From the age of 3, Junior was standing on tables with his toy guitar or a hairbrush "microphone," entertaining family and friends at their frequent gatherings. With his grandfather Marcos a solo guitarist and music running deep in the family, it was no coincidence that Junior would have a future in music. By 15 he was shadowing his grandfather, soaking up everything he could and sitting in on his jam sessions — it felt natural to him. At 18 he began classical guitar training under Matthew Grasso, a Bay Area classical guitarist from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, who was impressed by his overall control of the instrument. That classical path wouldn't last long, though — on a road trip in the summer of 1995, his brother popped in a Jimi Hendrix greatest hits album, and Junior's musical life was never the same. Intrigued by Hendrix's style and passion, he read every biography he could find and tried to learn every lick off every recording. One day, flipping through a *Guitar Player* magazine, he came across an article titled "Jimi's Favorite LPs," featuring B.B. King, Buddy Guy, the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, and John Lee Hooker — and it opened his eyes to a whole new world. He went on to explore more blues legends like Albert Collins, Freddie King, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Albert King, and Joe Louis Walker. Junior had fallen in love with the blues.
In the summer of 1997, Junior attended a Bay Area blues festival headlined by San Francisco's own Joe Louis Walker. He managed to sneak backstage to meet his idol, and after a nervous introduction, Walker took a liking to him and invited Junior to sit in on a song. Junior jumped at the chance, playing every lick he knew in 12 bars. From that point on, the two became great friends, with Walker taking him under his wing as a mentor of the blues. Junior followed him around town, sitting in on his shows and learning the ropes of music and the business behind it. Around the same time, in a music class at the local junior college, he met drummer Nick Woodson, and together they started their first band, "The Electric Church." They cut their teeth in dive bars before eventually graduating to Bay Area blues clubs and festivals. In 2003, they released their first Jr. De Ville record, *Just a Blues Cat*, which was showcased on the House of Blues radio show hosted by Elwood Blues (Dan Aykroyd) and broadcast on stations around the world. Since then, Junior and Woodson have kept at it, performing in venues and festivals across the Bay Area and beyond.
