Palm Desert Tutors Come To You

Palm Desert tutors reference the Palm Desert Scene as a legitimate cultural movement in the music world. Palm Desert was recently named by “Blender” magazine as “one of the top seven rock n’ roll cities in America.”

This sub genre of music known as “stoner rock” or “desert rock” is a combination of alternative rock, heavy metal, psychedelia, blues, and hardcore punk. Some of the most well known “stoner rock” bands are “Queens of the Stone Age”, “Kyuss” and “Eagles Of Death Metal”. Musicians and fans of “stoner rock” have a reputation for the use of illicit substances, in particular marijuana, peyote, LSD and magic mushrooms. The Palm Desert bands have successfully built a large local following by performing at local bars and parties in the isolated towns of the desert areas. There are no clubs or auditoriums for paid gigs, so instead they hold free for entry “generator parties.” A “generator party” is the term given to mid desert parties that are centered around the use of a gasoline-powered generator which provide electricity for the musical equipment, instruments and lighting.

More so than with other music genres, often musicians involved play in multiple bands simultaneously, and the bands frequently collaborate. Josh Homme of “Queens Of The Stone Age” regularly invites a group of musicians to a studio in the desert called “Rancho De La Luna”, to write, rehearse and record 10 songs in the space of one week. They call this tradition the “Desert Sessions,” and there are now 10 volumes, that have been released on CD and LP. A number of Desert Sessions songs have later been covered on albums by “Queens Of The Stone Age” and have become part of their repertoire.

Palm Desert tutors believe the scene originated or evolved from many Palm Desert bands’ marijuana fueled jam sessions that took place in the desert. More specifically that of “Yawning Man,” who were an experimental rock band from nearby La Quinta, that formed in the mid eighties. One of the founding members Alfredo Hernandez, went on to play with “Kyuss” on their most recent album “…And The Circus Leaves Town.” Together they recorded a cover version of a “Yawning Man” track entitled “Catamaran.”

“Yawning Man” truly were a band focused on performing at generator parties and living and breathing the “stoner rock” lifestyle. Despite their popularity they did not release any material to a wider audience until 2005. At this time their sound was evolving and they changed the bands name to reflect that. They became “The Sort Of Quartet”.