!"#$!%&'( #*+(,#&( - ./01 *2!20(%.

l can Lake a punch, l can Lake a swlng," slngs Ale[andro Lscovedo on Man of Lhe World," Lhe openlng
salvo of !"# %&'&"(), hls new album on lanLasy 8ecords. 1he Lwo phrases well descrlbe hls 33 years as a
muslclan and Lwo decades as a solo arLlsL, Lhe sum of whlch aLLesLs Lo Lhe redempLlve power of
rock'n'roll and Lhe drlvlng role LhaL lL has played ln hls llfe and arL.

A sLyllsLlc synLheslsL who *(++")# %&(), noLes ls ln hls own genre," Lscovedo casLs hls wldesL muslcal
neL Lo daLe on !"# %&'&"(). 1he LlLle can lnfer Lwo meanlngs: A LranslL [uncLlon where [ourneys
converge and Lhen head off Lo new desLlnaLlons, and a poLenL radlo slgnal wlLh an open playllsL LhaL
brlms wlLh dlverslLy and advenLurous lmaglnaLlon.

1he album beglns wlLh a blasL of Longue-ln-cheek bravado on Man of Lhe World" seL Lo a shlmmerlng
meld of classlc gulLar rock and new wave bop. 1hemes of LranslLlon are Lhe fulcrum for songs llke Lhe
syncopaLed bounce of Lhe LlLle Lrack and Lhe ghosLly march of Sally Was A Cop," whlch surveys Lhe
havoc wroughL by Mexlco's drug carLels. A [azzy muLed LrumpeL and saxophone weave Lhrough hls
rumlnaLlon on love and deLermlnaLlon on Can'L Make Me 8un." Change, decay and Lscovedo's place
ln Lhe world are explored ln songs LhaL Louch down ln Lhe clLy where he has llved for decades, AusLln,
1x, as well as hls nearby blrLhplace on, respecLlvely, Lhe uylanesque 1he 8oLLom of Lhe World" and
Lhe dark-hued melodlclsm of San AnLonlo 8aln."

Pe reflecLs on characLers from hls rebel pasL wlLh searlng Lenslon on PeadsLrong Crazy lools," whlle
Lhe specLer of falled romance wafLs Lhrough Lhe alry never SLood A Chance" and 1oo Many 1ears"
slmmers wlLh Lhe frlcLlon of deslre rubblng up agalnsL hearLbreak. 8ocklng danceable grooves drlve hls
exlsLenLlal quesLlons on Common MlsLake" and Lhe celebraLory hedonlsm of arLy eople." Lscovedo
flnally wraps up Lhe seL by spllclng hls Chlcano rooLs wlLh modernlsm on hls flrsL number sung ln
Spanlsh, Sabor a Ml," a classlc LaLln pop song from 1939 LhaL has also been recorded by vlckl Carr,
Luls Mlguel, Los Lobos and many oLhers.

As wlLh hls prevlous Lwo albums, Lscovedo collaboraLed wlLh Chuck ropheL on mosL of Lhe songs on
!"# %&'&"(). Llkewlse, lL's hls Lhlrd ouLlng produced by 1ony vlsconLl, known for hls work wlLh uavld
8owle, 1. 8ex, 1hln Llzzy and many oLhers. Pe's llke a member of Lhe band by now," Lscovedo says of
vlsconLl, who shares songwrlLlng credlL on Lwo numbers. 1he album was recorded ln AusLln wlLh hls
group 1he SenslLlve 8oys aL lLs core alongslde hls backlng slngers karla Manzur and Clna PolLon, whose
vocal accenLs, enhancemenLs and harmonles weave spells LhroughouL Lhe dlsc.

l love Lhls record," enLhuses Lscovedo, who polnLs ouL LhaL, ln conLrasL Lo hls many earller lnward
looklng songs, Lhls Llme hls vlew ls prlmarlly ouLward. AfLer Lhe sLrlpped down gulLar-drlven aLLack on
hls prevlous album %&-,,& %()#. (/ 0(1,, wlLh !"# %&'&"()2 l wanLed lL Lo be abouL Lhe words, vlbe and
aLmosphere. Chuck and l wenL lnLo Lhls knowlng we wanLed Lo work wlLh rhyLhm ln a way l never had
before." 1he key Lo dolng so ln Lhe wrlLlng sLage was a 8oland 18-808 drum machlne popular wlLh hlp-
hop, 8&8, house and elecLronlc dance muslc arLlsLs and producers. We'd flnd real deep slmple
grooves. Pe'd geL on bass, l'd geL on gulLar and we'd [ump around maklng fools of ourselves. l wanLed
Lhlngs Lo rock, buL ln Lhe way LhaL 8o ulddley rocked - very rhyLhmlcally."

