Raul Malo speaks to The Strange Brew’s Jason Barnard about connecting with people through the pandemic, songwriting and The Mavericks return to the UK in September 2021.
What sort of show have you got in the works for the ‘En Español’ tour?
Hopefully it’ll be a fun little musical journey as we try to do every night. At this point we can’t wait to get in front of an audience. This [looks around his room] is where I’ve been hanging out all year, you know? I mean, I guess we all have right? But it’s been a tough year. Obviously not just for us but for the entire world. I don’t want to make light of that because obviously there has been a lot of suffering. There’s still going to be quite a bit of suffering but help is on the way and there is a light at the end of the tunnel. When we’re out of this we’ll be congregating in a hot, sweaty room and dancing and singing along to music in no time. I don’t think any musician right now can hardly wait for that to happen.
The Mavericks are known as a great live band. Putting those two things together just lifts everything up.
Yeah. Social distancing and a Mavericks show. They just don’t equate. And so we’ve had to stay put and connect in other ways. Luckily, we’ve been able to do that this year with our pay per view shows that we’ve put on the Nugs.TV streaming network. That’s kept us busy and at least connected and safe. We’ve been able to do these here in a safe environment. But nothing beats going out and playing to a live audience. When that happens it’s going to be glorious.
Your En Español record has been well received.
That’s fantastic. You know, you make an album that’s a little bit of a departure. It was an album that we’ve been wanting to make for a while. And it just so happened that it was finished and ready to go right at the start of this pandemic. We decided to release it anyway because, people are at home and they want music. So we just figured in times of darkness you release your art. To me, and I think like a lot of people, music helps get us through the day and it’s certainly been that kind of year where people need a little inspiration here and there. Music is one of those things that helps us cope and helps us get through. So we’ve been able to stay connected to the fans in that regard and, boy, are we ready to get out and play.
You mentioned about reaching the fans and on YouTube you’ve been doing your own versions of landmark songs like ‘Sounds of Silence’.
I started doing these tracks on the Mellotron that I have right here. When I first started, I really kind of just did it as almost like a lark, like, nobody’s going to pay attention to this. I’m just going to do one because what the heck? You know, we’re in quarantine. And it’s like, who’s going to complain?
And so I started doing that really to entertain myself. And lo and behold my manager the next day said, “Did you see how many views you got on that?” And I’m like, “No”. There was something about them that was connecting. I think people were really looking forward to them, especially in those early moments of the pandemic because everybody was nervous.
Nobody really knew what was going on. We weren’t really settled in at home. We knew we were going to be at home for a little bit. But you don’t know how long. And it was trying, scary times. Then, of course, it got scarier as we’ve gone along. But they connected those little quarantine videos. It was fun to do.
I’m still going to do a couple more next year because we’re still going to be at home for a little bit while the vaccine gets distributed. I know it’s the same thing in the UK. So we’ve still got to entertain and I’ll do some more in the next few months.
It would be remiss of me not to ask about Dance The Night Away. It’s one of the few tracks that transcends generations. Every time I go to a wedding, it’s on and always gets everyone on the dance floor.
It’s a really special song. I don’t think you can ever calculate or expect it. For me, it’s a surprise even still to this day how that song has connected with so many people on a really deep level. I mean, because it’s not a deep song by any means. It’s kind of a silly song. And it wasn’t a song that I thought much of way back when I was trying out this horn part. To walk into a hotel in the UK, a party is going on and the song is playing. There is a sense of accomplishment there.
It’s like, wow, as a songwriter, you want to connect with people. There’s your song that connects with people across the board, all walks of life and rich, poor. It doesn’t matter what, where you’re from. That’s quite an achievement.
The complete opposite of that are songs like I Wish You Well, which really go to the heart. That’s more personal.
Yes, I wrote that as my dad was nearing the end of his life. We would sit around and I would come over and visit and we wouldn’t talk about anything heavy or emotional. My dad wasn’t one of those kind of guys to let out his heart, his feelings. He’s that older generation. So we would sit around and watch baseball and and watch the news and basically just talk about stuff like that. And it was really beautiful in a way, because I realised that at the end, after a lifetime together, after a life of knowing the man and him being there for me and me being there for him all those years, there was really nothing left to say.
I knew he loved me and he knew that I loved him. Everybody would get heavy around him and so I would go the other way. We would just have it as if it was another day. And the song really came from that sentiment. At the end of the day, all I can say is “I wish you well, in your next life”. That’s the message of the song. It’s about that sort of love.
The Mavericks fuse together many influences. There’s a Roy Orbison sound, you’ve got Tex Mex and country underpinning it all whilst at the same time it could only be you.
Thank you, I think a lot of that does. Luckily, I’m able sing and in several languages. I’m able to adapt and try different different styles. Whatever I’m writing, whatever I feel like communicating or whatever is coming out, whatever is being written, I’m able to translate that into a sort of palpable piece of music that people can latch on to.
And I realised that a lot of that has to do with my voice and my interpretation of it. But it’s my songs. And so I’m able to adapt it to myself. In turn, if you can communicate that to an audience and make them feel something, that’s fantastic.
Do you have any particular memories of coming over to the UK?
So many. Playing the Royal Albert Hall in London. I don’t think anybody who’s ever done it can can just kind of toss that aside. It’s a special gig. Glastonbury. Playing the millennium celebrations, New Year’s Eve in Edinburgh, right by the castle, that was stellar. Of course it was cold and rainy, it was Scotland! I’ll never forget it.
Raul, it’s been great to talk to you. What you’re saying as we close links back to what we were talking about at the start. Getting through Covid, celebrating the music and bringing people together.
I hope that is indeed the case, because that’s how we feel. That’s how we feel it’s going to go, it’s going to be amazing. Every musician is raring to go. So we’re looking forward to reconnecting with the fans with a bunch of sweaty people grooving and dancing to the music. Thank you, Jason. Take care.
Further information
The Mavericks, En Español, UK Tour 2021
- 10 September Manchester Bridgewater Hall
- 12 September London Palladium
- 14 September Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
- 15 September Bath The Forum
https://premier.ticketek.co.uk/shows/show.aspx?sh=MAVERICK21
The Mavericks website: themavericksband.com
