The “Bad Boys From Pasadena,” “The Pride Of Pasadena,” “The Fever Boys,” – whichever title you associate them with the most, the group that lays claim to each of those titles is back to entertain their fans once again. LA FIEBRE – original members PETE ESPINOZA, JOE ANGEL REYNOSA, RUDY ROCHA, ERIC JIMENEZ and LUIS AYALA – has joined forces for the first time in nearly ten years to embark on a reunion tour and launch their highly-anticipated new album, REUNIDOS.
The tour and album is in direct response to the overwhelming demand made by fans. LA FIEBRE will tour in support of REUNIDOS and will perform new material from the album, as well as songs from their classic catalog of hits.
It's hard to imagine that it's been almost a decade since the original line-up of LA FIEBRE performed together. Armed with one of the most explosive shows in Latin music, LA FIEBRE quickly became a major draw on the Tex-Mex circuit in the late eighties and early nineties. Their shows became spectacle and typically consisted of smoke, lights and pyrotechnics combined with a state-of-the-art sound system to produce a caliber of show that was a rarity for Latin audiences, (especially Tex-Mex audiences). The group also benefited from a string of hit albums that catapulted them to the top of sales charts and radio playlists across the country. Gold and platinum-selling albums such as “On The Rise,” “No Cure,” and “911,” firmly established the group as trendsetters in an industry that was, at the time, filled with cookie-cutter bands.
However, beginning in 1996, the group began to splinter. ERIC JIMENEZ was the first to leave LA FIEBRE. Blessed with tremendous talent and the ability to play several musical instruments, JIMENEZ left to pursue writing, arranging, producing and playing for other artists. LUIS AYALA, a multi-talented musician in his own right, left the group for personal reasons in 1997 shortly after the release of LA FIEBRE's Freddie Records debut, “Fenomenal”. Meanwhile, ESPINOZA, REYNOSA and ROCHA elected to carry on with new members and continued to record.
In 1998, LA FIEBRE reached a milestone in their career when they received a Grammy nomination in the Best Tejano Album category for their “Fiebre Live…En Concierto!” album. That album, which was primarily recorded at Freddie Fest in Corpus Christi and a performance in San Antonio, proved to be a commercial success, and also proved to everyone that LA FIEBRE was still very much a force in the industry.
In the fall of 1998, the group entered the studio to begin production on their next album. Those sessions would produce a rare Christmas promotional track penned by ESPINOZA entitled, “La Navidad,” as well as the album, “Evolucion”. The release of “Evolucion,” in 1999 was followed by more touring and more personnel changes.
Beginning in 2000, LA FIEBRE began considering their next move. It was obvious that the group would start production on a new album, but the band members also realized that they needed to do something special and unexpected. ESPINOZA, REYNOSA and ROCHA had occasionally kept in contact with JIMENEZ and AYALA after their departure. Although they had decided to pursue different career paths, there was never any bad blood or animosity between band members. In fact, it was during a chance meeting in 2002 between REYNOSA and JIMENEZ that the seeds for a full scale reunion were planted.
Both REYNOSA and JIMENEZ agreed that the time was right for the original members to regroup and attempt to recapture some of the magic that they had created before on tracks such as “Borracho De Besos,” “Solo Un Sueño,” “Eres Mi Primer Amor,” “Aquel Cariño,” “El Amor Se Acaba,” and so many others.
After a bit of hesitation, the band scheduled a meeting with management and Freddie Records Vice President FREDDIE MARTINEZ, JR. to discuss their intentions and see whether their idea would fly. Needless to say, the idea flew and LA FIEBRE was quickly making plans for a new album and their first live performance together in nearly a decade.
On July 22, 2003, the original members of LA FIEBRE headlined before a capacity crowd at Houston's Party On The Plaza concert series. The group was welcomed with open arms by fans that had waited for years to see their idols together once again. The group surely experienced a bit of déjà vu during their set. Even they must have been surprised to see the amount of fan support and enthusiasm that they received, especially after such a long absence.
“It was an incredible experience,” said REYNOSA shortly after their performance. “It was very emotional to see the fans expressions and to see them singing along to every song”.
“Naturally, we were all very nervous not having played together in so long,” commented ESPINOZA. “But, we knew expectations were high from the fans, and from ourselves, so we made sure we were well-rehearsed before we stepped out on stage”.
“When we were up on stage, it was as if we had never split up,” said ROCHA. “Once we saw the reaction from the fans, everybody loosened up and really got into the show. It was a feeling that I'll remember for the rest of my life”.
Once the concert was done, the group set about the business of putting together material for a new album. ESPINOZA, REYNOSA and ROCHA had already started working on a few tracks prior to JIMENEZ and AYALA rejoining, but it wasn't until this time that the recordings really began to take shape.
The group began working on various new songs for the album at Corpus Christi's state-of-the-art recording facility Legends Sound Studios. Rather than work with one producer exclusively, they brought in a series of high profile producers to work on different tracks. Most notably, legendary producer/musician JIMMY GONZALEZ of Grupo MAZZ, who not only produced and arranged three songs, but also wrote one of the album's tracks, “Perdoname Mi Vida”.
Freddie Records Vice President FREDDIE MARTINEZ, JR., who won a Grammy in 2001 for his work on RAMON AYALA's “En Vivo…El Hombre Y Su Musica,” also participated in the album's production, helping create arrangements with the band and selecting material for the album.
Noted songwriters JOE REVELEZ and HUMBERTO RAMON, as well as studio musician extraordinaire JERRY DE LA ROSA, also contributed their production and writing expertise. In fact, the first single from REUNIDOS is a track called “Quiero,” co-written by REVELEZ and ESPINOZA.
Most of the material on REUNIDOS is original with ESPINOZA having contributed several of the album's cuts. In addition to “Quiero,” ESPINOZA also wrote “Si Tu Me Faltas,” and co-wrote the track “Cuando Yo Te Conoci,” with REYNOSA. In addition, LA FIEBRE decided to include a tribute to one of their personal heroes, (the late former Beatle GEORGE HARRISON), with a Spanish version of “Here Comes The Sun,” retitled, “Hoy Llega El Sol”.
“The recording process actually took quite a bit of time,” said ESPINOZA. “We had a lot of material to go through and wanted to make sure that everyone was really satisfied with the way the music was sounding”.
“Once LUIS and ERIC started to record their parts, the classic FIEBRE sound started to come out and the songs really came alive,” said ROCHA.
JIMENEZ, who along with AYALA helped to create the band's image and stage shows in the early days, was equally enthusiastic about recording with his old bandmates again. “It was a blast,” commented JIMENEZ.. “I didn't realize how much I missed recording with these guys until I got in there and started laying down my parts. All the old memories started to come back and I knew that this would be a great experience”.
AYALA, a flashy and technically gifted horn player, also expressed his excitement at being part of LA FIEBRE once again. “This is a great opportunity for all of us to do what we enjoy doing the most…creating some great music and entertaining our fans who have never forgotten about us”. AYALA added, “We gave it our all in the studio, and now we intend to do the same for our fans during our upcoming REUNIDOS tour”.
The future looks very promising for LA FIEBRE. Although the band is optimistic, the members don't want to speculate on how long the REUNIDOS tour will actually last. “We don't have a master plan, we just want to go out there and entertain our fans and have a good time,” said REYNOSA. “After being apart for so long, we're all good friends again and enjoying this opportunity”. REYNOSA added, “I know this is going to bring back a lot of great memories for the fans and for everyone involved”.
And like all great bands, as long as fans continue to believe in the energy and excitement of LA FIEBRE, their music will continue to live on.
©2004 Freddie Records, Inc.
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