Posted by Bill Aken

1955 - Back in the day.... recording was all done live. The studio engineer was the 'master mixer' who put your records together as you played. A good engineer would capture the feel while a poor one could lose all the creativity. Phil Yeend from England and Stan Ross at Gold Star were among the very best at working with young artists. Stan was always very patient with me as I learned studio techniques and gave me invaluable advice and guidance.... Stan ran the board when we did 'Dragonfly' and it was his suggestion that I sing double in some parts.This was strictly an album cut since 3 minute songs were the maximum on a single. Things were different then... you had more creative freedom to explore new avenues... sometimes we would walk into the studio not having planned what we would record... just go in and 'make something.' On this one that I had written just 4 days before, J.D. Moreno played 'whistle & harmonica' instead of drums. Abel Padilla's improvised bass parts set the tone for the whole song... Those were the WAY-BACK days when it was fantastic fun... I was a weird little kid and a weird teenager.... One thing worth mentioning... since we were a racially-mixed group, (3 Mexican kids and a white boy) some studios would 'lock' the doors when we were recording there. They were concerned about the racial ramifications, but Gold Star NEVER worried the least little bit... Stan Ross and David Gold were 100% behind us all the way.... and they knew my mother was Mexican because even when she was working on a film herself, she always found time to come to my recording sessions... taking pictures at some of them. From The "Dragonfly" Album Produced By: Ray Pohlman - Hollywood International The Band: Los Nomadas Recorded At: Gold Star Studios, Hollywood, California Engineer: Stan Ross Publishing: Johnstone-Montei, Inc., BMI Arranger-Writer: Billy Mayorga Aken, BMI