Calexico had its origins in 1990 when Burns, who was studying music at the University of California, Irvine, met up with Convertino, who was playing drums with Howe Gelb in Giant Sand. Burns joined them, after first playing upright bass on a European tour.
Giant Sand moved to Tucson, Arizona in 1994. John and Joey formed the Friends of Dean Martin (later the Friends of Dean Martinez) which scored a record deal with Sub Pop. However, the pair split up with Bill Elm, the co-founder of The Friends of Dean Martinez in 1996. The band subsequently became a kind of indie rhythm section for hire, working with the likes of Victoria Williams, Barbara Manning and Richard Buckner before forming Calexico.
Calexico first recorded Spoke in 1995 for German independent label Hausmusik with a limited edition of 2,000 copies. At that point the band was still called Spoke and the album was technically self-titled. After the band signed with Quarterstick Records (a subsidiary of Touch and Go Records) and changed their name to Calexico, Spoke was reissued by that label in 1997. Burns and Convertino also collaborated with Gelb and Lisa Germano on the album Slush released under the name OP8 that same year.
Their second album The Black Light was released in 1998. This was a concept album about the desert of Arizona and northern Mexico and received excellent reviews, with the critic from the Wall Street Journal rating it as one of the best records of the year.
The band built their profile by touring as support acts for bands such as Pavement, the Dirty Three and Lambchop. Calexico has regularly played festivals such as the Bonnaroo Music Festival, the Hurricane Festival and All Tomorrow's Parties. The Road Map album was a limited recording released in 1999 for sale only at Calexico's live shows.
Calexico released its third album Hot Rail in May 2000 featuring the addition of horns and violin to their sound. The duo was busy in 2000 as they also appeared on a Giant Sand record called Chore of Enchantment as well as a tour only record Travelall.
At the end of 2000, Burns and Convertino joined with two French friends Naïm Amor and Thomas Belhôm to record "Tête A Tête" (Wabana Records, 2001) released under moniker ABBC (Amor/Belhom/Burns/Convertino). Calexico released two collections of rarities during 2001. Even My Sure Things Fall Through collected outtakes from previous albums, B-sides, remixes and material previously unreleased in the US. The album also featured Mariachi Luz de Luna who frequently played live with the duo. The Aerocalexico album was sold exclusively at their gigs in 2001.
The Scraping live album was released in 2002. Their next studio recording Feast of Wire was released in 2003 and made the charts for the first time appearing on Billboard's Heatseekers and Independent album chart. They made their first video for "Quattro (World Drifts In)" which was a single from Feast of Wire. They released a live DVD in 2004 called World Drifts In: Live at the Barbican. The song "Güero Canelo", from Feast of Wire, was featured in Michael Mann's Film, Collateral, starring Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx, in which the band appears.
Calexico contributed the song "Burnin' Down the Spark" to Nancy Sinatra's self-titled album in late 2004. The album featured artists who cited Sinatra as a musical influence. The song was released in the UK as the second single from the album in early 2005.
In 2005, Calexico joined up with Miami-based band Iron & Wine. Howard Greynolds of Overcoat Records was responsible for bringing the two bands together having previously been responsible for Tortoise and Will Oldham recording together. The In the Reins EP was released in September 2005 and received a positive reception with an MSNBC review giving it honorable mention. It also made an appearance in the Billboard 200 album charts, becoming their first recording to make the album charts, and No. 12 on the independent charts. In October 2005, they commenced a US tour with Iron & Wine to promote the record.
Released in 2006, Garden Ruin is Calexico's fifth studio album and was produced by JD Foster. The sound strays slightly from earlier works, focusing less on the horn section, and placing more emphasis on guitar and vocal tracks, giving the whole album a more mainstream sound.
In 2007, Calexico was invited by Arcade Fire to record a cover of their "Ocean of Noise." This recording was used as the B-side for Arcade Fire's "Intervention" single, originally released on vinyl on May 21, 2007. Also in 2007, Calexico recorded a revamped version of the Bob Dylan song "Goin' to Acapulco" for the Dylan biopic "I'm Not There". The song featured Jim James of My Morning Jacket on vocals and was featured on the soundtrack of the film.
Several of Calexico's songs, usually their shorter instrumental pieces, have been used as interstitial and background music on Public Radio International's This American Life. Their songs "Ballad Of Cable Hogue" and "Service And Repair" were featured in the 2001 German comedy movie Lammbock.
Their sixth studio LP is called 'Carried to Dust', featuring Sam Beam of Iron & Wine, Douglas McCombs of Tortoise and Pieta Brown. It was released in the USA via Touch & Go Records on September 9, 2008. The album enjoyed solid reviews, with hometown paper the Arizona Daily Star praising the band's "ability to sweep you into its world, taking listeners to the American Southwest. This is one of the reasons Europeans love Calexico and others in this country are beginning to come around."
On October 16, 2008, a three-song live acoustic video performance premiered on LiveDaily Sessions, featuring Joey Burns performing the songs "Two Silver Trees," "Writer's Minor Holiday" and "Man Made Lake".
In 2009, the song Banderilla was featured in an episode of AMC's Breaking Bad.
In 2010, a new album of Calexico was released: the soundtrack of the documentary "Circo". The band also spent part of 2010 touring with Arcade Fire along the west US coast.
In May 2011, their song "Slowness" was dedicated by Gabrielle Giffords to her husband astronaut Mark Kelly as the wake up song aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour on its final flight.
Algiers was released 11 September 2012 on ANTI Records and CITY SLANG (Europe).
