Posted in Whathaveyou on December 30th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
The pedigree of drummer Mike Amster is pretty significant at this point. Having been part of Abrams alongside his brother Zach, Mike Amster has drummed for studio and live incarnations of Nebula, Mondo Generator and Blaak Heat Shujaa, and so might be called a ‘journeyman’ if the journey in question was mostly around the Californian desert. A cruiser of said desert, at the very least.
Another impressive line on Amster‘s CV is added as he takes over drum duties for the Brant Bjork Trio, sliding into the rhythm section with bassist Mario Lalli (also Fatso Jetson, Yawning Man, etc.) as Bjork himself handles vocals and guitar. That Amster can hold his own in the material is without question — as a player he’s readily up to the significantly grooving task before him, to be sure — but it’s worth noting he has significant shoes to fill in the role previously held by Ryan Güt, who had been a part of Bjork’s prior solo band and the trio Stöner with bassist/vocalist Nick Oliveri as well.
Stöner is a connection here too, since Oliveri fronts and Amster drums in Mondo Generator, so although Bjork and Amster haven’t been in a band together before so far as I know, everybody’s kind of in the same orbit of each other.
Brant Bjork Trio‘s upcoming 2025 live dates follow. Their post revealing the new lineup was just the photo (which I’ve cropped for sharing purposes), the names and the UK dates. The US shows were announced earlier this month, and if you need to be reminded, the band’s Once Upon a Time in the Desert (review here) was just featured among the best albums of 2024 here, because duh of course it was.
The raw data:
BBT 2025 Brant Bjork, Mario Lalli, Mike Amster
BRANT BJORK TRIO – UK & IRELAND TOUR – JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2025 FRI 24 JAN: THE CRAUFURD ARMS, MILTON KEYNES, UK SAT 25 JAN: REBELLION, MANCHESTER, UK SUN 26 JAN: THE CLUNY, NEWCASTLE, UK MON 27 JAN: AUDIO, GLASGOW, UK WED 29 JAN: GRAND SOCIAL, DUBLIN, IRE THU 30 JAN: LIMELIGHT 2, BELFAST, N. IRE FRI 31 JAN: SIN CITY, SWANSEA, UK SAT 01 FEB: MAMA ROUX’S, BIRMINGHAM, UK SUN 02 FEB: STRANGE BREW, BRISTOL, UK MON 03 FEB: BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, LEEDS, UK TUE 04 FEB: WATERFRONT STUDIO, NORWICH, UK WED 05 FEB: THE FORUM, TUNBRIDGE WELLS, UK THU 06 FEB: THE 1865, SOUTHAMPTON, UK FRI 07 FEB: THE ARCH, BRIGHTON, UK SAT 08 FEB: OSLO, LONDON, UK
03.07 Kansas City MO Record Bar 03.08 Minneapolis MN Turf Club 03.09 Milwaukee WI Shank Hall 03.10 Grand Rapids MI Pyramid Scheme 03.11 Columbus OH King of Clubs 03.12 Youngstown OH Westside Bowl 03.13 Baltimore MD Metro Gallery 03.14 New Hope PA John & Peter’s 03.15 Brooklyn NY TV Eye 03.16 Providence RI Alchemy 03.19 Detroit MI Small’s 03.20 Newport KY Southgate House 03.21 Louisville KY Portal+Artportal 03.22 Chicago IL Reggies
The Brant Bjork Trio: Brant Bjork – guitar/vocals Mario Lalli – bass Mike Amster – drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 6th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
As first confirmed last month with the announcement of the UK and Ireland dates below, Brant Bjork Trio will continue to support their new album, Once Upon a Time in the Desert (review here) — issued through Bjork‘s reinvigorated imprint Duna Records — by taking it to the stage. Following up on the January/February run abroad, a US tour will pick up on March 7, one day short of a month from the last UK date in London, and loop the three-piece of Bjork, bassist Mario Lalli and drummer Ryan Güt through the upper Midwest, the Northeast, and back into the Midwest to finish in Chicago on March 22.
