Spanish Gold - South of Nowhere (2014)

South of Nowhere is the debut album from Spanish Gold – a newly formed band featuring former Hacienda guitarist/vocalist Dante Schwebel, Grupo Fantasma guitarist Adrian Quesada, and My Morning Jacket drummer Patrick Hallahan. The 10-song set is a densely layered love letter to Laredo, the spirited but often troubled Texas border town where Schwebel and Quesada grew up.

Recorded in three sessions split up among each band member’s current home city – Schwebel’s Nashville, Quesada’s Austin, and Hallahan’s Louisville – South of Nowhere finds Spanish Gold teaming up with producer/engineer Collin Dupuis (whose previous work includes engineering albums by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, and the Black Keys, as well as Dr. John’s Grammy Award-winning Locked Down) and a cast of guest musicians including MMJ guitarist Carl Broemel, Heartless Bastards vocalist Erika Wennerstrom and bassist Jesse Ebaugh, Raconteurs drummer Patrick Keeler, Whigs bassist Timothy Deaux, Grupo Fantasma drummer/percussionist John Speice, and the entire horn section from Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears.

“It can be a dangerous and violent place, and the border situation is very scary, but at the same time a lot of the people there are really hopeful and happy,” says Schwebel. Exploring the conflict in what Schwebel calls “feeling disillusioned or desperate about what’s happening around you but still trying to find some hope,” South of Nowhere embodies both a high-charged tension and defiantly joyful mood. And in their seamless swirling-together of rock & roll, soul, psychedelia, and pop – a summery, groove-heavy sound at turns inspired by Donny Hathaway, ’70s rock, and early-’90s hip hop – Spanish Gold reveal the supreme musicianship and easy chemistry at the heart of their collaboration.