Skip’s note: “This was the last night of the tour in Louisville, Kentucky. The next day (Alejandro and his band) drove to Lexington, Kentucky, to begin a couple weeks of recording for their new record with Tony Visconti. This tour began after Alejandro had done a two- month residency at the Continental Club in Austin, for the sole purpose of working out new songs for the record. Likewise, the band had been trying out new songs every night (both in the show, and at soundcheck), and I felt very fortunate to get the chance to talk with Alejandro after he’d spent so many weeks in a concentrated ‘writing’ time.”

So you were saying you were writing a new song tonight at soundcheck?

Well, we were just kind of messing around. I was telling the (band) that, when I’ve had a band that could — instead of just playing a little chord structure — jump in and start really feeling it out right away is when I get most inspired, and I start just rambling lyrics, and I find that little core, and work off of that. I used to do that a lot, you know. I think I didn’t start writing songs until I was 20, almost 30. And, so, by that time, I had a lot of stuff that just started coming out, so it was a lot easier back then. But I think the more I write songs, the harder it seems to be for me. And I don’t know if that’s because you raise your bar higher each time. Maybe you get better as the years go by, hopefully. I think you develop as a songwriter and know what you want to say, and you don’t want to repeat yourself. You want to remain kind of interesting and fresh, and try to find new ideas, new ways to kind of say the same thing, in a way.

Absolutely.

Some people believe that we write the same song over and over, and there’s some truth to that.

Yeah, there’s this thing the philosopher Heraclitus said: You can’t step in the same river twice — That repetition is not really ever repetition.

No, it’s not. I mean, there’s only so much to the story. And it’s our story. And I can observe, and I can find things in other people that I can relate to and kind of make it my own, hopefully. The secret, I think, or the gift, is when you write something that relates to people on such a deep level that their lives are kind of changed, you know? And that’s a rare song, and that’s a beautiful song, but that’s definitely what I love to reach for.

In your lyrics I’ve noticed there’s a lot of this kind of inevitable sense of leaving. I’m talking specifically about songs like ‘Rosalie’ or ‘Wave’ –- there’s this inescapable tension with leaving or moving past particular places or times. One verse in particular in ‘Rosalie’ when you’re talking about taking a good, long look at everything, and it’s going to be hard to move on.

Right.

When you are writing lyrics, are you conscious of this tension between staying and going, or are you just writing what comes out?

As much as I tell myself that I’m not attached to the past, I realize how much the past is who I am right now — It’s such a deep part of me. And I have such an interest in my family and my culture and things like that, that without looking to the past really — that’s where all the story is. That’s the heart of the story.

But it’s that constant struggle between trying to find a new door to open. Songs lead you kind of. That’s always been my experience. There’s always been one or two songs on an album that lead to the next album, either sonically or lyrically, or just the feel of it. Just something about the atmosphere that it creates makes me feel like, “Whoa, that’s a different place. Let’s go there.” You know? So it’s constantly searching. I always feel like, a lot of people have said this, but once you feel satisfied in any way or that you’ve been there or that you’ve gotten there, I think it’s over.

Oh, it’s trouble.

It’s over. It’s over. Anyone who feels comfortable where they are at that point is kind of getting in trouble, you know.I like the insecurity and the constant search for things.

I know you come from a musical family, jazz and otherwise, and when you came back to Texas and started to write your own songs, were there some writers you would attach yourself to? Or would you find yourself listening alone in a bedroom thinking, “This person is blowing my mind…” or “Of all of the music I’ve been exposed to, I’ve never connected with anything like –”?

Townes Van Zandt, was one of them, for sure. And that was a purely emotional kind of thing. I knew Townes. He was from Texas. He meant a lot to all the Texas songwriters, and when I went back there, he was still around, right? So I got to see him play in the worst of conditions and the best of conditions. You know, he could be really bad sometimes, and his habits got the best of him, and he wasn’t always himself, in that sense. But to me, he was the deepest of writers. There was a way he exposed the truth that was really something, and I think it’s that gift that people are kind of transported – it’s almost not you, you know? It’s just something that comes channeling through you. And he could do that, and it was beautiful to watch. And he was always poetic. Everything that came out of his mouth was poetry. So it was pretty amazing. — That, and I remember when, I first started writing, basically, rewriting Dylan songs…

[Laughs] Oh yeah. The first song we played tonight was me being sick in bed one day trying to re-write “Mama, You’ve Been On My Mind.” I was just hoping that my inadequacies would produce something different.

