Vintage KLAQ Video = An Old Studio Filled With Old Friends

KLAQ has had 3 different studios over its lifetime, this video features studio #2 as well as some old friends. Most of them are gone now. One, we lost fairly recently ...

Affordable, portable video cameras and cell phone cameras started to come of age around then so the fun we've had here is pretty well documented. In the studio #2 days, that wasn't the case so I thank Robb from Robbs Metal Works deeply for making some of his video available.

I hosted a show then called the 10:00 News. The precursor to Q Connected, it was an hour of nothing but new rock and an occasional spotlight on local rock. When I moved to middays, Scott Ronson ... a rookie at the time, making his leap from remote tech to El Paso legend ... took the show over.

The night he had The Hate Campaign on, Robb happened to be around too and caught the whole thing on tape. He also caught band members who were not only friends but absolutely critical players in the development of El Paso's local music scene.

Most of the people in that video are gone now ...

R. I. P.

• Drummer, Danny 'Diggler' Contreras
• Guitarist, Eric Gomez
• Guitarist Ken "Kiff" Payne
• Vocalist, Mateo Martinez
• DJ, Scott Ronson

A True "Who's Who" Of El Paso Rock History

If you're old school, you may recognize their manager Chris Hate. If you're quick, you'll also get a glimpse of another OG rocker from from the 915, Jamz Rockmoore and a local legend - Cesar Soto. (Ministry, Pissing Razors, Man The Mute and more.) They are, thankfully, still with us and still doing what they do.

If you play in a local band in El Paso today, you do so on the shoulders of the Pissing Razors and all those guys.

Robbs Metal Works

Robb is now celebrating 30 years of documenting the history of Metal in El Paso and all over Texas. A helluva job you've done Robb, a helluva job. Congrats - let's see what the next 30 bring.

Check out Robbs page for more metal memories.