By RAMIRO BURR

Houston rock outfit Tribu de Ixchel‘s new 10-track CD “Crema Latina,” reflects the rock and pop sounds that fired group members‘ teenage imaginations.

“We listened to a lot of different bands, from the Beatles and Rush to Iron Maiden and Santana,” said lead singer Jerry Villanueva. “But we also listened to a lot of traditional music like Pedro Infante and Trio Los Panchos. Between us (bandmembers) we‘re into a big range of flavors.”

The group‘s musical mixture includes melodic rock, pop ballads, a little soul/funk, a tinge of punk and even some dance grooves in a blend that recalls elements of El Tri, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Devo and even the Cure. Think of Tribu de Ixchel as a branch from the same
tree that produced San Antonio‘s Chris Perez Band and Austin‘s Vallejo.

All these musical flavors come together on Tribu‘s new 10-track CD “Crema Latina.” Tribu de Ixchel, which also includes guitarist Jessie Gonzalez, bassist Gabriel Lopez and drummer
Rolando Martinez, came together in Houston‘s Second Ward district in 1994. Villanueva and
Martinez met in high school in another band playing Tejano and grupero music.

“We started playing in a grupero atmosphere in Houston were we played at weddings and quinceaneras,” Villanueva recalled. “But then at one point, we realized we should play what we love in our language, and hence we go into rock en Espanol.”

The band has been a regular in Houston‘s club circuit and in 1997 produced their debut CD “Entre Mundos.” The band open for Mexico‘s El Tri in 1997 and also performed at the SXSW Music Conference in Austin. That year the band was also named best new artist by the Los Angeles-based Retila magazine. In the summer of 1999 Tribu de Ixchel won a Warner Bros/Silverlight records talent contest, earning the right to have a three-song demo produced. But things didn‘t work out.

“They promised that we would get considered for a record label deal, but we
had our artistic differences,” said Villanueva.

Undaunted, the band self-produced their latest album and are adamant at trying their best in rock en Espanol, a field which has minimal radio support.

“We know it is very hard to make it in this field, but we just love the music,” Villanueva said. “Our love of music inspires us to do this. We‘re diehard rockers who grew up on 80s and 70s rock, heavy metal and also Motown.”

The band recently played at the Center Theater in Corpus Christi and Club Millennium in Houston.

“Our new album is more mainstream than our debut,” he said. “The melodies are sharper and danceable.”