Los Lonely Boys are on the road again. The Texas-born band of brothers spends at least eight months of each year playing everything from pubs and nightclubs to auditoriums and concert halls.

The seemingly endless road show is testament not just to the Texas band's popularity but to a life spent raised on music and, accordingly, music steeped in faith, family, home and tradition.

Los Lonely Boys perform Thursday at the University Ballroom at California State University, Sacramento.

The "boys" – brothers Henry, JoJo and Ringo Garza – started making music before they were old enough to go to school. It began as a way to imitate their father's band – also composed of brothers – which played everything from country and rock to traditional conjunto music in the bars and clubs of central Texas.

"All his life my dad played music with his brothers," says JoJo Garza, talking on the phone from his San Angelo, Texas, home during a recent tour break.

"He admired rock 'n'roll and he also had a love for country and all along the way he taught us how to play."

Garza was 5 when he first picked up an instrument for fun. He was 8 when, after the death of his uncle, he and his brothers were recruited to be part of his father's new backing band.

Garza remembers the experience as a merging of family ties, musical education and the occasional brotherly tussle.

"Everyone brought his own influences to the table," Garza says with a laugh. "We were three brothers with one stereo, and we occasionally fought about that."

The disagreements were hardly enough, of course, to threaten the Garza brothers' alliance.

In the late '90s, the trio formed Los Lonely Boys and recorded a handful of self-released albums. In 2004, the band took it the next level and recorded its self-titled major-label debut for Sony Records.

The disc, recorded with Willie Nelson at his Austin-based Pedernales studio, resonated with listeners, achieving multiplatinum status. The song "Heaven" was a radio hit and earned the band a 2005 Grammy for best pop performance by a duo or group.

Now, two albums later, Los Lonely Boys haven't strayed far from the sound that made them popular.

The group's latest disc, "Forgiven" carries on its predecessors' themes of love and faith built on a foundation of rock, blues, R&B, country and Tejano.

The album took only two weeks to record, but the band spent several months writing and polishing the songs before setting foot in a studio.

That extra time, Garza says, allowed them to overcome some of the difficulties experienced in making their second album, 2006's "Sacred." Although Garza says they're still proud of that album, it ultimately felt "rushed" and incomplete.

"I think we got what we wanted with ('Forgiven') because it's not about the time it takes to write a record – but the time it takes to experience the songs."

Garza's favorite on the album is its title track. The song – soft, wistful and pleading – is about love, both personal and spiritual.

"If that song doesn't hit you right away, then there's something wrong with you," Garza says.

A blunt message, sure, but Los Lonely Boys, although hardly marketed as a Christian rock band, have never shied away from singing about their beliefs.

"Faith plays the biggest role in everything we do," Garza says. "It's the most important thing to Los Lonely Boys, to our families. Everything we see, touch, smell and feel comes from God."

Of course, he adds, there are other influences at work, too. Family is important – "We wouldn't be here without everything we've gone through as a family" – as is their home state.

A childhood spent growing up in San Angelo imbued the band with an unshakable sense of place.

"Texas is a very special place – the air, the ground, the water, the people – it just gets into you," he says.

In a few days, however, it'll be time for Garza to leave home and head out on the road once again.

It may be back to the highway grind but Garza's not complaining about the grueling road schedule. Playing two-thirds of the year at venues big or small, he says, gives the band the ongoing chance to prove its mettle.

"Besides, we'll still be home for the holidays, so this is a good place to be."

Call Bee pop music writer Rachel Leibrock, (916) 321-1176.