René Peraza
René de Jesús Peraza (born September 5, 1966), is a long-time, San Francisco Bay Area [USA] creative: an educated and experienced marketing professional, graphic designer, actor and musician/lyricist/vocalist. René has produced visual collateral work for various [non and for-profit] businesses, including American Institute of Architects (San Mateo County Chapter), ORCON Corporation, Bartos Architecture, TRAXX Corporation, Lowe's, Safeway, and GL Planning & Design. He has also participated in market studies for Adobe®, Keurig®, Deloitte and DEGW. He's shared the screen with Hugh Laurie, Kamala Harris, and the stage with such acts as A Flock of Seagulls, Men Without Hats, Los Lobos, Malo, Jorge and Carlos Santana.
Early Years
Born in Tijuana, México, René is the son of René Manuel Peraza and Maria Trinidad Barreda, who legally emigrated to San Diego, California before he has one-year of age. Although now a 'green card' family, the Peraza's decided to return to México for the birth of René's only full brother, José Luis Peraza in 1969. As their father would put it: "You can always choose your [US] citizenship later, but we give you your Mexican birthright." After their parents' divorce in 1974, the boys continued to grow up in their childhood home until the summer of 1978. Finances forced their mother to relocate the family back to Tijuana later that year, where her San Diego-earned dollars could go farther. Maria put the boys through two years of Sisters of Mercy Catholic school (Instituto Peninsular), serving to reconnect them with their cultural roots.
After another move back to the U.S. in 1980, and another failed short-lived marriage for Maria, the boys were split-up: René going to Mexico City to live with the paternal Grandmother, and José dropped off with a maternal uncle. Maria finally regrouped the mother-and-sons trio in San José, California in the Spring 1982. Once René and José each completed their High School education, Maria remarried in 1985 and was so for the next twenty-five years.
The Eighties
Rene's first taste of performing and fronting a band came as a result of boasting he was already a singer to his first bandmate, Steven Crain, in what would be Made in Italy, based in the foothills town of Los Gatos, California in 1985. The Spanish-flavored pop band, Bolero, formed in 1986 with former Made in Italy bandmate, Diego Cisternas. As a band, they swept the south Bay Area at several venues, such as San Jose's The Cabaret, Mountain View's The Hard Disk Café, and Santa Clara's One Step Beyond (the band's unofficial 'home'). Bolero won few contests and accolades along the way, such as a gig at the Oakland Stadium's parking lot as winners of LIVE 105's "Best of the Bay' band in 1988. In 1989, the band recorded a 12-inch two-song [vinyl] disc: "Gypsy (Catch My Soul)" / "Better Than The Real Thing." The band received and spotlight in the summer of 1989 on the ABC affiliate (at the time), KNTV Channel 11 on 'Comunidad del Valle' which is still active today. After a few member line-up changes, the band lasted through mid-1990 — at the beginning of the so-called Seattle 'grunge' sound that was gaining popularity.
The Nineties
After a five-year hiatus from Bolero, René formed Sabor! in 1995 — a Latin-flavored rock, pop and soul band, a la Santana sound. In addition to being the lead vocalist, René was the primary lyricist and lead melodic composer. Sabor! found they couldn’t get booked anywhere easily: "We weren’t Top-40 enough, alternative-enough, rock enough, or even Latin (salsa, merengue, etc.) enough!" — René. Deciding to strategically match the band up as an opener for a larger name, René reached out to Santana Management in late 1996. Santana, the band, was an always-touring act and could be a great launch for Sabor! Jorge Santana, formerly of Malo "Suavecito" fame — who worked for Santana Management — replied to René's inquiries. Although it would be a 'no-go' opening for Santana, Jorge did offer René the front-man spot as his vocalist, as he prepared to perform as a solo artist for the first time. René took the opportunity while continued leading Sabor!
