Lots of musicians compare their careers to roller-coaster rides, but Los Lonely Boys have had so many close-your-eyes-and-hang-on moments in the 14 years since they recorded their self-titled debut, they should buy an amusement park.
The story of how the Garza brothers – vocalist/guitarist Henry, bassist/vocalist and drummer/ vocalist Ringo – rode their bluesy “Texican rock” sound from San Angelo, Texas, to worldwide fame is one of rock’s great Cinderella tales. But the story of how they’ve persevered in the face of subsequent challenges is just as compelling. In 2013, they canceled 43 shows and paused work on their last album, “Revelation”, after Henry was seriously hurt when he fell from a stage in Los Angeles. A couple of years previously, vocal cord nodules had forced Jojo to stop singing for months. And in 2015, their mother passed away.
Their strong brotherly bond helped them through those rough spots – just as it did when they made the hard decision to step out from under their father’s musical leadership and form their own band after performing with him since childhood. The desire to follow their musical muse still drives them today, according to Jojo.
“There is no rest for those who are chosen to be musicians,” he says. “Ideas for songs are constant. We are being charged with what will be spread through our songs. We want to make music that brings people together.
“We’re all about having a good time, but we also make an effort to write about subjects that matter. Life, death, love, hate, compassion, transgression, light, darkness, truth; they’re what we’ve always been about. We’re not interested in songs about how you look and what kind of car you drive and how much money you have. We want to create music that’s about the love and energy and spirit we all carry. It comes from a bigger source than ourselves.”
About the opener, Brian Dunne:
Hailing from the Red Roof Inn, the driver’s seat of a Honda Fit, the floor of the airport, the guest bedroom at your Aunt’s and Uncle’s house, the back seat of a 15-passenger van, and New York City, Brian Dunne is the companion you never knew you wanted. Equipped with a Telecaster, a Gibson Hummingbird and 17 dollars, he is coming to your town to play his guts out and then stand by the merch table.
“Bug Fixes & Performance Improvements” was produced by Brian and released in May of 2017 independently. It garnered a great deal of attention based on the quality of the songwriting and musicality, landing Brian on NPR’s Mountain Stage and 2017’s Cayamo Cruise, and tours with The Secret Sisters, Will Hoge, Rosanne Cash, Robert Earl Keen, Joan Osborne, Delbert McClinton, and a myriad of other songwriting heavyweights. The first two singles were picked up by SiriusXM radio, and if you visited a shopping mall during the spring of 2017, you probably heard the lead single “Don’t Give Up On Me” being interrupted by an announcement that someone had lost their kid at the food court.
Brian followed the release of “Bug Fixes” with a live EP of stripped-down versions of previously released songs entitled “The Timber House Sessions.” Brian has now returned to the studio to begin his next LP with producer Andrew Sarlo (Big Thief, Nick Hakim, Local Natives), which is slated for release in early 2019 and expected to be “totally the most amazing thing you’ve ever heard,” according to Brian’s mom.
