Featuring the likes of Alfredo Hernandez, Pete Stahl and Mario Lalli, Orquesta del Desierto brings together elements of rock, blues and latin Music. Tympanic rhythms bounce through the Coachella Valley Hills towards the San Jacinto range, bracing delicate, acoustic instrumentation, the enigmatic San Jacinto Horns, and soaring, folk flavored vocals. Producer/songwriter Dandy Brown: "Somehow the writing for the Orquesta record was inspired by both the wonder of the natural environment fused with the mad rush to fill the valley with the winter homes of the rich." Words | Steve "Dandy" Brown After working on the Hermano record, and finding out that I had to sit in for while, the Mojave had an easy time of working its influence upon my songwriting. What an experience, to go from having a great record ['Only A Suggestion'] finding out it's going to be shelved for a while, and then being thrown into the arena with all of these unbelievable musicians from the desert like Alfredo Hernandez, Mario Lalli, and Pete Stahl. What a sway of emotion, and the power of creativity it provided simply found its way into this depiction of the mountains, the sand, the heat, and the lunacy. Ayone who knows the desert, and has spent any length of time there, will know this picture when they listen to Orquesta Del Desierto. Coming up with the riffs for the session(s), all I had to do was look out the window at the majesty of the San Jacinto range, or hop on my motorcycle and spin through those pitch black roads that wind up the 74. Take music created from those inspirations and drop it in the hands of the aformentioned legends, and bring in the energy of folks like Mike Riley, Country Mark Engel, and Landetta . . . well, how in the fuck could I go wrong? Anyone who knows their previous work can imagine what it's like to step into the studio with musicians like these. I'm always amazed by the folks who want to come in and jam on something I've dreamed up, and I don't think I need to tell anyone the kind of spontaneity these folks have within them . . . The fact that at any moment they could rip into a riff that was so unexpected, so inspirational in its creativity, so goddamn perfect for the core riff. Hell, I sometimes would have trouble not smiling through an entire song because the things that were going on around my parts would be absolutely fucking delightful. I've always been the kind of writer who takes the inspiration of the surroundings and tries to turn it into a musically impressionist type of dipiction. I don't mean to come off as some kind of spiritual guru, because certainly my spirituality has always operated in a type of void! It's just that my emotions and ability to get lost in music have always been that way. When I have lived in the heart of urban chaos, I think my music always became a reflection of that anxiety and edge, but when I have set up shop in smaller, more rural settings things just seem to come through with a softer, more even flow. In the case of Orquesta del Desierto, the music would probably have to first be approached with an eye toward the San Jacinto range and the awe those mountains create within the psyche. Couple that with the whip of the sand as it flows like waves down the side of the mountains with the extremities of the desert heat and I think the picture starts to come more into focus. The Coachella Valley, though, is more complex in it's modern nature because of the influx of humans who have invaded the desert. Fifteen years ago, the population of the entire valley hovered right around 100,000, while today it has soared to well above 325,000 . . and most of that growth has occurred in the last seven years. Fifteen years ago, this would have been an entirely different sounding record. Somehow the writing for the Orquesta record was inspired by both the wonder of the natural environment fused with the mad rush to fill the valley with the winter homes of the rich. In a sense, it wasn't me that found the music but rather the music that found me and channeled itself into my guitar as I would sit at my window watching the gated, rich communities spring up under the backdrop of the mountains. I think it was both amazing and disturbing, and when you get those two emotions working in conjunction something out of the ordinary is certainly going to be inspired. In a lot of ways, I don't think the guys who performed on the Orquesta del Desierto record had any inclination of doing a folk/blues record per se. Really, I don't think they had any idea what was coming until they heard the record in its entirety. First of all, though, who in this genre (stoner rock) can say that they don't love the blues? I have yet to hear a record from this so called "stoner rock" genre that isn't influenced by blues, so in that you have to understand that everyone who participated in creating Orquesta