Stars of the desert rock scene shine at Mojave Experience

Stop maine if you’ve heard this before: There’s a caller euphony festival coming to the desert.

Unlike different festivals that acceptable up store successful a hot, scenic locale to showcase performers from different places astir the world, Mojave Experience has a much authentic vibe.

Consider immoderate of the artists who are playing this play astatine Mojave Gold successful Yucca Valley connected Friday astatine 7 p.m. and astatine Joshua Tree Lake & Campground connected Sunday starting astatine 12:30 p.m.: Mario Lalli, Sean Wheeler, John Garcia, and Nick Oliveri.

These legendary musicians helped found the godforsaken stone country and enactment it connected the representation with bands similar Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age. This festival didn’t travel to the desert; it emerged from it.

The Mojave Experience is the brainchild of Patrick Brink, vocalist and songwriter for the set Volume, who was calved and raised successful Twentynine Palms. Initially, Brink conceived of the festival arsenic a mode to showcase his band, but erstwhile helium saw the festival had the imaginable to beryllium thing special, helium decided not to play.

“I wanted to travel retired swinging and absorption connected radical truly enjoying themselves,” Brink said. “From the attendees and the bands to the vendors and volunteers, I wanted to marque definite everything goes smoothly.”

To guarantee that happens, Brink enlisted the assistance of Mario Lalli, the godfather of godforsaken rock, who gave the festival instant credibility.

As a young musician, Lalli played with a batch of bands who were portion of SST Records, an autarkic statement that originated successful L.A.’s South Bay and featured bands similar Black Flag, Minutemen, and Saccharine Trust. Lalli got to cognize Dave Travis who had a generator and would acceptable up his instrumentality truthful his friends could play astatine the beach, successful the mountains, oregon each the mode retired successful the desert.

Lalli bought his ain generator and started throwing shows successful his backmost yard. “We would instrumentality that happening retired to the desert,” Lalli said. “We liked to get stoned and conscionable spell jam and marque noise.”

These generator shows attracted the attraction of section kids similar Sean Wheeler, a fourth-generation autochthonal of Palm Springs whose large grandparents were among the town’s founders.

Wheeler caught the bug aft going to an all-ages Black Flag amusement astatine Rumors successful Palm Springs and started playing successful bands. “They were arresting maine for disturbing the peace,” Wheeler said astir the sound complaints helium received portion playing successful his garage. “It conscionable made consciousness to get retired successful the desert. You usually wouldn’t get busted retired there.”

John Garcia, the erstwhile vocalist for Kyuss, jumped astatine the accidental to execute with his band.

(Kevin Estrada)

What started retired arsenic backstage sessions for friends who needed a spot wherever they could stroke disconnected steam and explicit themselves yet grew successful size and scope. “We enactment immoderate large bands together,” Lalli said, “and made flyers and tried to explicate to radical however to get into the mediate of nowhere. And we got successful occupation doing it.”

The past generator amusement Lalli threw was called Splattering of the Tribes and drew implicit 1,200 radical from each implicit California, immoderate of whom had ne'er been to the godforsaken before. “It was a beautiful, chaotic night.”

As a effect of a post-COVID colonisation boom, determination are present much places to play successful the godforsaken than ever before. Lalli estimates that on the agelong of road betwixt Yucca Valley and Twentynine Palms determination are astatine slightest six venues with stages and dependable systems.

That besides means much restaurants and much things to bash for visiting festivalgoers. In fact, Mojave Experience isn’t the lone festival successful municipality this weekend. The Hi Desert Lo-Fi Lit Fest is hosting escaped panels, workshops, and readings each play along. [Full disclosure: I’m a participant.] The literate festival besides features a show by Mike Watt & the Missingmen astatine Mojave Gold successful Yucca Valley connected Saturday night.

It’s a acold outcry from erstwhile Kyuss ruled the generator country with a estimation for unforgettable shows that pulled from the galore genres and sub-genres of dense stone to make thing epic. When Kyuss broke up, Queens of the Stone Age roseate from the ashes. As they gained prominence crossed the state and astir the world, the fable of Kyuss grew.

Mojave Experience is simply a accidental for those who went to those shows to relive immoderate of the magic and for those who weren’t to perceive what they missed. John Garcia, the erstwhile vocalist for Kyuss, jumped astatine the accidental to execute with his band. “Once I heard that Mario was involved,” Garcia said, “I knew it was legitimate. Everybody knows that Mario gives the seal of approval.”

Garcia, who lives conscionable 20 minutes from Joshua Tree Lake, is looking guardant to sharing the signifier with aged friends and erstwhile bandmates. “I person an each caller appreciation for this benignant of stuff, due to the fact that I person been fortunate successful regards to immoderate of the things that I’ve done successful the past.”

It hasn’t ever gone smoothly. In 2012 Garcia was progressive successful a ineligible quality with erstwhile members of Kyuss implicit usage of the band’s name. Now Garcia is focused connected his household and making euphony with his friends. “I’m not looking to alteration the look of stone and roll,” Garcia said, “but possibly we’ll enactment a mates stitches in, springiness it a achromatic eye, truthful to speak.”

Nick Oliveri, ex-Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age bassist who is present playing successful aggregate bands, including the Dwarves and Bl’ast, is possibly the astir astonishing addition. Not due to the fact that of his godforsaken pedigree, but due to the fact that he’ll beryllium playing acoustic.

“I play loud,” Oliveri said. “I sing hard and I sweat and bleed similar I would with my band. I telephone it decease acoustic. There’s decease punk, there’s decease metal, and there’s decease acoustic, and that’s my jam.”

Earthless, who is co-headlining the festival with Dead Meadow, besides has heavy godforsaken connections. In 2021, the instrumental psychedelic set from San Diego recorded a stunning unrecorded medium and video called “Live successful the Mojave Desert Vol. 1.”

Earthless drummer and erstwhile pro skater Mario Rubalcaba skated the infamous Nude Bowl extracurricular Desert Hot Springs portion inactive a teen and saw Kyuss play. “At the time,” Rubalcaba said, “there weren’t immoderate bands that sounded similar that.”

Lori S. of Acid King has played Pappy & Harriett’s successful Pioneertown galore times and besides saw Kyuss play successful her hometown of San Francisco, but is conscionable arsenic grateful to stock the signifier with newer bands.

“It’s bully to person a premix of bands similar ours that person been astir and younger bands that were influenced by that benignant of music,” Lori said. “I emotion that. You gotta walk the torch and support the euphony going.”

Jim Ruland is the writer of “Corporate Rock Sucks: The Rise & Fall of SST Records” and writes the play Substack Message from the Underground. His caller novel, “Mightier than the Sword,” volition beryllium published by Rare Bird successful the fall.