Brant Bjork beaming in a nine-year-old seven-minute instrumental jam? Well, around here that’s what we call a good day. The Dude of Dudes will issue Jacoozzi on April 5 through Heavy Psych Sounds, and while his work over the course of this decade — let’s say, across the post-Vista Chino solo-ish records: 2014’s Black Power Flower (review here), 2016’s Tao of the Devil (review here) and 2018’s Mankind Woman (review here) — has seen him increasingly become an ambassador to earth from the California desert and an arbiter of unmatched cool, nine years ago, as he headed toward the release of Gods and Goddesses (review here) coming off the release of the earlier-recorded Punk Rock Guilt in 2008 and 2007’s Somera Sól (discussed here) before that, it seems in hindsight there were a couple different competing impulses happening in his sound. Of course, his signature approach is mellow heavy, smooth, funky, and melodic, at once punk and soul and based around that inimitable desert groove that’s audible as well in the track “Guerrilla Funk” below, but at the time, Bjork was coming off working as bandleader for Brant Bjork and the Bros. and as his style got clearer and fuller in production across the 2007 and eventual 2010 outings, it seems it wasn’t always easy getting there.

The narrative — blessings and peace upon it — has it that Bjork got tired one day of ramming his head into the studio wall, rolled tape and just jammed his way to what became Jacoozzi. Actual history is always a little more complex than that, but what a great image that is. Classic. Guy’s making a record, not feeling it, and just let’s loose and produces something raw and honest, and as you can hear in “Guerrilla Funk,” it could hardly be more his own if he was actually singing on it. I don’t know how well “Guerrilla Funk” ultimately represents Jacoozzi, since it’s all I’ve heard from the long-rumored, long-awaited offering, but it represents the context of its making beautifully, and seriously, if all 10 tracks included are seven-minute instrumental jams and it turns out to be well over an hour of Brant Bjork just grooving out, it’ll probably be my most-listened-to album this year. Again, I don’t know that that’s what it is, I’m just exploring the possibility.

Either way, you can hear in “Guerrilla Funk” the roots of how Jacoozzi was put together. It’s got a strong backbeat as the foundation and then is built up from there as Bjork jams out guitar, bass and percussion on top of that. Simple enough idea, but Bjork‘s ability to play as a one-man band is highlighted by the completeness of sound here. In the second half of the song, as he moves to a wash on the ride cymbal and the percussion gets more complex, he follows the change on guitar and bass and everything seems to surge forward for a bit before it recedes back into the core bounce of the track. It’s hypnotic to some degree, but most of all it’s funked out, and it gives a better sense of Bjork‘s root songwriting process than just about anything since 2006’s mostly-acoustic Tres Dias (reissue review here), showcasing a genuine exploration of ideas as they happen and the satisfying, engaging results that can yield. It’s worth noting again that, after putting Jacoozzi to tape and resting it on the shelf to be mentioned casually in interviews for years afterward, Brant Bjork went on over the course of this decade to make himself desert rock’s most indispensable purveyor. So, you know, clearly getting it out of his system before moving on was the right call.

Maybe it’s fan-piece, but whatever, I’m a fan, so I’ll take it. I’ll hope to have more once the rest of Jacoozzi shows up hopefully sometime before April, but in the meantime, get your finest boogie footwear on and have at it with “Guerrilla Funk” on the player below, followed by more info off the PR wire.

Enjoy:

https://soundcloud.com/user-224411652/brant-bjork-guerrilla-funk/s-ZSQ5P

Joshua Tree, California, 2010: Brant Bjork has just started to record another solo record. About 4 days into the sessions, the desert rock king decided to abandon the 8 songs he was working on, and told his long time friend and engineer, Tony Mason, to start rolling tape and Brant proceeded to play drums in his natural improv style. After multiple drum track performances were recorded, Brant started layering guitars, bass and percussion in the same improvisational spirit. The former Fu-Manchu and Kyuss-legend essentially decided to “jam” by himself and for the rest of his scheduled sessions.

