Calexico

SALE. Right now in the Calexico web store, save 20% on all accessories, including hats, socks, posters and more. Shop all items: http://hyperurl.co/calexico-store

#tbt “The News About William” “The News About William” came as an instrumental sketch for the ‘Tool Box’ tour only album. I liked it so much that I thought I would write some lyrics for it and talk about the pain of losing someone. A few years prior an old high school friend told me that a fellow classmate of ours had taken his life. I was stunned and overcome with sadness. I couldn’t believe it. He was someone whom I had spent a lot of time playing with as a kid and we always had a great time together. But, like a lot of people, we drifted apart after high school and had been out of touch. We all carry a certain amount of pain and depression with us and I just wish that I could have done something to help before it was too late. This is one of the songs that I always sing when sound checking my vocals on tour. The melody has a way of bouncing around in the empty venues not unlike a bird hovering over a canyon. It’s become part of my daily ritual on many levels; for life, death and as a reminder to be grateful for all that we have and all that we share. Listen to “The News About William” here: https://spoti.fi/2Um4QsY Joey Burns Tucson, AZ Photo: Heather Browne | Gothic Theatre, 2008

Today only, a portion of all sales in official Calexico web store will benefit Tucson's No More Deaths/No Más Muertes, a coalition dedicated to stepping up efforts to stop the deaths of migrants in the desert and to achieving the enactment of a set of Faith-Based Principles for Immigration Reform. You can learn more about No More Deaths (http://bit.ly/2BAoNVe) and shop the Calexico store here: hyperurl.co/calexico-store #GivingTuesday

CYBER WEEK SALE. Right now in the Calexico web shop you can save 20% off all apparel. Shop here: hyperurl.co/calexico-store

The Black Light 20th Anniversary Edition is here! https://calexico.lnk.to/theblacklight20 We are excited for first time listeners and long-time fans to check out one of the most important releases in our career, with 11 bonus tracks, extensive liner notes by Wyndham Wallace, John and myself, and incredible, alternative artwork by Victor Gastelum. Thank you for 20 years of support. Best wishes from Tucson, Joey Burns

#tbt “El Morro” This cinematic instrumental is included in the bonus tracks for tomorrow’s release of The Black Light 20th Anniversary special edition. It was originally written for author Lawrence Clark Powell’s audio book ‘The Southwest’. We were really impressed how massive the atmosphere came out on this recording. Each instrument whether it’s cello or marimba, slide acoustic guitar or thunder drum add just enough nuance and voice to make for a sweeping and emotional finale. The title comes from the site of an ancient pueblo atop a mesa in New Mexico that the Spaniards called “El Morro” otherwise known by the Zuni as"A'ts'ina" (Place of writings on the rock). In keeping with the Thanksgiving Holiday we want to express our sincere gratitude for these past twenty years and to have such amazing listeners and friends as you. Thank you. Joey Burns Tucson, AZ Photo by Bill Carter

Australia! Tickets four our recently announced tour dates are on sale now. 15 Jan: Rosemount Hotel (http://bit.ly/PERTH_WA) 17 Jan: The Gov (http://bit.ly/ADELAIDE_SA) 19 Jan: Tanks Arts Centre (http://bit.ly/CAIRNS_QLD) 20 Jan: Byron Theatre (http://bit.ly/BYRONBAY_NSW) 21 Jan: The Triffid (http://bit.ly/BRISBANE_QLD) 22 Jan: The Factory (http://bit.ly/FAC19-Calexico) 24 Jan: Melbourne Recital Centre* (http://bit.ly/MELBOURNE_VIC) 25 Jan: Melbourne Recital Centre* (http://bit.ly/MELBOURNE_VIC) 26 Jan: Odeon Theatre, Hobart (http://bit.ly/HOBART_TAS) 27 Jan: Theatre Royal Castlemaine (http://bit.ly/CASTLEMAINE_VIC) -- New Zealand 29 Jan: Powerstation* (http://bit.ly/POWERSTATION) 30 Jan: Opera House, Wellington* (http://bit.ly/OPERA_HOUSE) *Shows go on sale Monday at 9am local time. Find all details at http://casadecalexico.com

