~From Kyuss to Cats~ A Discussion with Palm Desert’s Wailing Word-Wizard, John Garcia

Posted on January 11, 2019 by nealdude85

Have you been super excited about something? In that excitement did you allow self doubt, sloth, and suffering to hijack your experience? After a lengthy break from writing, I got to thinking of interview subjects for this blog. I started with some steam, then, in large part due to the stress of chronic pain, I’d continually find myself having a hard time concentrating and finishing tasks, especially the ones that mean the most to me (strangely). With that being said, I’m embarrassed, yet excited to get this post out. After having the absolutely grand pleasure of interviewing Palm Desert vocalist John Garcia in 2016, this sloth relegated our conversation to the far corners of my Iphone’s data, neglected…a sad shame if you ask me!

Garcia is best known in my circle as the former singer for Kyuss, an early ’90’s “stoner rock” band that stunned the music world with epic albums such as Blues for the Red Sun and Welcome to Sky Valley. Along with Garcia, Kyuss had been composed of other legends like Josh Homme, Nick Oliveri, Scott Reeder, Alfredo Hernandez, and Brant Bjork. Kyuss played a large part in the surf scene in Santa Cruz, cemented when Santa Cruz video God Tony Roberts sprinkled the band’s heavy yet spacey sound throughout some of his classic Santa Cruz-centric flicks.

After listening to and singing his vocals in the shower for nearly twenty-five years, I’m beyond proud to share the conversation we had. Thanks to Mike Pygmie for hookin’ us up! Cheers!

Split Peak Soup-John, I’m such a huge fan of your music, as are so many of my friends up here in Santa Cruz. Have you spent any time up here?

John Garcia-Yeah man, Santa Cruz—what a cool, bitchin’ little town. David Insmore, Unida’s (one of Garcia’s other famous projects) is from Santa Cruz. So yeah, I’m familiar with your beautiful little town. What a great surfing community… I was fortunate to be able to watch a couple competitions up there as a kid. I’ve got some great memories of that place.

David Dinsmore of Santa Cruz- former Unida guitarist

SPS-Thanks John! Yeah, super lucky to call this place home…there’s so much going on! So, starting with Kyuss in about ’97, I have been hearing your voice on all my favorite albums, and here I am chatting with you, which is really fuckin’ surreal. I was wondering if there were any instances in which you were able to meet one of your idols?

The infamous Danzig

JG-I have, there’s two guys. I’m such a fan of singers. I’m just a fan of song. Glenn Danzig reached out to me in that way, as well as Ian Astbury (lead singer of the Cult). To this day, when I go see them, or run into them or whatever every once in a great while, I’m still starstruck. It’s not like we BBQ at the park with the family and shit like that, that’s not the case at all.

Ian Atsbury

Ian Astbury is the reason I started singing, so running into him I’m a stammering fool….”uhhh…duuuhh…duhhh…uhhhh “(laughs). I don’t know what to say so I kinda’ clam up and do some small talk while I’m so fucking nervous. The flip-side of the coin is that, I used their styles of singing songs as guidelines for me. I was a fan and it helped me shape and mold my vocal style.

You know, I’ve always been kinda a realist myself…I’m a father, a husband, I’ve got a normal job and I never asked for any of this. I’m actually lucky to talk to a stranger over the telephone-wire who is a fan of something I helped create many many years ago. So, I myself are in awe even talking with you!

garciagallito_0030

I’m about the whitest Mexican you’ll ever see in your life. I’m a dad to two wonderful children, have got a beautiful wife—everyone is happy and healthy, and I have so much to be thankful for. And one thing to be thankful, again, is to be driving my way to rehearsal talkin’ to a stranger, but a fan, so the pleasure’s all mine man. I don’t go to many shows at all anymore, but when I do, it’s to guys like Ian and The Cult, like the last show I went to. My wife and I went in as spectators and it was great seeing them perform.

SPS-Yeah, for sure. I’ve always loved the howls belted out by guys like Layne Staley, Glenn Danzig, and yours, in particular.

The late, great, Layne Staley of Alice ‘N Chains

Despite the fact that some of my favorite bands were pushed on me from the surf/skate culture, being a youngster on long road trips with my family really influenced my musical tastes. To this day I’m still listening to my parents’ stuff, like the Beatles, Clapton, Door, and even Bonnie Raite! In fact, Rubber Soul has been in my beat-up Honda’s CD player for about six months now (laughs). How about you? Do you have any musicians or groups that left an imprint on you at a young age?

