Information/Write-up
Huevos Rancheros were a Canadian instrumental rock trio from Calgary, Alberta whose ferocious blend of surf, garage, rockabilly, and punk energy made them one of the most internationally visible Canadian underground bands of the 1990s. Active primarily between 1990 and 2000, the group built a reputation on volume, velocity, and reverb, stripping rock ’n’ roll to its barest essentials at a time when alternative music was dominated by vocal-centric styles and grunge theatrics.
The band formed in the summer of 1990, jokingly claiming their motivation was the promise of free beer, though their emergence was rooted in a desire to play loud, instrumental, singer-free rock ’n’ roll. The original lineup consisted of guitarist Brent J. Cooper, bassist Graham Evans, and drummer Richie Lazarowich, who adopted the onstage moniker Richie Ranchero. Drawing inspiration from surf pioneers, Link Wray, garage punk, and classic rock instrumentalists, the trio emerged from Calgary garages with a sound that was equal parts primitive and precise.
Their first release, the independently produced six-song cassette Huevosaurus (1990), immediately set the template: blistering tempos, fuzzed guitar leads, and rhythm sections locked into relentless forward motion. The tape caught the attention of Dave Crider, founder of Estrus Records in Bellingham, Washington, a key figure in the Pacific Northwest garage-rock revival. This relationship led to vinyl releases, compilation appearances, and the now-legendary Rocket to Nowhere 7-inch EP in 1991, cementing the band’s standing within the international garage and surf underground.
After extensive touring and near-constant live performances in Calgary clubs, Huevos Rancheros expanded their reach south and west. A pivotal moment came with the release of the single Cindy With An ’S in 1992, accompanied by a video and followed by a full-length album. Their debut LP Endsville appeared in 1993 on Seattle’s C/Z Records, placing the band alongside a roster of respected alternative and underground artists and marking their transition from cult single act to full-album force.
Rather than slowing down, the group entered a period of extraordinary productivity. Throughout the mid-1990s, Huevos Rancheros appeared on more than a dozen singles and compilations while continuing to tour aggressively. Their instrumental tracks found unexpected second lives in feature films, independent cinema, and a wide range of action-sports media, including skateboarding, surfing, snowboarding, and ski films circulated across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Their music’s cinematic punch and momentum made it especially attractive for visual media.
The year 1995 proved transformative. In addition to further singles and compilation tracks, the band self-funded a video for Gump Worsley’s Lament, which received heavy rotation on MuchMusic. A whirlwind North American tour followed, highlighted by an opening slot for Henry Rollins at New York’s CBGB. The trio then retreated to record their second full-length album Dig In!, returning home to Canada and releasing it through Mint Records. A subsequent six-week European tour included a BBC recording session with John Peel — the first ever by a Calgary-based band — marking a historic milestone for the city’s music scene.
In early 1996, Huevos Rancheros released another video, Rockin’ the Henhouse, which earned the MuchMusic award for Best Independent Video of 1995/96. Later that year, original bassist Graham Evans departed, sparking rumours of an impending breakup. Instead, the band regrouped with the addition of bassist Tom Kennedy, ushering in a new phase. The resulting album Get Outta Dodge was released by Mint Records in September 1996 and quickly became the group’s most widely recognized work.
Get Outta Dodge generated three videos, with the title track receiving strong rotation on MuchMusic and MTV’s M2, alongside Shadow of the Apache and What a Way to Run a Railroad. The latter track gained additional exposure when the band appeared with Don Ho in a Canadian beer commercial in 1997. Touring continued relentlessly across Canada and the American West Coast.
The band’s international profile peaked in 1998 when Get Outta Dodge was released in Europe by Konkurrent Records in Amsterdam. A highly successful European tour followed with fellow Mint artists Duotang, taking Huevos Rancheros through the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Spain, and for the first time, Italy, France, and Switzerland. That same year, the album earned a Juno Award nomination for Best Alternative Album, representing the most significant mainstream recognition of the band’s career.
As a transitional release between albums, Mint issued the 7-inch single The Wedge in 1999, timed to coincide with a cross-Canada tour supporting Reverend Horton Heat. During this period, bassist Tom Kennedy briefly stepped away following the birth of his daughter, with Keith Rose of Royal Grand Prix filling in on bass for touring duties.
Work on the band’s fourth full-length album occupied much of 1999 and early 2000, coinciding with Huevos Rancheros’ tenth anniversary. Released in May 2000, Muerte del Toro (Death of the Bull) was recorded at Sundae Sound in Calgary with producer Dave Alcock of Chixdiggit and marked several firsts for the band, including organ and piano contributions by Pat McGannon and Mint Records’ first vinyl LP release by the group. A video for Diamond Head followed, along with extensive touring.
