Danny Trejo On Upcoming Projects & His New Label “Trejo’s Music” With E-Dub & Baby Bash
Simply put, Danny Trejo is one of the most recognizable actors of the past few decades. While generally cast as a villain or antihero — Con Air, Desperado, Machete, and Heat being prime examples — Trejo has appeared in hundreds of films and television shows in all sorts of roles. Teens and tweens may recognize him from his work in the Spy Kids series, while comedy fans ought to know him from Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy, King Of the Hill, and the Tim and Eric Awesome Show. The roles keep coming almost 35 years following the 1985 release of the film Runaway Train.
Beyond acting, Danny Trejo is now active within the musical realm. For Trejo’s Music, Trejo has partnered with producer Edward “E-Dub” Rios, who is the President of Silent Giant Entertainment, and chart-topping artist and CEO of BashTown Music, Baby Bash. The first album under Trejo’s Music is called Danny Trejo Presents Chicano Soul Shop Volume 1, which dropped digitally on Father’s Day. The album which is formatted just like a radio show and features Baby Bash, Frankie J, Joey Quinones, Chiquis Rivera, Malik Malo, Cota, Trish Toledo, Tarah New, Deztini Fatinas, Marty Obey, and Puro Bandido.
Trejo has also been successful within the restaurant world. A partnership with Jeff Georgino and Ash Shah, Trejo’s Tacos opened its first location a few years back. Trejo’s Coffee & Donuts was next, as followed by Trejo’s Cantina. And the brand keeps growing, now with thriving California State locations in Pasadena, Woodland Hills, USC Village, L.A.’s Farmers Market and the LAX Airport.
I had the pleasure of speaking with Danny Trejo by phone last week about Trejo’s Music, Trejo’s Tacos, his acting career and more. Highlights from the chat are transcribed below for your reading pleasure, while the full chat will be broadcast next month via the Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz podcast. In the meantime, more on Trejo and his various projects can be found at www.dannytrejo.com.
Danny Trejo: I kind of said my prayers and ended up running into Baby Bash, who moved out here from Houston. I’d known Bash since he was 17 years old… 6 months later we’re dropping an album and we’ve got these unbelievable artists. We’ve got Tara [New]… You’ve got to hear it. It’s kind of a throwback, where it actually sounds like a radio station. “This is Danny Trejo and you’re listening to Chicano Soul Shop and here’s a good one for all of you guys…” Every song has has an intro.
On music being a big part of his family:
Danny Trejo: My son had a band called The Dead Reagan Tour… That kind of music that you kind of like scream,” Turn that s**t off.” (laughs) We bought a bus… I took him on tour with his band all over California.
On whether his acting-related skills transfer to that of the music world:
Danny Trejo: Anybody can handle themselves if they’re surrounded with great people, and I suppose the good Lord always put me in touch with leadership with great people. I mean, I started the restaurant business with one of the producers of a movie called Bad Ass… If it wasn’t for their genius, we wouldn’t have the rest of our business.
On whether a Chicano Soul Shop volume 2 is in the works:
Danny Trejo: Oh yeah. We’ve already got a volume 2 and 3 in the mix… My agent has already gotten like about 150 applications from people that want to be on the on volume 2. We’ve got volume 2 done.
On his last words for the kids:
Danny Trejo: Shoot for the moon. I’d rather shoot for the moon and miss than aim for the gutter and make it.
About the Author
Darren Paltrowitz Darren Paltrowitz is a New York resident with over 20 years of entertainment industry experience. He began working around the music business as a teenager, interning for the manager of his then-favorite band Superdrag. Since then, he has worked with a wide array of artists including OK Go, They Might Be Giants, Mike Viola, Tracy Bonham, Loudness, Rachael Yamagata, and Amanda Palmer. Darren's writing has appeared in dozens of outlets including the New York Daily News, Inquisitr, The Daily Meal, The Hype Magazine, All Music Guide, Guitar World, TheStreet.com, Businessweek, Chicago Tribune, L.A. Times, and the Jewish Journal. Beyond being "Editor At Large" for The Hype Magazine, Darren is also the host of weekly "Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz" series, which airs on dozens on television and digital networks. He has also co-authored 2 published books, 2018's "Pocket Change: Your Happy Money" (Book Web Publishing) and 2019's "Good Advice From Professional Wrestling" (6623 Press), and co-hosts the world's only known podcast about David Lee Roth, "The DLR Cast."
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