Dead Rock West

Led by vocalist Cindy Wasserman and singer and guitarist Frank Lee Drennen, Dead Rock West specialize in a kind of jangly west coast alt country that slides into pop and punk territory at times, a bit like a clever cross between the <a href="spotify:artist:1KA3WXYMPLxomNuoE22LYd">Gram Parsons</a> version of <a href="spotify:artist:1PCZpxHJz7WAMF8EEq8bfc">the Byrds</a> and L.A.'s <a href="spotify:artist:54NqjhP2rT524Mi2GicG4K">X</a>. Formed in 2002, the band, which also includes multi-instrumentalist <a href="spotify:artist:4AdHSna5Y5xSwypVi1mbj2">Phil Parlapiano</a> (mandolin, organ), drummer Bryan Head, and bassist David J. Carpenter, has a long pedigree drawn from the Southern California rock and roots scene, and individual members have played in a whole host of bands in various configurations, including the Hatchet Brothers, the Troubled Sleepers, <a href="spotify:artist:0OSw9it2MM9CxLC6WOhgEd">Abandoned Pools</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:3Qko0iAXdCivWLJheAKoaP">the Brothers Figaro</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:17vlWrs82uaNlESpCv4t7D">Loam</a>, a band that still counts Drennen as a key member. Wasserman has toured with <a href="spotify:artist:65xy6loxYxKy3M9uiRHzLv">Grant Lee Phillips</a>, while <a href="spotify:artist:4AdHSna5Y5xSwypVi1mbj2">Parlapiano</a> has performed with <a href="spotify:artist:31ir0nQWMLTowZmZO8CiBw">Grant Lee Buffalo</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:7oPgCQqMMXEXrNau5vxYZP">Tracy Chapman</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:60ht0hWRy1yjUDfNsLuHuP">Lucinda Williams</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:2y8Jo9CKhJvtfeKOsYzRdT">Rod Stewart</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:16nn7kCHPWIB6uK09GQCNI">Social Distortion</a>, among others. It's a lot of proven talent, and Dead Rock West made full use of it for their debut album, Honey and Salt, which was recorded old-school to 2" tape and then mixed by Grammy-winner Richard Dodd. Eclectic and varied but always in a sort of <a href="spotify:artist:0rESpKEusFHxhW59MIf7eM">the Flying Burrito Brothers</a>-meet-<a href="spotify:artist:54NqjhP2rT524Mi2GicG4K">X</a>- with-good-production kind of way, and full of gorgeous vocal harmonies from Drennen and Wasserman, the album generated a fair amount of good press when it was released by <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Populuxe+Records%22">Populuxe Records</a> in 2007. 2011's Bright Morning Stars saw the duo tackle a set of spiritually oriented tunes, many of which were traditional, and in 2015 they dropped the spirited It's Everly Time!, a salute to the <a href="spotify:artist:4ACplpEqD6JIVgKrafauzs">Everly Brothers</a>. The duo tapped <a href="spotify:artist:4uyMcYXJM1rO5fvC9lOKwF">John Doe</a> to produce their next studio long-player, 2017's <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Omnivore%22">Omnivore</a>-issued More Love. ~ Steve Leggett, Rovi