ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Singer/songwriter Javier Mendoza, a.k.a. Hobo Cane, is set to have a new album release party Who Do You Love at the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center on Oct. 21.
Music as a passion began early for him; when he was 10 and learned Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd. Mendoza was born in Virginia, grew up in Spain and later came to St. Louis for a soccer scholarship before eventually moving to Nashville in 2014 and becoming ‘Hobo Cane’.
‘Hobo’ means a transient migrant worker, or in other words a musician, and ‘Cane’ comes from Mendoza’s mother’s maiden name. The stage name ‘Hobo Cane’ originally came from wanting to prevent people from making assumptions about the type of music Mendoza was making.
Mendoza said it was common for people to think he only sang Latin, and a branding company even said he probably made music that sounded like Enrique Iglesias.
“That’s why I want to change my name. I didn’t want people to stereotype my music,” Mendoza said. “I’m all over the map.”
Mendoza has a lot of influences for his music, from his sister teaching him guitar, his brother listening to all the major classics, and his dad playing Spanish/Mexican folk music.
Aside from his original music, Mendoza is known as a prolific composer doing a lot of his work in Nashville. He’s written songs for Ricky Martin, Juan David, Rosario and was even a staff writer for Warner-Chappel.
Mendoza’s new album was created during a four day recording session with some of Nashville's top A-list musicians including Sam Hunter, Mike Rojas and Scotty Sanders. They recorded up to 20 songs.
To buy tickets to Hobo Cane’s release party, you can find tickets here.