Posted in Whathaveyou on March 7th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
Here’s a concept that’s pretty easy to get behind: John Garcia US tour dates. Desert rock’s founding frontman will appear next weekend in Austin, Texas, at Fiesta Destructo, which I’ll just assume is part either officially or tangentially of SXSW, and in May, will start out in the Midwest on a trip bound for the Eastern Seaboard that hits up into Montreal before turning south to cap in Philly and Brooklyn.
John Garcia and his solo band were last in NYC in the latter half of 2022 for Desertfest New York (review here), and have been gigging regularly on the West Coast, which is fair enough. At the bottom of the post you can see a video taken last November, and as the press release below also reminds, Garcia will play material from across his storied career, which means Kyuss tunes along with his solo stuff, probably Hermano‘s “Kentucky” or an older track and, if you’re truly blessed, “Pilot the Dune” or “July” by Slo Burn. However it shakes out, given the catalog Garcia‘s got to draw from, you’re probably not gonna leave the venue pissed off.
Tour dates came down the PR wire, as booked by Tone Deaf Touring:
🌴JOHN GARCIA (ex-KYUSS) Announces North American Tour, Performing Classics from KYUSS, SLO BURN + HERMANO
American desert rock pioneer and former KYUSS frontman JOHN GARCIA will be embarking on a North American East Coast tour this spring, in which he will be performing classic songs from some of his iconic bands – KYUSS, HERMANO + SLO BURN! GARCIA will be supported by blues-rock guitarist JARED JAMES NICHOLS, psychedelic rock duo TELEKINETC YETI, and blues rockers LEFT LANE CRUISER.
The trek will kick off on May 15 in Madison, WI and will conclude in Brooklyn, NY on May 29. The full itinerary can be found below while ticket links are available HERE: https://tonedeaftouring.com/jgkyuss
Prior to the tour, JOHN GARCIA will be performing a FREE show in Austin, TX on March 16 with support from MIDNIGHT.
JOHN GARCIA North American Tour Dates (w/ Jared James Nichols, Telekinetic Yeti, Left Lane Cruiser): 03/16: Austin, TX @ Fiesta Destructo [FREE SHOW]* 05/15: Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon 05/16: Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall [On sale Fri, 3/8 @ 10:00 A.M.] 05/17: Lawrence, KS @ Liberty Hall 05/21: Pittsburgh, PA @ Jergel 05/22: Detroit, MI @ Crofoot Theatre 05/23: Grand Rapids, MI @ Pyramid Scheme 05/25: Montreal, QC @ Club Soda 05/27: Hampton Beach, NH @ Wally’s [On sale Fri, 3/8 @ 10:00 A.M.] 05/28: Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer [On sale Fri, 3/8 @ 10:00 A.M.] 05/29: Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere *John Garcia w/ Midnight ONLY
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 11th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Shit, man. Anybody got a line on a crash spot in Little Rock? Mutants of the Monster Fest — or if you’re on friendly terms you can go with Mutants Fest, like on the poster — has announced its initial lineup for May 16-18, with John Garcia as the first headliner. I’m not sure if it’s a solo show or with the full backing as John Garcia and the Band of Gold, but as noted below he’ll be doing Kyuss songs in addition to his own stuff and if the universe aligns just so, you might even get a track from the catalogs of SloBurn, Unida or Hermano, the latter of whom have reissues out on Ripple now.
But Garcia is just the start and down the line through Weedeater and Telekinetic Yeti (tour partners again?), Spirit Adrift, Deadbird, Fistula, Rebelmatic, Flummox, Medicine Horse, Seahag and Adam Faucett, and the sense of curation remains strong. Mammoth Caravan will have a new record out by the time they play, and they might not be the only ones, but even if everyone showed up with nothing on the merch table (highly unlikely), it’d still be a riotous bill and there’s more to come since, you know, three days and all that.
Tickets are available through Last Chance Records as linked below. I’ll do my best to keep up are more names are added to Mutants of the Monster 2024. Here’s how the PR wire put it:
MUTANTS OF THE MONSTER FEST 2024 Reveals First Wave of Bands; Incl. John Garcia (ex-Kyuss), Weedeater, Telekinetic Yeti, Spirit Adrift + More!
Taking place in North Little Rock, AR at the Argenta Community Theater and Four Quarter Bar from May 16-18!
MUTANTS OF THE MONSTER FEST will return in 2024 to Little Rock, AR from May 16-18! The multi-day festival will take place in the Argenta Arts District and has revealed the first wave of bands, which is as follows:
JOHN GARCIA (Formerly of Kyuss playing all of the hits!) WEEDEATER SPIRIT ADRIFT FISTULA DEADBIRD TELEKINETIC YETI DEEPSTARIA ENIGMATICA MEDICINE HORSE ADAM FAUCETT REBELMATIC FLUMMOX WHETHER SEAHAG OROROR CRANKBAIT MAMMOTH CARAVAN SPORTS DIREWOLF
Early bird tickets are now available HERE starting today through Monday, December 11. The pass will cover both stages for all three days of the event.
