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I think in general our live shows, especially in Europe, are pretty well known for being dynamic and exciting, at times very spontaneous. There's a lot of guests that show up that aren't planned, so I think that word has gotten out. Most of our tapers have started out, I think, in Europe, although there are some in the States. There seems to be a growing community of people who are getting more involved with music and live shows and recording. That's exciting that people are that excited about something that they want to be a part of it and get involved. We encourage it [taping]. -Joey Burns |
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Photo of Calexico by Gerald von Foris
"There's this imagination you sense when you go [there]. You see life from a different perspective. Visiting one of Pablo Neruda's houses, he used old porthole windows, you know the round windows from ships. He had that included in the architecture of his house. So, we were just hanging out [in Valparaiso] and really enjoying this place, and it felt so comfortable being there and yet we'd never been there before. Sometimes you have those great experiences when you are traveling, you feel like you could stay there."
 Joey Burns by B. Wallace |
This is all evoked in the track "House of Valparaiso," which features Sam Beam (Iron & Wine). One of several members of the Calexico collaborative community that appears on this album, Beam slips in between Burns' main vocal line, as the lyrical snatches of "waves rolling off the coast" and "driftwood houses" flow over swelling trumpets and guitars.
Neruda died twelve days after the 1973 American-backed military coup in Chile overthrew democratically elected socialist President Salvador Allende and put Augusto Pinochet in power. Many Chileans saw his death as a symbol of their country's despair. This dark history also came to bear on the song "Victor Jara's Hands." Burns' friendship with Spanish guitarist Jairo Zavala helped illuminate the story of Jara, a singer-songwriter, theater director and activist who was kidnapped, tortured and eventually executed at the hands of the military.
"I just love [Zavala's] take on some of these songs. They kind of have this acoustic feel but it's not necessarily American. It's definitely not Mexican. It could be South American influenced, but it's just sort of floating there on the horizon beyond category's reach," enthuses Burns. "His insight really helped me get into the songs even further and he even helped co-write 'Victor Jara's Hands.' He told me about his own experiences with hearing Jara's music and knowing stories about his death. Just his country's perspective about what happened in Chile in the early '70s. You know just the fact that protesters and activists were being kidnapped and never being seen again, it was a strong message to take because there was a lot of criticism for anyone that would protest the Iraq War or the Bush administration over the past eight years. So, it kind of resonated with me and it kind of inspired me to write some of these songs like 'House of Valparaiso' or 'Victor Jara's Hands'."
These necessary political questions, like questions of environmental ethics, have figured in Calexico's work from the get go. Eco-concern is vividly displayed in the song "Man Made Lake," which paints a startling picture of a lake made of "cell phone trees." As Burns points out, the environment, particularly, "is a theme that's always run through our work since 1996 when we started putting out songs. There's been that kind of westward expansion and the question of, 'At what cost? Is this benefiting everyone and everything?'"
 Burns & Convertino - Calexico |
As much as there are questions on this album, there are also moments of perspective. Take the meditative sigh "Slowness," which features, "a duet with Pieta Brown, who's from Iowa City. That was inspired by a night hanging out with my girlfriend and driving outside the city limits, out to the desert, and losing a hubcap. And, of course, it was pitch black and we didn't have a flashlight, so we were trying to find it by starlight. Then, we just gave up and realized how beautiful it was just being out there in the middle of nowhere. It gave us a chance to sit back and know that there's a bigger picture."
The spirit of collaboration and community on this album and the far reaching map it draws, both sonically and thematically, place its focus firmly on that "bigger picture," peering through a porthole to the vastness.
"I got a nice letter the other day, not from a musician but from a fan of music," recalls Burns. "This woman was saying how much she appreciates just the aesthetic. I thought that was a really nice compliment because it wasn't so much about the music but more about the mindset and maybe a philosophy of openness. And I think that was one of the nicest letters we've got in a long, long time."
When asked what keeps driving him and Convertino after all these years, his response is joyously simple.
"Good food, good drink, good friends - basically, the same thing that was getting us going well before we started this project. We have a good group of friends, whether they are in the van, part of the whole studio experience or scattered. They live in all sorts of places all over the world, but it keeps returning, it keeps renewing itself. The community expands and it's an exciting thing to be a part of. Just to help others out, lending an ear or a cello part for someone's record. It's the same positive experience you share. That keeps you going."
Calexico is on tour in England now and will be back in the States at the end of the month; dates available here.
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