When the recording session had come to an end, Brant put the 8 unfinished tracks on the shelf as well as his “solo jam session” tracks. “I was much more content with the “jam” tracks as it was a creative release that was needed at that time.“ he says. “I decided to call the collective tracks, Jacoozzi. At the time, it reminded me of the feeling of my first solo recording sessions for my first solo release, Jalamanta….only more “free”.“

BRANT BJORK New album “Jacoozzi”
Out April 5th on Heavy Psych Sounds Records
– Vinyl and CD preorder available: https://www.heavypsychsounds.com/shop.htm#HPS097 –

Brant Bjork – Keep Your Cool reissue preorder: https://www.heavypsychsounds.com/shop.htm#HPS098

The ‘Jacoozzi’ tracklist reads as follows:
1. Can’t Out Run The Sun
2. Guerrilla Funk
3. Mexico City Blues
4. Five Hundred Thousand Dollars
5. Black & White Wonderland
6. Oui
7. Mixed Nuts
8. Lost In Race
9. Polarized
10. Do You Love Your World?

Brant Bjork on Thee Facebooks

Brant Bjork on Instagram

Brant Bjork on Twitter

Brant Bjork website

Heavy Psych Sounds on Thee Facebooks

Heavy Psych Sounds website

Heavy Psych Sounds on Bandcamp

So I went earlier this month and got a tattoo. I’m 37 years old and it’s my first one. It’s a design by Sean ‘Skillit’ McEleny with a purple octopus wrapped around an obelisk that’s been pulled out of the ground from its base, and the octopus is holding up a sign that says ‘Thanks for Reading.’

It was done by Kaitlin Butler at EvolvInk in Morristown, New Jersey — right near the train station on the M&E line — and it’s my way of literally marking the 10 years of my life that have gone into this site. I wanted Skillit to do the design because he so excellently captured the gleeful vibe of the All-Dayer poster in 2016 and that was the feeling I wanted. Something happy. He nailed it, as did Butler in bringing it to life on the inside of my right forearm.

I’ve named the octopus Petunia, by the way, like from Pete and Pete. I make it dance for The Pecan and he loves it.

Over the last couple months, I’ve thought long and hard about what I want to say in this post. Probably too long, and definitely too hard. It always comes back to thank you. That is primary. That’s everything. Thank you. If you want, you can stop reading now, because as long as you’ve seen that, I’m satisfied. Thank you. 10 years of this site would not have happened without your support. Thank you.

The first post here went up Jan. 31, 2009. Very clearly I had no idea what I was getting into, but over the last decade, The Obelisk has come to consume so much more of my identity than I ever could’ve known it would. I didn’t do the meme that was the 10-year challenge, but I’ve done a lot of reflecting on it and while there are some things I’d change — the site’s had the same theme for 10 years! 10 years! One theme! Come on! — I stand by everything here. The early snark, the fact that I spent all of 2013 being pissed off at the move to digital promos and all of 2014 being the wordiest bastard on the planet, all of it. It’s all me. The experiments that worked, the experiments that didn’t work. All the stuff that I did that reminded me just how much the only thing I’ve ever really wanted to do is write. It’s all here, and I know sometimes on the internet it’s hard to see words on a screen and imagine a person writing them, but to me, these words are mine. I own them. And I feel that way about everything here. For the last 10 years. And just for today, maybe just for this post, I’m going to let myself be proud of that.

I don’t expect that to last.

Thank you for reading.

Thank you to The Patient Mrs. for her seemingly unending support. I don’t think she’s always understood, but she’s certainly done more than her fair share of indulging, and this never would’ve happened without her. Thank you to Slevin for his ongoing technical expertise and get-your-ass-in-gear-ness. Changes are coming to the forum, though there’s something of a debate about what that looks like, but if Slevin didn’t give a crap, nothing would get done. Thanks to the incredible and strong women I’m lucky enough to call my family — Pamela, Suze, Cate, Sam, Sage — as well as to the gentlemen who make me aspire to be a better person — Andy, Walker, Emmett, Tyler, and especially the Pecan.

