<P> Tito Larriva was born in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico but spent his early years living outside Fairbanks, Alaska; his family later relocated to El Paso, Texas, where he studied violin and flute as a member of his school orchestra . After high school he flirted with attending Yale University before landing in Los Angeles, California in the mid-1970s . He began his music career by playing in some of the first Latino punk bands such as The Impalas, The Flesh Eaters, and, most notably, The Plugz . Larriva released several albums with the Plugz before the group disbanded in 1984 . Following disbandment, Larriva teamed up with former Plugz bandmates Charlie Quintana and Tony Marsico to form the Cruzados . With the Cruzados, Larriva's music began to move in a different direction, straying from his typical punk rock to a bluesier 1980s rock sound . The band was critically acclaimed and opened for big acts like INXS and Fleetwood Mac . They released a self - titled album in 1985, followed by After Dark in 1987, but disbanded in 1988 . The Cruzados also performed the song Don't Throw Stones at the beginning of the 1989 movie Roadhouse . </P> <P> From there, Larriva continued writing film music, and also turned to acting . Starting in 1992, he and guitarist Peter Atanasoff celebrated with various friends at live weekly jam sessions in the cafes and clubs of Los Angeles, at big, spontaneous parties . The band at that time were simply known as "Tito & Friends ." As Tito explained in an interview, their old friend Charlie Midnight stated that the band needed a name, and suggested Tito & Tarantula . The band agreed and it stuck . </P> <P> By 1995, officially called Tito & Tarantula, the band had a stable line - up of Larriva (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Atanasoff (lead guitar), Jennifer Condos (bass), Lyn Bertles (violin, mandolin, recorder, harmonica), and Nick Vincent (drums, percussion). It was with this line - up that they recorded the songs "Back to the House That Love Built", "Strange Face of Love", and "White Train", which made their debut in Robert Rodriguez' film Desperado, which featured Larriva in a fairly minor but important role . The three songs appear on the film's soundtrack . The next year, the band appeared in Rodriguez' From Dusk till Dawn as house band of the "Titty Twister" (though this band only consisted of Larriva, Atanasoff, and future drummer Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez . They also recorded three songs for the film: "After Dark", "Angry Cockroaches", and "Opening Boxes" (the latter of which did not appear on the soundtrack album). </P> <P> Tito had met Rodriguez when filming Desperado . During the mixing of the film, Tito was playing a previously written song, that happened to be about vampires, which caught the ear of Rodriguez . Rodriguez mentioned that his next film was about vampires, and asked if he could videotape the song acoustically . One week later, Tito was informed that he and the band had now been written into the upcoming film Dusk Before Dawn, primarily to have actress Salma Hayek dance to the previously heard song in a scene . </P>

Name of the band in from dusk till dawn