El Rey Theater

6/25: Dawes (with Brett Dennen) @ the Fox Theatre

During my freshman year of college I climbed the hill above Berkeley's Greek Theatre, along with everyone else who couldn't afford tickets, to listen to the Allman Brothers. Or, rather, the Allman brother. Like many children of baby boomer hippies, I suffered from inherited nostalgia. I sat on the grass mourning the loss of 1970s folk rock bands as Gregg Allman tried, rather unsuccessfully, to resurrect a ghost.

Last November I caught LA folk rock quartet Dawes at the El Rey Theatre and what I heard was no ghost. It was 1975, it was rock, it was Laurel Canyon and it was quite alive.

Dawes is comprised of brothers Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith, Wylie Gelber and Tay Strathairn. In a true meet-your-hero moment that quickly turned into a back-your-hero dream, Dawes recently performed with the Band's Robbie Roberston on David Letterman and the View. What's more, this summer sees Dawes playing as Jackson Browne's backing band in Spain and touring as support for Allison Krauss.

Thanks to bands like Dawes and Fleet Foxes, the diverse but quintessential sounds of my favorite musical era are alive and well. Keeping it old and modern at the same time, Dawes puts on a raucous sing-along kind of show that will fill any needy nostalgic's heart. Our beloved ghosts will continue to haunt us as Dawes continues to remind us why we love them in the first place. As frontman Taylor Goldsmith fittingly sings, "The only point of looking back / Is to see how far we've come."

Promoting their new album Nothing is Wrong , Dawes opens for Brett Dennen Saturday, June 25, at the Fox Theatre in Oakland. I caught up with Taylor to discuss his taste in music, movies, weather and his optimistic assumption that even a desert island will have a record player just waiting to be used.

Introduce yourself!

I am Taylor Goldsmith from the Los Angeles rock and roll band Dawes.

Who/what are some of your biggest influences?

It's always changing. Recently we've been listening to a lot of Little Feat, Bob James, Cass McCombs, Joni Mitchell, Curtis Mayfield, Bill Callahan. We go through a lot of music and are always getting inspired by different things. One thing as much as the next.

What are other bands should people be listening to?

This is year has so many incredible releases.

LIVE REVIEW: Voxhaul Broadcast @ El Rey Theatre, LA 6/24/11 | The ...

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