Joe "King" Carrasco is a Texas dreamer, which means the wild thoughts that gallop around his fevered brain are in greater relief and deeper Technicolor than the visions of other mortals. Forty years ago, Carrasco envisioned himself the leader of a band of musicians who could play any and all styles of Lone Star music, a sound that would be born in the barrio of West San Antonio where legends walk the streets and fill the cantinas with the feeling of freedom. The young Texan saw himself someday hopefully being one of those legends, and over the past several decades has rightfully earned his place in that firmament. Once Carrasco formed El Molino in the mid-'70s in Austin , it was only a matter of extreme word of mouth before the world would discover their awesomeness.

Today's El Molino, rising from the soul of past infamy, includes some of Texas' most revered musicians, people like drummer Ernie "Murph" Durawa, Miller "Speedy" Sparks, guitarist John X. Reed, accordionist Marcelo Gauna, saxophonist Joe Morales, backup vocalist Chuggy Hernandez, and, of course, keyboard player Augie Meyers from the world famous Sir Douglas Quintet. Leading this group of musical madmen is permanent el jefe Joe "King" Carrasco on vocals and guitar. Their blend of Tex-Mex mania, cumbias, rancheras, and even flat-out West Texas rock & roll is a heady swirl that is rarely equaled in the scientific labs of record production. It takes a certain demented dedication to chase the sound for all these years, and only Carrasco has been able to capture the heartfelt passion that makes this kind of rock & roll as necessary as air. By rounding up the present-day unstoppable aggregation of players, he has defied gravity and returned El Molino to the land of the living.

The band's new album, " Tlaquepaque " makes good on the promise of El Molino's 1977 debut album "Tex-Mex Rock-Roll." That 12" slab of audio dynamite featured brand new classics like "Jalapeno con Big Red," " Mezcal Road " and "Tell Me," and has gained a notoriety not often found in 1970s music. While it might be a mistake to say that Joe "King" Carrasco has grown up, it would be true to claim he has found his place among the greats of Texas music. When it was time to reconvene the El Molino experiment 35 years later, he went straight to the source and gathered the surviving members and took on the grand plan to move the mesmerizing El Molino mystique to the next level. In honor of fallen members Ike Ritter, Richard "Eh Eh" Elizondo, Rocky Morales and Charlie MacBirney, the band's new songs burn from the very start. There is simply no way to define exactly what these musicians accomplish except to say when the wind howls and the guitars scream, when the drums pound and the singers sing, listen for El Molino to be the ones on the bandstand leading the charge. Vamos al gitdown indeed.

--Bill Bentley, November 2012

(Bill Bentley was lucky enough to play drums with El Molino on occasion in the '70s at Raul's nightclub in Austin  on his fave rave "Buena.")

Last summer (2012), at Ernie Durawa's suggestion, Speedy Sparks and I joined Ernie in the studio to record a song or two.  But we couldn't stop and ended up recording 25 songs of mine.  These are mostly new songs exhibiting diverse musical styles including Garage Rock, San Antonio Rumba Blues, Polka, Vamp Rock, Tex-Mex, Cha-cha, and more.  During the recording, many  amazing musician friends stopped in to add tracks including Jesse Dayton, Joe Morales, Aaron Lack, Chuggy Hernandez, Jimmy Shortell, Marcello Gauna, John X Reed, Gil Herman and Lisa York.

The first single from these recordings, “I Saw My Baby” was released on November 27, 2012 as a digital download only available on CD Baby and iTunes and about 30 other online stores.

The second single “Tlaquepaque” (the title song from the CD) will be released on January 29th, 2013 as a digital download only.

The first 12 songs are being finished up for a CD called “Tlaquepaque” set to be released in March 2013.

You can listen to both new songs on my Reverbnation page.

Check out this week’s Austin Chronicle for Margaret Moser’s article called "Nacho Daddy" by clicking HERE and a second article by Joe Nick Patoski by clicking HERE.

Joe got together with Speedy Sparks and Ernie Durawa ( both from the original El Molino 1978) and recorded “Tamale Christmas” for HAAM.  They brought in Joe Morales to play sax and Marcello Gauno on accordion.  But they couldn't stop!  So, they now have 24 songs recorded!  The first 12 songs are being finished up for a CD called “Tlaquepaque”.  Augie Meyers, who also played with the original El Molino, put down some Vox organ and piano tracks.

The first single from the CD, “I Saw My Baby” on November 27, 2012 as a digital download only and will release another single from the CD near the end of December.  "I Saw My Baby" can be downloaded here.  The full CD, “Tlaquepaque” will be released in March of 2013.

"Tamale Christmas" was released on November 20th, 2012 on the Holiday HAAM JAM CD.  http://haamjam.com/
which is a benefit CD to raise money for Health Alliance for Austin Musicians.  This song was written by Joe King Carrasco and Johnny Perez.

Joe King Carrasco and the Crowns are gearing up for their Jubilee Summer Tour and will be looking for you on the dance floor.   Full schedule and details can be found on the event page.

June 14 - Dumas, TX - Dogie Days
June 16 - Amarillo, TX - Golden Light Cantina
June 22 - Ingram, TX - Roddy Tree
June 23 - Port Aransas, TX - Back Porch
June 29 - Gruene, TX - Gruene Hall
June 30 - Houston, TX - Miller Outdoor Theater

July 3 - Alpine, TX - Railroad Blues
July 4 - Private Party
July 5 - Santa Fe, NM - The Plaza
July 6 - Los Alamos, NM - Los Alamos Summer Concert Series
July 7 - Taos, NM - KTAOS Solar Center
July 8 - Albuquerque, NM - Low Spirits
July 20th - Odessa, TX - West Texas Blackgold Biker Rally
July 21st - Austin, TX - Antone's