Blog posts

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  Jun 30, 07:21 PM

  Italy shows - July 1-2

  We will be playing shows in Italy with Vinicio Capossela in the next two days - Rome (al' Ippodromo Le Capanelle nel July 1) and Venaria Reale (alla Reggia nel July 2). Here is a little video clip teaser.

  
  

  
  "La Faccia della Terra" by Vinicio Capossela featuring Calexico:
  

  http://www.viniciocapossela.it/alive_calexico.html
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  Jun 02, 03:31 PM

  Joey Burns tour blog no. 8 - Neko Case shows

  June 1, 2009

  John and I are here in Seattle enjoying a day off with our booking agent, Ali Hedrick and her family. The Neko Case tour has gotten off to a great start. All of the crowds have been very receptive to the two piece version. I wish we could do more dates as we've been having a blast hanging with Neko and the whole band and crew. The last time we did the two piece was in 1998 opening for the Dirty Three across The States. There's an openness with playing as a two piece that allows for room to improvise that feels really good. You learn to appreciate the space and elasticity of time with phrasing, segues and tempo. I feel like we are just now finding our sea legs and sadly the portion of dates is coming to an end this evening at the beautiful Pantages Theatre in Tacoma. John has been sitting on 'Red Tide' and I have been playing some 12 string acoustic guitar on 'This Tornado Loves You' every night. The visuals on this tour have been stellar and all coordinated by the lovely Kathleen Judge. Hey does everyone know that Neko deisgned all the t shirt art? I try to help Kelly at the end of every night at the merch booth. Jon Rauhouse designed the tractor shirt. All in all an amazing touring team and super fun to hang with.

  I hope we can all meet up again on the road with band and crew again soon. Thanks to Neko, Amy Lombardi, Ali Hedrick, Kong, Kathleen, Tim, Shelley, Kelly, Barry, Tom V Ray, Paul Rigby, Kelly Hogan (come to record at Wavelab!!) and Jon Rauhouse.

  p.s. Go Lakers!!

  setlist for the neko dates

  01. All The Pretty Horses
  02. Not Even Stevie Nicks...
  03. Spokes
  04. Man Made Lake
  05. Bisbee Blue
  05. Bend To The Road
  06. Slowness or Quattro
  07. Two Silver Trees
  08. Fractured Air
  09. Scout
  +Slowness and Bend To The Road (w/ Craig Schumacher- harmonica) Denver
  +In The Reins (with Jon Rauhouse - pedal steel) Salt Lake City and Tacoma

  Keep a look out for more updates coming your way soon - great new pictures, words, and maybe even some exclusive music.
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  Feb 24, 08:37 AM

  Calexico to play R.E.M. tribute concert

  

  Joey and John of Calexico will be the house band of the evening for  a special collection of artists performing the songs of the legendary alternative rock group from Athens, Georgia -- R.E.M.

   

  All information, including ticket availability, video contest entry rules, and the evening's lineup can be found at the following link:http://www.remtribute.com/
• 

  Feb 03, 09:08 AM

  Joey Burns/Calexico overseas tour blog, pt. 7

  

  It rains when we arrive in Athens. 3 hours sleep and we feel like Zombies. They feed us bananas and honey. We regain life and incubate for a short spell before being taken to the Derti Club. It's a disco with a stage. We unpack and set up. I am interrogated by 3 journalists. They go easy on me. Release me in time for soundcheck. It sounds like rubber balls bouncing off gymnasium walls. Elastic. Our tour manager Oliver, says there's a greek woman backstage who wants to talk with us about Eric Burdon. Is this a secret code word? I order another raki. Her name is Marianna and works for Burdon whom me met years ago in Joshua Tree CA. We all pile into a van and go to a restaurant nearby but traffic is at a stop so we get out and walk three blocks and are there.

  Backwards can be forwards sometimes here in Athens.

  And we roll with it.

  We go to a sefood restaurant and almost everyone in band and crew orders steak and fries. I opt for the swordfish. The old men that work here are a funny crew. They seem to speak the same backwards code that you might imagine a submarine crew lost at sea to speak with abbreviated sentecnes and gestures. I nod my head and comply. I too have drfited from shore for 3 weeks now. So I feel a bit at home here.

  Georgios our local guide tells us about Santorini and that we must go there sometime soon in Summer. I am intrigued. Crete we played twice now and I still go back in my thoughts for inspiracion.

  The show in Athens is a tough one. The sound never quite improves but we get the wings up and off the ground for 2 hours. The crowd is far away because there is an empty and unused bar in between us, so we are to some degree on our own island. It's always hard figuring out what the Greek audience likes about our music. Our friend Monika who is a local platinum selling artist (10K copies) tells us that after 30minutes the chatting will stop. She's right and I'm happy for it. The show builds n builds until the whole crowd and island of musicians are soaked with sweat and ready to be released into the stormy nights from which we descended.

