From James' Dad's Vault

I forgot to mention in my Thanksgiving wrapup that my Dad recently came across this delightful old gem: The publicity photo of The Roaming Guitars, the folk band that my Mom and Dad were in back in the late 60s and early 70s.


The Roaming Guitars: Tina, Ruben 1, David, Pete and Ruben 2. Click the photo to see a larger version of the pic. (c. 1968-1972)

It was pretty much a living room band, with a set list consisting of mostly Beatles covers, some Spanish songs (i.e. "Guantanamera") and other period classics (like Peter Paul & Mary's "I Dig Rock and Roll Music.")


A close-up of my Mom and Dad in their hippie days ... although my Dad insists that he and my Mom didn't qualify as true hippies, since they were "straighter than a laser beam." (c. 1968-1972)

They never actually recorded anything professionally (unless you count the bootlegs my dad recorded on his old reel-to-reel recorder). But they did have a few notable live gigs, including a local access TV channel in Pacifica, CA. They also performed at the grand opening of Serramonte, a big mall in Daly City that was state-of-the-art when it opened in 1968.