Well, that’s true. But I think that it’s important to note, like Salvador Dali said, that if you steal from genius, you become a genius.

[Laughs] That’s a good practice to go for.

But if you reach for that, I think that it’s really important to draw from that and not just think that you already know it, or that you have nothing to learn from these people. Because to me it’s all about learning.

Oh, absolutely. Well I’m honored. Thanks for letting us tag along these couple of weeks.

By Skip Matheny – American Songwriter

http://www.americansongwriter.com/2010/02/drinks-with-alejandro-escovedo/

And if Escovedo’s tortured storytelling wasn’t enough, the brash work from guitarist David Pulkingham was something to see. He weaved through gritty rock lines, old country riffs, and flamenco runs so effortlessly that it hardly seemed real. But the entire band was incredibly tight, running over new songs like they’d been playing them for years; and the older ones oozed out of their bodies like the notes were branded on their DNA.

They took the stage to George Jones’ “He Stopped Loving Her Today” playing through the PA, and immediately revved the set into high gear with the opening riff of “Always a Friend” – and at no point did the band let up. These are bawdy tales of fallen friends, drunken benders, and lost loves, each told with the kind of perspective one only gains after having been as close to death as Escovedo was seven years ago, when Hepatitis-C almost claimed his life.

Even when Escovedo and the boys slowed things down with songs like “Sister Lost Soul”, “Down in The Bowery”, and “I Was Drunk” – they sent an electric charge through the crowd that had every ear hanging on every note that came from the stage. By the time they closed the set with the 1-2 punch of “Chelsea Hotel ‘78” and “Castanets” I was so drained, an encore seemed like it might just be too much. But of course I stayed, and of course they delivered. In the last song of the night, Escovedo quite literally channeled every beast and every burden he’s ever had to bear, through the familiar filter of the Rolling Stones anthem “Beast of Burden”. It was one of those rare moments when an artist takes someone else’s song and rewrites it without changing a note or a lyric.

Being one of the few singer/songwriters out there who has not only remained relevant but only gotten better with age, I truly can’t wait to see what other stories are kicking around in his memory bank – and I really can’t wait to hear the songs they inspire.

Of course it was hardly surprising that Escovedo put on a show for the ages.

Published in “My Old Kentucky Blog” – January 27, 2010

http://myoldkyhome.blogspot.com/2010/01/alejandro-escovedo-headliners-music.html

Fans who turned out last January to see singer-songwriter Alejandro Escovedo perform at the WDVX-FM live radio show “Tennessee Shines” were blown away when he took the stage.

Part of a bill that included several other artists, Escovedo and his three bandmates only played a few songs, but those who expected a sedate set of Americana came away with their ears ringing.

Escovedo, it seems, has — for the time being — traded in the contemplative sounds of his extensive back catalog for a wall of ferocity, a towering wave of loud guitar that serves to celebrate life. Given his well-documented battle with Hepatitis-C, which nearly cost him his life, Escovedo has gone back to his punk roots, and his most recent studio album — “Real Animal” — as well as the follow-up slated to be released in late June, is anchored in noise.

It’s a reinvention, of sorts, and one that’s ongoing, Escovedo told The Daily Times during a recent phone interview.

“This songwriter thing has been liberating, because you don’t have to hide everything,” he said. “You take on so many characters and voices in a song to say what you can’t say in real life sometimes, and it’s kind of freeing to just say it — that love is beautiful and freeing and is a mess and is (messed) up. I just want to be able to have that sense of freedom, and I don’t know I’ve always had it in my life because of the different ways I’ve dealt with it, some of them not always so healthy.

“I don’t think of myself as a musician, but I love writing songs. I love the way they communicate and encompass so much, and the soundtrack to those images is so beautiful. Plus, the reaction is immediate — we’re lucky in that respect. We’re not like painters who sit in studios by themselves; we’re fortunate in that way.”

Casual fans and those who had never heard of Escovedo before last year’s “Tennessee Shines” show may have come away complaining about the volume of his set, but those who have followed his career for the past couple of decades are more than aware that, when provoked or inspired, he can make a rock ‘n’ roll racket with the best of them. He’s viewed as an icon in many roots-rock circles, a singer-songwriter who got his start in the San Francisco punk scene of the 1970s as a member of The Nuns.

