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
DEAD IN THE WATER
Calexico Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm gonna do what I please
Don't hand me any more allegations
Of misconduct or sanction me
I got the world in my hands
Can make it rain or flood
I've got my fingers in all the pots
And toxic waste in my blood
Don't try to look away
Or stop me in my path
I'll make the law and I decree
A new kind of wrath
Whenever I want, whatever I need
Wherever I go don't stop me
Whenever I want, whatever I need
If you try to resist or put up a fight
I'll take you and the whole world with me
You and the whole world with me
I'll take you and the whole world with me
I'll pick your pocket in plain daylight
And no one move a muscle
I got my eye on the prize
You're drowning in your lies
You and the whole world with me
I'll take you and the whole world with me
I'll take you and the whole world with me
The lyrics to Calexico's song "Dead in the Water" seem to depict a character who has reached their limit. They're tired of playing the role of the "good cop" and being held accountable for their actions. They appear to be seeking revenge on those who have wronged them and are now determined to do whatever it takes to get what they want. The lyrics suggest that this character is setting themselves up as a kind of authoritative figure and is willing to break any rules to achieve their goals.
The line "I got the world in my hands" suggests that this character has a level of power or control over their environment, and the line "toxic waste in my blood" suggests that they are willing to do whatever it takes to achieve their goals. They are not afraid to get their hands dirty and will even resort to criminal behavior if necessary.
The chorus of the song seems to reinforce this idea of the character's power and determination. They declare that they will take anyone and everyone with them, and that they will not be stopped. The line "I'll pick your pocket in plain daylight" suggests that this character is confident that they can get away with anything and that no one will stop them.
Overall, the lyrics of "Dead in the Water" present a picture of a character who has had enough and is now willing to do whatever it takes to get what they want.
Line by Line Meaning
Tired of being the good cop
I am tired of being the rule follower
I'm gonna do what I please
I will do what I want to do
Don't hand me any more allegations
Don't give me any negative comments or accusations
Of misconduct or sanction me
Don't accuse me of doing anything wrong, or punish me
I got the world in my hands
I have control over everything
Can make it rain or flood
I have the power to control the environment
I've got my fingers in all the pots
I have influence and control over various areas or situations.
And toxic waste in my blood
I have been exposed to dangerous or harmful substances for a long time, and it is a part of who I am now.
Don't try to look away
Don't ignore what I'm doing or the consequences of my actions
Or stop me in my path
Don't try to interfere with my actions
I'll make the law and I decree
I will create my own rules and enforce them
A new kind of wrath
I will bring about a new form of punishment or retribution
Whenever I want, whatever I need
I have the power to do whatever I want, whenever I want
Wherever I go don't stop me
No one can prevent me from moving forward or achieving my goals
If you try to resist or put up a fight
If you try to stop me, I will fight back
I'll take you and the whole world with me
I will not hesitate to harm others, no matter how many people are affected
I'll pick your pocket in plain daylight
I will steal from you in broad daylight, without fear of getting caught
And no one move a muscle
No one will dare to intervene or stop me
I got my eye on the prize
I am focused on achieving my goals, no matter the cost
You're drowning in your lies
You are overwhelmed by the deceit you have been perpetrating
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Joseph G. Burns
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@javortanja
Dead In The Water
Tired of being the good cop, I'm gonna do what I please
Don't hand me any more allegations of misconduct or sanction me
I got the world in my hands, can make it rain or flood
I've got my fingers in all the pots and toxic waste in my blood, in my blood
Don't try to look away or stop me in my path
I make the law and I decree a new kind of wrath
Whenever I want, whatever I need, wherever I go don't stop me
Whenever I want, whatever I need
If you try to resist or put up a fight
I'll take you and the whole world with me
You and the whole world with me
I'll take you and the whole world with me
I'll pick your pocket in plain daylight and no one move a muscle
I got my eyes on the prize and you're drowning in your lies
I'll take you and the whole world with me
@johnsadler5441
Dope, Tap Guy! Calexico is my favorite band. I’ve been playing you guys nonstop for 2 straight weeks now. I’ve been a fan for 25 years and I was incarcerated for a few years and when I got out you folks kept it coming and now have so much music and the variety makes it never boring. Joey Burns , you and your band are incredible. Calexico is the best kept secret in music and I just want to share you guys but people still don’t get it. They are robbing themselves of a National Treasure
. LOVE YOU GUYS MAHALO FROM KAUAI
@LenapeSF
Wow. Glad I "stumbled" onto this one. Perfect for pandemic winter 2021 & my playlist. TYVM.
@BlueHopi144
Big guitars and a tune that Iggy Pop would gladly sing with them .....Superb
@BrianSmith-vl7xu
actually, yeah I could imagine Iggy singing that
@carnifex4546
Badass
@anavieira5682
Super!
@percival1805
Very Depeche-Mode-like!
@thomasrainbow
Boss!
@BlueHopi144
They played this one to open the Antwerpen concert last night ....It was even better than on the album . 2 Big Guitars cutting through the air ....Joey was in great shape and loved the Belgium theatre . Please check my yutube page for the live video - soon uploaded
@MsSmile70
LYRICS ....?