, be good to all your musicians that once you meet, be, you know, whatever happens. Yeah. Just let your music speak for your head, so. Yeah. Oh, yeah.

Yeah, we definitely did that back in a day. Yeah. You also opened up doors for us to see you perform. I know my mom was in shock because you're so quiet. You were quiet at the time. And when my mom was here, she came to a visit one day. And you had just finished playing at the showcase and it was filmed. Oh, yeah, yeah.

So I had it on a computer. So I said, Mom, come over here. I want to show you something. So I put the show on and my mom saw you. He said, That's not Chris. He's so quiet. Look.

I was laughing so hard because you're, you know, you're always been polite. So when I had company, you would, you know, go do your music or, you know, whatever. But she saw you. She did see you perform. Yeah. She did. I forgot. Wow.

Yeah. What a trip. You know, speaking about the music. Before I took you over there, I really didn't like that kind of music. you know it wasn't for me yeah but when I went over there to what's it called the Glenwood yeah the the the Glen Helen Helen Helen Helen yeah yeah auditorium over there I was so impressed with those groups you know Rob Zombie everybody put on a good show yes I said wow yeah I am impressed you know

what they're doing up there yeah and you told me is it I'm gonna be up there Yes, you did. Wow. Sure enough. We don't forget. Crazy. We don't forget. Yeah.

We keep everything in a little corner of our brain. Mm-hmm. That was a big moment for you. Yeah, I still think about that show and that time. It's just such an image and an experience and feeling that I still go to, you know? that it still keeps the music alive, our band alive because I'm still following that

literally that hour of that day. Yes. It's just like a part of me. It is. And it's so clear. Still and vivid and the feeling as

as odd as it is when I get older, the feeling actually gets bigger. Which is super strange. I'm like you think you will like maybe diminish somehow. But it gets bigger. and a feeling it gets more powerful. Well, by an example,

he's still very strong in the Tejano music. Yeah. Or whatever he loved, he's still very into it. Mm-hmm. Yeah, Tejano and Tex-Mex. Yeah. Dehano music is a unique music. See, when I got here,

Tejano music wasn't here. Mm-mm. It was like a salsa music. music for the Latinos. And so I started playing nightclubs. I said, I can't play that kind of music, you know, the Latin, you know, so I went to nightclubs and learned how to do rock. Yeah.

And so we got this little band together, you know, and I started playing the keyboards because I didn't play keyboards. I played the trumpet. Yeah, yeah. So I said, Lupe, my compadre, he played trumpet. and now he's pushing to bass. So he and I and we got together with some guys and we started playing rock and roll music.

And then a couple of years later we got so good at it that we were playing Motown music, you know. You got Johnny Blue. We had Johnny Blue, you know, he sang really good, you know, the blues, rhythm and blues. Yeah. And Lupio. And he played the guitar and it was so great.

And so we had a pretty good band. We played nightclubs. So right after that scene, I said, I want Tejano music. That's when I said, you know what, I'm going to get my own group the way I wanted. And I did. I did. And they were recorded that first album. Yeah.

And we started going. I mean, we were busy every weekend. Yeah. You know, we didn't go too far, but just it's one trip that we made to Chicago. But we didn't go too far. We traveled here around here, you know. Yeah. But it was a big band, you know, I had three horns.

And I was playing the organ, you know. Yeah. He was using the Hammond. The Hammond organ. It had a unique sound. Not like the ones he had here, is a different. bluesy you know real good sound yeah just are the organs they have in the studios yeah yeah so from then I I stuck with the Tejano music I played Tejano

and I got this singer that was from Toledo well but from and it happened to be related to your mom what oh let me tell you about this guy One time we visited this nightclub, we were here in California. Oh yeah. And we went to visit this night club and they had this little group playing there, Tejano with accordions and stuff. And the singer was this guy, Marcos Pasina. Yeah. And then we met him and they met and they said...

We grew up together. They grew up together in Toledo, Toledo, Ohio. But he was originally from San Antonio. But for some reason, you know, they went up there to Ohio. Ohio. So I got him a very good singer, really, really good singer. So we became a Tejano group and then we were getting, we were getting radio play in the big stations in LA. Yeah. And the college stations too. And the college, Riverside College, they played our...

Whoa. Their music. Wow. The radio, you know, they had a radio station at the college at the Riverside. Whoa. Yeah, I used to hear stories about when your band would play around the area, I think more so in Orange County, like other bands will come out and like watch you guys. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Wow. Yeah. And then also come watch you guys and then like kind of copy what you were doing. Well, one time I was roaming around and said this band was going to play there. They were playing for a wedding. And I think it was Lupi and I, we went in there. And I think they saw us come in, and they started playing my music.

