Living in the Music
by Robin Linn / Desert Rhythms
House of Broken Promises is the love child of desert bad boy, Arthur Seay and his brother in music, partner in crime, drummer, Mike Cancino. The band has been through some changes in personnel….which is always trying in a group…..and this led them to join forces with the newest member, bassist and vocalist Joe Mora. Mora comes to them from HDR….a band out of LA that received a lot of love for their thick and heavy original rock. In that project, Mora served as guitarist. Now he’s traded his guitar in for the bass. Together this powerful trio creates well crafted, heavy hitting rock songs that shake the earth and waken the spirits. The lyrics can be cheeky…loaded with innuendo and double-entendre. Seay is the driving force who brings most of the ideas to the table……. the band then develops them and crafts them into heavy metal perfection. Now with Mora in on the writing process, the lyrics have taken on deeper content and the new material represents the strengthening bond between these world-class players. Their sound explores a full range of over driven, dynamically tempered, super heavy tones, all executed with ultra-tight musicianship. The live show is more like a show-and-a-half. They command respect and the audience’s full attention, and are as much fun to watch as they are to listen to. This is a band that has worked their asses off since they were kids, developing themselves first as individuals, and then as a band. Cancino and Seay have been playing together since high school, along with sometimes bassist, Eddie Pascencia. Discipline and commitment to their music have fueled their growth into super talented rock star material. I have been a fan of both Seay and Cancino’s since the mid-nineties when I discovered how innovative, creative and talented they were. I knew back then they were headed for great things….and I was right! Mastering an instrument is one thing…..writing great music…..well….it’s what makes House Of Broken Promises that band!
HOBP have played before tens of thousands of connected fans at music festivals and venues all over Europe….including Desert Fest in London and Germany, and Hellfest in France. Europe, known for being populated with more sophisticated audiences, has fallen in love with the sounds of desert rock. Bands like Queens of the Stone Age, Kyuss, Vista Chino, House of Broken Promises, Unida (Arthur and Mike’s side project with vocalist John Garcia of Kyuss fame) are always in demand there. Bands like the Truckfighters from Sweden were greatly influenced by the completely unique sounds created first by Kyuss, Unida, and HOBP. So much so…they describe themselves as a desert stoner rock band. In June of 2014 Seay, Cancino and Mora will be off, along with John Garcia and Unida, to perform a series of festivals and shows during the summer concert season that emerges each year in Europe. June 20th, 2014 they will be playing with both HOBP and UNIDA at Hellfest, a 3-day festival in France, alongside some of the top drawing bands in heavy metal and hard rock. An honor for any band…..and one HOBP has earned.
Before HOBP, there was Unida, which also features vocalist, John Garcia (Kyuss, Vista Chino). Unida experienced great success in building a large following in US and Europe, landing them a record deal with Man’s Ruin Records. When that label went defunct……they were signed to American Recordings…a deal that turned sour and is still in litigation today. Several bass players were on the Unida band roster including Slipknot bassist Paul Gray, one of Seay’s besties, and Scott Reeder, bassist for The Freeks, and Sun and Sail Club….two other bands that have me hook line and sinker. Reeder recently recorded a track on Jake E. Lee’s new debut record Red Dragon Cartel. Reeder has earned himself a place in rock and roll history books for his work with many artists at Rancho De La Luna recording studio in the high desert which has recently won him a Grammy nomination. The desert has been turning out world class original rock bands for well over two decades and with the success of the latest QOTSA record, Like Clockwork, our music scene here continues to gain steam and international recognition.
So the road to success has been rocky…and loaded with obstacles……yet at each juncture, even in the face of heartbreak…HOBP pick themselves up by the bootstraps, shake it off and step up and over to the next level of success. As musicians, songwriters, and as a band, they continue to grow into a force to be reckoned with. I have seen them 3 times this year and each time I am more blown away than the last. Whether or not they are playing for hometown fans at The Hood or playing before thousands at a giant music festival…..HOBP bring IT and leave you wanting more.
I was invited to stop in to the studio where HOBP makes all the magic happen.
RL: Have you and Mike known each other forever?