Soon after, changing personal priorities and family commitments led the band into an unannounced hiatus. Although no formal breakup was declared, Huevos Rancheros did not release further albums after 2000. Richie Lazarowich went on to perform with Hurricane Felix, The Black Coffee Cowboys, Loaded Dice, the Rowdymen, and later Eve Hell & The Razors, while Brent J. Cooper formed the instrumental trio The Ramblin’ Ambassadors. The band has since reunited occasionally for special performances, including benefit concerts supporting a journalism scholarship in memory of Calgary Herald music critic James Muretich, often featuring Graham Evans returning on bass.
Huevos Rancheros remain one of Canada’s most internationally successful instrumental rock acts of the 1990s, celebrated for proving that volume, velocity, and melody could speak louder than words.
-Robert Williston
Sometimes I wish I’d been more than a toddler in 1960 so I could have appreciated tunes such as the Ventures’ “Walk Don’t Run”, the Shadows’ “Man of Mystery”, and Duane Eddy’s “Shazam!” as soon as they were released. Nowadays I love nothing more than surrendering to the beguiling melodies and twangy rhythms of those dramatic instrumentals, which speak volumes without the benefit of words. And thanks to talented bands such as Huevos Rancheros, that nonvocal tradition is being carried on today.
Who needs singers anyway?
“There’s quite a few instrumental bands now,” says guitarist Brent J. Cooper, calling from the band’s hometown of Calgary. “It’s good because it makes [instrumental music] easier to be accepted, but it’s bad because most of them are purely retro—which is something we never really worried about. So many of these bands are just tryin’ to relive the heyday of the surfin’ ’60s, which is kinda wrong. We’re not trying to play a genre—we steal from every genre we can, whether it’s straight-ahead punk rock, or surf rock, or rockabilly, or grunge, or anything.”
Cooper’s trio tosses genres around like crazy on its new Mint Records release, Dig In!. Most of the material is indeed fresh and new, although the group did go back in time for a version of Link Wray’s “American Sunset”, which sports some nifty AceTone organ by cover artist Tom Bagley, alias Jackson Phibes of Calgary horror-rockers the Forbidden Dimension.
“We found a neat sorta Link Wray riff,” says Cooper, “so we rewrote it and rearranged it, and added keyboards. It was for a Link Wray compilation called Think Link, and we thought everybody was gonna do the real typical stuff like ‘Branded’ and ‘Rumble’, so we tried something different.”
Cooper formed Huevos Rancheros with bassist Graham Evans and drummer Richie Ranchero in the summer of ’90, and shortly afterward the group began its recording career with a self-funded, six-song cassette titled Huevosaurus. Cooper says Calgary is loaded with bands going that independent route these days.
“There’s billions and billions of bands,” he says, “and everybody’s crankin’ out CDs. It’s really burgeoning, and now when we’re outta town people are asking us about different bands from Calgary, whereas before they’d ask if there were any bands. Now they’ll say, ‘Well, how’s Chixdiggit?’, or ‘How’s Forbidden Dimension?’, or ‘How’s Red Autumn Fall?’ And that’s good. That’s real good.”
Sure is. But what are the chances of a band from Calgary—especially one without a singer—making it big in today’s music biz?
“Well, it depends what you mean by ‘make it big’,” says Cooper. “On our own terms I think we’re pretty successful. We got to tour Europe and have lots of friends all over the world now. But are we gonna be…uh…are we gonna be the next Sloan, even? I don’t know. Right now that’s not our concern. We’re going one step at a time.”
That next step for Huevos Rancheros is a gig at the Commodore on Thursday (August 31) opening for the Reverend Horton Heat, who’s been known to blast out the odd instrumental rave-up himself. It promises to be quite the musical wingding, vocals or no vocals.
“Some people might go, ‘Oh, I wouldn’t like it, they don’t have a singer,’ ” says Cooper, “but usually we can win ’em over if we can get ’em out.”
-Georgia Straight, Aug 24, 1995
Musicians
Brent J. Cooper: guitar
Tom Kennedy: bass
Richie Lazarowich: drums
Songwriting
All songs written by Brent J. Cooper, Graham Evans, and Mike Lazarowich except:
‘The Lonely Bull’ written by Sol Lake (Almo Music Co. (ASCAP))
Production
Produced by Huevos Rancheros
Recorded at Sundae Sound, Calgary, Alberta
Engineered by Dave Alcock
Artwork
Artwork by Tom Bagley
Photography by Andrew Henry
Layout by Mint Records
Notes
Released September 30, 1996
Issued as a mini-album on Mint Records, Get Outta Dodge continues Huevos Rancheros’ high-energy instrumental surf approach with a tighter, punchier studio sound.
© Los Tres Huevos; ©℗ Mint Records Inc.
Additional publishing credit for ‘The Lonely Bull’ © Sol Lake / Edward B. Marks Music Corporation.
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