Neil Young, Chad Cromwell & Rick Rosas Bridge School Concert - 21 October 2006
(Click photo to enlarge)
Here is an interview with Rick Rosas in ~2014 excerpted from UNO MUNDO (It Came From East Los Angeles) by Harvey Kubernik.
Many years before bass player Rick Rosas joined Neil Young, Rick was in
the reformed Buffalo Springfield, and a tour with CSN&Y, Rosas
reflects on the vibrant music birthed in East Los Angeles.
Rick Rosas: Back then, people didn’t look at a
racial or geographical divide between East L.A. and West L.A. See,
people didn’t look at your color back in those days. I remember being in
Garfield High School, and [there were] maybe three or four black guys
in the school, and you treated them like brothers. They were all very
good friends of mine.
Eddie Davis and Billy Cardenas were very important. They would
release stuff on their little private labels, like Rampart, and it would
get picked up by a major label because it was making noise in L.A., not
just East L.A. Then it became national, like Cannibal & the
Headhunters’ “Land of a Thousand Dances.” Cannibal & the Headhunters
and the Blendells were very good. They were mentors, also. We opened up
a lot of shows for them, and they showed us the ropes. We listened to
all the same radio stations. Even KHJ played our first single on GNP
Crescendo.
And there was always Thee Midniters. The records did them justice.
Little Willie G, oh man, he was an entertainer. I looked up to him very
much. And the bass player, Jimmy Espinosa, I took lessons from him. He
taught me how to read. Thee Midniters were big mentors to Mark & the
Escorts at the time. Cannibal & the Headhunters and the Blendells
were very good. They were mentors, also. We opened up a lot of shows for
them and they showed us the ropes.
AM radio initially connected everyone together and then FM radio
changed the world a lot back then. The sound was so much better. And,
DJ’s like B Mitchel Reed would play the extra-long version of Buffalo
Springfield’s “Bluebird.” It was like 18 minutes. Nobody would do that
on the radio. “Where did Mitch get that?” That could only happen in L.A.
I loved the Beach Boys. Even before Mark and I were invited into their
“All Summer Long” recording session.
And when I heard the first Mothers of Invention album Freak Out!
I then freaked out. Great. “Help I’m a Rock.” I had no idea until later
that Zappa loved doo wop and worshipped East L.A. It didn’t dawn on me
his link to East L.A. He had a song “St. Alfonzo’s Pancake Breakfast” on
his solo LP Apostrophe (‘) although the spelling of the church
is St Alphonsus Catholic Church. I went to with my parents. That hall
had teen dances. I saw Thee Midniters and the Mixtures, another great
band. Black and white. That was the first time I saw an electric bass on
stage. “I gotta get a Fender bass.” I got one at Phillips Music Store
in Boyle Heights on Brooklyn Avenue. I still have the bass, a ’64 Jazz
bass. My mom bought it for me. I still have the receipt.
Buffalo Springfield had a big impact on me. From their first record
they just caught my ear. I just loved the guitar playing and the
singing. It was like the California Beatles. They were just so good. I
heard “For What It’s Worth” the first time driving around in East L.A.
We’d end up in Hollywood every once in a while, cruising the Sunset
Strip. Past Pandora’s Box, where Stephen wrote about it.
I think at the beginning of Buffalo Springfield, Stephen Stills stuck
out the most. His voice was recognizable. And then as it went on,
Neil’s voice slowly slipped in. He didn’t sing much on the first album.
And when he did sing, he was so unique. It wasn’t perfect but it was
great. And Buffalo Springfield had Richie Furay.
And when Mark (Guerrero) and I noticed that their first album was
recorded at Gold Star studios in Hollywood, we needed to record there as
well. We were kids. I could not believe we were at Gold Star. It made a
big impact on us. Anything they did we had to go and try and find it.
Then, Buffalo Springfield Again came out and I had my mind blown. To this day, that whole album is amazing.
We went to the Springfield goodbye concert in Long Beach. It was
pretty heavy. I was so young. It was really good. Some of the guitars
were out of tune. Then they came out with Last Time Around. Definitely blew my mind. That thing holds up to this day. I love that album. “Pretty Girl Why.” “Uno Mundo.”
Then I heard the first Neil Young solo album. My favorite of his. I
have worn out two or three copies on vinyl. Neil with Jack Nitzsche.
Then six months later, Neil and Crazy Horse, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere.
A whole other direction. Mark Guerrero and I went to The Troubadour all
the time. Saw the debut of Neil and Crazy Horse. Fantastic. He started
out acoustic. I think he did “Sugar Mountain.” And then they rocked for
an hour. They sounded great. Of course, we went to the Greek Theater to
see the first Crosby, Stills & Nash show. Neil was now in the group.
We paid, but may have snuck in one other night. That first album kicked
me in the ass. And Déjà Vu which was another one that blew me
away. I just fell in love with it immediately. Songs like Neil’s
“Country Girl.” And I was always a big fan of the Byrds.
Many years go by and I end up playing with Neil in his Blue Notes
group. “This Bud’s For You.” I did play with Neil at a little Mexican
restaurant nightclub in Montebello on Garfield Avenue. We went down
there one night because the sax player, Steve Lawrence, used to play
there. “Let’s play a little club.” “Hey let’s do it!” We were at SIR.
Next thing I know. We grabbed a few amps and went down there. Set up and
played. It was hilarious. Neil later did a version of “Farmer John” on a
Crazy Horse album.
I subsequently played with Neil on his solo albums and tours. And then Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.
Neil’s tours had Buffalo Springfield tunes but this was Buffalo
Springfield. And the front line of Neil, Stephen and Ritchie. All during
my tours and recording with Neil, he and I would talk about Buffalo
Springfield. I never hid my excitement about Buffalo Springfield and
loved to talk to him about that band, sometimes over a couple of glasses
of wine. He embraced the band. He loved it. Neil would talk about it as
much as he could remember. He drove around in one of his first tour
buses with the Buffalo Springfield logo on the back.
I was already a graduate of Neil Young University. That gave me a
tremendous amount of confidence to take on this job. Dewey Martin and
Bruce Palmer were definitely part of the original sound. I did my best
to try and emulate Bruce to the best of my ability. I tried to play some
of the parts because they worked so well. The shows were magic. And
Neil used some vintage Buffalo Springfield gear. A couple of his
guitars.
© Harvey Kubernik, 2023
Also, see INTERVIEW: Rick Rosas in 2006 - “I Just Wanted To Walk With Them”
Tom Bray, Chad Cromwell, Rick, Paul
Labels: buffalo springfield, interview, Rick Rosas
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