El Paso Times 5/22/12

Doug Pullen: Dead Sara rocks up a storm on new CD

Doug Pullen: Dead Sara rocks up a storm on new CD

By Doug Pullen \ El Paso Times

POSTED:   05/22/2012 12:00:00 AM MDT

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Dead Sara's influences are punk and '90s bans such as Nirvana, as well... (Courtesy of Deadsara.com)

Reporter

Doug Pullen

The riff that opens "Weatherman," Dead Sara's in-your-face single, could blast the faces off Mount Rushmore.

Just like Jimmy Page's guitar stomp on Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" or Nancy Wilson's soaring six-string assault on Heart's "Barricuda," the earworm guitar line Siouxsie Medley plays on "Weatherman" has an urgency that conjures up those classic anthems -- and several more.

And just as Robert Plant and Ann Wilson rode those bedrock guitar lines for all they were worth, so Dead Sara's Emily Armstrong, all leather-lunged and angry, goes for the kill, as the lyric goes, on "Weatherman."

It is America's first real taste of the Los Angeles foursome, who'll open for Buckcherry at the 27th annual KLAQ Balloonfest at Wet 'N' Wild Water World on Saturday.

"Weatherman" is a classic-in-the-making, which came about when Medley and Armstrong were breaking in a new rhythm section during rehearsal. It's the first salvo from a self-titled, 11-song rock 'n' roll manifesto of a debut album the group recorded at Tornillo's Sonic Ranch.

"I just kind of started playing it in rehearsal," guitarist Medley said by phone recently. "That song is the first song we ever wrote with the new lineup, Chris (Null, bass) and Sean (Friday, drums). It was while we were all jamming one of our first times in rehearsal."

Armstrong, 25, who's known Medley, 24, since their high school days in metro L.A., started coming up with words on the spot.

"While the riff for 'Weatherman' was playing, I got 'go for the kill' spontaneously," the punk-influenced belter said.

"There's not a real meaning to it."

What it means to rock fans is that the little known Dead Sara is beginning to make a name for itself. Rock radio, including El Paso's KLAQ, has been playing the song.

The Balloonfest gig is the second of three they'll play in the area over a two-month period. Their first national tour opening for Chevelle brought them to Tricky Falls on April 23. They'll be part of the Vans Warped Tour extravaganza, their first major national tour, June 29 at the NMSU Practice Field.

"It's definitely new, but we all love it. It's exactly what we want to do," Medley said.

Armstrong, who was "doing singer-songwriter stuff" before throwing in her lot with Dead Sara, and Medley, schooled in the chops of many iconic rock guitarists, were going to different high schools when a mutual friend introduced them.

"About a year after we met, we started playing consistently and writing," the guitarist said.

They shared a love of punk and '90s bands, like Nirvana, and traced their idols' influences back to the classic sounds of '60s and '70s rock that informs the music they're making today.

"When you see what they grew up listening to, what their influences were, they listened to a lot of folk and blues. I did the same," Armstrong said.

But their musical journey cycled through four bass players and four drummers before this incarnation of Dead Sara took hold in 2010. They honed their act in L.A.'s club scene. That's the sound they wanted Noah Shain -- who produced El Paso band Bash's "Black Swan Theory" album -- to capture on "Dead Sara," recorded mostly over a two-week period in November 2010.

"Noah understood that the rawness of it was what we wanted to capture as much as possible, like we do live," Armstrong said.

The stark desert environment of the Tornillo studio, nestled on a pecan ranch along the border, added to that sense of urgency.

"We just wanted to get the record done. We had a limited time to just kind of forget about time," Armstrong said. "To be honest, there's nothing, nothing to do out there."

What they did in the studio is only adding to the reputation they carved out in those sweaty clubs. Rolling Stone recently said Dead Sara was "poised to break out nationally," describing Armstrong as "the love child of Patti Smith and Layne Staley."

The way she wails on the rockers and purrs on the ballads, and the way Medley's guitar propels their songs, you get the sense that the timeless nature of their brand of rock 'n' roll is no mere act.

"It's just the absolute love for music, really. That's the No. 1 thing," Armstrong said. "It's therapy for me. It's the one thing that really keeps me motivated in life in general. It's not just going up to sing a song to me. The more hungry I am, the more alive I am."

You can hear that on "Weatherman," a song that clearly is resonating with a growing number of fans.

"We're going to these places we've never been," she said, "and people are singing 'Weatherman.' We're like, 'What the ... How did that happen?' "

Doug Pullen may be reached at dpullen@elpasotimes.com; 546-6397. Read Pullen My Blog at elpasotimes.com/blogs. Follow him on Twitter at @dougpullen.