Posted in Whathaveyou on October 17th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
With the caveat that promoter John Gist of Vegas Rock Revolution says there might be a second show added for those looking to make a weekend of it, John Garcia, Steak and Formula 400 are playing together in Las Vegas on Jan. 20. Aside from being notable like pretty much every time John Garcia and his band (Of Gold) do a thing, this one gets the eyebrows up because Steak will be making the trip from London to play.
That’s not insignificant. I don’t know what their plans are, if they’ll be doing a full West Coast run or if they’re just coming across on the QT for a single date, but it feels worth noting that Steak have prior experience in the desert portion of the US, having recorded there before, so it’s certainly possible they’ve got as-yet-secret doings in the works in that regard. Seems entirely likely we’ll find out — nobody really records in secret these days; too much opportunity for social media engagement to squander, and Steak are rebuilding after a hack, so it seems even less likely they’d disengage, even if Facebook is only a dumping ground for Instagram posts — before January, but it’s fun to speculate anyhow. Steak‘s 2022 album, Acute Mania (review here), is the best work they’ve ever done.
Formula 400 are the crucial third rounding out at least one rocking evening — I hear at least one more band might be added if not another day — and you’ll find comment from all involved parties as well as the event page for the gig below, courtesy of VRR.
Dig:
Vegas Rock Revolution Presents: John Garcia, Steak & Formula 400
Friday, Jan. 20, 2023, Count’s Vamp’d in Las Vegas
“I am always honored to have John Garcia as part of a Vegas Rock Revolution Show,” says John Gist of VRR. “We aim to make this super cool night with hand picked unique bands to play with John on this bill. To have Steak coming from London to play is just amazing. Danny + Korie Koker’s Count’s Vamp’d has been such an amazing venue to work with to host such kickass event is humbling. And hey if things make sense we just might add a Saturday of shows in Vegas so people coming into town have a cool 2nd show to hit!”
“We are extremely stoked to be doing this show at Count’s Vamp’d, especially with Steak. This show is going to be something special and I would like to thank Vegas Rock Revolution for making this happen. If you’re looking for a reason to come to Vegas, here it is.” – John Garcia
Says Steak: We are so excited to be supporting the legend John Garcia in Las Vegas. We last toured with him in Europe in 2014 and are honoured to be playing with him in his own back yard. Supporting John Garcia in Vegas? Fuck yeah, Steak are coming for Sin City and I’m not sure we will get out alive!”
“Formula 400 is always pumped to play a Vegas Rock Revolution Presents show at Count’s Vamp’d and to have the honor to share the stage with the legend John Garcia from Kyuss really gets our engines revving! Plus with Steak coming from London this is going to be cool night!” – Formula 400
Doors are in about half an hour. From the cursory reconnaissance I’ve done at this point, it’s easy to think the Knockdown Center could become a multi-year home for Desertfest New York. It’s big, which certainly helps, and there’s more space than is being used right now. The second stage room is tiny — the sense I get is that by the time Sasquatch go on that will be an issue, but no one’s here yet except for bands and I’ve got basically a warehouse room to myself to write this.
Got in last night at 1AM, woke up around 7AM, so not the worst night of sleep ever. I was destroyed last night by the end of that show. Utterly bludgeoned. But I made it home and I expect I’ll do the same tonight. Hydrate. Advil. Who wants to hear my litany of old man complaints about my plannar fasciitis in my right foot? Nobody, I know. But it’s there. A presence in my life.
Sasquatch are here, and Mothership, John Garcia and the Band of Gold are soundchecking. Geezer and Howling Giant and various others, some I know and some I don’t. It looks like a show. I still have no idea how I’ll cover it but I’ll write when I can while bouncing back and forth between stages and see as much as I can see. That’s pretty much always the plan anyway. With the support of the egg and cheese on chaffle sandwich The Patient Mrs. made me this morning and the bit of pecan butter I finished up on the ride in, I should buy myself a couple hours of go. After that, will need coffee.
But alas, one crisis at a time.
