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
Kiss and Tell
Calexico Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You gotta see this one
You gotta see it close
They told you be careful
Don't trust no one but yourself
Be careful
In the kitchen with one bare light bulb
And out late when the drinking crowd weighs in
Way up late reading your book "kiss and tell"
Kiss and tell, don't trust no one but yourself
Kiss and tell, trust no one
You're under your spell
You can't trust yourself
You're under your spell
Under your spell
The Calexico song "Kiss and Tell" is a brooding and moody track that talks about the pitfalls of trust and the dangers of getting too close to someone. The song starts with an invitation to come to the kitchen to see something up close. It then launches into a warning that people should be careful about who they trust, with the admonition to "don't trust no one but yourself." The imagery of the kitchen with one bare light bulb gives the song a feeling of intimacy and grittiness, highlighting the idea that you need to be careful in every aspect of your life.
The song touches on themes of infidelity and relationships, with the phrase "kiss and tell" referring to the act of sharing intimate details about someone else. The lyrics suggest that once you start getting involved with someone else, you place yourself under their spell and can no longer trust yourself. This idea is reinforced throughout the song, with the chorus repeating the phrase "kiss and tell, trust no one."
Overall, "Kiss and Tell" is a cautionary tale that speaks to the importance of being vigilant and independent in a world where trust can be hard to come by. The song is delivered in Calexico's signature alt-country style, with acoustic guitars, pedal steel, and haunting vocals giving it a melancholic and reflective mood.
Line by Line Meaning
Come on back here into the kitchen
He wants someone to follow him into the kitchen.
You gotta see this one
He seems excited and wants to show someone something.
You gotta see it close
He wants the person to look at whatever he's showing them closely.
They told you be careful
Someone advised the person to be careful.
Don't trust no one but yourself
The advice was to not trust anyone else but yourself.
Be careful
The advice ends with a repetition of being careful.
In the kitchen with one bare light bulb
They are in a poorly lit kitchen.
The floor manager is your best of friends
The person is familiar with the floor manager and thinks of them as a good friend.
And out late when the drinking crowd weighs in
They were out late hanging with the drinking crowd.
Way up late reading your book 'kiss and tell'
They were up late reading a book titled 'kiss and tell'.
Kiss and tell, don't trust no one but yourself
The book they read is called 'kiss and tell' and has a similar advice to be careful and not trust anyone else but yourself.
Kiss and tell, trust no one
The book advises not to reveal secrets about yourself because you can't trust anyone.
You're under your spell
The person is captivated by the book and its message.
You can't trust yourself
The message of not trusting anyone else also extends to not trusting yourself.
You're under your spell
The person is still captivated by the message of the book.
Under your spell
The song ends with a repetition of being under the spell of the book's message.
Contributed by Ella B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@antonino4369
Ten cents a dance
It's the only price to pay
Why give 'em more
When it's only love for sale?
Adam and Eve
It's the oldest game in town
Just a one way street
To a faded magazine
Kiss and tell
Money talks it never lies
Kiss and tell
Give and take eye for an eye
Fever the heat of the night
Dreamer stealer of sighs
One public face
In a private limousine
Flash photograph
It's the only light you see
No secret life
There's no secret you can steel
Your lips are moving
But I will never know
What they mean
Kiss and tell
Money talks and love it burns
Kiss and tell
Give and take we live and learn
Kiss and tell
We never lie
Eye foe an eye
Blood on a nail
Kiss me again
@willglo
Lyrics
Ten cents a dance
It's the only price to pay
Why give 'em more
When it's only love for sale?
Adam and Eve
It's the oldest game in town
Just a one way street
To a faded magazine
Kiss and tell
Money talks it never lies
Kiss and tell
Give and take eye for an eye
Fever the heat of the night
Dreamer stealer of sighs
One public face
In a private limousine
Flash photograph
It's the only light you see
No secret life
There's no secret you can steel
Your lips are moving
But I will never know
What they mean
Kiss and tell
Money talks and love it burns
Kiss and tell
Give and take we live and learn
Kiss and tell
We never lie
Eye foe an eye
Blood on a nail
Kiss me again
@Videos80sRemastered
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@elainelanghout7826
Smooth and sultry. That's Bryan Ferry. This song never gets old. 80's live on!
@MichaelHuffMountainKernel
Bryan Ferry is THE man who put the sophistication in rock. Period.
@Videos80sRemastered
💯
@Videos80sRemastered
100%
@musaframars1
I agree!
@jakenauta7561
Like robert palmer. Real singers
@kathrinmuller5748
Best Song ever, forever 80 s 💞
@leoneldiaz9420
Como siempre dando cátedra de elegancia y estilo el gran Ferry
@marcelobriones6551
Amazing bass lines, groove, production and singing. One of the best 80s songs. Still rocks.