Staff Magazine Interview  - September - 2003

STEVE 'DANDY' BROWN

What do you do apart of producing and playing? We would like to know some more about those things that have inspired the music you create.

S.D.B.: I have tried for years to simplify my life! It never works, though. To begin with, as many people know, I am a high school English teacher, and during the school year that takes up about 75% of my time. I work my ass off for nine months out of the year, putting in twelve to fourteen hour days grading papers and preparing lessons so that when the summer and winter holidays come around I can have time to devote to my family and music.
While music is a huge part of my life, my family is the larger part. My wife, Analisa, and I have
an eight year old and a five month old, both girls, that absorb a lot of our time. Watching them
grow is probably the most important, and inspirational aspect of my life.
It is amazing how understanding they all are about the amount of time music takes up of my life. I have not become a millionaire playing or producing music, but they understand that a large part of who I am comes from my involvement in it, and they support my efforts in production and recording completely.
When the time comes to go out on tour, or to have to spend days upon days in the studio they
send me off with all their love, and that's incredibly important to being able to create. I can't tell
you how many musicians I know who are married and don't receive that same kind of support
from their family. When there isn't that support from home, for the married folks, you can see how it plays upon them when they are trying to record or create. I feel sorry for those folks who are in a situation
like that.

It´s not easy to take both things and come together, so I think you´re a lucky man...

I believe I am lucky as well. I have a wonderful woman, and two beautiful daughters.

You need to be ready emotionally... music is what a musician is during his life.

I agree. When people come into the studio burdened by the things that go on beyond their
music it is a real road-block to creativity. Conflict and terrible burdens are sometimes what inspire the creativity at first, but if a person is constantly tied up in those things and not able to allow his or her mind to flow freely in the studio or during a performance then the end result always seems to be less than what it could have been.
I'm not trying to say my life is perfect either. Man, I've got problems that weigh upon me too. My wife and I have arguments sometimes. My kids are sometimes a handful! Life is not perfect for anyone. What I do know, though, is that beyond the little things that come up, the foundations of my family life are solid. That's important.

In my opinion, it´s the most important thing, no matter what money you have or whatever. Being a family man has got those good things too!.

I'm thinking about all the younger people who will be reading this interview, and thinking, "Man,
that shit has nothing to do with me." Well, that may be true. They may never marry, or find
someone so important that they want to share their life with. For those that do, though,
make sure it is someone who is going to promote your creative side . . . not inhibit it. These
are things that have to be put straight from the very beginning in any relationship. If there is any
misunderstanding on this, believe me, it's going to come back and bite you in the ass.
I'm sounding like Dear Abby! Do you know her syndicated column in American newspapers?

No, I don´t know that one! Don´t mind what traditional roots could be on your way of thinking.
I´m not married, and I think I´m far away from that, but I think in the same way.

I'm not claiming to be an expert, but I'm closing in on 40 years old, and I've been
through too many relationships where I was inhibited by someone instead of inspired by them.
It took me over 30 years to find someone like Analisa . . . after a long series of mistakes before
her.

I don´t know anybody that found that person for the very first time. It´s how life works, though.

True. But there are those who find their "true love" in high school, and live happily ever after.
There aren't many of those, but there are some.

True.
You are teacher in a culture that is influenced heavily by hispanic culture, and your wife is of Mexican heritage. There´s a good and strong connection with the Spanish culture around you and your family. Now you´re living not so far from Mexico. How have those things inspired you to create music, and why do you think that those roots are so strong? I think about names like Hermano and Orquesta del Desierto . . . and, well, John Garcia is a Spanish name! But what about you?

I'm not sure exactly what lead me down this path toward Spanish culture! To begin with, my
heritage is northern European, Scottish to be exact, and growing up in southwestern Ohio there
really wasn't that much Spanish culture around me. In high school, I wasn't a very good student
in Spanish class! I think, though, that my first real infatuation with Spanish culture came right
around 1993.
From 1990 through 1993, I had been making numerous trips to Europe in order to do a little bit
of soul searching. After graduating from college, I was at a real loss for who I was and what
kind of direction I wanted to go with my life. My goal at the time was to become the next
"great American author," and I spent most of the time I was in Europe working on a few novels I
have written, and studying philosophy and world religions and thier impact upon various cultures.
In 1993, after spending a few years doing research and writing in northern Europe, I became
intrigued with Spain, and decided to make my next destination Madrid. Arriving in Madrid, I instantly felt overwhelmed by the size of the city, and took the first train to San Sebastian where I stayed for about three months. Don't let anyone fool you, though. The high school Spanish that is taught here in the US is
nothing like what the people speak in northern Spain! I found this out quickly. My pocket
translator was of no use. My Spanish/English dictionary was useless as well!
I spent about three months not being able to communicate effectively with anyone. It was almost
like a vow of silence!! I did get a lot of writing done.