ARTHUR: Fore-v-e-r!!!!! Funny….We were just talking about that earlier today. We actually met in the fourth grade….middle school…..school band. Then Mike moved to ….Indio?
MIKE: Yeah….to Jefferson Middle School.
ARTHUR: ….and then he came back when we were freshman. We did band camp together and played all through high school in the school band.
RL: Did that beginning as a young person in school band help build a strong foundation for you both as players?
ARTHUR: Yeah, it was the catalyst for us. We would get to the school early in the morning, get on the bus, go to the gig, play the gig…it was fun! We would get back on the bus and party…and we would stop for dinner in these out of town places on the way home.
MIKE: Yeah…and we got jumped!
RL: You got jumped?
ARTHUR: Yeah….the whole band got jumped one time!
MIKE: We got jumped a bunch of times.
RL: By whom?
ARTHUR: Rival cities. We were Indio kids……and there used to be this rivalry that existed between neighboring cities like Banning. We were in a marching band competition and we stopped for lunch at McDonald’s…
MIKE: There were 3 buses full of high school kids, and we stopped in at Mickey D’s and got jumped in the parking lot !
ARTHUR: And, everybody was fighting…not just the kids. The parents, the teachers, the chaperones, the bus driver.
RL: This explains so much…..no wonder you guys got into heavy music. You have to be tough growing up in the desert…don’t you?
MIKE: Yeah, you do. But the discipline of it all….it teaches you a lot. It’s valuable.
ARTHUR: Same shit with me and Eddie Plascencia. We started out in high school band together. Then later in high school we put our first band together.
MIKE: They had their band and I had my band. And then their drummer went away to school and they said, “We need another drummer for a week”…..
ARTHUR: Yeah…our drummer was sucking anyway…and we said…we’ve got to get Mike!!!
MIKE: It was funny. So their drummer comes back to town and it’s time for rehearsal and I asked if they had told the drummer he was out and I was in….and nobody had told him. So, I got into my car and drove over to his house and I had to tell him.
RL: (to Arthur)….Were you just gonna wait until he showed up to rehearsal? Do you think it’s as hard to break up with a band member as it is a girlfriend?
ARTHUR: It’s rough in either case. So anyway, that drummer was out….and Mike was in. Everybody wanted to play with Mike. He was already a great drummer and we wanted him with us.
After High School, I went away for a summer session at MI in Hollywood. When I got back..we started jamming.
RL: How did you benefit from the summer at MI?
ARTHUR: For me…it wasn’t so much the academic education….it was the whole vibe. The hang with all of those musicians…all of us learning and exploring…..music all day and most of the night. We would challenge each other and ourselves trying to accomplish new lines and techniques. We were submerged in music….jamming and playing all the time. It was both educational and highly motivating.
Then, I came back and I joined Mike’s band. Then he joined my band. All the classic tales. It went back and forth like that for awhile.
RL: The last time I wrote about you, your band was 13. I remember you played a show for me at The Saloon along with John Garcia and Slo Burn….and you guys killed it.
ARTHUR: Oh yeah….I still have the paper with the article you wrote.
MIKE: That’s when we still had Billy Cordell on bass.
RL: After that project…did you move onto Unida? What does Unida mean?
ARTHUR: (In his playful sarcastic tone of voice) And….we came together….united as one…..this beautiful music poured from our hearts and souls. (laughing….) It’s Spanish for united.
RL: That band really took off didn’t it? I read about some of the troubles you experienced with the label you were signed to…..American Recordings….right?
ARTHUR: Yeah….it sucked. They strung us along…and eventually burned us. We are still fighting it out in court today. We just couldn’t let it go. We had to make a stand…because we don’t want others going through what we have gone through. But, you just have to move on. It’s a fucked up business….and it takes it’s toll. That’s why more people don’t make it for the long haul….You have to be thick skinned. All in all ….it’s a lot of work. I think people think you just pick up your instrument and play….and then when they realize how much work it is…..it’s not as easy as it looks.
RL: What about the music with Unida…..the band is still very loved.
