The Early Years...

The Desert Cadillacs started back in 1984. The two founding members, guitarists Dave Lekawa and Mike Serres, got together at a friend's going away party. A musical jam session ensued, and the players decided to form a group. The original drummer was John Booth, and the original bassist was Brian McGinn.

Our first gig, and many subsequent bookings, was at a little place called the Alano Club. The crowd there was very enthusiastic, and we played to a house load of hot, sweaty, dancing people. Great people, and very appreciative of our music.

Our first long-term booking was as the house band at Little Anthony's Diner. We played there most every Friday and Saturday night for more than a year. We got good reviews, and the crowd from the Gaslight Theater would usually end up spending the evening seeing a melodrama and then partying with the Desert Cadillacs until closing.

Not long after we left Little Anthony's Diner, John Booth decided to pursue other career options, and the band went on a sort of hiatus. Okay...we split up. Dave Lekawa joined a band briefly called Dr. Crayola, and Mike Serres came on board that band, but soon Dave and Mike decided to re-form the Desert Cadillacs.

We started playing again, but this time, we formed a band that featured three female musicians: Kim Gregory-vocals, Liz Fletcher-bass, and Jenny Hoeft-drums. We gigged around at various places, then Liz left the band. She was replaced by bassist Lyle Heddrick. He stayed with the band for about six months, then moved on, so Jeff Rodenkirch signed on to play bass. Jenny, our drummer, also left soon after to perform in Nashville. We replaced her with Leon Kittrell.

A little aside regarding Leon. He's one of the finest drummers in Tucson, and one of the best singers. We were lucky to work with him for as long as we did. I remember sitting in a nightclub one night on a set break, and the house music was playing some R&B, and Leon cocks his ear, says "hear that?" I nodded yes, and he said, "That's me." Leon was a session musician in Los Angeles, and he also toured with some of the biggest musical acts in the business, including Ike and Tina Turner and Sly and the Family Stone.

As for our bassist, Jeff brought a combination of enthusiasm, musical knowledge, and electronics skill to our group. He could fix something mid-gig with a pair of plyers and hair pin. He was also really tall, which came in to use any number of times. Come to think of it, he still is tall...

Somewhere in this stint we got our first opening act gig. It was at Salpointe Stadium, opening for the Coasters and rapper Rob Base. I guess they wanted something for the kids and the parents.

The band did a stint as the house bar at the Javelina Cantina (affectionately referred to as the "pig bar" by those in the know) at the Doubletree Hotel.

Have you been following all this? If so, you now know that - up to this point - the band consists of Dave, Mike, Leon, Jeff and Kim. It's kind of like a soap opera, trying to remember all these characters.

Our next (and it turns out last) extended gig was playing for a place called the Bull Ring. We played there off and on for 6-8 months. We finally got exhausted and gave it up. (You see, the Bull Ring was an upstairs club, over a restaurant, and we had to haul our equipment up and down the stairs all the time because the elevator was usually broken.)

Have you got it? Good. 'cause now Kim has left the band to move with her husband to California. Too bad, since we always used to say she had the lowest voice and the best sideburns in the band. She could really belt out Elvis tunes! We were lucky to find a replacement in Jill Conway. She's a heck of a singer and great gal, besides! Jill also took over the booking duties.

This group played dozens of bookings each year, playing for crowds ranging from thousands when we opened for the Grass Roots at the Reid Park Bandshell, to quiet parties at the posh resorts in the area. Things were going okay, but the band kind of lost momentum for a time. The group sort of fizzled out.

Once again, Dave and Mike decided to resurrect the group, and brought in bassist Paul Law, drummer Mark Gallegos and keyboardist Jane Cooper. In the Spring of 2002, Paul left the group temporarilly, and former Desert Cadillacs bassist Jeff Rodenkirch returned to the group. Paul Law returned a few months later, and that is the current configuration of the group. You can read all about them in the players section.