Thanks to the several good friends I’m fortunate enough to have. Thanks to Walter Hoeijmakers, who 10 years later continues to inspire with his passion and creativity. Thanks to Liz Ciavarella-Brenner for helping bring my own passion for music into focus. Thank you to Steve Murphy for the ongoing reality checks. Thanks to Scott Harrington, Scott Hamilton, Todd Severin, Niels Bartholdy, Stefan Koglek, and all the labels and PR people and companies who have helped bring new music here on a constant stream I couldn’t possibly hope to keep up with. Thanks to Gimme Radio for having me, to Dropout Merch and Made in Brooklyn for handling that end of things, to Maryland Doom Fest for welcoming me and to all the other fests I’ve been to over the years. And again, thanks to you for reading.

For as long as I’ve loved anything, I’ve loved music. I was an awkward fat kid and 30 years later I’m an awkward fat adult, but whatever. I can still put on some record and get out of my own head for half an hour like I could when I was seven years old. I don’t memorize lyrics as easily as I once did, and of course my relationship to listening has changed, but that experience continues to be central to who I am, and this site has become a key part of that. Put your head down, keep working. We also just passed 9,000 likes on Thee Facebooks this morning, and I put up the 11,000th post last week, which was for acting as a presenter for the upcoming 1000mods Australian tour, which is the kind of thing I feel stupid lucky to be involved in.

I could go on and on and on. Really. I’ve gone back and forth for months in my head about how I wanted to approach this. Because this is it. This is my celebration — well, this and the tattoo. But after this, I’m not gonna mention it again. There’s no show, no self-aggrandizing celebratory compilation, nothing like that. I love writing. So there’s writing. I’m gonna finish this post and do another, and tomorrow I’m gonna close out the week like nothing happened. I still need to pick a record for that. Ah jeez.

But the point is that as I’ve approached the actual making of this post, I’ve been filled with ideas for discussion. The notion of self as product in a social media sphere. The idea of becoming your work identity. The pieces of ourselves we show others and what we keep private. This site as the defining work of my life. It’s all come into my head over the last however long — I’d say at least since last October and probably well before that — but now that I’m here, I don’t want to talk about any of it. I just want to say thank you.

So thank you. Thanks for reading.

Like Petunia says.

It’s been 10 years, and I still don’t know what’ll happen tomorrow or the next day, but we’re here, so thank you. I am grateful for and humbled every day by your support.

Sincerely,
JJ Koczan

Brooklyn’s Kings Destroy are getting ready once again to fuck with the formula via their fourth long-player, Fantasma Nera, which branches into new levels of progressive songwriting and melody while turning their confrontational aspect inward as much as outward in theme and execution. Like everything they’ve done, it leaves the past in its dust. Set to release March 8 on Svart Records — which is a label of taste broad and reliable enough to suit them — its arrival will be preceded by a run up the Eastern Seaboard in the company of Gozu and Forming the Void, and it’s my sincere pleasure to be among the presenters of the tour.

They’ll be at Maryland Doom Fest 2019 as well this June — along with many, many others — but even for those planning to see them there, this is an early chance to get introduced to the songs and, presumably, pick up a copy of the album before it’s officially out. Preorders are great and available now, but there’s nothing quite like a merch table either.

The shows kick off Feb. 27 in Kingston, New York, with hometown heroes Geezer and head into Canada for a stop on Montreal before swinging through Rochester, Cleveland and Pittsburgh to finish up. I’ll be at the Brooklyn gig that has Clamfight as the much-welcome fourth for the bill, and there’s no doubt in my mind it’s going to be a party. A sweaty, sweaty party.

Poster is by Bill Kole, and you can stream the Fantasma Nera title-track below:

Fantasma Nera pre-orders are available now via Svartrecords.com/artist/kings-destroy with physical bundles including colored vinyl and other merchandise. Digital pre-orders include an instant download of the title track.

The band has announced an East Coast Tour prior to the week of release as well as a recently announced performance at the Maryland Doom Fest on June 20.

Kings Destroy tour dates:
February 27 Kingston, NY The Anchor w/ Geezer
February 28 Portland, ME Geno’s
March 1 Boston, MA Middle East w/ Test Meat
March 2 Brooklyn, NY Saint Vitus w/ Clamfight
March 3 Montreal QC TurboHaus
March 4 Rochester, NY Bug Jar
March 5 Cleveland, OH Now That’s Class
March 6 Pittsburgh, PA Howlers w/ Horehound

Kings Destroy is Aaron Bumpus (bass), Stephen Murphy (vocals), Carl Porcaro (guitar), Rob Sefcik (drums) and Chris Skowronski (guitar).

