? and the Mysterians – Nostalgia Central

Bobby Balderrama (guitar), his cousin Larry Borjas (bass), and Robert Martinez (drums) formed the band in Michigan in 1962, initially as an instrumental combo playing songs by The Ventures and Duane Eddy.

After a year and a half, they were joined by Robert’s brother Rudy, who “could sing and dance like Mick Jagger,” and by organist Frank Rodriguez. They took the name “The Mysterians” from a Japanese sci-fi movie and christened Rudy “Question Mark” (?).

Rudy subsequently became famous for his eccentric persona, claiming to be from Mars and always wearing sunglasses in public. He eventually changed his name legally to the punctuation mark.

Larry Borjas and Robert Martinez were both forced to leave the band for military duty, and were replaced by bassist Frank Lugo and the Martinez brothers’ brother-in-law, drummer Eddie Serrato.

They recorded the organ-driven 96 Tears in a little makeshift 4-track studio set up in a friend’s recreation room. By September 1966, the song was #1 in America.

The band’s first album, naturally also titled 96 Tears, was released by the end of the year, as was its follow-up single, l Need Somebody, which just missed the Top 20.

Released in early 1967, Can’t Get Enough of You Baby was a minor hit, but the group’s second album, Action, sold disappointingly.

The Mysterians recorded singles for Capitol in 1968 and Tangerine and Super K in 1969, but to no commercial avail.

They recorded their third album (which was never released) at Ray Charles‘s studio in California, but the band’s popularity had waned, and their style seemed outdated compared to artists like Cream and Jimi Hendrix.

They called it a day, with ? retaining the rights to the band name. He tried again with a new lineup in the early ’70s, recording singles for Chicory in 1972 and Luv in 1973, but to no response.

? & the Mysterians reconvened again in 1978 to cut some demos with producer Kim Fowley, and played a reunion concert in Dallas in 1984.

The original ? & The Mysterians reunited for a world tour in 1995 and re-recorded their debut album for Collectables (since Allen Klein refused to reissue any of the group’s original recordings or even license 96 Tears for compilations – hence its absence from Rhino’s mostly comprehensive garage rock box set Nuggets).

In 1998, they released a live album titled Do You Feel It, Baby? on Norton Records. Recorded at Coney Island High, it was received warmly by their cult fan base of garage rock aficionados.

The year 1999 brought the release of another, somewhat better-produced two-disc set of re-recordings, More Action, this time released on Cavestomp! The LP was later condensed into the 2001 single-disc release Feel It!: The Very Best of Question Mark & the Mysterians.

Question Mark (Rudy Martinez)
Vocals
Bobby Balderrama
Guitar
Larry Borjas
Bass
Frank Rodriguez
Organ
Robert Martinez 
Drums
Frank Lugo
Bass
Eddie Serrato
Drums