Sombrero

I wrote Sombrero in West Yellowstone, Montana, in the summer of 1982. I had Jerry Jeff Walker in mind. I was playing music for a living in those days, traveling around the west with Tim Bailey and the Sounds of Country. People had been saying I sounded like Jerry Jeff Walker and I had gotten into his music. I actually did get an opportunity to pitch this song to him several years later when I heard him do a solo concert in Reno. Rhonda (my wife, for those of you who haven't been elsewhere around the site. She was and is still a TV reporter) interviewed him for a TV story and handed him a cassette recording. I don’t suppose he ever listened to it. Maybe I’ll send him an email and invite him to visit my site while this is on the Song of the Month. Cause it would still be a good Jerry Jeff song.

As one might infer from the title, this is a Tex-Mex song. I always thought it should have one verse in Spanish, a la Freddy Fender, but as I only know enough Spanish to ask for a beer (un cerveza por favor), I couldn’t do much with that idea. The song was pretty much autobiographical at the time, except for the part about the ladies sighing. And the gun. Okay, autobiographical in its metaphoric sense. Let’s say I was able to relate to the character in the song. Traveling around the West, as much running away from one place or another as going to someplace. This song, like several in the Son of the West collection, embodies the theme of the set.

As for the recording itself. This is one of the first songs I recorded with the 8-track Tascam 38. It’s also one of the best in terms of overall arrangement and mix. It’s clean, sparse, tasteful, even dramatic in its verse to chorus dynamics. The acoustic nylon-string guitar gives it that Mexican flavor along with the latinish percussion. I don’t know if I had my AT 4033 mic yet at that time (1992), so it was probably recorded with the Sennheiser 421, or maybe even a Shure SM57. The harmonica is a giant Echo Harp. Key of C on one side, key of G on the other. Kind of sounds like an accordion when you open your mouth wide and blow in it big. It’s possible the bass was the old big heavy Peavey I used to have, but I imagine I had the Fender Bullit Bass by then. No doubt I plugged it straight into the board. I just wish I could remember what settings I used because it’s just about the perfect bass sound, for an electric bass anyway.

I know Sombrero is long and it’s a hefty download. It was a little longer, but cut about 40 seconds of guitar meanderings off the end in the interest of lessening the load. If you’ve been reading this while downloading, then you’ve passed some of the time. I’d suggest getting a coffee refill at this time, or maybe looking at some of the other blue boxes relating to the Son of the West Collection.

Happy Trails,

Michael Faubion