It’s been a year now but Los Lonely Boys are still grieving.
Last June the mother of the band’s three brothers: guitarist Henry Garza, bassist JoJo Garza, and drummer Ringo Garza, Jr. passed away. While the brothers had lived with their father after their parents divorced, their mother was still their mother.
“We’re still mourning and grieving,” said JoJo Garza during a telephone interview last month.
For the Texas-born and based brothers, both their parents had a deep influence on them as people, as well as musicians.
“All their teachings were about being people. That translated into the music,” said Garza. “Our parents were divorced. ... The role she played was that she was there, and to see her come through it all and find God ... she gave us strength to overcome challenges,” he said.
Certainly, Los Lonely Boys, who bring their “Texican rock ’n’ roll” Saturday, June 11, to the Rialto Theatre, have had their share of struggles after the group’s triumphant debut.
Los Lonely Boys grabbed widespread popularity with their 2004 self-titled debut on Epic Records. The album, with hints of the guitar stylings of Santana and Stevie Ray Vaughan, unleashed the radio hit, “Heaven.” The song hit No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, earning the band a 2005 Grammy Award and a nomination for best new artist.
About five years ago a vocal chord injury threatened to end Jojo Garza’s singing career. And three years ago, Henry Garza fell off a California stage during a performance and sustained injuries.
But the band is solid again, said JoJo Garza. “We got songs up to the wazzu,” he said.
The band’s most recent studio recording, its sixth, was 2014’s “Revelation.” In addition to the studio recordings, the band has three live albums.
The band is not yet ready to return to the studio but instead is focusing its energies on summer tours, in part because of the music industry, Garza said.
“The industry is not about albums these days. Not sure it’s about music either,” he said.
Just as quickly as the band rose, the music industry underwent a revolution, Garza says. It’s more about getting music out through social media and the internet. But some things remain the same.
“We’re an analog band in a digital world,” said Garza, emphasizing the band’s Texas rock roots. “We’re old school musicians. We play instruments,” he said.
“We’re live. That’s how you capture Los Lonely Boys. The band feeds off the crowd,” he said.
After its smash entrance the group followed with the albums “Sacred” in 2006 and “Forgiven” in 2008 on Epic Records. The Garza brothers left the label in 2009 and now has its own imprint, LonelyTone.