René would be Jorge Santana's front-man for the next ten years (1997-2006), taking their show throughout he Pacific Northwest and Southwest, with events like "Reggae on the River," "Sausalito Arts Festival," and opening for such acts as Los Lobos at the famed Luther Burbank Center for the Arts. Carlos Santana was a frequent unannounced guest at the many events: "You never knew when he was coming!" — René. The apex of René's work with Jorge was their rendition of the "Star Spangled Banner" at a sold-out Oakland Raiders/Dallas Cowboys football game at Oakland Coliseum in 2005. René has always said that this performance became a full-circle dream, for he had seen his favorite artist while standing on the same green turf, watching David Bowie's 'Serious Moonlight Tour' back in 1984.
It took Carlos Santana’s 'Supernatural' comeback in 2000 to get the Latin rock sound popular again. By then, Sabor! had released a CD titled René & Sabor! and had already been gigging for the past five years, however with little career advancement of their own. After playing famed but now-closed venues like Kimball’s East, Route 66 and Club Cocodrie, and events like Carnaval S.F., René decided to end things with Sabor!, and complete a graphic design degree he'd started in the early 90's.
The 2000s
On a co-worker's challenge, René answered an ad for a "Latin-lover singer for Russian event band." Nara was a popular event band in the Russian/Jewish community of San Francisco. Nara, the female lead vocalist of the group, is also well-known in the Armenian community of Glendale, California, as well as in her home country of Armenia. René soon gained the attention of other corporate event bands. Now, many years later, René is a sought-after, recognized artist in his San Francisco community and beyond. He's performed at corporate and private events throughout California, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Texas and Arizona. With the three bands René currently works with: Nara, Non-Stop Productions, and Regina's All-Stars, he's played all the renowned and historic ballrooms in San Francisco, and has the distinction of performing 'Killing Me Softly With Her Song' (the Perry Como version) and the English translation of 'Girl From Ipanema' before their author, Norman Gimbel (at Mr. Gimbel's grandson's wedding). Rene's also performed in front of San Francisco Mayor, Willie Brown, and even shared the stage with Russian superstar, Kristina Orbakaitė at a private event in Las Vegas.
In 2010, René began issuing his so-called Virtual EPs, small [digital] collections of solo music. The first was titled "Motifs," comprised of five original songs. The next collection was titled "Pastiche," comprised of four original songs, one cover and one instrumental. On his birthday of September 5, 2020, he released "Slow Motion," a collaboration with European composer, Zero-Project, to a good reception on both side of the Atlantic. The supporting music video was self-shot at San Francisco's Shelton Theater and surrounding neighborhoods, helped by his daughter, Alexandra. His exclusively-solo follow-up, "You Never Needed Love" was released May 25, 2021 and its video was also self shot, plus footage featuring Dutch ballerina, Nancy Burer, photographed by Hans Peter Schepp. The two disparate settings of Burlingame, California and Amsterdam were ingeniously edited as if they existed in the same location. On October 1, 2021, René released his next solo offering, "Cool Cat (Everybody Knows)," a recording he'd had in the vault for over 20 years. It's music video differed from the previous, featuring public domain early cartoons of Master Tom and Felix the Cat (by Pat Sullivan).
On December 27, 2021, "Cool Cat" was listed as one of the 'Best Songs of 2021' on internationally multi-award-winning internet radio Lopsided World of L by Jonathan L (https://oedipus1.com/lopsided-world-of-l-480/).
On April 1, 2022, René releases to all digital outlets his first single for the 2022, "What Is Real" which garners him his fastest cumulative upon-release views on YouTube within the first month (https://youtu.be/xuOQmaYrY3M).
In mid-2022, The Bay Area News Group (which includes The San Jose Mercury News among others) featured a spotlight on René both digitally on June 20, 2022 (https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/06/20/bay-area-artist-delivers-exquisite-version-of-roxy-music-classic/) and subsequently in print on July 7, 2022.
On October 1, 2022, René releases to all digital outlets "The Smiling Spectre" — his second single for 2022. It becomes his fastest-rising and played song on both Spotify and YouTube to date [as of Nov-2022] (https://youtu.be/D9bwUqwuSoA).
On January 16, 2023, "The Smiling Spectre" was listed as one of the 'Best Songs of 2021' on internationally multi-award-winning internet radio Lopsided World of L by Jonathan L (https://oedipus1.com/lopsided-world-of-l-528/).
