Q&A: Before Clearwater show, Eddie Perez details more than 30 years of The Mavericks’ joyous rock and roll

Referring to The Mavericks as just a country music band is a grave injustice; the band, which originated in Miami in the late 1980s, is known for its versatility and its ability to tackle rockabilly, rock and roll, swing, pop, and Latin music with the greatest of ease.

Led by its lead crooner and chief songwriter, Cuban-American Raul Malo, the group—headed to Clearwater’s Ruth Eckerd Hall on Friday, Jan. 13—is known for its dynamic live concerts which, more often than not, turn into spontaneous parties that find the band plowing through colorful and spontaneous setlists that inspire audiences to sing along, dance and lose all their inhibitions. The band boasts superb musicians and its guitarist, the sturdy, entertaining, and flashy axeman Eddie Perez is a huge part of what makes this group special.

The Mexican-American veteran guitarist grew up listening to and admiring rock guitarists like Eddie Van Halen and Jeff Beck and later found his way into country heavyweight Dwight Yoakam’s band. A fiery and essential member of The Mavericks’ lineup since 2003, Perez recently took some time away from the band’s rigorous touring schedule to chat with Creative Loafing Tampa Bay ahead of its return to Clearwater’. As energetic and lively during the conversation as he is onstage, Perez promises to make the group’s return to the area a whole lot of fun.

Read our full Q&A below.
I’ve seen The Mavericks live many times and it always seems like each show has its own unique vibe.

It certainly does. Having a catalog of 30-plus years of music under the band’s belt, I would say, is the biggest thing that keeps them different. Front person and singer, Raul [Malo] is always shaking up the set list, so that always keeps the band on its toes, but it also gives a different sort of off-the-cuff energy to shows as well.

That's great. I'm sure you have people who attend multiple nights just to soak in the vibe from more than one show.

Yeah, they do! We kind of sort of have that kind of Grateful Dead thing going on with some of our fans! Sometimes when we have multiple nights [at a venue], we'll shake up the set list from night to night.

I've been a Mavericks for a long time and I've always gotten that feeling that there's a lot of energy coming from the stage, and I think the audience really picks up on that and really enjoys that. It's not, it's not ever stagnant. I have to imagine that's a big reason why a lot of people gravitate towards this band and go see you play repeatedly.

I think it is. I think that whole question that we've all been asked several times over again, ‘How would you classify your music?’ I always say I think The Mavericks make joyous music and that it's that joyous thing because I really feel like a lot of that is wrapped up in a very genuine thing for us. A lot of that feeling is very genuine and wrapped up in all of our efforts collectively. I think that's a big thing that transfers, not only from record, but from record to the stage and to the performances. And then in turn, I think that's what the audiences pick up on.

I can tell you from the other side of the stage, from the audience, it's very evident. I think that's why people gravitate so much towards his band, because it's such a fun show. There's always kind of a party atmosphere at a Mavericks show. Is that something that is just kind of organic or is that something that you guys specifically try to nurture? How does that come about? I mean, I know you do some shows where you clear out seats and you provide a dancing area. Do you make a conscious effort to do that?

Different venues have different sets of rules and whatnot, but what ends up happening usually is, when people usually figure it out, and when they're aware of what it is that we do, then they know that dancing can erupt at any moment so we always tell people to choose their tickets accordingly. If you're not gonna wanna sit somewhere where somebody's gonna get up, be dancing, but then you might have to choose a different seat but it always ends up happening. And the audiences are really smart. They don't usually really need instructions. There's a lot of really great people who come to see us and I think that everybody's feeding off of the same energy. It's a bunch of guys doing something they absolutely love to do in the fashion that we love to do it. And there's a freedom in that. And I also think that's something that transfers as well because I certainly feel it being part of this whole outfit. You know, the luxury of the freedom to play the styles of music we want at any given moment. We can play any number of different styles, you know? And I think that that's a very unique thing too about the band. That's probably another thing that keeps it fresh for the fans. It's not just the one song; it's several different flavors. It's like having all the flavors of ice cream!

That’s a good analogy. I have to imagine it's pretty liberating for you all, too, to not feel so confined and to know that you can cover a lot of different musical territory and people are going to love it, no matter where you go, musically, onstage.

It's a very luxurious spot to be in after all these years of touring and playing music. And also, we got a band full of like-minded individuals as well. So it's something I think that we all find, quite honestly, pretty intoxicating as well. You know, you're talking about the party vibe and that is that plan but, with all things in this band, we don't really plan for a lot of those things. We kind of just somehow seem to harness that every night. We seem to bring it every night. And I think it's just because we're a bunch of fun guys, we like to have a good time, you know what I mean? It is a very genuine thing. It's not something that we ever talk about a plan out but it always seems to occur.

Well, well that's a gift. I’ve never gotten the feeling that you’ve ever phoned it in. I mean every Mavericks show I've seen has been pretty damn energetic and pretty fun.

Thank you!
You grew up as a rock and roll kid, right? Weren’t you attracted to a lot of rock guitarists? When you play, you have a lot of flash and you do a lot of cool stuff on your guitar. From your perspective, when you joined the band in 2003, what did you feel you brought to this band when you came on board?

