Eli and Alejandro

I recently had the opportunity to go into the studio for Alejandro Escovedo’s latest recording which is due out April of 2012. Producing the session was Tony Visconti who played bass and recorded with David Bowie for over 12 years (including some of his biggest hits like Fame, Young Americans, etc.). My partner in crime was Mr. Ephraim Owens on trumpet and I even played bari sax on a couple of cuts thanks to friend Scotty McIntosh who let me use his horn.

I first came to know about Alejandro way back in the 80′s when he was playing with the True Believers, an Austin super group featuring 3 guitar players (including Jon Dee Graham). Over the years, he’s recorded many, many great records under his own name and has become an Austin legend – playing with the likes of Bruce Springsteen and touring the country constantly. I first started playing with Alejandro last spring when Ephraim asked me to play at SXSW for Alejandro’s big show at the San Jose Hotel.

Eli and Ephraim

The session took place at Jim Eno’s studio called Public Hi-Fi and it was a really quick, fun day. Jim plays drums with Spoon and has built a really cool spot that is comfortable and sounds great. Tony was incredibly quick as he and guitarist David Pulkingham came up with the horn parts on the spot and Ephraim and I put them down. It’s days like this where the stars align and you feel like anything is possible as a musician. If only there were more opportunities like this! At this point in my life, however, I know that these are rare moments so I took a bunch of pictures and tried to take it all in. Alejandro asked us to play SXSW again this Spring so look for us on stage in the parking lot of the San Jose Hotel in a few months. Happy New Year!