La Secta AllStar

Puerto Rican rock outfit La Secta AllStar features bass player Mark Kilpatrick, singer Gustavo Laureano, drummer John Lengel, and guitar player Mike Genao. While enrolled at the University in Orlando, Florida, Kilpatrick and Laureano first joined forces musically. Once they finished their studies, the two relocated to Miami and took positions as sound engineers with a convention company. During garage rehearsals in their local area they connected with classical musician Lengel along with blues guitar player Figueroa, both of whom eagerly contributed their skills. The four musicians began writing original songs and staged them at night clubs throughout Miami and Puerto Rico. Major-label performers soon noticed the group’s distinctive compositional approach and sought out their songs. Covers of La Secta material by Ricky Martin (“Bombon de Azucar”) and Ednita Nazario (“Ultima Vez,” “Corazon”) brought the previously unknown quartet recognition and prestige, which in turn secured a deal for their debut album Aniquila, produced by Andres Levin. That project yielded four major radio successes, among them “Recompensa” and “Nunca Jamas.” Their next effort, the independently issued Allstar, moved more than 20,000 copies within four days of release and reached number one on Puerto Rican radio. Five weeks on the Latin Top 40 charts followed, which helped secure a sold-out 2001 appearance at San Juan’s Coliseo Roberto Clemente—the first of five large-scale island concerts. After recruiting guitarist Mikey Genao, the band issued the pivotal Consejo in 2005. The album earned a Grammy nomination in the Best Latin Rock Album category and cemented La Secta AllStar’s status as a top-selling act across Puerto Rico and the U.S. Hit Parade appeared in 2006, with Fuego arriving in 2008.