Alejandro Escovedo preps new album, tour

By Alex Young on June 4th, 2008

In support of his new album, Real Animal (June 24 via Back Porch Records), Alejandro Escovedo has announced an extensive summer tour, which will include support stints with Dave Matthews along with a few strongs at some music festivals.

The 13 original tracks on REAL ANIMAL unravel Escovedo’s musical autobiography while presenting him as a masterful American musician, whose palette encompasses eloquent string quintets and shattering blasts of punk rock. From his early days in the punk scene of San Francisco (”Nuns Song”) to chaotic times living at the Chelsea Hotel alongside Sid & Nancy (”Chelsea Hotel ‘78?) through his pioneering alt-country days with Rank & File (”Chip n’ Tony”), REAL ANIMAL weaves a vivid tale of music as well as characters met, played with and lost along the way (”Sister Lost Soul” and “Sensitive Boys”). The punk-infused track “Real as an Animal” is an homage to Stooges’ front man Iggy Pop — one of the many influential artists that hit home with Escovedo — while “Golden Bear”, a song named after a local music club in Huntington Beach, CA where Escovedo spent his teen years, has a haunting and melodic reference to his near-death battle with Hepatitis-C.

Real Animal Tracklisting:
01 Always a Friend
02 Chelsea Hotel ‘78
03 Sister Lost Soul
04 Smoke
05 Sensitive Boys
06 People (We Are Only Gonna Live So Long)
07 Golden Bear
08 Nuns Song
09 Real as an Animal
10 Hollywood Hills
11 Swallows of San Juan
12 Chip n’ Tony
13 Slow Down

Alejandro Escovedo 2008 Tour Dates:
06/07 - Lawrence, KS @ Wakarusa Festival
06/09 - Clarkston, MU @ DTE Energy Music Theatre *
06/10 - Scranton, PA @ Toyota Pavilion At Montage Mountain *
06/11 - Louisville, KY @ Headliner’s Music Hall
06/13 - Hartford, CT @ New England Dodge Music Center *
06/14 - Hartford, CT @ New England Dodge Music Center *
06/17 - Darien, NY @ Six Flags Darien Lake *
06/18 - Toronto, ON @ Molson Amphitheatre *
06/20 - New York, NY @ Late Night with Conan O’Brien
06/22 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Three Rivers Festival
06/24 - New York, NY @ The Today Show
06/26 - Austin, TX @ Waterloo Records
06/26 - Austin, TX @ The Continental Club
06/27 - Austin, TX @ The Continental Club
06/28 - Austin, TX @ Keep Austin Weird Fest
07/02 - St. Louis, MO @ Blueberry Hill
07/03 - Milwaukee, WI @ Summerfest
07/04 - Chicago, IL @ Taste of Chicago
07/06 - Montreal, QC @ Club Soda
07/07 - Toronto, ON @ Mod Club
07/09 - New York, NY @ Highline Ballroom
07/10 - Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
07/11 - Philadelphia, PA @ XPoNential Festival
07/12 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
07/15 - Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel
07/16 - Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
07/18 - New Orleans, LA @ Tipitina’s
07/19 - New Braunfels, TX @ Gruene Hall
07/31 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Troubadour
08/02 - Madison, WI @ Alliant Energy Center
08/07 - New York, NY @ Late Show with David Letterman
08/09 - New York, NY @ Summerstage