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Beast of bourbon >> The aftermath of Alejandro Escovedo's battle with the bottle
by JOHNSON CUMMINS
This disease was eating away at his liver and eventually put Escovedo on his deathbed. "It's a real drag," says Escovedo of his involuntary sobriety. "I really loved bourbon and if it wasn't for my life-and-death situation I would definitely still be drinking." Sobriety hasn't really affected his music, ideal for kicking over barstools while twisting your guts into little knots. The album opener "I Was Drunk" pretty much sets the tone for this set of hurtin' songs. Written during his recovery, "I Was Drunk" recalls Escovedo wandering around his bedroom in a haze, searching for salvation. "I guess a large percentage of my songs deal with drinking, bottles and late nights. I think I go a bit deeper though. Drinking in my songs is more like scenery than anything else." Bourbonitis Blues was originally intended to be an EP of Alejandro's favourite cover songs. On his More Miles Than Money record he'd done versions of "I Wanna Be Your Dog" by the Stooges and the Stones' "Sway," but never has Escovedo's signature been so much in the foreground as on his covers of "Pale Blue Eyes" by the Velvet Underground, and songs originally done by Ian Hunter, Jimmie Rodgers and John Cale. His early days playing with the Nuns and cowpunkers Rank and File really show through, but his take on the Gun Club's "Sex Beat" literally breathes new life into Jeffrey Lee Pierce's classic. Escovedo is feeling up to the road these days and, despite the frustration of a regimented diet and hanging out in bars every night, he seems to be recovering quite well. "Sometimes I have to leave the bar after I play. But things are a lot clearer on stage now, and since getting out of my deathbed I can really appreciate things like family, children and songwriting. I think I got a lot of positivity out of this ordeal."
With Willie P. Bennett at Café Campus on Sunday, May 2, 7:30pm, $15+taxes |
"Bourbonitis is a group of people across the country who initially love bourbon and secondly love guitars and music," says Alejandro Escovedo of his new CD Bourbonitis Blues. Escovedo still considers himself a card-carrying bourbonite, but in 1997, when he contracted the hepatitis C virus, he was forced to trade the Jim Beam for the six-string full time.