From the instant the rumbling bass kicks in on Freddy Trujillo‘s latest single, “Corpus Christi”, listeners are given an irresistible upbeat jam with catchy lyrics, tight riffs, and an infectious groove.
Hailing from Simi Valley, CA Freddy is no stranger to music. He grew up in a highly musical family with his father singing and playing in various groups, including The Beethovens, an all-Chicano beat combo who gigged all over the southland during the great garage-rock boom of the mid-1960’s. Freddy’s sister, A’me Loraine scored two top ten dance hits in the early 90’s. While Freddy has played with a plethora of punk and alternative acts in the 80s and 90s, including Pat Smear of Nirvana and Germs fame. Once Freddy moved to Oregan, he found himself with an acclaimed debut album Hawks & Highways that looked at the intertwined relationships of Native American and Chicano experiences through music.
From his fourth album, I Never Threw a Shadow at It (out on May 27th), Freddy says this about “Corpus Christi,”
“This song was written by Willy Vlautin (Richmond Fontaine / The Delines). It was a song being tossed around during the Sea Drift sessions. It didn’t seem like we were going to use the song for The Delines’ album so I asked if I could record it. At the time, it was when my middle-aged health concerns were knocking. I had to curb my drinking back and it was a struggle. The song is about a friend that is on his way to help another friend that is struggling with alcoholism. Something that I have seen already in my forties. I made it through then, but fifties were my time to come face to face with it.
The sought-after player on the ever-burgeoning Portland scene has played with Curtis Salgado to Fernando. With three records on his belt with his solo band, Freddy has also been a full-time member of The Delines, which is the latest project by novelist Willy Vlautin. Freddy’s third full-length album, 2022’s Sketch of a Man. was a poetic memoir with melodies and grooves that shimmy and shine on the 10-track album, recorded in one, hot week with longtime collaborator and celebrated producer Luther Russell in L.A. The album is an eclectic musical stew with lyrical themes exploring his Chicano roots and tracing his journey from his childhood home in Simi Valley to Hollywood, California.
He further adds this about “Corpus Christi”,
“The line, ‘I’m starting to think that some of us are supposed to sink,’ really rang with me. I feel lucky at this point in my life that I was able to be on the helping side instead of being the poor bastard that is struggling. The approach to the recording was kind of influenced by Neu. Since the song takes place in Texas, I loved the idea of blending Tejano with Krautrock in a Cosmic Americana way. The German influence on Norteño and Tejano with the introduction of the accordion to Mexican people was a side I wanted to explore. I wanted it to have this driving monotony type groove.”
Recorded by his The Delines bandmate Cory Gray, Freddy will be releasing, I Never Threw a Shadow at It, on May 27, 2024.
