Palm Desert Scene
{{short description|Music culture in Southern California}}
{{Redirect|Desert punk|the post-apocalyptic manga and anime|Desert Punk}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{Infobox music genre
| name = Palm Desert Scene
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| image = Queens of the Stone Age - SSE Arena Wembley - Saturday 18th November 2017 QOTSAWembley181117-29 (24730972488) (cropped).jpg
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| caption = Queens of the Stone Age performing in London, England in November 2017
| stylistic_origins = {{hlist|Hard rock|heavy metal|alternative rock|stoner rock|blues rock|psychedelic rock|acid rock|grunge|hardcore punk}}
| cultural_origins = Early 1990s, Palm Desert, Southern California, U.S.
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| other_topics = {{hlist|Stoner rock|grunge|sludge metal|doom metal|neo-psychedelia|Paisley Underground}}
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The Palm Desert Scene is a group of related bands and musicians from Palm Desert, California. Their hard rock sound – sometimes described as desert rock – contains elements of heavy metal, psychedelia, blues, punk, alternative, grunge, and other genres. It often features distinctive repetitive drum beats, a propensity for free-form jamming, and "trance-like" or "sludgy" grooves.{{refn|{{cite web|last1=Vanhorn|first1=Teri|title=Queens Of The Stone Age At Home In Desert|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/503529/queens-of-the-stone-age-at-home-in-desert/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150102105829/http://www.mtv.com/news/503529/queens-of-the-stone-age-at-home-in-desert/|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 2, 2015|website=mtv.com|publisher=MTV|access-date=December 22, 2014}}{{cite web|last1=Prato|first1=Greg|title=Normadic Pursuits - Yawning Man|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/nomadic-pursuits-mw0002024035|website=Allmusic|access-date=December 18, 2014}}{{cite web|url=http://www.laweekly.com/westcoastsound/2014/10/22/queens-of-the-stone-ages-josh-homme-is-our-last-real-rock-star?page=3|title=Queens of the Stone Age's Josh Homme Is Our Last Real Rock Star|author=Steve Appleford|date=October 22, 2014|work=L.A. Weekly}}{{cite web|last1=Orzeck|first1=Kurt|title=QOTSA End Year On A High Note: Josh Homme Reunites With Kyuss Singer In L.A.|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1519071/qotsa-end-year-on-a-high-note-josh-homme-reunites-with-kyuss-singer-in-la/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140523071247/http://www.mtv.com/news/1519071/qotsa-end-year-on-a-high-note-josh-homme-reunites-with-kyuss-singer-in-la/|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 23, 2014|website=MTV.com|publisher=MTV|access-date=December 18, 2014}}{{cite web|last1=Loeffler|first1=Shawn|title=BRANT BJORK AND THE LOW DESERT PUNK BAND HIT THE STONER GROOVE ON "STOKELY UP NOW"|url=http://www.yellmagazine.com/brant-bjork-desert-punk-band-stokely-up-now/91158/#|website=yellmagazine.com|publisher=Yell Magazine|access-date=April 30, 2015}}{{cite news|last1=Linn|first1=Robin|last2=Lalli|first2=Mario|title=The strange births of Desert Rock|url=http://www.thesunrunner.com/2013/07/19/12852/the-strange-births-of-desert-rock|access-date=April 30, 2015|publisher=The Sun Runner, Journal of the Real Desert|date=July 19, 2013|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919012859/http://www.thesunrunner.com/2013/07/19/12852/the-strange-births-of-desert-rock|archive-date=September 19, 2015}}{{cite web|last1=Dewey|first1=Casey|title=Stoner Rock's Best Kept Secret|url=http://www.tucsonweekly.com/tucson/stoner-rocks-best-kept-secret/Content?oid=3864854|publisher=Tucson Weekly|access-date=April 30, 2015}}{{cite web|last1=Mettler|first1=Mike|title=A Desert Soundtrack|url=http://www.palmspringslife.com/Palm-Springs-Life/April-2014/A-Desert-Soundtrack/|website=palmspringslife.com|publisher=Palm Springs Life|access-date=April 30, 2015}}}} The involved musicians often play in multiple bands simultaneously, and there is a high rate of collaboration between bands. The Palm Desert Scene is also notable for fostering stoner rock pioneers Kyuss. The term "stoner rock" is sometimes used interchangeably with the term "desert rock".