Born in Leadville, not exactly a mecca for Chicano music, Clifford Mondragon has forged a musical path that has taken him and the band, Los Bad Boys de Taos, across the southwest and inspired thousands to, as the expression goes, ‘throw chancla.’
The 57-year-old Mondragon, who now resides in Littleton, has been the man behind the keyboard for ‘Los Bad Boys’ for the better part of three decades. Of course, playing music, as it is for musicians everywhere, is not a full-time gig. But it is a full-time passion. Mondragon’s day job is working as a traffic control supervisor.
The easy going Mondragon spent a recent Saturday morning revisiting the journey from Colorado’s mountains to the artist colony of Taos to chatting about Los Bad Boys newest album, one that just recently dropped and selections of which can now be heard on YouTube as well as a number of other streaming platforms.
Like so many other musicians, including iconic artists like Paul McCartney, Louie Armstrong and Elton John, Mondragon is self-taught, relying more on ‘ear and instinct’ than what appears on the sheet.
“I did not play until I was twenty,” he said. But being musically curious and enamored with the sounds people could create relying only on inspiration and imagination, he took the plunge. “I went to a music store and just picked up a keyboard…one that had all kinds of noises and just started playing.”
For the next six years, Mondragon said he tried to mimic the sounds that played on radio and records. He wondered if all the mimicking, trying to replicate everything from cumbias to country along with “going to certain people’s house and jamming” would ever pay off.
But Mondragon said the practice never got old. He would practice the songs he’d heard since childhood—the songs of Al Hurricane, Tiny Morey and Purple Haze— with the same energy he thought it would take if he was actually backing up his musical icons. He had no idea his desire to play and the countless ‘garage gigs’ over the years would lead to him joining a real band. But it did.
A brother-in-law thought enough of Mondragon’s skills to drop his name with one of the Bad Boys that he knew. He’d heard the band, then a trio, was looking for a keyboard player.
“I got a call asking if I could audition,” Mondragon said. He left the audition not knowing if his play sparked an interest. It did. He joined the band, not as skilled as he would have liked, but good enough for a tryout. “I was just filling in the background,” he said. But his potential coupled with promise all paid off.
“It took more practice, more gigs, more experience of being on stage,” with the group, he said, to make him feel like he belonged. But he soon found “a comfort level.” The band found one with him, too.
Today, despite years of playing weddings, anniversaries, local gigs and opening acts, Mondragon still gets that flush of nerves he got before his first live show. But, he said, they vanish the moment the music starts.
Los Bad Boys have enjoyed a remarkable unity over the years. With only an exception or two, the band is nearly the same as it was when he joined.
Joseph Gutierrez still strums bass; same with Johnny Martinez on guitar, bass and vocals; Mike Valencia remains the indispensable Bad Boys drummer. Mondragon, or ‘Kiki’ as he’s called on stage, still mans the keys. He also contributes with vocals. But long gone, he said, is the ‘starter kit’ keyboard’ he bought thirty years earlier.
A single keyboard, essentially the ‘training wheels’ model from long ago just won’t cut it for the music the band plays today. “Now I use four,” he explains. “I’m doing more leads,” and to do more leads, he needs key- boards that can replicate the sounds of more instruments. While a modern day keyboard won’t exactly replicate a marching band, today’s models can come close.
Los Bad Boys still has a few weeks before going on the road. But once May arrives, Mondragon said, it’ll be non- stop every weekend until next October. He says the routine can sometimes be tough on his family. He’s married and he and his wife have three teenage sons. The road, he concedes, is just something that comes with the job.
One of the things Mondragon and the band are looking forward to is introducing their new music. Of course, it’ll also be playing its ‘bread-and-butter’ tunes, songs they’ve played a thousand times. But despite having played so many of the same songs so many times, Mondragon said he and Los Bad Boys never tire of them.
“We want to play what the audience wants,” he said. “If they want to hear it, we play it.” The music is performed for the listener, whether it’s a full house or a single person, he said. “We want people to enjoy it.”
Mondragon’s Leadville years ended at age eleven when his parents decided to trade Colorado’s high country and the mining jobs there for Taos and the mining jobs there. His family was one of many Latino families who toiled in the ever-dangerous underground work. His older brother lost his life in a Climax mining accident.
Despite a repertoire of rancheras, cumbias and classic rock, Mondragon remains a big fan of what he calls ‘hair nation rock, heavy metal bands like Journey and Metallica. But Elvis is an ‘evergreen,’ an artist whose music will always be special. “Back in the day,” Mondragon says with an unvarnished respect, “he was a performer.”`
Los Bad Boys de Taos will have a ‘soft opening’ next weekend at the Commerce City American Legion Post 151. After that, it’s showtime every weekend until next Fall.
