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Alejandro Escovedo is a Texas-born singer/songwriter who comes from a rich family of musicians including his niece, Sheila E. Alejandro started out in the pioneering San Francisco punk band the Nuns in 1975. From there he moved to New York, and then eventually settled in Austin where he started playing rootsy rock with bands like Rank and File, as well as The True Believers.

In March, Alejandro Escovedo released his latest album, Echo Dancing, a retrospective of his career that spans five decades. Inspired by artists like Brian Eno and Suicide, Alejandro Escovedo both re-imagines and re-records his previous work on the new album.

On today’s episode Bruce Headlam talks to Alejandro Escovedo about his upbringing in San Antonio and Huntington Beach, where he’d sometimes pretend to be Hawaiian to avoid getting beat up. He also tells some great stories about his swings through Austin and San Francisco—like being on the bill for the Sex Pistol’s final show.

You can hear a playlist of some of our favorite Alejandro Escovedo songs HERE.

The Hosts

Rick Rubin

In addition to being a podcast host, Frederick Jay “Rick” Rubin is an American record producer and former co-president of Columbia Records. Along with Russell Simmons, he is the co-founder…

Malcolm Gladwell

Malcolm Gladwell is co-founder of Pushkin Industries and host of the hit podcast Revisionist History. He is a journalist, a speaker, and the author of several New York Times bestsellers including The Tipping…

Justin Richmond

Justin Richmond is producer and co-host of the music podcast Broken Record with writer Malcolm Gladwell, New York Times editor Bruce Headlam, and music producer—and Def Jam co-founder—Rick Rubin. Justin…

Bruce Headlam

Bruce Headlam is one of the co-creators of the music podcast Broken Record. He worked at The New York Times for 19 years, including two years running the 50-person Video…

Leah Rose

Leah Rose is a senior producer and hosts episodes of Broken Record. A former music editor at XXL Magazine, she also served as an on-air personality for Eminem’s SiriusXM channel, Shade 45.…