By Anastasia Beaverhausen
The high and low desert music scenes are both pretty healthy, but almost feel mutually exclusive, managing to exist like parallel universes.
Both scenes are super-insular. High Desert musicians stick close to home, plying their trade at the Joshua Tree Saloon, The Palms, Frontier Café and, of course, Pappy & Harriet’s on a regular basis. Meanwhile, Lo-Desert denizens float from The Hood to the Tack Room, Big Rock Pub and Plan B.
Despite the fact that certain artists from each community share similar inspirations and styles, they rarely share the same stage. It’s not exactly a musical Mason-Dixon line, but it comes pretty close. Hopefully, that’s about to change with the pairing of Urban Desert Cabaret and Rick Shelley at Landers Brewing Company.
Urban Desert Cabaret is the brainchild of Joe “City” Garcia. A Los Angeles transplant, he made his bones in bands like the Crawlers, Joe City & The Night Crawlers and Dream Army, before relocating to Joshua Tree at the end of the 20th century. UDC has released two albums and toured throughout Europe.
In early 2017, Joe was preparing for a short North West/Northern California tour (to be followed by a lengthy European tour in June). He needed a live environment to hone his set. Phil, the owner of the Landers Brewing Company was happy to provide a venue.
Coming off the road a few months later, Joe realized it was more fun to play a weekly gig at the same place, rather than scramble for shows at different clubs and performance spaces. So, with the blessing of Phil, that July he set up a weekly residence at Landers Brewing Company which included pop-up art exhibits from noted artist (and Joe’s wife), Joanna Fodczuk.
It started small, with sparse attendance, but by the end of 2017, the weekly event had garnered a healthy following. Along the way, UBC has shared the stage with Hi-Desert luminaries like Teddy Quinn, Adobe Collective, Robert Garson, Rags & Bones and Lisa Mednick-Powell. Out of town guests have included L.A.’s Dick & Jane Family Orchestra and Chasing Rainbows from Ventura, the Base from Austria and Kirsty McGee from the U.K.
Much like Johnny Carson on the old “Tonight Show,” Joe has occasionally relinquished the reins of the residency. Back in November, Son Of the Velvet Rat acted as guest hosts for the month. In March, Pat Kearns held down the fort.
For his first show in June, Joe invited Rick Shelley to co-headline. Originally from Walla Walla, Washington, Rick has been making music in the Lo-Desert for nearly 30 years. First, as lead singer for RagTag, a Glam-Metal/Punk hybrid that included hometown pals James Danielson (guitar) and Eric Turner (drums) along with bassist Nick Oliveri, (pre-Kyuss and QOTSA infamy).
In the early ‘90s, Rick, James and Eric recruited Dean Oliveri on bass and reconvened as Woodshed. A Blues Rock four-piece, they recorded two studio albums and a live effort before going on hiatus in 2004. Rick took some time off for kids and family, after nearly 10 years, he began writing music again.
He returned as a solo artist in 2014. He quickly created a backlog of about 60 new songs. He has since released a six-song EP, 1909 Miles, in 2015 and a full-length album, Hope Wrapped In Razor Wire, in 2017. He recently played sets at Stagecoach and the Joshua Tree Music Festival.
Joe and Rick together, promise to be a magical evening of music. Hopefully, it will encourage more Hi-Desert/Lo Desert Pairings. Maybe Teddy Queen and Black Water Gospel will book a gig at the Tack Room. How about Adobe Collective and the Yip-Yops at The Hood? Joe and Rick have laid the groundwork, Time for a cross-cultural exchange.
(Urban Desert Cabaret and Rick Shelley Saturday, June 2 at Landers Brewing Company, 1388 Golden Slippers Lane, Landers, Ca.)
