The original members were Texas-born Alvin Thomas, Texas-born Woodrow "Bobo" Blake, Tyrone French, Jimmy Shelbourne and Bobby Freeman. “The Eastside Sound” CD on Dionysus Records (1996) has two Romancers tracks, which are also on the Varese Sarabande set. The Romancers -3-AUTHORS' NOTE Commedia dell'arte (comedy of artists) originated in the streets and marketplaces of the early Italian Renaissance. Max concedes that Andy may have had a band first, but the name came about after they were involved with their manager, Billy Cardenas. Many of the members of the band stayed with Max and continued their engagement, where they backed up such artists as Little Stevie Wonder, Chuck Berry, The Coasters, The Shirelles, and Don Julian & the Meadowlarks. I remember doing it first to “Louie Louie” by the Kingsmen when I was in Jr. High School. The success of “Do the Slauson” prompted Del-Fi to follow it up with another Romancers instrumental album entitled, “Let’s Do the Swim.” The Swim was another 60s dance craze, which really wasn’t as popular on the Eastside as some other dances. According to Andy, he had the Romancers for about a year before Max joined. Andy modestly says that he was influenced by his cousin Lolly Vegas (born Vasquez), later to front the hit band Redbone. They were also the first East L.A. band to work with the team of Billy Cardenas & Eddie Davis. Eddie Davis saw The Romancers play at the Rainbow Gardens in Pomona and he asked them into his studio to record. In 1963, The Romancers (Max Uballez, rhythm guitar; Andy Tesso, lead guitar; Chris Pasqual, bass; Armando Mora, tenor sax; and Manuel Mosqueda, drums) showed up to record for Del-Fi Records with two songs written by Max, “Slauson Shuffle” and “All Aboard.” After recording the two songs, Bob Keane asked “do you have any more?.” They hurriedly wrote seven songs, added three covers, and finished their first album in five hours total. That's Why I Love You / She Took My Oldsmobile. The Romancers have eight songs on this collection, which also includes many of the recordings co-produced by Max Uballez for other Eastside bands. The Romancers had a fine body of work. Thankfully, also available on CD is “The Slauson Shuffle” by The Romancers on Del-Fi Records, with cuts from the “Do the Slauson” and “Let’s Do the Swim” albums. Max was involved in the production and/or wrote songs for many recordings by The Romancers, as well as other top Eastside bands. Most of The Romancers' music is still available today. Max was kicked out of The Romancers. The release of “You’d Better” launched The Romancers success on the dance circuit. The Romancers made two albums on Del-Fi Records and a string of singles for Eddie Davis' Linda label. Andy Tesso’s musical career was cut short when he was drafted and went to Viet Nam in 1965. The main figure in the Romancers' story is Max Uballez, the leader, chief songwriter, and rhythm guitarist. At the time, he was playing with Cannibal & the Headhunters. The album called “Do the Slauson” still sounds good today. We also shared the bill with them at the “West Coast East Side Revue” at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles in 1965. He also co-produced The Romancers’ Linda singles with Eddie Davis, and recordings by Little Ray, Cannibal & the Headhunters, and others, with Billy Cardenas. The Romancers began to work as the house band at the legendary El Monte Legion Stadium and had a falling out with their manager, Billy Cardenas, over working with a certain promoter. These Italian street performers used acrobatic skills and physical comedy to help establish commedia as a genre of theatre by the mid-1500s. They lived in the Lincoln Heights district of East Los Angeles and attended Lincoln High School. Billy Cardenas called Bob Keane, owner of Ritchie’s former record label, and told him about the incident and requested an audition for Max. Max changing labels again created legal problems with Magic Circle records. This was right after Andy Tesso had left The Romancers, so I never got to see Andy play live in the 60s. Let us know what you think of the Last.fm website. Leave feedback. The Romancers is best produced with the late 18th century in mind and customs from the Louis XVI period. Their sound had a definite influence on The Premiers, The Blendells, my band (Mark & the Escorts), and many others. About The Romancers. A new version of Last.fm is available, to keep everything running smoothly, please reload the site. In 1995, Andy got a call from “Yo Yo” Jaramillo, who asked him to play with the re-formed Cannibal & the Headhunters. This was the national hit record that got Cannibal & the Headhunters on the Beatle tour in 1965. The story piqued Bob's interest so he said to Billy "okay, bring the kid in." Max and his band had to pack up immediately and get out of town for their safety. I can only guess that the irate party guest thought Max was trying to steal Ritchie Valens' act. The Romancers were the first East L.A. band to record an album and were a huge influence on the Eastside Sound from the early to mid 1960's. The Romancers, though teenagers at the time, sounded very mature as musicians. They have been labeled a garage band by most music collectors and therefore their records are highly collectible and of great value. They were also the first East L.A. band to work with Billy Cardenas and Eddie Davis, who went on to record many other Eastside bands throughout the 1960s. The Romancers' manager was Billy Cardenas, and their name was inspired by posters and flyers promoting dances in the East L.A. area, which often read "Dance and Romance...this Saturday night." They were so busy they added more musicians to the mix, sometimes splitting up into two bands to play two venues at the same time. ( I remember seeing Bobby with The Vesuvians, a surf rock group with Beach Boys-styled black and white striped shirts, at a rock & roll show at East L.A. College and being impressed.) “Do the Slauson” sold well and the Romancers had no shortage of gigs. The Romancers' songs are mostly instrumentals led by a gritty saxophone. This collection was released in 1995 and I highly recommend it. The Romancers were an American, Chicano rock band, from the Eastside of Los Angeles, California, United States, who were active in the 1960s. (George Ochoa of the Slauson Brothers would become lead singer of my band, the Men from S.O.U.N.D. Max is currently president of XELACOMEDIA, a full service music promotion and production company. They thought “Dance and Romance to The Romancers” would sound good, and it did. Max was a major figure in East L.A. rock in the mid to late 60s, writing songs for The Romancers, The Premiers, Cannibal & the Headhunters, and The Atlantics. Although the "Slauson" album had better songs and a special magic, the "Swim" collection sounds as if the band is playing with a bit more confidence, particularly Andy, probably because they had the experience of the first album under their belts. The additional musicians were: Jimmy Pasqual, lead guitar; Chris Pasqual, bass; Manuel Mosqueda, drums; Armando Mora, David Bojorquez, Louie Davila and Bobby Marty, sax. Bobby was a talented musician who had been in other Eastside groups, including the Vesuvians. I was 14 years old. Other additions were Johnny Diaz on guitar, Cesar ValVerde on sax, and Ralph Ventura on trumpet, who later sang lead on The Blendells’ recording of “Dance with Me”. The Romancers were the first East L.A. band to record an album and were a huge influence … They were one of the first East L.A. bands to record and paved the way for acts such as the Premiers and Cannibal & the Headhunters. This light-hearted romance is about two young lovers discovering that love can exist without obstacles and the excitement of dange This 1894 comedy in three-acts was translated by Barrett Clark. After a brief parting of the ways in 2001, Andy is once again playing with Cannibal & the Headhunters in 2002. US rock band from the Eastside of Los Angeles, CA, active in the 1960s. I remember buying the album when it came out. According to Max, the pre-Romancers were: David Brill, drums; Andy Tesso and Richard Provincio, lead guitar; Joe Whiteman, sax; Manuel “Magoo” Rodriguez, bass; and Max Uballez, rhythm guitar. The serial # is DFCD 71252-2. Max Uballez was the group's leader, chief songwriter, and rhythm guitarist. He lives in Martinez, California, and commutes to L.A. frequently to work on his musical projects.