  Thank you for the raki. Christof good to see you here as well. Thanks Elias. Nice to have you back. Demetra and Georgia give our love to Noula and .....lights please.

   
• 

  Jan 28, 03:10 PM

  Joey Burns/Calexico overseas tour blog, pt. 6

  Calexico Tour Blog #6
  Torino - Luzern - Ulm

  I sent some photos from Torino, Luzern and Ulm today to Josh at TGREC. Thanks Josh and Celia at casadecalexico.com for helping transfer the transmissions. Tour is going really well. Torino was a dream and a welcomed change from the chill of Bologna. Thanks to Francesco for being our guide to all that is beautiful about touring in Italia. Happy Birthday to Valentina P as well. Nice comments from the folks after the show and the dinner moments before at the ristorante across the street from the Teatro Colloseo was sublime. Spaghetti vongole, vino rosso, espresso...boom! Run back to the Teatro to play to an enthusiastic and warm audience.

  Serious partying on the bus leaving Torino thanks to Oliver and Jelle's bartending prowress. Slammer = vodka and champagne mixed spells disjointed dancing on the bus and queezy sleep across the border and into Switzerland. We survived and there are photos on Valerie's camera. Should we post them?

  Better stick to the lofi cell phone shots for now.

  Luzern's KKL Theatre is super modern and kickass. In the adjacent hall under the same roof Mischa Maisky is rehearsing a Haydn cello concerto with small ensemble. I am blown away and taken to a deeper level of inspiration. Later that day we rehearse with violinist, Anna-Sophie Mahler who we've been playing with in Europe for about ten years. She brings a whole different vibe to songs like "The News About William" and "Minas de Cobre". John and I recently recorded some original material for a verison of Tennessee Williams' "The Glass Menagerie" that she is directing in Biel Switzerland (www.theater-biel.ch and www.theater-solothurn.ch). After the show Anna-Sophie and the whole cast present with us a gift of wine, cheese, olives, flowers as a thank you.

  We arrive in cold, grey Ulm the next day. Time for laundry at the nearby washerei. Paul goes to the Apotheke for some supplies for Katja back home. Martin is on the street talking with his birthday gal Lena. Jelle rents a bike and rides of in search of crackers for our wine tasting night off. Patrick and I meet our friend Guni for espresso and pretzels. I sent some photos from the walk around town as the sun began to finally break from the clouds. We saw some old gates and buildings from the 1100's and 1400's. A man was taking his three greyhounds on a walk. There were decorations being hung for Mardi Gras. Tomorrow I will try to climb the gothic cathedral and get a bird's eye view of what the legendary Schneider von Ulm might have seen. Apparently, recent scientists figured out that he would have succeeded in flying across the Donau if he had tried flying 200 meters south from his original point of departure.

  http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albrecht_Ludwig_Berblinger&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=1&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dder%2Bschneider%2Bvon%2Bulm%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den

  wishing you all a safe flight
  all those winged and webbed
  a good night and sweet dream
  joey

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  
  

   
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  Jan 26, 11:14 AM

  tour blog #5 / Bologna Italy Jan 23, 2009

  

  It´s cold outside. We are playing at Estragon outside of the city of Bologna. It´s even colder inside the industrial style hangar. Spirits are up. I stock up on vitamins and honey-lemon hot liquids. Seems like we are far awar from everyone and everything. Where are we? Bologna? Italy? I think about the times when people ask us, what we see when we are on tour. I would love to have gone into town, but energy is low, and we are far from the city center. So we huddle round a spaceheater and do our best to stay warm. Hoping the show tonight brings some good kinetic energy and direction. Missing the old streets and small shops, ristorantes, cafes, etc. Jacob just sneezed himself awake. Jairo is waiting for a call from home to wish his son a Happy Birthday. John looks ready to connect with his Italian roots, Martin was online and is now missing, Volker on the bus? Paul is laying low. Late night show and hours to wait around. Best wishes to all.
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  Jan 23, 07:36 AM

  Journal no. 4 / Lyon France Jan 22, 2009 / Epicerie Moderne

  

  I wake up late cuz I stay up late. Hard to roll to sleep when the bus drives off down the cobble stone. There's movies in the upstairs lounge and drinks/food/discussion with the occasional DJ momento downstairs in the galley. Ray likes coffee at 3am. The chill settles in hard today in Lyon. Val, Jairo and I cab it into town for a look and walk around. We climb with the funiculaire to the top of the mountain overlooking the valley filled with buildings and the Rhone running through it all. Off in the distance the Alps pierce the low lying clouds with a touch of blue sky and shining mountaintop in the sun. It helps to get outside of the backstage. Seems like hours disappear easily there. It might snow tonight Ray says. I bundle up as best as I can and dig into to some rehearsing with band, "Cruel" and "Stray" are some of the cuts we run thru.
  
