Mike Pinera (Captain Beyond/Iron Butterfly) (76) was born September 29, 1948 in Tampa, Florida. In his mid-teens Pinera played his parts in local bands like the Impalas, the Motions and the El Dorados, essentially teen garage bands.”
He co-founded Blues Image in Tampa in 1966 together with Mike Betematti (drums), Malcolm Jones (bass) and Joe Lala (percussion) when they met as students at Tampa’s Jefferson High School. Blues Image, thanks to the Cuba-born Lala, added Latin rhythms to its rock ‘n’ roll/blues mix. The band opened Tampa’s first “psychedelic” nightclub, Dino’s.
Two years after forming, the band relocated to Miami, where it became the house band at Miami’s ultra-hip Thee Image club, supporting international acts like Led Zeppelin. Zeppelin’s guitarist Jimmy Page had a years-long friendship with Pinera. Page called Blues Image, which by then included keyboard player Skip Conte, “the most dynamic sound in the country.”
The band then moved to Los Angeles and signed with Atco Records, releasing its self-titled debut album in 1969. Blues Image’s sophomore album, Open, included “Ride, Captain, Ride,” a song co-written by Pinera and keyboardist Frank “Skip” Conte. Pinera sang the lead on the recording and played the second guitar solo toward the end of the song; the single rose to #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Years later Pinera recalled the recording sessions for Open. Their producer warned them he didn’t hear a hit.
“I went into the bathroom and locked the door,” Pinera said. “I was in there for 10 to 15 minutes and all the words and melody came to me for ‘Ride Captain Ride.’ “It came at a good time because my parents were financially strapped and challenged and I made enough money from that gold single to pay off my father and mother’s house.”
Blues Image was unable to follow with another hit and by the time “Ride Captain Ride” reached the top 10 Pinera had left anyway, accepting an offer to replace the departing guitarist Erik Brann in Iron Butterfly. That group had already made waves with its monster 1968 hit “In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida,” but Pinera, who contributed to 1970’s Metamorphosis album, remained with them into 1972 and then rejoined periodically as various band members reunited in the ’70s-’90s. In 1972 he formed the band Ramatam with female monster guitarist April Lawton and Mitch Mitchell, previously drummer for the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Pinera left the band claiming that Lawton, who wanted both Pinera and Mitchell out, wanted to turn Ramatam into the “April Lawton Band.
In 1973, Pinera helped form The New Cactus Band. They recorded the album, Son of Cactus, on Atlantic Records. In 1975, he formed the band Thee Image and they recorded two albums on Manticore Records, Thee Image and Inside the Triangle, both produced by Pinera.
In 1977, Pinera’s first solo album, Isla, was released on Capricorn Records. It was followed by Forever in 1979 on Capitol Records. The songs were written and produced by Pinera. The Forever album contained the single “Goodnight My Love,” which spent eight weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 70 in February 1980. It was also a hit in Latin America featured in Tele-Novelas Latin TV Series. Pinera joined the Alice Cooper band and he played in the band from the late 1970s to the early 1980s.
He later worked with the video medium and in 1992 launched the Classic Rock All-Stars, a band that consisted of former members of ’60s-’70s rock bands of some renown like Rare Earth, War and others.
In 2012 Mike joined Rockzion and then completed an album called “Came To Believe” Composed of 7 songs. He worked with Rockzion’s players Ronnie Ciago (drums, percussion, vocal BU) and Dennis Renick (keyboards, vocals). Mike and Dennis produced the album together. Mike Pinera wrote 3 songs and Dennis Renick wrote 3 songs. The title song “Came To Believe” was a co-write. It was partially released in 2022 with 2 songs as a promo. The album is slated to be released in 2025.
This is the last original work of Mike Pinera before he passed on November 20, 2024 of liver failure at the age of 76.
