Humberto "Tito" Larriva is a Mexican/American singer, musician and actor.
Larriva was born in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico and grew up in Fairbanks, Alaska and El Paso, Texas. As a child he learned to play the flute and violin. After considering Yale University, he moved to Los Angeles, California in the mid 1970s.
Larriva was the vocalist and rhythm guitarist for 1970s punk band The Plugz, 1980s rock band Cruzados, Psychotic Aztecs and Tito & Tarantula. He formed The Plugz in Los Angeles, California in 1978. Though the band never succeeded commercially, their presence during the birth of West Coast punk has ensured their enduring influence on generation after generation of rock bands. Record label Rhino recognized their role in the Los Angeles music scene by including their version of "La Bamba" on "We're Desperate: The L.A. Scene (1976-79)." The Plugz released two albums, Electrify Me (1978) and Better Luck (1981). They also contributed three songs to the Repo Man soundtrack and bassist Tony Marsico and drummer Chalo Quintana played with Bob Dylan on Late Night With David Letterman in 1984.
After The Plugz broke up, Larriva and two other members of the band (Tony Marsico and Charlie Quintana) formed the Cruzados in 1984. They were joined on guitar by Steven Hufsteter (formerly of The Dickies). The Cruzados were critically acclaimed and opened for big acts like INXS and Fleetwood Mac. They released a self-titled album album in 1985. In 1987 they released After Dark with new guitarist Marshall Rohner. The band broke up in 1988, but Larriva continued to work with the former members later in his career. Though he never worked with Rohner again, the debut album of Larriva's next band, Tito & Tarantula, featured Quintana and Marsico as guest musicians, and one song that was co-written by Marsico, along with another that was co-written by Hufsteter. On Tito & Tarantula's third album, Hufsteter co-wrote several songs, and later joined the band alongside Larriva once more.
Tito & Tarantula began as an improvisational jam band that incorporated sounds from whatever musician happened to stop by. "We've always had a sort of unspoken rule," Larriva said to the Tucson Weekly in 1997, "and the rule is that everyone plays pretty much what they want. The band never rehearses." The band started as far back as 1992, when Larriva and lead guitarist Peter Atanasoff would perform in bars and cafes with a friends every week. The band made its debut on the soundtrack for Robert Rodriguez's movie Desperado, then in 1996, appeared on another soundtrack for one of Rodriguez's films, this time the film being From Dusk Till Dawn, with Larriva, Atanasoff, and future drummer Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez as the band performing in the bar. The next year, Tito & Tarantula released its long-awaited and highly-acclaimed debut album Tarantism in 1997. Their next album was released in 1999, titled Hungry Sally & Other Killer Lullabies, followed by Little Bitch in 2000. In 2002, the band was joined by Larriva's former Cruzados bandmate Steven Hufsteter. Later in the year, they released the album Andalucia. Since then, the band has toured consistently, and made numerous personnel changes, including the departure of Atanasoff. They are currently continuing to tour Europe, and their next album is expected in early 2007.
Tito Larriva, September 2007
Psychotic Aztecs, composed of Larriva on vocals, Oingo Boingo's rhythm section (John Avila on bass, Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez on drums) and Steven Hufsteter on guitar, began as a recording session for Grita! Records in Los Angeles and ended as the album Santa Sangre, released in 1999.
Larriva's first acting role was "Hammy" on The Pee-wee Herman Show in 1981. He has gone on to play notable supporting roles in big-budget films like Born in East L.A., Road House, Boys on the Side, Desperado, From Dusk Till Dawn and Once Upon a Time in Mexico. He often works with his friend, director Robert Rodriguez. His latest appearance was a few seconds cameo in Rodriguez' Machete trailer in Grindhouse.
He also played the character Ramon in the film True Stories (1986). Larriva covers the Talking Heads song, "Radiohead," and plays the organ in the "Puzzling Evidence" scene.
Apart from acting, Larriva has scored films including Dream With the Fishes, Tin Cup, and Mi Vida Loca.
