The Vineyard Podcast Episode 56: Chris Michael (Guantanamo Baywatch)

Booking house shows, and a 20 day tour consisting of 40 sets, and climbing over a wall of amps to get out of bed. Chris Michael (Guantanamo Baywatch) "Halfway between LA and Phoenix on a desolate stretch of I-10 lies Desert Center, a mostly abandoned town that mainly serves as a gas stop along the barren interior of California. Portland punks Guantanamo Baywatch, like so many touring bands, have passed through the town countless times on their way between shows. But the town has also become a particular source of inspiration for guitarist/vocalist Jason Powell, who recently relocated from Oregon to Arizona. It may seem ironic that a band that draws so heavily from surf rock would find their muse in a location so far from the beach, but it’s not as if The Ventures were hitting the waves in their hometown of Tacoma or Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet were waxing their boards in Toronto. Truth is, Desert Center was the place where Powell first farted in front of his girlfriend, resulting in their use of “desert centering” as code for passing gas. But Guantanamo Baywatch’s new album Desert Center isn’t an ode to bodily functions or breaking down comfort barriers within relationships. Rather, it’s a perfect reminder of the ecstatic rabble-rousing documentation of life in America’s lonely outposts offered up by that first wave of electric guitar pioneers." Excerpt from https://blog.suicidesqueeze.net/artists/guantanamo-baywatch Guantanamo Baywatch: Bandcamp: https://guantanamobaywatch.bandcamp.com Instagram: @guantanamobaywatch Merch: https://guantanamobaywatch.bandcamp.com/merch The Vineyard: Instagram: @thevineyardpodcast Website: https://www.thevineyardpodcast.com Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thevineyardpodcast