By Noe Gutierrez
Each week Coachella Valley Weekly will provide you with an update on several of our favorite artists and what they are up to.
This week we first want to provide an all-embracing thank you to ALL of the Coachella Valley and High Desert artists who are persevering through the pandemic and have maintained their skillful drive despite the inability to perform in front of their fans. Your new music releases and live online performances have been nothing short of inspirational to all of us.
ALEX HARRINGTON featuring DOUGIE VANSANT
The new collaboration between Dougie VanSant and the Coachella Valley’s dignitary DJ Alex Harrington is embodied in the song “Wait a Minute” where poolside meets nighttime. “Wait a Minute” features a 90’s sound with a massive synthesizer arrangement, sizable bass, and smooth vocals courtesy of VanSant.
The music is what we’re used to from the award-winning Harrington, one of Southern California’s best DJs and music producers. His sets feature elements of House, Disco, and R&B which he brings together for a uniquely soulful listening experience. He has taken his sound to yearly festivals such as Splash House and Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival.
VanSant is of course the vocalist/guitarist of The Flusters who also have a new single coming June 5, 2020, called “We Were Young”. VanSant shared his excitement about his first stab at Electronic Dance Music (EDM), “Alex hit me up on FB, saying he’d recently produced a track he wanted me to hop on. It feels very cool to have charted at #61 on Traxsource (iTunes for DJs) and be featured on their “House Music” main page!”
VanSant and Harrington met several years ago and in the long run were likely to cross paths given the pushing of their respective envelopes. Harrington shared, “I had a demo for “Wait a Minute” I sent over to him. He got back to me right away and we got to work.” VanSant wasted no time in tackling the track. “Of course I was super down for this. I got busy right away working on the lyrics and within a week I had tracked the vocals at my studio and sent them back to Alex, he chopped and screwed them, and there you have it; “Wait a Minute” our first collaboration was created!”, VanSant added.
The track will be available everywhere Wednesday, May 13, 2020, and it appears that the partnership will continue as VanSant noted, “It was def a lot of fun and I can’t wait to jump into our next track. I’d never wrote anything like that before and it was a lot of fun trying out different vocal techniques and styles.” Harrington clearly enjoyed their joint effort, “The best part of working with Dougie has been the fact that we are both on the same level, both artistically and as people. Making music together feels like hanging out with a good friend.”
Harrington is a musician’s DJ having skills on the piano and bass which he incorporates into his recordings. He shared, “I’ve been writing A LOT of new music. Having this time has given me a chance to hone in on the sound I’ve been looking for. I’m really excited about the productions and mixes I have lined up for this year.” Look out for more Harrington + VanSant songs in the future.
In addition to their new single, Harrington and VanSant will be performing live along with several other big names this weekend at Sun Kissed: A Streaming Music Festival, Volume I a unique streaming music festival featuring some of the desert’s top acts from a single live feed courtesy of Coachella Valley and Craige Campbell.
It’s “8 Bands…1 Click”, where each act will perform a condensed set of songs on Saturday, May 9, 2020 at 7 p.m. hosted by Doug & Meg Music
A virtual donation jar will be made available at facebook.com/TheCoachellaValley. All proceeds will go to Academy of Musical Performance (AMP), a contemporary music education program whose goal is to enrich the lives of young musicians living in the Coachella Valley by fostering productivity and social responsibility through creativity, communication and collaboration in the development and enhancement of musical performance and concert production skills through participation in a “rock band” style educational setting.
List of Performers (times to be announced):
Doug & Meg Music – Multi-genre, well-known favorites
Jesika Von Rabbit – Sci-Fi, Psychedelic, Electro
Alex Harrington – House, Nu Disco
Dare House / Angelique – R&B Jazz, Funk
Grady James – Country Rock
The Flusters – Dreamsurf, Retro-Wave
Desert Rhythm Project – Soul, Funk, Reggae
Brightener (Will Sturgeon) – Bright, Bedroom Pop
For more info.
MICHAEL KEETH
Michael Keeth has this way of causing you to be sensible to deep emotion evoked only by his heartfelt lyrics. Much like worship music, Keeth’s contemporary musical resolve is point-blank and has significance behind it. I got choked up as I listened and read the lyrics simultaneously (Keeth graciously shared his lyrics down below). Do yourself a favor and listen to the song while reading the lyrics, it truly provides you a look through the lens of one of our best singer-songwriters today.
‘Arizona’ was written and performed by Michael Keeth and recorded, produced, mixed and mastered by Arthur Seay at Bittersand Studio in Indio, California. The song has a great sound and also features Keeth’s looping wizardry.
Coachella Valley Weekly spoke briefly with Keeth prior to the single’s release.
CVW: “Arizona” hits such an emotional and sensitive chord with regard to its theme. What are the thoughts behind the lyrics?
Keeth: “The general theme of the song has a lot to do with the trauma that children experience when their parents have a toxic relationship and break up messily. The kids are often moved to new places, forced to choose sides, and lose their sense of security and stability, etc. Adults can get so wrapped up in their own battles, that they don’t realize the long term effects that will burden their kids.”
CVW: What were the contrasts you identified working with Arthur as a solo artist as opposed to your role in Death In Pretty Wrapping?
Keeth: “When we work on full band music, I usually add lyrics and melodies on top of what Arty and Mike Cancino (drums) come up with. But Arthur was great in supporting my vision for the songs. It’s hard not to overanalyze when you’re recording yourself. Arthur was a great ally in helping me leave well enough alone during vocal tracking. He has great gear, a great ear, and extensive engineering knowledge.”
ARIZONA (lyrics)
The sun is rising on Arizona
Heaven mocks the desert land below
I wish there was more time for me to warn you
But the signs were clear along the path you chose
He came in through the side door and cut the line
Said I’m sorry my son, but the life you know is gonna change tonight
I wish I would’ve fought him; made him change his mind
But loyalty blurs the lines of wrong and right
Chorus:
We set a fire and we burned it all
And things will never be what they were before
You can say, “I am not that kind of person”
But you are the one who always wanted more
The sun is rising on Arizona
And I can hear her crying from down the hall
But I just lay there still
What do you say to someone who’s just lost it all?
Chorus:
We set a fire and we burned it all
And things will never be what they were before
You can say, “I am not that kind of person”
But you are the one who always wanted more
We set a fire and we burned it all
And things will never be what they were before
You can say, “I am sick and tired of learning”
But you are the one who always wanted more
You are the one who led us into war
The sun is setting on California
Heaven mocks the desert land below
Lyrics by Michael Keeth
Find the song on Apple Music and all other music platforms.
For more info.
Arizona (Official Video)
