COLLECTION NAME:
Soundscapes of the People: A Musical Ethnography of Pueblo, Colorado
Record
Collection Name:
Soundscapes of the People: A Musical Ethnography of Pueblo, Colorado
Title:
Richard Baca and Barbara Stitt Interview March 23, 2023
Title Type:
Devised
Name:
Baca, Richard
Name Role Term Text:
Interviewee
Name:
Stitt, Barbara
Name Role Term Text:
Interviewee
Name:
Chávez, Xóchitl
Name Role Term Text:
Interviewer
Resource Type:
Moving image
Genre:
Oral histories
Date Created:
2023-03-23
Language Term:
English
Extent:
1 online resource (1 video file) (1 hr., 28 min., 5 sec.)
Physical Description Note:
For access to the recordings on YouTube contact the University of Colorado Boulder American Music Research Center.
Abstract:
Richard Baca is a Pueblo-based guitarist and leader of The Sierra Gold Band, which performs a mixture of genres including Tejano, New Mexican, and Country musics. He has been active in Pueblo's music scene since the 1960s. His wife, Barbara Stitt, who worked in various positions throughout the American Southwest and Saudi Arabia, also serves as the band's business manager.
Note:
00:00:00 Richard Baca, Barbara Stitt, and the interviewer, Xóchitl Chávez introduce themselves. Richard and Barbara discuss their occupational history. Richard joined the military after high school where he worked as a radar technician, and then a cook. Later, he worked as a psychiatric technician at the Colorado State Hospital in Pueblo, then a supervisor at the CF&I steel mill. It was at the steel mill that Richard started honing his guitar playing in a band called The Tributes. He then branched off to start his own bands. Barbara, Richard's wife, also acts as his business manager. She worked across the Southwest region, then in Saudi Arabia with the military. After coming back to Pueblo, she started work as a band manager where she met Richard. Additional topics include: Santa Fe, NM; Pueblo, CO; Walsenburg, CO; radar technician; Cuban Missile Crisis; Los Angeles, CA; Malibu Beach; Fort MacArthur; San Pedro, CA; Chatsworth, CA; Germany; Colorado State Hospital; psychiatric technician; Ernest Valdez; "Tom Dooley"; Aniceto Garduno; "Valse De La Grama"; Henry Ortiz; Pueblo VFW; The Tributes; Joseph Montoya; The Colorado Band; St. MaryCorwin Hospital; Greater Pueblo Chamber of Commerce; El Paso, TX; Sears; Farmington, NM; Phoenix, AZ; Checker Automotive; Autozone; Saudi Arabia; Mighty Quick; Leroy Tafoya; Razz Band; Larry Gardenez; United States Armed Forces; psychiatry; Colorado Fuel and Iron; guitar; arts management. 00:23:25 Barbara discusses her experience as a music manager. She mentions the difficulty of booking live performances in the post pandemic era, and the enrichment of meeting local musicians. Additional topics include: COVID 19 pandemic; church festivals; Avondale, Pueblo and Boone County Veteran's Parade; The Sierra Gold Band; arts management; Pueblo, live music. 00:28:00 Richard discusses his time playing in The Colorado Band with his friend Abel Valero. Additional topics include: Abel Valero; Thrifty Nickel; string bass; Pueblo, live music; musical improvisation; music composition. 00:31:20 Richard talks about the various styles of music that his bands perform and the classic songs that his audiences request the most. He loves drawing energy off of the audiences when he plays, who are primarily Latino. Additional topics include: The Colorado Band; The Sierra Gold Band; "Volver"; "La Múcura"; José Alfredo Jiménez; "El Rey"; "Ella"; COVID 19 pandemic; New Mexican music; Spanish music; Mexican music; country music; 1950s music. 00:35:15 Richard talks about his first marriage, when he was in his 20s and working at the steel mill. Work at the steel mill was long and grueling, which had a negative effect on his marriage. At the time, the steel mill came under new management from Oregon Steel, who attempted to faze out Chicano management by laying off mill managers of Mexican heritage. In the face of this hardship, playing music acted as a mental escape. Additional topics include: CF&I Steel Mill; Oregon Steel; Pete Chacon; marriage; Chicano rights. 00:42:40 Richard and Barbara discuss the various industrial and manufacturing companies that employed local people in Pueblo during the 1960s and '70s, most of which are no longer in business. During that time, Pueblo had a thriving live music scene. Additional topics include: Pueblo Army Depot; CF&I Steel Mill; Rockwell Collins, Inc.; Alpha Beta Meat Packing Plant; Pueblo Broom Company; Rainbo Baking; Berenstein Bros. Auto Parts and Tire Company; Mission Foods; The Sotelo Brothers Band; Pueblo Industries; Pueblo, live music; Tejano music; New Mexican music. 