Old Mexico - St (2019)
Release: 22 February 2019
In
2016 Dead Meadow’s Jason Simon ventured north to San Francisco to take
part in the Family Folk Explosion: a Last Waltz-style concert series
hosted by Trans Van Santos and what the SF Weekly has called "his band
of Merry Pranksters." Simon picked a handful of songs to perform with
the Trans Van Santos band, leaning heavily on unrecorded material and
selections from his last solo album. When he arrived in San Francisco
for rehearsals he was immediately taken with the band’s much jazzier
interpretations of his songs; a particular revelation coming from the
loose and idiosyncratic swing of San Francisco drummer and Spirit Jazz
elder Dave Mihaly (known for his work with Jolie Holland and his own
group; Dave Mihaly & The Shimmering Leaves Ensemble).
Of
all the songs that Jason Simon brought to the table that evening, none
were more important to the future NorCal/SoCal collaboration between
these two sonic tribes than “Past the Western Wall;" a song Simon felt
necessitated a Free Jazz approach that had proven difficult to capture.
Not so in San Francisco, where the song became the lengthy and searching
centerpiece of the set. Behind Dave Mihaly’s inspired work on the trap
kit, Jason Simon’s exploration of Indian motifs on lead guitar, and the
Bob Weir-like rhythmic accompaniment of Trans Van Santos, the song found
its wings, stretching freely in the open landscape of the songs middle
section. Clocking in at nearly fifteen minutes, “Past the Western Wall"
was the clear highlight of a show that featured more than a few bright
moments. The next morning Jason Simon drove back to Los Angeles with a
copy of Dave Mihaly’s most recent album and an invitation to join Trans
Van Santos at the TVS2 sessions in Joshua Tree, California the next
month.
Jason
Simon listened to the Dave Mihaly album on the drive back to Los
Angeles and then he listened to it again, and again. The next month in
Joshua Tree he presented Trans Van Santos with a proposition to record
an album featuring material from the three songwriters. They pow-wowed
and smoked the peace pipe and formulated a plan: the album was to be
recorded in both San Francisco and Los Angeles, in the northern reaches
of Old Mexico, and feature contributions from members of their
respective solo projects. Songs would be recorded live over a couple of
sessions with very few overdubs. “Western Wall" would be the foundation
that the album would be built upon. Jason Simon would produce and steer
the ship through the process and toward completion. This album is the
fruit of that cross genre and multigenerational collaboration out on the
edges of West. Welcome to Old Mexico.
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