This week: My Current Favorite California Bands of All Time!!!

*This week was supposed to be another music theory week, but my brain just didn’t feel like that type of critical thinking!

Being a California boy I might be a bit partial to my homeys. Being a throwback tube amp loving type…eh, might make me a bit more partial to older music, I admit it. Being a guitar player, I might be a bit partial to bands with a prominent and unique guitar player, or two, in its ranks. There’s my disclosure, I am going to give you all my current list of favorite Cali bands. Some of them are big ticket no-brainers, a couple of them are boutique bands that don’t get a lot of mention these days, at least in popular media circles, which is sort of an endorsement! California has given a lot of great bands to almost EVERY genre of music that one can find in North America (I’m sure there’s a Cali-Cajun band somewhere…I just know it!!!), here’s my list, feel free to chime in!

15.) The Dead Kennedys

Punk rock with surf guitars, hey, it JUST might work!!! It did. The Dead Kennedys are a great Cali band, full of agitation, humor, mock adolescent angst, and great riffs. I remember first hearing Holiday in Cambodia and Police Truck with my buddy Jesse Hollis in 1985 and thinking, “Man this is raw…this is COOL.” East Bay Ray and Jello Biafra were a winning combination, and even for people that don’t like punk rock, you might be able to enjoy The Dead Kennedys…in moderation.

14.) The Brian Jonestown Massacre:

Ok Anton, who can deny that you’ve got style, talent, and a relationship to your art that is deep, intense, and rewarding for the listener? Anton Newcombe, founder and leader of BJM, is a trip. He really likes to mess with styles from different eras and genres and really melt them together and fashion them into what I call a “psychodrone” that is just moving in thick waves. For those of you who have not listened to this band, a good way to get your feet wet would probably be to listen to the entire Tepid Peppermint Wonderland collection, drink two beers, deal with the glaucoma, and call Anton in the morning!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoyoAXYjEjM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GIWFlbUg7s

13.) The Byrds:

Harmonies, 12 string guitars, and a very folksy American delivery, is what The Byrds brought to the table…and they brought it with a lot of beauty. Roger McGuinn, Chris Hillman, David Crosby, and Gene Clark had such a great vocal blend, often using outside harmonies that were a little shy of standard. The sound was epic, iconic, and totally representative of the 1960s. The Byrds are one of those bands who just took the world with their original lineup, and then became a cult band with subsequent lineups, but more than that…an IMPORTANT cult band. Their body of work up to 1967 with David Crosby and Roger McGuinn is their best remembered material, but 1968’s Sweetheart of the Rodeo became one of the most important country rock albums of all time, perhaps only Pickin’ up the Pieces by Poco can give it a serious run for its money. If you want to hear the 60s, listen to The Byrds.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WH6UnvSlahc

12.) Jefferson Airplane:

Oh…this band!!! One of the great fountain heads of the San Francisco sound. When I was about 11 or 12, I remember digging into Bob Zupcic’s record collection and listening to the Volunteers album. Even at that young age I was taken by Marty Balin, Grace Slick, and Paul Katner’s style of singing really hard edge harmonies. One song that I will always be particularly fond of is We can be together, the song is just electric! Jorma’s guitar playing is just so raw and exciting. Check out their albums and live shows between 1966 and 1972, you won’t be sorry.

11.) Sly and the Family Stone:

Another Bay Area band, Sly was actually a DJ and was obviously very aware of all of the R&B, blues, AND hippie music happening around him…he is, as much as Stevie, an eclectic soul artist of the highest degree. The band he put together with his brother would forever change music, influencing even iconic jazzman Miles Davis. Their sound was rich with heavy drums and bass, bluesy-funky guitar riffs, huge organ, and punchy horns…all of this was the backdrop for the GREAT vocals. Most members took turns at the mic and they even developed a unique style of sharing verses where as many as 4 singers would sing solo lead to complete just one verse…and it was COOL!!! My favorite era is of course the era between 1967 and 1973, and any footage you may find on YouTube of this brilliant band during this era will show you the proof is in the puddin’…The Fam delivers!!!

