Lonely Boys, Los Lobos get it together
By Gerald M. Gay
ggay@azstarnet.com
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 07.24.2008
After four years rocking on the post-"Heaven" scene as guitarist for the Texas-based band Los Lonely Boys, Henry Garza isn't as thrilled about touring as he once was.
He gets that trekking across the country is the bread-and-butter for musicians and he loves playing with his brothers, JoJo on bass and Ringo on drums. But "it gets tougher as you get older and accumulate more things, especially when you've got your wife and your kids at home and they miss you."
Henry's three boys and one girl will have to hold out a little longer. Los Lonely Boys have just embarked on their annual Brotherhood Tour, a monthlong run that will find them performing alongside longtime East L.A. rock giants Los Lobos.
Hot on the heels of their latest studio release, "Forgiven," The Boys come to Casino del Sol's AVA on Sunday. It's a venue they've sold out on three visits prior.
Unlike the group's past two studio efforts, "Forgiven" was recorded on a soundstage and produced by Steve Jordan, a drummer with the John Mayer Trio who has recorded with B.B. King, Sheryl Crow and other big names.
Henry spoke to Caliente last week from the road in Choctaw, Miss.
You have a good track record in Tucson. Do you enjoy your visits to the Old Pueblo?
"You know it, bro. I remember going to Tucson way back before we were even able to sell out. I remember playing some little places there. I love Tucson. I love the fact that you can have a car there and it don't rust."
You've mentioned you dislike touring. What do you like to do when you aren't on tour?
"We hang with the families and try to do a lot of things with the kids, teaching what we know and giving them stuff we didn't have. That is what you hope for when you have kids. You want them to have a better life than you lived.
"We also fish, golf when we get the time, ride our Harleys. Just stuff that anybody else would do for fun."
You are coming to town with Los Lobos. Have you toured with them before?
"Never, man. We've shared the stage a couple of times, like at the Latin Grammys. But us touring together had to happen eventually. There are not that many of us, of our culture that have crossed those lines. It's like Ritchie Valens, Carlos Santana and Los Lobos. We are happy to be a part of that circle with those guys.
"We are looking forward to it. We aren't expecting anything except to expect the unexpected."
How was it working with Steve Jordan?
"He was cool, man. In fact, he is not Steve Jordan anymore. He is Steve Garza now. He was like another brother, best buds hanging out."
So it was a pretty laid-back environment then?
"We got together in the studio and had a fun time with his expertise in music. We got some football in there. The vibe was really good. The music was bouncing off the walls from one person to another. It was recorded one day shy of three weeks.
"It wasn't like we tried to make something that shined so bright and polished and looked so beautiful. We were just trying to put what we were feeling inside down on tape. The songs from this album are straight from our heart, plain and simple."
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