R.I.P. Raul Malo of The Mavericks, 1965-2025

Sadly, The Mavericks' golden-voiced frontman Raul Malo has passed away far too soon at 60. He'll be greatly missed. 

LINKS

Watch Raul Malo live on WFUV in 2020 right here.

Watch The Mavericks jam in the van

Watch Raul Malo and his Mavericks crew play a few tunes off their latest album Moon & Stars in a van. Get the album here.

Happy Birthday Raul Malo!

Celebrating the birthday of Mavericks singer/songwriter Raul Malo with a solo show at Daryl Hall's House and an ACL appearance. 

Get a copy of Raul Malo's fantastic new album "Say Less" right here. There are more solo recordings and tour info over here. 

Mavericks' Raul Malo shows his guitar skills on instrumental Say Less album

Check out "Cosa's Cumbia" & "Solitary Blues" from Raul Malo's stylistically diverse Say Less album out May 19th.

Quarantunes: Raul Malo

The Mavericks' Raul Malo has been busy knocking out classics from his home studio to help raise spirits during this difficult time. Here are just a few.

Quarantunes: Raul Malo salutes John Prine

The Mavericks' Raul Malo pays tribute to the late great John Prine with his own version of "I Just Want To Dance With You"

Writes Raul...
It is with a heavy heart that I write this today. I thought perhaps this virus would be a merciful one and spare our friend @John Prine. It did not. The world has now lost one of its greatest troubadours. That we all know. However I’m going tell you a little bit about what kind of guy he was. I had the pleasure and honor of “opening” for John a few years back. This was during my solo years, and I was at a real crossroads in my life as to whether or not I was going to be able to continue to do this for a living. John treated me with nothing but kindness and respect. His entire crew made sure I had everything I needed night after night. John’s character was apparent from the moment I walked through the backstage doors at whatever theater we were playing. It matters who’s in charge.

Throughout the years I would see John in all kinds of settings, from backstage at @Ryman Auditorium, to the Granny White Market (where we’d take our kids so they could grab their after school snacks). He always greeted me warmly. I can hear him clear as a spring day adding almost an extra syllable to my two syllable name...”hey Ra-uu-ul” he’d say with his unmistakably raspy drawl. Pleasantries would soon follow and then a short goodbye, knowing that we would see each other again.

I saw John many times after those years. His children and my children grew to be friends. His triumphs this year were celebrated at my house too. He was an inspiration not just personally and musically, but professionally as well. I often refer to John, and his label @Oh Boy Records, as a model for everything that we (@The Mavericks) are doing now. He set the example. He set the tone. Of course he did. He’s John Prine. – RM


Watch Raul Malo's rendition of "I Just Want To Dance With You" followed by John Prine's performance of his song accompanied by Roger Cook, Roger Greenaway and Phil Donelly back in 2003.

Whitney Rose's new album We Still Go To Rodeos ready to go

The new Whitney Rose album We Still Go To Rodeos is now available for pre-order with a chance to win one of six test pressings. 

Sez Whitney Rose...
"Thanks to all of the folks who have pre-ordered their signed copies of the new album on CD & VINYL. Each individual who placed an order on my website and all future orders will be included in the chance to WIN A SIGNED TEST PRESSING (1 of 6). Winner will be randomly selected on April 20th. Test pressing will ship with the winning order on or before April 22, 2020.
Pre-order on my website: whitneyrosemusic.com/pre-order"

Listen to "Just Circumstance" featuring Gurf Morlix and Nichol Robertson on guitars followed by "Believe Me, Angela" and a house-concert duet with The Mavericks' Raul Malo on "Something Stupid" from way back in 2014.

The Mavericks @ The Danforth Music Hall, Wednesday

Expect to hear Raul Malo and company performing many of their favourites from The Mavericks Play The Hits out now. 

Limited-run RSD albums from The Fleshtones, Los Straitjackets and Minus 5 due November 24

With Record Store Day fast approaching, the fine folks at Yep Roc Records just announced a Black Friday bonanza of releases from The Fleshtones, Los Straitjackets and the Minus 5 – each containing at least some music you don't already own! Here's the scoop...

The Fleshtones – Budget Buster (Yep Roc Records)
Packaging: 12” Vinyl / red and orange splatter-colored
Limited to 1000 copies worldwide

Known as the “The Kings of Garage Rock” or “America’s Garage Rock Band,” there’s no debate that The Fleshtones are one of the hardest working (and rocking) bands of all time. In the past decade, Peter Zaremba's crew has released loads of new music that rivals the best of their impressive 40-year run. The 12-song Budget Buster collects some of their finest singles tracks and rarities over the last 10 years, many of which are long out-of-print and difficult to find. Fleshtones completists should note that Budget Buster includes two previously unreleased tracks and features a sleeve created by Mons. Zaremba himself!

Los Straitjackets – Sing Along With Los Straitjackets (Yep Roc Records)
Packaging: 12” LP with bonus 45 single
Limited to 1500 copies worldwide

Way back in 2001, Sing Along with Los Straitjackets marked the first time the masked instrumental marvels featured vocals on their recordings, an endeavor they would embark on again later with Deke Dickerson.

Sing Along with Los Straitjackets features a party of musicians spanning the musical sphere, from Nick Lowe playing bass on his own “Shake That Rat,” to collaborations with the always amazing El Vez, Raul Malo from The Mavericks, Exene Cervenka from X, Mark Lindsay of Raiders fame, Mike Campbell from Tom Petty's Heartbreakers, and even instro royals The Trashmen. Reissued on wax for the first time, every copy of the LP comes with a bonus 45 single featuring two rare collaborations from the Sing Along with… sessions featuring Dave Alvin and Reverend Horton Heat, who also appear on the album.

The Minus 5 – Dear December (Yep Roc Records)
Packaging:  12” LP | white vinyl
Limited to 1500 copies worldwide

In early 2017, Scott McCaughey penned a few holiday numbers to submit to a well-known artist’s prospective holiday album. He became so inspired by the task that he wrote more than an album’s worth of material and decided to record that album with his group, The Minus 5, which for this project includes Peter Buck and drummer Joe Adragna as core members.

A cool yule selection of 11 original future holiday classics, Dear December includes collaborations with Kurt Bloch, M. Ward, Death Cab's Ben Gibbard, Mike Mills, Colin Meloy (of The Decemberists), Chuck Prophet and a few other special guests. The deluxe white vinyl album comes packaged with an Advent-inspired calendar, a gatefold cover and digital download.