  I sent some photos from my phone, sorry if they're fogged or muddled. Must be my pockets full of dust and such that give the gloomy glow. Anyways I sent a photo of the Cathedrale de St Jean hi atop the hill overlooking the sprawl of Lyon, also sent an interior shot of a votive candle I lit for you all especially Jacob Jr, Maurio, y Juanito. Did I send the photo of the Salon du Thé? It was great. Simple and sweet. Chocolat eclaire and tarte de pomme. Merci beaux coups.
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  Jan 20, 12:31 PM

  blog #1 - Jan 19, 2009 - Barcelona Spain

  Spent the evening at Amparo's house with her family and friends. Home made dinner thanks to Francesco y Sergio, musica with Jairo, Jacob, John y Jordi. Beatiful casa Amparo, gracias! Now back at the hotel room and enjoying the media blitz on TVland before tomorrow's inauguration of President Obama in Washington DC. Many people here in Europe are extremely excited and it is felt here on tour. Last night in Zaragosa someone handed us a sign that read "two days to go". The shows so far have been amazing. Madrid, Vigo, San Sebastian...all amazing old theatres and crowds with inspiring energy/enthusiasm. Muchos gracias por todo. Tomorrow in Barcelona will certainly be an eventful evening. Apollo are you ready?
  
  Zaragosa, Spain Jan 18, 2009
  Setlist
  01. Convict Pool
  02. Frontera/Trigger
  03. Quattro
  04. Sunken Waltz
  05. Roka
  06. Man Made Lake
  07. Minas de Cobre
  08. Inspiracion
  09. Deep Down
  10. The News About William
  11. Bend To The Road
  12. Two Silver Trees
  13. House of Valparaiso
  14. Close Behind
  15. Alone Again Or
  16. Fractured Air
  ---------------------
  17. Victor Jara's Hands
  18. Guero Canelo
  ---------------------
  19. Red Blooms
  
  
• 

  Jan 08, 12:53 PM

  Calexico performance videos, from France to Tucson, AZ

  Recently a couple Calexico-related videos have surfaced and we thought they were too enjoyable to not pass along. The first link is from a French site Arte.tv and features lead singer/guitarist Joey Burns rehearsing with some French musicians - including Manu Katche - and then performing "Two Silver Trees" solo and fronting a full band for a unique performance of "Fractured Air (Tornado Watch)." The whole thing is a behind-the-scenes take and gives a nice, different look and feel to Calexico songs and Burns as a musician.

  Link here - http://www.arte.tv/fr/Videos-sur-ARTE-TV/2151166,CmC=2368006.html

  Courtesy of the Tucson Citizen, the second link is footage from a December 29th benefit concert that Calexico played for their local community radio station KXCI. There are three related video clips of Calexico as a full band, Calexico performing with additional guest musicians from the Sergio Mendoza Orkestra, and of Sergio Mendoza y la Orkestra alone.

  All three video highlights are viewable here - http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/video/player2.php?file=123008calexico1
  
  

   
• 

  Oct 10 2008, 10:07 AM

  A bunch of Calexico news

  (posted by Touch & Go/Quarterstick)

  -On Friday, October 17th NPR's World Cafe and Chicago Public Radio's Sound Opinions will be airing two live in-studio sessions from Calexico. Check the following links to find when you can listen to each program in your area.

  World Cafe schedule

  Sound Opinions site

   

  -Recently, Joey Burns was invited to the Ticketmaster/LiveDaily studios to record a rare solo session and interview. What resulted were exceptional, forthright takes on three new Calexico songs – “Two Silver Trees,” “Writer’s Minor Holiday,” and “Man Made Lake.” We liked them so much we thought we’d share the whole session with you. You can watch the whole session right here.

   

  -Last week Calexico played live on KCRW's nationally renowned Morning Becomes Eclectic hosted by Nic Harcourt. If you were asleep at the wheel and missed out or listened live but are dying to experience it again, KCRW has given us the encore performance we've been yearning for. Calexico's session will be featured on KCRW's premiere audio and video podcasts starting today through October 23rd. Fans wanting to see or hear or this very special broadcast can subscribe to either one by following this LINK.

   

  -We are psyched to announce that Calexico is currently co-sponsoring an insanely awesome giveaway hosted by the homegrown-Chicago fashion design company Threadless. You can check out the prizes HERE, but we'll just say that we're more than a little excited at the fact that Calexico will be writing an original song about the winner's design. And, we'll probably agree that a flight to Iceland and some bonus cash aren't so bad either.