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Thee Majestics: For the Love of Music

Thee Majestics: For the Love of Music


Posted by admin Saturday, September 3, 2005 - 13:28
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Imagine starting a garage band in 1963 and being killed by disco a few years later, then making a come back in 1987 and being almost completely booked for the entire 2005 year.

Such is the history of the local oldies/rock band, Thee Majestics,
whose motto has continued to be ‘world peace through oldies.’

The mostly Latino band began in the 60s when a few East High School students got together to play for the love of music. Though the roster has changed over the years, the nine members — Philip Villanueva, Raymond Chavez, Robert Martinez, Steve Flores, Tony Aguilar, Tito Huizar, Philip Blass, Bruce Milburn and Jeff McCandless — say they continue to play for the same reason.

“When you play in Bakersfield, you have to play the crowd. We play to entertain the people and whenever possible take them back to when oldies were really oldies and not old school,” said Steve Flores, the band’s bass guitarist whose day job is being the outreach and media coordinator for Kern County Child Support Services.

His band members would agree. Most are East High alum and today, work in a variety of fields. Some are retired but others work as music professors, construction workers and maintenance supervisors. All but two of the band members are married and three of them have grandchildren.

Flores said the band does much more than just duplicate a song — they
add their own east Bakersfield sound to it.

“We try to add a little twist to our performances,” Flores said.
The band;s sound includes a saxophone, trombone, lead guitar, bass
guitar, keyboard, drums and a few trumpets.

“Another thing is that nothing we do is prerecorded. All of our music is live,” Flores said.

Thee Majestics also has rolled with the times, remaining a popular
local band throughout the years.

Perhaps it’s because of their ability to play a variety of genres. Many Latinos know them for their oldies, Latin rock, cumbia, rancheras and salsa jams. But just as popular are their country-western, old school, swing, and rock sounds.

Their playlist includes between 140 and 150 songs.
“We started out as just a garage band that played for parties,” said
Martinez, the band’s keyboard player and mechanical supervisor at Cal
State Bakersfield.

These days, the band performs at larger venues such as The Marketplace, the Crystal Palace, Bakersfield College’s Memorial Stadium and Petroleum Club, where they played their music for guests attending the Aztec Awards in May.

While performing in a garage band, none of the members imagined they would be as requested as they have become, especially after their breakup during the heyday of the Vietnam War.

During this time, many of the band members went their separate ways. Villanueva went off to the war. Others got married. And let’s not forget the influence of disco music.

“Disco killed all live bands in Bakersfield,” Flores said.

But Martinez kept playing under the name of Thee Majestics until 1987 when the band reunited, thanks to the effort of original band member Johnny Molina.

After so many years, the band continues to be strong in the local scene.

“Part of our success is due to the fact that we play to the crowd,”
Flores said.

Sarah Pacheco, a receptionist at the Kern County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, is one of them.

The 61-year-old has been a fan for 10 years and said she enjoys their musical variety. She especially loves their salsa and cumbia rhythms.

“They have endured time because, for one thing, they are good. The
music they play is old favorites, and they add new rhythms, too,”
Pacheco said. “They have a good mix and the guys are just really a lot
of fun.”

Pacheco first heard the groups music at her church, San Clemente Mission Church in east Bakersfield.

“They did a lot of playing for our fund-raisers and since then I try to see them wherever they play,” she said. “The band is always so upbeat and Steve throws in his occasional jokes about the east side.”

Fans say the band’s unity and sense of brotherhood can be felt in their music. And the band members agree.

“Being in the band is like being married to everyone here,” Flores
said. “It really is a way to stay connected, not just with the band
members but also with the fans and friends. This is not just a band; it
is a family.”

Diana “Green Eyes” Torres, a Cal State departmental assistant for
economics and modern languages, has been a fan since her high school
days in the 1970s when she first heard them during one of their
practices in a garage.

Today, Torres gets her dose of the band’s sound at night clubs, the CSUB Athletics Barbecue, weddings, quinceañeras and other private parties.

“I enjoy their style and the way they perform. You can understand their
words, unlike the current music,” Torres said.

Torres said Thee Majestics music draws out a lot of family memories and of her youth. She said she also enjoys the band’s ability to play traditional Mexican songs.

“The band is still very popular because they are really well known and people think of them as family. They have also evolved with the years,” Torres said.

Over the years, the band members have had their minor problems but, in the end, they have come together to do what they love — play music, they said.

And why do Thee Majestics believe music is important?
“Music is in your heart. It is universal,” Flores said. “It is about
entertaining people and having fun while doing it.”

-- By GABRIEL RAMIREZ, Más Staff Writer
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