By Tracy Dietlin
Every now and then a band comes around that takes you back to another era, another time, another genre, that’s been missing, while at the same time sounds new and fresh from what’s currently being played on the radio. That is the case with the band Whitewater.
Comprised of young men in their 20’s, Jason Zembo (vocals, guitar), Ryan Priest (guitar, vocals), Daniel “D-Nasty” Duardo (drums), Emanuel Torres (bass) are doing exactly that right here in the desert. This is a band that could easily breakout of the desert and bring that 90’s grunge genre back with a fresh twist.
CVW: Please tell us how old you were when you started in AMP and how you got started there?
Zembo: “I was 12 years old when I started in AMP, and was a part of it from 2016-2018. Influenced by my dad and his taste in rock music, I started playing guitar when I was about 9 years old. Music has been my life ever since, but around that time I didn’t know anyone my age to play music with. My parents found out about AMP while I was playing in a youth baseball league through another parent, and they told me I should audition, and I did.”
CVW: What has AMP meant to you?
Zembo: “Truthfully, it has been close to 10 years since I was a part of AMP, so a lot of what AMP helped me with happened in my musical infancy. Through AMP, I learned how to play in front of others and it helped me discover myself as a performer. I also met musicians who I still talk to/work with today. As a kid, it kind of broke down the barrier of being a bedroom musician to a gigging musician, and the experiences and musical connections I got from it helped me become the musician I am today.”
CVW: Please tell us about your current involvement with AMP?
Zembo: “As mentioned previously, it’s been a long time since I was seriously involved in AMP, but in the years following my time there, I have done some shows to help raise money for the program. For any young musicians looking for others to play with, or for any young musicians who simply want to go out and play music, I would suggest it.”
CVW: How did Whitewater get together?
Zembo: “For a few years, I was a guitar player in a previous band (Pescaterritory), and after that band dispersed, I went a year and half or so without a band. In this time, I channeled almost all of my artistic energy into becoming a better singer and a songwriter. Before I got into guitar, I enjoyed singing, but I never invested as much time in it as I did with guitar. I grew up singing in choirs and wrote songs and sang in my own time, but my guitar playing was always the focus. After growing as a vocalist and writer, I was ready to be in another band as a singer/guitar player. In the middle of 2023, Daniel contacted me saying he needed a vocalist to fill in for a show and I was down. The gig went well and our chemistry was great, so after the show we talked about forming a new band. Emanuel was the bass player for that show, and he was also in on this new band idea. Now we needed another guitar player and that’s when I thought of Ryan. Prior to all of this, I had been best friends with Ryan since 7th grade, we grew up playing baseball together and went to school together. We were both in choir and we both were into rock music, so after school we would just play music for fun and come up with vocal harmonies for our own amusement. Through years of playing and singing together, we got into doing small acoustic cover shows. When the time came to look for another guitarist/singer, Ryan came to mind instantly, but I didn’t know if he would want to be a part of a rock band as he mostly enjoyed playing acoustic/folk. I told him we wanted to play some 70s-90s cover songs for a couple shows and he was down. After a few rehearsals, his love for electric guitar was cemented and from there we began to work on original music. We haven’t looked back ever since.”
CVW: What genre is your music?
Torres: “We consider ourselves Alternative Rock. We know genre is important to a lot of people, but we try not to label ourselves too much, we like to keep ourselves open to exploring music of all types and we try and reflect that in our songs.”
CVW: Who are your influences?
Zembo: “Between the 4 of us, our influences are all over the place, but I would say the bands that influence our sound the most are Soundgarden, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Alice in Chains, and Radiohead. My personal influences include the bands listed above, Led Zeppelin, Jeff Buckley, Blind Melon, Pearl Jam, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, and a whole bunch of others. As a vocalist and songwriter, Chris Cornell really helped me discover more about vocal technique and helped me discover myself as a singer, he’s my greatest musical influence. As a guitar player, Jimmy Page and John Frusciante are the two who I cite for influencing myself the most. Page for his incredible riff writing and Frusciante for his musical feel and tone.”