ARTHUR: Ya know…we worked hard. We wrote music. We jammed our asses off. We recorded it and put it out there. One thing about Europe….they are connoisseurs of music….they just get it. And we would go over there on our own. No tour support or anything. The shows did well enough, big shows, cool shows, festivals…they would sell out. People loved it! And they have stayed into it…so that we are still asked back. Desert rock, stoner rock….it goes back awhile now. But the cool thing is…new people are getting into it all the time. It’s still growing. I just came back from Europe…..and you can tell….it’s still picking up speed. New festivals are popping up….all over the place. Stoner rock, desert rock….our rock. It’s cool as hell.
RL: What are some of the bigger shows you have played in Europe?
ARTHUR: There are a lot of venues there. Desert Fest in Berlin, Germany….Germany is a great market for us. Hell Fest in France. Desert Fest in London. And more crop up all the time. It’s crazy over there. The whole desert rock thing is huge there. It’s a lot like what happened in Seattle. They do Desert Fests because they are in love with the music that is coming out of here. It’s really cool!
RL: I remember when I arrived here to the desert in the eighties. I couldn’t find original live music for years. I wasn’t cool or hip enough to know about what was going on with generators out in the middle of nowhere. It wasn’t until I met all of you in the nineties that I became aware of the truly inspired music that was being created here. And the first time I heard you and Mike and John Garcia….Let’s just say…after being literally starved from original rock…..you were like finding water in the desert.
ARTHUR: That’s because there wasn’t anything to do but go out into the desert and jam. We had guitars, basses, drums and the desert…..We’d go out there…into the middle of the desert and look at the moon!
MIKE: (…..in his most baritone speaking voice) Yeah…..get out there and look at that moon boy…get in knife fights….play rock and roll…(we all explode into laughter)
RL: What do you credit for keeping you together all these years?
ARTHUR: We actually have fun together. We love what we do.
RL: The proof is in the music. It IS fun. And….you are equally fun to watch!
ARTHUR: It’s awesome. It’s GOOD to work hard….get shit done, accomplish things. It’s like….right on…..we’re playing our asses off. If you are lucky…we might play you something tonight.
RL: (I light up and beg)……PLEASE!
ARTHUR: We are still working the new stuff out. But….for you. Seriously….it’s good to write new music, play new music. We’ve got Joe on board now…..and it’s really blending well and everyone is finding their comfort zone. It’s a whole new thing when you bring in a new person….and it takes time to find how to fit together.
MIKE: Yeah….personnel changes. It’s a process….playing with somebody new, creating something entirely different. They have to mold to the music. Even though you play similar styles, similar genres of music, it’s still a whole other thing with a new band.
RL: I have heard you with Joe and he is a great fit! I love his vocal approach and he is a super solid bass player.
MIKE: Yeah….props to Joe Moro, our new bass player and singer. He is a great guitar player and we converted him to bass. That’s not an easy transition for anyone…..and he has stepped up to the plate and we are really happy with him. He is helping us take it to the next level.
Arthur: Joe did play bass before…with the Blackstones and in The Addicts. Without Joe….it wouldn’t be what it is right now. So when Eddie left it was tough….but, from death….comes life!
RL: I didn’t realize how new all of this was. When I saw you the past two shows…..you were so solid and the set was SO tight….you blew me away!
ARTHUR: It’s gotta be better live….ten times better than the record. It’s gotta be dudes going ape shit playing bad ass rock and roll! It’s a beautiful thing! I love playing rock and roll!
RL: You are on this year’s Hell Fest lineup in France with both HOBP and Unida. So, Unida is still in fact…. a band?
ARTHUR: Unida IS still in fact a band. Yes. We took a long break and everybody has been doing there thing. John has Vista Chino. We have HOBP. Joe has other projects too. So it’s all about scheduling. We’ve all been in the biz….we all know what’s up. We can work on our own separate projects and not step on anyone else’s toes. It’s like when you are done with that, and we are done with this….and then we will do that. So yeah, we are doing 2 weeks in Europe in June, HellFest, Grass Pop, which is another big ass festival. Then our own shows (HOBP). So we are gonna do a week of our own shows before that…2 weeks with Unida…then 2 to 3 weeks with HOBP. All the shows we can get in while we are over there.
