Carlos Guitarlos

Carlos Guitarlos (born Carlos Daniel Ayala, March 18, 1950) is an American guitarist. He first gained attention in Top Jimmy & The Rhythm Pigs. The Encyclopedia of Popular Music remarked of Guitarlos that his career in music "has taken in cult stardom in Los Angeles, alcoholism, homelessness, and an unexpected return to recording in the new millennium."

Early life

As a 2003 feature in the Los Angeles Times recounted, Ayala grew up "in the northeast Los Angeles community of Cypress Park. He talked his mother into buying him a guitar at 10, and learned the basics from an older brother. He had a good ear." The article's author, journalist Bob Baker, quoted Carlos: "By the time I was 13, I could play anything I could hear."

Career

Baker went on to describe how, after graduating from Marshall High, Ayala "played in some undistinguished bands and spent most of his 20s living at home, writing songs and practicing."

During their heyday in the early 1980s, Top Jimmy & The Rhythm Pigs attracted many famous guest stars to their gigs. One of the big names who joined the group on stage was Tom Waits. As a result, Carlos Guitarlos played on two tracks of the 1983 Waits album Swordfishtrombones.

However, Top Jimmy & The Rhythm Pigs slowly crumbled. Internal volatility, fueled by Ayala, was a major reason. Morris noted that Ayala was "truculent...frequently deranged." Yet his talent was still visible: Bob Baker noted that the San Francisco Bay Guardian named Ayala "Best Street Musician" in a 1994 survey.

Ayala traveled to England in 2004 and 2005 for performances, attracting featured press coverage.

His third album, Hell Can Wait, came out in 2005. Guests included David Hidalgo, Marcy Levy, and Gene Taylor.

In 2007, he guested on Let Us Now Praise Sleepy John by Peter Case.

Ongoing activity

In 2014, KCET.org posted another feature about the musician called "The Legend of Carlos Guitarlos." It focused on him at home in Highland Park on his 64th birthday. He was playing as part of the Carlos Guitarlos Trio and had self-released a 2010 album, The Innocent Remains.

The feature's author, Nathan Solis, spoke with Ayala's former bandmate with The Rhythm Pigs, Richard Aeilts (a.k.a. Dig the Pig). Aeilts noted that Ayala had mellowed to a degree and offered a succinct description: "a sensitive soul buried within a hardscrabble Highland Park Chicano who doesn't speak Spanish."

Discography