Bobby Balderrama Quotes
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Our first gig we played as a three-piece, we got paid $15; I got $5. But I was 12 years old, and I never had $5 at one time before," he said. Their first earnings were a cause for a celebration, so the boys traveled to Tony's in Saginaw.
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We started practicing in 1961, and in 1962, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones came out. It was like the British invasion had taken over, and we felt like we had to throw in our two cents and try to get some American rock music in the mainstream.
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My nephew (Larry) was watching a Japanese movie about aliens invading earth. The movie was called "The Mysterians", and (Larry) said 'that sounds like a good name for the band.
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When you learn how to play an instrument, you spend a lot of your time practicing, which keeps you occupied. Music passes your time. As you're going through life, it's something to enjoy. If you can be a part of it, that's even better.
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We went to all the local radio stations. We even went all the way down to Detroit, into Windsor.
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Everything started snowballing. Before we knew it we were getting calls from the record stores. We had sold out, and we needed to drop off new records. I knew Question Mark had a lot of relatives, but this was ridiculous!
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I didn't want to be called "X" or "Y, I just wanted to be called Bobby.
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We practiced anyplace we could.
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We were feeling desperate, We started writing songs; Question Mark would record everything we practiced. I came up with some chords, and Question Mark started singing Too Many Teardrops.
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Since I was a kid, 'blues' has always been my favorite style of music. Chuck Berry was one of my favorite guitar players.
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When the song went #1, it got picked up by a major label, Cameo Parkway, out of Philadelphia. We sold over a million records.
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We traveled with a lot of these bands and got to know them personally. It's a real good comradery between musicians…traveling together, you can relate to each other.
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Our second single (I Need Somebody) went top 20, and to a band that never made it, that would be a success. But when you have a #1 hit song, you're held up against that. It's hard to beat. The radio stations picked up a few more songs by The Mysterians, such as Can't Get Enough Of You Baby and Do Something To Me.
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A guy saw us play there and he asked us what the name of the band was. He liked the name but came back with some ideas.He had a letter (of the alphabet) for each of us: X, Y, and Z. He gave Question Mark the "?".
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It was like a dream. It happened so fast from the day we got the record and from the day we did American Bandstand. Everybody (in the band) got a gold record from the recording industry.
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We hooked up with a small label, and they gave us 500 records. I thought they would send them out to all the radio stations. They told us that was our job…do whatever you want with them.
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Lots of bands spend years and years before they hit it. For us it was overnight. It was two years - three at the most - from when the band started playing; and it wasn't like we worked so hard. It was a fun thing to do.
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It took a long time (for the song) to get to #1, and it took a long time to go down. They told us it was an indicator of why it was a big seller. I know it sold over a million, and 2-3 million worldwide.
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We also traveled the world. I went to South America and went to Europe three times in five years. Eventually, tired of traveling, quit the band, get a job, be a local band member, and live out a retired life.
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It didn't really change me a lot, but I saw people's egos get so big…I think it better to live out your life being normal, I did have the experience, and could see how cruel the music business could be…but I knew how I wanted to be and what my parents thought of me.
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We dropped records off in stores in Flint, and they were getting sold out. We didn't really even know anyone in Flint.
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It took off so fast. We would take a couple days off and go to a secluded place and practice. People would find out where we were and our song was making it right then. We practiced in a hotel room, and then crowds of people would come to the hotel to see us practice. It was fun!
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I just wanted to play my guitar.
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It's an honor to play at the festival. I think what Harbor Beach does for the festival, people will always remember.