Keeping busy, then. That was the theme for the Trio‘s 2024 as well. I was fortunate enough to see them in Budapest (review here) before the record came out, and man, what a party that was — and no, not just because it was on a boat. Playing songs from Brant Bjork‘s unparalleled catalog in desert rock, they brought new material and old to life in a way that dared the audience not to boogie, and sure enough, the crowd I was in couldn’t resist. Not the first time, hopefully won’t be the last, and if you’re someplace where they’re going to be, you likely don’t need me to tell you it’s an occasion worth showing up for. At least you can make your plans early.
Dates follow here for both tours, as yoinked from socials:
BRANT BJORK TRIO – UK & IRELAND TOUR – JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2025
FRI 24 JAN: THE CRAUFURD ARMS, MILTON KEYNES, UK SAT 25 JAN: REBELLION, MANCHESTER, UK SUN 26 JAN: THE CLUNY, NEWCASTLE, UK MON 27 JAN: AUDIO, GLASGOW, UK WED 29 JAN: GRAND SOCIAL, DUBLIN, IRE THU 30 JAN: LIMELIGHT 2, BELFAST, N. IRE FRI 31 JAN: SIN CITY, SWANSEA, UK SAT 01 FEB: MAMA ROUX’S, BIRMINGHAM, UK SUN 02 FEB: STRANGE BREW, BRISTOL, UK MON 03 FEB: BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, LEEDS, UK TUE 04 FEB: WATERFRONT STUDIO, NORWICH, UK WED 05 FEB: THE FORUM, TUNBRIDGE WELLS, UK THU 06 FEB: THE 1865, SOUTHAMPTON, UK FRI 07 FEB: THE ARCH, BRIGHTON, UK SAT 08 FEB: OSLO, LONDON, UK
03.07 Kansas City MO Record Bar 03.08 Minneapolis MN Turf Club 03.09 Milwaukee WI Shank Hall 03.10 Grand Rapids MI Pyramid Scheme 03.11 Columbus OH King of Clubs 03.12 Youngstown OH Westside Bowl 03.13 Baltimore MD Metro Gallery 03.14 New Hope PA John & Peter’s 03.15 Brooklyn NY TV Eye 03.16 Providence RI Alchemy 03.19 Detroit MI Small’s 03.20 Newport KY Southgate House 03.21 Louisville KY Portal+Artportal 03.22 Chicago IL Reggies
The Brant Bjork Trio: Brant Bjork – guitar/vocals Mario Lalli – bass Ryan Güt – drums
[Click play above to stream Brant Bjork Trio’s Once Upon a Time in the Desert in full. It’s out Friday on Duna Records.]
Yeah, desert rock would probably exist in some form without the contributions to it that Brant Bjork has made over the last 25 years as a solo artist, but it wouldn’t be half as rad. Self-releasing through a reignited Duna Records, he is teamed here with Mario Lalli of Fatso Jetson, Yawning Man (and adjacent projects), and drummer Ryan Güt, who began in the prior incarnation of Bjork‘s solo band, continued with Bjork in the trio Stöner, and has held the position as Brant Bjork Trio evolved from that group, which featured Nick Oliveri (also ex-Kyuss, Mondo Generator, etc.) on bass and vocals.
Mario Lalli and the Rubber Snake Charmers toured with Stönerin 2022, but of course the association goes farther back than even Lalli‘s guest appearance on Bjork‘s first solo record, Jalamanta (reissue review here), which came out through Man’s Ruin Records in 1999, to when they were teenagers. Both are founding figureheads in desert rock, Lalli starting out in the mid-’80s in Yawning Man and Bjork a few years later drumming and songwriting in Kyuss before eventually joining Fu Manchu, also on drums, but while the past laurels are many, Once Upon a Time in the Desert has little time to dwell in its nine songs and 41 minutes.
Produced by Bjork and Lalli and engineered by longtime-associate Mathias Schneeberger (who mastered Jalamanta, as one example), the new album not only establishes a more firm partnership between the two mainstays and their secret weapon of a drummer, but basks in a groove that’s emblematic of how they got to be ambassadors of the genre in the first place. It’s been a long road getting from there to here, bringing these players together in this incarnation of Bjork‘s solo band, and they’ve arrived at a place of a distinctive, classic cool.
And they know it. Once Upon a Time in the Desert doesn’t have a narrative thread drawn across its tracks as the title might lead one to believe, but it does tell a story just the same of who these players are and where they’re at at this point in time. There are self-aware displays of persona in the lyrics, as with “UR Free,” which communicates its message as the album opener directly to the listener — the “you” in this case — however or to whomever it may have originally been written.
In the first of several resounding hooks — see also: “Backin’ the Daze,” “Astrological Blues (Southern California Girl),” and “Sunshine is Making Love to Your Mind,” among others — “UR Free” casts a laid-back vision of active whateverism. Lines like “If you want some fun/Go have some fun today/If you wanna cry/Then let your tears fall from your eyes/We all fall down sometimes,” are inclusive and markedly open in terms of perspective, the kind of perspective that might, in a while, find a mind making love to the sunshine, perhaps blissfully, serenely stoned. It’s not all so peaceful as regards lyrics, as “Magic Surfer Magazine” describes an all-alone kid in the desert looking at a surfing magazine.
Leaving aside the of-personal-significance and often-forgotten experiential wonder of print media –holding a picture of a surfer and wanting to surf — it’s a straightforward contrast between the desert and the ocean, and affecting in the chorus: “So lonely/In my bedroom/Dreamin’ every night/I’m gonna be a surfer too.” I don’t know if Bjork is talking about himself there, and I don’t know if he surfs — he was in Fu Manchu, which I feel like should count for surfer cred either way — but the memory-in-song storytelling frame is one that has typified his work in recent years across projects. Stöner‘s “Rad Stays Rad” from their 2021 debut, Stoners Rule (review here), is a ready example, and part of that pandemic-born outfit’s purpose was a nostalgic stripping down to the core elements of desert rock to begin with; arguable as a kind of looking back. The most obvious instance on Once Upon a Time in the Desert — beyond the title itself — is “Backin’ the Daze.” Duh.
If you’re wondering why it’s Brant Bjork Trio and a more band-like moniker in the vein of Stöner, the answer would seem to be that the roots of the songs are his, whatever Lalli and Güt are bringing to the finished product of the album as a whole. Bjork is also alone in handling vocals. But while the writing modus and attitude are familiar, there’s no discounting the life and tonal presence Mario Lalli brings to the recordings. His bass is very much present in the mix throughout, and in the mini-jam of “Astrological Blues (Southern California Girl),” the low end twists with grace around the central figure on guitar as it proceeds through the song’s back half. The bass and guitar are not in competition by any means.
“Down the Mountain” aligns the three-piece around a likewise fluid nod, and everyone shines, and in the crashout start of “Rock and Roll in the Dirt,” the tones are aligned for suitable grit, Lalli and Güt carrying the rhythm in the midsection as the guitar weaves in and out. A balance between studio clarity and live energy is resonant, and even a straight-ahead early piece like “Higher Lows” has space in its sub-five-minute run to conjure some desert expanse, and the finale “Do You Got Some Fire?” feels even more vital with Güt‘s double-kick underscoring its groove following the pattern of the riff.
The Brant Bjork Trio have over 50 years of experience at this thing between them. To get a whole record of Bjork and Lalli together, well, it’s not the craziest idea ever since they’ve been in each other’s orbit and shared space on albums plenty of times over the course of the last three-plus decades, but it is something special that longtime fans of either’s work in other contexts will be glad to embrace. They are accordingly pro-shop, and has been the case on every Bjork-related recording he’s been part of since 2016’s Tao of the Devil (review here), Güt revels in the swing and is a master at finding the rhythmic dynamics in Bjork‘s riffs. Change is the order of the universe, but one hopes that partnership continues to develop.
And listening to Once Upon a Time in the Desert, it’s easy to apply the same to Lalli and Brant Bjork Trio as a whole. All three of them have other bands, projects, incarnations, whathaveyou, and they’re rarely static in moving between them, but if this album, the touring they’ve done leading up to it and the touring they’ll do probably over the next year to support it are a fleeting moment, it’s one worth appreciating.
Brant Bjork Trio, “Backin’ the Daze” official video
Once upon a Monday evening, and a boat, in Budapest.
The hajò in A38 Hajó translates to ‘ship’ in English, and indeed, it’s a big ol’ boat. Docked, so it’s not like we were listing one way or the other, though as Earth Tongue got started about 36 seconds after I walked in, I could swear I felt the floor move a bit.
The New Zealand duo have been in town — and by that I mean in Europe — for I don’t know how long already supporting their new album, Great Haunting, and the sun was still coming through the western side of the ship’s rooftop terrace as they played. Open walls, breeze, park across the street probably getting some wub of the pleasantly surprising tonal density on offer. To walk in a place you’ve never been and be rolled over by groove from Gussie Larkin’s guitar and Ezra Simons’ drums, the two sharing vocals throughout with a style that was punk and indie as much as stoner anything while also heavy as hell, a bit of playfully murderous Satanism to make it a good evil time, and almost folkish in some — just some — of the melodies coming through, but using the two-piece configuration not to highlight rawness, but versatility. It was quite a sight to see.
“Out of This Hell” was a highlight, with the wah doing some of the singing as well, and the stops and turns through cycles of riff underscored with, sparse in construction and arrangement but made full through tone, giving up nothing of instrumental tightness for the dual vocals. Nuance waiting to be heard. They made the darkness in their sound a part of the fun, a smiling threat no less sincere. People cheered when they came back out to break down their gear, which to me spoke of their winning folks over, but maybe that’s not necessarily a surprise. They made it easy to get on board, and considering the likelihood of my seeing New Zealand anything, ever, in any context, the radness perhaps came with a bit of extra novelty.
I’ve been in Hungary for a couple weeks now, but am still very much a tourist, however confident my ‘köszönöm szépen’ at the grocery store has gotten. I last saw Brant Bjork, in this very configuration — with Mario Lalli on bass and Ryan Güt on drums, playing as Brant Bjork Trio — at Desertfest New York (review here) this past September, and while the band and I are from nowhere near the same place, biome, whatever, I still had a bit of home-comfort at the thought of watching them play. Their forthcoming album, Once Upon a Time in the Desert, is a to-form, to-a-high-standard groover, and while I suppose that’s gonna be true anytime you put Lalli and Bjork on a record together, well, it’s true this time too.
I moved up front while Lalli did the line check after meeting a few new friends from Buda and/or Pest and telling them about my adventure driving the little electric cart around Margít Island earlier in the day and getting ab recommendation to bit Wave Music to go record shopping. I had to move back up — not trying to be rude to anyone; just don’t want to miss my chance and I’m not good looking enough for people to make way when I say excuse me and try to get past — and I was glad I did because it filled in quickly. The sun wasn’t yet all the way down, but the lights were on and they were playing blues over the P.A., which felt right on. Bit of sway for the boat. I wished I had brought water, but I always do when I don’t, so I just drank that tension and let it be for a couple minutes. Dudes were gonna roll. The volume was gonna hit — it certainly had in Earth Tongue, even if it started with a bit of surprise at 19.30 on the dot more or less. An hour later, just an hour after I awkwarded my way through the door, there they were.
They played a goodly portion of the album — heads up on “Coming Down the Mountain, y’all — along with selections out of Bjork’s catalog from “Mary You’re Such a Lady” to “Too Many Chiefs,” which had dudes bouncing up front, and I gotta be honest with you, as much as I do the critic thing and try to take people’s work seriously because I believe it deserves serious consideration, I really just needed to let it go for a few fucking minutes. When they hit into “Sunshine,” I was perfectly happy to loosen the plugs in my ears and pull my head out of my own ass and relax. Yeah, it’s cool to go to a club show in a foreign city. It’s cool to be on a boat without any real plan for how I’m gonna get back to the apartment after. Hell, my niece is here for the week and she even came out for it. I can close my eyes and enjoy a thing for a few, right? Just a few? I’ll go back to writing on my phone like a dick when this song is over, I swear.
I saw this every time — every time — but I’ll say it again: Ryan Güt, man. Dude swings with the swing, and when he hits the snare on “Let the Truth Be Known,” he’s not trying to be mean about it, but he’s making a point, god damn it, and it’s a point worth making. The place had gotten what I’d consider packed out for a Monday night, and as I will, I hung in the back for a while and enjoyed the breathing space without giving up the volume of the jam being cast into the streetlit Magyarorszag night. Hétfőn. School night for me. Not even shitting you. Language lesson at 8AM tomorrow. Real life. “Bread for Butter.”
By the time they got to “UR Free,” they were long since rolling, and following it up with “Trip on the Wine” brought a bit of mellow after the tense verses of the newer song, a complement that worked better on stage than I’d have expected, and while “Trip” didn’t have the keys like on the album, that gave the guitar solo a little more emphasis in the easy-rolling nodder, building in volume and daring some nasty in the fuzz; the pot, stirred. They jammed on it — legit — and brought it down smooth, not that there was ever a doubt. “Somewhere Some Woman” followed, for another rad turn.
Live LP? Well, Lalli just put one out with The Rubber Snake Charmers, and Bjork and Güt have one coming from Stöner, but if they managed to capture this lineup at work, it’d be with the price of admission for their take on “Automatic Fantastic” alone. They ended the set proper with that — as one would — and came back out for the new single “Backin’ the Daze” as the first of a two-part encore, following up with “Freaks of Nature” to finish the night. I bought my niece an Earth Tongue shirt and we split about a literal minute before it ended, which I’ll say I don’t regret because indeed it sounded fucking awesome echoing out into the night from the A38. Ditto the cheers after.
While I’d point out this Trio configuration as a standout in itself, you don’t need me to tell you to see Brant Bjork. He’s a captain of cool and the foremost ambassador of Californian desert rock, but I’ve done that shit before and if you didn’t get the message then, I doubt you’re (1:) still reading or (2:) inclined to now, so, fine. What I’ll say instead is that for me, this was a pretty special night, and when I think back on the four weeks I’ll have spent in Budapest this summer, I know damn well this is part of what I’ll remember most fondly. Also that I was able to catch the tram home without screwing it up. Not nothing considering a general weakness for navigation. Must’ve been a good one. Yeah, it was. I asked if I could do my morning lesson Wednesday instead. Fingers crossed.
More pics after the jump if you want to hit that up. Thanks for reading either way.
Posted in Whathaveyou on June 25th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
I’d love to sit here and opine at some length about the career path of Brant Bjork, Mario Lalli and even at this point Ryan Güt — who’s been with Bjork through solo stuff, the Stöner trio with Nick Oliveri and is now part of Brant Bjork Trio; no slouch on contribution through this stretch even if he’s the dude in the band without the middle-name “desert legend,” is what I’m saying — but fact is I’m also in the desert, in Arizona, headed to the Grand Canyon. It ain’t California sands, Palm Springs, generator parties, but hell, it’s closer than New Jersey, where I’ll fly back to the day after tomorrow.
So, light on time, especially as The Patient Mrs. is giving me the wrap-it-up sign and I await the kick-in of the gummy that’s going to let me live aneurysm-free through this morning dealing with our daughter — who has outdone even her own high standards of pain in the ass on this trip — but happy to post word of Brant Bjork Trio‘s Once Upon a Time in the Desert, out Sept. 20 through Duna Records (Bjork‘s label; his bringing it back in-house follows years on Heavy Psych Sounds and Napalm Records going back the last decade-plus) and the first single “Backin’ the Daze,” which is both as catchy as you’d expect and, if I’m hearing it right, not quite family-friendly. So it goes.
The PR wire takes it from here. Tour dates are ported over from this post; there may be changes. Single’s at the bottom:
BRANT BJORK TRIO to release new studio album “Once Upon A Time In The Desert” on September 20th via Duna Records; first single streaming!
BRANT BJORK TRIO announce the release of their new studio album “Once Upon A Time In The Desert” on September 20th, marking the return of Brant Bjork’s beloved desert rock label Duna Records (distributed worldwide by Cobraside Distribution). The trio also releases their new single “Backin’ the Daze” and announce 2024 European and Japan tours.
Brant Bjork has spent over a quarter-century at the epicenter of Californian desert rock. From cutting his teeth drumming and composing on the legendary Kyuss’ landmark early albums, to propelling the seminal fuzz of Fu Manchu from 1994-2001 while producing other bands, putting together offshoot projects, and over the last 20 years embarking on his solo career as a singer, guitarist and bandleader, founding his own record label and more, his history is a winding narrative of relentless, unflinching creativity. Brant Bjork is considered a founding pioneer of the stoner rock and desert rock music scenes.
In 2024, the Brant Bjork Trio featuring old friend and influential desert rock pioneer Mario Lalli (Yawning Man, Fatso Jetson, Desert Sessions) on bass guitar and Brant Bjork band alumni Ryan Güt on drums will release a breakout full-length LP on Bjork’s newly relaunched Duna Records, distributed worldwide by Cobraside Distribution. “Once Upon a Time in the Desert” is the result of a long collaborative friendship between Bjork, Lalli and Güt. The power trio recorded the tracks at Donner & Blitzen studios in Southern California with another long-time collaborator Mathias Shneeberger, who has recorded and engineered many classic desert rock albums over the years.
The music the Brant Bjork Trio creates together is a heavy, fluid groove, organic desert rock & roll — a genre created by these veteran independent musicians — and their new record “Once Upon a Time in the Desert” expresses the principles of those styles born in the So Cal desert. Pure, heavy and grooving. So Cal desert blues that only these desert originals can deliver.
BRANT BJORK TRIO “Once Upon A Time in the Desert” Out September 20th on Duna Records Preorders coming soon!
TRACKLIST: 1. U.R. Free 2. Backin’ The Daze 3. Higher Lows 4. Down the Mountain 5. Magic Surfer Magazine 6. Sunshine Is Making Love To Your Mind 7. Rock And Roll In The Dirt 8. Astrological Blues (Southern California Girl) 9. Do You Got Some Fire?
Brant Bjork shares some insight into the new album and relaunch of Duna Records:
“Things come and go and sometimes they come back again. With that said, It’s an exciting time for me to be officially re-launching Duna Records. Duna was a vision I had in the mid-’90s and it finally became a reality in 2002 until its hiatus in 2006. Duna Records was and will continue to be my personal record label that is a home for all things creative amongst myself and others that are close to me. The timing couldn’t be better for Duna to begin a new life.
To celebrate this new beginning, I have recorded a new record with the Brant Bjork Trio and it will be Duna’s first official returning release. As you might know by now, due to extensive touring in the U.S., South America, Australia, Europe and Japan, the Brant Bjork Trio consists of my longtime drummer Ryan Güt and my longtime desert brother Mario Lalli on bass. Mario and I share a very unique and very special musical history that began when I was 13 years old! I always knew we would be playing together in my band and my patience paid off. To have Mario and Ryan as the rhythm section in a trio… so rad! Together, Mario and I produced the new record, appropriately titled ‘Once Upon a Time in the Desert’; and we are beyond excited to get this music out and into the hands and ears of all the fans new and old.
I’m very lucky to be able to sustain a life as the musician that I am. I certainly wouldn’t be able to do so without all of the musicians, music industry partners and of course the fans that have supported me for 25 years. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate my musical journey and show my appreciation than to re-launch Duna Records and release new and old music directly to my fans, the way it was always meant to be. Thank you and stay tuned for more desert rock.”
After completing successful tours of Europe and Australia earlier this year, the Brant Bjork Trio will be kicking off the second leg of their European tour later in July, followed by a tour of Japan in October to promote the release and relaunch of Duna Records. In 2025, the band will tour the UK, selected European regions, USA East Coast, New Zealand and more.