{{cite news|last1=Lynskey|first1=Dorian|title=Kyuss: Kings of the stoner age|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/mar/25/kyuss-stoner-queens-stone-age|work=The Guardian|date=March 25, 2011 |access-date=December 18, 2014}} However, not all Palm Desert scene bands are "stoner rock" and not all stoner rock bands sound exactly like those in Palm Desert. Palm Desert has been named by Blender magazine as "one of the top seven rock n' roll cities in America".{{cite web|url=http://www.perfectpitchonline.com/v02i03/eagles.php |work=Blender |first=Erik |last=Fong |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080119122943/http://www.perfectpitchonline.com/v02i03/eagles.php |archive-date=January 19, 2008 |title=One Flew Over the Eagle's Nest |date=November 4–17, 2003 |volume=2 |issue=3}}
History
The scene evolved from various Palm Desert bands' (especially Yawning Man's) marijuana-driven instrumental jam sessions in the desert. It is largely known for its heavy, grinding riffs and association with the use of illicit substances, particularly marijuana, peyote, LSD, and magic mushrooms. These jam sessions inevitably contained some psychedelic rock influences.
Palm Desert bands built a large local following by frequently performing at bars and parties in and around the isolated towns of Southern California's desert areas. The band Kyuss, specifically, performed shows at desert parties known as "generator parties".{{Citation | last = Morris | first = Chris | title = Kyuss lands on its feet and keeps climbing | newspaper =Billboard | page =1 | date =January 15, 1994}} These shows consisted of small crowds of people partying in the desert, beer drinking, drugs, and the use of gasoline-powered generators to provide electricity for the musical equipment.{{Citation | last = Billik | first = Kira L. | title = Confused punk rockers' have an identity crisis | newspaper =Buffalo News | pages =G3 | date =March 14, 1993}} Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age member Josh Homme commented that playing in the desert "was the shaping factor for [Kyuss]", noting that "there's no clubs here, so you can only play for free. If people don't like you, they'll tell you. You can't suck."{{cite news|last1=Felci|first1=Michael|title=Dave Grohl explores desert rock in HBO series|url=http://www.desertsun.com/story/life/entertainment/music/2014/11/13/dave-grohl-sonic-highways-rancho-de-la-luna/18987115/|newspaper=The Desert Sun|access-date=December 18, 2014}}{{cite web|last1=Bennett|first1=J.|title=Kyuss Vocalist John Garcia Is Free At Last|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/john-garcia-my-mind-video-interview/|website=Noisey|date=July 15, 2014 |publisher=Vice|access-date=December 18, 2014}}
The Desert Sessions
{{main|The Desert Sessions}}
One project within this scene are the Desert Sessions, in which Josh Homme invites a group of musicians, most of whom are from the Palm Desert scene, to Rancho De La Luna, a studio in the desert, where they write, rehearse and record some 10 songs in one week's time. The songs are recorded and then never played again by the same lineup, though a number of Desert Sessions songs have later been covered on albums by Queens of the Stone Age and become part of the QOTSA live repertoire. The Desert Sessions series has now yielded 12 volumes, which have been released in pairs on CD but individually in 10" vinyl EP format. Though the series is commonly associated with the Palm Desert Scene, not all artists in the scene have participated, and there have been other artists to contribute to the project who are clearly not from the scene, such as John McBain of Red Bank, New Jersey's Monster Magnet, Dean Ween of Pennsylvania's Ween and England's PJ Harvey.
Notable figures
{{main|List of Palm Desert Scene bands}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
{{Heavy metal music}}
{{Rock music}}