Alejandro Escovedo collaborates as new album looms

UPDATE: Alejandro Escovedo's publicist says that "this is not a tribute album to Iggy Pop nor does the title refer Iggy." Additionally, Glyn Johns did not back out.

A pop-culture fanatic out there has surely shared with you at some point the theory of six degrees of separation. The theory, to put it simply, asserts that all human beings are connected socially by six steps or less, and furthermore, that Kevin Bacon sits at the center of this social universe.

Skeptical? We were too, until we realized the mind-boggling implications of the musical net cast by one of Austin’s favorite songwriters and performers, Alejandro Escovedo, while recording his latest album. Complicated? Yes, but don’t worry – we’ve laid it out step by step.

1. Renowned Austin performer and songwriter Alejandro Escovedo will release his new album Real Animal June 24 on Back Porch Records.

2. He enlisted former Green on Red guitarist Chuck Prophet to help write and record the album. The pair also previewed some of the material live in Austin recently.

Real Animal is an autobiographical account of Escovedo’s life in music, beginning in San Francisco and touching on his time with Rank & File and True Believers.

3. The album is also heavily influenced, though, by Escovedo’s idol, snarling Stooges’ front man Iggy Pop. The album’s title track, in fact, is a tribute to him.

4. Veteran producer Tony Visconti, who has worked with musical heavyweights David Bowie and Morrissey, signed on to produce...

5. ...after original producer Glyn Johns backed out.

6. While he was working on the new album, Escovedo was also helping Silence of the Lambs director Jonathan Demme write the score for his new Jimmy Carter documentary. Demme, in turn, is directing a documentary based on Escovedo’s life.

Never thought you’d see Escovedo, Prophet, Iggy, Visconti, Bowie, Morrissey and Demme in the same article? Well, chalk one up for Kevin Bacon. Maybe he’s onto something after all...

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