The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.

Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.

Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.

The Obelisk Questionnaire: Clifford Dinsmore of Dusted Angel & Bl’ast

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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?

I would never try to define what I do. I’m more of a “go with the natural flow” kind of person. I got into music through punk rock in the late 70s and early 80s. Steve, the drummer for Dusted Angel is actually one of the very 1st people I ever jammed with. Then I met the guys that I formed M.A.D. with when I was 17 and that eventually evolved into the band BL’AST!.

Describe your first musical memory.

One of my first musical memories was my uncle Steve and my Mom taking me to see Tower Of Power and Credence Clearwater Revival at the Oakland Coliseum in 1972. Totally life changing!

Describe your best musical memory to date.

It’s hard to pick from so many great musical memories. One that stands out is seeing Black Flag, Adolescents, Minute Men and China White at the Mabuhay Gardens in SF when I was 16 . We were at all those shows back then, but that particular night was absolutely amazing.

When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?

Going through my experiences with cancer was definitely an ultimate test of will and my belief in myself. It’s definitely not for everyone, and is an extreme exercise in self-discipline, and that discipline is the key to survival in that kind of fucked up life-altering situation.

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

Artistic progress eventually leads to self liberation and a more personalized view of life on earth and the universe as a whole.

How do you define success?

I would define success as being in a position of personal autonomy and still being able to get by and survive. Traveling and playing music with friends and making enough to get from one place to the next.

What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?

The last presidential election!!! Sheer Terror!!

Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.

Another Dusted Angel record!!

What do you believe is the most essential function of art?

The most essential function of art, in my opinion is to emphasize the incredible aesthetic of natural vs. unnatural in the world we live in. And musically, to create the soundtrack that moves through history. Imagine a world without art and music, it would be insanely bland!

Say something positive about yourself.

I’m kind of a nice person when I’m in a good mood?

Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?

I’m looking forward to going to Hawaii this winter with my girlfriend to hang out with family and friends. Being in the ocean over there is always so revitalizing.

https://dustedangel.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/dustedangelband/
https://www.facebook.com/DustedAngel/

http://www.heavypsychsounds.com/
https://heavypsychsoundsrecords.bandcamp.com/
https://instagram.com/heavypsychsounds_records/
https://www.facebook.com/HEAVYPSYCHSOUNDS/

Dusted Angel, This Side of the Dirt (2025)

Santa Cruz doom rockers Dusted Angel will release their awaited second album, This Side of the Dirt, tomorrow, Sept. 19, through Heavy Psych Sounds. The band first emerged with a 2009 self-titled EP (review here) and their full-length debut, Earth-Sick Mind (review here), followed in 2010, but as will happen, life and other bands took priority. Vocalist Clifford Dinsmore (also Bl’ast and Spaceboy) got cancer twice, drummer Bill Torgerson (also Bl’ast) passed away, and they were sent reeling, but the eight songs and 40 minutes of This Side of the Dirt demonstrate what Cali underground heavy showgoers have known all along — the band are alive and well. Now a five-piece with Dinsmore and fellow founding members guitarist Eric Feiber and bassist Elliot Young, as well as drummer Steve Ilse (ex-Herbert) and guitarist Eddie Gregor, the band don’t so much erase the last 15 years as bring the sound of Dusted Angel into the present to represent where they’re at now.

I don’t know how long some of this material has been around, but with a decade and a half between records, the greater likelihood is it wasn’t all put together three months before they hit the studio. But if a cut like opener “Plastic People” or the subsequent single “Death Crushes Hope” have been in the works for however long, the record doesn’t is too brash to sound stale. The recording is raw tonally and Dinsmore‘s vocals are largely without effects, so as “Death Crushes Hope” picks up to add speed to the fluid, follow-that-riff! nod of “Plastic People,” the effect is true to the band’s roots in punk and hardcore. That intersection, between riff-centered doom/heavy rock and now-oldschool hardcore punk, is precisely where Dusted Angel will meet you, and while the temptation there is to say “for a beatdown” or some such implication of violence, the truth is This Side of the Dirt as a whole is no more defined by its aggression than by its groove. In any case, there’s plenty of both to go around. Here, that’s a reminder of part of the band’s initial appeal 16 years ago.