In the early 1980s, he moved to New York and co-founded the band Rank and File, a group whose blend of country and punk was an early hallmark of what would eventually become known as alternative-country. After Rank and File relocated to Austin, Texas, Escovedo would form the True Believers with his brother, Javier, before embarking on a solo career.

On albums such as “Gravity,” “Thirteen Years,” “With These Hands” and “A Man Under the Influence,” he inspired countless singer-songwriters who followed in his wake and earned a dedicated following of Americana fans as well. At the height of his creative success — a composition called “By the Hand of the Father,” about his own dad and produced in conjunction with a Los Angeles theater company — he was struck down, however.

Collapsing after a performance, he was diagnosed with Hepatitis-C. The disease was so advanced that he had esophageal varices, advanced cirrhosis of the liver and abdominal tumors. He was first diagnosed in 1996, and while he doesn’t know when or how he contracted the disease, he attributes it to the hedonistic lifestyle he lived during the 1970s. His health took a backseat to his lifestyle even after the diagnosis, however — until he found himself fighting for his life.

Slowly, he won that fight, and in 2005, he was given the all-clear from his physicians. During his illness, his music was given a high-profile salute by such artists as Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams, Son Volt and The Jayhawks, who came together to record “Por Vida: A Tribute to the Songs of Alejandro Escovedo,” the proceeds of which went to help defray Escovedo’s medical bills.

After his recovery, he released the brooding CD “The Boxing Mirror,” but on “Real Animal,” his brush with death took a backseat for the gratitude that came with survival. His struggle, however, has had a profound impact on his creativity, he added — it’s been almost five years since his viral load was too low to detect, but the experience itself won’t diminish any time soon.

“It’s funny how that stuff affects me — in how I reflect on the past and in how I realize that I lost a lot of my dearest friends, my brothers and sisters, to addiction,” he said. “It all comes from this need to find some sort of warmth that we’re all looking for. Drugs numb you to what’s happening around you, and some of them enhance what’s happening around you, and all of those things kind of still play in how I perceive what’s happening around me. I’m not trying to medicate what I’m feeling anymore, but what my past has certainly given me a lifestyle that’s not average.”

In the wake of releasing “Real Animal” and the enthusiastic support of it through a lot of touring, Escovedo has found himself facing new challenges, however. Life on the road has taken its toll on his marriage, and in ruminating on the themes that might populate the to-be-titled follow-up, he kept coming back to the idea of finding balance.

It’s an ephemeral concept, he said — maintaining a relationship with a wife on the homefront and with fans around the country … with a hedonistic, rebellious past and a more cautious present … with a reputation as a certain kind of artist and a desire to push past those boundaries into unexplored territory.

“In the last year, I’ve worked really hard on ‘Real Animal,’ and it was a beautiful year for that record, but it definitely had its toll on my relationship with my wife,” he said. “We’re trying to figure out how to create a relationship that’s different but fits what we both want. We’re both artists and we have a child together. On the one hand, it’s a hell of a lot of work, but the payoff is that we have a beautiful child who brings so much to our lives, and we don’t want to throw everything away. So we’re trying to work really hard on that, and in a sense a lot of the new songs are about that.”

After the autobiographical nature of “Real Animal,” Escovedo said, he wanted to focus more on experiences he’s living in the present rather than revisiting the ghosts of the past. As he retreated to Mexico with long-time friend, co-writer and fellow artist Chuck Prophet, Escovedo found himself thinking about his life’s journey — about looking around and taking stock of his place on that path in the here and now, and looking ahead to where it might lead.

“I did some surfing, and Chuck came out and we wrote some songs that became the beginning of this new album,” he said. “I remember Chuck asking me, ‘What’s on your mind?’ And I said, ‘I know that romance is futile, and the art of surfing.’ So we took it from there, and it is contemplative to a certain extent.

“There’s a song on there called ‘Down in the Bowery’ that I wrote for my son, and it’s kind of like passing on this idea, this lifestyle, to someone younger than you. It’s telling my son just to go for it, man — to be a freak, to be wild, to be a revolutionary … to be anything but complacent and normal and mediocre. It’s telling him to go out with a bang and make a big noise.”

Other new songs — some of which will be showcased at Escovedo’s Tuesday night show at The Bijou Theatre in downtown Knoxville — include “Meteor Shower” (”It’s kind of a meditation on a woman’s beauty,” he said) and “This Bed Is Getting Crowded,” about the baggage both parties bring to a relationship and how each person reacts to it.

