The Desert Sessions
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“At Desert Sessions, you play for the sake of music. That’s why it’s good for musicians. If someday that’s not enough anymore, or that’s not the reason behind you doing it--that’s not your raison d’etre--then a quick reminder like Desert Sessions can do so much for you, it’s amazing. It’s easy to forget that this all starts from playing in your garage and loving it."- Josh Homme
The Desert Sessions are a musical improv series "that cannot be defined". Founded by Josh Homme in the late 1990's. Artists such as PJ Harvey, Twiggy Ramirez, Dave Catching, Nick Oliveri, Mark Lanegan, Alain Johannes, Jesse Hughes, Dean Ween and many others have contributed as songwriters and musicians.
The Sessions began in August, 1997 at a place called Rancho de la Luna in Joshua Tree when Homme brought together musicians from the bands Monster Magnet, Goatsnake, earthlings?, Kyuss (his own band) and Soundgarden. The ranch is an old house filled to the brim with rare and unique recording equipment and instruments and is owned by Dave Catching and the late Fred Drake. Songs are written on the spot in matters of hours usually, and no place in the home is safe from the music. Legend after myth after story has grown around the Sessions, and most of them are most likely quite true. For example, the song "Creosote" from Volumes 9 & 10 was written by Dean Ween and Alain Johannes on the ranch's front porch immediately after meeting each other in four minutes. The first "session" was not actually a Desert Session per se, but Homme and his band at the time (The Acquitted Felons) playing for three days straight under the non-stop influence of mushrooms. Since then the ranch has grown legendary and the Sessions have only grown in intensity and artistic merit.
Discography
- Volumes 1 & 2 (1998, Man's Ruin)
-Special Note: This album is extremely rare; a copy of the actual album costs around $110 on the internet. If in search of this album it is suggested to look to pirating; it is highly doubtful the artists will mind.
- Volumes 3 & 4 (1998, Man's Ruin)
- Volumes 5 & 6 (1999, Man's Ruin)
- Volumes 7 & 8 (2001, Southern Lord/RekordsRekords)
- Volumes 9 & 10 (2003, Ipecac/Rekords Rekords)
Incomplete Collaborating Band List
- A Perfect Circle
- Marilyn Manson
- Soundgarden
- earthlings?
- Monster Magnet
- Goatsnake
- Kyuss
- Queens of the Stone Age
- PJ Harvey
- The Vandals
- Masters of Reality
- Mondo Generator
- Fatso Jetson
- Yawning Man
- Fu Manchu
- Eleven
- Ween
- Danzig
Related Links
- Desert Sessions (http://www.desertsessions.com/)