Local music vets will be rocking the Valley this weekend
Plus some high-quality (and free!) shows featuring touring bands
HARK!
I hear…the veterans…
The allure of performing music begets a steady stream of newcomers: teens who say “let’s start a band!”; or just do their own things and post them on YouTube, Facebook Live, etc…
Add to that the usual newcomer bands who escape places like Pittsburgh (brrr) and Minneapolis (double brrr) for the gentle warmth of the sun, this time of year. (Let’s not ruin things by talking about summer…)
While it’s tempting to focus on the newbies, let’s not forget the local music vets; check out, for example, a few fine acts who have been putting out music for years and have key shows this week.
Monday, April 4, touring indie rockers Bandaid Brigade headlines at the Rebel Lounge (click for ticket info).
Also on the bill are a pair of prized performers: Fairy Bones (read HARK Valley profile of FB here) and Mike Spero.
Spero, who played three-hour shows as "resident musician" of the Cadillac Ranch in Tempe 10 years ago, describes his music background on The Bash, a website where musicians advertise for private bookings:
“I'm a singer/songwriter here in the Valley performing a variety of covers as well as some original songs I've written. I play acoustic guitar accompanied by harmonicas for a folk/blues sound. In April 2013 I released my first album called 'Nomadic Romantic' which can be streamed online on Spotify and purchased via iTunes...
“I have a wide variety of music ranging from traditional folk, bluegrass and classic rock to modern punk rock, indie rock and top 40 songs.”
Mike Spero
Stephen Ashbrook, another Valley veteran (though he has been back and forth from here to the Northwest), celebrates the release of a new EP called Olly Olly with a show at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 2, Last Exit Live, 717 South Central Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85004
Ashbrook live
Ashbrook worked with producer Gregg Williams (Sheryl Crow, Dandy Warhols) on the EP.
While his sound is now spared-down and introspective, you might remember him as a Nineties rocker.
According to his Wikipedia page, “Ashbrook rose to fame in the mid-1990s in his home state of Arizona, riding the wave of the Tempe music scene while performing with his band Satellite. Many bands, including the Gin Blossoms, The Refreshments and Dead Hot Workshop, found success with this guitar-driven rock music.”
On his Instagram page, Ashbrook recently posted a calendar page from 27 years ago, showing Satellite playing a crazy number of shows. His narrative: “Look what I found rattling around in the bottom of one of my old guitar cases. Were you at any of these shows? Did you go to any of these places? Only two are still around.”
What does Ashbrook sound like, more than a quarter-century later?
Check out one of his laid-back-but-refined new songs, Favorite Thing.
Free, free and more free
A few high-quality–and free!--shows at the Yucca Taproom.
Ghost Funk Orchestra, a New York-based band that blasts horns for psychedelic funk, headlines Saturday night. Check out the spooky/funky song Fuzzy Logic.
Also on the bill: The Jack Moves, from New Jersey, and local rockers Black Caesar.
Ghost Funk Orchestra
Sunday night, the San Diego reggae band Doah’s Daydream leads the bill. Locals Haley Green and Ultraviolet Communication open the Yucca show.
Doah's Daydream