In case you were wondering, yes, desert rock can still come from the desert. Spearheaded by guitarist Dave Catching and featuring vocalist Bingo Richey, Mojave Lords will issue their debut LP, the aspirationally-titled Unfuckwithable, on Last Hurrah Records before the end of the year, all limited vinyl and whatnot. The list of guests showing up on said long-player reads like a who’s who of CA desert players, and if the couple tracks that have made their way to the public are anything to go by, the album is worth further investigation.

So, uh, I’ll get on that, I guess. Will be particularly interested to hear what Chris Goss brings to the mix, he and Catching having contributed together to Queens of the Stone Age over the years, as well as worked together in Goss‘ band, the perpetually underrated Masters of Reality.

The PR wire tells it like so:

Mojave Lords 12-inch UNFUCKWITHABLE full-length LP

Unfuckwithable is the Mojave Lords new limited edition, full-length vinyl LP on Last Hurrah Records. Born in Joshua Tree, California at Rancho De La Luna recording studio, the Mojave Lords is the brain-child of musical mastermind David Catching and his next door neighbor, the equally brilliant Bingo Richey. After years of working in the music industry on other people’s projects, they decided to team up, strap themselves in to a homemade rocket and press the launch button.

If you took the stone out of early Queens of the Stone Age and mashed it up with the boogie metal of Eagles of Death Metal you get the ruckus and rancor of the Mojave Lords. Dust-laden and seeped in dark nights of desert plains, Unfuckwithable is a heavy rock romp and stomp. With some help from their friends; Brian “Big Hands” O’Connor, Barrett Martin, Chris Goss, Joey “The Sexy Mexi” Castillo and Danny Frankel, they’ve made what the New York Times is calling “Dark, sexy rock & roll for a brave new race.” This is the next wave of Desert Stoner Rock. This is mature, smart and visceral. This is UNFUCKWITHABLE.

Eye-popping embossed skull and band logo jacket cover along with UV gloss explosion, along with flamboyant inner sleeve with lyrics and diamond eye labels. The record comes in two vinyl configurations: desert fire and bone marrow, both created by a mix of oqaque and translucent colors, limited to 350 copies (175 of each color).

Prepared for vinyl by J. Yuenger.

Side A
1. Sweet Little Down & Out
2. Hot Throwaway
3. Anytime Rock
4. Dancefloor Slammer
5. Second Skin

Side B
1. Knuckles
2. Microwave Me Baby
3. A Whole New World
4. Sage
5. Unfuckwithable

http://lasthurrahrecords.com/mojavelords-preorder.html
http://www.mojavelords.com/
https://www.facebook.com/MOJAVELORDS
https://twitter.com/MojaveLords

Mojave Lords, “Unfuckwithable”

Joining the esteemed ranks of Greenleaf (who were also just announced so they’re not on the poster yet), Naam, Kadavar and the almighty Dozer, Brant Bjork has been added to the lineup for the second installment of the Up in Smoke indoor festival this October in Switzerland. The fest is presented by Sound of Liberation, and is set to take place Oct. 3 and 4 in Switzerland, which puts it the weekend before Desertfest in Belgium. The more the merrier. I can think of few things cooler than two fests on consecutive weekends.

Brant Bjork will play Up in Smoke with his new band, Low Desert Punk. Not sure if that’s the name they’re using — it’s billed as Brant Bjork presents “Low Desert Punk,” so if it’s that or Brant Bjork and the Low Desert Punk or Brant Bjork and the Low Desert Punks, or some other variation, remains to be seen — but with Fatso Jetson‘s Tony Tornay on drums, Dave Dinsmore from Bl’ast on bass and Bubba Dupree (Void) on guitar alongside Bjork himself, they can call it whatever the hell they want and I won’t complain.

That same lineup heads to Australia this weekend for a run of dates that carries them into June. Info on that is on their Thee Facebooks, info on the Up in Smoke gig follows:

Up In Smoke Festival – October 3rd & 4th 2014

Hailing from Palm Desert where all the movement started, we are extremely pleased to welcome the desert rock icon BRANT BJORK, presenting LOW DESERT PUNK!