“If it is contemplative, it’s going to be presented in a state that’s really joyful,” he said of the forthcoming album. “That’s what we’re really into on this record. I think it’s important to do that, to touch on a thing that may seem simple and trite. Because to get in there and touch on this prism of the world, it’s pretty complicated. There are a lot of ways to approach it, and a lot of answers.”

By Steve Wildsmith – thedailytimes.com

http://www.thedailytimes.com/article/20100114/ENT/301149957

http://drop.io/wcnralejandroescovedo

Hosted by:  WCNR’s Afternoon Host/Music Director Jeff Sweatman.

http://www.1061thecorner.com

The singer, decked out in a blue faux snakeskin suit and black and white polka dot ascot, effortlessly plowed through songs from his last album (2008’s excellent Real Animal), a few covers (including a spot-on rendition of Mott the Hoople’s “All the Young Dudes”) and even managed to keep the audience interested while showcasing material for Real Animal’s soon-to-be-recorded follow-up. (The current leg of his tour wraps Jan. 23 in Louisville, at which point he and his band will head over to Lexington’s Saint Claire studios, the same facility where Real Animal was recorded.)

Of the four new songs previewed, the most rollicking of which made its live debut at the show; the song, a spot-on concoction that smashes together Darkness on the Edge of Town-era Springsteen and Tim-era Westerberg entitled “Anchor” handily showcased Escovedo’s mastery of the rock and roll song: three minutes, three choruses, a blazing guitar solo courtesy of guitarist David Pulkingham and a rousing ending. The formula may sound banal, but the result is a song that garnered fist pumping and even a few audience members shouting the chorus (”I’m in love with love and it broke me in two”) back at the singer by the end of the song.

“I wrote that song while in Mexico surfing,” said Escovedo in a quick chat after the show, “This entire new album is all about love, death and surfing.”

But the new tunes didn’t stop there. The singer also showcased “Down in the Bowery”, a tender song that Escovedo wrote for his son.  If that description alone makes you worry about the singer drifting into schmaltzy Rod Stewart territory, fear not – the song’s country feel and lyrics about finding one’s own way owes more to Gram Parsons and Keith Richards than it ever could to AOR tripe.

“I asked my son what he thought about my music and he told me it was ‘old man’s music’, so I wrote this song about how I want him to find his path in life,” said Escovedo with a laugh.

If there was only a casual hint of the Stones in “Down in the Bowery”, then “This Bed is Getting Crowded” was a full blown hero worship for the Mick Taylor era of the Stones. Set atop a garage-y and repetitive guitar riff and leading to a very Iggy Pop-feeling climax, the song encapsulates a rather ominous feeling that came over Escovedo during the writing process that he describes as when “romance is futile and death is impending”.  If that feeling creates as joyous a noise as on “This Bed is Getting Crowded”, then more people need to latch onto it- the song cooks.

The final new song played that night was a slow burning and very Velvet Underground sounding “After the Meteor Shower”, a slow and simple song punctuated by a vibrato-laden guitar that Escovedo describes as “my attempt to write a ‘Pale Blue Eyes’-type of song”.

The songs managed to fit right into Escovedo and company’s show and not feel out of place. The singer is also taking the time on this tour to showcase his smaller backing band, consisting of Pulkingham, bassist Bobby Daniel and drummer Hector Muñoz.  Gone are the strings of past tours and in its place a muscular, guitar-centric band.

“I wanted to play guitar-driven rock this time out,” said Escovedo. “It was hard to convince people that that’s what I do, so hopefully this record will show that.”

If the live material is any indicator, there will be no doubt about that when the new album is finally released.  Escovedo is showing his inner Boss, but hinting at his inner Stooge.

By Jason Bugg – BLURT.  Published January 19, 2010

http://blurt-online.com/news/view/3260/

While Escovedo’s music over his four decades as a performer has ranged from string-backed Southwestern ballads to cow punk (he was an originator with the great band, Rank and File) to bluesy Stones stomps (The True Believers), he was announcing this evening would be one rock gut punch after another.

Escovedo collapsed and nearly died of complications from Hepatitis C in 2003 and it’s been a long road back for him. But there was nothing tentative about this show (his plight resulted in the two CD set, “Por Vida: with artists like Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Los Lonely Boys, The Jayhawks and Son Volt recording his tunes) . He looked every bit as commanding and vital as he did more than a decade ago when I saw him lead a band through a sweat-drenched set at The Mercury Lounge in New York. Naming this touring band “The Sensitive Boys,” a nod to a song on his latest, “Real Animal,” was an in-joke.

