A free Alejandro Escovedo download

Since some folks look at me and assume I’m Hispanic, I might as well act like I know, right? So I’ll be giving the love to more Latino artists on this blog.

And love is what I got for Alejandro Escovedo, the Austin-based singer-songwriter who almost died a few years ago.

Escovedo is from a very musical family. His brother Pete Escovedo does mainly the Latin jazz thing. His niece Sheila E. did the funk thing (with George Duke and Prince) before moving into Christian smooth jazz. (I didn’t know there was such a thing as “Christian smooth jazz.”)

For Alejandro, it’s always been about rocking. He started with a Bay Area punk band called The Nuns, and for the past 15 years he’s been a solo artist of high esteem. Roots rock, country rock and personal ballads a specialty.

Four years ago, Alejandro Escovedo collapsed after a gig in Phoenix. He was diagnosed with hepatitis C, the near-fatal consequence of his hard-drinking rock-’n’-roll lifestyle. (His 2006 comeback album, “The Boxing Mirror,” contains a dark self-examination titled “Arizona.” Click here to hear it on my Vox audio stash.)

Escovedo, at age 56, is on the road again. He’ll be at the Mint in Los Angeles tonight, in San Francisco Friday night, and in Santa Barbara Saturday night.

So how about a FREE MP3, courtesy of Download.com? The track is “Castanets,” a garage-rock foot-stomper from Escovedo’s 2001 CD, “A Man Under the Influence.”

Click here to cop the download.

If you wanna test-drive it first, click here to hear “Castanets” on my Vox audio stash.