Alejandro Escovedo takes a tour through his musical life ahead of show Three Oaks' Acorn

Alejandro Escovedo was originally scheduled to perform at The Acorn in Three Oaks on March 28, 2020, as part of his tour supporting the Record Store Day release of “La Cruzada,” the Spanish-language rerecording of his 2018 album “The Crossing.”

Both versions tell the story of two young men ― one from Italy and one from Mexico ― who come to America to follow their dreams. For the tour, Escovedo enlisted the talents of Mexican singer Alex Ruiz and Italian vocalist Antonio Gramentieri.

Escovedo received an early indication of the live music lockdown from the pandemic when Gramentieri wasn’t able to make the tour because of travel restrictions.

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“We had to tell Antonio he couldn't make it,” Escovedo says. “He had ambitious plans to go through Mexico or Canada. I don't know what he was going to do. We persuaded him not to come, and it's a good thing we did, because he would have been stuck here for a couple of years, possibly.”

Instead of focusing on “La Cruzada,” Escovedo and his band ― Scott Danbom (keyboards, violin, vocals) and drummer Mark Henne ― will play a career-spanning set for their rescheduled show at The Acorn on Oct. 22.

Escovedo has been a solo singer-songwriter and guitarist for the last 30 years, but he has been performing for nearly 50 years. In a telephone interview with The Tribune, he takes us on his musical journey through the years.

Coming from a musical family

Musical talent runs deep in the Escovedo family. Escovedo’s older bothers Coke and Pete played percussion in Santana, as well as in renowned jazz bands. His younger brothers Mario and Javier fronted their own rock bands, The Dragons and The Zeros, respectively. And Escovedo’s niece ― Pete’s daughter ― is Sheila E. (“The Glamorous Life”).

Although it seemed to be destiny that he follow in the family business, Escovedo didn’t see it when he was younger.

“I struggled with that for years, quite honestly,” he says. “I’ve always loved music. I was immersed in rock ❜n❜ roll from the very beginning. I would have a lot of records, 45s, but I never really thought that I would play.”

To encourage him, Escovedo’s father bought him a guitar when he was in his early teens.

“He got me a guitar and he bought me a little, beautiful Champ Tweed amp at a pawn shop in town,” Escovedo says. “I thought that I could paint the guitar. I took it apart and never really learned to play. My brother Javier put it together. He's the better guitar player.”

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Instead, Escovedo pursued a career in film production. In 1975, he and his friend Jeff Olener came up with an idea to make a low-budget movie about a rock band that couldn’t play.

“We're making a movie about the worst band in the world,” Escovedo says. “Since we couldn't play, we thought we'd be perfect for the starring roles in the movie. That became The Nuns. The movie band became a real band.”

The Nuns (1975 -1979)

Formed by Escovedo, Olener and Jennifer Miro, The Nuns were one of the first punk bands in San Francisco.

In January 1978, The Nuns opened for The Sex Pistols at San Francisco’s Winterland, which turned out to be the English punk band’s final show.

“It was like the unveiling of the curtain in 'The Wizard of Oz,'” Escovedo says of the concert. “For a person who loves rock ❜n❜ roll as much as I had ― and still do ― and really believed in it as a believer and a practitioner of rock ❜n❜ roll, it was odd to see what kind of circus and freak show it was. It was sad, in a way. Those records were so great. I love those Sex Pistols records. I remember listening to the very first 45 and being totally taken by it, by all that stuff in the beginning. I don't know. It was just strange to see how it really works.”

When The Nuns had a tour stop in New York City, Escovedo decided to quit the band and stay, living in the famous Chelsea Hotel.

Rank and File (1981-1982)

Escovedo played in Judy Nylon’s band for a few years before meeting Chip and Tony Kinman, a pair of brothers who had just disbanded The Dils, an influential punk band from California.

Relocating to Austin, Texas, from New York City, Escovedo and the Kinmans formed Rank and File, a band that combined the rawness of punk with a country music style, creating a genre called cowpunk. It was alt-country before that name existed.

“I think that Rank and File always gets unnoticed,” Escovedo says. “It's still like the band doesn't get enough credit. I think that Tony Kinman was just a brilliant songwriter and musician. If we had stayed together, I think we really could have made a difference. The Knitters and bands like that get a lot of publicity about the West Coast scene, but we were really there in the very beginning. I was reading a book on Chicago that said that The Mekons in 1986 or something was considered the first alternative country record. We had been doing it for quite a while before that.”

Escovedo left the band after Rank and File’s first album, “Sundown,” and started a band with his brother Javier.

True Believers (1982-1987)

The Escovedo brothers formed True Believers, a band that mixed punk and glam rock with a touch of country music. The band released their self-titled debut album in 1986 with Jim Dickinson producing and Jon Dee Graham joining them as guitarist and as a third songwriter.

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True Believers recorded a second album that wasn’t released until 1994, long after the band broke up.

The band found critical praises but was unable to find a mainstream audience, remaining a cult favorite.

“It was a cool band,” Escovedo says. “We did a lot of a lot of touring and a lot of great gigs. We did a lot of touring with Los Lobos. At the time, they were just starting to blow up. It was good times. It was a good band ― three guitars, bass and drums with three songwriters. It was a strong band. I think it all ended much too quickly.”

The solo years (1992-present)

After True Believers disbanded, Escovedo was hesitant about starting a solo career.

“I was reluctant about going off on my own,” he says. “I remember I played a solo gig for a benefit for a radio station here in Austin. I almost got away without having to play it, but then somebody caught me, and I had to go on and play solo. Once I did that, though, it gave me energy.”

Beginning with 1992’s “Gravity,” Escovedo has released an eclectic body of work over the years, with No Depression magazine naming him the Artist of the Decade in the 1990s.

“It all comes from having a good record collection,” he says.

Escovedo has several ideas for his next album, which he will start recording next month: from a songwriter-type album with his touring trio to reuniting with Scott McCaughey, Peter Buck and Kurt Bloch, who helped him make the 2016 album “Burn Something Beautiful.”

Escovedo also is currently writing his memoir.

“I don't know when it'll come out,” he says. “It's taking a lot longer than I thought, and it's a lot of work. There's a lot of going back and going over things that were pretty painful at one time. It's been a little rough.”

In concert

• Who: Alejandro Escovedo with Matt Jaffe

• When: 8 p.m. Saturday Oct. 22

• Where: The Acorn, 107 Generations Drive, Three Oaks

• Cost: $40

• For more information: Call 269-756-3879 or visit acornlive.org.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Alejandro Escovedo performs at The Acorn in Three Oaks, Michigan