Legendary Raitt always gives ’em somethin’ to talk about

JG– You mention Bonnie Rate, I’ve never heard a journalist, who I’ve spoken to at least, bring up an artist who may not be “cool” in someone else’s eyes. See, I appreciate that.

ewf

Because I appreciate a guy by the name of Maurice White and Phillip Bailey from a band called “Earth, Wind, and Fire”. I appreciate Al Green. I appreciate Rob Skaggs.

Coltrane in fine form

I appreciate Frank Sinatra, YES, John Coltrane- a diverse spread of musicians.

For the record, I have nothing against Monster Magnet!

People think I wake up in the morning, take a bong hit, and listen to the latest Monster Magnet CD; there’s nothing further from the truth. Matter of fact, my wife has said, “Jesus! Will stop listening to all this jazz, it’s driving me nuts!”, The older I get, I find my taste relax. For the past ten years I’ve been getting into stuff older than me- stuff from the 40’s,50’s,60’s.

ratpack

Now, I’m looking more at “Rat Pack” stuff from the 50’s, 60’s. I’m a huge fan of laxing out to that old stuff. It could be Coltrane, could be Sinatra, but that was the only stuff I’ve been listening to for the past ten years. Of course, in my childhood years I was afraid to admit. I love Terence Trent D’Arby, this black dude from New York, whose an R+B guy who had some hits in the ’80’s like Wishing Well. This guy sings amazingly, so fucking amazingly! He blows me away to this day. And I’m a fan!

terrence

Anything that can make me feel, I don’t give a fuck who you are, I will admit, “That, is bad-ass. That was cool”. I appreciate the craft. Being a musician (I’m not going to say ‘as an artist [laughs]) I don’t take that kinda stuff too seriously

“I’m a 9-5, Mom ‘n Pop, Do It Yourself kind of guy—it’s just what I do. Everyone’s page is a little bit different, and I’m definitely not the guy trying to be cool, nor do I want to be cool, I just want to be me, a husband, a father, and that’s it”

john-garcia-nick-oliveri-photo-by-morat-photography

Garcia and Nick Oliveri, former Kyuss Bassist

SPS-I’ve read somewhere that you worked at an animal hospital after Kyuss disbanded. Can you tell me a bit about your relationship to animals, and what makes that connection so strong?

Garcia-I’ve had that connection my whole life. As a kid, one of my first jobs was working at a pet store. Then a “no-kill” shelter. Shit, I probably should have become a veterinarian! I had a counselor up at UC Davis—one of the best vet schools in the country, but I kinda blew that opportunity. Schools just wasn’t for me; I was more hands-on. I like the arts. I love music and working with animals, and sometimes I wish I’d pursued the latter more proactively.

John and his beautiful wife Wendy at Desert Dunes Animal Hospital

Regardless, I have always, whether it be at a “no-kill” shelter or veterinarian clinic, pet-store or grooming facility, loved working with animals. To this day, I help I help run Palm Springs Animal Hospital, where, if I’m not doing X-Rays, I’m drawing blood, or loading rooms, or assisting a surgeon. I kinda get to wear all the hats and am stoked to be involved in that animal care scene.

SPS-What trait do you think you possess that most lends itself towards such a love for helping sick or injured animals; whether it be compassion, sensitivity, or empathy, etc? If so, how has this trait molded other aspects of your life?

Garcia– I’ve just always like animals…I don’t know if that makes me sensitive? I guess it’s just being there to help them in a selfless way, which may sound corny. But it’s true. I’ve always really appreciated the diagnostic side, giving the doctor information to use to help make the right diagnosis. That, for me, is very special and important to me. Some of these animals depend on this information to stay alive.

Look, Neal, I’ve been very lucky to have three things in my life that I love to do. One, being a musician. Two, working with animals. Most importantly however, I am a husband and father, a family-man. I keep my eye on the ball and the “eye on the ball” is the most important thing in my life and that means being there for my son, daughter, and wife no matter what. It’s important to be that dad. To be that husband. That’s my real passion in life; being there for them.

SPS-It seems like, to me, a lot of singers sing to the guitar. When I check out old Youtube footage of you performing with Kyuss and Slo Burn, I see you onstage slithering around like a snake, rocking back and forth, as if you sang to that heaver bass or drum beat. Do I have something there?

Garcia– Oh man, I can’t look at footage of me back then (laughs).

SPS– No way bud! You were in the moment…golden!

