In 1975 Pablo Cruise released its first A&M album simply entitled Pablo Cruise. The album cover was shot in the tropical gardens of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park and it featured a huge gorilla standing front and center. The band, David Jenkins (guitars, vocals), Cory Lerios(keyboards, vocals), Bud Cockerel (bass, vocals) and Steve Price (drums, percussion) were no where in sight. At that point there was a bit of a mystique surrounding Pablo Cruise and when asked what Pablo Cruise meant, the well-rehearsed answer went something like this: “Pablo”, represents an honest, real, down to earth individual, and “Cruise” depicts his fun loving, easy going attitude towards life: In essence that’s what Pablo Cruise music is all about. Honest, real down to earth vocals, accompanied by fun yet elegant, infectious grooves. To hear Pablo Cruise on record is one thing, but to experience the band live is an exhilarating event!
From 1975 to 1985 the band toured the United States, Canada and Japan extensively, welcoming fans to “Climb Aboard The Good Ship Pablo Cruise.” Reaching the top 10 with mega hits like “Whatcha Gonna Do When She Says Goodbye?” and “Love Will Find A Way,”and several other top 20’s, the band went on to sell several million albums and singles collectively and established themselves as well respected writers and performers within the industry. They appeared on numerous TV shows, including Dick Clark’s American Bandstand, The Merv Griffin Show, The Dinah Shore Hour and in 1979 they broke Elvis Presley’s attendance record at the Sahara Tahoe in South Lake Tahoe, Nevada, becoming the first rock band to play a casino showroom. They also became the first rock band to grace the stage at the Grand Ole Opry, but by 1985 after completing several national tours and releasing 7 studio albums in all, the band decided to take a hiatus……one that lasted nearly 20 years.
Fast forward 20 years…..In 2005 a reunited Pablo Cruise picked up where they left off and today the band performs all over the U.S. and Canada and they’re enjoying it more than ever….Since getting back together, they have released two live CD’s and a DVD all through Sony Music documenting their exceptional live shows. “One of the great things about playing shows after all these years is that the core band, David, Steve and myself are still here and lovin’ it, says Cory! Going out and playing shows these days gives us the opportunity to not only pay tribute to our timeless repertoire, it gives us a chance to see old friends and fans from back in the day as well as gaining a whole new audience!” Today Pablo Cruise is bringing more energy and excitement to the stage than ever before and with the addition of Larry Antonino and Robbie Wyckoff, the band has never sounded better….. If you get an opportunity to see Pablo Cruise live, don’t pass it up…… ”IT’S GOOD TO BE LIVE”.
Founding Members
DAVID JENKINS (guitar, vocals)
Throughout the late 80’s, original lead vocalist David Jenkins continued touring and garnered acclaim in world of country music with the slightly ahead of their time country-rock band Southern Pacific. As they racked up hits like “Midnight Highway,” the chart topper “New Shade of Blue” and “Honey I Dare You” (co-written by Jenkins) the band toured all over the U.S. In 1992 Dave connected with Hawaii’s native son Kapono Beamer, and in ’95 the duo released the album “Cruisin’ on Hawaiian Time,” that became a critics favorite as well as being nominated for Hawaii’s prestigious Hoku Award for “Album Of The Year”. Dave has recorded with many music industry greats such as: Micky Hart, Buddy Miles, The Jefferson Starship, Huey Lewis, The Doobie Bros. to name just a few!….Since ’99 Jenkins has joined forces with the composite group, Rock & Pop Masters, that includes some of the great singers of the ’70’s and ’80’s. In May of 2011, Dave traveled to Iraq to perform for the troops with Bobby Kimball (Toto) and Bill Champlin (Chicago)… The troops were thrilled to have them even though the band barely escaped being blown off the stage…. for real!!!
CORY LERIOS (keys, vocals)
Pianist, vocalist Cory Lerios decided to turn his writing and producing skills to Film and Television. In 1986 he landed his first scoring opportunity when he was asked to write the music for the now “cult classic” “One Crazy Summer” starring Demi Moore and John Cusack. In 1987 Lerios landed his first network series, scoring ABC’s critically acclaimed “Max Headroom.” ABC’s “O’Hara and “Police Story” immediately followed. Writing to “picture” became Cory’s new found passion and in 1989 Cory partnered with long time friend and composer John D’Andrea. Together they formed Lerios D’Andrea Musicworks and aside from scoring 300 episodes of “Baywatch,” they garnered several Emmy Nominations and won the coveted award for “Music Direction for soap “Days Of Our Lives.” Lerios D’Andrea Musicworks went on to produce countless hours of TV scores and themes including “Diagnosis Murder,” “Flipper,” and “Marshall Law.” In 2005 Lerios and D’Andrea parted ways and Cory has continued to write themes and underscore for several shows including Disney’s “Kim Possible,” Universal’s “Land Before Time.” In 2015 Cory released an EP under his pseudonym, “Cory Charles” corycharles.com entitled “If I Could Change Anything, It Would Be You.”
New Members
LARRY ANTONINO (bass, vocals)
Bassist and vocalist extraordinaire Larry Antonino is a very busy musician and aside from playing with Pablo Cruise, Larry has kept his calendar full through the years, playing with the some of music’s finest. Air Supply, Barry Manilow, Ronnie Laws, Jeff Beck and Al Jarreu, Jennifer Holiday, Bobby Caldwell all share one thing in common and that’s Larry Antonino. Larry also had a classic role in the Tom Hanks movie “That Thing You Do” where he appeared as “The Wolfman”…. If you saw the movie, Larry’s role was unforgettable! Pablo Cruise is thrilled to have him on board as his rich vocals and extraordinary bass playing fills out the Pablo Cruise signature sound!
ROBBIE WYCKOFF (vocals, percussion)
The newest member of Pablo Cruise, Robbie Wyckoff, Lead Vocals and percussion has a huge history in not only live performance, but television and film as well. Robbie recently finished up 5 years of international touring with The Roger Waters Band. (Pink Floyd) Robbie has also shared the stage with Michael McDonald, Keith Emerson, The Gregg Rolie Band, Jackson Brown, and Barbara Streisand to name a few. His voice can be heard on several Disney T.V. series including Phineas and Ferb, The Emperor’s New Skool, The Replacements and he’s appeared on The Voice, The Tonight Show With Jay Leno. As soon as Robbie hit the stage with his amazingly powerful voice and presence it was as if he’d been singing with Pablo Cruise since it’s inception!
SERGIO GONZALEZ (drums, percussion)
Veteran Drummer, Sergio Gonzalez has played, recorded and performed live with many top artists including Jennifer Lopez, Queen Larifah, Steve Martin, Gavin Degraw, Don Was, Jessie J and Keb Mo. Simply said, Sergio likes to hit things. A professional “hit man” if you will, but he hits them in such and extraordinary way, that it has allowed him to perform all over the world, twice over. He has performed privately for the Queen of England and the Sultan of Brunei. After high school he was invited to play with a traveling gospel group and traveled around the world for three years. His highlight was playing in Bethlehem, Israel on Christmas Eve. Soon after that he auditioned for the main show Band at Walt Disney World in Florida, working there for three years, then transferring over to Disneyland, California for three more years. It was there where he started meeting and playing with some very talented and special friends whom he is very grateful to have in his life. Sergio’s has a vast range of experience from World music, Jazz, R&B, Rock and Latin meld together to create his unique and personal style and groove. Sergio continues to make his mark in the music industry currently performing with the band Pablo Cruise.