After health scare, Escovedo comes back rockin'

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After health scare, Escovedo comes back rockin'

BY ROBERT HICKS SPECIAL TO THE DAILY RECORD Thursday, April 12, 2007 Escovedo is a survivor. Diagnosed with hepatitis C in 1996, the Texas singer-songwriter continued to drink and to smoke pot occasionally. His rock habits caught up with him, though, on April 23, 2003, in Tucson, Ariz. He coughed up blood in his hotel room shortly before going on stage to perform songs from his theater piece "By the Hand of the Father." After his performance, he collapsed and emergency personnel rushed him to St. Luke's Hospital. Doctors discovered Escovedo suffered from varices of the esophagus, advanced cirrhosis of the liver and tumors in his abdomen. After leaving the hospital, he spent a month in Arizona before returning to Texas. He faced daily doses of Interferon and Riboflavin. The medication left him fatigued and depressed. Traditional Western doctors suggested more blood transfusions and the possibility of a liver transplant. Finally, on the advice of friends, his manager and his new wife, Kim Christoff, he visited a holistic doctor who prescribed Tibetan herbs to turn around his life.

As news of his troubles and medical expenses spread through the music community, 31 musicians collaborated on a fundraising double CD, "Por Vida: A Tribute to the Songs of Escovedo," in 2004. Today, Escovedo, 56, abstains from drinking and smoking and devotes himself to his family, Tibetan Buddhism and his new music career. Escovedo's trio, with violinist Voelv and guitarist Pulkingham, will perform at Outpost in the Burbs in Montclair on Friday. "We'll really be spanning my whole career stuff," Escovedo said from his home in Wimberley, Texas. Back Porch Records released Escovedo's latest CD, "The Boxing Mirror," in 2006. Producer Cale worked with Escovedo on the 11 tracks, which run the gamut from his Tex-Mex and punk roots to gritty rock and reflective songs about his father's death, reaching middle age and confronting mortality. "Once I got into the studio with , I wanted to do something different. I just wanted to work with new sounds. I let guide us as far as taking us someplace new," he said. After feeling so low and isolated during his bout with hepatitis C, Escovedo concentrated on creating positive songs about his experiences and his new outlook on life. "I wanted to show how I'd found a much larger family than I was aware of at the time," he said. "It was an awakening to mortality and to my relationship with people. It was a great revelation about the cycle of life." Escovedo met his wife at one of his concerts in Arizona. She introduced him to Tibetan Buddhism. "I'm not a Buddhist. I'm just practicing it. It's a constant practice. It's really changed my life in a way. I relate to people differently. I'm more open and less guarded than I used to be. I'm a lot more relaxed around people. It's made me see life in a different light. I see the interconnectedness of everything,"he said. His focus now is on collaborating with other songwriters for his next recording, which will be produced by Glen s. He's been working with songwriters Chuck Profit and Gordie . His aim on this new project is to tell his life story in music. Escovedo also is writing music for the soundtrack to Demme's forthcoming documentary on former President Jimmy , and he is writing new songs for his forthcoming CD to be recorded in late June. http://www.dailyrecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070412/ENT01/704120371