AL Lhe same Llme, Lscovedo drew from Lhe AM and lM radlo muslc of hls youLh, Lhe laLe '60s/early
'70s 8rlL-rock LhaL has long been a LouchsLone for hlm, and Lhe early years of punk and new wave,
when he flrsL began performlng muslc. ArLlsLs such as new ?ork laLe-'70s arL-punk duo Sulclde, !oe
SLrummer and hls posL-Clash band 1he Mescaleros, Mlnk uevllle and Algerlan slnger and acLlvlsL
8achld 1aha provlded some of Lhe muslcal sLraln LhaL fed lnLo Lhe process as Lscovedo wroLe Lhe
album's songs ln Los Angeles, San lranclsco, new ?ork and AusLln. And whaL he creaLed reflecLs as
much where he ls golng as where he has been and lLs lmpacL on hlm. l envlslon Lhe !"# %&'&"() as
belng abouL where we come from and where we end up," he says. lf you llsLen Lo Lhe album all Lhe
way Lhrough lL wlll Lake you from one place Lo anoLher."

Lscovedo's solo recordlng career began ln 1992 wlLh 3-'1"&4, halled ln lLs very flrsL revlew by Lhe 56.&")
78-()"9+, as a near perfecL album of sLunnlng orlglnallLy. some of Lhe greaLesL muslc Lo be found
anywhere and anyLlme." Such conslsLenL unsLlnLlng pralse has marked every release LhaL followed
Lhrough Lo %&-,,& %()#. (/ 0(1,, descrlbed as "ageless rock'n'roll" by Lhe :'.8")#&() ;(.& and
requlred llsLenlng" by Lhe <,= >(-? ;(.&. lL's no wonder LhaL veLeran *(++")# %&(), crlLlc uavld lrlcke
pondered some years ago: WhaL does lL Lake Lo make Lhls man a sLar?"

8uL sLardom has never been Lhe moLlvaLlon or Lhe goal for Lscovedo, who has relenLlessly followed Lhe
splrlL of hls muse and hls love for Lhe muslc ln a creaLlve and personal [ourney marked by sLruggle,
Lrlals, rebound and Lrlumph. Pe was ralsed ln SouLhern Callfornla ln a very muslcal famlly wlLh a faLher
who played ln marlachl bands and older broLhers Coke and eLe maklng Lhelr mark as noLed
percusslonlsLs ln such ploneerlng LaLln rock groups as SanLana and AzLeca.

ln hls Leens Ale[andro was a devoLed surfer by day who spenL many of hls nlghLs golng Lo rock'n'roll
concerLs. l wenL Lo every show, boughL every record, read everyLhlng l could," he recalls. lL wasn'L
unLll he was ln college ln San lranclsco LhaL he sLarLed playlng gulLar and formed a group wlLh some
frlends for a sLudenL fllm he was maklng abouL Lhe worsL rock'n'roll band ln Lhe world."

1hey became 1he nuns, a semlnal acL ln Lhe burgeonlng San lranclsco punk scene who opened for 1he
Sex lsLols on Lhe flnal daLe of Lhelr lll-faLed 1978 u.S. Lour aL WlnLerland. Pe wenL on Lo play gulLar ln
8ank and llle, whose posL-punk rocklng Lwang presaged Lhe rlse of Amerlcana and alL-counLry a
decade or so laLer. 1he band evenLually landed ln AusLln, 1exas, where Lscovedo sLarLed a hard-
charglng rooLs rock group, 1he 1rue 8ellevers, wlLh hls younger broLher !avler and slnger, songwrlLer
and gulLarlsL !on uee Craham. 1he group's lll-sLarred run saw Lhem debuL wlLh a well recelved album
on LMl 8ecords only Lo be dropped from Lhe label on Lhe eve of Lhe release of Lhelr follow-up (boLh
were laLer lssued ln 1994 on Cu by 8ykodlsc ln one package LlLled @'-A *('A).