Kings Destroy, “Fantasma Nera”

Kings Destroy on Thee Facebooks

Kings Destroy on Instagram

Kings Destroy website

Kings Destroy on Bandcamp

Svart Records website

Svart Records on Thee Facebooks

Svart Records on Twitter

Since guitarist Finn Ryan made official his departure from New Jersey stalwarts The Atomic Bitchwax — who in 2019 mark 20 years since the release of their 1999 self-titled debut (discussed here) — it’s been kind of assumed that the position would be filled by Garrett Sweeny, but hey, I’m a stickler for making things official, and the band has done just that. Sweeny joins founding bassist/vocalist Chris Kosnik and drummer Bob Pantella, and is now the third member of the band to also play in Monster Magnet, where he’s held down lead guitar for the better part of a decade.

This lineup of The Atomic Bitchwax toured in Europe last year — there’s a full-set video from Desertfest London 2018 at the bottom of this post — and though Kosnik, Pantella and Sweeny all now have another band together, it will be interesting to see how things shake out in the Bitchwax proper. They’ll do a run of dates in April and May with Black Label Society and Conan that will mark their first US touring with Sweeny on guitar, and I’d expect more touring to follow as they continue to hammer out their new dynamic.

Quick welcome announcement and tour dates follow:

Hell yeah!!!Friends and fans please join us in welcoming Garrett Sweeny of Monster Magnet taking over lead guitar duties for Bitchwax this year!!

Great guy, awesome player! But you knew that already…. Welcome aboard G!!!!

The Atomic Bitchwax with Black Label Society and Conan:
April 24 — Denver, Colo. @ The Oriental Theater
April 25 — Denver, Colo. @ The Oriental Theater
April 27 — Dallas, Texas @ Canton Hall
April 28 — Dallas, Texas @ Canton Hall
April 30 — Chicago, Ill. @ Concord Music Hall
May 01 — Chicago, Ill. @ Concord Music Hall
May 04 — Jacksonville, Fla. @ Welcome To Rockville
May 06 — New York, N.Y. @ The Bowery Ballroom
May 07 — New York, N.Y. @ The Bowery Ballroom
May 11 — Rockingham, N.C. @ Epicenter
May 14 — Toronto, Ontario @ Opera House
May 15 — Toronto, Ontario @ Opera House
May 17 — Columbus, Ohio @ Sonic Temple
May 18 — Clarksville, Tenn. @ O’Connors
May 22 — Los Angeles, Calif. @ El Rey Theatre
May 23 — Los Angeles, Calif. @ El Rey Theatre

http://www.theatomicbitchwax.com/
https://www.facebook.com/The-Atomic-Bitchwax-86002001659/
http://teepeerecords.com/
https://www.facebook.com/teepeerecords/

The Atomic Bitchwax, Live at the Black Heart, Desertfest London 2018

[Click play above to stream Hey Zeus’ debut album, X, in its entirety. It’s out this week on Argonauta Records.]

Hey Zeus have been kicking around Boston’s heavy rock underground for last six years to some degree or other, following in a tradition of straightforward, catchy, well-composed heavy rock that’s no less a cultural institution for the city than local-sports worship, yelling shit at pedestrians from moving vehicles and drinking. Signed early last year to Argonauta Records, their debut full-length, X, follows a 2014 split with White Dynomite (review here), and other tracks posted as singles such as “Caveman” (premiered here) and “Richard the Elder” (posted here) in 2016. A penchant for covering Deep Purple — legit — that manifests on X as a duly head-spinning take on “Bloodsucker” also goes back to the band’s earlier days playing live, so it seems safe enough to argue that X is the realization of multiple years of putting the material together and refining it, and as the resulting nine-song/29-minute offering arrives nearly six years to the day from the band’s first show, one can hear those efforts in the tightness of composition throughout.