Vintage Garcia Mane

Garcia– (more laughs) Thanks Neal, I appreciate it. That’s a good way to put it—you’ll have to excuse me, I’m easily embarrassed. To answer your question, I’m a guitar guy, dude. So guitar-driven, vocally. Of course, the rhythm section is there. There’s no doubt about it, that rhythm section—the bass, kick, and snare—those have all got to be there or else the guitar won’t make any sense. Absolutely, 100% and unequivocally in my opinion.

jg-eu

Later in life, I started using in-ear monitors, and of course, I’d have some bass, kick, and snare in there, but mainly what I hear in my monitors is guitar. There’s a “lower” and a “higher” guitar, and I’d use the higher the most, the one that cut through the most, that’s the one I had in my in-ears. Sometimes, I do guitar and vocals only. Of course, I couldn’t do any of that without the rhythm section. Without that section it’s generally just a big fuckin’ mess. That’s a good question.

SPS-Well I know you gotta split, but I wanted to thank you for your time and the rad conversation!

Garcia- My pleasure Neal. Thank you for the interest! This is my number, call me anytime you wanna chat!

jgar

Follow John Garcia!

http://www.facebook.com/johngarciaofficial

@johngarciasolo

MUSICAL CHAMELEON…NICK OLIVERI

Posted on March 27, 2015 by nealdude85

First off, I’m gonna be that guy and gush on how honored I was to interview Nick Oliveri. He’s been jamming and singing to me since I was nine years old, especially with Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age, and Mondo Generator. Being an artist can be a thankless job, but it must be pretty cool to know that you’ve influenced generations of kids like myself. In anticipation for the show tonight, I’m releasing our chat. The interview was taken in the middle of the night after a long day for the hard rocker, but luckily Oliveri is a super chill and down to earth guy, and he did his best answer my questions. Enjoy.

How and when did The Uncontrollable begin? Cuz I know you were doing some acoustic shit with Blag Dahlia from the Dwarves recently.

The Uncontrollable began as a name I used to draw on my peachie folders in sixth grade (hahaha) that I would someday turn into a band, but I didn’t. Eventually, we started using it for an acoustic tour I did with Blag Dhalia in England and it was a name for the both of us playing at the same time, like a lil duo-band.

What’s the name of your new album? I was told that you recorded the entire thing solo–from drums, bass, guitar, to the vocals. Did you find this experience more frustrating than liberating, or was there a combination of the two?

The name of the new album, “Leave me Alone”. I called it that cause I did the record basically by myself with all the instruments, but I had some guest guitar solos, so yeah, that’s pretty much why. Yeah it was frustrating and also very satisfying to finish. I had a lot of things happen while making the record that set me back, like rolling my car-which made for some good lyrics for one the the tunes I didn’t have lyrics for at the time.

This question always intrigues me in a confusing way, kinda like the old “Chicken before the egg” quandary. Do you start a song in your head with lyrics, a hook/riff or chorus, bass line, or drum line? What’s your method on this one, especially when recording an entire album from start to finish by yourself?

It’s always different, but mainly I start with a riff, then build on it from there. With this last record I did a lot of stuff with drums then transposed it to record and transposed it to guitar (what I was humming in my head) and reversed it and demoed it a bunch of times before I went into the studio. I’m not the slickest drummer in the world but I practiced my ass off. I did record it myself but had Harper and Trevor helping me, they were behind the controls, recording me. I did some of the stuff at home on my Protools in the little apartment I had but yeah, it was the chicken before the egg, man (laughs).

Speaking of range, I’ve always admired your ability to go from the soothing sounds of songs like “Auto Pilot” and “Another Love Song”, to pissed and charged songs like “Tension Head” and “Six Shooter”. Is this adjustment easy for you? Are there times when going from a mellow jam to something pissed a difficult exercise and vice versa?

Right on thanks. It’s easy for me to transition from going softer vocals to harder vocals, but going hard vocals to soft vocals is not as easy I guess. I’m not very good at singing but I can scream my ass off though. So yah, that’s a tough one for me. I guess I just do the best I can do, sometimes it’s off (laughs)

It seems like you’ve had worn a hundred hats, from Kyuss, to Queens, Mondo Generator, The Dwarves, B’Last and now The Uncontrollable. You’re a bit of a musical chameleon. Does this flexibility give you a sense of freedom? It must be cool to be constantly collaborating with so many great artists.

Yes and no. Yah it’s good to play in bands that you like, its great– I’ve been very fortunate on that. But I’ve been home for a bit, haven’t been working or touring for some time, a few months now. So I’m getting ready to get back going and start back up with this new tour. I guess theres some sense of freedom to that and it’s a lot of fun to collaborate with some of my favorite musicians. Fortunately I’ve been able to play with a lot of really cool bands. So yah there’s a sense of freedom but at the same time theres a lot of free time-you’d think that there’d be every minute would be taken up, but everybody’s got their lives as they get older, lives that they’re tending to. You know when you live at mom’s house you have that all for one, one for all band thing going when you’re a kid, and lots of my friends are parents now, like Mark (Lewis from Doors to Knowhere). It makes things a little more difficult to go down and jam on a nightly basis, plus I’ve got my band in the Desert and now I’m in LA.