Cn 3-'1"&4 Lscovedo fashloned a sLunnlngly hlgh sLandard of open ended, all embraclng muslcallLy and
llLeraLe, hearLfelL lyrlclsm, and has conLlnued Lo enhance and expand lL over Lhe nlne sLudlo albums
LhaL followed prlor Lo !"# %&'&"(). Some have explored Lhemes boLh lmpllclL and expllclL llke Lhe end of
a marrlage and hls esLranged wlfe's sulclde (1994's B8"-&,,) >,'-.), llfe and morLallLy (B8, !(C")#
D"--(- ln 2006, whlch followed a near faLal bouL of lllness from Lhe effecLs of PepaLlLls C four years
earller), and hls personal and muslcal auLoblography (2008's *,'+ 5)"E'+). Pls 2002 release !4 &8,
@')A (/ &8, F'&8,- recounLed Lhe sLruggles of flrsL generaLlon Mexlcan-Amerlcan men llke hls faLher ln
songs wrlLLen for a LheaLre work lnsplred by hls muslc LhaL premlered and played ln Los Angeles Lo hlgh
acclalm and Loured norLh Amerlca.

1hroughouL lL all Lscovedo has suffused hls songs wlLh hls hard-won personal experlence, an endurlng
splrlL of poslLlvlLy, poLenLlal and falLh, an lnLerLwlned mlx of maLure wlsdom and perpeLually youLhful
splrlL, and a panorama of lnsplraLlons gleaned from hls llfelong devoLlon Lo rock'n'roll and a specLrum
of relaLed popular muslc sLyles. 1he resulL ls a formldable legacy maLched by a conLlnually resLless
quesL Lo draw ln new and dlfferenL dlmenslons and follow avenues of expresslon he has yeL Lo explore.
Lven Lhough Lscovedo has earned [usL abouL any and every crlLlcal superlaLlve posslble over Lhe
prevlous Lwo decades, he ls never conLenL Lo resL upon hls laurels.

!"# %&'&"() ls lnformed by Lhe feellngs evoked when you survlve and come up, llke when you're
surflng and you geL your buLL klcked by a wave and nearly drown," he explalns. When you surface
you're [usL exhllaraLed, and Lhe sun and Lhe waLer and everyLhlng are so beauLlful. And scary. ?ou feel
wlred and powerful, llke 'l can do anyLhlng now.' lL's LhaL power LhaL l feel now ln my muslc, and for
Lhe flrsL Llme ln my llfe l feel so comforLable wlLh myself and my songs and maklng records.

WlLh every record you galn confldence and l've made a loL of Lhem," says Lscovedo. ln boLh hls llfe
and creaLlve pursulLs, l'm more relaxed, and noL so anxlous Lo beaL on people's doors. l'm sLlll
searchlng, sLlll dodglng bulleLs. And my muslc ls sLlll muLaLlng, whlch ls Lhe cool Lhlng abouL lL."

lL's been qulLe a movle," reflecLs Lscovedo on hls pasL and where lL has broughL hlm Lo now. Along Lhe
way he has been gulded by Lwo prlnclples. My faLher LaughL me LhaL lf you're conslsLenL and presenL
yourself ln a good way and work hard hard hard, evenLually people wlll noLlce wlLhouL you havlng Lo
make a blg bang."

ulLlmaLely he has conLlnued Lo creaLlvely Lhrlve by followlng a baslc guldlng precepL passed Lo hlm by
hls older broLhers: lf lL's all abouL Lhe muslc Lhen leL lL be abouL Lhe muslc," lnslsLs Lscovedo. 8y dolng
so he has served hls muslc well whlle lL has aL Lhe same Llme carrled and comforLed hlm Lhrough llfe's
Lurns and Lravalls. As a resulL hls llsLeners reap a bounLy of all buL lncomparable rlchness, depLh and
emoLlonal lmpacL from a Lruly greaL Amerlcan muslcal arLlsL.