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"The Taos Solar Festival is the kickoff for our next round of shows," says Louie Perez, percussionist and multi-instrumentalist for Los Lobos, during a phone interview from his Orange County, Calif., home. "We've been there at least a couple of times. It's a cool festival, and Taos is a great place."

The East Los Angeles quintet returns to Taos for the ninth iteration of the original "green" event: All the electricity used at the Taos Solar Music Festival is solar-generated.

And the Land of Enchantment is a special place for the band.

"We have a lot of history in New Mexico," Perez, 54, says. "One of the first places we played on our first tour in 1983 was Santa Fe, at some little roadhouse bar/nightclub; I can't remember the name. And we've played in Albuquerque at a bunch of little joints before."

At this point, Perez gets a little nostalgic.

"But a lot has changed in New Mexico," he continues. "I remember the placita in Santa Fe was surrounded by WoolWorth's and a bunch of mom-and-pop stores, and the Native Americans selling their jewelry and stuff out on the sidewalk.

"Now, it's all Banana Republics and stuff; things have changed quite a bit. But Albuquerque's still a cool town."

Los Lobos have been on tour for most of the year, since mid-February. They've been promoting "The Town and The City" (Hollywood Records/Mammoth), their latest CD, which came out in September.

For three weeks in April and May, they were in Europe, but they took the month of June off.

Now, Perez says, the band is ready to go back out, and New Mexico is the starting point.

"The Taos Solar Festival is a lot of fun, and the energy from the audience is just amazing," he says. "I'm really looking forward to it."

And for a band that's been together for 34 years, Perez promises an eclectic set.

"It's a little bit of everything, career-wise," he says, "but we're emphasizing `Town and The City' songs. . . . And there are a few unplugged things."

Perez becomes rather animated when asked which he prefers: acoustic or electric?

"Acoustic is different muscles and a different way of looking at things," he explains. "Acoustic means to concentrate a lot about la musica folklórica. It's hard work. But ultimately, it's very satisfying; I like it a lot.

"When we go electric, we become a rock 'n' roll band. To go back and play acoustic is fun. Either way is fun; I like both. Acoustic is just different."

But don't expect Los Lobos to premiere any new tunes.

"We have no new songs: `Town and the City' — that's our brand-spanking new stuff," Perez says. "We play five new songs off the record."

However, how long they play is up to you.

"Our set is 1 1/2 to a couple of hours; it depends on the crowd," Perez says.

With a "new" CD that's almost a year old, Perez says there are a few things Los Lobos have up their collective sleeve to sate their fans.

"We are doing this tribute album to Fats Domino, where we do a Fats Domino song," he says. "There's so many groups involved, it could be a double CD. I'm not sure which song we're doing, but we go record it next week. It should be out in the fall, I think."

When pressed, Perez still won't divulge the mystery tune.

"I'm not sure what song we'll do, really," he says. "We'll check out the list and see what's available, or maybe dig out something obscure."

Los Lobos are also preparing a DVD of their performance of "Kiko," the groundbreaking 1992 album that established them as Chicanos cósmicos. The band was reaching for new sonic realms with a skewed experimental approach, and this album is the auditory equivalent to the "magic realism" of such authors as Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

The group performed the sonically intricate "Kiko" in its entirety during a short run of shows at the end of last year. The DVD will "probably be out in springtime '08."

"We did a series of six shows in Southern California — the House of Blues clubs there — last year in December," Perez says. "We did the whole `Kiko' album live onstage, and it went well.

"We did it again in January at the San Diego House of Blues; we recorded and filmed that show."

Perez next assumes a hushed, conspiratorial tone, as if he's about to confide state secrets.

"We're planning a national tour of that, the `Kiko' show, when the DVD comes out. It's a re-creation of all the elements, all the dynamics," he says. "I don't want to reveal too much but we even have a banda sinaloense up onstage with us for a few tunes.

"It's fantastic. I'm really looking forward to it. It's what I'm most excited about."

Perez admits it was musically challenging, and he and his bandmates had to relearn the album.

"In re-creating `Kiko,' the thing was not to think too much about it; thinking takes out the ambiente," he says. "It clicked right away. Some of those songs we had never played live before ever. It worked out great."

And the band does have plans for some new music, but it's not what you might think.

"We're talking about a Christmas record but not for this season, though; Christmas '08," Perez says.

And there's another album on the horizon, as well.

"We're also planning a children's record. We got a lot of praise for the other one we did years ago . . . `Papa's Dream,' " Perez says of the 1995 disc. "But we were hired-guns for that one; we want to do our own.

"I want to research children's music from Mexico and Latin America. And maybe write a couple of our own; as a songwriter, I'd like to try to write a few, to see what I can do.

"But as far as a studio record from us, not for awhile. What's next for us is just touring through the U.S. till the end of the year."

However, there is a way to relive past Los Lobos' shows you might have missed.

"We do have this series called `Chuy's Tape Box' that are archival shows," Perez says. "We have `Live In 1984' out now, and we're readying another from the late '80s, early '90s that should be out in the fall.

"And there's `Acoustic En Vivo,' the live acoustic tour we did a couple of years ago. They're all available online; at independent record stores, if there's still any left; and at our live shows.

"You can find everything on our Web site: LosLobos.org," he says with obvious pride. "You can also listen to all of our records, not just pieces or snippets, in their entirety there."

Which brings us back to Taos and the solar music fest. With such an engaging lineup, who does Perez want to see?

"I'm not even sure who's playing," he says rather sheepishly with a laugh. "It's always a last-minute deal. They pick us up at the airport, hand us a schedule and we'll see who's also playing. We might hang around, hang out."