Desert Soap, “New Desert Song” - The Hideout (6/24/11)
photos by Erik Lindahl
I think about these potential blog topics and then the ideas come and then I procrastinate and delay in actually writing about them and by the time I do i’ve forgotten most of the details. I know I was supposed to write more about soft rock, but all I can remember is that i’ve started advertising us “the best soft rock band in the world.” I feel it’s groovy to say that. See, not only do I believe it’s true, I think it’s a good idea to claim a title that any possible “competitiion” would probably not even try to contest, out of embarrassment. I want to embrace it though, for that pragmatic reason and because I dig the appellation myself. I’ve always wanted to be in a “soft rock” band, it sounds so mellow and comfy …
I’ve written here before that Bread is #1 in terms of my musical influences in regards to Desert Soap’s sound. How come? After all, there seems to be some definite square elements when it comes to their vibe. You can sense a conservative theme running through songs like London Bridge, Been Too Long On The Road, Daughter, Yours For Life, etc. Moreover, there are some reports that David Gates never smoked grass in his life. There are also stories that he smoked tons of it. I think there’s a chance that might be true, but I tend to believe the former. Obviously then, it comes down to the music. I think theirs is the quintessential soft rock sound. Why? Well, from a technical standpoint, they kept the arrangements nice and simple, the hits are mostly acoustic guitar and falsetto lead vocals. Esoterically speaking, they also knew how to get rid of all unnecessary ego, and thus their music is very relaxing. That’s a really big thing, because that, certainly, is how life should be lived. The songs, melodies, and guitar solos are great, of course. I will expound upon how all this directly affects us in a later posting …