Songs like “Richard the Elder,” opener “These Eyes,” “Save Your” (as opposed to “saviour”) and careening speedsters like “I Don’t Want It,” “X Marks the Rocks” and closer “Queens” realize a hooky, engaging energy that vocalist Bice Nathan gleefully puts over the top, though in the company of guitarist Pete Knipfing, bassist Ken Cmar and drummer Todd Bowman, he’s hardly the only one catching that charge. And as much as a comparison to erstwhile Beantown kingpins Roadsaw feels inevitable, perhaps even more relevant is the connection Knipfing and Bowman share from their prior outfit Lamont, whose dedicated sans-frills urgency seems as well to inform some of the writing in X. It should be to the surprise of no one that Hey Zeus can get the job done — the job, by the way, is kicking ass — given the time they’ve spent honing their approach, but that hardly makes the record a less impressive debut. Quite the opposite.

And though one might look at X and find it short at 29 minutes, it’s not so much that there’s anything lacking in terms of what the band wants to convey, but just that they’ve packed it all into that time. That’s not just a question of speed. Even “Gilded,” or “Caveman,” which is the longest inclusion at 3:53, varies its tempo in order to find the right niche of groove that suits the song. They’re not forcing that feeling of electricity to what they do — it’s just there. No coincidence that the Deep Purple song they take on was from In Rock, which was arguably that band’s most lethal of outings, but there’s more to X than just rushing through a collection of songs. Nathan brings a subtle sense of arrangement to the vocals and finds melodies between the distorted lines of Knipfing‘s riffs. Cmar‘s rumbling bass proves essential early on to the drive of “I Don’t Want It,” and is unrelenting, and though Nathan adds percussion later in a break within “Save Your,” Bowman‘s drumming is intermittently furious enough to cover that ground anyway, shifting fluidly from the swinging finish of “Richard the Elder” to the classic riff rock strut of “Caveman” and the starts and stops that permeate “Queens.”

So what do we have? Rock album. Heavy. Rock and roll. Sharp songs. Crisp performances. Clear, full production value. Boot-meet-butt energy. Cool. What separates Hey Zeus from multitudes working from essentially the same elements, however, is the level of their craft and the way they use it throughout X. While I don’t think it’s anyone involved’s first record, it’s still the first record from the band, and their dynamic is not to be understated as a pivotal factor in their approach. The interplay between Knipfing and Cmar on guitar and bass during the former’s solos alone stands as testament to the work they’ve done in terms of developing a conversation between players, and with Bowman as the grounding force, they’re able to smoothly shift tempos and moods at a measure’s notice, making their songs less predictable even as they’re en route to an immediately familiar chorus. Throw in a healthy dose of attitude from Nathan and the chops to back it up, and X not only carries forward the legacy of Boston’s heavy rock history, but seeks to find its own place and build upon it.

Or maybe they’re just looking to down some beers and have a good time, blow off steam from hating their jobs and whatever else. That’s no less valid a take. What’s important are the results they get across this collection of songs, and one of the great strengths of X is the momentum Hey Zeus amass as they wind their way through the progression of tracks. Even the Deep Purple cover, which though lacking organ is otherwise pretty loyal to the spirit of the original, feeds into the thrust of the material surrounding, picking up from the breather ending of “Caveman” and leading the way into “Queens” at the finish. It’s part of an overarching push that begins with “These Eyes” and continues through everything that follows; the classic “set the tone” spirit of the opener indicative of the proceedings on the whole, and though it’s easy enough to tag the whole thing as straight-ahead, all-go, etc., Knipfing does find room to slide some Southern edge into his guitar on “Save Your,” and the gang shouts behind Nathan on “X Marks the Rocks” is no less an important sonic detail.

What those convey, once again, is the work that’s gone into this material. While not staid at all — shit, it barely stands still long enough to be heard — X has a foundation it’s building from. As much as they might try to convince you otherwise, Hey Zeus didn’t just throw these songs together and — whoops! — come out with an air-tight collection of tracks that just happen to throw a punch in the gut as they run past. But at the same time, they do successfully balance that level of songmaking with the vitality that’s so central to making it all function. That might be the record’s great accomplishment — it feels true to a live experience without losing hold of itself as a studio outing. And it may have taken Hey Zeus more than half a decade to get to this point, but it’s hard to take X as a whole and not consider it worth the effort on their part.