For this tour, Escovedo, who has gone on the road solo or with spare accompaniment and also as a big band leader, chose a tight four-piece featuring guitarist David Pulkingham, bassist Bobby Daniel, and long-time drummer Hector Munoz. They were supple enough to follow Escovedo’s changing leads and moods, giving the show both an urgency and a spontaneity perfect for the tight, crowded confines of the Jewish Mother. Their only error may have been relying on the guys from Vampire Weekend for fashion advice and showing up on stage wearing scarves.

Pulkingham switched from electric guitar to nylon-stringed classical acoustic playing each with punkish fervor, ringing clarity or wall-bending distortion when needed. Daniel and Munoz were locked in all night and, as Escovedo said, “it all starts with the rhythm section.” They drove a set of 13 songs featuring tunes from Escovedo’s solo career, which began in 1992 after the breakup of The True Believers, and ending with two sing-along covers.

They rarely relented throughout the 90-minute set, launching into “Everybody Loves Me” for the second cut to open the show with a double shot of hard rock. Escovedo, who turned 59 earlier in the months, said he was working out some new songs for a return to the studio with producer Tony Visconti, who manned the knobs for his superb latest, “Real Animal.” All of them were keepers, from this third song of the set, “Anchor,” through “Down in the Bowery,” written for his 17-year-old son, a skater and hip hop fan who loved The Ramones, as Escovedo did,  to the encore opener,  “Tender Heart,” fueled by Pulkingham’s Keith Richards-style guitar attacks. “I’ve got nothing you need, but everything you want,” Escovedo sang.

Escovedo is one of the premier songwriters of our times, fluent in a ridiculous range of genres. This is the guy who opened for the last Sex Pistols show in 1978. There are echoes of everything from Lou Reed to Townes Van Zandt to Roky Erickson in his work.

“Real Animal,” released in 2008, was hailed as a creative pinnacle for Escovedo. And while the often autobiographical songs and straight-forward arrangements were easily appealing, it was just the latest in a line of stellar releases, including “A Man Under the Influence,” “Thirteen Years,” and “Gravity.” From “Animal” he pulled “Sister Lost Soul,” dedicated to those he’s lost along the way, including Stephen Bruton. “Nobody Left Unbroken; Nobody left unscarred; Nobody here is talking; That’s just the way things are.” It’s an simple summary of his life and career, but singing about it before an enthusiastic crowd somehow salve the wounds.

Among the show’s highlights were Pulkingham’s flamenco punk guitar playing on “I Was Drunk” and the distorted guitar interplay between him and Escovedo on “Chelsea Hotel ‘78,” another autobiographical tune about living in Manhattan’s infamous fleabag in the late 1970s.

Escovedo introduced the set closer by telling a story about a friend who called him to say the tune, “Castanets,” was on a New York Times top ten list. Then he told him the origin of the list: it was from George W. Bush’s iPod. “It ruined the song for me,” Escovedo said, noting he didn’t play it again until an appearance at the Democratic National Convention in 2008. The band tore into a version that brought the crowd to its feet.

For the encore, Escovedo tried out “Tender Heart, ” a solid rocker which he said had been played in concert for the first time the night before, then reached back for covers of Mott the Hoople’s “All the Young Dudes” and The Rolling Stones’ “Beast of Burden,” encouraging a willing audience to sing the choruses. After, many lingered for autographs. But it also seemed they wanted to savor the performance, unwilling to let the night slip quite so easily into memory.

By Jim Morrison – jimravenrants blog.

http://jimsravesnrants.wordpress.com/2010/01/17/alejandro-escovedo-at-the-jewish-mother-2/

He doesn’t look much like the aging rocker I had pictured. He doesn’t even quite look like the Mexican that he is, somehow bearing a more Asian countenance. But none of that matters when he and the Sensitive Boys hit the stage. I just love to watch the chemistry, imagine the jokes these guys tell each other on the long empty miles of highway, see the smiles and chords shared in front of the crowd.

They play with all their heart. Sounds trite really, but you can see the passion and feel the earth-shaking dreams in the beat of the drums and the fierce strumming of the guitars. The bass player is the one that spooks me. He looks like a true rock-n-roller, with a giant wingspan and the longest guitar I’ve ever seen. He plays stoically almost, pulsing the background beat for the show without fanfare and with only the occasional hint of a smile.