#tbt "The Ride - pt II" It makes me laugh when listening back to this song because of the unusual instrumentation. I love it for all it’s weirdness and charm. I’m mainly referring to the glockenspiel and mandolin parts. They crack me up. Fortunately, they’re balanced with some massive room sounding drums from John on his vintage Ludwigs, some gritty slide guitar, and acoustic rhythm chunk. It brings me back to some great times and I’m looking forward to seeing The Black Light 20th Anniversary reissue get released on November 23rd. Enjoy everyone and thanks for listening and reading along for all these years. Pre-order the 20th Anniversary Reissue of ’The Black Light’ here: https://calexico.lnk.to/theblacklight20 Listen to "The Ride - pt. II" here: https://spoti.fi/2De7Wcr Joey Burns Tucson, AZ

AUSTRALIA + NEW ZEALAND! 'The Thread That Keeps Us' tour will be coming your way in January. We’ll be playing songs off our newest album and some older jams as well. Tickets for all Australian shows go on sale Friday at 9am local time, with the New Zealand on-sale following on Monday at 9am local time: http://bit.ly/2D5dzcI

#tbt "Sprawl" In between ‘The Black Light’ and ‘Hot Rail,’ we did a soundtrack to a movie called Committed. A lot of the themes for the soundtrack were based on songs from ‘Spoke’ and ‘The Black Light.' The director, Lisa Krueger, liked "Sprawl" for its open feel, no resolve in the melody. The movie has a lot of ritualistic themes and this instrumental fit in well for the main character, getting her husband back through a spiritual spell. Listen to "Sprawl" here: https://spoti.fi/2qqutLn Pre-order the 20th Anniversary Reissue of ’The Black Light’ here: https://calexico.lnk.to/theblacklight20 John Convertino El Paso, TX

#tbt Gypsy’s Curse Twenty years ago we released ‘The Black Light’ and we chose “Gypsy’s Curse” as the lead off track. The instrumental feels like the soundtrack to a scene from a modern day Comac McCarthy novel directed by Jim Jarmusch. It’s dark and takes many twists through what would become our thrift store orchestra; cello, accordion, mandolin, piano, vibraphone, cheap old guitars, rescued old drum kits and “bag of death” - an old canvas bag full of unwanted percussion. We were looking to carve out a sense of character and do something different at the time. Having just moved to Tucson we found a wealth of inspiration at all of the swap meets, second hand stores and airplane graveyards. Everything is coated with dust here and underneath lies a story. Listen to "Gypsy’s Curse" here: https://spoti.fi/2D5HodM Pre-order the 20th Anniversary Reissue of ’The Black Light’ here: https://calexico.lnk.to/theblacklight20 Joey Burns Tucson, AZ

We are honored to be asked to perform and take part in FIACmx, an exquisite arts festival in Leon, Mexico on November. Tickets available now: http://bit.ly/2NPJrDO

#tbt "Old Man Waltz" The "Old Man" references the lyric in ‘Stray’ - "Old man spoke of meanings lost and without name.” I picked up a thrift store accordion made in Italy and this little melody came out. I’m pretty sure I remember Joey playing a violin, holding it like a cello, and recording the intro on a phone machine, the old kind that had a cassette tape in it. My father also played accordion, so I always think of him whenever I hear or play one. Listen to "Old Man Waltz" here: https://spoti.fi/2EI5NYT Pre-order the 20th Anniversary Reissue of ’The Black Light’ here: https://calexico.lnk.to/theblacklight20 John Convertino El Paso, Texas Photo: Stephanie Cousin | 1998

Help us get out the vote for the coming election! 🗳 We can’t think of a better way to encourage people to volunteer and help get out the vote than to celebrate with music and good friends. See you November 5th, the night before the election, with Gin Blossoms, Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly, PAO Phoenix Afrobeat Orchestra, and more. The event is free with a volunteer shift for an Arizona Democratic candidate or you can purchase tickets here: http://bit.ly/2RSkU49

#tbt “Frontera” To close out ‘The Black Light’ we poured all the ingredients from the Casa de Calexico into one epic instrumental. I especially love the way the bridge turned out - warped and wobbly from a blast of the Sonoran sun. Listening back I can hear melodic influences from Stravinsky, Ennio Morricone and the Haunted Mansion theme. Viva Octatonicism! Listen to “Frontera” here: https://spoti.fi/2Oi4xjo Pre-order the 20th Anniversary Reissue of ’The Black Light’ here: https://calexico.lnk.to/theblacklight20 Joey Burns Disneyland

We stand with St. Jude and #MusicGives in the fight to end childhood cancer at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Learn more: http://bit.ly/2A1yOKv

