John Garcia Brings The Desert To Auckland (Interview)

Former Kyuss front man John Garcia has two performances lined up in New Zealand this week. 

He’ll be at Auckland’s Whammy Bar tomorrow, Tuesday, April 24th, then at Valhalla in Wellington on Wednesday, the 25th.

These are intimate, acoustic shows with John and his musical compadre, Aaron Groban. They’ll be playing selections from Garcia’s latest album, The Coyote Who Spoke In Tongues, along with tunes from his back catalog…and a few new things.

The 13th Floor’s Marty Duda spoke to John Garcia just a few days ago while he was in Australia…making his way to New Zealand.

Click here to listen to the interview with John Garcia:

Or, read a transcription of the interview here:

JG: –Along with my guitar player, Aaron Groban, we’re both very, very happy to be here and just super stoked to be going down to New Zealand as well!

MD: Right, right. Well, we’re excited that you’re gonna be here. You’re doing an acoustic thing, is that correct? How has that been – I mean most people expect you to be loud and full-force?

We have one vocal, and one guitar, so either you’re gonna do well, or you’re gonna tank.

JG: It’s different. It’s really cool, Marty. One, this is something that I don’t do very often. So to hear Green Machine acoustically, to hear Gardenia acoustically, to hear Space Cadet acoustically, some of my other background repertoire, my very first electric record, some of those songs. And then of course, the brand new record that Aaron and I just got done writing, it’s an electric record. But we’ve translated some of these new electric songs into acoustic versions, for Australia and New Zealand as well. So it’s gonna be the first time trying some of these out, acoustically. And again, we’re happy to be a part of it. And consider ourselves to be … just really blessed to be invited down there. Now, New Zealand almost didn’t happen, but my booking agent said – “If it makes sense, do you wanna go down there?” So I said, “Absolutely.” So I fought a little hard to get down there, and rightfully so! You’re so close. I mean – why not?

MD: Be a shame to miss out, yeah. Very good. How are you approaching these songs? Are you learning anything new about them? Are you kinda having to rethink the way they are in order to present them like you are?

JG: No, that’s the enjoyable part. That’s the part that’s fun. How do you take a song like Green Machine and translate it into something that’s on the opposite side of the spectrum? So it was really, really enjoyable to sit down in the studio and sit down with Aaron and go – “Alright, can and will this work?” It’s obviously much different when you’re not having a huge wall of sound to hide behind. We have one vocal, and one guitar, so either you’re gonna do well, or you’re gonna tank.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrtKyf5bgR4

It’s … it’s great, because we get to play these songs completely and totally stripped down. It’s not for everybody. Some people dig it, some people don’t dig it. But the type of show that we put on, we bring our living room to Wellington and Auckland. That’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to bring the desert, to you. We do the exact thing in my studio or in Aaron’s studio, we do the exact same thing back at home. So you know, to bring it down there, and to have this very intimate kind of storytelling type of session, it’s rad. Don’t get me wrong Marty, we’re not going to be sitting down and just strumming guitars, super light. No, no, no, we don’t do that. We bring it, and we push air – and Aaron, will sometimes pound a guitar like a jackhammer, for crying out loud. It’s an intense but yet intimate part of the show. Again, we invite people on stage, I will literally pour them a drink. I myself will pour them a drink. I pass out shots, we talk, we tell stories. You know, it’s an interesting thing. If somebody’s down and into it, and wants to get away from the hardcore pounding of a four-piece rock band, and look at this music in a different setting… in a different audio setting as well, I want to invite everybody down.

I’m right there in your face, pretty much, and doing this thing. It’s intimate, it’s cool, it’s a storytelling session.

MD: Cool. And do you get a different type of audience for these shows than you normally would – when you go full electric?

JG: We do! Absolutely. It’s funny – we, I think that there are more couples at the acoustic show. I think it’s like, “Let’s go see J.G. and Aaron Groban and they’re going to be doing this thing. And it’s not going to be loud, but it’s going to be a different take on some of their songs.” And it’s interesting, cause I do see a different audience. And all along, that’s good for me, because I’ve always wanted growth, I’ve always wanted to expand, I’ve always wanted to reach out to other audiences. And for me, this is a no-brainer. But also for the hardcore J.G. – you know, for some of my followers who have been following me throughout the years, this is another opportunity for them to really get close up. I’m right there in your face, pretty much, and doing this thing. It’s intimate, it’s cool, it’s a storytelling session. And again, we’re stoked to be a part of it.

MD: Alright. So it’s date night!