Oliveri and BL’AST

On the topic of BL’AST…how did you hook up with those guys? Cliffords a great friend of mine, and growing up surfing and skating in Santa Cruz, that band is engrained in my musical DNA.

I’d known Clifford for a long time and he’s come to see some of the first Queens shows that were in Santa Cruz, and I’m sure he was at some of the Kyuss stuff too. Anyways, he was at the Catalyst and we (Mondo Generator) played on a tour with Wino and The Saviors and it was the last night of our tour. He asked me and my drummer Hoss if we would do this BL’AST thing they were doing, the remix of Blood. They were at Dave Grohls place and he was remixing it. He asked if I would do it and I said, “yeah sure, I’d love to do it” and same with Hoss, he was down with it too. So we did that for awhile and it was great, had a lot of fun. Now we have Joey Castillo and it’s even better, you know. I mean, nothing against Hoss, Hoss is a great drummer, but I think Joey comes from that hardcore school of drumming and he really just fit the bill better—he plays his ass off and I think he understands the music more, he understands BL’AST more. That’s pretty much all it comes down to. Hoss grew up up with some Skynard, which is great, but Joey was in some really hard core bands so it makes sense to him—he’s seen blast in the old days and Hoss was like, “BL’AST Who?” So that was the difference.

Nick’s down with the Murderers. Oh yeah, Gi Gi too

What do you think about the current crop of bands in Santa Cruz? Obviously you are fans of Doors to Nowhere and B’Last, but what do you think about other cats like The Highway Murderers?

Of course I’m fans of Doors to Nowhere and BL’AST. Yeah, the Highway Murderers. Those guys are great. They are a fantastic band. I played with them last time I played at the Catalyst and it was rad, totally, totally rad. Those are the bands I like from Santa Cruz, but I’m sure that there are some others that will come to mind after this interview (laughs).

What are some of your best and worst experiences in Santa Cruz?

Everything’s been good there, for the most part. Anytime we’ve had a bad time, good people such as the Lewis’s household, they always took care of us up there. Having the BL’AST guys from up there has been good, places to stay and shit like that, so that’s cool. I don’t know about any seriously bad experiences up there. So far so good.

.Everyone is super psyched about your show on March 27th…what is it about Doors to Nowhere and You Know Who that inspired you to tour with those guys?

What inspired me to go on tour with You Know Who, is that they kick ass. It’s also Mike Pygmie’s band who also plays in The Uncontrollable and Mondo Generator as well, and he’s a fucking ripping guitar player, and he writes some cool stuff. Doors to Nowhere, they’re my friends and they kick major ass, just a group of great guys. That’s why I was inspired to do it- my friend Mark (Lewis of Doors to Nowhere) called me up and said, “Hey, you wanna do this tour, and these shows?” I was like, “I dunno if I can” cause I had some overlapping stuff going on with the Dwarves, but that fell through till April so it just so happened I had the time off and the time to rock with the Uncontrollable and my friends. So Mark set it up. It’s his fault that we are going to have a good time. So I’m really looking forward to seeing all those guys. Sorry my interview is so jumbled…I’m pretty thrashed. Thanks, see you at the show!

ARE YOU READY TO ROCK?!!!

Posted on February 21, 2015 by nealdude85

I was introduced to the heavy, psychedelic sounds of a band called Kyuss at an early age. Their sound was equally raw and hypnotic, a blend of howling vocals and soothing instrumentals that became somewhat of an obsession for me. Born out of the hot climes of Palm Desert, Kyuss wasn’t the first of its kind, but became ground breaker for introducing the world to the unique genre of music known as “Desert” or “Stoner” rock. Kyuss dissolved in the mid-nineties, and the remaining members continued to share their unique musical prowess with bands such as Queens of the Stone Age, Unida, and Mondo Generator. Twenty years after the breakup of Kyuss, their legacy still remains, and on March 27^{th at} the Blue Lagoon, you’ll have the opportunity to taste the desert with three unique bands that retain that primal yet melodic sound. The lineup consists of Santa Cruz’s own Doors to Nowhere, the low desert area’s You Know Who, and Uncontrollable, featuring ex-Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age member Nick Oliveri. Over the next three weeks I’ll be interviewing Nick, along with Mike Pygmie of You Know Who, and Marc Lewis of Doors to Nowhere to bring you into their world. Stay tuned and make sure to mark your calendars for this epic rock event!

Mark Your Calenders