THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Farmer Dave Scher of All Night Radio, Beachwood Sparks, Kurt Vile and Skiffle Players has released his first LP in 10 years — and with a new band, The Wizards Of The West.
Some musicians leave elusive, magical trails you can only see from space. Some musicians have a ghostly eminence on too many of your favourite records to call it coincidence. Some musicians play pedal steel like Weldon Myrick in a psychedelic church at the bottom of the ocean. Some musicians can write a song to heal the sick, give succour to the lost and the lonely…
Farmer Dave does them all. His magical, song-craft, multi-instrumental trail has crossed paths with Beachwood Sparks, Will Oldham, Kurt Vile, The Skiffle Players, Chris Robinson, Elvis Costello, Interpol, Jenny Lewis, Animal Collective — and as one half of All Night Radio, some would say he made one of the greatest albums of all time. He also makes Farmer Dave’s Roasted Hot Nuts.
To us, from afar, he sits like a gentle, industrious Buddha, floating above a West Coast scene where music and love still rise from the soil and surf. If we sound biased, it’s because we adore him. And it is our joy to present his latest collection as Farmer Dave & The Wizards Of The West.
In parts it’s raw and psychedelic — U.K. sonic guitar meets the spiritual jazz of Sun Ra. Pharoah Sanders by way of MBV. In other parts, it’s minty fresh L.A. noir from the fertile bones of classic L.A. rock like The Doors and Jane’s Addiction. The album captures a live set featuring guitarist Alvin Pirahnas (Ben Knight) and always carried by Farmer Dave’s warm, vulnerable, heartstring-plucking voice. Farmer Dave’s music is the actual song of the Siren. Tie yourself to the mast and drift west with him.”
