ABBC

While recording Spoke in their hometown of Tucson, AZ, in 1996, Calexico's John Convertino and Joey Burns were introduced to visiting Parisians Gabriel Naïm Amor and Thomas Belhom by mutual friend/filmmaker Marianne Dissard. Once the two Frenchmen permanently relocated to Tucson the following year and began performing under the name Amor Belhom Duo, a collaboration with the pair of Calexico principals seemed inevitable as the two acts often shared bills around town. The acronymic name ABBC -- Amor, Belhom, Burns, Convertino -- was born. Recording sessions for the new quartet were squeezed in between Calexico and Amor Belhom Duo tours over a 15-month period in Tucson in the late '90s. Each musician wore a variety of instrumental hats throughout the sessions, with Belhom and Convertino sharing percussion duties and Amor and Burns primarily handling stringed instruments and loops. The resulting effort, the mostly homemade Tete a Tete, appeared in late 2000 on Wabana Records. ~ Charles Hodgkins