Oh, yeah. Whoa. Yeah. Yeah. The same arrangement and everything. Well, when you play with the babies, this is a Mexican, he used to playing in San Antonio in this big hall, and the Sonora Santanera and the babies and the muhekas. Muecas.

And they all would come, and he would be there, too, with the hunter music. So it happened that they were very strict with people from Mexico with the bands. It said, okay, you come here. You have a permission to play here, but they told the promoter you have to hire a local band too. So they would get us. And we'll play it alongside with those guys, two or three other bands. Yeah. And I got to know those big bands, man, from Mexico, they were popular.

They were selling records. And the baby, well, the baby was a huge band. So as time passed, they requested to record one of his songs. So he gave the okay. And then Mike, well, they were, I mean, awesome. I just loved the music. You know, it was my first time that I had gone to a non-Mexican, you know, bands. I had never heard of them.

But then when he played with him, I got to know them. They were great. Wow. Yeah. What a trip. How was it for you, Dad, when you're playing music and then you'll, and then the other artist would kind of rip off what you were doing? Did you take it personally or did you just like, oh, it's cool? It's cool.

It's all good. It's all good. Does they do that too? If they talk behind my back or did anything, I said, I'll just let the music. do the talking, you know. Yeah. Because I was the only one in the area that played that kind of music. De Hano music.

There was a lot of people, you know, LA is big. Yeah. And Orange County is big, so when they went to a big dance, you know, where other bands were going to be, they really appreciated our music. Wow. Yeah. That's cool. It's like when there was an incident, it's a good time.

The Dinos came to play at the Disneyland. at the hotel. It was Celina's father's band. Selina's father's band. Abraham. So he came, so some of his fans said, hey, Balito, get up there, you know. No, no.

So finally, you know, Abraham said, go ahead, you know. Then he kept singing in the bed and the people didn't want him to get down. Wow. Another one, you know, no, get down. Yeah. Come on.

I just want to do a couple songs, you know. Yeah. And then the people wanted more for me to sit there on the stage. Yeah. Yeah, but, you know, Abraham, it's okay, you know, for a while, but then it's their band. Yeah, yeah. And then when Selena came to Irwindale with her band in the bus and stuff, so you could tell what people were, thought, because he always talked about, you know,

his friend, Abraham and Selena, he always talked about. thought, they thought, well, he just, yeah, right, okay, they never paid attention. So that time that Abraham and the band got in, they had their bus outside. Selina had finished doing her, you know, her singing. It was rehearsed. Yeah, yeah, they had, were done. So she comes up to us, Abraham and Paulus. Dad, give me, I want to buy a pizza.

You know, so there, and everybody that was looking at us that knew. and no us and they just kind of, you know, and then not only that, Abraham says, hey, come on, let's go to the bus, you know. And after that, I mean, they just cut us out. It was too much for them. They couldn't. They envying him. Wow.

Some of like Robert, Ramon, Ramon. Yeah, they didn't believe that I knew them that good, you know. Like I know Selina's forever. Her father, Abraham, I mean, I grew up. up together. He lived across the street from me. Wow. And we used to play out there in the street and make little houses with cardboard and stuff, you know. Yeah. But ever since then, you know, and I told, I told Paul to know you and Robert go, you know, I'll stay here, you know. It's your time.

Because Selena had already gone to get their pizza or whatever, so it's their time to rest. But it was like, everybody was like, you know, is it real? What is he? doing there, you know. He was asked to go because that's his best friend, one of his best friends. He used to play at our dances in Texas in Corpus. Wow. That also, dad was also like a very, I can imagine at the time when I was going on, also probably known and talked about as a very highly respected musician.

Right. So you got like the double. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. That's kind of crazy how there's like a connection between that family and the Garza family. Yes. Yes.

It's very unique because when Daddy took you to the studio, you know, Dad took you to Selena's studio at that time. You were about, what, 10? No younger, yeah. She had that already, right? Yeah, Selena had just passed away. Okay. I think by coincidence, we were already planning a trip down there.

You were like 10 years old. Yeah. Or 11. Was I? Okay. Yeah. 10 or 11 because she died in 95. Yeah.

And you were born 95. 85. 85. Yeah. So he was around that time. A little bit after 95. So when he took you, I mean, he had people waiting over there, big people, you know, from Mexico, where they were going to interview him.

And, you know, and he put him aside. He said, come on, Paolito. And that's when he showed him. Lena's what her album was going to sound like. He had a master. Do you remember seeing that? Yeah. He was a little bit of thing.

