GOD´S BAND ~ THANK HIM FOR HIS LOVE
God’s Band’s 1997 low-rider gospel-soul anomaly “Come Holy Spirit” took a rather circuitous path to release. Built around the Arostigui brothers Alex, Richard, David, and Daniel, ministering on guitar, vocals, drums, and hand percussion and timbales, respectively, and featuring bassist Jimmy “Jam” Sabala, vocalists Larry Vigil and his brother Aron Salas, and keyboardist Ray Palacios, God’s Band erupted out of Victory Outreach’s San Jose, California branch, then located at 99 Notre Dame in 1981. A church-only group, the octet cut a series of low-fidelity soulero originals, including “Nobody Like My Lord”, “We’re Going Home” and “Come Holy Spirit” before disbanding two years later.Elsewhere, Cruisin with The Oldies Volume 2 was being discovered by an audience more interested in cruising than praying. God’s Band’s “Thank Him For His Love” turned up on a bootleg Gangster Soul compilation CD Vol.9—the only modern recording among 20 sweet soul non-hits from the ’60s and ’70s. A few years later a 45 of mysterious origins and questionable fidelity found its way to market.