Did you like the place? I think you chose one of the best cities in Europe to stay. One of the
beautiful ones.

I loved the city. The architecture and the natural surroundings are wonderful. There are so many
red hues in the northern Spanish landscape that it was wonderful to allow those colors to penetrate my thoughts and emotions.
Anyway, things ended badly in San Sebastian. I had been spending money too freely, and living in the wrong part of town. There was a lot of desperation in the faces that surrounded me every day.
Leaving my apartment one evening, I had the bad luck of having a pistol placed against my head,
and then being robbed. After that, I went back to my apartment, got more money, went in the
opposite direction, and was robbed again at knife point by two men.

Wow! That´s bad luck. I don´t know anybody that ever suffered a robbery or something in
the same way. I mean, especially here, in Spain.

I immediately went to the train station and bought a ticket for Paris! While in the train station,
I was writing a letter to a friend back in the US about the two old men who were sitting across
from me. Those two men were arguing over a bottle of wine and a loaf of bread they had between
them. They both pulled on the bread at the same time, and it split, causing both of them to fall
backward. I laughed, and they both immediately approached me with curses. One of the men
kicked my typewriter, and I lost it. It is sort of a blur, but I remember punching one of them and
seeing him fall to the floor. I was about to go after the other guy when security grabbed me and
those two. The guy behind the ticket window saw the entire thing, and stood up for me. They
kicked those two guys out, and let me stay until the next train departing for Paris.

Don´t know what to say. Three different episodes of violence, small or big, in the very same day, or
week... have you decide to come back one fine day?,

Man, I'm coming back on September 12 for a show with Hermano, and looking foward to it.

I think we ´ll meet there again, Dandy

I hope so. My fascination with Spain didn't stop with that trip or those incidents.
To move on with the Spanish influences, though, when putting together those songs for the Hermano record, I didn't really have a name for the project until we were all together for the first time. Seeing the
friendships which developed between everyone in the band, it became instantly obvious what
the name of the group should be. The bonds between all of us were simply that strong.
After finishing the Hermano record, the idea was to make a run through Mexico and lose myself
there for a while. Once I arrived in Palm Springs to master the Hermano record, things just sort
of developed with my involvement in Orquesta del Desierto, meeting my wife, and being influenced
by the Mexican culture that is all around this area.

Talking about OdD, how you feel now, after finishing this second chapter, the new album?

This experience with Orquesta del Desierto has been amazing. To begin with, I have approached
the production on this album much differently than I did with the first one. After writing almost
everything and making every creative decision for the first release, I felt that the second record
would only move forward if I created a situation where I didn't have to make every single decision.
It was obvious to me that if I wanted to have this project move forward, I was going to have to
make this record more of a collaborative effort, and began this process by asking Country Mark
Engel and Mike Riley to contribute more material than they did for the first release.They are both
great song writers.

That makes it more like a band, not like a project only?

Definitely. This time around it seems more like a "band" project instead of piecing together musicians
to help present my vision of the desert.

Where they really come from? Those guys don´t play in any "known" band around the planet. What
do they do? Why pick them to help on this record? I´m really curious.

Country Mark actually came to the desert to help work on the first Orquesta release. I lured him
out here with promises of women and wealth! When he didn't find either of those, he had to focus
on the Orquesta sessions! Really, though, Country Mark is a legend in the music scene back in
the mid-west (US). Legends don't always draw worldwide attention, and some remain quite unknown for a long long time . . . some never being recognized beyond their area.
Anyway, I had written to him at the beginning of the first Orquesta sessions and asked
him to come out and work on the record. I knew he was as tired of the mid-west as I was when
I left, and that the desert would refresh his creativity.
When Country Mark arrived in the desert he began to be influenced by the same type of things
that had influenced me . . . the sand, heat and mountains. These things began to show up in
his music as well.
In the time he has been here, perhaps three years or so, I believe he has written more music than he had in the last five years he spent in Cincinnati.

So the compositions have been shared mostly between you three guys?

