By Noe Gutierrez
Each week Coachella Valley Weekly will provide you with an update on many of our favorite artists and what they are up to.
INSTIGATOR
First we have Instigator. The four-piece Thrash Metal band made up of four young men who play like seasoned veterans. Their new debut full-length album, Necessary Evil, will be dropping this Friday, April 3, 2020, and the band can’t wait. The album was recorded by Brian “Puke” Parnell (Regurgitation Records) at his Emesis Studios in Idyllwild, California.
All four band members will be hosting an FB Live event to commemorate the release at 7 p.m. on the same night. The band debuted their first single and video for Exothermic on March 28th via YouTube. The song must be listened to at a loud volume. It’s a no nonsense, groovy, dual-guitar riffing, performance video of Thrash fingers, hands and feet. Shot to feature the musicianship and moxie of Instigator, the bass breakdown at around the 2:30 mark gives the song a left turn to “release the heat” of high-flying solo trade-offs. The video was directed and edited by Kurt Schawacker.
DATE SHED – ARTIST TAKEOVER
For the next two weekends, we can watch several of our artists perform live as part of an event presented by Date Shed and the Desi Strong Foundation. These amazing performers will be taking take-over the Date Shed’s social media pages in an effort to unite the community through music and by giving back to the children in our community.
We spoke with two of the desert’s principal Hip-Hop representatives about their participation:
2Toxic: “Date Shed manager Kristen Reinhagen Ortiz reached out to me. I’m going to set up in my garage and outdoors to bust out some new music that’s about to be released. I have a pretty active team. Going to have a lot of features to present it as a showcase, we’ll be talking about my music because it’s better enjoyed when you get the story behind it. I may have artists like Lootenant, Sol Akiva, Frank Villa, Blasphamy and others. I’m just excited to interact with everybody and be able to explain a little more about the music in-depth. In this down time, I’ve been creating a lot, mixing and mastering, sitting down and finalizing projects. I’m really excited for the Blasphamy album release on 4/17/20 under my label 2Toxic Music.”
Luthergates: “Rawkwell and I will each be spinning a set, playing something that we hardly get to play. Rawkwell will be doing a Reggae vibes set with a bit of 90’s. I will be playing an Electro set with a bit of something for everyone. We’re both staying positive and sending good vibes to everyone out there. Be Safe!”
Go to the Date Shed’s Facebook page for more information and to view the live performances:
WEEKEND ONE
2Toxic – Thursday, April 2, 2020
Pescaterritory – Friday, April 3, 2020
Giselle Woo – Saturday, April 4, 2020
Jae Rawkwell and Luthergates – Sunday, April 5, 2020
WEEKEND TWO
Provoked – Thursday, April 9, 2020
Slipping Into Darkness – Friday, April 10, 2020
Mozaiq – Saturday, April 11, 2020
Bo Napoleon – Sunday, April 12, 2020
WAXY
Desert rockers Waxy have a new split-single release with Avon as well as a new video. DesertFest Vol. VI features the new single “It’s No Mistake” by Waxy and “Man of Medan” by Avon. The album is available on vinyl here: https://h42records-shop.de/
The video is for the song “Fine!,” a tune from the award-winning album Betting On Forgetting (2019). The “pick up the pace” song reminds us that some bands are still mindful of that Punk feel and breadth, clocking in at 1:35. Vocalist and guitarist Robbie Waldman wails in his upper register comfortably. The video, released on 3/16/20, was shot and directed by the irrepressible Rick Rodriguez. The video shows the band performing at a very recognizable desert site in Desert Hot Springs, California known as “Lost Heads”. See for yourself below:
Fine! (Official Video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lkyo2QkL-g&feature=youtu.be
waxy-music.com
FEVER DOG
Recently, Psychedelic desert rock band Fever Dog released the new singles “Solid Ground” and “Bruiser! Solid Ground” is classy and gritty. Danny Graham’s vocals are visionary. The drum sound distorts nicely and the keys boost the guitar sound forward magnetizing it all together to solidify the particles. “Bruiser!” is straight out of the 70’s. I can hear elements of T. Rex, Supertramp and The Darkness. Fever Dog has found that balance between the Desert Rock persuasion and enveloping well-crafted background vocals and keyboards.
You can find the new songs on Apple Music, Spotify and at their Bandcamp link below:
THROW THE GOAT
In true Throw The Goat fashion, their new “PPL Like U” video incorporates a message to the status quo that is politics. Dressed in superhero masks and capes, the band forge ahead to point out to those in power that, indeed, the power lies with the people; as guitarist and vocalist Brian ‘Puke’ Parnell insists, “I’m one of the good guys!” Enlisting fellow super heroes and desert music influencers Dan Dillinger, Johnny and Chelsea Sugarbritches, Nick Hales and Joshua A. Fimbres and Valerie Morales, a majority of the video was filmed atop Highway 74 and features the Coachella Valley as a backdrop. The concept of the video is a reminder that we should all look beyond ourselves to see the true tragedies that are taking place. The video is also accompanied by a cool three part “behind the scenes” documentary showing the prowess of videographer and Assistant Director Caleb Cruz-Whitford. Each member of the band also played a part in the production of the video.
The song itself, recorded at the Fireside Inn in Idyllwild, California, is a wonderful mix of Metal, Punk and Rock; just Heavy Music. Derek Wade Timmons (bass) and Troy Anthony Whitford (drums) kill it!
Throw The Goat – PPL Like U (Official Music Video)
Throw The Goat – Behind The Scenes – PPL Like U
You can reach Noe Gutierrez at:
Phone: (760) 485-0948
Email: desertmusic1@gmail.com