Hey Zeus on Bandcamp

Hey Zeus on Thee Facebooks

Argonauta Records website

Argonauta Records on Thee Facebooks

Argonauta Records on Twitter

Argonauta Records on Instagram

This is the first audio to come from The Pilgrim‘s debut album, Walking into the Forest, and when one finds out that the figure behind the project — who might indeed be the pilgrim in question — is Gabriele Fiori, known as the head of Heavy Psych Sounds and frontman of Black Rainbows and Killer Boogie, that will do little to prepare you for what’s coming. Sure, there’s still a bit of psychedelic edge — okay, more than a bit — to The Pilgrim‘s work, but as Fiori launches this new project, he indeed begins a new exploration in style and form. Space folk, acid psych, classic psychedelic serenity — all of these feed into The Pilgrim‘s work on Walking into the Forest but there’s a foundation in rock too, and it could hardly be more appropriate that “Peace of Mind” is the track to be unveiled with the album announcement, because it sums up a lot of the point of view on display throughout.

Fiori, whose presence in Black Rainbows and Killer Boogie bleeds through those bands’ recordings in larger-than-life form, creating an increasingly grand cosmic wash in the former and a classic heavy shuffle in the latter, rawer, but still turned on and tuned in, is very much front and center throughout Walking into the Forest. And fair enough so, since ostensibly it’s a solo-project. But with effects on his vocals and layers of keys and the drums of Black Rainbows bandmate Filippo Ragazzoni worked in intermittently, there’s a wide-open sensibility to the creative sphere in which he’s working. He’s honest in terms of his influences — he’s not coming out of the gate pretending he’s Hank Williams or something — but it’s new ground for him to cover, and he does well in making it his own as he makes his way through the album.

I’ll have a proper review up — I also wrote the bio, so might post that — at some point between now and April 26, which is the set release date, but you can take a listen to “Peace of Mind” on the player below and get yourself introduced.

Info follows from the PR wire, as well as a quote from Fiori himself.

Enjoy:

Gabriele Fiori on The Pilgrim:

“This is a project I really care about, it has been in my pocket for so long but without any available time for it. Finally we made it! And I am so happy, proud and relieved to have accomplished it. To me, it’s an authentic work, it came out really spontaneously from the inside and it’s a challenge cause we never played so low and calm!”

PEACE OF MIND is the first single of The Pilgrim debut album Walking Into The Forest. The record will be released on April 26th via Heavy Psych Sounds. Cover art by Maarten Donders.

Preorder available now: https://www.heavypsychsounds.com/shop.htm?#HPS092

AVAILABLE IN:

20 test press vinyl
250 marbled yellow background – red vinyl
250 orange background splatter in black green blue vinyl
black vinyl

digipak (6 panels)

digital

The Pilgrim is the latest solo project of Gabriele Fiori, frontman of Rome-based outfits Black Rainbows and Killer Boogie.

With “Walking into the Forest”, Fiori evokes a sound that is both classic and fresh, melodically rich and creatively constructed. It is a new outlet for Fiori that demands spiritual as well as auditory engagement, and an all-things-permissible sonic context.

The Pilgrim on Thee Facebooks

Heavy Psych Sounds on Thee Facebooks

Heavy Psych Sounds website

Heavy Psych Sounds on Bandcamp

Since he has a new solo album currently being mastered — the title will reportedly by From Skulls Born Beyond — it’s tempting to think of Sergio Ch.‘s — né Chotsourian — new video for “La Heroina” perhaps as a way of saying goodbye to 2016’s Aurora (review here), but the truth is that even after that record came out, he was still putting together clips for 2015’s 1974 (review here), so it’s not exactly like he’s following an album cycle-style promotional model. More like he’s doing whatever the hell he wants, which is probably how it should be for the former Los Natas frontman who’s also at the helm of South American Sludge Records and who fronts Soldati and the somewhat-MIA Ararat. His whims have a pretty good track record, as far as that kind of thing goes.

