exclusive interivew con Johnny Hernandez, 2012

Interview:

Exclusive interview con Johnny Hernandez, 2012.

Cchwnn.

Modesto, california. Hejola my god i didnt realize que  California was so far from our home town Kingsville,tx. Hi i am santa Cecilia la que te canta con our very exciting interview. Before i say anything it’s very rare que once in a life time we are allowed to meet persons that have done some much for la onda tejana .  here we are in front of a nice place Vayabond hotel lounge, So let me introduce Johnny Hernandez. Now for that interview.

Sc; good afternoon, Mr. Hernandez, can you give me a big hand off this bicycle sir?

 JH: No problem, I got you. Oops, I wasn’t quite ready, I’ll pick you up.

Sc: let’s start with how it feels to be part of a musical family that has influenced so many and still today are on top of entertainment business?

JH; To be honest, it’s a very good and gratifying feeling, I feel blessed.

Sc; after listening to some of the cuts off your new cd “this time (again)” it mixes a combination of different styles, can you tell us how did that come about?

Jh; I went into the studio to record “50’s Oldies” music, but once Vick Nash Espinoza (owner of Jaz Trax Studio & Productions) and I felt comfortable working together, we starting going over ideas on some Blues and Smooth Jazz arrangements and so the CD became a multi genre project which didn’t surprise me at all because I love all styles of music.

We did a re-make of my original 70’s song “This Time” adding some progressive passing chords giving it the Smooth Jazz flavor, then we applied the same technique to a couple of Blues songs, “Further On Up The Road” & “Down Home Blues” rendering them “Smooth Blues”.  I got so inspired with the Blues thing that I wrote “Wicked Wicked Woman” during a break away from the studio. We co-arranged all the songs on the CD but I have to give Vick Nash credit for doing such a fine job on his part, I love working with him in the studio.  

We even included a Latino song called “Todo Me Gusta De Ti” written by Vick Nash that I was targeting to my California friends/fans because it has that Santana style to it.

But what got me to do the CD in the first place was that I wanted to record some of the great songs I grew up listening to and performing in the 50’s as a teenager, songs like “Just A Dream” “CC Rider””Confidential” and “Stagger Lee”, but like I said, once Vick and I starting kicking around some ideas the whole thing changed.

SC: Just for the record we interviewed him sometime  in 2010. let’s see, if I am allowed, lets go back to the beginning, were there time que you felt que the music business wasn’t for you and what time do you think you felt it was for you?

Jh: I never felt that music was not what I should be doing, I knew as a little boy that music was my first love, it still is. It’s not even something you debate with yourself; it’s just something inside of you. And as you grow together, music truly becomes your dear companion for life, one that you can always count on for inner comfort in good and bad times. It’s one of the greatest gifts to mankind from The Great Spirit.  

SC: would were your major influences when you were going up and what kind of music did you listen too?

Jh: Being born in a predominantly African-American neighborhood I was very much influenced by big bands like Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Billy May with Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Billy Ekstine and Joe Williams as well as Blues artists like Jimmy Reed, Lightning Hopkins, Muddy Waters etc. and Bebop Jump Blues singers like Ivory Joe Hunter and Big Joe Turner and so many others on the Top 40 Hits. On the other hand I was listening to my father Salvador (La Cotorra) and my uncle Demetrio (La Arañe) singing “ Adelita”, “Prieta Linda” “El Rancho Grande” and “Cuatro Milpas” and playing their guitars at home, in the cotton fields, in bars etc. so I listened to American and Mexican music from the day I was born. My father was a big influence as were my two brothers (the eldest of the siblings) Tony (Top) and Porfirio (Quila), they loved all the great American Songs/Standards and would sing along with the radio and talk to us about the beauty and richness of these type of songs and so I grew up loving them too. Tony Top sounded exactly like Nat King Cole, every time I hear Nat on the Radio I say, get down Top lol.    

Sc; my god sir i am sure that you can tell us a whole bunch of stories while per traveling all over the world, is there any one story you would like to share with us that still stand out in your mind?

JH; There so many good stories to tell about being on the road, how people take us into their homes and feed us and become friends for life, funny things that happen to the band and not so funny things that happened LOL,  but the one that comes to mind is being lucky enough to go from the cotton fields of Texas to the magical city of Paris France. In 1992 I was asked to go perform in Germany for the Hispanic Heritage Month at Ramstein Airforce Base, that was something I felt very proud of, to go sing to our Raza in Germany.

When the concert was over, the Sargent  in charge of taking me over there asked me where would I like to go since I had a couple of days before flying back home? I said I’d love to go to Paris and he replied, no problem, I’ll set it up. Ever since I was a kid I always dreamt of going to Paris and here was my chance to visit this beautiful city. It was much more than I imagined it could be, a dream come true.

Sc; has there ever been a time that you thought you made big but realize it takes time ( big headed ego)?

