For Freddy Trujillo, birdwatching and songwriting have a few things in common. Both require patience, curiosity and an appreciation for what’s easy to overlook. On Ave Trujillo (El Cortez), the longtime bassist for Richmond Fontaine and the Delines achieves an unlikely fusion of two passions, using birds as characters, metaphors and witnesses to stories about identity, grief and displacement.
For his past solo work, the Portland, Ore.-based artist has drawn on folk, rock, Americana and Mexican musical traditions, often while exploring his Chicano heritage. Ave Trujillo extends that approach into the natural world. Several longtime musical associates help bring the stories to life, including Luther Russell (Those Pretty Wrongs) and Richmond Fontaine alums Willy Vlautin, Sean Oldham, Dan Eccles and Paul Brainard. His hobby also found an outlet in On The List With Freddy Trujillo, a web series that uses birdwatching as a context for chats about songwriting, touring and the music business.
No birding took place during Trujillo’s recent conversation with MAGNET’s Hobart Rowland. But they did discuss Trujillo’s avian songwriting inspiration, the album’s impromptu Richmond Fontaine reunion and how making music continues to provide a measure of hope.
Birds function as characters, metaphors and witnesses throughout Ave Trujillo. What inspired this unconventional approach?
When I make records, I usually get stuck on a theme—and this was something I wanted to do for a while. The songs started coming, so I approached a group of other songwriters to help me close them out. I see birding as something birders do all the time—at least I do. I thought it would be great to have my normal song themes, but with the bird as the backdrop or connection, pointing out that they’re all around us if you notice. It’s something I tried to do with On The List as well.
“Common Loon” connects a Chicano musician’s search for belonging with the history of Chicano soul music. How does your own experience inform the character?
I’ve often felt like that guy in the song. This is a tough business to stay relevant in. But if you fall in love with it, it’s hard to stop. I’m just glad I got my attitude better and drink less. I wasn’t part of a genre of Chicano musicians who were doing a thing that’s popular now—I’m just a Chicano playing rock. Those old vatos were just trying to do what African-American artists were doing. This guy in the song ended up missing out on the Tejano scene in Texas when he moved to Minnesota. He thought he’d be unique outside of Texas in a state like Minnesota, but he wasn’t that.
“Mockingbird” draws a parallel between disappearing bird habitats and communities being transformed by gentrification. What led you to that connection?
I do a lot of volunteering for the Bird Alliance during their Christmas counts, which is an annual tradition that just hit its 100-year anniversary. We count birds during the winter and collect data. You start to see the effects of habitat loss. When I go to Los Angeles, I don’t see as many mockingbirds as I did as a kid. As for the song, it was just an idea I had that I thought would be a little funny … at least it was to me. Using humor as a way to educate is always best.
Willy Vlautin, Sean Oldham, Dan Eccles and Paul Brainard are among the longtime collaborators returning here. How do their contributions figure into the album?
Sean and Paul were always my band when I was just a budding frontman, way before I became a member of Richmond Fontaine. Sean, Paul and I backed up Ian Moore when he first moved to the Northwest—so we have history. Sean will still play drums for me when I need him. This time around, I had Dan play on “Crow” and “Turkey Vulture.” Then it dawned on me: If I get Willy to play rhythm guitar, it would be Richmond Fontaine 2.0, the version when I joined. Then I got Paul to do a guitar solo, and that was my sneaky way of getting a little reunion on recording.
Ave Trujillo deals with some heavy topics, but there’s also a silver lining in there. How were you able to make room for hope?
I’ve been told I’m a positive person. I’m proud of the fact that I haven’t completely fallen apart, but I’ve come close. I think songwriting and music are my ways of giving myself hope, so maybe that’s coming through. My own medicine is being distributed in song.
