Video Interview: Mario Lalli on Yawning Man’s Live at Giant Rock and More
Last month, desert rock progenitors Yawning Man issued the audio version of Live at Giant Rock through Heavy Psych Sounds, and on Nov. 20, they’ll follow-up with the video from which that soundtrack was taken. Filmed in the Coachella Valley in front of — you guessed it — a very big rock, the project helmed by Ryan Jones (see also: Stoned & Dusted) and the band is clearly intended to highlight the ties between the desert scenery and the music itself. Shots are fluid and languid, but like the graffiti on the rocks, there’s a sense of life throughout that goes beyond the trio of guitarist Gary Arce, bassist Mario Lalli and drummer Bill Stinson playing in the foreground.
Yawning Man‘s decades-spanning legacy and influence need not be recounted here. Suffice it to say that desert rock as it exists now would not without them. The three-piece were to have had a busy 2020 as they continued to support their 2019 studio album, Macedonian Lines (review here). In addition to having been booked for the Californian editions of the Heavy Psych Sounds Fest, they were set to appear at Monolith on the Mesa, Stoned & Dusted, they did manage to tour in Australia and New Zealand, but were to appear at Keep it Low in Munich, Germany, which no doubt would’ve been part of a European tour and coincided with other festivals.
As an answer to that, Live at Giant Rock finds Yawning Man doing what many other acts have done in trying to make the most of what they’ve got. In the interview that follows, Lalli talks of course about this strange year, the process of making this unorthodox concert film, the creative process for Yawning Man in particular, his work in this band and Fatso Jetson, and more.
Thanks for reading and watching if you do.
Yawning Man, Live at Giant Rock Interview with Mario Lalli, Nov. 19, 2020
Yawning Man‘s Live at Giant Rock video is out Nov. 20. The audio is available now and streaming below.
Yawning Man, Live at Giant Rock (2020)
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Heavy Psych Sounds on Bandcamp
Tags: California, Heavy Psych Sounds, Live at Giant Rock, Palm Springs, Yawning Man, Yawning Man Live at Giant Rock
