Artist of the Month

Plateros

Plateros's latest CD is reviewed by Emily Drabanski in the current issue of New Mexico Magazine.

For three generations, various Plateros have performed in this Navajo family band based in Tohajiilee. Murphy Platero, the eldest in the current lineup, began playing in the band in the 1970s. In the 1990s he performed with another incarnation of Plateros with his wife, Janice, a bass guitarist. Through the years he wrote the lyrics of many songs, some of them recorded for the first time on Hang On, by the latest roster of Plateros.

Currently, 17-year-old Levi Platero, Murphy's son, is wowing national audiences with commanding, growling vocals reminiscent of the style of Todd Park Mohr, lead singer of Big Head Todd and the Monsters. Levi also plays phenomenal blues-guitar riffs in the spirit of the late Stevie Ray Vaughan.

In the current band, 46-year-old Murphy provides bass guitar and backing vocals, and Levi's cousin Douglas, 26, drives the beat on drums and percussion. For this recording, other honorary Plateros include Jack Howell (the CD's excellent engineer and producer) on guitars, Hammond B-3 organ, and percussion; D. Davis on drums and percussion; and Bronson Begay on keyboards.

Songwriter Murphy Platero says his message is to "stay real and be humble." He says his favorite song on Hang On, "Changin'," conveys that it's never too late to change your bad ways.

Learn more about Plateros online at http://cdbaby.com/cd/plateros3