Baroque Bash featuring Doom Bird
Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento – Friday, Jan. 13, 2012
On a normal afternoon the Crocker Art Museum is usually filled with art enthusiasts who quietly soak in the historic and modern art pieces as they roam the halls. But last week on a chilly January night, the art museum was humming. Upon entering the museum lobby, there was a different vibe in the atmosphere. It was filled with excited guests who were patiently waiting for the “Baroque Bash,” a music and art celebration to honor one of the Crockers current exhibitions called Florence and the Baroque: Paintings from the Haukohl Family Collection, to start. People were busy talking in small groups or sipping on glasses of wine and beer. After all, there might not be a better way to properly appreciate 16th century artwork than with a glass of classy wine in hand.
As the room waited patiently for the musical performance by Doom Bird to start, most eyes wandered to the left side of the lobby where museum goers could participate in art demonstrations. A few aspiring artists were caught sketching costume drawings from the Baroque period, along with the help of artist Arturo Balderama. A woman dressed in an elegant dress from the 17th century was modeling for the artists and wandering the lobby so people could appreciate her wardrobe.
The musical portion of the show began with relaxing melodies from three instrumentalists who gracefully took strums at a cello and two violins. During their performance, the majority of the audience members seemed to appreciate the music, but were also a little distracted by their surroundings.
After the classical performance ended, Doom Bird was ready to take the stage (which consisted of two rugs on the floor). Band members Kris Anaya and Joseph Davancens were accompanied by many local musical guests for the night including Krystyna Taylor (cellist from Exquisite Crops), Arjun Singh (drummer from Wallpaper) and Adam Wade (singer from Golden Cadillacs). Depending on the night, Doom Bird enjoys to be backed up by great musical talent to keep their shows lively and entertaining. “Joe and I usually play with a large group of people for shows,” Anaya described in an e-mail the day after show. “It usually keeps the audience excited about what we are trying to present in our music.” Although the band admitted that they had not performed in nine months, the performance from the musical group was peaceful and flawless. Each song provided the audience with calming but powerful music notes, making the perfect blend of classical and alternative tunes.
For most of the set, frontman Anaya didn’t have much to say to the audience except for the occasional thank you. But during the middle of their set, Anaya noted that the lobby of the museum resembled a mini airport. “Welcome to the International Crocker Airport,” he joked over the microphone. Taking a bird’s eye view of the museum, it did resemble a map from a stereotypical “airport.” Starting at the left of the lobby was a bar serving cocktails to guests, then families enjoying their dinners on square tables; the middle of the room was filled with rows of silver chairs facing the stage (resembling a waiting room). It provided an atmosphere that made the museum appear busy and full of life. Throughout the entire set, audience members could take in the “artistic extravagance” of art and music that the Crocker Art Museum had hoped for.
The Golden Cadillacs Evoke Classic California Country Sounds on Their Debut Album
Friends who drink together stay together. That’s a saying, right? Regardless, it’s worked in the case of Nick Swimley and Adam Wade, who have been friends since high school. Two and a half years ago, they combined their shared love for music and formed The Golden Cadillacs, a Sacramento-based country outfit, which now stands as a five-piece band that includes James Neil on drums, Aaron Welch on guitars and vocals and Joe Davancens on pedal steel guitar and organ. Submerge spoke with Swimley and Wade as they were “just sipping on a few cocktails,” and they filled us in on the group’s origins.
The Golden Cadillacs’ roots spread as far as Placerville, where Swimley and Wade are from. The small town on the doorstep to the El Dorado National Forest may not be known for much; but like any town, it had a bar, which turned out to be an important landmark in the band’s history. Poor Red’s Bar-B-Q, located in neighboring El Dorado, is housed in a building that dates back to the mid-19th century. Both Swimley and Wade remember frequenting the establishment with their fathers while growing up.
“It was down the street from where I grew up,” Wade says. “It’s this real historic, funky old country kind of place.”
It was there that he and Swimley decided to form the band, while sipping (what else?) golden Cadillacs.
“We were drinking The Golden Cadillacs at the time, and all we had to do was basically look down and get that band name,” Wade says. Listening to the band’s music, it would seem like Jim Beam or Budweiser would be more apt alcoholic beverage complements as opposed to a frou-frou concoction of crème de cacao, Galliano and cream; however, as Wade says, it could have been worse. “We didn’t want to be the Buttery Nipples,” he quips.
Poor Red’s wasn’t only The Golden Cadillacs’ birthplace, but it also served as inspiration for the band’s de facto first song. On Nov. 27, the band will release their first album, a nine-song self-titled effort, of which the opening track is titled “Poor Red’s.” Wade says he wrote the song while battling a bout of homesickness.
“It’s the first song I wrote,” Wade says. “I was living down in San Diego at the time, and I was kind of missing my hometown and wrote that song.”
Wade and Swimley have a long history of playing music together, even prior to that night at Poor Red’s. In fact, Wade reports that they played music together the first day they met. The two were introduced by friend and band mate Joe Davancens.
“I guess three of us”¦started jamming as early on as high school,” Wade recalls. “We all went our separate ways during our college years and went to schools in different states.”
Wade and Swimley reunited to play a show at the Cosmic Cafe in Placerville, and The Golden Cadillacs were born later at Poor Red’s that same night. However, at the time, the band was in a different form, performing as a three-piece.
“When it started out, it was just Adam, myself and my brother on drums,” Swimley says. “We made a little demo so we could get gigs. Joey was going to school in New York, but he moved back, so we added him to the band, and my brother kind of moved on to another group, and we hired our drummer, James, and then Aaron came in.”
Swimley says the current lineup has been together for about a year. He says the addition of the new pieces was “huge” in filling out The Golden Cadillacs’ sound, allowing them to do things that were difficult to pull off as a trio.
Their debut CD was recorded together as a five-piece over the summer in a barn on Davancens’ parents’ property in Placerville. Davancens had converted the barn into a studio, and the setting turned out to be a great place for the band to work. Without having to keep one eye on the clock and the other on their wallets as they would have at a traditional studio, The Golden Cadillacs were free to create at their own pace.
“They have a bunch of acreage, and they have horses out there and the whole nine,” Wade says. “We’d just go up there and drink beer and make music. Whatever came out, came out. They had a pool, and we barbecued. We got to hang out in the sun. It was a really relaxing experience. We just wanted to make sure that we got the sounds and the parts that we wanted.
“It was cool not worrying about who we were paying or who we’re working with or how much time we had.”
Having a band member who doubled as an engineer was a great boon as well.
“It helped to have Joey engineer all of it,” Swimley says. “He’s got a great ear, and I trust his judgment more than anybody’s.”
The result was a sun-baked country album that pays homage to the classic California country sound, a rich tradition that Wade and Swimley take very seriously. However, The Golden Cadillacs realize they have some way to go before they can be mentioned in the same breath as their heroes.
“We look up to”¦Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, Dwight Yoakam—all those guys who came out of California and played honky tonk country music,” Swimley says “We hope our next record will be more straight up country sounding. I think we’re just trying to find our feet with our first record.”
Maybe they’re still working out the kinks, but The Golden Cadillacs are off to a great start. In fact, they’ve already caught the attention of notable California country songwriter Dave Gleason. The Golden Cadillacs have recently become Gleason’s backing band, a major compliment considering Wade and Swimley were big admirers of Gleason’s music before ever meeting him.
“Nick and I used to practice in Oakland, and we’d drive to Oakland and back every week,” Wade says “Nick turned me on to Gleason about three years before we ever knew him, and we were listening to Gleason the whole ride down and the whole ride back every week. It’s a mind bender to be in his band now.”
Despite their work with Gleason, and though their first album hasn’t been even released yet, The Golden Cadillacs are already at work on their next release. Though their self-titled album was mostly a product of Wade and Swimley “boozing and writing songs” together, their next release will be more of a true band effort.
“The thing we’re trying to go for is the less-is-more vibe,” Wade says. “The whole vibe of the songs that we’re all so fond of is the real lyrics and the real life aspect of it. It’s like being a great chef, right? You don’t want to get too crazy on it. You just want to make something really simple and good.”
If their early returns are any indication, it would seem that The Golden Cadillacs have the right recipe for a strong future. At the very least, they should find bright skies and good times along the way.
The Golden Cadillacs will celebrate the release of their first album at The Fox & Goose on Nov. 27, 2009. The cover will be just $3, and Leroy Virgil of Hellbound Glory will also perform.