00:46:19 Richard and Barbara discuss historical Spanish language radio stations in Pueblo. Additional topics include: Radio KPI; KRMX Radio; Public radio. 00:46:58 The Sierra Gold Band was formed in 1991 after Richard's previous band changed their name, due to similarities with other existing band names. However, there is another "Sierra Gold" band in Nevada. To get around this, the full name of the band is "Richard Baca and the Sierra Gold Band." The Richard found a new singer for the band named Joan Ewing by chance at a gig. Around the time Joan moved on from the band, Richard asked Barbara to help with the band's business management Additional topics include: The Colorado Band; country music; Monticello, MN; Joan Ewing; "Tear in My Beer"; Abel Valero; Rodney Ortiz; The Sierra Gold Band; Pueblo live music. 00:55:34 Richard once turned down an offer from an L.A.based record label representative and other offers to be a traveling musician, as he felt they would have had a negative effect on his family life. Additional topics include: Del Rio Club; Blende, CO; recording labels; family. 01:02:29 Richard discusses personality clashes he had with previous band members. Additional topics include: Jekyll and Hyde; Pueblo live music. 01:04:37 Xóchitl Chávez asks, “Did you all ever get to record any music?” The interviewers respond by stating, “There are seven CDs that have been recorded of Richard's bands.” Additional topics include: CDs; Music recording. 01:04:52 Richard and Barbara discuss whether or not the tradition of musical performance is dying in Pueblo. Barbara asserts that the communicative aspects of music still get passed on from generation to generation through the city's cultural events. Additional topics include: Pancho Villa; American Legion of the Eagles; Pueblo live music. 01:08:39 Richard and Barbara discuss the musical identity of Southern Colorado and how older songs are adapted and reinterpreted by new generations to fit their own tastes. They see this as a "full circle" maintenance of Southern Colorado's cultural traditions across generations. Additional topics include: country music; Rock & Roll; Spanish music; Southern Colorado music; Southern Colorado cultural heritage. 01:14:42 Barbara suggests observing generational connections at live music events as a way to see the culture of Southern Colorado. Her and Richard discuss the types of events that they perform at. The band members and their families all pitch in to help with the performance process, including physical labor such as loading, unloading, and setup of equipment. Richard also collaborates with friends such as the Sotelo Brothers Band members. Additional topics include: The Sotelo Brothers Band; Pueblo Fraternal Order of Eagles; church festivals ; Pueblo, live music; The Sierra Gold Band. 01:20:52 Barbara talks about her close relationship with the wives of the Sierra Gold Band members. In addition to this, she plays a prominent role in the band's social life and interactions with the audience. Additional topics include: The Sierra Gold Band; arts management. 01:22:55 Richard feels blessed to have had his career and work with so many local musicians. He gives advice on keeping calm, and gives suggestions on other Pueblo musicians to interview. Additional topics include: Pete Chacon; "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White"; Pueblo, live music. End of recording.
Note Type:
Time coded description
Note:
Collection is a collaboration between the American Music Research Center (AMRC) and the Colorado State University Pueblo Foundation. For more information contact the AMRC.
Subject Topic:
Live music
Subject Topic:
Arts--Management
Subject Topic:
Guitar
Subject Topic:
Tejano music
Subject Topic:
New Mexican music
Subject Name:
CF & I Steel Corporation
Subject Name:
The Sierra Gold Band
Subject Name:
The Colorado Band
Subject Geographic:
Pueblo (Colorado, United States, North America) (populated place)
Identifier:
Richard_Baca_and_Barbara_Stitt_Full_Interview_2023-03-23.mp4
Physical Location:
American Music Research Center
Date Captured:
2023
Internet Media Type:
video/mp4
Digital Origin:
born digital
Access Condition:
This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).