Leather Lung
They had some new songs and asked if there were sleazy motherfuckers in here or not. If not, I think the general humidity in this room should provide some before the night’s out. Leather Lung were one of the last bands I saw before lockdown, and their heavy swinging sludge-rock-plus-extreme-this-and-that remains as nasty as I remembered. They’ve filled the room and heads are nodding, more and more coming in. I can feel the rumbling of the low end in the concrete floor, so take from that what you will. The start of a fest like this is always nerve-racking. You have to find the groove of the place, the groove of the crowd, the groove of the timing and the groove of your own mindset. Fortunately, Leather Lung have plenty of groove to spare to aid that process, and their taking stage isn’t so much a wading into the river of riffs — the riffver??? — as a full-on crazy old-timey Southern church baptismal dunk. Who says you can’t have aggro songs about getting fucked up?
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Black Tusk
I’m pretty sure I’ve seen this band before, but I’m also pretty sure it’s been at least a decade, if not longer. They’ve had their ups and some real-life tragedies along the way — like everybody — but they’re a pro-shop metal band and they play like it. First act on the big stage and similar to Leather Lung, The intent seems to have been to roll out with something meaner rather than a languid style. Hey man, mean works. They’re piping them outside to where the food trucks are through a separate P.A., and I guess if you want furious riffs with your souvlaki, that’s a go. I will abscond momentarily to the smaller room again for Howling Giant, whom I’ve only seen at Psycho Las Vegas, but whose shenanigans are already legion in my brain. I’ve been looking forward to it, as I’ve been looking forward to all of this. Black Tusk though, digging that ferocity. Pummeling. And very much in that way of bands who’ve spent forever touring that they could just plug in wherever and make that happen.
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Howling Giant
These guys are a riot. A lot of bands can goof off and visibly have fun while playing their songs. Howling Giant can do that, play at a humbling level, and base it around killer material. They might be the only even vaguely prog-leaning heavy band out there who balance that against not taking themselves too seriously, and they absolutely refuse to leave their audience behind. Yeah, it was pretty god damned packed in that little room — they call it the Texas Stage, which is a little ironic considering the proportions — but my reason for walking out before Howling Giant were done had less to do ultimately with the heat and humidity and more with the sudden, very powerful urge I felt to buy a Howling Giant t-shirt. So I did that. Then, because there was no getting in whatsoever as the space was slammed with hoo-mans, I scootched over to the main stage again and chatted to some folks about this and that. Trying to remember to do that. There’s something like 1,400 people here this weekend. I feel like everybody’s everybody’s friend. That’s easier to think while Howling Giant play.
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Mothership
Doesn’t matter who you think of from that infinite set of list ’70s heavy rock bands, Mothership do it better. Texas trio, trip on the ship, all that. Just a great time. I guess they’ve been off tour for a while — who hasn’t? — but they made the big stage feel small with just the three of them and a vitality that few in whichever microgenre can match, and that energy is infectious, particularly from Kelley Juett on guitar, who is the classic wildman on stage. I have seen them three times now, at Maryland Doom Fest, in Boston with C.O.C., and here, and in this big room and that small one, they filled the space with sound and a genuine feeling of celebrating rock and roll. Kyle Juett on bass and vocals is more subdued, and drummer Judge Smith sits back there like he’s about to start laughing his ass off any minute. And then he does. Even better. You gotta be doing something right when Orange Goblin are on this stage next and people are asking for one more song.
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Geezer
Seems silly because I’ve seen them a bunch of times over their years — not much recently, duh — but I was really looking forward to Geezer’s set. It’s okay to like a band, right? I feel like I know their new album, Stoned Blues Machine, pretty well, since I was there when most of the basics were recorded and don’t tell anyone but I’m streaming it this coming Wednesday, but it was nothing but a pleasure to hear those songs come to life on stage. “Cold Black Heart,” “Atomic Moronic,” “Logan’s Run.” That’s a good-ass time. And they seemed in high spirits, no implication intended as to lucidity. Kind of a release show for them, since the record’s out next week, but I still haven’t seen any merch from them around. So it goes. The smaller room — I’ve heard a few complaints; it is what it is; be earlier — has a kind of raised floor along stage left and I went up there for a bit and watched. They’re not quite hometown heroes in NYC, but they draw a good crowd and deliver to them. That made it a little extra satisfying to watch them kill as they did.
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Orange Goblin
Orange Goblin. I mean, what do you say about a band like that? This was my first time seeing them with Harry Armstrong — apparently also his first time in New York, as was declared from the stage — but come on, was there any way it was going to be anything less than stellar? My real question is whether Ben Ward will come out for a guest spot with John Garcia later. But I’ve been seeing this band live for well over a decade and a half and I’ve not once been underwhelmed. I’ve seen them here, in London, elsewhere, and all they do is rock and roll. I feel like there are so many other bands I don’t need to see because I’ve seen Orange Goblin, and that’s not a slag on anybody, but god damn. You never know when they’re not gonna come back (to take the living), so I feel like every set should be treasured, and this one certainly will be. That sounds corny as shit, but I mean it. I read they’ve got new material in the works too. How hard will they tour? How feasible is it? I don’t think it’s a question of how much they have in the tank, because watching them play, the answer is plenty, but with all they’ve done, the influence they’ve had, they still get on stage and bring it like a hungry band. They’re one of a kind, much to the chagrin of the many pretenders out there.
