Humberto "Tito" Larriva (born 1953) is a Mexican-born American songwriter, singer, musician, and actor. He came to prominence leading The Plugz, one of the earliest Los Angeles

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

groups. Since the 1990s, his main musical outlet has been Tito & Tarantula.

Early life

Larriva was born in

Ciudad Juárez Ciudad Juárez ( , ; "Juárez City"), commonly referred to as just Juárez (Lipan language, Lipan: ''Tsé Táhú'ayá''), is the most populous city in the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Mexican state of Chihuahua (state), Chihuahua. It was k ...

, Chihuahua, and grew up in

Fairbanks, Alaska Fairbanks is a Municipal home rule, home rule city and the county seat, borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, United States. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior Alaska, interior region of Alaska and the second la ...

, and

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...

. As a child he played the violin in the school orchestra and sang in the church and school choirs where he met his wife Janet Carroll. In 1972 Larriva snuck into

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

for a full term without being noticed. After being kicked out of the Ivy League university, he moved to Mexico City and in 1975 moved to

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. He now lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife and daughter and continues to work in the music and film industries.

Music career

The Plugz

Larriva was the vocalist and rhythm guitarist for punk band The Plugz. He formed The Plugz in Hollywood, California in 1978. Their presence during the birth of West Coast punk has ensured their enduring influence on punk bands. Record label

Rhino A rhinoceros ( ; ; ; : rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant taxon, extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family (biology), famil ...

recognized their role in the Los Angeles music scene by including their version of "La Bamba" on "We're Desperate: The L.A. Scene (1976-79)." The Plugz released two albums, ''Electrify Me'' (1978) and ''Better Luck'' (1981). The Plugz also scored the cult classic film '' Repo Man'' and contributed three songs to the soundtrack.

Fatima Records

In 1979 Larriva formed Fatima Records, a DIY record label, with Chicano printmaker Richard Duardo and music promoter Yolanda Ferrer to release the Plugz' single "Achin'"/"La Bamba." The label would issue a few other releases, including the Plugz' second album ''Better Luck'' (1981) and "Attitudes" (1980), the debut EP by

East Los Angeles East Los Angeles (), or East L.A., is an unincorporated community and census designated place (CDP) situated within Los Angeles County, California, United States. According to the United States Census Bureau, East Los Angeles is designated as ...

punk band

The Brat ''The Brat'' is a 1931 American pre-Code comedy film directed by John Ford, starring Sally O'Neil, and featuring Virginia Cherrill. The film is based on the 1917 play by Maude Fulton. A previous silent film had been made in 1919 with Al ...

(produced by Larriva). Fatima Records was initially slated to release ''

Fire of Love Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion reaction when the fuel ...

'', the debut album by Los Angeles band

The Gun Club The Gun Club were an American post-punk band from Los Angeles that existed from 1979 to 1996. Created and led by singer-songwriter and guitarist Jeffrey Lee Pierce, they were notable as one of the first bands in the punk rock subculture to i ...

; however, after Larriva produced six tracks, the label ran out of money, and

Ruby Records Ruby Records is an American record label, founded predominantly as a rock music label subsidiary of Slash Records. The original version of the label released seven albums in 1981 and 1982. Ruby was distributed through the same independent distri ...

completed the recordings and released the Gun Club's album.

Cruzados

In 1984 The Plugz evolved into the Cruzados. In 1985, they released a self-titled album on

Arista Records Arista Records ( ) is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously a division of Bertelsmann Music G ...

. The second album ''After Dark'' released in 1987 featured new guitarist Marshall Rohner. The band broke up in 1990. Larriva and the Cruzados were both briefly featured in the film '' Road House'', starring

Patrick Swayze Patrick Wayne Swayze ( ; August 18, 1952 – September 14, 2009) was an American actor, singer, songwriter, and dancer. Known for his romantic, tough, and comedic roles in blockbusters and cult films, Swayze was nominated for three Golden Glob ...

and Sam Elliott.

Tito & Tarantula

Tito & Tarantula began in 1992 when Larriva and lead guitarist Peter Atanasoff would perform in bars and cafes with friends every week. "We've always had an unspoken rule," Larriva said to the

Tucson Weekly The ''Tucson Weekly'' is an alternative newsweekly that was founded in 1984 by Douglas Biggers and Mark Goehring, and serves the Tucson, Arizona, metropolitan area of about 1,000,000 residents. The paper is a member of the Association of Altern ...

in 1997, "and the rule is that everyone plays pretty much what they want. The band rarely rehearses." Tarantula was featured on the soundtrack of

Robert Rodriguez Robert Anthony Rodriguez ( ; born June 20, 1968) is an American filmmaker, composer, and visual effects supervisor. He shoots, edits, produces, and scores many of his films in Mexico and in his home state of Texas. Rodriguez directed the 1992 ...

