Tucson, Arizona, USA-based multi-instrumentalists John Convertino (b. New York, USA) and Joey Burns (b. Montreal, Canada) spent most of the late 80s and 90s working as a rhythm section for hire, playing with artists such as Barbara Manning, Victoria Williams, Lisa Germano, and Richard Buckner. Their most regular employment, however, was with Howe Gelb's desert rock outfit Giant Sand and its eclectic spin-off OP8. In the early 90s, the duo formed the instrumental band Friends Of Dean Martinez, a low-key cover versions project which nevertheless gained a short-term recording contract with Sub Pop Records. Suitably inspired, Burns and Convertino set about writing new material and, more pertinently, began to take an interest in buying and mastering a wide array of instruments. They recorded the Superstition Highway tape with drummer/DJ Tasha Bundy, but their first official album was the predominantly acoustic Spoke which was released, initially in Europe only, in 1996. Burns and Convertino originally planned to adopt the Spoke moniker, but with an existing US band already owning the name they elected to title themselves after a town on the Californian-Mexican border. The new name inspired a more imaginative musical approach with the duo fleshing out the standard C&W and folk sounds of the alternative country scene with a range of Latin influences.
The atmospheric mix of pedal steel guitars, mariachi brass, and edgy alternative rock on the predominantly instrumental The Black Light (1998) was created almost single-handedly by Burns and Convertino, effortlessly evoking the barren beauty of the desert terrain around the American-Mexican border. The underlying concept of the album, about a man embarking on a road trip that will eventually lead to redemption, was inspired by the writings of Cormac McCarthy. Hot Rail (2000) was even more eclectic, ranging through Tex-Mex ("El Picador"), straight country, ("The Ballad Of Cable Hogue"), urban rock ("Service And Repair"), and jazz ("Fade", "Untitled III"). Burns and Convertino take even more risks when they perform live, improvising material with musicians who have often been recruited only a few days before the show.
The cinematic nature of the duo's work inevitably led to real soundtrack work, and in 2000 they scored the independent movie Committed. They also collaborated with French duo Amor Belhom, releasing Tête À Tête under the Abbc moniker. Calexico's fourth studio album, 2003's Feast Of Wire was another refreshing mix of different styles that demonstrated Burns and Convertino's remarkable vitality. At the end of the following year Calexico recorded a mini-album with Sam Beam aka Iron And Wine. Released in late 2005, In The Reins featured seven Beam originals with backing by Calexico.
