Origin
of The Bandidos de Amor
In
1995, bassist/producer Larry G. Goldman (El Professor)
was performing in a group called AFRA led by world beat
Middle Eastern recording artist, Faramarz Assef. One
day Faramarz introduced him to an exotic guitarist named
Yussi. Yussi came into the Afra band upon the recommendation
of Ardeshir (Eddie) Farah (of the famous instrumental
group, Strunz and Farah). After playing several concerts
and discussing their musical interests Yussi invited
Larry G. to join another group he had going with a great
guitarist, Django Porter, simply called Yussi and Django.
Shortly thereafter, they recorded the group's debut
release on the XDOT label.
The
Yussi and Django band was based in and performing in
Southern California and played only instrumental music.
In 1997 they were approached by a BMG records executive,
Javier Willis, about possible performances later that
year. The group mentioned to him that they were interested
in adding a vocalist, but hadn't found that special
someone.
At
the same time Josh Cruze was acting in the award winning
musical "Twist of Fate". One night Javier
Willis came to the show and saw Josh sing and play the
guitar. He thought Josh would be perfect for the Yussi
and Django band. After the show Javier Willis met with
Josh and a meeting with the members of Yussi and Django
was set. The meeting went great and everyone decided
to give it a try. Rehearsals and dates to perform were
scheduled.
The
performances were very promising, but after three months
Django left the band for artistic reasons.
Prior
to Django's departure, Larry G. was performing with
a group he put together for an appearance in a popular
Beverly Hills nightclub to play Latin Jazz. The drummer
had recommended an excellent and versatile guitarist,
Marcelo Berestovoy to Larry G. Marcelo and Larry G.
instantly hit it off and kept in touch sharing their
common interests in music and life.
Coincidentally, Yussi was working on an independent
recording project with a friend and met Marcelo while
auditioning guitarists. He liked Marcelo's playing and
kept his number.
When
Django moved on to new adventures, the band went looking
for another guitar player. Yussi mentioned Marcelo to
Josh and Josh gave him a call. Larry G. and Marcelo
were pleasantly surprised to find each other working
together one night as the group was trying out new guitarists.
Things worked out, as things do and the band felt that
they had found the right musician and backup singer
in Marcelo.
When
Django left a decision was made to change the name of
the band. The name chosen was Bandidos de Amor. Today
the Bandidos de Amor are one of the busiest bands in
Los Angeles. They have recorded two CDs, "California
Rumba" and "Asi La Vida". They are presently
working on their third CD. Their songs are on film and
television sound tracks.
The
Bandidos de Amor are Marcelo Berestovoy, Josh Cruze,
Larry G Goldman, and Yussi. |