He is standing, as it turns out, in the exact spot on the stage where just six months ago another amazing musician stood. Amy Farris, an extraordinary violinist and angelic singer, played the Beachland in July with Dave Alvin and his Guilty Women. Three months after she moved me with an amazing show, she was dead.

I can’t get the picture out of my head. The pale dark haired rocker morphs into the red headed violin dynamo before my eyes. And I realize again just how much these traveling musicians have to give up to follow their fantasies. Apparently, earth-shaking dreams are not enough, even to keep you alive. It swirls in my head tonight: the way these musicians give their all to audiences large and small throughout the country. How they do the only thing they know how to do, without apology and without settling for something less. And how the road is so lonely and the night so dark sometimes. The roar of the crowd is something, but I marvel that it could keep you going night after night in city after city.

There is something very special here, though. In the pounding rock and roll. In the banter with the audience. In the living of the dream. Something special enough to get Alejandro to the next night and the next city and the next dream.

By Kathryne – Bending Time

http://bendingtime-kathryne.blogspot.com/2010/01/sensitive-souls.html

But mention him to fans of punk, alt-country, blazing guitar-rock or confessional string-quartet pop, and you might get a big smile.

And mention that the Texas-based singer/songwriter/guitarist appears Saturday at the Jewish Mother with his hard-rockin’ group, the Sensitive Boys, for a very rare area appearance, and it’s a serious reason to rejoice.

For those not aware of the Mexican American musician’s talent, experience and rich history, suffice it to say he’s a sort of a musical “Zelig,” although hardly ordinary or unimportant.

He was named Musician of the Decade by No Depression magazine in 1998. Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, The New York Times, USA Today and Entertainment Weekly have all done loving profiles. He’s appeared on “Austin City Limits,” “Late Night With Conan O’Brian,” “Today,” “Tonight,” with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band and at the Democratic National Convention.

Fans have decried their hero’s lack of popular recognition or mainstream success, but Escovedo sees it differently.

“I’m quite grateful and glad it’s gone this way,” he said during a phone interview. “I’m comfortable to have been able to experiment, to have had creative freedom and to have played music for a good reason.”

He hails from a musically rich family that includes percussionist brothers Pete and Coke, rocking sibling Javier and niece Sheila E.

In the late ’70s he helped found the San Francisco area punk band The Nuns, which opened for the Sex Pistols on the final performance of the British punk band’s disastrous, self-destructive 1978 American tour.

“I never rebelled against my parents’ music,” Escovedo, 59, said about his ethnic heritage, which he celebrated in his words-and-music stage piece “By the Hand of the Father.” “At the time it was against the music establishment. Punk has always been part of my musical makeup; it’s a good way to get out your pent-up aggression and energy, and sometimes it’s a good contact sport.”

He helped to start the alt-country movement by forming the cow-punk band Rank & File in New York. He moved on to a more hard-rocking band, True Believers, and a punk-oriented outfit, Buick MacKane.

But during a 2003 performance of “By the Hand of the Father” he collapsed onstage and hovered near death due to hepatitis C.

He was in ill health for several years, resulting in crippling debt.

Then a veritable who’s who in music – including his niece and brothers, Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams, John Cale, Son Volt, the Jayhawks, Ian Hunter and Jennifer Warnes – rallied around him, producing two tribute albums of his songs (”Por Vida” and the Canadian “Escovedo 101″) and a series of benefit concerts.

“That was very, very flattering, and humbling. I was almost embarrassed. I didn’t feel worthy,” he admitted. “But it was such a beautiful, beautiful gesture. The entire experience gave me a new perspective, and appreciation, of life. It’s given me… a wake-up call telling me how precious it all is and how lucky I am.”

Escovedo said now he’s hale, hearty and in the best creative and physical shape of his life. That will be evident Saturday at the Jewish Mother, he said.

“I’m having more fun now then I’ve ever had. We’ll do a lot of new material, older songs, everything from ballads to Stooges covers. There will be good guitars, good songs, good rock ‘n’ roll, a good time.”

IF YOU GO:
Who: Alejandro Escovedo & The Sensitive Boys with Roman Candle.
When: 9 p.m. Saturday
Where: The Jewish Mother, 3108 Pacific Ave., Virginia Beach.
Tickets: $20 advance, $23 at the door.
More information: Call (757) 422-5430 or visit jewishmother.com.

