By definition, a maverick is a nonconformist. When taking in the circuitous backstory of alt-country outfit The Mavericks, the quartet’s voyage fits neatly into their narrative, starting out with their origins playing punk clubs in the very un-country music environs of Miami to the most recent decision to launch their own Mono Mundo Recordings imprint via the recent release of Brand New Day, the band’s ninth studio album.
Following in the footsteps of fellow iconoclast Lucinda Williams, the quartet is embracing a DIY approach towards recorded music at a time when the imploding music industry is staking its revenue stream in downloaded songs and a phasing out of the CD format. Despite this reality, front man Raul Malo feels it was important for his band to set out down this entrepreneurial path.
“It’s a better business model for artists like us. Artists who have a following and can sell X number of records and aren’t necessarily playing the mainstream country radio game. That’s why you see artists like Lucinda, Jason Isbell and The Mavericks hooking up with [music distributor] 30 Tigers. It’s a great place to be, they’re great people,” he explained. “I would say for years to deaf ears that people are still buying records. My theory is that if we make music valuable to people again and make it worth something other than being a free download, which you offer as well, people will buy it. The reality is that we need those because you want people to have your material in whatever format or contraption they have. I see it with my kids. If they get all the stuff they want for free, they still go out and see a movie, even though they’ve already seen it on their [device].”
For Brand New Day, the Mavericks once again teamed up with producer Niko Bolas (Neil Young, Warren Zevon) for a collection of songs that reflect the band’s wide-ranging creative palette. Those with a taste for musical adventure will delight in going from the mambo-inspired “Easy As It Seems” with its cascading piano fills and the grandiose Wall of Sound-flavored title cut to the dirty Tex-Mex shuffle “Damned [If You Do].” Most striking is “Rolling Alone,” which resonated as a Tejano-meets-bluegrass mashup. A longtime bluegrass fan, Malo’s exposure may have come from watching Hee Haw, but it was later, real-life exposure to this kind of music that solidified his love for it.
“I didn’t really come to appreciate [bluegrass] until I moved to Nashville and we’d go down to the Station Inn on a Tuesday night and have a cold beer while watching people like Sam Bush jamming. I remember one night in particular and it was Sam again with his friends, and what I mean by friends are people like Jerry Douglas,” he said with a laugh. “Then none other than Bill Monroe gets up. I remember that night, it gave me a profound and deep appreciation for the genre and the power of that music. Those experiences are life changing and they did. I obviously realized that I was seeing the best of the best. But it’s a heck of an introduction.”
During the Mavericks’ first incarnation that lasted from 1989 to 2004, the neotraditionalists scored 14 singles on the Billboard country charts, while winning their fair share of Grammy, Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music Awards. An eight-year hiatus that found members pursuing different projects and Malo alternating between solo albums and working with the All Star outfit Los Super Seven, ended in 2012. Cut to the present day and the Mavericks have been touring steadily with audiences being treated to a mix of songs from the new record, older favorites and interesting covers ranging from Roy Orbison and Willie Nelson to Pink Floyd and KC and the Sunshine Band. Over the nearly three decades The Mavericks have been together, the foursome have continued being cornerstones of the Americana movement, a term Malo is happy embracing.
What are The Mavericks’ favorite songs to cover? Click to find out!
“I feel that label is about as close as we can get to being labeled. The only other one left is rock and roll and to me, that’s the truest one, but that’s where I blur the lines. Americana in many ways is a bit of rock and roll as well,” he said, “But there’s no denying that country music is a big part of our DNA. I love country music and we play all these old country songs all the time and we’re always talking about how we want to do one of these old-school country records just for the heck of it. That’s the kind of stuff we can do now because it doesn’t really matter. So that’s the upside of anonymity.”
The Mavericks will be appearing Sept. 16 at the Beacon Theatre, 74th Street & Broadway, NYC. To find out more information, visit www.beacontheatre.com or call 866-858-0008.