That said, for most who take it on, This Side of the Dirt will be their first experience with the band, and so the shove in “Little Lizzy” or the brooding, ultra-West Coast break in the title-track, and the chug in the later verses of the earlier, assumed-it’s-named-for-the-tobacco-company-which-I’m-still-not-sure-is-okay “Redman” will be striking for the perhaps unexpected angle they approach the concept of capital-‘H’ heavy. This becomes a strength for Dusted Angel throughout the LP as the two sides of their sound intertwine and “Kiss o’ Shame” is able to resolve in a riff and noise push that’s emblematic of the blend at its finest. The rawness in their approach, a sans-frills production — that’s not to say it’s too barebones or harsh; tones are full and the mix is balanced, but they’re not trying to be coated in fuzz or effects — bolsters the impression as “This Side of the Dirt” and “Kiss o’ Shame” dig into the center of the record where the vinyl side-split is found, but digitally (like on the album-premiere player below) the structure is of course more linear. In this way, those two songs giving over to “Little Lizzy” mirrors the shift from “Plastic People” and “Death Crushes Hope” into “Redman” at the outset, but that’s not to say the tracks are doing the same thing, because they’re not.

But if you want to look at the tracklisting as two, one, two, one, then the final grouping, “The Thorn” and “Seeking the Dawn” might be said to summarize that procession on a one-to-one basis. “The Thorn” is a little longer, and in classic ’00s-era riff-rock fashion is nearly halfway through its five-minute runtime before the first verse has started (love that), while “Seeking the Dawn” underscores the groove of the entirety while giving a crescendo to top it all off. The last thing to go when it’s all over is the lead guitar, and fair enough for the tumult preceding. By the time they get there, the declarations of purpose and character are long since made, but Dusted Angel neither overstay their welcome, and if there’s a formula at work, it’s malleable enough that they never seem to repeat themselves while at the same time never losing sight of their core direction. It doesn’t necessarily feel like balance, however, with the shouts and angular turns, shoves and changes of meter, but This Side of the Dirt is a more exciting listen as well for that.

The entirety of the album is streaming below, with more background from the PR wire thereafter.

Please enjoy:

Dusted Angel, This Side of the Dirt album premiere

Dusted Angel’s journey is one of passion, perseverance, and reinvention. Frontman Clifford Dinsmore reflects on the band’s history, from its explosive beginnings to its triumphant resurgence.

“It all started in 2008 when I heard Bill Torgerson (Bl’ast!), Eric Dog Feiber, Eliot Young, and Scott Stevens were jamming,” says Dinsmore. “When mutual friend Kieth Meek told me they wanted me to join, I was intrigued. Hearing The Thorn and Seeking The Dawn for the first time blew my mind — I had to be part of it.” After Dinsmore penned the song Dusted Angel, the band adopted the name as their own.

The early years were marked by relentless gigging, a 7” release, and their debut album, Earthsick Mind. But tragedy struck with the loss of Bill Torgerson. “Losing Bill was devastating — he was irreplaceable,” Dinsmore admits. “The only hope was Steve Ilse, who reluctantly joined part-time.” Challenges mounted when Scott Stevens faced nerve damage, slowing the band’s momentum. Still, they shared stages with Fu Manchu, High on Fire, and Melvins, keeping the fire alive.

Personal battles followed — Dinsmore survived two cancers, a bone marrow transplant, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, Dusted Angel endured, playing sparse shows as a four-piece before finding new life with guitarist Eddie Gregor. “When Eddie joined, everything clicked,” says Dinsmore. “For the first time in years, we felt like a real band again.”

Now, with a new album, a deal with Heavy Psych Sounds, and global ambitions, Dusted Angel is charging forward. “The momentum is unstoppable,” Dinsmore declares. “We’re ready for whatever comes next.”

TRACKLIST
SIDE A
Plastic People – 5:23
Death Crushes Hope – 6:21
Redman – 3:32
This Side of the Dirt – 5:20
SIDE B
Kiss O Shame – 6:21
Little Lizzy – 4:05
The Thorn – 5:11
Seeking the Dawn – 4:28

DUSTED ANGEL is:
Elliot Young – Bass
Eric Fieber – Guitars
Clifford Dinsmore – Vocals
Steve Ilse – Drums
Eddie Gregor – Guitars

Dusted Angel on Bandcamp

Dusted Angel on Instagram

Dusted Angel on Facebook

Heavy Psych Sounds website

Heavy Psych Sounds on Bandcamp

Heavy Psych Sounds on Instagram

Heavy Psych Sounds on Facebook

Following up on the announcement last week that Dusted Angel had signed to Heavy Psych Sounds, the details of the Santa Cruz-based doom rockers’ next full-length, This Side of the Dirt — implying ‘alive’ — are now emerging. The release date is Sept. 19 for the eight-track outing, and the first single, “Death Crushes Hope,” is streaming now.