By Eric Ferber – The Virginian-Pilot.  Published January 14,2010

http://hamptonroads.com/2010/01/alejandro-escovedo-and-sensitive-boys

“You look back at what a buzz it was to plug in an electric guitar, make a lot of noise and have your friends jump along side of you,” says Mexican-American musician Alejandro Escovedo. “You realize what an interesting life it’s been.”

Escovedo’s life certainly has been interesting: When San Francisco punk band The Nuns opened for The Sex Pistols at Winterlands in 1978, Escovedo — then the Nuns’ guitarist — had just celebrated his 27th birthday. At the height of punk music in the U.S., he moved cross-country to live in the storied Chelsea Hotel. He was there when Nancy Spungen (girlfriend of Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious) died.

The thing about punk rock is that it’s youth-driven and unschooled; never intended for longevity. On the other hand Escovedo, now a critically acclaimed singer/songwriter and four decades into his musical career, is built to last.

There have been accolades: He was named artist of the decade by No Depression in 1998, received the AMA Lifetime Achievement Award for Performing in 2006 and was named both musician and songwriter of the year at 2008’s Austin Music Awards (Escovedo’s 2008 album Real Animal was also named album of the year).

There are also hard-to-quantify successes: Post-Nuns projects Rank and File (with Chip and Tony Kinman) and The True Believers (with Escovedo’s brother Javier) blended punk energy with roots rock and country sounds to influence what later became Americana (he has been called the godfather of modern country rock).

According to the musician, his punk turn was more than just misspent youth.

“It was historical as far as rock music is concerned,” he notes. “Playing CBGB and Max’s and Hurrah, playing with the people I got to play with and knowing the people I got to know at that time. It was crazy — we were doing crazy things and living a pretty undisciplined life — but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

He continues, “That period of time and the aesthetic I developed as a result of being in a punk-rock band, I live by it to this day. I’m not a punk, I’m different now, but same philosophy: Just try to play good loud rock and say something interesting.”

That philosophy is emphasized in the retrospective/musical autobiography of Real Animal, Escovedo’s most recent release. The dynamic 13-track collection, co-written with Chuck Prophet, is not an album of reissues or even remakes, but songs that address the highlights of Escovedo’s career. “Chelsea Hotel ‘78″ is a darkly growling revisit of punk’s heyday; “Real as an Animal” is a tribute to Iggy Pop. Softer offerings — the waltzing “Swallows of San Juan” and the expansive, Springsteen-esque “Slow Down” remind listeners that Escovedo can write as well as rock.

Real Animal is a solid album in its own right; that it follows the quiet introspection of The Boxing Mirror (2006) and the musician’s near-death brush with hepatitis C in 2003 lends the album a revelatory light. Good news: Escovedo plans to keep on rocking.

“This tour is the beginning of the process of recording a new album,” he says of the trip that brings him through Asheville this week, on his way to a studio in Lexington, Ky. The new material has been developed over the course of Escovedo’s residency at the Continental Club in Austin, Texas, where he’s been presenting three new songs each week. “The record, as I see it, is a rock album along the lines of Real Animal only not autobiographical.”

Though Escovedo is known for writing songs inspired by personal experience and the people in his life, he says that after Real Animal, “The one thing I didn’t want to do was come back with an album of the same thematic quality. I really just kind of wanted to write good songs, catchier songs.”

Another thing the musician is known for: Changing the configuration of his touring band. Escovedo’s first solo efforts, back in 1989, included the forming of two bands: the free-form collective Alejandro Escovedo Orchestra and the guitar-driven Buick Mackane. More recently, he promoted Boxing Mirror with The Alejandro Escovedo String Quintet and played a date at Carnegie Hall. The musician’s latest band is a four piece with emphasis on harmonies. The return to a rock configuration followed Real Animal; the big surprise on that tour was who he shared stages with: Try Dave Matthews and Bruce Springsteen.

In a different world, either of those musicians could have opened for Escovedo. The Austin-based musician (he moved back to his home state in 1980) has put in the time, but he’s never enjoyed the mainstream recognition. “It feels fine,” he tells Xpress. “It doesn’t feel like anything because [that sort of fame] doesn’t exist in my universe.”

