The original material that Alan and I wrote, that the members of the band Smokey played on, are among the best instrumentally in my songbook. Mike Torres, the father of Smokey, and a “Phoenix original” guitar player among guitar players, crafted some really great leads for the pop/rock tunes we were writing. Mike was fun to be on stage with. He has a little dance move he does with his guitar, a constant dry sense of humor, and he knows how to keep a crowd happy. There isn’t a lead he won’t try and typically cop really well. All of his experience doing cover tunes informed his library of guitar styles/sounds that the Delorean/Kerbey songs truly benefited from.
Alan Kerbey, Mike Torres, Denny King
Mike’s work ethic was simple – work hard, always work. He booked the band and kept us making money every week, enough to live on! Once you have heard him play, you know what he is capable of. But I truly had no idea how creative his input would be, and how his guitar tracks would stand up 25 plus years on. I can’t say that for everyone’s work..can you?
These days, and for some time now, Mike has made quite a showing doing a Santana tribute gig. The reviews are grand, and the bookings are steady. One of the acts is Evil Waze..check out the website and listen to his spot on Santana medley music file!