2019 Coachella Valley Music Awards Winner for ‘Best Band’
Performing LIVE at MOONLIT MOJAVE NIGHT SWIM Friday, 7/26/19 6-9 p.m. at The Saguaro Palm Springs Also featuring: CAKES & The Assholes, Will from brightener (DJ Set), COURTE, & SABIO
By Noe Gutierrez
With the sun not setting until approximately 8 p.m., you can benefit from the beams of solar radiance as well as the luminescence of the quarter moon on Friday, July 26th from 6 to 9 p.m. at The Saguaro Palm Springs at 1800 E. Palm Canyon Dr. Palm Springs, CA 92264. Join The Flusters, CAKES & The Assholes, Will from Brightener (DJ Set), COURTE and SABIO as they perform and bring you Moonlit Mojave, an event series that embodies the spirit of the desert taking place under the glowing moonlight. The show is all ages and you can reserve your daybed/cabana at thesaguaro.com. You can also guarantee entry by registering on their Eventbrite page (link below article)
Coachella Valley Weekly hopped on The Flusters’ rock ‘n’ roll rocket ship to link up with desert moonwalkers Dougie VanSant (vocalist/guitarist), Danny White (guitar/vocals), Mario Estrada (bass/vocals) and Daniel Perry (drums) to talk about their ‘Best Band’ CVMA and some significant Flusters’ sightings., according to VanSant, the band were reportedly busy printing “I’m Going!” t-shirts for the ‘Storm Area 51, They Can’t Stop All of Us’ event on September 20th. COACHELLA VALLEY! WE ARE NOT ALONE! The Flusters are still here!
CVW: Congratulations on winning the 2019 ‘Best Band’ CVMA. In my opinion, it’s equivalent to the ‘Best Picture’ category at the Oscars, the most coveted award of the year. You were up against Giselle Woo and The Night Owls, Caxton, Mega Sun, Desert Rhythm Project, Brightener, House of Broken Promises, The After Lashes, Ocho Ojos and Slipping Into Darkness. What are your feelings about the public’s choice?
VanSant: “This was an extremely competitive category. Not only do all these bands have a unique and killer sound, they’re also taking active steps in their careers. These people work their asses off, and it shows. It’s super cool to see everyone enter the music industry in their own unique and creative way. Also, these bands are releasing very well-produced records. We’ve been so impressed with everything these bands have been doing. Winning ‘Best Band’ definitely came as a huge and extremely humbling shock. Being chosen by our community and peers for this award reminds us that we’re doing something right.”
CVW: You are performing next at Moonlit Mojave with CAKES & The Assholes, Will from BRIGHTENER, COURTE & SABIO This is a unique series that you have been a part of developing. What would you like to share about it?
Perry: “We have been working with The Saguaro Palm Springs for a few years now and we love it. They have such a strong appreciation for local music, art and culture. Along with Music Programmer and Resident DJ Dominic Saldaña aka SABIO, we are very dedicated to cultivating a monthly line-up of local artists that show visitors what the Coachella Valley Music Scene is all about.”
CVW: You’re also scheduled to perform at the Joshua Tree Music Festival on October 10th. What are your thoughts about that show?
VanSant: “Oh man, we are super stoked about the JTMF. All we’ve ever heard about the event is how awesome it is, how it’s one big family, and one big party! A HUGE thank you to Barnett English for inviting us to play. We are really looking forward to sharing the stage with some familiar faces and making some new friends. As you know, our on-stage wardrobe is pretty set but we’re going to have to put together some crazy off-stage costumes to run around in.”
CVW: Since Dougie made that eventful declaration that he would no longer work a ‘traditional’ job, how would you describe The Flusters trajectory and is everything going as planned?
White: “Good or bad, nothing ever seems to go as planned or at least doesn’t match how we pictured it. As we mentioned earlier, the road to ‘success’ seems to be a unique journey for each artist. There are some things we never saw coming, some things we did, and some things that just never came. The truth is, success is a really subjective idea. Sometimes we feel successful and sometimes we don’t. It’s really easy to judge yourself when putting your creativity out into the world hoping someone might like it. If we’ve learned anything, it’s that breaking into ‘the industry’ is not a straight line. There’s really no measurable recipe. We just keep writing, keep playing, keep sharing our art, and trust that someday, we’ll get what’s coming to us. Either way, we will have a body of work that likely will outlive us all.”
CVW: You re-released Dreamsurf earlier this year and it has continued to receive a lot of airplay and recognition. Looking back at the writing and recording process, what were your favorite parts?
Estrada: “We were very surprised and excited to make the North American College and Community Radio Top 200 Chart for 5 weeks. It was a real trip seeing our name next to bands like LCD Soundsystem, Cage The Elephant, Hozier, etc. The writing process is always really exciting; new ideas, fresh jams, etc. The recording process forces you to really unpack those ideas and split every hair which can be rewarding, but also stressful. We have to say; the most exciting part of recording was to finish! That being said, there were definitely some good times when tracking in North Hollywood and Glendale in 2016 and 2017. Dreamsurf was a long road. It is a collection of all the first songs we wrote and recorded. It was like 3 years in the making and it felt really good to finish that album. Those 10 songs started our career, they introduced The Flusters to the world.”
CVW: Is there any new Flusters music on the horizon?
Perry: “There is definitely new music on the horizon. We plan to release a new single and music video in early 2020 as well a music video for our song ‘When Will Then Be Now?’ this fall.”
CVW: Dreamsurf was influenced by the phenomenon of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFO). With the ‘Storm Area 51, They Can’t Stop All of Us’ event approaching, will we see a special re-re-release of Dreamsurf on vinyl shaped as a UFO?
VanSant: “It’s funny you should ask; we were just discussing our plans to release Dreamsurf on vinyl and cassette tape. (Coming soon to a merch table near you). And to all you peeps storming Area 51: They’ve already moved all the cool shit to Area 52. Do you really think they’d keep otherworldly material at a location whose cover has been blown?”
CVW: You have been bandmembers for several years now. How have your relationships with each other changed?
White: “When we started, Dougie already had a bunch of songs rattling around in his head which got the ball rolling. But over the years, our ever-evolving chemistry has caused us to become much more of a writing team where everyone contributes creatively. Put simply, we’re not dating anymore, we’re straight-up married. Now we’re stuck with each other ’til creative death do us part…”
CVW: Any controversies you’d like to address or Flusters’ myths you’d like to debunk?
Estrada: “We wanted to address the misunderstanding that occurred during my acceptance speech at this year’s CV Music Awards: I believe ‘Michael Keaton was the best Batman.’ Apparently, several attendees mistook me saying ‘Michael Keeth’ which is understandable, the names are extremely similar in pronunciation. However, I do admit, I’ve never seen Batman portrayed by Michael Keeth and could be mistaken.”
