If Black Hondo gets compared to rock-and-roll dinosaurs, it’s because the band’s collective influences, according to singer Lucina Gonzalez, come from anything their parents, grandparents, or siblings listened to as they were growing up. “Nineteen-sixties R&B, ’60s Mexican rock ’n’ roll, pop, psychedelic rock, and ’60s soul.”

Black Hondo was founded in 2008. “Basically, the deal was that my brother [Tino Gonzalez] had a rotating group of people jamming at his house. Anybody could come in and play. Some of us wanted something more serious, so I left and began playing with Jason [Noble] and Stefanie [Johnson]. I think my brother got a little bent out of shape and started his own band. Neither of our bands worked out, and we ended up getting back together, without all the extra people.”

Danny Blas and Joanna Bristol complete the lineup. A debut album was recorded (in analog) in 2010, with Chris Grundy at House of Plenty studio in El Cajon. “Chris recorded all the music for Black Hondo into a 16-track tape deck. We wanted to capture our sound as a live band. Basically, our recording session was set up like actual band practice with everyone in the same room except for me.”