Herrera, a Willow Glen resident, is a founding member of the Santana tribute band Caravanserai. Caravanserai were inns in Eastern countries that provided accommodations for caravans. It is also the name of Santana's fourth hit album.

Caravanserai was started in 1997, three years after Herrera attended an AC/DC tribute band concert. Before the AC/DC tribute band concert, Herrera says, he didn't even know what a tribute band was. But he says the event was "one of the coolest things I'd ever seen." It also led to a "little fantasy" that culminated in the founding of his band.

But Herrera had help with the idea. His teenaged stepson, Marc Taylor, also had a hand in the band's founding. Taylor wanted to learn how to play the conga drums and kept bugging Herrera to start up a Santana tribute band. Herrera, who has been playing lead guitar for more than 30 years, was skeptical. But he told Taylor to learn some songs. His stepson did, which led to recruiting a keyboard player, bass player, a drummer, percussionist and vocalists, and soon the group had grown to six and Caravanserai was playing the Bay Area.

The group performs primarily during the summer festival season. But this September it headlined at San Jose's Music in the Park.

The group kicked off the evening with the Santana hit "Black Magic Woman," followed by "You've Got To Change Your Evil Ways." Concert-goers liked what they heard, with one fan saying he'd made a special effort to come to the concert just to hear the group.

Herrera says Caravanserai often plays out of town—including several gigs at Harrah's in Reno—because there's so much entertainment in the Bay Area it's hard to get recognized. And he adds, "The clubs here don't pay a lot of money, but it is getting better locally."

The experience has become so positive that band members are actually dreaming about giving up their day jobs. In fact, Herrera thinks it just might happen.

"We're right on the cusp of being able to go full time," he says. "It's all falling into place for us right now." he says. The band is working hard to expand its song list, which currently includes 27 Santana hits.

Herrera believes one reason for the band's increased popularity is Santana's renewed success. He says, "When [Carlos] Santana won nine grammies for Supernatural, his solo album, we got calls from all over the place."

Santana's fame is also rubbing off in another way. Herrera was once recognized just walking down the street. But he jokes it's a two-way street. "This band is as close to getting famous without the downside of people knowing who you are," he says.

Herrera lives in Willow Glen with his wife, Jana, a kindergarten teacher at Booksin Elementary School. The other band members hail from San Jose, Redwood City, Foster City and Union City.

Caravanserai is part of a growing trend in the music industry, bands playing only the sounds of a particular band. These latest trend bands include groups like the Unauthorized Rolling Stones band, a Fleetwood Mac group that goes by the name Rumors, and a Beatles tribute band, Rain, whose members not only look like the Fab Four but sound like them as well.

Herrera says the most extraordinary compliment he's ever received was from a fan. After the band had performed, the fan said, "You're way too good to be a tribute band."

For more information about Caravanserai, go to www.santanatributeband.com.