Calexico

The origin of Calexico comes with the meeting of singer/guitarist Joey Burns and drummer John Convertino. The latter was playing the drums in a band called Giant Sand when he met Burns, who was studying music at the University of California. Burns then joined the band as a touring upright bassist, cutting his teeth with them on an entire European tour. After said tour, the band relocated to Tuscon, and Burns and Convertino departed to form the band Friends of Dean Martin.

Friends of Dean Martin only lasted two years before splitting, and Burns and Convertino continued working together as a rhythm section for hire. However, after working with a multitude of different artists, they decided to start their own project, with Burns shifting from bass to lead vocals and guitar. This new band would eventually be called Calexico, named for Calexico, California, the border town of their native Tuscon.

Their first album, “Spoke” was recorded as a 2000 copy print run for a German indie label called Hausmusik, but once the band signed with Quarterstick Records it was re-released in 1997. However, it wasn’t until 1998’s second album “The Black Light” that the band started courting national attention. The album, a concept album about the desert connecting Arizona to North Mexico, got stellar reviews and their profile was raised even higher by touring with the likes of Pavement and The Dirty Three.

Since then, the band have been one of the bastions of American indie rock, working with everyone from Arcade Fire to My Morning Jacket and making an entire E.P with the Miami based folk band Iron And Wine. Their brand of music will never make them pop stars but that’s not what they’re here to be. They’re here to be unique, and with no-one else around quite like them, they come highly recommended.