I like to think sometimes that it takes more than personnel for me to be interested in hearing a new band, but I’m willing to admit that occasionally that’s not true. What had me excited about San Juan Capistrano four-piece Death Valley Roadkill was its rhythm section, comprised of ex-Fu Manchu and Nebula bassist and drummer, Mark Abshire and Ruben Romano. Their pasts having provided a significant mark on what stoner rock is today, I figured Death Valley Roadkill would probably fit right in line with what they’d done before, and whoever else was involved, well, whatever.

Thus, on my first listen to the more than several tracks Death Valley Roadkill have posted on their MySpace — live demos from the sound of them — I was duly surprised to hear nothing but acoustics. No fuzz, no distortion, no giant riffs and snide vocals. Sweet notes punctuated by light drumming and the easy-moving voices of Marco Foster (also guitar) and Rich J. Weinrauch (also also guitar). Abshire and Romano? They’re there, but hardly in the way they’re known for.

It turns out Death Valley Roadkill did this session unplugged in preparation for an acoustic gig, and that in fact, the band does plug in and fuzz out on a normal day, there just isn’t any of that material online yet. That in mind, songs like “Darkness” and “Dirt Road” make a whole lot more sense, and I look forward to hearing the “heavy” versions. Acoustically, the tracks a wholesome spontaneity to them, and it will be interesting to see if that carries over to the final recorded versions.

For now, this session is up for a limited time on Death Valley Roadkill‘s MySpace, and it’s a cool way to get introduced and to really pay attention to the structure of the songs as only acoustic material allows you to do. Don’t expect too elaborate a production — it’s room mics all the way — but put them on and run through a few while you’re working and you might be surprised how they stay with you afterward. Abshire and Romano seem to be in good company with Foster and Weinrauch, and as a longtime fan of their work, I’m glad to have them on the radar for what’s coming next.

Tags: California, Death Valley Roadkill, San Juan Capistrano, Unsigned bands

This entry was posted on Monday, July 12th, 2010 at 1:50 pm and is filed under On the Radar. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.