What started in 2008 as The Bronx’s creative experiment became Mariachi El Bronx’s unlikely headlining career – a project rooted in their deep connection to the Hispanic music and culture of their Los Angeles home. Although seemingly different, the band doesn’t see the genres of punk and mariachi as mutually exclusive – they instead view them as spiritually entwined forces rooted in resilient storytelling. “Punk rock and mariachi music are very similar in soul,” says songwriter and lead vocalist Matt Caughthran. “It’s working class music. It’s real music.”
Returning after a decade away felt “joyous and familiar from the jump,” says guitarist Joby J. Ford. But recording the album proved more complex than expected. Within the year that he began writing lyrics, Caughthran contended with the deaths of several loved ones. Additionally, as they tracked at producer John Avila’s San Gabriel Valley studio – Avila has helmed all four of their mariachi records – the Eaton Canyon fires blazed across East LA. “We came out of the studio one night, the entire side of the hill was just on fire,” Ford recalls. While dealing with grief in his personal life and within his longtime home of Southern California, Caughthran was also experiencing an enormity of love as he got married that same year. The result is their most emotionally resonant work yet.
With three acclaimed albums to their name, the eight-piece has shared stages with the Foo Fighters and the Killers, performed everywhere from Letterman to NPR’s Tiny Desk, and lit up festivals from Coachella to Glastonbury. They even lent their sound to TV, recording theme songs for Weeds (“Little Boxes”) and Aqua Teen Hunger Force (“Aqua Something You Know Whatever”).
Despite nearly two decades of success Mariachi El Bronx still considers themselves lifelong students of the artform. That reverence carries over to their iconic charro suits, which often attract nearly as much attention as the music itself. The band has long turned to Casa del Mariachi in Boyle Heights – a shop honored by the city as a historic landmark – where Jorge Tello (aka Mr. George) has been handcrafting traditional suits for more than 50 years. “This band has always been about learning and exchanging culture through music and art,” says Caughthran. “That’s what it’s all about! Everything we do comes from the heart and soul.”
Mariachi El Bronx is Matt Caughthran (vocals), Joby J. Ford (guitar, vihuela, accordion), Jared Shavelson (drums), Keith Douglas (trumpet), Ray Suen (violin), Brad Magers (trumpet), Ken Horne (jarana), and Vincent Hidalgo (guitarrón)
Publicity Contacts
Website
Press Kit
Photos