For kicks, listen to Hot Fun in the Summertime and then listen to (I Want to Take You) Higher, these guys had it ALL. Both links below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NVVe1DkVsQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDjnB_61k58

10.) Buck Owens and The Buckaroos:

I grew up with this music. My Uncle Bill and my mom used to sing Together Again and Act Naturally at the kitchen table while drinking coffee and for a long time I took Buck and the Buckaroos for granted. When I was 21 or 22 I started to really take a shine to “hard country” and rediscovered them. Their albums Live at Carnegie Hall and Live at The London Palladium were monumental albums for me. They gave me new ideas about simple song structures, vocal harmony, and twangy rhythm and lead guitar playing. The duo of Buck Owens and Don Rich…it’s one of the greatest in country…heck…music’s history! You ain’t lived no kinda life till you’ve done stomped yer feet to a Buckersfield shuffle!

Buck and Don’s live vocal harmonies are EPIC!

9.) Buffalo Springfield:

1986…high school composition class…Steve Wiesinger teaches the most fulfilling course I’ve ever been a part of…I meet a friend named London Burke, we quickly learn that we share a love of older rock and roll…one of our discoveries while on a trip to Universes Records in Santa Cruz? Buffalo Springfield: Retrospective. We listened to that cassette until it wore out…then bought another one!!! It’s hard to describe the chemistry of Richie Furay, Steve Stills, and Neil Young…it’s a different type of rock and roll than you’ve ever heard before. I won’t suggest specific songs, they’re all good, but if you give them a listen…listen to all of their albums front to back before diving into the box sets with all of its alternate takes etc. Worth noting: The box set does have versions of several songs that would go on to be greats by Poco, CSN&Y, and Neil Young and Crazy Horse.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRhHDS69iU0

8.) Neil Young and Crazy Horse:

Neil Young makes full use of his arsenal, and his arsenal is BIG! His work with Crazy Horse is so broad that it’s sometimes easy to forget that it’s a continuing work by a single band. Their first release, Everybody Knows This is Nowhere, is so raw and beautiful. It is a huge part of the soundtrack of my life…but so is Zuma and so is Live Rust. All of his work with and without Crazy Horse is worth a listen, but the years 1969-1980 are especially sweet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsmWcxRShu4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_ZXM5aaPLk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mrc68TbyywU

7.) Poco (1969-1974):

After the split of Buffalo Springfield, Richie Furay put together the quintessential country rock group. At the time it featured Furay, Jim Messina, Rusty Young, George Grantham, and Randy Meisner, a line up of great talent and almost unspeakable vocal capabilities. Their first 6 albums are all epic. Although there are some lineup changes, the band maintains its integrity until the exit of Furay in 1974. Their records are front to back listens…so start with Pickin’ up the pieces and follow with 1970’s Poco…rinse and repeat with From the inside. This band has been so important to me, I really hope you all will give them a listen. I think, if nothing else, you will find Richie’s songwriting endearing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvpY4naSKLQ

6.) The Doors:

Few bands can claim the stylistic originality, the dramatic delivery, or the haunting use of verbal and audio imagery as The Doors. The band was unique, and all of its members had individual uniqueness in spades as well. Singer Jim Morrison had the voice of a romantic-yet-psychotic spooky crooner. Guitarist Robby Krieger had a special way of weaving blues, jazz, rock, and Eastern influences that PILED the vibe into every song. Keyboardist Ray Manzarek had one of the most identifiable organ styles of all time, played bass with his his other hand on a Fender bass organ, and was a damn fine acoustic piano player as well. Drummer John Densmore brought a jazz, latin, and sparse rock feel to the mix that made their sound a little less “straight ahead rock” than their contemporaries. Combine all of this with the ability of all 4 to flow above, around, and within meaningful improvisations, this was a real band! The entire discography is great.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_-HqcNum7M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aS6wziw5g8

5.) Moby Grape:

I wrestled a little when deciding whether to put these guys on the list. The output of the original band was so small, but their vitality won me over in the end. Their first album is a prime example of the San Francisco sound at its most frenetic, its most tender, and its most energetically charged. The crazy wattage of Omaha is so gracefully balanced against the meandering beauty of 8:05 even if they only put out one truly definitive album…it’s so good…they make the list!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28LNfaDMC84
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tilm4k7GCGw

4.) Merle Haggard and The Strangers:

Merle…I mean, does anybody have a sweeter voice? Does anyone have a more honest voice? Can anyone else tell a story so ragged and simple that it drips with elegance? Bakersfield strikes again! Merle is THE MAN. The Hag. The poet of the common man. He continues to produce quality work, his work between 1967 and 1989 are probably the best with 1970 to 1984 being my personal favorite time period. My mom gave me a copy of his album 11 winners…I wore it out in one year. Don’t be shy, Hag’s good for you!

The harmony blend between Merle and Bonnie Owens is amazing…there is usually a third part, male, mixed in…but listen to Merle’s lead and Bonnie’s high part…amazing!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcSg27TrNCc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyMy9iGJb2I

3.) Dwight Yoakam:

The current torch holder of “The Bakerfield Sound” and aging…the potent twang still issues forth from that hillbilly voice!!! Dwight is one of those artists that has had GREAT success then slipped into “pulp/cult” status. Most people realize the guy’s genius and will attest to it. His more “obscure” later work is arguably some of his best…I would stack Tomorrows Sounds Today, A Long Way Home and Blame the Vain” against This Time and If There Was a Way” without flinching. The fact is, he doesn’t play the Nashville songwriter, producer, and session musician game…so he doesn’t get on the radio quite as easily as he did when he was a sensation. This is the type of barrier that keeps a lot of good music off the airwaves while keeping us drenched in nothing but mainstream music. Viva La Twang!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J01VPnvOptU

2.) Grateful Dead:

Talking about The Dead is challenging for me. They mean a lot to me: adventurous, intense, humorous, explorative, and available to drift where the music took them. Sometimes their singing SUCKED…sometimes it was brilliant, sometimes the songs took off, sometimes they didn’t…but for this band to have the success rate that they did with the model they were working…they were special. There are so many great board tapes and live recordings…you have to just listen and search. Their last official live album Without a Net, was a great offering, still vital, still able to venture off into subtle or utterly jaw dropping intense improvisations…still Truckin’!!! For anyone who wants to get schooled on how intensely two guitar players can work together, check out Dancing in the Streets, The Other One (full song), and Viola Lee Blues from the Harpur College tapes from 1970…Bob Weir and Jerry Garcia tag team to steal your face right off your head!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLnXLmPuzDY

1.) The Beach Boys (1962-1972):

See my earlier list concerning Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys. Never has more beautiful pop album music been made than that of Pet Sounds, Friends, and Sunflower. Read the other list for the explanation; this band’s music is essential to understanding pop/rock arrangement POSSIBILITIES and for understanding the scope of vocal harmony and the beautiful soundscapes it can create. With The Boys…it’s all about beauty. Here’s a couple of obscure ditties.

Okay, I warned you! I am a bit of a rock and roll throwback for a man of 42 years. The guy I mentioned somewhere in this article, Bob Zupcic, was my close friend when I was young, a great mentor, and he had a record collection of 500-600 albums that he allowed me to borrow. I would pour over Rolling Stones, The Byrds, and Humble Pie for ages…then Yardbirds, Beau Brummels, and The Dead…and most of the other bands on this list made their way to my turntable during those years as well. Who are some of your favorite local musical boys and girls? When was the last time you dug through your vinyl collection? Well…get on it!!!

This week’s list was not in order…except the Beach Boys…they are top spot PERIOD. 🙂

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When he’s not enjoying fishing, road testing cables with his band, or fielding musical/instrument cable questions over the phone/e-mail, Michael handles operations and purchasing and is simply loving life. You can also follow Michael on Twitter !