RL: Do you have management or help booking the shows and making the travel arrangements?
ARTHUR: We had our fill of big time management type people. We know what the hell we are doing. One day if we can find someone we trust….someone that cares….this is from the heart for us. We are lifers…..we are always going to do it. But, managing the business side of things….it’s not that hard….we know what needs to be done….and we just do it.
RL: Are you stoked you are getting the hell out of the desert in summer…or what?
ARTHUR: Hell yes we are! It’s festival season over there…that’s all it is…There is like a festival a day in Europe in the summer. It’s crazy. It’s cool…it’s fun.
RL: You also do some crew work for Slipknot and Godsmack….right?
ARTHUR: Yeah…..Paul is like my second bestie. (He leads me to a wall with tour posters and Slipknot merch…..beautifully displayed. A collection he has obviously accumulated in his travels with the band). He plays shows with us on occasion when schedules permit. He was in the Unida lineup for awhile. And, Godsmack calls me to work when they have big shows.
RL: I think we chatted while you were doing a Godsmack show in Alabama. What are the audiences like there compared to other states and countries?
ARTHUR: That’s what’s trippy man….even in the different states…the people are different…..the energy is different. I love it. It’s great to see all kinds of people in their environments.
MIKE: Yeah….the East Coast is cool. They are really receptive to House of Broken Promises. We’ve played in Rhode Island, Boston and New York, New Jersey….and it was great. We really love it there.
ARTHUR: East Coast has always been good to us. Even Unida back in the day. We did like CBGB’s…twice. That was rad…and it’s not even there anymore. It was cool…but it was weird too. It’s like this tiny little place. Someone dropped the ball on that one. That shouldn’t have been allowed to happen. CBGB’s was a historic place. It should have been preserved or turned into a rock and roll museum or something. It’s a landmark. Have you seen the documentary….A Band Called Death? You should check it out. You will LOVE it. I think they developed some of the early forms of punk rock. Early seventies stuff….three black brothers from Detroit…and they are bad ass. They had a chance to record seven songs…back in the early 70’s. They shopped the record around and nobody wanted it. Then Clive Davis gave them twenty-grand for a deal….but, he wanted them to change the name…..three black dudes called Death in the seventies….just wasn’t marketable. But, they wouldn’t change their name. So one of the guys had all of the recordings…and he was dying of cancer. He gave them to the other guys and said, “Hold on to these recordings….the world’s gonna come looking for this someday”. And they held onto them. They had originally cut only 500 copies….and 35-years later….one of their kids was at a vinyl party and someone played his dad’s record. Then they reformed the group…..Metallica just had them on the O’ Ryan Fest…they’re really good. It’s a cool story. It’s not really punk…..it’s bad ass rock with a punk edge. But, a great story about a great band.
RL: I love that story. It’s amazing what can happen in the world of rock and roll.
This is the part where I bat my lashes and ask politely if they will play me a couple of the new songs they are working on for the upcoming tour. And, it worked. What I heard made me melt. Honestly…it was one of those life experiences you keep with you forever. Already a fan….for a long time of every project that Mike and Arthur have involved themselves in…..and getting a private show of their brand new material. The two new numbers were amazing and a bit more serious in subject matter. For me…it was more than just great new HOBP. The new songs represented growth, a lot of hard work….and cement the new trio with the first material they have co-created from the ground up. The drums, bass, and guitar are all in your face….but it’s a beautifully balanced sound. No one drowns anyone else out. The guitar tones are crisp, deep, dark and heavy…and Arthur’s technique and style is masterful. Arthur credits knuckles and tubes for his distinct and desirable tone…but, the man knows the sound he is after…and he achieves it beautifully. Arthur is articulate and imaginative and the songwriting is absolutely fresh and relevant. This isn’t a band that rests on their laurels. They work hard, they love what they do…and it shows. They are in the top of their game and a desert treasure. I wish them a productive year, a successful tour and I predict…this IS the year for House of Broken Promises.
You can keep connected to HOBP by visiting them on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/HOBPMUSIC
