Friday, Sept. 26th @ The Hood Bar and Pizza, Palm Desert
By Lisa Morgan
If you’re looking to have a nice easy listening experience, this is not your show. If you are hoping to rock out to standard issue heavy metal, pop-punk or rock and roll, you’ll need to find another venue. But if you are passionate about heavy music that thrives on authenticity with musicianship that will spin your ears, peel your face off, and challenge your mind, then there is nowhere else you could possibly want to be. Only at the Hood Bar and Pizza, will you come face to face with the forefathers (and mother) of Desert Rock, who 20 years later, are still creating new music and still striving for excellence on a level most fear to imagine. Dali’s Llama and their hand-picked, crew of road tested shredders will push your comfort zone and blow your mind at their “End of Summer Ritual”.
Dali’s Llama:
Dali’s Llama has been producing some of the desert’s heaviest, grittiest collection of the most nakedly honest and raw rock and roll since before the early incarnation of generator parties. Chronically overlooked by locals, and worshiped by music lovers in Germany, Norway and the heartier parts of Europe, Dali’s Llama founders and co-creators, Erica and Zach Huskey, are still passionately at it after more than 2 decades of creative tenacity. With integrity and determination, they have been blazing the DIY trail on principle, long before the changing, over-saturated music industry made it a necessity.
Erica: When we started out there was no internet phone directory. We were writing down addresses from the back of magazines.
Zach: There weren’t a lot of outlets to get your music out there. There were only the major labels and few independent labels at the time. We were one of the only bands down here that had a CD out. Everything was on 2” tape just like the 70’s. It was expensive. We limited time spent on an album to 3-4 days in the studio because it was out of our pocket. Now, because we’ve been at it so long, we are a more familiar name in the market. A lot of our stuff is sold overseas. The changes have made things a lot easier when someone gets a hold of us and says, ‘We’re from Norway; how much for the album?’
Erica: Now I have people calling me asking ME how to do it!
Zach: There’s people that have been on labels all their life who are doing it themselves now. They call and ask, ‘How’d you do the printing? Where’s the mastering done? I won’t mention any names, but these are some well-known people. I always tell them, ‘Don’t ask me, I just write the music’ and hand the phone to Erica. I’m a great delegator (he grins). We’ve produced 10 albums in 20 years, all CDs. We made our first 12” vinyl, ’20 Years Underground’. You might call it our non-greatest ever hits.
Friday night, Dali’s Llama will be showcasing some new, unrecorded songs along with picks from their overwhelming arsenal. “I’m really sick of this ‘Stoner Rock’ thing. I don’t know how Desert Rock turned into Stoner Rock. It was never meant to be that way,”shared Zach. “I really concentrated on the songwriting aspect with the new songs: texture, original topics, themes and structure. I don’t hear a lot of ‘original’ music out there. Nobody’s mixing the heavy desert rock with a ‘My Bloody Valentine’ keyboard on top. Nobody’s mixing The Cure with Black Sabbath, and that’s the goal with the new music.” This will be the first Dali’s Llama show in the valley in quite some time. This is their first show with re-introducing Joe Dillon, a key factor in Zach reaching his new songwriting goal. “This will be pure keys (no samples) working with the guitar. The bass and drums over the top like with the band ‘Killing Joke.’ It won’t be ‘garage band’ either. It’s more sophisticated in a way but not too serious. It’s new for us and I don’t hear anybody else doing it.” When Zach Huskey says new, he means NEW. For Zach the word “Retro” is a negative word meaning, “Dude, that’s already been done before.” You can bet the bank that new music from Dali’s Llama will be a new listening experience. “I feel like I’m getting old,” Zach joked. “I approach our new music like it’s going to be the last Dali’s Llama album ever and I want it to be the best.”
Herb Lienau:
The guitarist Zach Huskey dubs as the “most underrated, amazing guitar player around” has spent the last several months reinventing himself…COMPLETELY. Well known playing in the mid 80’s, early punk rock band Dead Issue, Herb Lienau, has long been the inspiration for many musicians and their successful projects over the years. His band, Half Astro, formed in 2006 and opened for legendary punk acts such as Adolescents, The Dickies, Agent Orange, and TSOL. . Their song “Cellular” is featured on Tony Hawk’s “RIDE” video game. A powerful rock vocalist and front man who will bear no semblance whatsoever to this or any other project he has ever done before. It would be accurate to say that Lienau will very literally, not be himself.
Leinau will address his audience, sans guitar, from behind a keyboard and behind a mask as Herbert. From the embodiment of what would appear to be an old timey, saloon/parlor piano man, dark and ominous tunes, with orchestrated samples will produce both original and cover songs that are sure to exploit the far reaches of this incredible artist’s imagination along with the listener’s comfort zone. You will not want to miss this first ever debut of Herbert.
Atala:
Described by Zach Huskey as “the godheads of high desert heavy”, the band has a more humble self-appraisal. They describe themselves as “a band trying to deliver a message of peace through positivity, creating a unique heavy sound meant to help reach higher states of mind.” The band consists of John Chavarria on bass, Jeff Tedtaotao on drums and Kyle Stratton on guitar and vocals. Fresh from recording their album with the world renowned Scott Reeder, Atala is making their low desert debut at the End of Summer Ritual, and I am confident, attendees will find room at the top of their collection for this band. Aside from being hand-picked from one of the forefathers of Desert Rock, their video, “Broken Glass”, exudes all the necessary elements of passionate, heavy rock with a front man who can seriously sing. The genre is flooded with screamers – vocalists who shout every lyric and every line to push the dark and the angry element. Stratton has a very Godsmack/Slipknot-esque vocalist/screamer ability to blend both styles with instinctive taste and dynamics that make an emotional connection to well written songs.
Blasting Echo:
Headlining the event, is the award winning original rock band, Blasting Echo. This band is not only favored by many for its music and passionate performances, but for the caliber of its members as well. Josh Heinz, vocalist and lead guitarist, along with his talented band of blasters are the symbol of the musicians who have no choice but to produce the music that pumps his/her blood no matter what the cost. Many have fallen from the calling, prey to the strain of the circus juggle between creating, playing with the band and the ever dreadful day job. It is what separates the hobbyist from the fully invested. After all these years, Josh Heinz has proved himself as a card carrying member of local rock royalty, having paid his dues in full and then some.
The band ingredients: Linda Heinz – Josh’s graceful, intelligent but by no means any less of a badass rocker wife on keyboard and backing vocals, Armando Flores – an absolute rhythm monster behind the drums and backing vocals, and Laramie Eve – by far the best female bassist you will ever see, hear and love. Blasting Echo, all of whom have children in their lives affected by autism, are the generators that have brought the Annual Concert for Autism to success as it approaches its 7th year.
The End of Summer Ritual starts at 8:30 at The Hood Bar and Pizza in Palm Desert this Friday, September 26th. This is a free show.
Follow these links to learn more about the artists and their music:
www.dalisllamarecords.com
www.facebook.com/pages/Herbert/1504113493139056
www.facebook.com/pages/Atala/588684977868736
www.facebook.com/blastingecho
