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
history of lovers
Calexico Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Although she played to not listen
But still I can hear myself speak as if no one else
Ever could offer the same
Some say she knowingly tastes like a recipe
Although so foolish and willing
I said Babe I can picture you bend as if wanting to
Coddle some men, they'll remember you bitterly
Fuck 'em, they'll come back for more
I asked my Louise would she leave and so cripple me
Then came a knock at the door
"I came for my woman,"he came with a razor blade
Bound like us all for the ocean
I hope that she's happy I'm blamed for the death of
The man who would take her from me
Some they saw in me innocent poetry
Some, some they'll never be certain
But still it's been written, a history of lovers
Given and taken in ink
Coddle some men, they'll remember you fittingly
Cut 'em, they'll come back for more
I asked my Louise would she leave and so cripple me
Then came the knock at the door
Louise came to rescue me; listen, the irony:
Blood made her heart change its beating
I hope that she's happy I'm blamed for the death of
The man she found better than me
The song "A History Of Lovers" by Calexico and Iron and Wine tells a story of a man named Louise who led the singer on, playing with his emotions despite him only offering her innocent poetry. Some people believe Louise was aware of the effect she had on the singer and sought to manipulate his feelings. The singer could hear himself speaking to her as if their connection was unique and unbreakable. However, the love triangle was interrupted by a man who arrived with a razor blade demanding to take Louise away. The narrative ends with Louise coming to the singer's rescue, but instead of saving him, she becomes a fatal victim.
The lyrics explore the themes of love, deception, jealousy, and betrayal. It reveals the complexity of emotions that one may experience during the pursuit of intimate relationships. The song's narrative also speaks to the danger of toxic love, where people become so consumed with their desires that they become violent and destructive.
Line by Line Meaning
Louise only got from me innocent poetry
Louise only received the pure and genuine emotions from my poetic words.
Although she played to not listen
Even though she pretended to ignore my words.
But still I can hear myself speak as if no one else
But still, my own words resonate with me as though no one else could truly understand them.
Ever could offer the same
Or express the same feelings in their own way.
Some say she knowingly tastes like a recipe
Some say that she is easy to obtain and predictable, like a recipe.
Although so foolish and willing
Even though she is willing and naive.
I said Babe I can picture you bend as if wanting to
I told her that I can envision her willingness to submit to others.
Bow as the curtain went down
As if to show her respect to others, even if it hurts her.
Coddle some men, they'll remember you bitterly
Comfort some men and they'll only resent you more in the end.
Fuck 'em, they'll come back for more
But if you treat them harshly, they'll still come back to you.
I asked my Louise would she leave and so cripple me
I asked her if she would destroy me by leaving.
Then came a knock at the door
Then, someone came to visit.
"I came for my woman,"he came with a razor blade
He came to take his woman back, with a weapon in his hand.
Bound like us all for the ocean
Destined for the inevitable end, just like all of us.
I hope that she's happy I'm blamed for the death of
I hope she's satisfied that I'm taking the blame for killing
The man who would take her from me
the man who tried to steal her away from me.
Some they saw in me innocent poetry
Some people saw my words as pure and innocent.
Some, some they'll never be certain
Others, however, will never be sure.
But still it's been written, a history of lovers
But regardless, a story of our love has been recorded.
Given and taken in ink
Permanently etched into history through writing.
Coddle some men, they'll remember you fittingly
Pamper and care for some men and they'll appreciate it accordingly.
Cut 'em, they'll come back for more
But if you hurt them, they'll keep coming back.
I asked my Louise would she leave and so cripple me
I asked her if she would hurt me by leaving.
Then came the knock at the door
Then, there was another knock on the door.
Louise came to rescue me; listen, the irony:
Louise came to save me; it's ironic,
Blood made her heart change its beating
But the sight of blood caused her to have a change of heart.
I hope that she's happy I'm blamed for the death of
I hope she is content that I am taking responsibility for killing
The man she found better than me
the man she thought was superior to me.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind