Music Interview with Death Valley Pornstar
February 2010 Spotlight


By: Isaac Davis Jr., BGS, MBA

Our Webzine recently interviewed a kick ass band that really is going to take Indie/Alternative music to a whole new level. The female-fronted band has created an awesome sound that mixes different styles of music that fans will find enjoyable to listen to. We spoke to the members of the band about their music, their lowpoints and highpoints, and their musical influences. Here is what formulated.

Isaac: I just listened to your song, "It's Not Me, It's You". What was the inspiration for making this song and your new album?

*[Jezebel]** That's personally my favorite song we play; it's so much fun live. "It's Not Me, It's You" came from a dear friend of mine who discovered his evil (and now ex-) wife was a cheating whorebag. I tend to write songs about the things my friends are going through...apparently they have much more interesting lives than I — "Butterfly" was written about another very close friend of mine who's been through a lot of shit over the years. I felt like there wasn't a song out there that described her mindset, so I wrote one for her. The new album felt like a theatrical piece on the whole. It was really cool to know that we had a string of songs that kind of told a story as you went, and we really set out to make an EP that wasn't just this or just that. It had to be a sampler platter for the band's sound.*

*[Jimi] The "Diabla" EP tells a story but we don't want to give it away to people.

[Gio] We want people to really listen to the music and figure it out for themselves.*

Isaac: Who were your influences?

*[Jimi]** We have a very eclectic group of influences. From Foo Fighters to Lady Gaga, Primus to The Beatles, Porcupine Tree to Pink, Kyuss to Queen and everything in between. I guess what you can hear most in our music would be maybe The Dead Weather, The Black Keys, Queens of the Stone Age, a little Eagles of Death Metal. Stuff like that.*

*[Jezebel]** Yeah, it's like Freddie Mercury up and joined The Rolling Stones, started smoking pot with John Lennon, fucked Pat Benetar, Joan Jett and Pink at the same time, and then murdered Heidi Montag. And then baked some cupcakes and made sweet love to a golden jumpsuit.*

*[Gio] As an aside, the most immediate influences of mine are my instructors Gerson Reyes and Nick Amoroso. *

Isaac: What do you consider to have been the highlight(s) and lowpoint(s) of your career to date?

*[Jimi] **One highlight was playing the Whisky-a-Go-Go, definitely. To see your name up on that most famous of marquees and play on the same stage so many famous bands have played on before us was such a rush.** We had a great turn out and a great set. After words, we got a hotel room in downtown LA and partied with friends, family and fans until t

he Sun came up! I'm proud to say I was one of only two people left standing when that sun came up!

[Adrien] It was a very "Rock Star" night.

[Jimi] and we learned Adrien snores like a monster in a wind tunnel.

[Jezebel] **A low point was definitely playing at this place called Bernie's Sports Bar in Fullerton. I usually don't rag on hole-in-the-wall bars, because a lot of them end up being great little gems to play at... but man, that place was a shithole in every sense of the word. We pulled up and there was, I kid you not, a dead fucking cat in front of the club. It had been out in the hot sun all day, decomposing. The smell was horrendous. And then we're walking in and I'm last in line and the bouncer says, "Whoa there,little lady" or some bullshit and tells me to pay the cover. I told him I was in the band and he didn't believe me; he was sure I was a groupie or whatever. He actually told me that he was going to watch us play and if he didn't see me singing he'd come collect the cover. Inside was just as bad as outside: the stage was a tiny triangle with some busted fluorescent lighting over it, and there was warm beer ONLY. No liquor — shit, even the WATER didn't have ice in it. It tasted like they scooped it out of a toilet. **

[Jimi] Speaking of the toilet, the last two songs in our set were overshadowed by the smell of the bar's toilet backing up.

[Gio] **Imagine walking into the bathroom and knowing what the person that was in there before you had for lunch just by the smell. Now add some pee and vomit to that smell, and throw in the drunken homeless guy who hasn't bathed for months unless you call peeing or vomiting on ones' self bathing.It was worse than all that.**

[Adrien] The band, our fans...everyone ran out of the club the second our set was finished.

**[Jimi] I think we can all agree another High Point was recording the EP with Dan Kramer @ Citrus City Sound, Dan has a great ear.

[Jezebel] Tracking then hearing our songs refined and polished and going through that process was simply an amazing experience. Some of my harmonies were killer hard to do and Dan could be a task master but we ended up with a solid representation of who we are right now.*

Isaac: Brief history about your background plus the style of music you play.

*[Jimi]** We were raised by a pack of rabid wolverines early on then **once we hit puberty we were** left for dead on a desert island to fend for ourselves. The natives of the island mistook us for gods, and as a tribute, shared with us the musical instruments that had washed up on shore some years earlier. After learning the natives’ strange ways and sacrificing more then our fair share of virgins, we were rescued by a passing merchant marine ship. The mariners thought for sure Jezebel was a siren of the sea and we were her "sea imps" because of the strange music we were playing. Long story short we were dumped off at San Diego Harbor here in California and the rest is history.*

*[Jezebel] We hope that clears up any confusion about our background *

Isaac: How easy is it to gets gigs for you as an artist? What is the live music scene like in your area?

*[Jimi] The music scene is kind of disjointed here in Southern California, at least so far in our experience. It's hard to find one place here with a great community of musicians who support each other. Not to say there are no great bands here because there are (Hydrovibe comes to mind). We're just all spread out and don't really network with one another like we should. I hope to see that change or find a "music scene" but right now we're looking for one, lol.*

*[Adrien] **Bookies, clubs and bars seem to be more interested in how many customers you can bring than them putting quality "of the like" bands together in one showcasing. Truth is, they make all the profits and many establishments don't do their own advertising. With that said, the music scene is very mixed. It's quite common that you have one or two bands that aren't pleasing to ones musical pallet and people actually leave. Only to miss out on a really good band that you would really enjoy. Not always thecase but, more often than not.*

Isaac: What do you think of the state of Indie music at the moment? Do you listen to radio much at all? Has the Internet helped music grow or hindered it in your opinion?

*[Adrien] I pretty much listen to Internet radio exclusively. It's more fine tuned for the individual and a lot less commercials.** I also definitely think the Internet helps music more than it hinders it. If we relied solely on the music industry to provide us with music that they think we should like, I don't think many of us would like music very much. In-fact I think the Internet is the stand alone platform for any new music. It's open source, the people decide what they like and the numbers prove what'spopular.**

[Jimi] Yeah, I totally agree with Adrien. Between social networking sites, podcasts, blogs and Internet radio, bands like us have an unprecedented platform for been seen and heard. For the first time in the music industry, an artist actually has the ability to get heard by thousands, even millions of people with out the help of a major label. If your music is good enough, you might even make a living from it on your own!*

Isaac: If you could create a fantasy band - what would be the line-up and why?

*[Jezebel] **A fantasy band? Jeez. Probably Dave Grohl drumming (the man is a God), Les Claypool on bass, Josh Homme on guitar/producing and Lady Gaga on songwriting/vocals (not to mention myself singing backup vocals as needed!) *

***[Gio] **Guitar would be Steve Vai, to me he is the biggest baddest guitar player in the world. On Bass, it would have to be Victor Wooten he is just the best. Vocals would be David Townsend, I love his vocals on Steve Vai's Sex and Religion album. I also would love to have Keys and the only choice there is Jordan Rudess, a God on Keys. As for Drums, that's easy, ME! But because I would freeze in a room with those guys, I would quickly be replaced by Gavin Harrison from Porcupine Tree, this guys has chops, style,and his drumming is rock solid!*

*[Adrien] Les Claypool on bass, Tom Morelo on guitar, Dave Grohl on drums & Roger Waters on Vocals.

[Jimi] It's already happened, Them Crooked Vultures has Josh Homme on Guitar and Vocals, Dave Grohl on Drums and John Paul Jones on Bass, all Rock Gods! What more could I ask for? Their album is amazing and I can honestly say they were the best band I've ever seen live and I've seen a lot of bands.

[Jimi] Oh wait I can be in the band?...

[Adrien] No!!

[Jimi] But Gio and Jezebel said...fine, never mind.

*Isaac: What CD's do you currently have available and where can they be purchased from?

*[Jezebel] Our EP "Burn, Diabla, Burn!" is out right now, hard copies of the EP are available at our shows — you get it signed by us if you come out and support the band (and our cover art is sooooo sick).

[Gio] Our CD is also available for download @ itunes and cdbady*.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/larceny/id340736913?i=340736956&ign-mpt=uo=6

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/DeathValleyPornstar

Isaac: Where can fans access your music, videos, blogs, and anything else about you online?

*[Jimi] www.deathvalleypornstar.com is the place to go. We have links to everything from Twitter and Facebook to our merchandise and music as well has a media page with pictures, music & videos.

[Jezebel] **You can also preview our entire EP there, and if you join our site (it's free) you have access to a butt load free downloads!*

Isaac: Message to your fans?

*[Jezebel]** Be good people, give our music to everyone you know, and don't stop sexing each other. Our fans are dirty and delicious like that.*