R. J. Valenzuela  

R.J. “Rude Dog” Valenzuela admits to being a product of the late sixties.  “Music was cool," says Valenzuela.  "It kept me from getting my ass kicked in the hood, plus I got the chicks!”  

Valenzuela began his musical career when he was "just a kid,"  toting his St. George drum set in a wagon from neighborhood house party to house party.  "All you had to do to play with us was to be able to play "Sunshine Of Your Love.  Guitar, horn, keys, didn't matter.  If you could jam "Sunshine" with us, you were in."

Those jams eventually pulled Valenzuela and his buddies into a legit band.  As C.W. Star, they played everything from parties to amusement parks, and toured clubs state to state. "We were just a group of friends growing up in East L.A.  We opened for Rick Nelson, Jerry Lee Lewis and The Everly Brothers."

 “Nobody had ever heard a bunch of Latino kids playing the stuff we were playin’. Our sets were an endless mixture of rock and country." 

The tour led to gigs overseas. “I never got to see the countries we were playing in though, all I ever saw was the inside of hotel rooms and the local pharmacist!” He did time as a session player, recording with John Fogerty and Bonnie Raitt as well. “Those were great memories and a real good time.”

Valenzuela enjoys  the great outdoors and is also an accomplished brewer. He turned his hobby into a cottage industry by creating the Bell Mountain Brewing Company.  Although he no longer owns the business, he still enjoys teaching the fine craft of home-brewing.

“Brewing is what brought me to Naughty Uncle Norman.  It was an interesting chain of events. Ask Norman.  He tells the story pretty well." 

Friends are very aware of R.J.'s own special brand of “Rude Dog” philosophy:  drop him an e-mail, and he might come take a dump in your yard!