These days, Escovedo is pretty content. There’s just one little issue: “It’s funny, I have a reputation as being a singer/songwriter guy,” he muses. “But I’ve always been in rock bands. The good part of the set is always rock and roll songs. I’ve always loved these loud guitars.”

who: Alejandro Escovedo (with Roman Candle)
what: Texas-based singer/songwriter returns to Asheville with a rockin show
where: The Orange Peel
when: Friday, Jan 15 (9 p.m. $18 advance/$20 doors. theorangepeel.net)

By Alli Marshall – Mountain Xpress

http://www.mountainx.com/ae/2010/011310play_good_loud_rock_and_say_something_interesting

Oh, and delivering the unexpected.

Rock concerts that unleash these critical elements, in my mind, set themselves apart from the rest of the pack.

It doesn’t matter if the show entertains thousands of fans or a few dozen diehards. Superstar Elton John’s mesmerizing sold-out solo appearance at Van Andel Arena and singer Joan Osborne’s masterful performance for a few hundred fans at Hudsonville’s Pinnacle Center both have cemented spots on my “best concerts” list.

At 59, after 35 years of guitar-slinging, Alejandro Escovedo clearly recognizes what stokes a successful rock show, whether that’s as a young punk opening for the legendary Sex Pistols in the 1970s or as a veteran singer-songwriter fronting a roots-rock/alt-country ensemble at Wealthy Theatre in 2006.

I was inside Wealthy Theatre that night, along with about 160 other very lucky concertgoers, many of whom didn’t know what to expect from Escovedo’s first visit to Grand Rapids. Most, I’m sure, left inspired by the musicianship, power and grace of that show — – one of the strongest performances I’ve ever seen despite the tiny turnout.

Put it this way: I’d never experienced Escovedo’s musical magic prior to that evening but immediately swore I wouldn’t miss it again if he ever returned to Michigan. Well, he’s back Tuesday, this time playing The Intersection.

Escovedo attributes much of that live appeal to his early punk background, starting with the California band The Nuns in the mid-1970s. It’s all about playing with heart and fire.

“I don’t think I’ve ever tried to walk away from it or turn my back on the fact that I was in punk rock bands,” he told me recently in a phone interview from his home outside Austin, Texas.

“I’ve embraced it; it’s part of my musical lineage. Punk rock was important for me. I never would have played an instrument if it wasn’t for punk rock. There’s a part of me that despises a certain insincerity in music and in any kind of art form. The reaction is to get in somebody’s face and make some noise. That’s still part of my thing.”

Escovedo now produces a less raucous but more inventive and mature form of rock. It’s a melting pot approach that blends punk, country, roots-rock, blues and soul with the Mexican music of his father and brothers “that was always really the basis of what I do.”

His most recent albums, 2006’s “The Boxing Mirror” and 2008’s “Real Animal,” have earned high praise for their powerful, heartfelt songwriting and compelling, eclectic music.

“I’ve lived a fuller life at this point. I’ve been through a lot,” said Escovedo, who survived a near-death experience six years ago after contracting Hepatitis C.

“I’m a much different person than I was when I was 24. But I still have the same record collection and I dress the same way.”

Indeed, Escovedo insisted his music is a reflection of a personal record inventory “that’s always been very broad in scope.” It boasts everything from Smokey Robinson and the Miracles to Sun Ra to Junior Walker to The Cramps to The Stooges to Capt. Beefheart.

But Escovedo also has learned the art of change, of never allowing his own music to grow stale or remain static. So, the band this month will start recording a new studio album with a new stripped-down approach.

“I wanted to make a Heartbreakers/”Exile on Main Street” kind of album. That’s the stuff I’ve been writing: real guitar-driven rock,” he told me enthusiastically. “All the ballads are guitar-driven. I love the new material.”

That zeal, combined with those diverse influences, make Escovedo’s live performances unpredictable yet accessible, warm yet edgy. When I saw him play at The Ark in Ann Arbor last June, Escovedo and his band started the concert by playing “unplugged” amid tables right in the middle of the crowd. It established an intimate relationship with fans from the get-go.

“It helps me connect a little bit more with the audience and the room,” he reasoned.

Consider it another way that Escovedo and his band — guitarist David Pulkingham, drummer Hector Munoz and bassist Bobby Daniel — put their music and their audiences first.

“We’ve always tried so hard to put out the best that we can and make it different all the time,” he said. “That’s the key: to keep it growing and moving and changing. That’s the key to getting better.”

Rest assured, it’s an attitude that helps drive one of the best live shows you’ll ever see.

By John Sinkevics – The Grand Rapids Press.  Published January 10, 2010.

http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2010/01/alejandro_escovedo_returns_to.html