Farmer Dave Scher

As a solo artist, session player, and member of numerous eclectic indie bands, Farmer Dave Scher has been a stalwart of the Southern California music scene since the 1990s. Infused with a West Coast spirit that covers everything from soft rock and psychedelia to beat poetry and country music, he was a key member of <a href="spotify:artist:07tmbQsiTfXekPkbovBERR">Beachwood Sparks</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:41FBobEC3o7cQ4EmlEktl0">All Night Radio</a> before launching a solo career with 2009's Flash Forward to the Good Times. Known for his prowess on the pedal steel guitar, Scher has also played with a range of artists including <a href="spotify:artist:2BGRfQgtzikz1pzAD0kaEn">Elvis Costello</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:5gspAQIAH8nJUrMYgXjCJ2">Kurt Vile</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:5cMVRrisBpDkXCVG48epED">Jenny Lewis</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:3WaJSfKnzc65VDgmj2zU8B">Interpol</a>. In 2020, he released the solo EP, Speak of Love.

The Southern California native first made his mark as a core member of <a href="spotify:artist:07tmbQsiTfXekPkbovBERR">Beachwood Sparks</a>, an influential Los Angeles indie pop group known for fusing sunny Laurel Canyon psychedelia with the country-rock influences of bands like <a href="spotify:artist:1PCZpxHJz7WAMF8EEq8bfc">the Byrds</a>. He later co-founded the short-lived duo <a href="spotify:artist:41FBobEC3o7cQ4EmlEktl0">All Night Radio</a> with fellow <a href="spotify:artist:07tmbQsiTfXekPkbovBERR">Beachwood Sparks</a> member Jimi Hey in 2002. The group split after their lone LP, Spirit Stereo Frequency, which was released by <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Sub+Pop%22">Sub Pop</a> in 2004. For a time, he shifted his focus to studio and session work, collaborating with artists like Jonathan Rice and <a href="spotify:artist:7ACSlU8kTcQIbvpwLWze8E">Vetiver</a> before making his solo debut with Flash Forward to the Good Times, on the Brooklyn, New York-based label Kimado Records in the summer of 2009. An adventurous affair that melded soft rock, album rock, and indie pop sensibilities (in other words, sounding something like a cross between <a href="spotify:artist:5bDxAyJiTYBat1YnFJhvEK">Joe Walsh</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:07tmbQsiTfXekPkbovBERR">Beachwood Sparks</a>), the album featured guest appearances by producer Thom Monahan (whose previous credits included work for <a href="spotify:artist:1YZEoYFXx4AxVv13OiOPvZ">Devendra Banhart</a>) and members of <a href="spotify:artist:6bc0HcX6BmS9H7BDMoVeY0">Entrance</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:2m5sfYbpKKft4tjVfm9IH3">VietNam</a>.

Throughout the 2010s, Scher continued to broaden his catalog of credits by playing on songs by <a href="spotify:artist:2zAvisjImPICTNsRgagqlV">Bonnie "Prince" Billy</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:5gspAQIAH8nJUrMYgXjCJ2">Kurt Vile</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:5INjqkS1o8h1imAzPqGZBb">Tame Impala</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:2kGBy2WHvF0VdZyqiVCkDT">Father John Misty</a>, among others. He also collaborated with <a href="spotify:artist:55Ox89YvyME4t8bYTIJsRu">Carlos Niño</a> on the 2017 joint album Espacio Especial for the Astrollage label. Scher's later projects of this era include the duo Californiosos and the formation of a backing band called <a href="spotify:artist:5hc10VpgIx43Rj16i2jvNi">the Wizards of the West</a>. He returned to solo work in 2020 with the EP Speak of Love. ~ Timothy Monger, Rovi