Dave Alvin and Jimmie Dale Gilmore relive the past decades in their album, "TexiCali." In the process, Gilmore stumbled upon his own past when his wife rediscovered his long-lost song, "Trying to be Free."
The song was recorded in the mid-1960s, financed by Buddy Holly's parents, who became music patrons in Gilmore's native Lubbock, Texas, following Buddy's death. Gilmore recalls: "It was on a demo I recorded with the T. Nickel House Band in the mid-sixties, financed by Buddy Holly's parents, Mr. and Mrs. L. O. Holley." The recording helped pave the way to Gilmore's success with The Flatlanders the following decade.
He continues: "My wife Janet discovered it on an old reel-to-reel tape last year when she was organizing my archives. It was never on any of my commercially-released recordings and I had forgotten all about it, but Janet liked it and suggested I should show it to Dave." Following her advice, Gilmore brought the tape to his next recording session with Alvin, who made a new arrangement with his backing band, The Guilty Ones. On social media, the pair described the result as "a gripping ode to West Texas, musical beginnings, and the first people who believe in a dream."
Alvin and Gilmore have included "Trying to be Free" in their second collaborative album, "TexiCali." It follows the release of the first two tracks, "Borderland" and "Southwest Chief." The latter song recalls Alvin's time touring the country via rail, when "We'd stack vintage cars on the back of an Amtrak train and play for the passengers. On the final tour in 2018, we were attached on the ride back from Chicago onto the legendary Southwest Chief." Like "Trying to be Free," "Southwest Chief" is not a new song, and has its roots in a collaboration with late New England songwriter Bill Morrissey.
In fact, all throughout "TexiCali," Alvin and Gilmore reflect on their years on the road, formative shows, and their time working with contemporaries like Bill Allen and Butch Hancock. They'll be on the road again to promote "TexiCali" in their We're Still Here Tour beginning July.