JG: It’s a date night!

Again, so when we put on The Coyote Who Spoke In Tongues, which is my very first acoustic record, this is not something that you wanna throw down on a Saturday night with a bunch of your buddies, and rave to. No, no, no. What you wanna do is, you’re gonna put this on, you’re gonna open a glass of wine, you’re gonna make your girl some dinner and kick it. Or you’re gonna put it on and take a drive. And that’s what it’s about. You know, again, it’s not for everybody, but if you wanna get up close and have me pour you a drink, come on down.

MD: And so – the album came out last year. It’s an acoustic thing. What’ve you got planned for your career next? Where does it go from here?

JG: First and foremost, Marty, I wanna … I’ve gotta be a father, and I’ve gotta be a husband. I try to keep my eye on the ball – that’s what’s important.  They’re the real heroes; they really allow me to be out here, and to do this thing. But also I still have a passion for writing and a passion for going into the studio and doing some of these things. So.

We just got done recording our electric record. It’s being mixed pretty much as we speak, with my engineer at home. I’m getting songs every day for approval, and they’ll get mastered, but that record comes out in June. And it’s a full blown electric piece. After that, we’re most likely going to do an October run, over in Europe, and then we’ll see where the rest of the year takes us.

MD: So what can you tell me about the new record? Does it have a title?

JG: Yes, it does. It’s called John Garcia And The Band Of Gold. And it’s kind of appropriate for New Zealand, with all the Peter Jackson movies and the band of gold… anyway … that’s – I thought about that.

It’s a heavy record, it’s a rock record, there’s a theme to it. And the theme is “keep it simple”. We wanted to do a Four. Piece. Straight. Up. Heavy. Rock record, and that’s what you’re gonna get. Again, it comes out in June. And it’s gonna come out obviously digital download, LP, and I don’t know if the kids these days even buy CDs anymore, but of course it’ll be there if you need it. Yeah. I’m looking forward to it, and so is my group of guys.

It might not be special for the average Joe that gets to see shows or go to shows all the time, but it’s special for me.

MD: So who’s playing on the record?

JG: So – Aaron Groban, he’s my right hand, he’s my right-hand guy. And then I have Mike Pygmie on bass and Greg Saenz on drums. And they’re powerhouses. It’s a great band, and one helluva – a bunch of excellent musicians.

MD: So when did the recording take place for this?

JG: Just last month. Just finishing up both… both Palm Springs studios shut down. There was a great studio called Thunder-Underground, that one shut down. Another great one called Unit A shut down, there was no place to record! So I started searching, and I can’t go to Los Angeles, it’s too far, I work a normal job, I can’t do that stuff. So I found this room, up in the high desert, I bought an amazing Toft board, and a buddy of mine came in with his Pro Tools rig, and we pulled it off.

MD: Cool.

JG: It was a rectangular room, we got some awesome mics, we just cherry-picked from all of his great studio gear, and we did it. So – yeah.

MD: And the songs – are they newly written, are they fresh stuff, or are they…

JG: Oh no, no. They’re brand new. A song like – maybe… a couple of them, from the acoustic record, we electrified those.

MD: Oh, okay.

JG: So you’re going to get an electrified version of some of these songs. I think only two of them. Only two. But the rest of them are brand new tracks. There are 11 tracks, and it’s close to an hour. Again, I’m stoked, it’s being mixed as we speak.

MD: Cool! So that’s out in June. What else is going on? You obviously have this huge legacy with all these other guys that you’ve played with in the past. Do you run into anybody these days?

JG: Actually – not really, you know, Marty. It’s tough when you run an animal hospital. And you have two kids. And then you wanna hang out with the guys, and write some music. It’s a little tough trying to fit in. I’m not one of those guys that goes out after work, hangs out with the guys and has a beer after work. I wanna go home to my family. I wanna hang out with my best friend, who just so happens to be my wife.

And it’s important to me. And family’s important to me. And my son and my daughter are important to me, and their education is important to me. So there’s really zero time for really, anything else.  All my spare time is devoted to music, and there’s not a lot of it.

MD: Alrighty. Sounds like you’re – well, it’s great that you’re able to get away and hit the road a little bit, and come and visit us –

JG: That’s why it’s so special. It might not be special for the average Joe that gets to see shows or go to shows all the time, but it’s special for me. Because I don’t get a chance to do this very often at all. Maybe twice a year. And very rarely do I get to come down to Aus…ever! Never ever have I done this before. So I am over my heels about this thing.

Click here for tickets and more info about John Garcia in New Zealand