And while From Skulls Born Beyond promises further refinement of his drone-laced folk approach, “La Heroina” serves as an example of how well that worked across Aurora as well. It’s at least the fourth video that the Buenos Aires-based Chotsourian has issued for the six-song offering, and with direction from Milagros Arrom, it’s a returning partnership that once again serves to highlight the track’s experimentalist and, in this case, particularly trance-inducing edge. Centered around echoing strums of acoustic guitar, there’s nonetheless a psychedelic feel gleaned from the effects on the vocals and the intermittent bursts of harmonica, and the naturalist swirl evokes acid folk atmospherics without any lysergic posturing. It’s not the most experimentalist piece on Aurora — that would be “Aurora II,” still awaiting its video last I checked — but it finds a balance between traditional songcraft and an out-there anti-structure that suits it well, throwing kind of a loop in the second half when all of a sudden it just kind of starts over. Pay attention and it’ll still catch you off guard.

Soldati were slated to have an album in progress as well, and they may indeed have one in the works or done, but it’s good news that a new Sergio Ch. offering will be out before 2019’s done as well, as his solo material has proven to be an exploration all its own, distinct from his work in full bands despite inherent ties in songwriting and performance.

Enjoy “La Heroina” below:

Sergio Ch., “La Heroina” official video premiere

VIDEO OFICIAL DEL DISCO DE SERGIO CH. – “AURORA”
PRODUCIDO POR SERGIO CH.
VIDEO REALIZADO POR MILAGROS ARROM

PIRAMIDE RECORDS
SOUTH AMERICAN SLUDGE RECORDS

Sergio Ch., Aurora (2016)

South American Sludge Records on Thee Facebooks

South American Sludge website

South American Sludge Records on Bandcamp

Pirámide Records on Bandcamp

Pirámide Records on Thee Facebooks

John Gist, who is the gentleman behind the promotional company Vegas Rock Revolution and the Planet Desert Rock Weekend festival getting ready to hold its second edition this May, has passion to spare. Passion enough to spread around and have plenty leftover. There’s a little bit of that guy-who-runs-a-fest urgency about him as well — as one would hope for such an event to be successful — but he’s someone who knows his rock and wants everyone else to know it too. The primary driver is passion.

Planet Desert Rock Weekend 2 ups its predecessor this past November in terms of ambition. With a third headliner still to be announced, Gist will bring John Garcia back for a headlining spot and see the other go to Radio Moscow, who will play the first night at Count’s Vamp’d. In addition to this, he’s already got four — one, two, three, four — European bands on the bill in the form of Mr. Bison, Kaiser, Monsternaut and Green Desert Water, and to my knowledge none have played the US before. That’s a significant risk from a booking standpoint — those are good bands, but recall it took Truckfighters half a decade of laying groundwork for their first US tour — but there may indeed be more import acts added as well, since one way or the other, the lineup isn’t done.

Passion rarely is.

Info and links:

The time is near to start announcing Vegas Rock Revolution’s Planet Desert Rock Weekend 2 for May 16-19….

Desert legend John Garcia and 17 bands from all over the country …..very tightly selected lineups to showcase top bands from the long storied history of rock of heavy rock melded with hot younger acts. Oh yeah and cannabis is legal in Vegas !

The Lineup for Planet Desert Rock Weekend v2 so far is:
John Garcia and the Band of Gold — Friday
Radio Moscow — Thurs at Count’s Vamp’d
Nebula
Black Water Rising
Ape Machine Thurs at Count’s Vamp’d
The Watchers – Friday
Red Stone Souls
Sundrifter
RIFFLORD
Shotgun Sawyer
Jason Walker and the Majestic 12

European Showcase Bands:
MR.BISON
Kaiser
Monsternaut
Green Desert Water

Presale Tickets for just $20 for first 100 fans!
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/planet-desert-rock-weekend-v2-radio-moscow-tickets-55384782375

Only 300 tickets will be sold to this intimate show in one of the most premier rock clubs in the country. Count’s Vamp’d is owned by Danny “The Count” Koker from Counting Cars on the History Channel. All rock all the time and very good food also. Unique cool environment!

https://www.facebook.com/events/2193967267598051/
https://www.facebook.com/events/545651042582860/
https://www.facebook.com/VRRProductions/
https://www.facebook.com/vegasrockrevolution/

John Garcia and the Band of Gold, Live at Planet Desert Rock Weekend, Nov. 2018