He was all mastered out. And then he put it on for us and you were there. You were the first one. They heard it and then. Yeah, that was first, obviously, my first time being in a studio. Now I'm now, every when I get older, I look back at that moment, like, holy, wow. Yeah. I remember the, yeah, walking in.

to the studio and going in like the one now is I learned is the control room and you have like the main mixing board you have like the main speakers and they're like they were cranking new salina tunes and uh I remember Abraham had an engineer that red uh red and when another another the other young gentleman was very smart he was also blind and uh and they were just cranking tunes and they're just all just like happy to be there and it just being so young. Mm-hmm. You experience something that, like when Selena, I mean, she's like a, the hauna women and men,

she is like ours. She belongs to us. She's like a daughter. Like, she's us. So with some of my friends and my neighbors, you know, Patty and JJ's mom, I had a babysitter, and she knew about it. So when it happened, she could. grabbed me and I had taken you and JJ to the park to play tennis or something and everybody

was calling here to but she's like ours she belongs to Los Dejanos yeah so but I mean we've seen everything they've gone through eating bologna in the car and the bus you know just just doing all kinds of stuff that you guys did when you first went on tour, eating whatever, and doing. But they had the bus because it's a big family. Yeah. And Johnny Conadles, I don't know if you know who is, he was a promoter, and he was on TV. He had a program and brought all these groups to play in his program.

Johnny Connolly's show. Well, he used to tour with them when they were starting out. And he said one time they were up there in Oregon, you know, and it was, they were having hard times. Even though they had the bus and stuff. Yeah, it's an older bus. They were eating sandwiches and hamburgers and whatever. And Johnny Canales stole her, you know what? Yeah.

One of these days, Selena, you're going to be eating steak. Right. And not so than sooner it happened. Yeah. That one song just shoo. So we do have a history with a Kintanilla family. Very close. It's a beautiful family.

Yes. No, I'm so, you know. I wish I could, I wish I could appreciate that moment more when I was like the little kid, but man, now I look back and like being in that studio. And like, did you just like calm or hey, I'm going to be in town? Let's hang out? Yeah. What would you do?

No, we just walk in. We just walk in. We just walk in. We just walk in. I think he had Oprah somewhere. And they all over there too, some reporters from Mexico. The first time I went to the studio, I went looking for Abraham to say hello.

And I went in there and his other sons, oh his son, and he's the other daughter. They come out and they said, well, who are you looking for? I said, well, I came here to talk to Abraham. It's my friend, well, I don't think he's available. You know, he's kind of busy upstairs. So at that time, Abraham's brother was a little bit younger. And he came out, he said, hey, Paolito, is that you?

I said, yeah, because we knew each other from growing up together. Yeah. But I had not seen him, the brother. So he said, I just came to say hello to Abraham. Oh, wait a minute, I'll get him. He went upstairs. And it was his upstairs. And then Abraham comes down.

And he says, oh, man, you guys don't know who this guy is. He's my friend, you know, from back home and all that stuff. And had hugs. So then Selena's sister and the brother then kind of realized that it was something special. You know, it was personal. It was a personal. It's a personal thing. It was not somebody, you know, because anybody that goes to studio can be just anybody, you know, from the street.

If I thought he realized like, like, rant. man guy. Who are you? No. Yeah, I want to talk to Abraham. He's my buddy, you know. Oh, yeah, right. Sure.

So it happened. Well, Robert, Robert went to Texas, Corpus. So him and his aunt and her daughter went to this restaurant. So when he's going in, Abraham's coming out. Yeah. And Robert says, hey, Abraham, you know. My dad is Bablito. Oh, so they went.

to sit down so all the stories that his dad had told Robert he's related them to Abraham so Robert was like in seventh heaven yeah because he's never met him on a one to one he just hears about that's special I'm so glad that

Robert got to meet him that's special so cool yeah but he said Pavlito you know and I'm his son Robert I mean he was just you know he was just so out of this world for Robert Alberti was very special for him.

Yeah. That's a good story. That was a good story. That's crazy. But it's just, when you have friends like that, that's why this house means, it's a house, right? It's the energy in it. Because I always wanted you to have a structure to grow up with your friends,

like playing outside little. Then you go to school, like JJ. you went to Stallings and then you went to, you know, junior high with the same people. That's what I wanted for you. Because it stays with you, like you and David are very, very close friends. Yeah. That's what I wanted for you. Yeah, you accomplished that.

