The Jakes are a rock band based in Santa Fe, NM. Their first
gig was in April of 2000. They are four-piece, consisting of 2 guitars,
bass guitar and drums, with all four members providing lead and
harmony vocals.
The Jakes’ main influences are Classic Rock and Southern Rock from
the ’60’s and ’70’s, plus some blues. The Jakes’ original songs can best
be described as guitar-oriented rock. They are also known to cover songs by
Tom Petty, ZZ Top, The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Santana, CCR, Grateful Dead,
Skynyrd, The Doors, The Allman Bros. and Stevie Ray Vaughn. They also
can bust out with an occasional Johnny Cash or Merle Haggard tune.
Music legends Guitar Shorty and Junior Brown have appeared on
stage with The Jakes. While performing an opening set for Freddy Fender
at The Apache Nugget Casino, Freddy was quoted by The Rio Grande Sun
as saying The Jakes “are a really tight band”.
The Jakes play at clubs and bars mainly in the Santa Fe area, with an
occasional road trip further out, such as Conchas Lake, NM. The main
ingredient of a Jakes show is fun… any musician will tell you that they
feed off of the energy of the crowd, so it is their goal to put the room
into that zone.
The Jakes are Mike Montiel, guitar/vocals, Gary Gorence, guitar/vocals,
Jake Montiel, bass guitar/vocals, and Frank Ondrusek on drums/vocals.