Texas Tornados back on horizon with new albumDeborah Evans Price
Fri Feb 26, 2010 9:46pm EST
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE61Q0FA20100227NASHVILLE (Billboard) - After 10 years and the passing of two original members, the irrepressible Texas Tornados are back with a new studio album, "Esta Bueno."
"I feel real proud and satisfied," accordionist Flaco Jimenez says of the album, which Bismeaux Records releases Tuesday (March 2). "All of the songs have charisma, power; they are all different, so versatile."
Jimenez, who popularized traditional Mexican conjunto music as a founding member of the Tornados, and fellow band members Doug Sahm, Augie Meyers and Freddy Fender began playing together in 1990. Their unique fusion of country, rock, Mexican folk, R&B and polka earned them a reputation as "the Tex Mex super group." The landmark gigs the Tornados have played include President Bill Clinton's Inaugural Ball, the Montreux Jazz Festival and Farm Aid.
The Tornados disbanded, however, when Sahm died in 1999. Jimenez credits Sahm's son, Shawn, with breathing new life into the band.
"It's very easy to work with Shawn because it's like working with Doug," Jimenez says of Shawn's twin role as producer of the new album and touring band member on drums, guitar and vocals.
Bismeaux Records owner and Asleep at the Wheel frontman Ray Benson agrees. "Shawn played with Doug for years, so it was very fitting," he says.
"Esta Bueno" includes the previously unreleased Doug Sahm song "Girl Going Nowhere" -- a demo Shawn discovered after his father's death -- as well as five new tracks that Fender wrote and recorded before his death in 2006. "To have the last five Freddy Fender cuts, that's what really sold it for me," Benson says.
'THE RIGHT TIME'The Tornados reunited to record again in 2005. But after Fender's death, they put the project on hold. "It made sense to take some time, out of respect, and wait for the right time," Sahm says.
"It's all about celebrating the legacy of the band," Meyers says of the reunion, record and tour. Upcoming live dates include an invitation-only birthday bash for Benson March 16 in Austin and a South by Southwest showcase March 19.
As producer, Sahm says he was "very conscious of capturing the vibe" on the album, which features Louie Ortega, Ernie Durawa and Speedy Sparks, musicians who played with the original Tornados. Meyers contributes "Velma From Selma," written for a girl he met at a bank, and the Tornados revive "My Sugar Blue," which Meyers originally recorded in the '70s. Fender penned "If I Could Only" the night before one of the recording sessions. He's also heard on the Spanish tune "Ahora Yo Voy."
"It's rockin', it's country, it's polka," Sahm says. "They've never been afraid to push the boundaries musically."
The diversity of the Tornados' music lends itself to a unique marketing campaign. "We're going to be working an interesting hybrid of different radio formats because the music is such an interesting hybrid," Bismeaux Records business manager Peter Schwarz says of targeting Tejano, Americana and triple-A (adult alternative album) stations. "It's really album-oriented. We're not too concerned about picking a particular song."
Schwarz says the label will also use Facebook and other social networks to spread the word about "Esta Bueno," adding, "There's something still very vital about what the Tornados started 20 years ago."
