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Unearthed from the personal archives of the legendary desert rocker, Brant Bjork's newly relaunched Duna Records is set to release a seminal live performance of Brant Bjork and the Bros at Pappy & Harriet's Pioneertown Palace — one of Southern California's most eclectic and storied venues located in the Mojave desert near Joshua Tree.
The two-hour performance was recorded on April 4th, 2009 and features a classic lineup of Brant Bjork on guitar and vocals, Dylan Roche on bass, Max Raddings on guitar and Giampaolo Farnedi on drums, capturing the band digging into deep groovy desert rock jams including fan favorites from Brant Bjork's 30-year career. The "Live in the High Desert" album is available in Limited Sunburst LP, Limited Transparent Blue LP, Black LP as well as CD digipack, with orders available now through Duna Records.
Brant Bjork and the Bros "Live in the High Desert" - Available now on Duna Records (LP/CD)
TRACKLIST:
1. Turn Yourself On
2. Low Desert Punk
3. 73
4. Too Many Chiefs
5. Dr Special
6. This Place
7. Hydraulicks
8. Freaks Of Nature
9. Chick/Kickback
10. Lazybones/Automatic
11. Adelante
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. He recently relaunched his own music label Duna Records alongside long-time friend and fellow desert icon Mario Lalli, with Brant Bjork Trio's "Once Upon a Time in the Desert" as inaugural release.
Brant Bjork shares some memories about this special night at Pappy & Harriet's:
“April 4th, 2009. I remember it was a cold, high desert night, but it was hot inside. There were a lot of familiar faces in the crowd, all of whom were well "primed" and right up on the stage, which at Pappy's is only about a foot and a half off the floor. To call it an intimate setting would be an understatement and you can certainly hear it in this recording. Earlier that evening, Tony Mason brought his portable studio rig into the club, which included his Fostex 16-track 1/2 tape machine. He set it all up on a dinner table right to the left of the stage. It was pretty much the same gear and set-up that would have recorded 'Jalamanta', 'Local Angel', 'Saved by Magic' and 'Tres Dias'. Tony and I were still analog purists then and our general concept was to record a live show the same way we recorded my studio records, which would be best described as "old school." We were convinced that nobody at the time was recording live records to tape and looking back, I think we were probably right. I've played at Pappy's quite a bit over the years. Robyn, Linda and many of the staff were like family to myself and many other local musicians who performed there regularly.
I believe this was the only time I played Pappy's with this last and final line-up of The Bros with Dylan Roche on bass, Max Raddings on guitar and "Thee Italian Stallion", Giampaolo Farnedi on drums. We had just recently returned from a tour down in Australia, so we were still in rock mode. In all fairness, great shows are rare and even more rare if you are recording, if you know what I mean, but it was a good show on a great night. A great time was had by all and that's what it ultimately is all about. The band and the crowd were on and totally feeling it and when this happened at Pappy's, there was a vibe not felt elsewhere. So yes, there is some very real magic here and even though it was sixteen years ago, when I listened to this recording for the first time in age. I could still hear and feel the magic. It was a wonderful moment in time, but what seems like not very long after this night, much would change in my world and the world at large. Naturally, some good, some not so good but that's what makes listening to a recording like this pretty rad! It's a sonic slice of life, so dig in."
BRANT BJORK links
2. Low Desert Punk
3. 73
4. Too Many Chiefs
5. Dr Special
6. This Place
7. Hydraulicks
8. Freaks Of Nature
9. Chick/Kickback
10. Lazybones/Automatic
11. Adelante
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. He recently relaunched his own music label Duna Records alongside long-time friend and fellow desert icon Mario Lalli, with Brant Bjork Trio's "Once Upon a Time in the Desert" as inaugural release.
Brant Bjork shares some memories about this special night at Pappy & Harriet's:
“April 4th, 2009. I remember it was a cold, high desert night, but it was hot inside. There were a lot of familiar faces in the crowd, all of whom were well "primed" and right up on the stage, which at Pappy's is only about a foot and a half off the floor. To call it an intimate setting would be an understatement and you can certainly hear it in this recording. Earlier that evening, Tony Mason brought his portable studio rig into the club, which included his Fostex 16-track 1/2 tape machine. He set it all up on a dinner table right to the left of the stage. It was pretty much the same gear and set-up that would have recorded 'Jalamanta', 'Local Angel', 'Saved by Magic' and 'Tres Dias'. Tony and I were still analog purists then and our general concept was to record a live show the same way we recorded my studio records, which would be best described as "old school." We were convinced that nobody at the time was recording live records to tape and looking back, I think we were probably right. I've played at Pappy's quite a bit over the years. Robyn, Linda and many of the staff were like family to myself and many other local musicians who performed there regularly.
I believe this was the only time I played Pappy's with this last and final line-up of The Bros with Dylan Roche on bass, Max Raddings on guitar and "Thee Italian Stallion", Giampaolo Farnedi on drums. We had just recently returned from a tour down in Australia, so we were still in rock mode. In all fairness, great shows are rare and even more rare if you are recording, if you know what I mean, but it was a good show on a great night. A great time was had by all and that's what it ultimately is all about. The band and the crowd were on and totally feeling it and when this happened at Pappy's, there was a vibe not felt elsewhere. So yes, there is some very real magic here and even though it was sixteen years ago, when I listened to this recording for the first time in age. I could still hear and feel the magic. It was a wonderful moment in time, but what seems like not very long after this night, much would change in my world and the world at large. Naturally, some good, some not so good but that's what makes listening to a recording like this pretty rad! It's a sonic slice of life, so dig in."
BRANT BJORK links
Thanks to Purple Sage PR for the info.
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