Tis the season for celebrating! And what better way to celebrate than with some good friends, cheerful libations, and some toe-tappingly great music? With that in mind, The Standard, Hollywood is proud to present this week's line-up for their weekly Desert Nights. So sit back, relax, and enjoy!
Dave Gleason: Timelessness can’t be manufactured. Music either cuts across the years, feeling right at home in yesteryear AND the unfolding now, or it doesn’t. From the get-go Dave Gleason has crafted songs and executed them in a way that hums timelessly, country rock that’d fit in fine on a scratchy old turntable at Merle Travis’ house, blasting from an 8-track player in Waylon Jennings’ pickup truck or serenading crowds during intermission at a Tom Petty show today. Gleason strikes down to country’s hard beating heart and draws out the stuff that’s made folks turn to this music for comfort and delight since it wandered out of the Appalachias in the 1930s.
Dave Serby: “Those who can not remember the past are condemned to repeat it__.” George Santayana wrote those words over a hundred years ago but it is a philosophy that David Serby takes to heart on his new album, Poor Man’s Poem, a song cycle set in 19th century America. After rooting his previous albums in 1960’s-style honky tonk, the Los Angeles-based Serby was restless to explore new musical territory. “I wanted to do something that was a little more serious and relevant to the things I was thinking about,” Serby reveals. Interestingly, he looked to the past to write about how he feels today. The current economic woes had Serby thinking about how this country’s obsession with money and how people are struggling nowadays. Rather than write political diatribes (which he finds often off-putting), the history-loving musician set his story-songs in the past, which he discovered wasn’t so far removed from the present. History, he states, is “an ugly vicious cycle.”
Rachel Dean: Rachel Dean is a singer/songwriter from Los Angeles the fronts the band War Children. Her style is a melodic, mystical, countrified blend of rock, pop, and folk. After escaping the craziness of the city, Rachel moved to the California high desert, Joshua Tree to write and record. Having gained inspiration from the Joshua Tree desert, Rachel has formed a beautiful combination of lyrics and melodies that are undeniable and unforgettable.
What is Desert Nights?
Desert Nights is a weekly gathering at The Standard, Hollywood, hosted by KCRW’s DJ Valida. Every Wednesday, Valida curates three acoustic musical acts to perform a set in the Cactus Lounge. The vibe is warm and intimate, evoking an impromptu jam in a musician’s living room. The music begins at 7:30pm, it’s always free and always a good time. Guaranteed.
