Something New Under the Sol

Band: Rhythm Tribe.

Personnel: Thomas Guzman-Sanchez, guitar, lead vocals; Paul Guzman-Sanchez, bass, percussion, vocals; Marla Rebert, keyboards, vocals; Stephen Mead, drums.

History: Reared in the San Fernando Valley, the Guzman-Sanchez brothers were exposed to Latin music by their father Rafael, a locally noted Puerto Rican guitarist. Thomas and Paul formed a street-dance troupe, Chain Reaction, which appeared in the 1980 movie musical “Xanadu” and in rock videos, including Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” Chain Reaction also began making its own Latin-funk music with the addition of keyboardist Rebert, releasing an album, “Culture Shock,” on Elektra in 1985. Pared down to a quartet and taking a new name, the band recorded a song with Rafael in 1990 and planned to do a show at the China Club with him, but just two weeks before the date he suffered a fatal heart attack. The song, “Forever Mine,” is featured on the new debut album “Sol Moderno,” the first release from the BMG-distributed Zoo Records. Rhythm Tribe can also be seen performing two songs in the movie “Backdraft.”

Sound: “Forever Mine,” preceded by a phone message left for Thomas by his father just before his death, provides the album’s heart and soul--a blending of family traditions with street-solid rhythms. Thomas has stripped and focused the Latin-funk he plied with Chain Reaction to a crisp, colorful and passionate sound that carries the same sense of heritage and celebration, if not musical content, as Los Lobos.

Tour plans: A summer concert tour is in the works.