OUT OF PRINT
GHR 15
EL SANTO
1991-1993 San Antonio TX
Cassette
Recorded live on tour ’93
11 songs of fancy Texas punk by Marshall Gause, Manny Castillo, Aaron Forland, and Terence Brown. Right before they broke up and on the road across the U.S. with Glorium for a tour of America’s most unscene sights. Kind of reminds me of Minutemen, and ZZ Top, but maybe that’s just an easier way to describe these guys’ original sound. Contains their hits from their first EP and lots of unreleased material like “Butterside Down”.
Recorded by Paul Streckfus
El Santo formed in 1991, jamming in a hot San Antonio garage, most likely drinking Lone Stars or Pearls out of the can. There’s a tejano poster scotch taped to the wall, perhaps a poster of the real El Santo, the luche libre wrestler who never lost a match.
“It’s late at night / We’re on the street Let’s go to where the young pregnant mothers wash their feet.” – El Santo, “Zamboni”
I always imagine Terry was talking about going to an old concrete drainage ditch to skate somewhere near Taco Land.
These were kids who were into Punk Rock, but also classic rock on 99.5 KISS, blasting Rush, Thin Lizzy, but trading home made duped cassettes of Dead Milkmen, The Plugz and of course, The Minutemen.
I think Manny was especially drawn to the fast pace and technicality of The Minutemen. It was a little unusual to see such a big guy drum so fast, precise and hard!
Manny’s drum kit eventually became a little rickety. Crash cymbals had been crashed into cracks. It was usually held together with one or more forms of improvised jazz. Duck tape, venetian blind draw strings, an old electrical cable, or whatever else he could find to keep that bass drum in front of him! How could his set ever look differently with the intensity he was attacking it! And on the bass drum was a duck taped image of The Virgin Mary of Guadalupe.
El Santo was not concerned with appearances, and did not shy away from referencing catholic imagery on their instruments, or within their lyrics. They celebrated the mix of cultures and influences which are the lifeblood of a city so close to the Mexican border.
These were not rich dudes. They were poor kids from San Antonio. They were getting by with what they had, or with what they could borrow. And they belonged to a generous punk rock community, which had it’s dive bars, abandoned house shows, and record holes to foster that.
The bass player, Aaron Forland, was not the most technical player, but armed with an extensive knowledge of music from working at Apple and Hogwild Records, and an intense desire to be a punk rock bassist, he was the perfect bassist for El Santo. I think his chief priority may have been designing all of their flyers which you’d see stapled to telephone polls up and down N. St. Mary’s Street or SAC campus. But his minimalist bass playing style contrasted nicely to Marshall Gause’s complex guitar lines.
Marshall played a Gibson. I think it was a Les Paul. I imagine him on a Marshall stack amp, but, it may only be because of his name. Marshall had a way of making his guitar sing about ZZ Top, Black Flag, and Van Halen all within the same two and a half minutes!
Terry Brown was the tall, tattoo covered singer and front man. His punk rock poems were inspirational on paper, and when he sang, it may not have been his voice which moved us, but maybe his sheer emotional output and spazzy physicality. He became a flesh and bones antennae for El Santo’s melodies and rhythms to transmit out of. That river sometimes shook him right off the stage!
Together these four dudes were an unstoppable force in the San Antonio punk scene. They were tremendously loved, and missed after they broke up.
El Santo’s first release was on Dot Zit Records from College Station, TX. It was a 7″ compilation with El Santo, Gut, Buddhachest, and Rugburn. El Santo played “I Didn’t Have the Nerve To Say No”.
On Buddy System Records came their 4 song 7″ EP. “Kill The Past”, “Manifest Desperation”, “Zamboni”, and “Eddie The Dane”.
A split 7″ with Glorium on Unclean,1993, gave us “Lackluster”.
“Mod Death” was released on “Comping An Attitude” 10″ Compilation, Turkey Baster Records,1993.
In 1996 Golden Hour Records released a live tape of 15 songs from their 1993 tour and other dates in TX.
They were together musically for 3 years. At the end of their run, they toured the states for 5 weeks with brother band Glorium, hitting the west coast, as far east as West Virginia, and back through New Orleans.
After El Santo, Manny went on to be in Cleofus Trujillo Trio, The River City Playboys, and Snowbyrd. Terry Brown went on to sing in Galaxian. Marshall played in Cordial and then Los Despienados.
In Jan 2009, Manny lost his battle with lung cancer. His work with the west side community of San Antonio painting murals for Inner City Development and founding San Anto Cultural Arts will always be inspiring. We miss you Manny!
Manny Diosdado Castillo // Nov.23, 1968 – Jan 6, 2009
In memory of Manny Castillo, founder of San Anto Cultural Arts, drummer for Snowbyrd, River City Playboys, Cleofus Trujillo Trio and El Santo.
He was, and is, an inspiration. Rest in peace, Manny.
