RELEASES
Zander Schloss
An immersive and cinematic amble through fingerpicked,12 string acoustic guitar meditations, Californias Burning flows elegantly through painterly counterpoint and harmony. The sophomore solo release from Los Angeles, California based musician Zander Schloss represents the next chapter in the veteran artist’s evolutionary arc. Californias Burning sees the singer/ multi-instrumentalist writing orchestral elements and baroque textural flourishes into his now stretched-out, long-play arrangements, creating a soundscape that shimmers with a warm psychedelic vividness. With legendary musician / veteran producer Alain Johannes now manning the board, singing harmony, and adding his own musical genius, the record captures Schloss’ elevation from punk rock legend to masterful songwriter and musical director. “This is my Lawrence of Arabia. My Apocalypse Now Redux” says Schloss.
Though Schloss had recorded his debut solo album Song About Songs with the amazingly talented Bassist/Producer Gus Seyffert (Norah Jones, Black Keys, Beck, Bedouine, Roger Waters) at the helm, along with two other albums Walk Thee Invisible and Other Desert Cities for Schloss’s former duo outing, Sean Wheeler and Zander Schloss, it was time to get out of his comfort zone working with Seyffert and take a chance working with another great producer. For the Californias Burning sessions Schloss turned to one of his all-time favorite guitarist, longtime friend and idol, Alain Johannes. The Chilean American multi-instrumentalist has brought his mastery to records by PJ Harvey, Mark Lanegan, Chris Cornell, and many more. Johannes joined Queens of the Stone Age in 2005 to play guitar and bass. He is a touring member of Them Crooked Vultures and was there for the Wembley Stadium and Kia Forum reunion shows in honor of Taylor Hawkins.
“He is one of a handful of people who I can say I idolize,” explains Schloss. “He is so prodigious and wildly talented. I was terrified to approach him and ask him.” Schloss conquered his fear and they got to work. “It couldn’t have been a better fit for my new music. Not only is he a warm-hearted humble guy and a sweetheart but Alain is one of the most incredible musicians alive today and has worked on stage and behind the scenes as a producer and instrumentalist with some of the most respected, successful, and iconic artists in the world”. “Ask around the neighborhood about him”.
Determined to surround himself with the most elevated musicianship aside from Alain, Schloss brought in jazz drummer/orchestral percussionist Beth Goodfellow (Iron & Wine, Calexico), and bassist Brandon Rauch (Turtles on Speed, Slang Chickens) to form the rhythm section. Johnny Shepherd (Daniel Lanois, Hallelujah Train) on Hammond B3 organ, Sylvain Carton (Phi Sonics, Japonize Elephants) on Flutes and woodwinds, Craig Eastman (Hans Zimmer, Van Dyke Parks) Violin, Viola, Cello and Seth Ford Young (Tom Waits, Edward Sharpe, Rocco Deluca) on Contra Bass, and last but not least, Alain Johannes (Eleven, Queens of the Stone Age, P.J. Harvey, Them Crooked Vultures, Chris Cornell, Mark Lanegan, etc. etc.) playing everything under the sun and singing harmony. Schloss wanted Californias Burning to be a sophisticated, lush, and orchestral, Baroque Pop album. “I was looking for somebody to arrange strings and woodwinds and some of the orchestral elements for the album” say Schloss. “I couldn’t possibly approach the record label and say hey, I need a million dollars, I’m trying to make the Apocalypse Now Redux of albums and I need to hire a top arranger to compose, transcribe charts and conduct an orchestra. So, I just went ahead and did it myself.”
Even further elevating the record to transcendence is the magical pixie dust spread by Alain Johannes, who’s vocal harmonies, Electric Mandola, Portuguese Guitar, Fretless E Bow, Cello, Viola, Harmonium, and Percussion lace themselves throughout the album. “I can’t be more thrilled to say that we have finally come together after nearly 40 years of being in the same peer group and playing separately” says Schloss. “Alain is doing something incredible, it’s almost hard to identify because he’s being so mysteriously supportive. He’s always graciously putting me in the forefront. He’s created these soundscapes which glue the whole record together. He’s playing all this incredible stuff and people think it’s a cool synthesizer part and NO it’s ALAIN.”
Descended from three generations of visual artists, Schloss describes Californias Burning as a series of sound paintings. “I’m not writing about a feeling” he elaborates. “I don’t want to tell people what to do, think or feel. I want to paint a picture that informs them about a personal thing that I’m experiencing, in the hopes of becoming more universal and more transcendent. I wanted to try to create a landscape that leaves room for them to dream and inform their own decisions.”
From the start, Schloss intended to create a master work that represents the pinnacle of his personal artistry. This punk rock icon has created a work of beautifully languid, vulnerable, transparent music. “Music is the most powerful and evocative form of art that there is. It’s as powerful as the sense of smell to evoke a memory”. Californias Burning presents a challenge to the listener to un-busy themselves, go to a quiet place and sit or lay down and bathe in a long play experience. Be transported. “I wanted to freak people out” he laughs. “It’s a lot to unpack. I wanted to do the polar opposite of what I’m known for and create an internal mosh pit of emotion. That being said, I’m actually being Punk Rock. I don’t want you to just like it. I want to dare you to not just be slightly pleased or displeased with the album but to get into an immersive experience, take a chance to not be so tough. Get tender, let down your guard and transcend into either loving it or hate it if you don’t want to go on the trip”.
So, for all its warm, resonant, earthly beauty, Californias Burning is a punk rock record. It dares the listener to deal with their own darkness and intense feelings that they would never say out loud.
Well known to punk rock aficionados for his nearly four-decade tenure as the Circle Jerks’ bassist, Schloss’ résumé also includes featured acting performances. Most notable, alongside Harry Dean Stanton and Emilio Estevez in Alex Cox’s 1984 cult classic feature Repo Man and Straight to Hell with The Pogues, Courtney Love, Dennis Hopper, and Elvis Costello. He has worked as a composer and instrumentalist on soundtracks for Cox’s films Repo Man, Sid and Nancy, Straight To Hell, Walker, and Highway Patrolman. Schloss has served as musical director and guitarist for Joe Strummer of The Clash and performed on Strummer’s first solo single “Trash City” and album Earthquake Weather. He has appeared on record with Low & Sweet Orchestra, Magnificent Bastards, and in concert with Thelonious Monster, and The Weirdos.