Well, I felt that I brought my Southern California roots. Growing up in Los Angeles and in the Hollywood area, I was exposed to a lot of different things, from rock and roll music to some country, to a lot of jazz, to a lot of soul and a lot of ‘50s and ‘40s music. We, me and Raul, our approach and role, is as the primary guitar players in the band. His style is very different and very unique and mine is a very different thing too, but somehow we kind of, when it comes together, it creates this very unique thing together. That's something that is, you know, like when you're cooking a really great meal, the most important thing in that is a lot of the ingredients, the flavors and spices. And I think that just growing up in the midst of Southern California, I grew up in the late-‘70s. I got the tail end of a lot of that rock and roll stuff, especially on FM radio in the late-‘70s and early ‘80s in California, and I think I have soaked up a lot of that rock and roll influence and I think when I first joined the band, it was in a moment of transition. We were searching for a different sound, searching for something unique and I think what I brought to it was a little bit of southern California influence into it. But the other thing I think I brought into it was I think, a little bit of that flash as you said. It's been my experience, too, that it's not just about the recordings and about the songs, it's also about the live shows. I've always been known as somewhat of a stylish individual. I think it's very true, as someone said once, that people do listen with their eyeballs and I think that’s what I bring to the band in terms of the live stages. It's a visual representation of what that music feels like to me and it's very real. But I think more than anything, I have a lot of influences too. So I guess maybe you’d have to ask
have to ask somebody else because, that's hard for me to answer because to me, I think, well, I bring me, you know what I mean?

And that's a great addition, so that's a perfect answer.

I think if you’d ask the guys, they’d say that I'm a naturally, very optimistic, very positive person and I bring a lot of exuberance and genuine love for the craft of doing what it is that you do. I mean, I respect it. Like you said earlier, as long as I'm in the band, I don't believe that you'll ever see us phone in a show. It doesn't exist. It doesn't operate that way. The moment that it starts going that way is the moment that we all agree that it's time to quit because for us, there doesn't seem to be any confinement, any walls, pinning us down to one specific thing. And so there's always this never-ending freshness going on. And I think that not many entities working today can say that so I respect it highly and I and I feel very fortunate to be involved in it.

I have to agree with that because I think for this band, which came out so long ago and made it very clear that there really were no boundaries and no limits, I think that's just kind of multiplied over the years. I think that's a great place to be because nobody can ever say ‘Oh, they changed their style’ or ‘They went in this direction or that direction.’ Well, who can say? I mean you all play so many different things and that’s a great thing. I have watched you feed off the audience and the audience kind of get off on what you do on the stage. That interplay is just simply fantastic to watch because I've seen how you feed off the crowd and what they're giving you.

I do enjoy it, man. You know, why travel all the miles and why put yourself through all of it? When you consider that, you know, this year alone we spent over 240 days on the road. For a band that’s been around 30 plus years, luckily we still have the opportunity to do what we love to do. But when you think about that, that's quite an investment of your life, so you better really make sure you're loving what you're doing and if you're gonna do it, give your all to it. That's something my father told me and taught me a long time ago and so I've never forgotten it. We work hard at it and I’m very proud to say that we're all the same when it comes to that.

That's great advice your father gave you. That's very true. And I'm sure you still hold it very near and dear to you

Absolutely. I do every day.

Speaking of versatility, you all did an all-Spanish album recently (2020’s En Español). I've heard Raul Malo sing in Spanish plenty of times and I know his heritage is that of a Cuban-American, like myself. How does that play into the set list? Will those songs weave their way into the set list or is there a certain part of the show that you'll dedicate to some of those songs? How does that work ?

Before the performance, we’ll get a set list and it'll be a rough sketch of what Raul is feeling like but every now and then, on stage, he'll call a different song or he'll say this or he'll say that. But uh but for the past uh you know, since we've been back, after the pandemic loosened up, we have been out there playing a lot of the Spanish record actually. We just got done this past year doing, you know four weeks in Europe, you know four weeks in Canada. We've been everywhere this year and it seems that no matter where we go, even to a crowd that you would think could care less about the Spanish music, somehow, and I think it's because it's The Mavericks and it's the way we deliver it, but they don't really seem to care even if they don't speak Spanish, even if they have not a trace of Latin anything in them for some reason, with this album and this this collections of songs, they really have responded to it. So we've been playing a big chunk of the record quite honestly. But like I said, the set list does change from night to night and it's always something different but usually, we'll play at least a good four or five tracks of the Spanish record, at least, and people are loving it.
That's great. Well, Raul’s voice is just so spectacular that it's hard not to be moved by anything that guy sings, no matter what language it's sung in. Any language he could sing in would totally keep a crowd rapt for two hours, easily. But, back to the tour, it looks like based on your schedule, you're about to have a couple of weeks off and then you come visit us in Florida and you’re coming back to Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater. Like I said earlier, I know you have some super loyal fans. I see the same people attending your shows, over and over, which is great because they're so dedicated. But what would you tell somebody who's never seen a Mavericks show and might be thinking of coming out to this one in Clearwater? What would you say they can come to expect if they decide to come see you all for the very first time?

Bring comfortable shoes, bring your smile, and be prepared to meet some more like-minded individuals that just love sharing the experience together. This music is really quite an equalizer. You know what I mean? We get people from all walks of life and all demographics and all ages. And for that two hours, it seems like we're all, including us guys on the stage, it seems like we somehow lose ourselves to the moment. And I think that's the energy that is created from the music and, for those two hours, it seems like we all live in this utopian society where we're just all having a great time. So I would say, you're probably gonna meet a lot of really great people that share somewhat similar interests as you, but more importantly, I think bring comfortable shoes because you're probably gonna be up dancing and you might even walk away with a hoarse throat from singing and laughing and everything else. You know, it's a very joyous affair. I have one of the best jobs in the world. When I go to work, I see nothing but smiling faces, looking back at me, all the time so I'm very fortunate.

That's a good day in the office, every night it sounds like.

Yes, it is.