Joey Burns of Calexico: ‘I was really surprised people liked this music. We’ve never been a band to have radio singles and hits’

Joey Burns remembers an encounter that took place not long before the release of Calexico’s fourth album, Feast of Wire.

“I’ll never forget going on a promotional tour – which doesn’t happen any more – but I was in Paris,” the frontman of the Tucson-based band says. “And I remember the label representative said, ‘Where is the hit song on this album?’ and I said, ‘Whaddya mean? We’re an indie-rock band, I wasn’t thinking about hit songs. Sorry!’” He laughs. “But I guess that’s one of the reasons I was really surprised that people liked this music. We’ve never been a band to have radio singles and hits.”

Hit songs or no, Calexico have amassed both an eclectic and a consistent body of work over the past quarter of a century. Earlier this month they kicked off the European leg of a tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of Feast of Wire, which will end in Dublin on Sunday November 5th. When we speak, Burns is outside the venue they will play tonight in the Spanish city of Vigo, waiting with his compadres for a taxi that will bring them to a local restaurant for a late lunch.

The album, he says, squinting through the sunshine as he removes his sunglasses, has been fun to revisit in such a deliberate manner.

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“At the first few rehearsals earlier in the year, it was kind of strange playing songs that maybe had not been played that much,” Burns says. “But we sort of found new arrangements, and turned them on their side and gave them new life – and it’s been really fun. We’ve been using samples a lot on some of the instrumentals, too, and it’s been a really natural process for us. What’s funny for me is watching the audiences respond to some of the instrumentals, like Pepita; Crumble is more like an homage to Gil Evans, Charlie Mingus and some of the greats in jazz.”

Feast of Wire’s release came at a crucial juncture for Calexico. Although many consider it their breakthrough album – Burns himself reckons that was their second album, The Black Light, from 1998 – they had already begun playing outside of their loyal fanbases in the US and Europe. Feast of Wire undoubtedly won them a new group of fans. Even Robert Plant (who covered the album track Quattro (World Drifts In) on Raise the Roof, his 2021 album with Alison Krauss) spoke about his love for the band, saying Calexico are “giving us the new American songbook”.

“Because there’s diversity on the album,” Burns says of its appeal, “I think it’s an interesting listen, and perhaps it was interesting to people back in the day, because people listened to albums back then. I think nowadays an album like this wouldn’t get this much attention.” He shrugs. “And I still feel like the album is relevant, especially in regards to some of the lyrics.”

[ Robert Plant and Alison Krauss: Raise the Roof – Haunted loss tinged with beauty ]

Calexico have remained an enduring force, with no splits or break-ups, and a dizzying wealth of side projects to boot; Burns speaks fondly of the time they spent scoring the soundtrack to John Michael McDonagh’s The Guard, and their eclectic brand of indie rock has been used in many film and TV projects. They recently recorded a bilingual version of California Dreamin’ for the soundtrack of the Prime Video film A Million Miles Away, which is well worth a listen. The reason for their fortitude over the years, you’d have to guess, is the friendship at the heart of the band between Burns and his fellow founder, the drummer John Convertino, the “Jack Kerouac figure” of the band.

“I mean, he’s just a fantastic person,” Burns says. “I’m a bit more outgoing and better at coming up with ideas and directions, sometimes, and he’s just kind of more solid and grounded. So the dynamics balance beautifully as friends, mostly, but with music also.” He nods. “I kind of had that feeling early on when I met him, that we would be friends for life. And I’m glad to say that that’s still the case.”

Although they are preoccupied with the Feast of Wire tour, Calexico are already looking towards new material. Burns has an ambition to record the A-side of an album in Nashville and the B-side in Memphis.

“I thought it’d be a beautiful split; let’s write with people that are there, let’s use Memphis-style horns, let’s just have fun,” he says. “But we’re shaped by the world we live in, and it feels really good to be out travelling and experiencing the world in person. And also, especially with the pandemic, there’s a lot of themes that are coming up with me in regards to mental health, and I think that will probably influence a lot of the new record.”

There is plenty of life left in Calexico yet, Burns agrees, although this tour has given him ample opportunity to reflect on how far they have come and, yes, even feel pride in their work. There is nothing he would change about Feast of Wire with the benefit of two decades of hindsight.

“Except to make it a little shorter, maybe. At the time I wasn’t thinking so much about vinyl, I was thinking about CDs, and at the time with CDs you could go to 70 minutes. So I thought, ‘Oh great! You could put more music on!’” He laughs. “It wasn’t until after this album that the record company in the States said, ‘Hey, y’know there are a lot of journalists that have to listen to whole records ... so maybe it’s better if you kind of keep it to 45 minutes.’ And I agree with that, for the most part.”

He is outside the restaurant now, his bandmates waiting inside for him to join them. “But that’s what you do when you’re starting out, and you’ve got all that enthusiasm and confidence, and you pour your heart out and think that your listeners are going to want to be with you all the way. So being back in Europe reminds me of how grateful I am for the audiences that have been with us for 20-odd years. It’s kind of incredible.”

Calexico play The Helix, Dublin, on Sunday November 5th; the 20th-anniversary reissue of Feast of Wire is available now