#tbt “Crumble" We had fallen in love with this Gil Evans record ‘Out of the Cool’ and payed homage to him and Mingus when we put this song together. It wasn’t really rehearsed, and in that first break I wasn’t quite sure what to do, so I didn’t do anything. It created a nice silent moment with the time gone and we all came back in together instinctively. Some really great solos by Jacob Valenzuela, and Nick Luca, as well as a killer trombone solo by Jeff “fruit pie” Marchant. John Convertino El Paso, Texas Listen to “Crumble" here: https://spoti.fi/2pAsa89 Stencil art by Victor Gastelum

The Future Is Voting! Register to vote for the 2018 Midterms with HeadCount at http://bit.ly/calexicortv

#tbt "Over Your Shoulder" This lulling 6/8 instrumental has one of the best drum sounds and performances we've ever done. I love John's brushwork and the big, open sound of the kick drum. Check out the room sound... it's massive. 'The Black Light' was recorded in a big empty brick warehouse right next to the train tracks - where WaveLab Recording Studio called home back then. This song, with its minimal accompaniment and spacious feel, captures something special about this time and place that John, our friends and I were making. Pre-order the 20th Anniversary Edition of The Black Light here: https://calexico.lnk.to/theblacklight20 Joey Burns Tucson, AZ Photo: Bill Carter | 1998

We’re pleased to announce the 20th Anniversary Edition of The Black Light, available for pre-order now and out November 23 from Touch and Go Records (US) and City Slang (EU): https://calexico.lnk.to/theblacklight20 We’ve enjoyed revisiting The Black Light and going through our archives for for the 20th Anniversary Edition of this album. This limited edition includes 11 bonus tracks, extensive liner notes (+ insightful commentary from ourselves), and incredible, alternative artwork by Victor Gastelum. Read more from Joey & John here: https://bit.ly/2MGBMan

#tbt "Convict Pool" In early 2003 I picked up a copy of TransWorld SKATEboarding on my way to Europe. On the plane I started writing some ideas for a song based on an article about skating in pools. There were a bunch of great names like “Hesh Bowl,” “Monster Bowl,” and “Convict Pool” that took me back to skating and riding my BMX in SoCal in the 80’s. There’s a bunch of those threads woven into this song. We did our best to honor D. Boon, George Hurley and Mike Watt. Like them, we’re just a couple of corn dogs driving on the Harbor Freeway. Stencil cover art by Victor Gastelum, who I met while working at #SSTRecords Listen to "Convict Pool” here: https://spoti.fi/2MqgvSf And for anyone interested here is a link to the article: https://bit.ly/2N5RzEG Joey Burns Tucson, AZ

#tbt Hard Hat Hard Hat is a track of ambient meditation from ‘Even My Sure Things Fall Through.' Seven minutes and ten seconds, no real melody, except maybe just there at the very end. I love the space and place one's mind goes when making this kind of music. Allowing it to happen, as long as it takes… Listen to ""Hard Hat"" here: https://spoti.fi/2wyjbr9 Purchase ‘Even My Sure Things Fall Through’ here: https://amzn.to/2MEcmPr John Convertino El Paso, Texas

Last call on our summer merch sale! If you're looking to add any Calexico merch to your collection, be sure to stock up soon. Sale ends Monday, September 3 at 11:59PM ET. ↳ shop now: http://smarturl.it/calexico

#tbt "All Systems Red” Recently we began playing the song “All Systems Red” on tour. The song has a slow natural build up that ends with three electric guitars completely distorted and swirling into a ball of beautiful chaos - it was one of the favorites from the 'Garden Ruin’ album. The song's inspiration lyrically mirrors some of the same frustration we are feeling in the current social and political climate locally and around the world. Here’s a photo of us playing the song live with lighting design by Hugo Genetier. Stream "All Systems Red” here: https://spoti.fi/2C0mqgK Purchase 'Garden Ruin' here: https://amzn.to/2C2LzHG Photo: Laura Weitzel | Erlangen

#tbt “Glowing Heart of The World” Some friends of ours in Europe requested that we dust off an old instrumental on this August tour and so we did. “Glowing Heart of The World” and was originally written In 1998 for author Lawrence Clark Powell’s audio book ‘A Literary Guide to The Southwest.' The song is our homage to the one and only, Maestro Ennio Morricone. Stream “Glowing Heart of The World”: https://spoti.fi/2Mt54xX Photo by Gaelle Beri (gaelleberi.com)