It's time for another '6 Degrees' and we seem to be making May, Calexico month! Following getting and reviewing their latest album, El Mirador, at the start of the month - and getting to see them live in the middle of the month - we decided to feature singer, songwriter and guitarist, Joey Burns, as our starting point....
Joey Burns is now know for being the front man of Calexico, but before that, he and fellow bandmate John Convertino, were also both in the band Giant Sand with Howe Gelb.
Iain Shedden, originally from Lanark in Scotland, had a brief spell in Giant Sand on drums, but had also been the drummer with Australian punk legends The Saints, through much of the first half of the 80s (he died in 1986).
Also in The Saints was bassist Tracy Pew. Tracey was perhaps more well known as a core member of another legendary Australian band, Birthday Party.
The guitarist and one of the main songwriters in that band was one Roland S. Howard (1959-2009). After the Birthday Party fell apart in the mid-80s, he formed Crime & The City Solution.
Crime & The City Solution were featured in the 1987 Wim Wenders film, Wings of Desire. Another Wenders film, Paris, Texas (1984) became well known for its distinctive and evocative slide guitar driven soundtrack, performed by Ry Cooder.
Ry Cooder played on the song Full Force Gale on Van Morrison's 1979 album Into The Music.
A version of the song Gloria, which Morrison had written when he was leader of 60s band Them, was included on Patti Smith's iconic 1975 album Horses.
Patti Smith released an album in 2006 called The Coral Sea, which was based on two live recordings at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London (22 June 2005 and 12 September 2006), featuring Smith's poetic homage to her friend, the photographer, Robert Mapplethorpe.
Her sidekick for those two live performances? I give you - Kevin Shields!
Comments