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
Service and Repair
Calexico Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Looking out from blueprint peak
The flow is flooding of urban setters
Panning through rivers running dry
Numbers roll on in
Smiling a lottery grin
A sadness blurs the eye
It's just a matter of time before they're moving on
It's just a matter of time before they're moving on
Doesn't take much time for plans to go wrong
And chase another ghost of a chance
In the shadows of chain-store ghost towns
Where no one walks the streets at night
A silent nation hooked on medication
Stares into a blue flickering light
The young drift off alone
And the old are whisked away
And prospects keep looking up
But the line's getting longer on the lost highway
The line's getting longer on the superstition highway
Doesn't take much time for plans to go astray
And chase another ghost of a chance
They say deep down inside,
Lie properties of a healing kind
If so it'd better come around soon
And do a little bit of service and repair
Do a little bit of service and repair
Do a little more service and repair
Doesn't take much time for plans to change
And offer up another chance
For a little bit more service and repair
Do a little bit of service and repair
Doesn't take much time for plans to change
And offer up another chance
At sewing the dream better suited for both soul and soil
The song "Service and Repair" by Calexico is a poignant commentary on the consequences of urban expansion and the resulting impact on people's lives, especially those living on the outskirts of cities. The opening lines, "On the outskirts of expansion, looking out from blueprint peak," paint a picture of a looming, man-made growth that is far from natural and organic. The flow of people into urban areas is an unstoppable force, much like a flood, which leaves people feeling overwhelmed and powerless as they try to navigate through the concrete jungle.
The lyrics suggest that people are becoming desensitized, numb to their own struggles and those of others, as they pursue their own interests blindly. They are represented in the "numbers roll on in," and their "lottery grin" highlights the ephemeral happiness that comes with making gains in a cut-throat environment. The sadness that blurs their eyes is a sign that people recognize the futility of their attempts to keep up with a system they have no control over.
The chorus of the song reinforces the central message that things are changing quickly, and it doesn't take long for plans to fall apart. The lines, "Doesn't take much time for plans to go wrong, and chase another ghost of a chance," show that people are always chasing something, but they never seem to be satisfied. The song concludes with an uplifting call for healing, for the repair of the damage that has been done to people's lives and the environment, and for a better future where people can sew a dream that is "better suited for both soul and soil."
Line by Line Meaning
On the outskirts of expansion
Starting at the edges of the city's growth.
Looking out from blueprint peak
Viewed from an overview, a plan or design.
The flow is flooding of urban setters
The steady increase of city residents.
Panning through rivers running dry
Moving through residential areas without enough resources.
Numbers roll on in
More and more people arrive daily.
Smiling a lottery grin
Hopeful yet unsure of what their future holds.
A sadness blurs the eye
Uncertainty and desperation become apparent.
It's just a matter of time before they're moving on
Residents will eventually leave the area.
Doesn't take much time for plans to go wrong
The design and intentions can become misguided before long.
And chase another ghost of a chance
Pursuing a new opportunity, despite the likelihood of failure.
In the shadows of chain-store ghost towns
The only remnants of the community are now abandoned shops and buildings.
Where no one walks the streets at night
The community has become too dangerous to venture out after dark.
A silent nation hooked on medication
A community dependent on prescription drugs to cope with their circumstances.
Stares into a blue flickering light
Watching television to escape the realities of their situation.
The young drift off alone
The children are neglected and fend for themselves.
And the old are whisked away
The elderly are removed or pass away, leaving a void in the community.
And prospects keep looking up
Hope still remains for the future.
But the line's getting longer on the lost highway
The waiting line for a better future is increasing.
The line's getting longer on the superstition highway
Hope is slipping away faster on the misbelief route.
Doesn't take much time for plans to go astray
It's easy for plans to derail.
And chase another ghost of a chance
The cycle of pursuing improbable dreams will continue.
They say deep down inside,
A commonly held belief that isn't apparent on the surface.
Lie properties of a healing kind
The area has the potential to improve if given the chance.
If so it'd better come around soon
There's a sense of urgency for the healing process to begin.
And do a little bit of service and repair
Perform some necessary maintenance and care.
Do a little bit of service and repair
Repeat the care and repair process.
Doesn't take much time for plans to change
Plans can be revised quickly.
And offer up another chance
Allow for a new possibility.
For a little bit more service and repair
In order to keep the community functioning at its best.
Do a little bit of service and repair
Perform some necessary maintenance and care.
Doesn't take much time for plans to change
Plans can be revised quickly.
And offer up another chance
Allow for a new possibility.
At sewing the dream better suited for both soul and soil
To create a future plan built for the community's needs and desires.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: JOEY BURNS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Stefan Kessler
Immer mit Stil
Ian Daly
their best.
eladbari
Hey ian! Can you please recommend the top songs of Calexico? Especially ones that are their best with a slide guitar like in this song? I love that western vibe :)
MOUNTAIN AUTO
mcdonalds mcrib magnifique!
Alberto Rigotti
HUPPERCUT !!
Marina P
Lammbock brought me here :D
Andy Weed
Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Philipp Kemmesies
Man, man, man Achim.
Gene P
Contenance Frank😉
Gene P
Bei dir ist ein bissl Moos abgeschabt...😂