Going to WAR again!!!!



WAR is jamming with the crowd.

“The year was 1969, and these 'kids' had the nerve to carry the name WAR at a time when peace was the slogan in an anti-Vietnam America.  "Our mission was to spread a message of brotherhood and harmony," states one of WAR's founding members, singer/keyboardist Lonnie Jordan.  "Our instruments and voices became our weapons of choice and the songs our ammunition.  We spoke out against racism, hunger, gangs, crimes, and turf wars, as we embraced all people with hope and the spirit of brotherhood.  It's just as apropos today"

Denise Ochoa, geologist (earthquake tracker) enjoys WAR again.

From the moment they took the stage on Thursday, July 26th at 8 p. m. at Montheith Park during River Rhythms, WAR did live up to this belief.  The audience was enjoying the music, meeting new people, from the smallest dancer, 16 month old Nevaeh, to our oldest using wheelchairs and walkers. The band played a lot of their hits, "Low Rider", "Spill the Wine", "The Cisco Kid", "The World Is a Ghetto", and "Why Can't We Be Friends?"

Denise Ochoa, geologist (earthquake tracker) was there in living color and has enjoyed WAR since the ‘70s, sharing her enthusiasm and love of the  music.

Leroy "Lonnie" Jordan – keyboards, vocals (1969–present), the creator of WAR, remains the same, firing up the audience into a dancing frenzy, using his audience’s familiarity with the lyrics of WAR. 

Nevaeh, 16 month old fan of WAR was dancing away.

From the enthusiasm of the almost 10,000 people at the performance, WAR has not lost any of its popularity with young and old.  This is definitely a concert to see again and again.

Sal Rodriquez (circa 1990), when not  touring  with WAR, “toured with such greats as Duke Ellington, Tom Jones, Jose Feliciano” and has shared the stage with Carlos Santana, Tony Bennett, The Doobie Brothers, Tower of Power, Aretha Franklin, Earth, Wind and Fire, AWB, Alice Cooper, Los Lobos and Grand Funk.

Marcos J. Reyes has been the Latin percussionist for WAR since 1998 and over the years has shared the stage with such greats as Tito Puente, Dizzy Gillespie, Pancho Sanchez and Pete Escovedo.  When not touring with WAR, Marcos “teaches percussion privately, conducts percussion clinics for schools and music stores.”

Stuart Ziff joined War in 2002 after a successful career as a songwriter, singer and guitarist.

Francisco “Pancho” Tomaselli, giving great bass, joined WAR in 2003 and has shared the stage with such greats as Joe Cocker, Alice Cooper, Cheap Trick and CCR.

David Uriquidi, playing the woodwinds (flute and saxophone), joined WAR in 2011, after working with Pancho Sanchez and being a part of the groundbreaking band “L. A. Plena”, which represented Puerto Rican Plena and Bomba music in L. A.

At the end of the night, the audience was happy to have heard all of their old favorites and meeting new people and finding old friends.  There was even a trolley ride provided by the city of Albany with a cheerful driver, who deposited people as close as he could to their transportation.

City trolley provided by Albany for music lovers convenience.

At a Glance:

WAR will be performing:

8/24/12  in Vancouver, Wa.  at The Vancouver, Washington Wine & Jazz Festival,

8/31/12 at The Snoqualmie Casino-Mountain View Plaza, Snoqualmie, WA