Los Lonely Boys: Tex-Mex trio goes acoustic on tour

By John Benson

entertainment@vindy.com

Originally the plan this year called for the Los Lonely Boys to continue touring and also finish up recording a new album; however, fate stepped in this past spring when bassist-vocalist Jojo Garza was diagnosed with a serious vocal-chord injury.

Thankfully, the Texas native made a full recovery, but the band still wanted to get something new to its fans. That’s when the decision was made to release “Keep on Giving: Acoustic Live,” a 13-track, unplugged affair featuring its No. 1 single “Heaven” along with a Tex-mex cover of The Rolling Stones’ “Beast of Burden.”

“We did a few acoustic shows in the past and thought it was a really cool thing,” said Garza, calling from San Angelo, Texas.

“A lot of people really seemed to dig how it was a little bit mellow and more intimate. So, I think, it was just a good way to show people how songs are written and how we can jam songs out all day long but we can also break them down and still make them sound alright. To be honest, playing acoustically for me is a whole different perspective. It sounds completely undressed and raw, and there is nothing to cover up anything. It’s a guitar, bass, set of drums and three vocals.”

The platinum Los Lonely Boys — Garza with his brothers Henry (guitar, vocals) and Ringo (drums, vocals) — arrived on the music scene in 2004 with a bang on the guitar-heavy jam “Heaven,” which epitomized not only the group’s power trio sound but also its deep spiritual beliefs.

Since then, the threesome has explored the boundaries of its Tejano-influenced, roots-rock-inspired sound across a few studio albums. Though it may not have come close to achieving the same level of mainstream success, the group’s lone massive hit succeeded in creating a loyal fan base allowing it to tour nonstop.

Garza is optimistic the band’s following will be excited about its next studio album, tentatively due out in 2011. Already, Los Lonely Boys are debuting a new untitled song on the acoustic tour, which comes to Youngstown on Friday at Stambaugh Auditorium.

“It’s a pretty cool tune,” Garza said. “It’s beyond up-tempo. It’s push, push, push the entire time. This is kind of unique because we’ve incorporated a traditional dance and style of music of the Mexican heritage. So we use that basis and incorporate some things we’ve learned along the years. I think virtually that we created a kind of staple in rock history. I shouldn’t probably say that — and you probably shouldn’t print that — because everybody has an opinion.

“But when you can incorporate something that goes as far back as 60 years or more and make it sound fresh, I think it’s a good thing. I think it’s definitely going to stick with people, and they’ll be like, that’s definitely rock ’n’ roll there, and that’s Texas-ican rock ’n’ roll.”

Sticking with people is something the Los Lonely Boys have been doing since day one. Garza admits the threesome’s longevity is equally perplexing and inspiring.

“From day one it’s been a mystery to us, but I’ll tell you what, we’re very thankful, and I think what a lot of people do get from it is we try to be regular people,” Garza said. “We invite everyone in, and we’re family. Also, we’re not afraid to show our spiritual side and talk about that if people want to talk about that. I just think there are a lot of things people can connect with us about just being human beings, and that’s one of the reasons they keep coming back, for sure.”