Jh: I have shared the stage with some big names in the business (Santana, Tower of Power, Jose Alfredo Jimenez, Miguel Aceves Mejia,Willie Nelson, BJ Thomas etc. but I always remember who I am and where I come from so no, I don’t believe that’s been a problem. The world famous artists I have had the pleasure of meeting (Johnny Mathis, Count Basie, Al Jarreau, Chick Corea, Stanly Clark, David Clayton Thomas, Chuck Mangione for example have all been the most humble people one could meet, they know they are blessed and they honor it by being gracious and humble, that impressed me greatly, who am I to behave otherwise.     

SC: how has life treated you since you moved to Modesto, california?

JH: I’m very happy to be in Modesto, I moved here in 1997 for 6 months and then went back to Texas. I’m here for family reasons, I go with my son to my grand kids Baseball & Football games, have some very dear friends, that’s all I need.

SC: in your opinion i am sure you hear this all the time que la onda tejana is dying, what do you think the status is for la onda at the present time?

JH: Tejano Music can no more die than the sun cease to rise in the morning.  Every month more than 25 new Tejano Music CD’s are released, (Source: Ramon Hernandez, Tejano Music Historian) and now we not only have artist that play and record Tejano Music authentically in Texas, but through out the USA, this means that the Tejano Music Industry is growing, maybe not to the satisfaction of skeptics but much better than in the last 15 years or so in my opinion.

Now we have the “Internet” which makes it possible for our music to be heard worldwide. It’s all relative, those who may have tried to make  a go of it in Tejano Music and failed will predict it’s doom, while those who have managed to remain in the industry will say it’s growing. As long as there are Tejanos on Mother Earth, there will be Tejano Music.  

SC: i am sure you are aware que many of the great tejano artist have passed away, how many of the greatest did you have an opportunity to perform with, for example Tony ham Guerrero, Tony de la Rosa, and so on? 

JH; All of them I believe, gracias a Dios. Starting with the God Father of Tejano Music Isidro (El Indio) Lopez, Sunny Ozuna, Alfonso Ramos, Ruben Ramos,Tony De La Rosa, Paublino Bernal y Su Conjunto, El Conjunto Bernal (without Paublino) Agapito Zuniga, Valerio Longoria, Fred Salas, The Sun Glows, Agustine Ramirez, Joe Bravo etc. etc. It’s been a pleasure working with these Tejano Music Pioneers.

Sc; do you think sir that Tejano musicians need to be more versatile in order to stay on top of the music business and not just tejano?

Jh: I believe all musicians should be versatile, in order to appreciate other genres of music and to enrich their lives by performing in different music setting like Jazz, Blues, R & B, Contemporary, Country and so on. This also gives them other “work” to make ends meet while they continue to advance themselves in Tejano Music.    

Sc: how much has the music buisness changed since you  first started, recording, live performaces,etc...?

Jh: Things have changed greatly in the music business since I began. The process of recording has changed immensely, now with the new technology available in the studio you can do wonders, literally. You can copy & paste a complete segment of the song and place it elsewhere, you can fix a single instrument’s pitch on a note, or change the instrument itself to another without having to record it again. You can use electronic instrument samples to simulate what ever sound you want, you can record a song and send it via e-mail to “Radio” with the push of a button and it’s there in a second. Regarding live performances, we have high quality equipment to put together some very awesome PA Systems and have your concert be shown and heard worldwide in real time. Imagine, on our first recordings Joe and I recorded on a Two Track Board with one microphone for me and he to sing into and one microphone for the band to play to, that’s as basic as you can get carnala, lol.

SC: i noticed that you have performed in lots of well known venues, do you still get stage fright?

Jh; Not very often but sometimes I get stage fright, it’s not due to this or that factor, it’s just a human reaction.

Sc; if you were given a chance to speak with a group of young people what encouraging words would you say to them?

JH; I would tell them to stay away from Beer, Liquor, Wine and all Drugs. I have been performing 100% clean and sober for 17 years now and it’s a much better high than when I was doing all those things I mentioned above. I would tell them to be true to themselves, find out what they want to do in life and go for it, don’t let anyone discourage you. And I would tell them to always put your best foot forward, you only get one chance at “First impression” and that when people ridicule you, take the high road, don’t allow yourself to be pulled into the gutter. On a personal note, I would tell them to talk to “The Great Spirit, God”, if you speak sincerely to him, he will listen.

Sc: do you ever perform with your family?

Jh: I used to perform with Little Joe y La Familia on “Re-unions” but I stopped doing that, partly due to business reasons and partly due to personal reasons. Next question please (o:

SC: and finally sir what you like to share with the millions of fans you have all over the world?

JH: I would like to tell all my friends/fans how grateful I am and how privileged I feel to have had the opportunity to share my musical life with them for the past fifty years. God bless y’all. C/S  

Sc: gee sir thanks for this exciting interview and do you think i could stay over for a few night, my butt killing me?

Jh: : Make yourself at home, estas en tu Canton (o:

Sc: well there you have it, i am santa cecilia la que te canta, and like Johnny says “Hace mas el que quiere, que el que puede”