Viewer comments from the Sneak Preview at The Hood in Palm Desert, January 2015
Author Steve Reiman (The Searching Three)
“I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the premiere of the Lo Sound Desert documentary at The Hood Bar and Pizza in late January. I had been waiting for what seemed like an eternity for this film to come out and I had pretty high expectations. That film exceeded them all. I myself, grew up in the desert (mostly High Desert) and have been going to shows and supporting local musicians and artists for years. Joerg did a great thing in documenting the infamous and legendary Desert Rock scene and all of us desert locals truly appreciate it. Paying respects to iconic bands such as Kyuss and Unsound- (bands I grew up with watching at Generator Parties) was crucial as well as giving the much needed attention to the great bands that currently represent us such as: WAXY, Wardrum, House of Broken Promises and so many others. To me what Joerg did was inspiring beyond measure and appreciated on more levels than he may ever realize. My thanks to all the amazing bands- many of which I am also priveledged to call friends, and thank you Joerg.” Steve Rieman Sorry if it’s a little long. Just comes from the heart :’-)
David Ayers (Ayers Guitar Co)
…As a movie this was an ambitious project. It covered a large chunk of time and included a huge number of bands and people. I would’ve believed it to be too ambitious, but the end product was a very insightful and artistic expression of a remarkable happening… a decade + long evolution of a “style” of music based more on geographical sonic influence, than homogeneity… all of these bands/musicians are quite different, yet they are identifiable (to me at least) as desert artists.
The amount of fun I had while watching this movie (in the presence of those who actually appear in the movie) is hard to convey…these men and women are musical monsters. Polymaths of sound and vibe. They are the humble originators of legends. Legends that I only heard about secondhand while growing up some 250 miles away on the other side of the desert. While the original desert parties with Across the River and Yawning Man were occuring, I was a kid. While the parties with Unsound and other bands like Kyuss were happening, I was having desert parties of my own. But all those parties developed into was helicopters and cops! It’s a strange place the CA desert… such a small place, but such immense talent. I think the filmmaker captured that in his film and it was an honor to be present to witness it with those who wrote the story.
Damian Lautiero (guitar player/ bassist for Waxy)
I want to give a huge thanks to “Jorge” Joerg Steineck for making such an incredible film, Mario Lalli Jack Kohler and The Hood for putting together an amazing event… it was an honor to be in such great company, and its an honor to have grown up in a place where I can exchange laughs and hugs with dozens of great friends I have known for 20 plus years… that to me is the greatest part of our scene, it grew up together, has endured together and continues to inspire myself and each other every day… its a magical place we hail from and I wouldn’t trade it for anything!
Robin Linn (Desert Rock Music Journalist)
Lo Sound Desert chronicles the earliest days of one of the world’s most raging music scenes, as filtered through the lens of German filmmaker Joerg Steineck. No other rockumentary will ever capture the wild west of the underground quite like Steineck’s has. Narrated by a suspect cast of desert rocker characters – modern day outlaws that rival Jesse James, they take viewers on a journey back to generators in hidden canyons, punk rock and skateboards, halucinagenics and crazy rock and roll that sounded like no where else on earth.
The film romanticizes a time and place in rock and roll history, and the music embraced by European audiences and hard core fans of the underground. Lo Sound Desert is a magical looking glass into an underground art scene that also reflects Steineck’s unique artistic ability as a film maker. If music fans dug Dave Grohl’s HBO series “Sonic Highways, they will embrace “Lo Sound Desert”. I predict a huge cult favorite.