Blasting Echo front man, Josh Heinz, is quite happy with his current band. Formed in December of 2008 with guitarist Jeff Fortson, the band has been through several line-up changes. Actually there have been a few different bass players that have come and gone including Fortson himself who originally was the bass player but decided to take a brief hiatus from the band awhile back. Mondo Flores, who is known as one of the best bass players in the desert came on board early on but as the drummer and has held that post since. About a year ago Linda Lemke came into the fold on keyboards. Recently Fortson returned to the band but as an additional guitar player.
“When Jeff was gone it was like there was always something missing,” shared Lemke. “Now that he’s back the sound is much better and things feel right again.” Fortson returns the respect to Lemke.
“Jeff was the one who heavily suggested that we bring Linda in as a fulltime band member,” stated Heinz. “And as a band we all agreed that it would give us a fuller sound.”
Lemke who is classically trained had never really played rock before. “They had to teach me,” she said smiling.
Heinz, who writes all of the lyrics says that Fortson has written over half of the music and that Flores then adds his touch. “Mondo makes everything better,” Heinz says laughing yet sincere. “And then Linda adds melody and depth.”
Enter new bass player Laramie Eve, who also plays bass in the band Jekkel, which she helped form back in the early 2000’s with Jim and Katie Cathcart.
“What it came down to was having someone who fits in with the band and really wants to be here,” said Flores. “And of course who’s also a really good bass player. And that’s Laramie.”
Laramie just played her first show with Blasting Echo last week to rave reviews from fans and her band members. “She probably played better than any of us individually played,” stated Heinz proudly. “Basically she worked really hard and learned 9 songs in just a few weeks while she was still rehearsing with Jekkel.”
Laramie says she’s excited about being in Blasting Echo as well. “I went to their first practice and I had so much fun playing their music and hanging out with them. It just feels really comfortable. There’s a really great vibe. It’s a lot of work juggling both bands but I’m having tons of fun.”
Lemke is happy to have another female in the band. “It’s nice having more estrogen in the band. And I think it’s damn sexy having a female bass player.”
You can’t help but notice from hanging out with this band that they have much respect for each other and seem like a family. So now that they have all the puzzle pieces together, what’s next for the band?
“Hopefully in August we’re going to record a live CD to put out,” shared Heinz. “We’ve written some new songs and want to write some more with everyone contributing. Right now we have about 25 songs that we play live. So we’ll just have to see which ones make it on the CD.”
Heinz says that this current line-up is the best ever. “We’re really looking forward to the bands future.”
And now that they have a solid line-up they can start playing more live shows again. If you’ve never seen them perform live- you are really missing out. Heinz could easily be considered the best front man of any local rock band. He always brings his high energy and passion for his music to every show. Check them out this Saturday when they perform at The Red Barn in Palm Desert.
Check them out on facebook/blastingecho
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