Yes.
As for Mike Riley, he is a bit of a desert veteran. I believe he has lived here for nearly his
entire life, and has been involved in more things than I can name. Every desert musician you can
name or think of has jammed with Mike Riley.

I think I have seen his name on a few desert sessions, right?

His name doesn't appear on a lot of releases or projects because he is and has always been one
of those guys who operates behind the scenes, making connections, doing all kinds of work
beyond the normal observation. He has spent the last decade, though, refining his skills in the
studio and songwriting. I'm not sure if his name has been on the desert sessions releases.

Then I´m wrong about recognizing his name. Sorry.

Anyway, Mike has been one of the most important pieces of the Orquesta productions, one of the
most valuable people I have ever worked with in the studio. His engineering and ability to dial in
the right sounds has been a weight off of my shoulders and left me with more time to concentrate
upon putting the pieces of this production together.
No, these guys aren't national or international figures in the music scene. They are guys, just like
me, who have been involved in music for years upon years not because they want their names in
lights or search for the road to riches through music. They are simply people who are consumed
by the love of creating music and musical exploration. Really, there are musicians out there that
simply love the integrity of the music they play, and have no other ulterior motives.

I know from your other interviews that Rancho de La luna has been the right place to set the right
atmosphere for this album...

I had a number of choices as to where to do the new Orquesta sessions once I began to put
together this record. Living in Florida when I first started piecing this together, my first thought
was to split the sessions between the A Room in Atlanta and the Green Room in Palm Springs.
As things turned out, though, my business interests were in California, and once I returned here
it became obvious that doing the entire session in Calfornia would be the best and most convenient choice.
I had heard assorted releases that had come out of Rancho de la Luna, and was convinced by Pete
Stahl that we should look into doing the record in Joshua Tree. Moving to Joshua Tree, my first
stop was Rancho. I immediately fell in love with everything about the studio . . the scenery, the
rooms, the gear, everything. Bringing Orquesta to Rancho de la Luna has been one of the wisest
production choices I've ever made.
Again, I had already heard a number of things that came out of Rancho, some of the older Kyuss records, the earthlings? releases, and some of the recordings done there by Queens of the Stongeage . . .
just to name a few. I knew that the sonic quality of those recordings was amazing, and that we
could create something special there with Orquesta del Desierto.

But did you move to Joshua Tree just because of the album or was just a great coincidence?

My wife and I had come to Joshua Tree when we first started dating, and from that trip the town
became a very special place. I haven't lived in a city with less than half a million people
(other than the few years I spent living in Zutphen, NL) for the last twenty years, and moving to
a small town was what Analisa and I had been looking for since we first met. That first trip to
Joshua Tree kept the town in our thoughts over the next few years, and we knew that at some
point we wanted to live here . . . at least for a while.

I see you´re not a person who likes to stay the entire life in the same place...

No. Life is too short, and there are far too many places to see and experience. I think it's kind
of funny that people will go on a vacation, and pick one or two places where they will stay for one
or two days. How do you get to know the culture of a place like that? When I go someplace I
prefer to absorb it and try to involve myself in it for a while. In one or two days, you simply
cannot attain this. When I pick a place that I want to get to know, I try to set aside at least a
few months to be there . . . or a few years. Life is full of variety. Why not experience as much
of it as you can? Is that just the existentialist coming out of me?

Sometimes you only need a few days to know that the place you´re visiting is going to be a must
to come back or not... it´s a feeling, and I really love that feeling when it comes.
Things need time to come through, and everyone needs and takes the time needed, days,
months, years... maybe one entire life...

I suppose that is a good philosophy too. I have visited places for a couple of days and knew I
had to return there. I have also visited places and thought I wanted to return there, only to have
it be terrible when I did return! But everyone is different. I am just talking about the things I want
to take away from life. My philosophies do not apply to everyone.

Yes. I hope going back to San Sebastian won´t be that way!

I don't dwell upon the past like that. When I do manage to get to San Sebastian again I will
embrace it as I did the first time around. Hell, maybe I can find those guys that gave me the
trouble in the train station and buy them both a bottle of wine and their own loaf of bread!

About Pete Stahl... did you know anything about the other projects he was involved in? It seems like he´s really busy with the management for Cave In.