In April 2014, the band began referring to a new album on Twitter in posts from Mexico City, Coyoacan, Mexico, and Athens, Greece. Edge of the Sun was announced on 27 January 2015, and released on April 14, 2015. The album features guest appearances by various artists such as Sam Beam (Iron & Wine), Ben Bridwell (Band of Horses), Gaby Moreno, Carla Morrison and members of the Greek instrumental group Takim.
The current members of Calexico are:
Joey Burns – vocals, guitars, bass, cello, piano, keyboards, accordion, percussion, vibraphone
John Convertino – drums, percussion, piano, keyboards, vibraphone, marimba, accordion
Paul Niehaus – steel guitar, guitars
Jacob Valenzuela – trumpet, keyboards, vibraphone, vocals
Martin Wenk – trumpet, guitar, keyboards, accordion, glockenspiel, vibraphone, theremin (occasionally harmonica & French horn)
Volker Zander – standup bass, electric bass
Live tour 2013:
Joey Burns - vocals, guitars
John Convertino - drums, percussion
Sergio Mendoza - Keyboards
Jairo Zavala - bazouki, baritone guitar, vocals
Jacob Valenzuela – trumpet, keyboards, vibraphone, vocals
Martin Wenk – trumpet, guitar, keyboards, accordion, glockenspiel, vibraphone (occasionally harmonica & French horn)
Ryan Alfred - bass, vocals
Corona
Calexico Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In their environment
The dirt, scarcity, and emptiness
Of our south
The injustices of our greed
The practices we merit
The dirt, scarcity and emptiness
Of our south
I could see it in her eyes
I only had a corona
Five cents deposit
The lyrics to Calexico's song "Corona" deal with themes of survival and adversity in the American South, and the struggles faced by those living in less privileged environments. The lines "The people will survive in their environment / The dirt, scarcity, and emptiness of our south" speak to the resilience of the people who live in these areas and their ability to endure despite difficult circumstances. The song also touches on issues of injustice and greed, referencing the ways in which these factors contribute to and exacerbate poverty and inequality.
In the third verse, the singer reflects on a moment of connection with someone he meets on the beach, describing how he can see understanding in her eyes despite the language barrier between them. The reference to "a corona / Five cents deposit" highlights the economic challenges faced by many in this region, and the struggle to make financial ends meet.
Overall, "Corona" is a poignant and powerful meditation on the experiences of those living in the American South, and the ways in which poverty and inequality impact their lives.
Line by Line Meaning
The people will survive
In spite of all the difficulties, the people will withstand the hardships they encounter
In their environment
They will live in a state of harmony with their surroundings and all that is around them
The dirt, scarcity, and emptiness
The people will thrive even in surroundings that are barren, where resources are scarce, and where there is nothingness all around them
Of our south
This refers to the region where the people are located and to the challenges that they face in this area
The injustices of our greed
The people will stand up against all the wrongdoings caused by the desire for power and wealth
The practices we merit
This is a reference to negative outcomes of our past actions, and we deserve to face the consequences of our ways
The dirt, scarcity, and emptiness
This is a reiteration of the state of the surroundings and the harsh reality that the people are facing
Of our south
The same reference to the difficult environment that they are living in
There on the beach
It refers to a specific location where the singer is observing a certain event
I could see it in her eyes
Refers to the singer's observation of someone and being able to recognize a particular emotion from the expression on their face
I only had a corona
The singer only had a bottle of beer to offer or express to the other person
Five cents deposit
This line is evocative, the deposit has no meaning, it is redundant, or may refer to the minimal effort needed by the singer to try and connect with someone through an offer of his own perceived value;
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: BOON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@NickB1967
The people will survive
In their environment
The dirt, scarcity, and the emptiness
Of our South
The injustice of our greed
The practice we merit
The dirt, scarcity and the emptiness
Of our South
There on the beach
I could see it in her eyes
I only had a Corona
Five cent deposit
@TempleofBrendaSong
La gente sobrevivirá
En su entorno
La suciedad, la escasez y el vacío
De nuestro sur
La injusticia de nuestra codicia
La práctica que merecemos
La suciedad, la escasez y el vacío
De nuestro sur
Ahí en la playa
pude verlo en sus ojos
Yo solo tenia una corona
Depósito de cinco centavos
@d.r.7691
At least this pandemic has an awesome theme song.
@darling_danke_schoen
The juxtaposition of a Minutemen song as covered by Calexico in their Tejano style, is about as great as it gets. Brilliant cover, boys!!
@BlueHopi144
Calexico is the real deal when in comes to awesome covers . They often play REM"s song " Alone against or " from Love or " Bir Mouth strike again : from the Smiths or " The one i Love " from REM .
@KM-zw9qb
@Bluehopi Waltz think you meant LOVE's "alone against or"
@BlueHopi144
@K M of course ....so obvious Mr Genius
@sadywootten7668
They did it RIGHT! :D
@wakeuptotheuniverse
Somewhere in the universe, D Boon is smiling.
@101Volts
This way of playing the music sounds fitting for the song IMHO, as the song is based on a day the Minutemen were drinking Corona on a beach in Mexico when an elderly Mexican woman walked up and saw the Corona bottles they had.
@NickB1967
The people will survive
In their environment
The dirt, scarcity, and the emptiness
Of our South
The injustice of our greed
The practice we merit
The dirt, scarcity and the emptiness
Of our South
There on the beach
I could see it in her eyes
I only had a Corona
Five cent deposit
@jamessullivan4391
Justice done for the Minutemen! Bravo! Salad!