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Holy Death Trio
It certainly did get dark in that little room. And I guess not so much with turning lights on. Okay, you make do. Holy Death Trio came up from Texas to play this show, and they played like a next-generation act, like they’ve got it together, have a plan when they go on stage and have put in the work to make their presentation as engaging as possible. One assumes it would’ve been even more so with lights on, but you know, sometimes it can be like a secret. Hey this band is super-cool but shh. Their record came out through Ripple last year in the label’s Blasko-curated splurge and if they’re going to tour for real life, it seems like they’re the kind of act where people are going to ask if you’ve seen them yet. I have now, and I’ll hope to again. They’ve got a party atmosphere — if you want to keep it to Austin bands, they’re like a less frenetic Amplified Heat — but they’re all the more exciting since they seem to be finding and still developing their approach. And make no mistake, asses were kicked. All I’m saying is that if they keep on the way they’re going, more will be in the years to come.
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John Garcia and the Band of Gold
A good mix of John Garcia solo stuff and the requisite Kyuss tunes. “July” from Slo Burn. How could you fit everything from such a career? He said from the stage that they hadn’t done anything in two and a half years. Me neither, dude, one YOB show and a couple outdoor Sun Voyager gigs notwithstanding. Perhaps the weekend’s most brutal conflict is John Garcia on the same time as Sasquatch. That’s a hard one to live through, though not like there’s a wrong answer, except leaving. “Whitewater” felt duly like a watershed moment, the band by then totally warmed up and killing it. I guess you’d say Garcia’s stage presence is quiet. He has his moves but doesn’t go nuts or anything. He thanked the crowd and the Desertfest crew though respectfully and even when Sasquatch went on in the smaller room it was packed. Less all-charge than Orange Goblin, because that’s the music they play, but they tore up that jam in “Whitewater” and earned that whole Band of Gold moniker, even before they kicked into an uptempo take on “Green Machine” to close out. I saw Vista Chino play that song. That was cool too. This is a drunk crowd. Maybe I’m not the only one for whom this is pandemic-breakout, which inevitably is more fun than an outbreak, also happening but let’s not talk about it.
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Sasquatch
I know it’s been a long day because I had to look up whether Sasquatch’s new album, Fever Fantasy, had been announced yet and I’m the one who wrote the announcement. You want rock and roll? There it is. That band. Keith Gibbs, Jason Casanova, Craig Riggs. Holy shit. They are the American heavy rock ideal, unstoppable in their momentum until they pull the rug out from under and lock in another killer groove. They opened with “Just Couldn’t Stand the Weather.” I fucking love “Just Couldn’t Stand the Weather!” How did they know? And I kind of feel like people holding up their cellphone flashlights when the band asked for more light on the stage was as close as the universe was going to come to doing me personal favors tonight, beyond simply being here. But Sasquatch have already been back on tour and they’ve got more in the works as I understand it, but god damn, just go see them. Just go. How many bands pass 20 years since they started and still deliver like that? There are a couple on the bill tonight, actually, but outside this building it’s far rarer. It was packed in the room 15 minutes before they went on, and the lights were low again, but whatever, it’s fucking Sasquatch. Bullshit need not apply.
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Corrosion of Conformity
They went on 15 minutes late, which, you know, so it goes when there’s no one else playing behind you. Plenty of Judas Priest to listen to in the meantime. By the time they were through the jammmy take on “Paranoid Opioid” that opened the set, Mike Dean starting it off quiet on bass — fucking rad — time didn’t matter. Plenty of the standards in the set, including “Vote with a Bullet,” which I wondered if they’d break out (Pepper Keenan said something about it on stage but I didn’t catch what), but I guess it’s been a year since there was an insurrection on the Capitol Hill, so, fair game. Highlight for me might’ve been “Born Again for the Last Time,” which will be stuck in my head forever and that’s just fine, but there was plenty of competition there, and I was just really, really happy to see them again. I wonder if they’ll do another record. That’d be interesting. They probably don’t need to yet, really — I don’t think there was anything from the latest album in the set — but I’d be curious what they came up with after a few quiet years and the road time they put in before and apparently after the covid era, such as it is. Bottom line though is new album or not, I’ve been listening to this band since before I hit puberty and every chance I get to watch them play I’m happy to do it. More so as time goes on.