BRANT BJORK TRIO – SUMMER EUROPEAN TOUR 2024 24.7.24 RARE GUITAR, MÜNSTER (DE) 25.7.24 HERZBERG FESTIVAL, BREITENBACH (DE) 26.7.24 ROCK IM WALD, MICHELAU (DE) 27.7.24 BLUE MOON FESTIVAL, COTTBUS (DE) 28.7.24 STADTWERKSTATT, LINZ (AT) 29.7.24 A38, BUDAPEST (HU) 30.7.24 MOCVARA, ZAGREB (HR) 31.7.24 VIPER ROOM, VIENNA (AT) 2.8.24 POOLBAR FESTIVAL, FELDKIRCH (AT) 3.8.24 PALP FESTIVAL, BAGNES (CH) 4.8.24 BLAH BLAH, TORINO (IT) 5.8.24 ALTROQUANDO, ZEROBRANCO (IT) 6.8.24 FORTEZZA NUOVA, LIVORNO (IT) 8.8.24 HOFLÄRM FESTIVAL, MARIENTHAL (DE) 9.824 ALCATRAZ FESTIVAL, KORTRIJK (BE) 10,8.24 SONIC BLAST FESTIVAL, MOLEDO (PT)
Brant Bjork Trio Japan Tour 2024 10/23(Wed) Osaka Sengoku Daitoryo 10/24(Thu) Kanazawa REDSUN 10/25(Fri) Nagoya Tokuzou 10/26(Sat) Tokyo Ryogoku Sunrise 10/27(Sun) Nishi-Yokohama El Puente 10/28(Mon) Tokyo Shindaita FEVER
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 29th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
As we speak, the Brant Bjork Trio — that’s Bjork himself on vocals and guitar, Mario Lalli on bass, Ryan Güt on drums — are wrapping up a Desertfest-heavy Spring run of Europe and the UK that was billed as “pt. 1” of the broader continental plans. The next installment is coming up quickly already in about two months, as Sound of Liberation posted the other day, and there’s once again no shortage of fest appearances slated, between Herzberg, Rock im Wald, Blue Moon Festival, Poolbar Festival, Palp Festival, Hoflärm, Alcatraz Festival and SonicBlast Fest as the tour moves through the end of July and into August, taking ass and kicking names all the while. Something like that, anyhow.
Cool cool. I don’t know about you, but I’m waiting for news about the album for which Brant Bjork Trio were in the studio back in February, and with the roughly-concurrent announcement of a Fall run through Japan, it seems more likely to be this year rather than next. Could even be in time for July, depending on when the record was/is actually finished, but who the hell knows anything actually. Not me, I guess is what I’m saying.
Still, this is a lot of moving around if you’re not lugging a long-player along for the merch table. Sound of Liberation posted the first part of this and I grabbed the Japanese dates from Brant Bjork‘s socials. To wit:
Sound of Liberation proudly presents – BRANT BJORK TRIO – SUMMER EUROPEAN TOUR 2024
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 19th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Anybody notice Brant Bjork hitting the road pretty hard these last couple years? Since I guess later 2021/2022, if it hasn’t been solo, it’s been the trio Stöner, and of late he’s been keeping company with that band’s drummer Ryan Güt and longtime collaborator and bassist Mario Lalli, also of Fatso Jetson, Yawning Man, more recently the jammy The Rubber Snake Charmers, and like Bjork (Kyuss, Fu Manchu, etc.), is a founding principal of Californian desert rock. I was fortunate enough to see this band, the Brant Bjork Trio, at Desertfest New York (review here), and their chemistry, presence, groove all live up to reputation. Playing tunes from Bjork‘s solo catalog and even apparently composing new material perhaps with an eye toward an LP, they’ve obviously been hither and yon in the US already, and in 2024 they’ll look to expand on that in busy fashion.
After Planet Desert Rock Weekend in January — which I want to go to; anyone got a flight and hotel room I could borrow? — the three-piece head to South America in March for a run of shows in Chile, Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay. That’s not an insignificant amount of travel. Later the same month, they’ll one-up themselves by undertaking the journey to Australia for shows there with support from Full Tone Generator, with whom Bjork has both played and produced previously. That stint ends early in April, and is the newest announcement, hence the headline above. Still to come, however, are the full dates for the European tour that will go at least three full weeks as it’s already confirmed to take Brant Bjork Trio from Desertfest Oslo (May 10-11) through Desertfest London (May 17-19) to Desertfest Berlin (May 24-26).
I seriously doubt that will be the end of their year, either, especially if they might be eyeing a Fall LP release with so much touring before. Or maybe they’ll hit the studio this Winter and put out a record in Spring. Or maybe a fucking asteroid will smash into the planet and none of these shows will happen, for all I know, but the point here is that despite having absolutely nothing, zero, nulla, to prove to anyone, they’re out doing so anyway. If you be there to see them on stage — they seem to be making it easier by going everywhere — I can only recommend doing so as something you will not regret.
Dates follow, as per social media:
One of my favorite places to play !
Stoked to announce the Brant Bjork Trio is coming over to Australia, we will be playing with our buddy’s Full Tone Generator on all the dates !