His influence within the stoner rock community dates back to his time as drummer for the legendary Kyuss, through his stint with fuzz-kings Fu Manchu. With his new outfit featuring Dave Dinsmore on bass (Che, Bl’ast), Bubba Dupree on guitar (Void, Hater) and Tony Tornay on drums (Fatso Jetson, Chuck Dukowski), BRANT BJORK will deliver a near-lethal dose of classic rock and heavy punk to UP IN SMOKE FESTIVAL on OCTOBER 4th 2014!

It grooves. It flows. It’s psychedelic. It’s tough. BRANT BJORK and his live band are guerrilla rock revolutionaries… taking back the rock and letting it roll. Don’t miss your chance at an audience with the legend this fall!

We are proud to present the second edition of our UP IN SMOKE INDOOR FEST!

As last year, it will set up in PRATTELN (Basel area) in one of the very best Swiss venue : Z7 KONZERTFABRIK! After the huge success of the festival last year, we took the decision to do a 2-day event in 2014 featuring around 20 bands on 2 stages with special light shows, after-show DJs, and art exhibition. On OCTOBER 3rd & 4th, Z7 will definitely be the place to be!

You’ll find below in this newsletter the first 7 bands already confirmed, including this afternoon’s announcement as special preview for you guys. Hope you’ll dig it!

TICKETS for UP IN SMOKE FEST #2 can be ordered on www.z-7.ch and soon via Ticketmaster.
Check-out our Facebook page for constant updates.

https://www.facebook.com/UpInSmokeIndoorFestivalInZ7
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Brant-Bjork/123800120977061

Brant Bjork, “Low Desert Punk”

When Masters of Reality frontman and mastermind Chris Goss says “wonderful,” it is as though he has reeled back his whole body to put a breathy and fully human energy into the word. And it is not a word he uses lightly. In the 67 minutes we spent on the phone discussing the US release of Masters of Reality‘s latest album, Pine/Cross Dover, on Cool Green Recordings (it came out in Europe in 2009 on Brownhouse/Mascot Records), he only said it three or four times, but each time he did, I could hear the genuine passion behind it.

Masters of Reality made their debut in 1988 with a self-titled full-length renamed The Blue Garden for its cover art. Throughout the multi-decade tenure of the band, and across albums like Sunrise on the Sufferbus (1992), Welcome to the Western Lodge (1999), Deep in the Hole (2001), Give us Barabbas (2004), Goss has been the lone consistent factor, making his name also as one of the key figures in the rise of rock from the Californian desert as producer and contributor to acts like Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age, Fatso Jetson and the Mark Lanegan Band, of course helming Masters of Reality from a production standpoint as well.

I’ve been a Masters of Reality fan since hearing Deep in the Hole in 2002/2003 (there are those who swear by the band’s earliest material, but I am not one of them), and whether it’s the driving rock of “High Noon Amsterdam” as presented on the brilliant live album from 2003, Flak ‘n’ Flight, or the rich harmonic texture of “Always” or “Testify to Love” from Pine/Cross Dover, I find that, whatever scene you want to lump them into, they make for a listening experience like none other. After wanting to for years, it was great to finally have occasion to conduct an interview with Goss.

In the conversation below, the guitarist/vocalist/songwriter/producer talks about pushing back the release date of Pine/Cross Dover to allow for more time in the studio, working with longtime drummer John Leamy on the album and bringing in guests like Dave Catching (earthlings?) and Brian O’Connor (Eagles of Death Metal), the state of commercial attitudes toward rock and roll, the enduring legacy of the desert scene he helped to found, being arrested in Germany on Masters of Reality‘s last European tour, and much, much more. The interview wound up being over 6,100 words, so there’s plenty to dig into. It’s pretty epic.

You’ll find the complete, unabridged Q&A after the jump. Please enjoy.

Read more »