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Other Random Observations:
– Dude in the Ween shirt wins shirts. In general there’s a bit of deviance from the black-shirt-blue-jeans norm. I support that.
– I have good friends here, new and old. It’s important to remember that. I have been and continue to be pretty isolated in regular life.
– Lot of couples attending.
– Knockdown Center could have four stages going, easy, and that’s before you put anything outside other than the food trucks.
– I have hugged and been hugged more this evening than in the last two and a half years.
– I’m still not 100 percent sure if I’m in Brooklyn or Queens. Life, huh?
– Still feels a little weird being out, but I brought a mask and I haven’t felt compelled to wear it as yet, so that’s… progress?
Posted in Reviews on January 8th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
The 2014 self-titled solo debut from John Garcia (review here) was at least 15 years in the making. He followed it in 2017 with the mostly acoustic The Coyote Who Spoke in Tongues (review here), and with the self-titled LP from John Garcia and the Band of Gold, he completes a cycle of three records in five years that he has already hinted will mark his last run. That in itself gives the 11-song/40-minute John Garcia and the Band of Gold a different context, but it’s also worth noting that as he’s made his way through these offerings — the latest of which would presumably complete a three-album deal with Napalm Records — he’s also presented a different side of himself each time out. True, the first and third LPs share plenty of aesthetic commonalities, but Garcia stepping into more of a bandleader role with The Band of Gold behind him comprised of guitarist Ehren Groban (War Drum), bassist Mike Pygmie (Mondo Generator, You Know Who) and drummer Greg Saenz (The Dwarves, You Know Who) is a distinguishing factor.
Much has been made as well of the involvement of producer Chris Goss, the frontman of Masters of Reality who once upon a time helmed the Kyuss recordings that would help solidify desert rock in the mid-’90s. That’s not a minor consideration, and if there’s an effect of Goss‘ contributions here — which, as I understand it, came after the basic tracks were recorded — perhaps it can be heard in the extra heft of a track like the rushing “Popcorn (Hit Me When You Can)” or the low-end push behind Garcia‘s crooning in the quieter parts of second cut “Jim’s Whiskers” earlier on. That’s speculation, but even the association between the two parties should be a draw for fans, who might also note the similarity in cover art between John Garcia and the Band of Gold and Vista Chino‘s 2013 outing, Peace (review here; discussed here), both done in a graffiti-on-concrete style. If there’s an intended relationship between those two LPs, I don’t know, but in addition to having appeared on The Coyote Who Spoke in Tongues as “Give Me 250ml,” “Kentucky II” would seem to be a sequel in title to “Kentucky” from Hermano‘s 2007 full-length, …Into the Exam Room. One way or another, there is plenty throughout John Garcia and the Band of Gold for longtime fans to dig into.
“Kentucky II” is one of three songs shared between the last album and this one, actually, with “Kylie,” on that showing up as the penultimate “Cheyletiella” on this and “The Hollingsworth Session” revamped in fully-plugged fashion as “Don’t Even Think About It.” There’s something to be said for the continuity tying the two releases together, but highlights of John Garcia and the Band of Gold like “My Everything” and “Lillianna” are both new and help comprise the central impression of the tracklist as a whole, which is fresh in performance and cognizant of the desert it’s inhabiting, whether it’s through the introductory spaciousness that rolls out in “Space Vato” before that 2:44 instrumental kicks into higher gear and moves quickly into the bouncing groove of “Jim’s Whiskers,” or “Softer Side,” which finds Garcia singing quietly over a wide landscape of psychedelic guitar somewhat reminiscent of his work alongside Yawning Man‘s Gary Arce in Zun.
His voice — naturally a central feature on an album that bears his name — has always been well suited to that ultra-laid back vibe, but neither can one take away from the power in his delivery of “My Everything” or the successful middle ground built up in “Chicken Delight,” a sense of tension coming to a head that the swinging “Kentucky II” pays off in its righteous and familiar shuffle. “Popcorn (Hit Me When You Can)” arguably provides the hardest thrust of John Garcia and the Band of Gold, but “Apache Junction,” which immediately follows, is both the heaviest and the most intriguing as regards arrangement, with guitars echoing out late after slamming out a central riff that’s replete with sonic detailing, bass chugging away beneath effects-laced background vocal layers between lyric lines, and the balance of the mix such that Garcia‘s voice is given an opportunity to cut through the tonal presence surrounding, something that he’s been doing in oft-imitated fashion for over two decades. Unsurprisingly, he nails it.
