Richard Bean & Sapo with Special Guest Raul Rekow from Santana plus Tortilla Soup

Richard Bean & Sapo, Celebrating 40 years of Suavecito, with Special Guest from Santana, former Sapo member
Raul Rekow plus Tortilla Soup
Saturday April 6, 2013
Doors at 8pm - 9pm Show

$12 adv. / $15 door at (559) 412-7400 or http://www.fulton55.com/event/235931-richard-bean-sapo-tortilla-fresno

Richard Bean and Sapo perform in celebration of the 40th anniversary of Suavecito. Known as the greatest Chicano love song of all time, Malo's "Suavecito", written by Bean, is 40 years old this year, and was also used in Sugar Ray's Best Selling Hit "Every Morning". Plus we've added a very special guest from Santana, former Sapo member Raul Rekow, with his fiery brand of conga playing that has graced the stage with Carlos Santana for over 35 years. Local favorites Tortilla Soup open.

Richard Bean & Sapo
In the annals of Bay Area music, Malo's "Suavecito" will no doubt go down as the ultimate Latino love song. The San Francisco Latin rock group's 1972 hit featured the voice of Richard Bean, who wrote it. Today the longtime Hayward resident is still going strong with Sapo, now celebrating 40 years of performing his tune with the band he formed after leaving Malo.

Known as the greatest Chicano love song of all time, Malo's "Suavecito" is 40 years old this year. Malo's 1972 Top 20 hit single was written by timbale player Richard Bean, who initially wrote it as a poem for a girl in his high school algebra class. The song has also been called The Chicano National Anthem. "I have heard it so many times that it almost is part of my brain, I think Richard Bean (along with Pablo and Abel) really created a sweet Latin lovers anthem, the song is simple, like all great love songs and I think it is very romantic. Richard was/is a great songwriter with a very different aspect to his writing. I wonder how Malo would have fared had he and Abel stayed in the band. Well, Malo got a Top 20 Billboard hit that has lasted for 40 years and means a lot to Chicanos..." ~ Quote from Jim McCarthy writer for "Voices of Latin Rock" on his opinion of "Suavecito".

Forty years after the song's release, Bean is enjoying a new generation of fans who recognize his songwriting skills. The tune that originated as a love letter that was never opened instead was intercepted by generations of listeners who continue to discover the joy of Bean's lyrics.
http://www.sapoband.com
Video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA6m2yLA4gE

Tortilla Soup
Tortilla Soup was formed in 2003 with the concept of playing all types of music hence the word "SOUP". With a majority of the band members being of Latin descent, in came the word "TORTILLA". In the beginning the band was made up of current and former members of Tower of Power and Malo from the Bay Area. As they played cover tunes, they added the flavor of Tortilla Soup into the picture and began to call their music Latin Funk. When the band hit the Bay Area performing for Festivals, Corporate Events,Weddings and Private functions the word quickly traveled of the great music and excitement Tortilla Soup would bring to each show. Tortilla Soup began getting calls to open up for artists such as Pete Escovedo, Little Joe y La Familia, GQ, Samuelle of Club Nouvea, Malo, Tierra, Lenny Willaims former lead singer of Tower of Power, Sapo with Richard Bean, and many more. Events throughout the Northern California began asking for Tortilla Soup to headline their functions, such as the Festival De La Familia in Sacramento, The Sunnyvale Music Series, The Alameda County Fair Latino Night, Silicon Valleys Hispanic Charity Ball, San Jose G.I Forum Dance and San Jose's Music in the Park to name a few. What started out mainly in San Jose quickly grew to performances in San Francisco, Sacramento and Fresno, with calls as far away as Bakersfield, Los Angeles and Mammoth Lake for a taste of Tortilla Soup. The goal for Tortilla Soup is to play music that puts smiles on peoples faces, makes people want to dance and forget about the world for a moment in time and last but not least, make them go home wanting more. Tortilla Soup has built a reputation of being a great band with great musicians and will continue to keep its goals high and the level of musicianship stellar.
http://www.tortillasoupmusic.com
Video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eN6rB2sxF78

Raul Rekow
Except for a two-year hiatus at the end of the ‘80s, Raul Rekow has been an integral part of the Santana Band since 1976. Joining their ranks was a dream come true for the San Francisco native who, as a teenager, first witnessed Carlos and company onstage at the Cow Palace, appearing second to last on a mammoth bill of twenty acts. The life-changing experience inspired Raul to take up congas, and he soon began playing with Soul Sacrifice, a popular late ‘60s/early ‘70s Bay Area club band specializing in Santana covers. That led to his joining a Latin funk-rock outfit -- featuring Carlos' brother Jorge Santana on guitar—that had a huge crossover hit in 1972 with the song written and recorded by Richard Bean "Suavecito." A stint with Sapo, another Latin fusion act fronted by Richard Bean followed, and then came the call from the Santana office, asking Raul to jam with Carlos and Tom Coster. Soon after, Carlos invited Raul to join the band, and the rest, as they say, is history.
http://remo.com/portal/artists/4416/Raul_Rekow.html