Calexico is an American indie rock band based in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1996, the band's two main members, Joey Burns and John Convertino, first played together in Los Angeles as part of the group Giant Sand. They have recorded a number of albums on Quarterstick Records and City Slang, and their 2005 EP, In the Reins, recorded with Iron & Wine, reached the Billboard 200 album charts. Their musical style is influenced by traditional Latin sounds of mariachi, conjunto, cumbia, and tejano mixed with country, jazz, and post-rock.
Matthew Stephen Ward, known professionally as M. Ward, is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist from Glendale, California. Ward's solo work is a mixture of folk and blues-inspired Americana analog recordings. He has released 10 studio albums since 1999, primarily through the independent label Merge Records. In addition to his solo work, he is a member of indie pop duo She & Him and folk-rock supergroup Monsters of Folk, and also participates in recording, producing, and playing with multiple other artists.
Thrill Jockey is an American independent record label established by former Atlantic Records A&R representative Bettina Richards and based in Chicago.
Naked Prey was an American rock band from Tucson, Arizona. United States, which was formed in 1982 by the former Green on Red drummer Van Christian and David Seeger, who had been in the original line-up of the Giant Sandworms as well as The Pedestrians, a band credited with having performed the first punk rock show in Tucson. Other artists who recorded or performed with the band included members of Green on Red and the Sand Rubies, John Convertino and Joey Burns, later of Calexico, Chuck Prophet, Rainer Ptacek and longtime drummer Tommy Larkins, who currently plays with Jonathan Richman, famously appearing with him as half of the two-man Greek chorus in There's Something About Mary. Christian himself also performed with The Band of Blacky Ranchette and was in the original lineup of The Friends of Dean Martinez.
The Black Light is the second studio album by American indie rock band Calexico. It was released May 19, 1998 on Quarterstick.
Howard “Howe” Gelb is an American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer based in Tucson, Arizona.
OP8 is the musical collaboration of the multi-instrumentalist Lisa Germano, Howe Gelb, Joey Burns and John Convertino. Joey Burns and John Convertino form the band Calexico together and have both been members of Gelb's Giant Sand.
Rainer Ptacek, also known mononymously as Rainer, was a German-American guitarist and singer-songwriter based in Tucson, Arizona for much of his adult life. His guitar technique, which incorporated slide, finger-picking, tape loops and electronic manipulation, earned him the admiration of notable musicians such as Robert Plant and Billy Gibbons.
Cover Magazine is an album by the American band Giant Sand. It was released on Thrill Jockey Records in 2002. Eleven of the songs are covers.
Friends of Dean Martinez is an American instrumental rock/post-rock band featuring members of Giant Sand, Calexico, and Naked Prey. The band combines Americana with electronica, ambient, lounge, psychedelia, and dub and intertwines surf rock-inspired lead guitars.
Chore of Enchantment is a studio album by the alternative rock band Giant Sand. It was released in March 2000 by Thrill Jockey.
Still Lookin' Good to Me is a 2003 album by the Band of Blacky Ranchette. The album features contributions from John Convertino, Joey Burns, Neko Case, Richard Buckner, Cat Power, M. Ward, Kurt Wagner, Jason Lytle and Bob Neuwirth.
Antietam is an indie rock band from Louisville, Kentucky formed in 1984 by members of the Babylon Dance Band, husband and wife duo Tara Key and Tim Harris. They released six albums between 1985 and 1995, and since the late 1980s have been based in New York. Their latest album is Intimations of Immortality, released on Motorific Sounds in 2017.
Ballad of a Thin Line Man is the second album by American band Giant Sand. It was released in 1986 by record label Zippo.
Swerve is an album by Tucson, Arizona-based rock band Giant Sand. It was first released in 1990 on the Amazing Black Sand label, and was re-released in 1993 by both Amazing Black Sand and Restless Records. It features performances by guest artists such as Chris Cacavas of Green on Red, Juliana Hatfield, and Steve Wynn. Its music has been described as "Sticky Fingers country-rock".
Ramp is an album by the American band Giant Sand, released in 1991. The album was released via frontman Howe Gelb's Amazing Black Sand label, before being picked up by Restless Records.
The Shadow of Your Smile is the debut album by the American band Friends of Dean Martinez, released in 1995. The band included members of two Arizona bands: Joey Burns and John Convertino, of Giant Sand, and Bill Elm, Tom Larkins, and Van Christian, of Naked Prey. The band changed their name from Friends of Dean Martin right before the album's release, after threat of legal action by Martin's representatives.
Center of the Universe is an album by the American band Giant Sand, released in 1992. It was the first Giant Sand album to receive wide distribution and a traditional promotional campaign. It was also the band's first album for Restless Records, which had rereleased a couple of older Giant Sand albums. The band supported Center of the Universe with a North American tour.
Glum is an album by the American band Giant Sand, released in 1994. It was the band's first album to be distributed by a major label. Giant Sand supported it with a North American tour.
Purge & Slouch is an album by the American band Giant Sand, released in 1993 through the German label Brake Out Records. It was released by Restless Records the following year. The band supported the album with a UK tour. Frontman Howe Gelb referred to the music as "smash jazz".