So will John Garcia and the Band of Gold really be his last record? Yeah, probably not. Even if it’s his last “solo” album for some time, he’s proven restless enough in the past that it’s easy to think maybe he’d work again with Dave Angstrom in Hermano or follow-up on the several reunion gigs Slo Burn did in 2017 with more there. Of the litany of projects he’s been involved in throughout his career, new material would be welcome from just about any of them — which isn’t to mention the perpetually-unfinished business with Unida, a band once stifled by contract woes from releasing what would’ve been their breakthrough album. If John Garcia is going to run out the thread on tour for this release and call it a career, though, what a career to call it. It probably doesn’t help pay the mortgage, but the guy’s legitimately a legend who’s influence has thus far spanned two generations, and John Garcia and the Band of Gold finds him in top form, arguably in better control of his craft than he was when Vista Chino made Peace for the intervening years of writing, touring and singing.
If it’s how he wants to go out, he certainly doesn’t owe anyone anything. But the question, ultimately, is a distraction, and a negative one if it takes anything away from appreciating John Garcia and the Band of Gold on its own level. Among the most crucial statements Garcia makes with the third LP under his name comes from that change in identity. He’s still searching. He’s still trying to find just that right place to inhabit that’s not only his own, but as much about the future as about his storied past. If fronting John Garcia and the Band of Gold is what lets him do that, fine. It worked for his one-time bandmate Brant Bjork for a while when he led Brant Bjork and the Low Desert Punk Band, also on Napalm Records. And if John Garcia and the Band of Gold does make that happen, it’s even less likely this self-titled will be their last outing. But, just like how at any second his voice might punch the listener upside the head with belted-out desert grit, his future is wholly unpredictable.
Posted in Bootleg Theater on November 5th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
Later this month, John Garcia and the Band of Gold take the stage headlining the first night of the inaugural Planet Desert Rock Weekend. Put together by Vegas Rock Revolution, it’s an impeccably curated evening celebrating what’s a rare onstage US appearance for Garcia, with performances by Nick Oliveri, Luna Sol which features Hermano‘s Dave Angstrom, and Death in Pretty Wrapping, which has Arthur Seay also from Unida (and House of Broken Promises) on guitar. The idea is everyone kind of gets together and rocks out at Vinyl at the Hard Rock Cafe and Hotel in Vegas, joining Garcia onstage to play tracks from his past outfits and so on.
There’s also a whole weekend of insanity planned (info here), but no question that for US concertgoers, seeing Garcia these days isn’t something that happens all that often. Since Vista Chino went their separate ways, he’s focused heavily on Europe with acoustic tours and festival appearances, and fair enough given that market.
So far as he’s said, this will be his only US show for the upcoming John Garcia and the Band of Gold album.
That album, self-titled, is due out Jan. 4, 2019, via Napalm Records, and they’ve newly unveiled a lyric video — kind of standard procedure at this point — to introduce one of the tracks. Dubbed “Chicken Delight,” the song is not one of the several redux’ed from Garcia‘s last outing, which was 2017’s mostly-unplugged The Coyote Who Spoke in Tongues (review here), but instead is all-new and thus far exclusive to this album. Though it’d work acoustic as well. Those curious as to how the reunion might sound between Garcia and producer Chris Goss, who once upon a time produced genre-defining LPs for Garcia‘s band Kyuss, go ahead and take note, because that’s what’s happening here.
A month-long stretch of European tour dates has been announced to follow shortly after the album’s release. You might recall that tour was initially supposed to happen this Fall but was rescheduled to allow for the recording to be done, because, well, let’s face it. If you’re going on tour for a month and you’re about to finish a new record, you probably want to be able to take it along with you. The Jan.-Feb. stint will allow for that.
Those dates as well as more info follow the clip here, courtesy of the PR wire.
Please enjoy:
John Garcia and the Band of Gold, “Chicken Delight” official lyric video
Desert Rock frontman extraordinaire, JOHN GARCIA, has just released”Chicken Delight”, the first single of the new album John Garcia And The Band Of Gold. Today the Kyuss legend unveils the official lyric video for the relaxed groover straight out of the desert!
“Chicken Delight”is the perfect beginning of your California desert trip that opens out to a new album that melts down the whole subgenre to the core! It’s the perfect mix of his trademarked voice and the groovy, laid back and dusty sound that lies within every chord that makes your mind fly away. Over the last almost three decades, JOHN GARCIA’s voice has set the standard for the sound of the California desert and “Chicken Delight” takes it one step further.
