Los Lobos’ 40-plus years together include one or two memorable moments. In addition to multiple Grammy Awards and songs that have topped charts in the U.S., U.K. and many other countries, the Chicano-flavored rock outfit spent most of the late ’80s performing stadiums, on tour with everyone from Bob Dylan to U2 to the Grateful Dead.
Los Lobos multi-instrumental and keyboardist Steve Berlin recalls a specific moment during a show the band performed at Laguna Seca in Monterey, opening for the Grateful Dead.
“I happened to glance over to my right during the show and there is Jerry [Garcia] hunched down behind David [Hidalgo’s] amp as if he wanted to get as close to the sound as he could,” Berlin says. “Those were fun times for sure – Jerry was like our favorite uncle and always so supportive in a moment when his reassurance meant the world to us.”
Like the Dead, Los Lobos’ brand of rock has no boundaries – wherever the music goes, whether it’s R&B, soul, Tex-Mex, country, jazz or cumbia, it all ends up fitting together nicely.
Berlin believes the band’s music is perpetually getting deeper over the years.
“And maybe a little darker,” he says. “Like the world around us.”
Following Los Lobos’ breakout commercial notoriety for their pitch-perfect takes on Ritchie Valens’ catalog featured in the biopic La Bamba – and the film’s soundtrack – the group released La Pistola y El Corazon, an LP of all acoustic Mexican folk songs sung in Spanish. It was considered a bold move, especially coming immediately after a record that sold millions. But Berlin and the rest of the band have no regrets as they push on in an industry that looks nothing like it did when La Bamba came out in 1987.
“While there are many aspects [about the music business] I miss, like people paying for records, it is the world we have now,” Berlin explains. “I think we will be OK since we’re all owners/operators now for the most part as opposed to the feudal system of old. I’m anxious to see what comes next with this new administration – if nothing else, times like these create an interesting growth medium for art.”
Los Lobos has been touring consistently since early December, and there are no signs they’re reaching for the brakes.
“We’re all lifers in so many respects, so it’s not terribly surprising to me that we’ve stuck it out for so long,” Berlin says. “That’s just a blessing. And we actually like what we do. Certainly beats working. We try to never lose sight of that.”
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