Bud Scoppa – “Los Lobos: 30 Years of Eclectic Rock” (2004)
Taken from Paste magazine, June 1, 2004…
In an old brick building on the gritty end of Sunset Boulevard, the five members of Los Lobos are nearing the end of a day of TV and press interviews. The high-ceilinged space, formerly a bowling alley, is now used for photo sessions; like the band, it’s a still-functional relic of oldLos Angeles. One by one, these decidedly non-glitzy musicians reluctantly submit to the ministrations of a make-up artist as a photographer checks the remaining light. “They’re only in the music for the photo shoots, and I can’t disappoint them,” cracks a publicist from their label, Hollywood Records, as she grabs the arm of bass player Conrad Lozano and marches him toward a touch-up.
Los Lobos have endured this sort of showbiz regimen—always with some discomfort—numerous times since the release of their debut, How Will the Wolf Survive?, 20 years ago. Today, though, they sense increased attentiveness from interviewers and label reps alike, and it feels good. The band’s latest, The Ride, is generating a more noticeable buzz than any record these veterans have released since Kiko in 1992, and even before the advances went out to the media, the band members felt ramped-up enthusiasm from everyone at Hollywood. “It was a bit rocky for a while, but, this time out, I think they’ve been exemplary,” says sax player Steve Berlin, recalling the release of 2002’s Good Morning Aztlán onHollywood sub-label Mammoth, which the parent company inconveniently dismantled six weeks prior to the album’s release. Read the rest of this entry »
The Beat Patrol 