John Garcia And The Band Of Gold Live: After having a meeting between his musical past and present, by playing on one stage with Nick Oliveri (ex-Kyuss), Dave Angstrom (ex-Hermano) and Arthur Seay (ex-Unida) on November 29 in Las Vegas, JOHN GARCIA will return to an extensive tour through Europe with his Band Of Gold:
Special Show w/ Nick Oliveri, Luna Sol, Death in Pretty Wrapping 29.11.18 US – Las Vegas / Vinyl
European Tour 2019 w/ Dead Quiet 23.01.19 FR – Paris / Le Trabendo 24.01.19 FR – Bordeaux / Le Krakatoa 25.01.19 ES – Madrid / Caracol 26.01.19 ES – Barcelona / Razzamatazz 2 28.01.19 FR – Lyon / Le Kao 29.01.19 CH – Zurich / Bogen F. 30.01.19 IT – Milan / Santeria Club 31.01.19 DE – Munich / Backstage Halle 02.02.19 AT – Graz / Explosiv 03.02.19 HU – Budapest / A38 04.02.19 CZ – Prague / Rock Café 05.02.19 DE – Nuremberg / Hirsch 07.02.19 DE – Jena / F-Haus 08.02.19 DE – Berlin / SO36 09.02.19 DK – Copenhagen / Loppen 10.02.19 NO – Oslo / John Dee 12.02.19 FI – Helsinki / Tavastia 14.02.19 SE – Stockholm / Debaser Strand 15.02.19 SE – Gothenburg / Sticky Fingers 16.02.19 DE – Hamburg / Gruenspan 17.02.19 DE – Cologne / Helios 37 19.02.19 BE – Leuven / Het Depot 20.02.19 DE – Aschaffenburg / Colos-Sal 21.02.19 DE – Essen / Turock 22.02.19 NL – Tilburg / 013 23.02.19 UK – London / O2 Academy Islington
John Garcia And The Band Of Gold are: John Garcia – vocals Ehren Groban – guitar Mike Pygmie – bass Greg Saenz – drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on October 22nd, 2018 by JJ Koczan
With the Jan. 4 release of the self-titled debut/maybe swansong from John Garcia and the Band of Gold, the group’s principle namesake will have issued three solo albums more or less in evolving incarnations. 2014’s John Garcia (review here) was a plugged-in desert rocker credited to the man himself, while last year’s The Coyote Who Spoke in Tongues (review here) brought Garcia together with guitarist Ehren Groban (War Drum), bassist Mike Pygmie (Mondo Generator, You Know Who) and drummer Greg Saenz (The Dwarves, You Know Who) and was mostly acoustic in its unfolding. John Garcia and the Band of Gold leans more toward the former, but features the latter band and also reunites Garcia with Kyuss producer Chris Goss (also of Masters of Reality) — who one recalls had some choice words when Garcia embarked on the partial Kyuss reunion with Vista Chino — sees reworkings of “Kylie,” “The Hollingsworth Session” and “Give Me 250ML” from the last record, turning the latter into a sequel to “Kentucky” from the last Hermano record, now 11 years old, and brings those familiar pieces together with a total 11 new tracks available to preorder now.
On Nov. 29, John Garcia and the Band of Gold make their only US appearance — maybe ever? — at Vinyl at the Hard Rock Cafe in Las Vegas, headlining the first night of the Planet Desert Rock Weekend, and then they’re headed to Europe early in 2019. All dates and info follow here, courtesy of the PR wire:
New Album JOHN GARCIA AND THE BAND OF GOLD out January 4th 2019!
JOHN GARCIA, the Kyuss legend returns with his next incarnation of Desert Rock, John Garcia And The Band Of Gold, out on Napalm Records! None other than ex-Kyuss and Queens Of The Stone Age producer Chris Goss gave this new groovy piece of dust its finishing touches. JOHN GARCIA takes the next step in his almost 30-year career by combining the strengths of his musical past with the achievements of modern times. It’s once again a distinctive JOHN GARCIA album!
JOHN GARCIA on the new album: “After a year of heavy stress, starting my own studio, shutting it down, hiring and firing, the drama is finally over. Saved by surgeon Chris Goss, this record is finally done. It is unclear if I will ever be doing this again, so this is it. Here it is, proud and loud John Garcia and The Band of Gold record comes out January 4th with supporting tour thereafter. The Vegas jam is my only U.S. electric show and will prove to be something special. I thank my supporters, you keep me going – Big Love from the Garcia res!!”
You can Pre-Order John Garcia And The Band Of GoldHERE!
After starting the stoner rock movement by establishing Kyuss together with Josh Homme (Queens Of the Stone Age, Eagles Of Death Metal), Brant Bjork (ex-Fu Manchu), Nick Oliveri (Ex-Queens Of The Stone Age) in 1990, JOHN GARCIA became one of the most heard voices from the desert in Rock History. No doubt that he had massive impact on the desert rock movement by singing in bands like Hermano, Slo Burn, Unida and Vista Chino. Since his debut album as a solo artist in 2014 via Napalm Records, he has further established his very own trademarks.
