Makin' Everything All Right

Get ready, Albuquerque. I’m letting you in on a little Santa Fe secret: Alex Maryol. If you don’t know who he is—oh baby, you’re in for a treat. The Alex Maryol Band has been playing Santa Fe for years: bars, clubs, Warehouse 21, the Thirty Ear Festival and the burning of Zozobra. He released his first CD, They Call Me Lefty, at 18, and has been named “Best Local Musician or Band You Don’t Want to Miss—Even on a Tuesday Night” in the Santa Fe Reporter‘s reader polls three years running. In short, there are some major reasons why the Alex Maryol Band at the Launchpad this weekend is a big deal.

I’ll let you in on another secret: Alex Maryol’s parents own and operate my favorite restaurant, Tia Sophia's. Many a Saturday morning I have sat eating my red chile enchiladas and hoped for a glimpse of the Santa Fe celebrity. I manage to keep calm when he inevitably walks in, but my sister (also a guitar player in the Santa Fe scene) has a hard time not hyperventilating. Yeah, ladies, he is quite attractive and is most drool-worthy. And he puts on a killer performance.

The Alex Maryol Band has generally been regarded as a blues band, which is true, to some degree. They do play blues, but that’s not all they are limited to. I gave Alex a call to talk about his upcoming gig. He said his band is not, in fact, a blues band. They are pure rock and roll.

“What is blues, really?” he said. “It’s human emotions and feelings; it’s what all good music is.”

Maryol said the opportunity to open for The Eric McFadden Trio in Albuquerque is awesome. “I get to play at a place I want to play, with a band I like,” he said. He also said it'll be a whole lot different than playing the bar scene in Santa Fe. “This show is more about the music. This is more like a showcase. We can really put together a good set and rock out.” And rock out they will.

The Eric McFadden Trio, with a mixture of dark songs, raspy vocals and flamenco-rock guitar, are in the same boat: They're influenced by the blues, but are far from limited by one genre.

This is going to be the start of a beautiful relationship. Albuquerque, I formally introduce you to Alex Maryol. Don’t say I never did nothin' for ya.