On May 16, 2023, René releases to all digital outlets "The Siren (Aye, Aye)" — his first single for 2023. The promo video was shot on location at both San Francisco and San Diego maritime museums, as well as the Steinhart Aquarium in San Francisco, California. (https://youtu.be/z-9POuSfNlE).
On July 24, 2023, René gets a 'crisp' review of The Siren (Aye, Aye) from well-regarded music blogger, Post-Punk Monk: https://postpunkmonk.com/2023/07/24/rene-paraza-has-crisp-new-single-in-the-siren-aye-aye-that-ticks-the-right-boxes/
The Silver Screen
Another creative outlet opened during the late 1990s / early 2000s for René; becoming an on-screen talent on film, TV spots and Silicon Valley industrial videos, eventually earning him his current SAG-AFTRA status. A brief list of René's big-brand on-screen accomplishments include:
The 90s:
- “What Dreams May Come” — film starring Robin Williams (background talent). "I made Robin Williams laugh on this shoot! We were told to not talk to him because this was the day of the funeral sequence of his on-screen sons, and once Robin is 'loose,' it's hard to get him back! But, there I was at the back of the church - last pew - having already been scolded for wearing a beard (only clean-shaven extras that day), and Robin right next to me getting made-up and hair-sprayed. Raising my hands to my hair, wiggling my scalp forward and backwards, I pantomimed mimicking a toupee. Well, he lost it, saying something like, 'Oh, buddy, I can see the Velcro strips from here!' and, off he went! But, as ordered, I didn't speak to him!" — René
- “Bicentennial Man” — film starring Robin Williams (background talent)
- “Nash Bridges” — TV show starring Don Johnson (recurring SIU uniformed cop)
The 2000s:
- Nissan Murano National Launch Campaign — ‘The Musicians’ campaign segment (photo campaign for TBWA\CHIAT\DAY agency)
- Bank of America - Latin Campaign — ‘The Percussionist’ campaign segment (photo campaign for Lopez Negrete [San Antonio, TX agency] with renowned New York City Photographer, Alan Kaplan)
- Cisco® — ‘Cloud Perspectives’ and ‘Cosmos’ Campaigns
- Intel® — ‘Life is a Journey’ Campaign
- Veteran Affairs Sensitivity Training Short Film — PTSD Veteran "Mr. Vasquez"
The 2010s:
- Franklin Templeton Investments — ‘Growing Cities’ Brazilian Businessman
- Kamala Harris — 'A Prosecutor With Convictions' 2014 re-election campaign. René played a 'lawyer' to the left of Harris, coming up the steps in the opening of the ad, shot inside Oakland City Hall.
- Reebok® — Young Woman Boxer Campaign as ‘Dad’
- Seagate® — ‘Take What’s Yours’ and ‘Mission Control’ Campaigns — Mission Control Commander
- Earned SAG-AFTRA actor credentials working with Hugh Laurie on ‘Chance’ HULU/Fox series as ‘Detective Ribeiro,’ Season 1 / Episode 8, "The House of Space and Time," directed by Andrew Bernstein (Netflix's 'Ozark').
The Stage:
In 2019, René played Father Ruiz in an original production of "Below Sycamore" — written by Daniel Medina and 3858 — directed by Matt Shelton and Richard Ciccarone. Show ran three-times weekly from September 19 through October 5, 2019. "Below Sycamore" is a darkly humorous tales about the parasitic nature of addiction. The Shelton Theater is actress Jeanne Shelton family owned and run.
Quotes
"Creativity was everywhere! Between the interesting hair color and eyeliner, the 80’s was fertile ground for even non-musically trained cats like myself — all that was needed was a little drive and conviction that you could be ‘somebody.’" — René
"What is live music if not about making someone smile and feel good?
That’s exactly what I consider my musical performance career to be—
not so much about me." — René
External Links
https://www.youtube.com/reneperaza
https://www.reverbnation.com/rene
René Peraza, aka René[edit]
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