JOHN GARCIA And The Band Of Gold live:
After having a meeting between his musical past and present, by playing on one stage with Nick Oliveri (ex-Kyuss), Dave Angstrom (ex-Hermano) and Arthur Seay (ex-Unida) on November 29 in Las Vegas, JOHN GARCIA will return to an extensive tour through Europe with his Band Of Gold:
Special Show w/ Nick Oliveri, Luna Sol, Death in Pretty Wrapping 11.29.18 US – Las Vegas / Vinyl
European Tour 2019 w/ Dead Quiet 23.01.19 FR – Paris / Le Trabendo 24.01.19 FR – Bordeaux / Le Krakatoa 25.01.19 ES – Madrid / Caracol 26.01.19 ES – Barcelona / Razzamatazz 2 28.01.19 FR – Lyon / Le Kao 29.01.19 CH – Zurich / Bogen F. 30.01.19 IT – Milan / Santeria Club 31.01.19 DE – Munich / Backstage Halle 02.02.19 AT – Graz / Explosiv 03.02.19 HU – Budapest / A38 04.02.19 CZ – Prague / Rock Café 05.02.19 DE – Nuremberg / Hirsch 07.02.19 DE – Jena / F-Haus 08.02.19 DE – Berlin / SO36 09.02.19 DK – Copenhagen / Loppen 10.02.19 NO – Oslo / John Dee 12.02.19 FI – Helsinki / Tavastia 14.02.19 SE – Stockholm / Debaser Strand 15.02.19 SE – Gothenburg / Sticky Fingers 16.02.19 DE – Hamburg / Gruenspan 17.02.19 DE – Cologne / Helios 37 19.02.19 BE – Leuven / Het Depot 20.02.19 DE – Aschaffenburg / Colos-Sal 21.02.19 DE – Essen / Turock 22.02.19 NL – Tilburg / 013 23.02.19 UK – London / O2 Academy Islington
John Garcia And The Band Of Gold are: John Garcia – vocals Ehren Groban – guitar Mike Pygmie – bass Greg Saenz – drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on October 11th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
He’s doing one US gig and he’s making it count. John Garcia will appear with his Band of Gold on Nov. 29 on the Vinyl stage at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas. He did a show in Calgary earlier this year, but so far as I know, this is it for US appearances for the time being. Joining desert rock’s most pivotal frontman are Death in Pretty Wrapping, featuring Garcia‘s Unida bandmate Arthur Seay, and Luna Sol, with Garcia‘s Hermano bandmate David Angstrom, as well as Garcia‘s former Kyuss/Vista Chino bandmate, Nick Oliveri.
It’s set to be a career-spanning show, as Garcia‘s former bandmates will join him on stage for songs from their respective outfits — Garcia notes in the video below that members of Slo Burn will be on hand for the occasion as well — and one can also expect new tunes from John Garcia and the Band of Gold, whose debut album is now completed and expected to release sometime soon on Napalm Records. Will it be out in time for this show? I doubt it, but probably concurrent to Garcia‘s impending European stint early next year. If you’ll recall, that run was rescheduled to Jan./Feb. to allow for their studio time. If the photo of Garcia and Kyuss producer Chris Goss (also Masters of Reality) posted on social media means they collaborated on the album, then yeah, I’d call that worth putting off some shows. Working toward the greater good, and all that.
The show is presented by Vegas Rock Revolution and the following came down the PR wire:
John Garcia & The Band of Gold Announce Special Las Vegas Show
Desert Rock Master John Garcia & The Band of Gold have announced a special once in a lifetime show, set to take place on Thursday November 29th in Las Vegas, NV at Vinyl in The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. The Band of Gold features (Ehren Groban on Guitar, Mike Pygmie on Bassand Greg Saenz on drums). This will be the band’s only North American appearance this year and will be a night, not to be missed.
Support on this special evening will come from bands that have a played a role in Garcia’s legendary career including Nick Oliveri, Luna Sol (featuring Dave Angstrom of Hermano) and Death in Pretty Wrapping (featuring Arthur Seay of Unida). Fans can also expect to see additional special guests from Garcia’s bands from over the years.
All of the band’s and Garcia’s friends cannot wait to play this show:
“Johnny rocks. All of his band’s rock. We all know that he’s a monster …but having John as a friend is really amazing to me. He’s such a great guy, father, husband, bandmate and brother. His vocals rock me to the core …they always have. I can’t wait to hang and share the stage with Johnny and the onslaught of monstrous players and characters joining forces in Vegas on Nov 29th. It’s going to be a throw down, for sure…my ears are already ringing. Let’s bring the rock!” says Dave Angstrom
Stay tuned for more news from John Garcia & The Band of Gold, and see if you can begin to the put the puzzle together for yourself…
