Name: Trick Stephens
Location: I live on Treasure Island in San Francisco, California
Santana Fan Since: I became an instant fan in Spring 1969
Why You Love Santana’s Music: I realized when I heard the Santana Band the first time that it was the music I didn’t even know I was looking for. I was a senior in high school and had been into music since I could remember, but the sound of Santana moved my entire mind and body like it had never moved before. To this day, when I hear the music of Santana, or something that bears resemblance, I relive those early moments of complete abandon to the music.
How Many Times You’ve Seen Carlos Live and Where/When: All together I have experienced Santana live at least seven or eight times. Little did I know that just a few months after seeing him at the Woodside High School gym, my second experience with Santana would be at my Palo Alto High School all night grad party, where the band played two amazing sets. It was about the time that they had gone into the studio to record the first album, and two months before Woodstock. I also witnessed one of the first, if not the first time that Santana played Black Magic Woman live, at The Fillmore in early 1971. I trust I was one of the few people who recognized it as being a cover of Peter Green and Fleetwood Mac’s original version, since I had the their record album in my collection. The most recent was at The Warfield in San Francisco. It was the first time that I saw Carlos’ son, Salvador play with his father. Since then I have twice met up with Salvador and had some great talks with him about his music and family.
Random Santana-related Fact: My first meeting with Carlos took place in the boys’ locker room between sets during my high school grad night.