And obviously, when you get older, you appreciate that. And, you know, that structure that you guys gave me, gave me such a strong. foundation and like with friends with right being able to build this you know I would never be able to accomplish this if it wasn't for the support of of you guys and staying here see what I was able to build years of just years of a good foundation like they're at there they had like the showcase area here I want to see shows starting bands same schools and really able to like let to focus on one thing

Right. And it's why, you know, I always, I'm so lucky to have that. So it's now when, you know, like when the band, when a sullasants goes to valleys where there's ups and downs, I always, I always go back to my foundation. And it's so strong that I know the behind the scenes, people don't really see that. So behind the scenes, but our foundation is so strong that, you know, if I didn't have that, I don't. don't think uh well i know for sure like we wouldn't be a band anymore no this that that mental emotional spiritual foundation i have to do this town and community and everything a part of there you go of this town like our foundation is it's i mean i can say it's i mean we're untouchable

with our foundation you know i have a uh fender guitarist down the street right that those weird those weird connections i mean you could call it fate i don't know well look, it's like when you were younger, you would bring your friends here to play, you know, I mean, with outbeat-up drums of your friend, you know. Crappy drum sets around here. Right, right. Sound like, David would come. You know, they were here, and then dad decided, you know, okay, let's go over here.

So we went to Fender, to over here, to buy your Fender guitar and your little thing, you know, to make noise. And that's, Dad send you. Chris, go to the garage and go get me a screw driver, I don't know what it was. So the lights were off. I remember that. And then you walk in here, I said,

just turn it out and you go, oh my God. I mean, a big no. Yeah. Yeah, dad got me a fender strap. Yes. And that was my... Your first fender. That was my very, very first guitar. Right. And

and And fast forward years later, years, I want to actually over 20 years later, fast forward then, I have a fender strut right there. There you go. It's seven strings to metal specs. It's crazy. The whole circle and the connection is. It's just like it all came like together.

Like who goes in there and just, you know, makes buddies in there? Yeah, Dan knew before me. It's crazy. I went full circle right back to where I started You never forget where you began No, you can't That's your foundation

Yeah The struggles I mean I We've seen you when you guys first started Suicide started The little white band You know you guys are going out You know to make a mark in the world

You know so we've seen that Then we've seen the buses and we've seen the excitement, which brought us to a new level. Because you put me in a situation in Dad where we would never have to experience something so beautiful. The fans are amazing. Yeah. I mean, I speak of them very highly because that's how I feel about them. Yeah. And then you brought us back here.

Yeah. And then there's still more memories to... To make? To make. You know, it feels like after all that, it feels like we're barely just beginning. A little tip of the iceberg. Yeah. It's a newborn baby.

You're going to nurture it and bring it up. With all your savvy and music, you know. Yeah. You can make it happen. Yeah. I mean, I'm just as guilty. You know, I'm being younger and kind of taking my foundation when I had for the band for a grand. but but you guys always kept kept me grounded and brought me back to a reality and then myself

and therefore I could transfer that to to the band and bring the band back to where to where it started our foundation I always said bring it back to the beginning bring it back to the beginning because that's showcase yeah this showcase was your foundation to be around the People, your fans, you know, they would just, I was in the middle of your fans. Yeah. Right in the midst of it. Yeah. It's crazy.

And it's still going. There's still, and there's so much more to do. So much more. And again, again, when I get older, it's, it's, I wouldn't be here without your, your support. Your mom and dad. always there. They were there at the beginning. They're going to be here until whatever. Yeah, you guys probably seen so much from the outside ups and downs and

Oh, yeah. Money, no money. Band members passing away. You guys seen everything. Everything. Everything that connects you, connects us. And we're there in the sidelines, wherever we could be. Just dad and I.

I'll support you. And up to today, we haven't stopped doing that. Because you have brought so much into our lives, so much. I don't know where we'd be. We probably would sell the house and leave. We were going to move to Hawaii. Hawaii, what a place to move to. No, we were thinking, let's sell the house.

Let's go. Let's go to Hawaii because Mark was graduating. Mark was graduating. And the last, yeah. I said, oh, we're going to get one of those, we're going to beg go things and we're just going to travel. We're just going to go. Yeah. Wow.

That's incredible. Well, Mom and Dad, we could talk about life for hours. We could. Let's end this podcast on a high note. Good. Very, very cool. Mom and Dad, thank you for your endless time and support and love. is probably why I'm still alive.

Yes. We're here. You're very welcome and we enjoyed being here and appreciate what you're doing. Thanks, mom and dad. We love you, Chris. You have a lot of love still from us. I love you guys.

Nobody can take that from a mother's heart or a father's heart. No. I mean, it's there for you, whenever you want it. I'm very, very blessed for that. That's why I'm still here. I'm blessed. You're blessed.

Well, on that note, everyone, until next time, hopefully they'll probably be a part two. Much love. See ya. See ya. Later. Bye. Bye.

Bye. Oh, I could go on. I was just getting ready. Beautiful. You're warmed up.