Ramon & Tony Banda were born in 1954 & 1956 respectively and raised in Norwalk, California a suburb of Los Angeles. There was much music in the family home and neighborhood, Mom played piano, Uncle played saxophone, Cousins played drums, horns and keyboards. So it was only natural for them to pick up instruments themselves. They began their musical journey in 1959 under the direction of their uncle Mike Chavarria. By 1961 they were performing every weekend at house parties, weddings and dances all across Southern California with the family group called The Latin Boys. The band kept busy by playing a variety of musical styles ranging from traditional Mexican songs played in a lively west Texas style, to American standards such as, “STARDUST” and “BODY AND SOUL”, classic cha cha’s such as, Tito Puente’s “QUE SERA” to Count Baise’s “C JAM BLUES” and of course the rhythm and blues hits of the day. Needless to say the brothers were exposed to a variety of musical forms at an early age. 

The Bass was Tony Banda’s instrument of choice, however, at such a young age the electric Bass was too large and heavy to be played in the conventional manner so, Tony took to playing it as if it were an upright Bass.