Brant Bjork Trio featuring Ryan Güt & Mario Lalli.
US DATES Dec 21st Venice West Planet Desert Rock Weekend IV – January 25-26-27, 2024, Las Vegas
SOUTH AMERICAN TOUR Concepcion Chile 3/6/2024 Santiago Chile 3/7/2024 São Paulo Brazil 3/8/2024 March 9th Uniclub Buenos Aries Argentina MAR 10 SUN Montevideo, Uruguay Plaza Mateo
AUSTRALIAN TOUR 28/03 – Barwon Club Geelong (VIC) AUS 29/03 – Singing Bird Studio Frankston AUS 30/03 – Gasometer Hotel Melbourne (VIC) AUS 31/03 – Crown & Anchor Hotel Adelaide (SA) AUS 03/04 – The Basement Canberra (ACT) AUS 04/04 – Dicey Rileys Wollongong (NSW) AUS 05/04 – Marrickville Bowlo Sydney (NSW) AUS 06/04 – Mos Clubhouse Gold coast (QLD) AUS
EUROPE 2024 Desertfest Oslo: 10th – 11th May 2024 Desertfest – Berlin Desertfest London
The Brant Bjork Trio: Brant Bjork – guitar/vocals Mario Lalli – bass Ryan Güt – drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 3rd, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Behold as DesertfestBerlin launches its 2024 season with 15 bands like hey getting 15 bands in a place is no big deal. Of course, maybe it isn’t for the now-long-running German event with close ties to the Sound of Liberation booking concern, but for the rest of the planet. You’ll note Belgian post-metallers Amenra and always-hip weirdos Osees at the top of the thus-far bill followed immediately by Acid King and The Brant Bjork Trio, both of whom will also take part in Desertfest Oslo 2024 as announced yesterday. Norway’s Full Earth, an offshoot of Kanaan with a debut album coming next year on Stickman, will also be at both events, and they’re likely not the last.
So, context tells us to expect at least two weeks of touring in Europe from those three outfits. Monkey3 are on the road now, Siena Root, Dÿse and Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs — new live LP out — were recently confirmed for Bear Stone Festival 2024 in July, and it’s not unthinkable they’d be doing shows from one to the other. They’re confirmed here alongside Tuareg rockers Tamikrest, Earth Tongue from New Zealand, Thronehammer, Dirty Sound Magnet, Praise the Plague and Neànder. Sounds like a festival to me. I’m ashamed at this point to say I’ve never been.
Info came down the PR wire, courtesy of Sound of Liberation:
DESERTFEST BERLIN Announces First Bands For 2024! Tickets On Sale Now!
Desertfest Berlin friends (#129304#)
We’re delighted to finally share with you the first names of the bands that are going to play on our stage in 2024❤️(#128293#) AMENRA from Belgium are going to be one of our headliners along with the LA’s psych-punk warrior OSEES ⚡️ We’re happy to see again the great ACID KING and BRANT BJORK TRIO and welcome TAMIKREST for the first time with their mix of traditional African music and Western rock (#128165#) The Newcastle’s doom rockers PIGS x7 will play for us their new album ‘Land of Sleeper’ while MONKEY3 and SIENA ROOT will bring their instrumental psychedelic rock and bluesy hard rock to our stage. Get ready for the emotional as well as decal-laden music of DŸSE and the psychedelic rock by the trio Dirty Sound Magnet (#127786#)️ You’re going to experience the heavy psychedelic / fuzz music of EARTH TONGUE directly from New Zealand, and the epic doom of THRONEHAMMER (#128588#) The experimental Oslo based rock-quintet Full Earth will play along the black metallers PRAISE THE PLAGUE and NEÀNDER both from Berlin ⚡️
Get ready for more names very soon. We’re stoked!!
AMENRA | OSEES ACID KING | BRANT BJORK TRIO | TAMIKREST PIGSPIGSPIGSPIGSPIGSPIGSPIGS | MONKEY3 | SIENA ROOT DŸSE | DIRTY SOUND MAGNET | EARTH TONGUE | THRONEHAMMER FULL EARTH | PRAISE THE PLAGUE | NEÀNDER & MANY MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED
Desertfest Berlin May 24th – 26th 2024 Columbia Venues