's movie '' Desperado'' which Larriva also scored. In 1996, Tito and Tarantula continue their relationship with Rodriguez, appearing in the film, soundtrack, and score, for ''

From Dusk till Dawn ''From Dusk till Dawn'' is a 1996 American action horror film directed by Robert Rodriguez and written by Quentin Tarantino from a concept and story by Robert Kurtzman. Starring Harvey Keitel, George Clooney, Tarantino, Ernest Liu, and Juliet ...

''. Larriva, Atanasoff, and Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez are the band performing their song After Dark in the bar for

Salma Hayek Salma Valgarma Hayek Pinault ( , ; ; born September 2, 1966) is a Mexican and American actress and film producer. She began her career in Mexico with starring roles in the telenovela ''Teresa (1989 TV series), Teresa'' (1989–1991) as well a ...

. In 1997, Tito & Tarantula released its long-awaited and highly acclaimed debut album ''

Tarantism '' Lycosa tarantula'' carrying her offspring Tarantism ( ) is a form of hysteric behaviour originating in Southern Italy, popularly believed to result from the bite of the wolf spider '' Lycosa tarantula'' (distinct from the broad class of sp ...

''. They followed up with, '' Hungry Sally & Other Killer Lullabies'' in 1999, and '' Little Bitch'' in 2000. In 2002, the band was joined by Larriva's former Cruzados bandmate Steven Hufsteter. Later that year, they released ''

Andalucia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It i ...

''. ''8 Arms To Hold You'' is their most recent release (2019).

Psychotic Aztecs

Tito Larriva, September 2007 Psychotic Aztecs, composed of Larriva on vocals,

Oingo Boingo Oingo Boingo () was an American new wave music, new wave band formed by songwriter Danny Elfman in 1979. The band emerged from a Surrealism, surrealist musical theatre troupe, The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, that Elfman had led and wri ...

's rhythm section ( John Avila on bass, Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez on drums) and Steven Hufsteter on guitar, began as a recording session for ''Grita! Records'' in Los Angeles and ended as the album ''Santa Sangre,'' released in 1999.

Film career

Larriva's first acting role was "Hammy" on '' The Pee-wee Herman Show'' in 1981. He has gone on to play notable supporting roles in big-budget films like '' Born in East L.A.'', '' Road House'', '' Boys on the Side'', '' Desperado'', ''

'' and '' Once Upon a Time in Mexico''. He often works with his friend, director

. His latest appearance was a few seconds cameo in Rodríguez' ''Machete'' trailer in ''

Grindhouse A grindhouse or action house is an American term for a theatre that mainly shows low-budget horror, splatter, and exploitation films for adults. According to historian David Church, this theater type was named after the "grind policy", a f ...

''. He also appears in the actual, released movie. He also played the character Ramon in the film '' True Stories'' (1986). Larriva performed the Talking Heads song "Radio Head," and played the organ in the "Puzzling Evidence" scene. The original soundtrack album, however, only featured Talking Heads' cover of the song; Larriva's version, performed with Esteban "Steve" Jordan, was not released until sometime later. Apart from acting, Larriva has scored films including '' Dream with the Fishes'', '' Tin Cup'', and ''

Mi Vida Loca ''Mi Vida Loca'' (also known as ''My Crazy Life'') is a 1993 United States, American Coming-of-age story, coming-of-age drama film directed and written by Allison Anders. It centers on the plight of Chola (Mexican subculture), cholas (the femal ...

''. Larriva features on the soundtrack album to the 2000 film ''

The Million Dollar Hotel ''The Million Dollar Hotel'' is a 2000 drama film based on a concept story by Bono and Nicholas Klein, directed by Wim Wenders, and starring Jeremy Davies, Milla Jovovich, and Mel Gibson. The film features music by U2 and various musicians that ...

'', written by Bono and directed by

Wim Wenders Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders (; born 14 August 1945) is a German filmmaker and photographer, who is a major figure in New German Cinema. Among the honors he has received are prizes from the Cannes Film Festival, Cannes, Venice International Film ...

. Larriva performs as part of the MDH band (a composite band featuring members of U2) and sings a Spanish version of " Anarchy In The UK" by

The Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they became culturally influential in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Ki ...

Discography

The Plugz

*''Electrify Me'' (1979) *'' Achin/ La Bamba'' 45rpm (1981) *''Better Luck'' (1981)

Cruzados

*'' Cruzados'' (1985) *'' After Dark'' (1987)

Tito & Tarantula

*''

'' (1997) *'' Hungry Sally & Other Killer Lullabies'' (1999) *'' Little Bitch'' (2000) *''

'' (2002) *'' Back into the Darkness'' (2008) *'' 8 Arms To Hold You'' (2019)

Psychotic Aztecs

*''Santa Sangre'' (1999)

Other

*''True Stories: The Complete Soundtrack'' (2018)

References

External links

*
Tito and Tarantula official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Larriva, Tito 1953 births Living people People from Ciudad Juárez American male singers American male film actors Mexican emigrants to the United States American musicians of Mexican descent Musicians from Los Angeles Singers from California Musicians from El Paso, Texas Songwriters from Texas Songwriters from California American male songwriters The Plugz members Cruzados members Tito & Tarantula members Hispanic and Latino American musicians American male actors of Mexican descent