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Photograph by Chad Pilster
Jesus Carlos Castañeda, aka Jesse Charles, leads his band to downtown Willow Glen for the annual summer kick-off dance.
Jesse Charles Band headlines music list made for Glenites dancing in the street
After 30 years and a few name changes, the Jesse Charles Band is still rockin' with
the blues
By Sarah Gaffney
For some people, discouraging words are just what they need to succeed.
"I always wanted to be a musician," says Jesse Charles, whose band by the same name is one of the headlining acts at this Saturday's Dancing on the Avenue. "And I had people flat out tell me I would never be any good. I had club owners tell me that I sucked. The more people discouraged me, the more I felt more encouraged ... I never really had any doubt in my mind that I would be a musician."
For more than 30 years, the San Jose native has listened to his heart and followed his dream of making music. It wasn't always the easiest dream to follow. There were lots of years where the single dad hauled his toddler to gigs at dive bars and road shows for the Hell's Angels. Lots of days when he didn't know how he'd make the rent. Yet no matter how hard or lean the times were, for Charles, playing music was a choice just about as natural as waking up every morning.
"In your mind, if you don't have another option, you just make it happen," says the musician. "I don't have a choice. First of all, I don't know anything else nor do I have an interest in being anything else. I have made my living for 30 years as a musician."
Charles grew up in the Cambrian Park neighborhood of San Jose, where he graduated from Camden High School in 1971. His musical mentor was his father, a high school teacher who also sang with the West Bay and San Francisco Opera Companies. Charles began playing guitar while in high school. He cites the blues as the driving influence of his eclectic style.
"I grew up playing the blues, man ... playing B.B. King, Albert King, Freddy King. All the blues guys. When I couldn't make any money doing that, I decided that I'd start a cover band."
Back in the 1970s, Charles was part of a popular club band called Lady Luck that played regularly at some of the South Bay's hottest venues, including the Bodega and the Outlook. He also had a band named the Carlos Castañeda Band, a name which honors his birth name and not the metaphysical writer.
"My birth name is Jesus Carlos Castañeda, but nobody can ever remember that," jokes Charles. "Years ago I had a band called the Carlos Castañeda Band. Well, people would call and say 'can you play American music, too? Are you a mariachi band?' So, I took Jesus Carlos and I translated it to Jesse Charles."
Part of the current-day, six-piece Jesse Charles Band was formed on the Avenue, at Si Amigos restaurant (now Mr. Chau's) where Charles met Lindsey Barrows, his lead vocalist and wife. The band-leader's godmother owned the popular Mexican restaurant and introduced him to Barrows, a waitress and aspiring singer, when he told her he was searching for a singer.
Fifteen years later, the band and the couple are still playing music together.
"She's my soulmate and my best friend," says Charles. The two musicians share their Blossom Valley home with their two children, 2-year-old twin sons Cole and Wes. The baby boys were named after musical legends Cole Porter and Wes Montgomery. Charles also has a 20-year-old son, Larkin, the toddler who followed him to his gigs in the early years.
Today, Jesse Charles and his band play high energy dance music for corporate events, private parties, weddings and local festivals. When he's not playing with the band, Charles serves as CEO of Songman Entertainment, an event planning service that books bands, DJs, caterers, and videographers.
The 10-year-old company coordinates nearly 500 events each year. But for Charles, creating music is, and has always been, his first love. "The thing that really gives me the most joy is composing and just being a musician," says Charles. "Being a businessman, on a one-to-10, is about a four--but being a composer is an off-the-scale 10."
Charles just released his first CD, Every Mind Has Its Moment, recorded under the Carlos Castañeda name. Describing the CD's genre, he says, "It's kind of an eclectic mix of all the styles that I've played over the years, which include rock and roll, pop and jazz and everything else. It's a mutt of music really."
The Jesse Charles Band will be playing at the corner of Lincoln and Willow from 7 to 10pm.
Meanwhile, at the corner of Brace and Lincoln, My Ol' Man's Band will be playing from 6 to 10pm. In its comeback performance to Dancing on the Avenue, My Ol' Man's Band will combine the soul-moving sounds of Al Green and Tower of Power to create some get-on-your-feet dance grooves. The nine-member band is composed of four horn players and a five-piece rhythm section.
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
