Alejandro Escovedo's music odyssey has sent him through the lands of punk, garage bands and roots, with scenic side excursions into stage plays and elegant string quartets. The younger brother of Pete and Coke Escovedo, stellar musicians who first made their mark as percussionists with Santana, Alejandro started with the San Francisco punk band The Nuns in the mid-'70s before joining cowpunk heroes Rank And File, which settled in Austin. He bolted from R&F to form The True Believers with his brother Javier and songwriter Jon Dee Graham. By the time Escovedo began his solo career with 1992's Gravity, he'd melded a fusion of styles that drew from his Mexican heritage, his Southern California upbringing, and his penchant for hard-living angsty expression.
Escovedo has earned a loyal and critical following — No Depression magazine named him Artist of the Decade in the '90s — but life's never been easy for him. His first wife committed suicide, and in 2003 he nearly died due to complications of Hepatitis C while staging a play he'd written, By The Hand Of The Father, a tribute to his immigrant father. The subsequent Por Vida: A Tribute To The Songs Of Alejandro Escovedo fund-raising/tribute album featured friends including The Jayhawks, John Cale, Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams and his niece, Sheila E.
Among his career highlights are A Man Under The Influence (2001) and The Boxing Mirror (2006), the latter produced by John Cale, the perfect choice to push Escovedo beyond his comfort zone. Room Of Songs (2006), with his string quartet, is a graceful step away from his dust-kicking rages. His side projects have included Buick MacKane and The Setters. Now entering his fourth decade of making music, Escovedo might finally have reached a place where's he comfortable — musically, physically and emotionally.
Provenance: San Antonio, Texas
Latest Release: Real Animal (2008)
© 2008 Nigel Music Media LLC. Used by permission.
Alejandro Escovedo