Pete Stahl is one of the busiest men in rock and roll these days. He stays extremely busy with
his tour management for Cave In, along with having another earthlings? record in production,
another Goatsnake record in production, and the Orquesta del Desierto record which is nearing
completion. The guy stays on the road either touring with his own bands or doing tour
management nearly every day of the year. I don't know how he keeps up with all of it, honestly.
I also know that he has done guest vocal appearances on more things than I can name.
Everyone wants a piece of Pete Stahl . . . mainly because he is such a bad ass vocalist and
lyricist.

Everyone talks about others, but I think Pete has got one of the most interesting styles right now
in the whole music scene.

This is absolutely true. I believe that I am one of the luckiest producers in music right now.
I have had the opportunity to work with both John Garcia and Pete Stahl, and not too many
people can say that they have been able to work with people of their ability and versitility. I have
said it before, but it is my opinion that John Garcia is the best rock singer since Ian Gillan
(spelling?).

Maybe, on a different level, but for a lot of people, John Garcia is a icon and means a lot, a lot!

You'll get no arguement from many people that have heard John Garcia sing about his mark upon rock, especially heavy blues.
As for Pete, there is truly no one else out there that has more character to his voice.
This is why so many people want to work with Pete Stahl. He has dynamics and versitility that
no one else has. Pete Stahl also writes lyrics that have flavor and meaning, something that has
been lost with most modern rock vocalists.

I agree, look at the work he does with Goatsnake, and compare with what he does with OdD.
The same voice sounding perfect in both bands, being bands so different.

Exactly. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Look at what he has done with earthlings? And
before that, look at the type of things he did with Wool and Scream. All of those projects are
different in some way. Pete Stahl is the kind of singer who does not know the limitation of being
categorized. The greatest thing about working with Pete is the fact that he loves to experiement
with his voice, and push himself beyond what he did in the past. How many vocalists can you or
anyone else name that do this?

I think he is that kind of vocalist able to put his voice on any kind of music, no matter the style or
preferences... it´s really amazing.

That is true as well. For the work I've tried to do with Orquesta del Desierto, bringing as many
musical elements together as I can, there could be no other vocalist other than Pete Stahl.
I knew this from the moment I first heard his voice on the earthlings? material he sent ot me.

To wrap it up, what can you tell us about Hermano and Orquesta del Desierto and the plans for the future of both bands, both projects?

To begin with Hermano, the next thing on the list is to come and do that show in Spain on the 12th of September. I know we are all biting at the bit to get over there and dig our heels back into the band. It's been about seven months since Hermano last came together for shows, and by the time we reach Spain it will have been about nine months. That's a long time to hold off on jamming out with those guys. I'm sure, for most working bands, that seems like an eternity. What everyone has to understand, though, is that Hermano was never created to be a band that stays on the road most of the year, or pumps out a record every year or so. It just isn't that kind of situation. It's the kind of thing that happens when the members all have an open window of opportunity, and Spain just happens to be that first opportunity.
After September, Hermano will be doing a string of shows through Europe beginning October 17. We are all looking forward to that as well. What both the show in Spain and the tour through northern Europe are going to offer is a chance to jam out some of the new material we've been storing up for the next Hermano record that we are scheduled to begin recording right around the beginning of December. Man, it's hard to believe that Hermano hasn't done a recording session in nearly five years . . . that it will be nearly four years between the two releases! You can probably imagine how much we want to get into the studio and put this new one together. Five years of saving up riffs for a record is a long, long time, and probably the hardest part about doing that record is going to be the difficulty in picking which of the tunes we have written during that time to include on the record. When we finished the east coast tour of the US, back in November of last year, we already had ¾ of the new record solidly put together, and now it's just a matter of going through the dozens upon dozens of things we all have stored up and deciding how we want to complete the collection. It's going to be a blast.
Looking to the future of Orquesta del Desierto, we are about four months away from the release of the new collection, and I am anxious and eager to get this one out there too. After ironing out all of the rough edges from the first release, and everyone having time to gel with the concept of the project, this time around I think we have come up with something extremely special, and certainly more along the lines of how I envisioned this project from the beginning.
There has been a lot of talk about getting Orquesta on the road this time as well, and I know that everyone in the group is looking forward to finding that window of opportunity for getting out and doing this thing live. Hopefully, there will be a number of shows here on the west coast, up through California, before the winter, and if things all go as planned we will come over to Europe to support the record sometime in the spring of next year. And believe me, I've already called my management in Europe to let them know that Spain is at the top of the list! Maybe someone from San Sebastian can give me a call and let me know the best venue to play.