The True Believers were a

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band from

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

active from 1982 to 1987. Founded by brothers

Alejandro Alejandro is the Spanish form of the name Alexander. Alejandro has multiple variations in different languages, including Aleksander ( Czech, Polish), Alexandre ( French), Alexandros ( Greek), Alsander ( Irish), Alessandro ( Italian), Aleksand ...

and Javier Escovedo, True Believers were rooted in

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

with touches of

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

and the rebellious energy of

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

. They found critical praise and toured with many leading bands of the 1980s but never broke out of cult status to achieve mainstream success due in part to their hard-to-classify style.

History

The True Believers were founded in 1982 by singer-guitarist

Alejandro Escovedo Pedro Alejandro Escovedo (born January 10, 1951) is an American rock musician, songwriter, and singer, who has been recording and touring since the late 1970s. His primary instrument is the guitar. He has played in various rock genres, includin ...

, formerly of

the Nuns The Nuns was an American rock band based in San Francisco and New York City. Best known as one of the founding acts of the early San Francisco punk scene, the band went through a number of hiatuses and periodic reunions, lineup changes, and ch ...

, and his brother Javier Escovedo, formerly of the Zeros. The other two initial members of the band were drummer Kevin Foley (who was formerly in the Nuns with Alejandro) and bassist Denny DeGorio. Soon after they were founded, the band became very successful on the Texas club scene, and by 1984, they were touring with such bands as

Los Lobos Los Lobos (, Spanish for "the Wolves") is a Mexican American rock group, rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, zydeco, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional ...

Rain Parade Rain Parade is a band that was originally active in the Paisley Underground scene in Los Angeles in the 1980s, and that reunited and resumed touring in 2012. History Rain Parade in the 1980s (1981–1986) Originally called the Sidewalks, the ba ...

, and

Love Tractor Love Tractor is a band from Athens, Georgia, founded in spring 1980 by guitarists Mark Cline and Mike Richmond, and bassist Armistead Wellford, students at the University of Georgia. Like The B-52's, Pylon and R.E.M., Love Tractor has been laud ...

. True Believers appeared in a 1985 episode of the

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

program '' I.R.S. Records Presents The Cutting Edge'', where they were covered as one of the Austin bands then sometimes grouped together under the name " New Sincerity". The band released its first album, ''True Believers'', in 1986 on

Rounder Records Rounder Records is an independent record label founded in 1970 in Somerville, Massachusetts, by Marian Leighton Levy, Ken Irwin, and Bill Nowlin. Focused on American roots music, Rounder's catalogue of more than 3000 titles includes records by A ...

. The album was recorded in less than a week for less than $10,000 with

Jon Dee Graham Jon Dee Graham is an American musician, guitarist and songwriter from Austin, Texas, United States. Graham was named the Austin Musician of the Year during the South by Southwest (SXSW) music conference in 2006. He was inducted into the Austin Mu ...

, and was produced by

Jim Dickinson James Luther Dickinson (November 15, 1941 – August 15, 2009) was an American record producer, pianist, and singer who fronted, among others, the band Mud Boy and the Neutrons, based in Memphis, Tennessee. Biography Dickinson was born in Li ...

EMI America EMI America Records was launched in 1978 by EMI as their second label in the United States after Capitol Records, relying on Capitol only for pressing, distribution, and international liaison. In 1987, EMI America merged with Manhattan Records, ...

found out about the album from a distribution deal they had with Rounder at the time. EMI was so impressed by the band's debut album that they bought them out of their contract with Rounder, giving them more money to record their second album. In early 1987, they began recording their second album with producer Jeff Glixman, but soon after it was finished, EMI America was folded into

Manhattan Records Manhattan Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group and operates as a branch of Interscope Capitol Labels Group. Company history Manhattan Records was formed in 1984 by Bruce Lundvall and was later renamed EMI Manhatt ...

, and the album was dropped from the new label's release schedule. In late 1987, Javier left the band, which broke up soon afterward. The band's second album was not released until 1994, when

Rykodisc Rykodisc is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, operating as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance. History Claiming to be the first CD-only independent record label ...

included it on ''Hard Road'', a reissue of the band's debut album. True Believers reformed in 2012 for a well-received performance at the

SXSW South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

festival.

Legacy

William Michael Smith of the ''

Houston Press The ''Houston Press'' is an online newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in the Midtown Houston, Midtown area. It was also a weekly print newspaper until November 2017. The publication is supported entirely ...

'' has written that "In an industry littered with tragic stories of bad luck and poor decisions, the True Believers' tale ranks right at the top." Jason Cohen of ''

Texas Monthly ''Texas Monthly'' (stylized as ''TexasMonthly'') is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Downtown Austin, Texas. Founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy, ''Texas Monthly'' chronicles life in contemporary Texas, writing on politics, the Natura ...

'' has said that the Believers were "widely considered to be Austin’s best band of the mid-eighties."

Discography

*''True Believers'' (Rounder, 1986) *''Hard Road'' (Rykodisc compilation, 1994)

References

{{Authority control Musical groups from Austin, Texas Musical groups established in 1982 Musical groups disestablished in 1987 1982 establishments in Texas 1987 disestablishments in Texas Rock music groups from Texas Rounder Records artists Rykodisc artists