Broadcast to the Surf Ballroom

Let's Rock n Roll  - This was the last song on the B Side of Ritchie Valens Live at Pacoima Jr High which Bob Keene said was " a perfect cross section of the great Ritchie Valens singing the songs he would have made famous had he lived." I've always loved this song  and I've always dreamed of what it would sound like if Ritchie had had the opportunity to finish it and record. I added a new verse, adjusted the arrangement and what came out of the studio recording was a streaming Rock n Roll song that highlights the transitional force that Ritchie was creating as his music was about to enter the 1960's. 

What to Do began as a simple home demo Buddy Holly recorded on a tape machine in his apartment just one month before his passing. After his death, Buddy’s estranged manager took possession of those tapes—unfinished sketches filled with possibility—and brought them into a studio, where Buddy’s vocals were extracted and new instrumental overdubs were added by hired musicians. Though the intention may have been to preserve his voice, the process has always sat a bit uneasily with me. 

As I approached this song, I wanted to honor the integrity of the idea Buddy left behind while also imagining what he might have created had he lived to finish it himself. The version released well into the 1960s leaned heavily into a nostalgic sound of that era. Instead, I tried to follow Buddy’s own spirit—always pushing forward, always innovating—to shape this track into the kind of forward-thinking rock ’n’ roll song it could have become, something far more expansive than a simple nod to 1950s nostalgia.

Now That You're Gone  first appeared as a solo acoustic piece on the album Ritchie. What listeners heard then was a work in progress—a demo captured during one of the many sessions where Bob Keene would record Ritchie’s developing ideas, often before they were fully shaped. Now That You’re Gone had not yet taken form with defined verses, a chorus, or a bridge, but even in its raw state it revealed the growing maturity of Ritchie’s songwriting—an evolution tragically cut short. 

Within that single demo, I’ve always felt there were the seeds of at least three remarkable songs. Over the past several months, I have re-written, re-arranged, and expanded those ideas into the version included on this album. This track aims to honor the depth already present in Ritchie’s original sketch while imagining the potential it hinted at—rich, emotional territory that could easily be covered by Chris Isaak or Robert Plant. 

Wishing is a tune Buddy originally wrote for The Everly Brothers and wasn't released until years after his death. It is one of the most beautiful songs ever written.

Oh Selena is a heartfelt nod to both Ritchie Valens and Selena—two Mexican American icons who, like me, weren’t native Spanish speakers yet chose to sing in Spanish with pride. Growing up, I was often teased for my “Pocho Spanish,” and for years I felt embarrassed about the way I spoke the language. I shied away from singing in Spanish at all. But Ritchie and Selena paved the way for so many Chicano artists, showing us that our voices—imperfect, bilingual, and authentic—belong in the music just as much as anyone else’s. This song is my tribute to them.

Well Alright is a tune Buddy recorded and released in 1958. I've played this song for have always enjoyed the psychedelic guitar sound that Ben Rice provided to this tune during the live shows and felt that it deserved a place on this album.  

Learning the Game is another song Buddy recorded on a simple tape machine in his Greenwich Village apartment. He wrote it with the help of his 17-year-old friend and band bassist, Waylon Jennings. In working with this track, I aimed to preserve the raw honesty of Buddy’s original performance and the ache of unrequited love at the heart of the song.

The first time I heard Ritchie's version of the Paddi Wack Song in a scene in the movie La Bamba when we see Ritchie sitting on a swing singing it to his younger sister for her birthday. It really shows the genius of Valens and his ability to craft a rock n roll song. 

That Makes it Tough was another tune that Buddy had recorded a cassette demo for.  The song had a near complete arrangement so it was very natural for Ben Rice and myself to make a few adjustments to have the completed version on this album.

La Bamba, the song that is nearest and dearest to my heart. I sing this song to show respect to Ritchie Valens and all of the Chicano rock n roll artists that have come before me.