Frank Sotelo Recalls Swift Rain
October 2007
Going into the ‘60s, my two older sisters had small get-togethers at our home where they would dance to R&B 45-rpm records. My parents had this entertainment center that has a radio/record player with a 12” speaker. The records and radio sounds were great, and it was the overall sound that really caught my interest. The small combo bands really appealed to me as did Richie Valens, The Ventures, Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran and Chuck Berry – Most all of the early greats that played an instrument and wrote their own material or had their own sound. These are the guys I liked from the start.
My first band was not Swift Rain. I started playing guitar in high school in the ninth grade (1964). I hooked up with some high school buddies and formed a band called The Wild Ones. We worked 40-50 tunes. We started playing dances and I haven’t stopped playing the guitar since that summer of 1964.
Between 1964 and 1968 bands were short lived: Six months to one year at the most. Most of the local bands played Top 40 material, so it was easy to move in and move out of one group to another. Andre, Paul and I eventually played together by 1966. Pat Blanks joined us on guitar that year and we became The Frantics. Bobby Fuller’s band was at the top on the north side of the Rio Grande (in El Paso, Texas). Long John Hunter was king south of the Rio Grande (Juarez, Mexico). These guys were a few years older than us so we looked up to them. They both had great sounding bands. Our age level produced The Chains, The Legend (later Dragonfly), The Henchmen, The Image and many others. A lot of these guys were our friends and we would party after we played our respective gigs…well into the following day. We played gigs in New Mexico, Texas, Colorado and California.
Swift Rain was the result of jingle work that Andre, Paul and I were doing for Kenny Smith. During one of the jingle sessions he mentioned he was recording an album with several local bands; each band was to make original contributions to the project. The results became the I Love You Gorgo LP for Suemi Records. Andre and I were in Lode Star with Mike Ballard on bass and Pat Blanks on lead guitar. Lode Star broke up after the Gorgo LP; it was over some pretty little girl that two of the guys in the band both wanted.
Paul was with The Intruders during the Gorgo album. Andre, Paul and I got together and recorded a song I had called ‘Crazymen.’ It was a Vietnam protest song. By this time, in early ’68, Kenny Smith and Bill Taylor had connections in Memphis. They heard the demo cut of ‘Crazymen’ and made an offer to bring us to Memphis to record. They were looking for original songs with harmonies. Paul and I whipped up a batch of songs individually and as co-writers. Andre came up with the name “Swift Rain.” Swift Rain was, initially, Andre Bonaguidi on drums, Paul West on bass guitar, and me, Frank Sotelo, on guitar. This was the line-up that went to the first sessions recorded at Sound Of Memphis. Stan Kessler was the engineer. About four-five months later, we went back to Memphis with Mike Ciccarelli on guitar as the newest member of Swift Rain. Ciccarelli was the best rock and roll guitar player in El Paso so we were very happy that he was in the band. These sessions were recorded at Royal Studio (of Al Green and Willie Mitchell fame).
After the album was released on Hi Records, Swift Rain would only last another two-three months. The band did not re-sign with Hi Records and moved to Los Angeles where we played out our last days at the Sewers Of Paris nightclub right off Hollywood Boulevard. We all continued to play in other bands after Swift Rain.
Swift Rain was a musical experience that allowed us to write and record a group of songs in a matter of weeks (total input time). We never played any songs from the album live; the material remained as they were recorded – one or two takes at the most. There are four additional tracks that were not on the album. I found these gems on a 7” spool that Stan Kessler gave me many moons ago during the first sessions. It was a real trip in time to hear these lost tracks again.
I continue to play, write and record here in El Paso. Andre is also active here in the local music scene. We often find ourselves in the same temporary line-up. Paul and Mike live in California, but in different cities. They also continue to play music.
To this day, I’m glad I play music. I can’t imagine where I’d be without it in my life. I don’t want to. I…we…the word…needs music. Old or new…music is timeless.
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