@ Joshua Tree Trading Post, Saturday, September 12 @ 8pm
By Lisa Morgan
Producer, singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Steve “Dandy” Brown, best known for his work with the bands Hermano, Orquesta del Desierto, John Garcia (Kyuss, Unida, Slo Burn), along with his solo releases, will be performing live at the Joshua Tree Trading Post this Saturday. This will be a rare, full band performance by this desert rock staple, and one that no self-respecting lover of the genre should miss.
Brown’s notable career as a musician and songwriter began with Greg Dulli (Afghan Whigs) in their seminal 1980’s Midwestern rock band, The Black Republicans. Brown followed that up by producing and writing the majority of the critically acclaimed music for the first Hermano album, Only a Suggestion. After moving to the California desert, he formed and produced Orquesta del Desierto and commenced touring and producing albums with both groups. Dandy Brown has recently completed his latest collection of solo material, Damned to the Heels of Success, described as a “bridge between both Hermano and Orquesta del Deseirto.”
CVW: What can the audience expect at your show?
Brown: It will be an entire band performance. We are lucky enough this time around to have Damian Lautiero sitting in on bass, and, of course, the fabulous Mark Engel and Jaime Correa as well. I look forward to every chance I get to play music with those dudes. They all fucking rock! Most of the material we will be performing will come from my solo release, but I always throw in a few songs from both Hermano and Orquesta del Desierto as well.
CVW: Last we spoke you were working on some remixes and re-releases of your former projects. How is that progressing?
Brown: Both of the Orquesta del Desierto albums have now been remixed and mastered, and I couldn’t be happier with the results. The first album was remixed by Jason Groves at Sneak Attack Studio in Lexington, Kentucky, and, wow, he has really breathed new life into the collection and brought out all of the nuances we had hoped to achieve when we first recorded them. As for the second album, Dos, it was remixed by Harper Hug at Thunder Underground Studio in Palm Springs, and what he has been able to do with reimagining those songs is absolutely amazing. I am thrilled to put these albums back out for folks to hear. At this point I am in the process of negotiating the best home for the collections. As of right now, there are a handful of boutique labels in Spain and Italy who want to release the albums on vinyl only, so if all falls into place as it should, I would imagine that the Orquesta collections should be available sometime in the spring or early summer of next year. I am not exactly sure what kind of US release will occur, but I would guess that it will not be much later than when they come out in Europe.
CVW: Last I checked you were in Colorado recording a new Hermano album?
Brown: After close to eight years since the last Hermano album, I cannot express strongly enough just how excited I am about what we recorded while in Denver during the last week of August. Hermano has always been about finding that open window of opportunity that fits everyone’s schedule, so it has always worked out that we can only find those moments every few years. Family, other bands, work, various contractual obligations, etc. have always factored into when we are able to put together a collection or get out and tour. This eight year wait has been an exceptionally long one for us. We were able to organize a week in Denver to record them, and honestly, it was an absolute explosion of material that we were able to track in just a week. The recordings that we just completed are enormous, as is usual with the band. We left that session knowing that we had accomplished something pretty damn fantastic. It is going to be at least a year before all of the pieces are in place, and the album hits the shelves.
For me, ever since that moment that my mom sat me down at our old Wurlitzer and began to teach me how to play those old gospel and blues songs, well, the desire to create music has coursed through my blood. Definitely, over the duration of my life and all the experiences I have had writing and performing, there have been extreme highs and many disappointments, but when it comes right down to brass tacks I could not imagine not being in some way involved with the process of creating something that speaks to and pronounces the things that come from the very core of my soul. Perhaps that is what is really important when trying to keep a perspective on exactly why I have such a strong compulsion to express myself through music.
Dandy Brown’s performance will start at 8pm at Joshua Tree Trading Post, located at 61716 Twenty-nine Palms Highway, Joshua Tree, CA 92252. (310) 880-5864
