Photo by Alysse Gafkjen
In some ways, Dante Schwebel and David Jimenez have been preparing to make the music on Nuevo’s excellent self-titled debut their whole lives. Both of the guitarists and singers grew up in the Rio Grande Valley, hearing a mix of Tejano, conjunto, R&B, and rock pouring from radios and car stereos. Schwebel started combining these strands with his San Antonio band Hacienda, before teaming up with Adrian Quesada and My Morning Jacket’s Patrick Hallahan in Spanish Gold in 2014. He later moved to Nashville and has collaborated with Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys. Meanwhile, Jimenez experimented with Carrie Rodriguez’s Laboratorio project and worked with members of Grupo Fantasma. Schwebel and Jimenez connected in Austin and instantly bonded over their shared roots, forming Nuevo as a way to explore that history.
Schwebel characterizes Nuevo’s music as “Tejano soul.” It’s a perfect blend of Texan, Mexican, and American cultures: close harmonies, bilingual lyrics, and the kinds of chugging, sunny rhythms that Doug Sahm helped popularize in the ’60s and ’70s. Nuevo is just putting a modern twist on it, with help from Anthony Farrell and Andrew Trube (also of the Greyhounds) and drummer Nico Leophonte.
Each Thursday in June, Nuevo holds it down at C-Boy’s, bringing live music back to the same club that helped launch Leon Bridges and Black Pumas into the strasophere. And this week on My KUTX, Schwebel and Jimenez are the guest DJs, digging into the soulful croon of Sunny & the Sunliners, Freddy Fender and Doug Sahm’s impact on the band, and sharing cuts from each of Nuevo’s many satellite projects. Hear Nuevo’s My KUTX on Saturday, June 5 at 6 p.m. or listen anytime at the top of the page.
–Art Levy // producer, My KUTX
Playlist:
1. Freddy Fender – “Aunque Me Hagas Llorar”
2. Sunny & The Sunliners – “Should I Take You Home”
3. Sir Douglas Quintet – “What About Tomorrow”
4. Hacienda – “Big Red”
5. The Last Jimenez – “Days Ago”
6. Spanish Gold – “Shangri La”
7. Greyhounds – “People In The Park”
8. Nuevo – “All Aboard”
9. Selena – “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom”
10. Silvana Estrada & Charlie Hunter – “Los Días”
11. Los Lobos – “Maricela”
12. The Los Sundowns – “Al Final De La Tarde”
13. Nuevo – “Have Our Fun”
14. Sam Doores – “Other Side Of Town” (feat. Alynda Segarra)
15. The Ghetto Brothers – “You Say You Are My Friend”
