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
The Vanishing Mind
Calexico Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The vanishing mind
Knows not when the day ends
Who could care for you
Would could understand
In the room sealed shut
And you’re not what you were
That there’s nothing left to
Remember you
It’s what brought you here
It’s what keeps you here
Who could care for you
Who could understand
Know not when the day ends or begins anymore
In the hallway and waiting again
Here we are, here we sit
The light turning grey
Your smile brings me back
To the longest day
The vanishing mind
The opening lines of Calexico's song "The Vanishing Mind" set a tone of uncertainty and confusion. "On the longest day / The vanishing mind / Knows not when the day ends" suggests a sense of disorientation and loss of grasp on reality. The singer is struggling to understand their surroundings and feels there is no one who can truly understand or care for them.
The second stanza describes a room that is "sealed shut," and the singer acknowledges that they are no longer the same person they once were. However, there is a sense of acceptance and even sweetness in this transformation. "So much sweeter now / That there’s nothing left to / Remember you." This could be interpreted as a letting go of the past, and finding some sort of peace in the present moment.
The chorus repeats the refrain of "Who could care for you / Who could understand." It's a reminder of the singer's isolation and the difficulty they face in finding connection with others. The final stanza brings us to a present moment, with the light turning grey and the mention of a smile that brings the singer back to the longest day. The phrase "vanishing mind" takes on a new meaning as the singer remembers a happier time, but is also reminded of the fragility and transience of memory.
Line by Line Meaning
On the longest day
It is the longest day when the journey of the vanishing mind begins.
The vanishing mind
A mind that is slowly disintegrating and losing its ability to maintain normal cognitive function.
Knows not when the day ends
The vanishing mind is experiencing confusion and a loss of track of time, forgetting when the day ends.
Who could care for you
The vanishing mind is wondering if there is someone who cares for them when they are losing their mind.
Would could understand
They are questioning if anyone can understand what they are going through as their mind slowly disappears.
In the room sealed shut
The vanishing mind is trapped in a room, unable to escape its deteriorating condition.
And you’re not what you were
The person with the vanishing mind is no longer the same as they used to be due to the progression of their disease.
So much sweeter now
Despite the struggles with their mind, they feel more content now that things around them have a more significant impact on them.
That there’s nothing left to
Due to their condition of memory loss, there isn't much left to them regarding their previous identity
Remember you
The person with the vanishing mind is unable to remember their past clearly due to their condition.
It’s what brought you here
The circumstances of life that led to this point are the reason why the vanishing mind came to such a state.
It’s what keeps you here
The same factors that caused the vanishing mind are the ones that keep them trapped in their current condition.
Who could care for you
The vanishing mind is once again questioning if there is anyone who cares for them with their condition.
Who could understand
The vanishing mind is feeling like nobody truly understands what they're going through.
Know not when the day ends or begins anymore
The vanishing mind's disorientation has become so enhanced that they can no longer tell when the day ends or begins.
In the hallway and waiting again
The vanishing mind is in a state of constant waiting and confusion in the hallway.
Here we are, here we sit
The artist is in the same space as the vanishing mind, observing their condition.
The light turning grey
A metaphor for the vanishing mind's twilight as they fade into their suffering.
Your smile brings me back
The singer is brought back to a time before the vanishing mind's illness by seeing their smile.
To the longest day
The artist remembers the long day when the vanishing mind's decline started, the day that began the vanishing.
The vanishing mind
Reiteration of the focal point of the song- the person's mind that is slowly disappearing.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: JOHN CONVERTINO, JOSEPH G BURNS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Raul Stanciu
I'm losing my grandmother to dementia and this song always reminds me how to appreciate every second together now matter how few moments we have left of reminding even the slightest detail we lived through. It's heartbreaking sometimes
Jacob Earl
Beautiful. Calexico never disappoints.
Lombardo Valdes
Como amo esta banda!
Tuukka erkkilä
This one track I always come back to. The depth and athmosphere is just magical.
Bluehopi Bridge
with u on this one - they used to finish their 2012 Tour with this one ......Just Fabulous & magical .
Irene Vra
What a masterpiece
Marilena Maragou
best song on the album! can't stop listening to it!
Greg Whitcher
I just learned this song was inspired by an article about prisoners with life sentences taking care of other prisoners with dementia and alzheimer disease.
Matt C
Jesus, that just made this emotional track even more haunting and meaningful. Thanks for sharing.
Bluehopi Bridge
thanks Buddy for that added explanation . Joey has a great empathic heart