Priest: “Kurt Cobain is my biggest influence. His way of writing an interesting melody over a simple song structure is truly genius and inspirational to my song writing and guitar playing. I also love John Frusciante and Josh Homme as guitar players. Simple, catchy, and rockin.”
CVW: I know you’re working on new music and releasing your first CD. Tell us about that. How many songs? Theme of the project? Possible release date?
(D-Nasty) Duardo: “We’ve been writing music for over a year now together, and we have around 20 original songs. We are yet to release any official music, although we have some demos recorded as well as snippets of our songs on social media. We really want our first release to be something special. We wanted to give ourselves time to create the best possible music for our fans before we released anything, and we feel our songwriting has gotten better and better. It’s getting to the point now where we are feeling ready to enter a studio and record. We don’t know just yet how many songs, which songs, and when it will be released, as we are still figuring all the details out. We are hoping to go into the studio in the coming months to record a few songs for an EP, from there we will plan what happens next.”
CVW: What is the chemistry of the band like when you’re in the studio recording, or rehearsing, or writing together?
Priest: “We listen to each other. We all pitch in ideas on what we can add or take away from songs. It’s very free, we all feel as if we’re expressing ourselves through our instruments which I love. And most importantly, we have fun writing together. It’s a brotherhood.”
CVW: Let’s talk about your connections to the guitar player from Blind Melon and your other connections that are working to get your music in front of the right people in the industry?
Zembo: “We are close friends with Devlin Thorn, who happens to be the son of Christopher Thorn, guitarist/producer from Blind Melon, Afghan Whigs, AWOLNATION, and other projects. Devlin is not only a great person and a friend of ours, but his support and insight has meant the world to us. We have gone to their studio (Fireside Sound) multiple times to hang out/record, and it was actually through their advice that we decided to spend some time really honing in on our sound to make our first release special. Devlin and his dad Chris have been great influences on us and their musical mentorship has changed our lives, we can’t thank them enough for their help. Also, their studio Fireside Sound is awesome, with vintage gear and a perfect vibe for creating music, it is where we are planning on recording. Go check it out!”
CVW: What are your goals for your future in music?
Priest: “We want to inspire people to make music, and to be able to make a living doing it would mean everything to us.”
CVW: You also perform solo doing private gigs. Tell us a little about that and how it differs from playing with the band?
Zembo: “Aside from the band, I also work as a singer/guitarist playing private shows, corporate events, and at restaurants/resorts. It is very different from the band, as I’m not expressing myself through my original music as much, but it gives me the opportunity to hone in on my skills everyday and I’m grateful that I get to make money doing what I love.”
CVW: Tell us how you were chosen by John Garcia personally to perform at the show coming up on July 19 at Pappy & Harriet’s?
Zembo: “We were a part of a local battle of the bands at The River in Rancho Mirage last fall, and John Garcia just happened to be the judge one of the nights we played. We were told 30 minutes or so before the show began that he would be judging, and when we heard that, it lit us up. Not only is John desert rock royalty, but his music has had a big influence on us, with our band name “Whitewater” being influenced by a Kyuss song of the same name. After the show, we spent some time talking to him and got to know him. It was a great and surreal experience to talk with him and to hear praise by one of our biggest influences. A few months passed, we were in the middle of a rehearsal, and we got the notification from John asking us to open for him at Pappy and Harriet’s. The excitement was through the roof. Of course, we said yes, and now a few months later, the show is this weekend. We can’t wait to play this show and we are honored to share the stage with Empty Seat and John Garcia.”
CVW: What other famous band would you like to have Whitewater open for?
(D-Nasty) Duardo: “It would be a dream come true to play with any of the bands we talked about earlier as our influences. (Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Red Hot Chili Peppers, etc.)”
CVW: Where can people listen to your music? Website and Instagram info?
Zembo: “We are most active on Instagram (@whitewater.official), and you can contact us through our website: https://whitewatertheband.com/”
You can also check out an interview and performance with Jason Zembo on this week’s episode of the CV Weekly Podcast. Go to YouTube or go to www.coachellavalleyweekly.com and click on the Podcast banner to watch.
