Los Lobos’ songs: one time, one night
Louie Perez of Los Lobos doesn’t like to use the word “muse” to describe the inspiration that comes to him as a songwriter. To his mind, the term fails to describe the supernatural force that’s really at play in the creative process.
“It’s a failure to admit that there’s a power greater than ourselves -- and there is,” says Perez. “Sometimes, I feel like I’m just a conduit.”
Is he referring to God? Perez prefers to leave that open to interpretation, as he has done with the artful, evocative lyrics he has written over more than three decades for Los Lobos, the critically acclaimed band from East L.A.
For the first time since the group was launched in 1973, Perez and his longtime writing partner, David Hidalgo, will explore the songwriting process in a special duet performance Saturday at the Irvine Barclay Theatre. The acoustic set will feature songs from the Lobos repertoire as well as unreleased material and will be followed by a live discussion led by Tu Ciudad editor Oscar Garza.
The four original Lobos -- including Cesar Rosas, who also contributes some songs, and Conrad Lozano -- were all friends at East L.A.’s Garfield High School in the 1960s. The band’s songwriting soul, however, has always been Perez and Hidalgo, guitarists who hit it off as teenagers in an art class and who have sustained a creative dialogue ever since.
Perez, admittedly nervous and high-strung, finds balance and counterpoint in Hidalgo, more laid back and unflappable. “I love this guy, he’s so like a cool drink,” Perez says. “I wouldn’t be able to do what I do without him.”
Perez says the pair had considered teaming for a songwriting showcase in the past, but the demands of business and family always intervened. The concept was revived after last year’s “The Town and the City,” the group’s 12th studio album, for which Perez says the creative process seemed to take on a life of its own. “We just broke into some fourth dimension, and things started to reveal themselves,” Perez recalls. “I started to get the weird feeling again that something was happening that I had no control of.”
The experience prompted Perez to urge his co-writer to join him for the show: “Now’s the time to do this.”
Saturday’s retrospective will mark the first public performance of songs the pair recorded as demos 20 years ago but never released. Perez says there are a couple songs “that I really, really love.” He describes one favorite, “The Long Goodbye,” as “a beautiful song” about “always saying goodbye to something throughout our lives.”
This side project doesn’t mean the pair is saying goodbye to Los Lobos, which Perez calls “the mother ship.” He admits feeling nervous about going onstage without his lifelong backup because it will put him in a setting where “you can’t hide behind a big loud band.” For this show, he says, it’ll be just two guitars and two stools.
“Thirty-five years of Los Lobos and we’re challenging ourselves again,” says Perez. “It keeps the blood circulating.”
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David Hidalgo & Louie Perez
Where: Irvine Barclay Theatre, 4242 Campus Drive, Irvine
When: Saturday, 8 p.m.
Price: $33 and $38
Contact: (949) 854-4646 or go to www.thebarclay.org
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