del Desierto already had deep blues influences. Again, I think you just have to look at the things which inspired the record itself, and somewhere in there you'll see that when the influences from the observation of humanity are pitted against the will of nature there is no escaping folk reflections when creating a batch of music rendered by such inspiration. Hopefully this will give some insight to the eclectic nature of how things were spinning for me at the time when working on and recording with the Orquesta Del Desierto: Ian Astbury - "Spirit/Light/Speed" I was turned on to this CD shortly after arriving in the desert, and after a bit of a warm up to it, I quickly fell in love with this record. Never being an absolute Cult fan in the past, I think the reason this record made such an impression on me was the overall change in direction for Mr. Astbury . ..similar to what the Orquesta experience was for most of the folks who performed on it! What a great mixture of house, rock, and ballads Spirit/Light/Speed is, though. Highly recommended. Thin Lizzy - "Dedication" I always come back to the rock standards every few years, and this one was getting multiple spins at our house at the time [Landetta absolutely fell in love with Thin Lizzy during the recording of the Orquesta record, and living with him at the time, he simply couldn't get enough!]. A lot of people just think of Thin Lizzy's slamming rock tunes, but I think this best of collection truly gives an insight to the multiple layers that existed with Phil Lynott. Joe Walsh - "So What" I picked the LP up on a day visit to a little town outside of Riverside, and every time I would listen to it I was reminded that this guy put on one of the greatest live performances I have ever seen. A long story, but briefly, a friend of mine was visiting me quite a few years ago, and after a few drinks we ended up walking the streets in Clifton [Cincinnati]. Outside of one of the venues there, Bogarts, a kid approached us with a couple of tickets he was trying to scalp. Walsh was playing Bogarts that evening, and the thing had sold out months earlier. Anyway, the show had already started, about two songs in, when the kid approached us and offered us two tickets for $10.00. Needless to say, a pretty cheap price . . . and we certainly needed another club to drink in at that time! What we got was Joe Walsh at his best . . . a three piece band with no bullshit. Hit after hit after hit! He even played a little trombone! Miles Davis - "Kind of Blue" This record never leaves my rotation for more than a month or two. Like many of his records, an absolute masterpiece. Howlin' Maggie [7 songs ] This was the demo for the next Howlin Maggie cd . . . one that has still yet to be released. Harold Chichester is one of the best writers, performers, singers, and musicians out here without a doubt. I honestly believe that if it wasn't for the darkness of his lyrics he would be a household name in American pop. Earthlings? [Earthlings?/Human Beans] These are what turned me on to Pete Stahl, and showed me the range of the man's voice and the vision of his lyrics. From some of the reviews I've read of the Orquesta record, people are just now beginning to realize the various abilities Pete has... when (altough ???) Pete's abilities were there all along on these earthlings? collections. Twilight Singers I won't deny that this record takes some getting used to because it has so many layers and images that on surface there seems on the one hand not enough going on, and on the other too much! Once your ears and thoughts begin to reflect on the tunes on this collection, though, you find that this is a piece of art well beyond what most listeners are prepared for. True depth and romance hidden in these dark and haunting songs. Patsy Cline - "Greatest Hits" I give a lot of knocks to modern country music because when you compare the legends of this American music to what they have twisted an packaged as country music today you can easily see that those folks in Nashville have completely bastardized what was once a legitimate and beautiful art form. Patsy is the kind of cool that never dies or becomes exhausted by time. Earth Wind and Fire - "Best Of" Simply, some of the best brass parts in pop music in the last twenty five years. Great, rhythmic tunes full of production flair. C'he - "Sounds of Liberation" I bugged the hell out of Alfredo to get me a copy of this, and received one shortly before its release. Man, I think this record is full of great rock songs, and was surprised that it didn't get more publicity and props. With all the turmoil that was going on with Man's Ruin [I think the record was released shortly before the collapse of the label]. I guess I really shouldn't be too surprised, though. Great record . . . wrong time and wrong label. Adios... Dandy Brown