Palm Springs desert rockers Dali’s Llama, led by Zach and Erica Huskey , will celebrate their 20th anniversary as a band on Oct. 5. They’re throwing a killer party to mark the occasion, and before you ask, yes of course it’s in the desert. Forest music they are not, though their last album, 2012’s Autumn Woods (review here), leaned that way a bit in its atmosphere.

I’ve gone on before about how I consider Dali’s Llama‘s ethic of following their passion for two decades deeply, richly admirable and inspiring, so I’ll spare you that, but suffice it to say that even in a realm of the underground where people say they are on their own path all the time, Dali’s Llama actually are. And they have been for a long, long time. 20 years, or so I’m told. Kudos. One of these days I’ll get to interview Zach or Erica. Maybe for the next record, which never seems to be far off.

The cast of characters they’ve assembled to help them celebrate two decades at what they’ve awesomely decided to call “Dali’s Llama’s Wild Rumpus” reads like a desert wishlist for people you’d want to have show up to a party. Lineup, link and a cool Skillit poster follow:

Dali’s Llama’s Wild Rumpus

Celebrating 20 Years Underground
13 Bands (only $5)
at The Palms in Wonder Valley
All Ages • Bar with ID
Free Overnight Camping
Bands start at 2:00 pm!

We hope you’ll join us to celebrate our band’s 20th Anniversary with a gathering of friends, music & fun.

Dali’s Llama

Rubber Snake Charmers
(feat Mario Lalli & family + special guests)

The Freeks
(former members Nebula, Fu Manchu, Backbiter, The Angry Samoans)

Ultra Electric Mega Galactic
(former/current Monster Magnet, Sasquatch, Trash Titan)

Hornss
(members of Solarfeast & The Jack Saints)

Rise of the Willing
(high desert DOOM masters!)

Whiskey and Knives
(desert stoner/punk kings!)

Brave Black Sea
(former members Kyuss, QOTSA & Slo Burn)

Undead Cuervo
(L.A. stoner rock!)

Caveman Voicebox
(feat member of The Adolescents)

Hit It!
(like early Redd Kross)

and special acoustic performances by

Joe Dillon & Scott Brooks
(The Hot Beat Duo!)

Josh Heinz
(the Big Daddy of Blasting Echo)

After the show there will be a free informal test screening of the music documentary “Lo Sound Desert”.

https://www.facebook.com/events/143851785822433/

Dali’s Llama, Autumn Woods (2012)

With no shortage of riffy burl and good humor at their disposal, L.A.-based heavy rockers Caveman Voicebox recently digitally released their second EP, Facial Hair and Harmonies. The follow-up to the foursome’s late-2011 debut, Stippers, Mullets and Beer (review here), it keeps to more or less a similar approach of straightforward riff-led traditionalist heavy grooves, and that suits the band pretty well. Once more driven by bassist/vocalist Graham Wilson, they cut their teeth on memorable, sans-frills hooks and thickened shuffling riffery, knocking every now and then into dual-guitar harmonies that lead the way strongly into some call-and-response vocal interplay in the chorus.

The clip itself is likemindedly straightforward. Wilson shows up and finds the rest of the band — guitarists Karl Caleb and Mike McKnight and drummer Matt Merrow — in a practice space or studio room, and they proceed to rock it out. Behind the scenes footage, presumably from the recording of the EP, is spliced in for flavor, but really, it’s the song itself that’s the draw as it nestles into an entirely unpretentious, welcoming vibe. To put it in what have unfortunately become political terms, they’re a band you could want to have a beer with.

Enjoy:

Caveman Voicebox, “Move it Up” official video

Caveman Voicebox on Thee Facebooks

Caveman Voicebox on CDBaby

As one might expect, Los Angeles rockers Caveman Voicebox don’t exactly play it subtle on their debut EP, Strippers, Mullets and Beer. Released through what appears to be their own Faceslapper Records in December 2011, the five-songer is a quick 15-minutes, and though there are few surprises sonically in that time – the longest song, the closer “Mindset,” caps at 3:20 – and though the first word on opener “Forsaken Place” is “whiskey,” Caveman Voicebox still are less sleazy than one might think going into a first listen. That’s either a positive or negative, depending on your personal taste, but with the Orange Goblin by way of Motörhead burl they offer instead, it’s hard to complain. The songs, written by bassist/vocalist Graham Wilson, are structurally simple but varied in mood and over fast enough to hold even fickle attention, and the vocals touch on melody without overdoing it or sacrificing a natural feel to get some kind of misguided commercialism. A song like EP centerpiece “After What She Said” strikes a decent balance between catchy hooks and riffy groove, and as far as straightforward American-style heavy rock goes, Caveman Voicebox give a strong first showing, if one perhaps overly mindful of the aesthetic concerns of their genre.

By that I mean that even unto its title, Strippers, Mullets and Beer seems to be reaching for a specific idea of what boozy stoner-style rock and roll is, rather than focusing itself on crafting the songs and worrying about where they fit genre-wise after the fact. The beer I’ll give you, but the strippers and the mullets? Well, maybe, maybe not. In that regard, “Mindset” is actually the strongest of the songs here. Although it doesn’t come close to the infectious octane of “Forsaken Place,” Wilson positions the EP’s final statement lyrically as a kind of insider nod to the heavy rock scene – “You’ve got the time and the money/Ain’t got the mindset” – and placed with self-awareness in a genre looking out, it works better than “’72 Nova,” which seems to turn a blind eye to its unoriginality rather than acknowledge it. We all know it’s not the first song ever written about a car and a girl, and where “Mindset” offers some personality on the part of Caveman Voicebox by saying in effect, “we know exactly what we’re doing and it’s all on purpose,” the earlier cut wants to pretend that’s not the case. It’s a kind of anti-pretense pretense, and it’s only not more of an issue than it is because of the strength of Wilson’s songwriting. Joining Alfred Cruz and Mike McKnight’s guitars is a bluesy slide guest spot from Eric Dover (Slash’s Snakepit) that adds character to the already barn-burning energy, and though the Doug Carrion (Descendants) production doesn’t quite beef up the guitars as one might think, the added feeling of rawness winds up an asset working in the band’s favor.

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