Alejandro Escovedo

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Alejandro Escovedo got his start in first-wave punk rock group The Nuns, with Delphine Neid, Jennifer Miro, and Jeff Olener, in San Francisco, California. After Escovedo's departure, they recorded an album on Posh Boy Records, but had little commercial success.

In the 1980s he set up shop in Austin, Texas, where he adapted a roots rock/alternative country style in the bands Rank and File (with Chip and Tony Kinman) and the True Believers (with his brother Javier and Jon Dee Graham). However, it was with the release of his first solo albums, "Gravity" in 1992 and "Thirteen Years" in 1994, and on through his sixth album, A Man Under the Influence (produced in 2001), that he found his true voice. Although he has yet to crossover to any type of mainstream audience, he has a huge underground following, and many popular artists cite Alejandro as a strong influence. No Depression magazine named him Artist of the Decade of the 1990s.

In 2003, after having lived with Hepatitis-C for many years, Alejandro fell critically ill and nearly died. In his long road to recovery, he faced increasing medical bills. Since he had no medical insurance, and had only limited commercial success, he had no way to pay the substantial medical bills. It's a testament to the respect with which Alejandro is held as an artist and as a person that friends and admirers around the country began organizing benefit shows to help the songwriter in his time of crisis. A grassroots effort that eventually grew into the album Por Vida: A Tribute to the Songs of Alejandro Escovedo, a sprawling two-disc set whose proceeds benefit the Alejandro Escovedo Medical and Living Expense Fund. Musicians contributing included Steve Earle, Jon Dee Graham, Lucinda Williams, John Cale, Jennifer Warnes, Ian Hunter, The Jayhawks, and Son Volt, as well as family members Pete Escovedo, Javier Escovedo and niece Sheila E.

In 2005, Alejandro was declared to be free of the disease.^{[citation needed]}

His latest release, Boxing Mirror, came out on May 2, 2006 and included many of the songs he has promoted with his latest band, The Alejandro Escovedo String Quintet, including Jon Dee Graham. Escovedo went on a short tour with the Quintet, which included a date at Carnegie Hall in early December. Escovedo also has been writing new songs with Chuck Prophet recently.

To the surprise of many, he appeared on the iPod playlist of George W. Bush [1], much to Escovedo's chagrin.