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
Writer’s Minor Holiday
Calexico Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Thumb tacks spread out
Across your hometown state
Hollow tree at half mast
Wait until wintertime
Leaves a paper trail a licorice plant that's overgrown
Like a minor holiday
Woolrich red plaid wolf
Irish whiskey glass
Here comes my fine bright haired lass
Like a trash fire burning and burning it
My heart could never right the words never fail
Tucked under your cap and for a moment
There's a stillness before the room spins again
Minor holiday, spin it again
Ride it out so you can tell
Wasted on the weekend
Making good time with my excuse
Where the plot lines are like dead ends
Floating in her eyes at the bottom of a well
Floating in her eyes ride it out for a spell
Minor holiday
Transfer this weight
Minor holiday
Transfer this weight
Going back and forth
On a minor, minor holiday
The song "Writer's Minor Holiday" by Calexico is a poetic exploration of nostalgia and the elusive nature of inspiration. The lyrics begin with a reference to "thumbtacks spread out across your hometown state," which suggests a longing for a return to a particular place or time. The "hollow tree at half mast" evokes a sense of loss or mourning, perhaps for something that is intangible or difficult to articulate. The line "leaves a paper trail a licorice plant that's overgrown" emphasizes the idea that memories can be elusive and difficult to pin down.
The chorus of the song repeats the phrase "like a minor holiday," which seems to suggest that the inspiration that the singer is seeking is something that is small or fleeting, like a day off from work or school. The references to Woolrich red plaid and Irish whiskey create a sense of warmth and nostalgia, further emphasizing the theme of yearning for something elusive.
Line by Line Meaning
Thumb tacks spread out
Pins are scattered all around
Across your hometown state
Spanning across the state you were born in
Hollow tree at half mast
An empty tree with lowered branches
Wait until wintertime
Hold off until the winter season arrives
Leaves a paper trail a licorice plant that's overgrown
A path covered in weeds that resembles black licorice
Like a cabin in the woods on a minor
A rural retreat on a minor day of celebration
Like a minor holiday
Similar to a small-scale festivity
Woolrich red plaid wolf
A red-and-black plaid Woolrich shirt
Irish whiskey glass
A glass filled with Irish whiskey
Here comes my fine bright haired lass
My lovely girl with beautiful blonde hair is approaching
Like a trash fire burning and burning it
As intense as an ongoing bonfire
My heart could never right the words never fail
My emotions cannot express themselves without ambiguity
Tucked under your cap and for a moment
Hidden beneath your hat, if only for a short while
There's a stillness before the room spins again
A moment of peace prior to becoming dizzy again
Minor holiday, spin it again
Celebrating a small event, turning the wheel again
Ride it out so you can tell
Enduring it until you have a story to share
Wasted on the weekend
Time and energy spent unwisely over the weekend
Making good time with my excuse
Moving quickly with my justification
Where the plot lines are like dead ends
Where the storylines lead nowhere
Floating in her eyes at the bottom of a well
Feeling lost and stuck as if trapped in a deep hole
Floating in her eyes ride it out for a spell
Drifting aimlessly with her, hanging around for some time
Minor holiday
A little celebration
Transfer this weight
Shifting this burden from one person to another
Minor holiday
A small-scale celebration
Transfer this weight
Passing this responsibility to someone else
Going back and forth
Repeating this cycle again and again
On a minor, minor holiday
During a small-scale, trivial celebration
Writer(s): JOSEPH G BURNS, JOHN CONVERTINO
Contributed by Jake D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.