John Garcia set to perform acoustically in Australia for the first time ever

Imagine a scenario where the master of desert rock, John Garcia, wants to quench your thirst with a cocktail or two. “When we play we want it to be like you’re in our living room. Ehren Groban, my guitarist, has a place in Palm Springs and we chill in his living room and play these songs, so we want these shows to be like us inviting the audience into our living room, if only for a weekend, to jam out and to have a drink with us.”
Invigorated from a highly successful run across Europe, the man touted as the pioneer of desert/stoner rock, thanks to his years as the front man and founding member of Kyuss, Slo Burn, Vista Chino and Unida, is bringing his best mate and his renewed passion for performing to an intimate venue near you this Easter.
“I’ll always be known as the singer from Kyuss and I’m very proud of my background,” Garcia says. “I still enjoy playing these songs both past and present – it’s very gratifying and I appreciate the fact that at my age I’m still able to do it. I’m going to be 48 this year and I feel like I’m 28, and that’s a good place to be.
“I’m going to be playing anything from ‘El Rodeo’ [And the Circus Leaves Town, 1995], ‘Green Machine’ [Blues For the Red Sun, 1992] and ‘Gardenia’ [Welcome to Sky Valley, 1994], just to name a few.”
Despite years as the leader of multiple rock outfits, and after two successful solo albums, 2014’s John Garcia and The Coyote Who Spoke in Tongues last year, the Arizona-born singer was looking for a new adventure.
“When I was first approached about maybe doing some acoustic shows I thought it was a decent idea, and I ran it past Ehren. Then we got into the rehearsal room and all of a sudden it was such a good idea after all,” he laughs. “I remember thinking ‘Wow! OK we’re a lot more exposed’. We developed these songs from full blown guitars, bass and drums to something so singular and it was really challenging.
“It was challenging because there’s one guitar and one vocal, and that’s it,” he adds. “There’s no effects on the vocals at all, although there may be a little bit of house reverb in there, it’s essentially just dry – and it’s difficult. There’s nothing to hide behind and it’s a totally different take on the music, but I thought that Ehren and I were up to the task – and it has turned out great.”
John Garcia and Ehren Groban will play the Barwon Club, Geelong and Melbourne’s Cherry Bar in April. “Over in Europe we would have people come up on stage and we’d pour them cocktails and we’d tell stories. We want people to relax,” he says. “This is supposed to be an evening with us – we want people to come up on stage with us and sit on the couch. I’ll pour you a drink and we will jam out. That’s exactly what it is and that’s exactly what we will do.”
When & Where: The Barwon Club, Geelong – April 19 & Cherry Bar, Melbourne – April 20. Visit www.tickets.destroyalllines.com.
Written by Natalie Rogers