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
Falling From The Sky
Calexico Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
An old guitar from a five-and-dime
There was a song trapped inside
With the sweetest tune
You said it was sad to sing
Where do you fall when you have nowhere to go?
Where do you go where you have no one to see?
What do you feel when you're all alone?
It's a song that circles round and around
Like a bird lost inside a cloud
Cut off from the stars and they're guided in the light
Not sure which way is up or down anymore
Where do you fall when you have nowhere to go?
Where do you go where you have no one to see?
What do you see when you have nothing to feel?
What do you feel when you're all alone?
Tired of waiting
Clouds will be breaking
Soon you'll escape and
Someday we'll find a place in the sky
Calexico's "Falling From The Sky" is a beautiful and poignant song that explores themes of loneliness, longing, and the search for meaning in life. The opening lines of the song describe a dream where the singer sees someone playing an old guitar from a five-and-dime store. The instrument holds a song within it, but the person playing it is reluctant to sing it as it is a sad one. This image sets the tone for the rest of the song, which is filled with questions about where one goes when they are lost, alone, and searching for meaning in life.
The chorus of "Falling From The Sky" repeats the same four lines, each one posing a different existential question. The verses describe being lost and trapped, with the song taking on a circular quality that echoes the feelings of being stuck in a rut with no clear direction. Despite the darkness and uncertainty of the lyrics, there is also a glimmer of hope, as evidenced by the lines "Tired of waiting / Clouds will be breaking / Soon you'll escape and / Someday we'll find a place in the sky".
Overall, "Falling From The Sky" is a thought-provoking song that captures the complex emotions of being human. It reminds us that even in moments of despair and confusion, there is always the possibility of finding a brighter tomorrow.
Line by Line Meaning
Well, I dreamt you were playing
In my dream, I saw you playing
An old guitar from a five-and-dime
You were playing an old guitar bought from a cheap store
There was a song trapped inside
The guitar had a song hidden within it
With the sweetest tune
The song was very melodious and pleasant
You said it was sad to sing
However, you felt that the song had a sorrowful undertone
Where do you fall when you have nowhere to go?
When you feel completely lost and disconnected, where do you turn?
Where do you go where you have no one to see?
If you are all alone, where do you seek refuge?
What do you see when you have nothing to feel?
When you are emotionally numb, what do you perceive?
What do you feel when you're all alone?
How do you experience your solitude?
It's a song that circles round and around
The hidden song repeats endlessly
Like a bird lost inside a cloud
It's akin to a bird disoriented in a thick mist
Cut off from the stars and they're guided in the light
Just as the bird cannot see direction through the clouds and cannot rely on the stars for guidance
Not sure which way is up or down anymore
Uncertain of orientation and completely disoriented
Tired of waiting
Exhausted by inaction and indecision
Clouds will be breaking
Progress will be made, problems will be resolved
Soon you'll escape and
You will eventually break free and move forward
Someday we'll find a place in the sky
We will find our own personal heaven or utopia
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: JOHN BURNS, JOSEPH G BURNS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Angel Sky
Well, I dreamt you were playing
An old guitar from a five-and-dime
There was a song trapped inside
With the sweetest tune
You said it was sad to sing
Where do you fall when you have nowhere to go?
Where do you go where you have no one to see?
What do you see when you have nothing to feel?
What do you feel when you're all alone?
It’s a song that circles round and around
Like a bird lost inside a cloud
Cut off from the stars and they’re guided in the light
Not sure which way is up or down anymore
Where do…
das meisterlein
listened to the vinyl this weekend! awesome music!!
Owl Mountain Productions
Wow, just discovering Calexico. Great tunes!
Richard Ortiz
Calexico California 2022
Dingus Bobingus
Is it even possible for Calexico to make a bad tune?
Angel Sky
Well, I dreamt you were playing
An old guitar from a five-and-dime
There was a song trapped inside
With the sweetest tune
You said it was sad to sing
Where do you fall when you have nowhere to go?
Where do you go where you have no one to see?
What do you see when you have nothing to feel?
What do you feel when you're all alone?
It’s a song that circles round and around
Like a bird lost inside a cloud
Cut off from the stars and they’re guided in the light
Not sure which way is up or down anymore
Where do…
Isabel Romeiro Estrela
beautiful album....
NYNA KHAN
Still love this song like first time when I listened it
Brian Smith
Funny thing is when I first when I first heard this album I didn't like it at all. I found the change in sound so dramatic. But now it has grown on me. I love it for what they are not what I think they should be.
Leelen Myers
I think this song is beautiful.
MrTrademarked
I needed this song, thank you.