You might see in the quote from frontman Clifford Dinsmore (Bl’ast, Spaceboy) below he calls it “Death Crushed Hope.” I don’t know which is right — ‘crushes’ appears more often, so I’ve gone with that, but it’s a guess at best on my part — but either way, I remember 2010’s Earth-Sick Mind (review here), favorably, and though it’s been 15 years, I’m looking forward to hearing what Dusted Angel are coming back with after what seems to have been a busy decade-and-a-half.

The PR wire has it like this:

Santa Cruz stoner rock gang DUSTED ANGEL to release new album on Heavy Psych Sounds Records this fall; first track streaming now!

ALBUM PRESALE: https://www.heavypsychsounds.com/shop.htm#HPS359

USA PRESALE: https://www.heavypsychsounds.com/shop-usa.htm

Santa Cruz, California’s stoner rock veterans DUSTED ANGEL (with Bl’ast frontman Clifford Dinsmore) return after fifteen years with their new album “This Side Of The Dirt” this September 19th on Heavy Psych Sounds, and unleash a rip-roaring first track with “Death Crushed Hope”!

Says frontman Clifford Dinsmore: “’Death Crushed Hope’ was always meant to be an uplifting song. It was inspired by the frustration I felt with getting older and the pain we all feel losing friends and loved ones along the way. Later, during my personal battles with cancer, it provided a whole new perspective. Despite the harshness of earthly circumstances, there are still the elemental forces of nature. There is still the option of escape and meditation within the solitude and tranquility of this planet’s wild and majestic wonderlands.”

Dusted Angel is a band that likes to keep it in the family. Made up of a group of close friends who have known each other since the early 80s — stemming from playing in various intertwined bands, engraved in the extended Santa Cruz scene — the band features Clifford Dinsmore on vocals (Bl’ast!, Seized Up, Spaceboy), Ed Gregor on guitar (Hedgehog, No Use For A Name), Eric “Dog” Fieber on guitar (Mock, Creature, Fire Sermon) Steve Ilse on drums (Creature, Herbert, Automatic Animal) and Eliot Young (Lost in Line, Seance) on bass. Fifteen years after their debut LP “Earth-Sick Mind”, the sleeping giant awakens to delight the masses with their crushing blend of stoner rock, doom, and desert riff worship, topped with Dunsmore’s commanding vocals. Whether slow-burning or full-throttle, their music is built for volume, leaving audiences battered, blissed-out, and begging for more.

TRACKLIST
SIDE A
Plastic People – 5:23
Death Crushes Hope – 6:21
Redman – 3:32
This Side of the Dirt – 5:20
SIDE B
Kiss O Shame – 6:21
Little Lizzy – 4:05
The Thorn – 5:11
Seeking the Dawn – 4:28

Dusted Angel’s journey is one of passion, perseverance, and reinvention. Frontman Clifford Dunsmore reflects on the band’s history, from its explosive beginnings to its triumphant resurgence.

“It all started in 2008 when I heard Bill Torgerson (Bl’ast!), Eric Dog Feiber, Eliot Young, and Scott Stevens were jamming,” says Dunsmore. “When mutual friend Kieth Meek told me they wanted me to join, I was intrigued. Hearing The Thorn and Seeking The Dawn for the first time blew my mind — I had to be part of it.” After Dunsmore penned the song Dusted Angel, the band adopted the name as their own.

The early years were marked by relentless gigging, a 7” release, and their debut album, Earthsick Mind. But tragedy struck with the loss of Bill Torgerson. “Losing Bill was devastating — he was irreplaceable,” Dunsmore admits. “The only hope was Steve Ilse, who reluctantly joined part-time.” Challenges mounted when Scott Stevens faced nerve damage, slowing the band’s momentum. Still, they shared stages with Fu Manchu, High on Fire, and Melvins, keeping the fire alive.

Personal battles followed — Dunsmore survived two cancers, a bone marrow transplant, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, Dusted Angel endured, playing sparse shows as a four-piece before finding new life with guitarist Eddie Gregor. “When Eddie joined, everything clicked,” says Dunsmore. “For the first time in years, we felt like a real band again.”

Now, with a new album, a deal with Heavy Psych Sounds, and global ambitions, Dusted Angel is charging forward. “The momentum is unstoppable,” Dunsmore declares. “We’re ready for whatever comes next.”

DUSTED ANGEL is:
Elliot Young – Bass
Eric Fieber – Guitars
Clifford Dinsmore – Vocals
Steve Ilse – Drums
Eddie Gregor – Guitars

https://dustedangel.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/dustedangelband/
https://www.facebook.com/DustedAngel/

http://www.heavypsychsounds.com/
https://heavypsychsoundsrecords.bandcamp.com/
https://instagram.com/heavypsychsounds_records/
https://www.facebook.com/HEAVYPSYCHSOUNDS/

Dusted Angel, “Death Crushes Hope”