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Alfredo Hernández

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Alfredo Hernández
Alfredo Hernandez
Background information
Birth Name Alfredo Hernández
Alias Fredo, Punta de Lanza
Occupation Musician
Genres Desert Rock, Stoner Rock, Stoner Metal, Psychedelic Rock, Hard Rock, Rock and Roll, Heavy Metal
Instrument(s) Drums
Years active Early 1980s - Present
Labels SST Records, Elektra, Loosegroove, Man's Ruin Records, MeteorCity Records, Alone Records, Duna/Low Desert Punk, H42 Records Heavy Psych Sounds
Associated acts Across The River, Kyuss, Mondo Generator, Ché, Queens of the Stone Age, Fatso Jetson, Yawning Man, Brant Bjork, Orquesta del Desierto, The Desert Sessions, Avon, Brave Black Sea, Dead Issue, The Breed, Darkside, Whiskey & Knives, Family Butcher, Hot Beat Pussy Fiend, Gusto, It's Casual

Alfredo Hernández is a drummer originating from California. Though best known for his brief tenures in Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age, Hernández has performed drums with over a dozen different bands and projects since the early 1980s. Be it influential bands suchs as Yawning Man and Across The River or more nationally known acts such as Mondo Generator and The Desert Sessions, Hernández has a link to nearly all of the major players in the Palm Desert scene.

Biography[]

Early Bands (1982 - 1986)[]

Hernández's career would begin performing in punk rock bands in the Palm Desert area such as Dead Issue and then changing their name to Darkside, both bands with the likes of Herb Lineau, Mario Lalli and Scott Reeder.[1] With a new guitarist in Mark Anderson the band would change their name to Across The River. Though largely only playing small gigs and desert generator parties the band would be widely influential to the Desert Rock scene. The band recorded a single demo and was intended to release an album via SST Records but due to miscommunications and poor timing this would not be the case.

A Dead Issue/Darkside reunion of sorts would happen in 2012. The band members Lalli and Lineau played with their sons and Hernández on drums on 27 May 2012 at a benefit concert at the Date Shed in Indio, California. Humorously they billed themselves as "Unsound".

Yawning Man (1986 - 2010, 2013)[]

  • For further details feel free to view the Riffipedia page on Yawning Man.

Yawning Man was born in 1986, founded by Gary Arce and Alfredo Hernández, both of whom were unemployed at the time and just jamming together. Eventually Mario Lalli would join on bass and Larry Lalli would join as a second guitarist. Previously Hernández, Lalli and Arce had played in a hardcore punk band called The Breed before Lalli and Hernández would form Across The River.[2] At this time, the band started to play marathon jams from the garage to the desert. The word spread of these "generator parties" and large crowds began to show up. One of their earliest known gigs was alongside Saint Vitus and Always August.[3]

From 1986 - 1987 roughly 30 - 40 songs were recorded on two different demos but no official Yawning Man album ever came to light at the time. In the late eighties Yawning Man's sound began to mutate into strange loops with an almost dark / freeform jazz punk sound, and the name of the band just didn't fit the music anymore. The band changed name to The Sort Of Quartet and in the mid 90's released three albums on SST Records and one on German label Hot Wax Crippled Dick. Also during this time the Lalli cousins achieved recognition with their band Fatso Jetson, which briefly included Arce. Another project would also form at the time known as Ten East but through most of the 90s Yawning Man's status was relatively unknown.

Notably when Alfredo joined Kyuss the band would record "Catamaran" for their fourth (and final) album ...And The Circus Leaves Town, exposing many listeners to Yawning Man and a band Kyuss were heavily influenced by.

In September 2003 Yawning Man would return to the live stage with a four-date tour of California alongside Brant Bjork. Their sound further involved into instrumental desert rock, also blending surf, Middle Eastern sounds and folk. Thus the lineup of Hernández, Lalli and Arce would begin recording their first studio album nearly twenty years after the band had formed. A collection of 10 tracks recorded in late 2004 and described as "a melancholic mix of acoustic space rock with elements of surf music, as well as middle eastern guitar style", Yawning Man's debut album Rock Formations was released via Spanish label Alone Records on 7 March 2005.[4] A release party was held at The Scene Bar in Glendale, California on 4 March 2005. Rock Formations would be praised by critics at the time but even more heavily praised retroactively.[5][6][7] Yawning Man would go on their first ever European tour that June to support Rock Formations albeit with Billy Cordell in place of Lalli.

On 26 June 2005, Pot Head would be released on Alone Records, featuring four songs and a slightly darker and heavier tone throughout. Yawning Man would follow into the next February/March with a more extensive European tour, a seventeen-date jaunt through Germany, Switzerland and Belgium. Yawning Man would also tour throughout Europe once again in 2008, mainly performing at the Azkena Rock Festival and with Mario Lalli back on bass.

In 2007, Yawning Man was to release a collection of past material on a double CD known as The Birth of Sol. It was to be a collection of 30 older songs from the late '80s with an extensive booklet including information about the band and the whole Palm Desert connection. According to band member Gary Arce, this release had been postponed indefinitely. In 2009 The Birth of Sol was released on iTunes as a two-disc set containing 24 songs.

In the downtime from performing, the trio of Hernández, Lalli and Arce would begin work on a second album. With seven new songs, Nomadic Pursuits would be released on 22 June 2010 via Cobraside Distribution. Nomadic Pursuits would attain positive critical acclaim,[8][9][10] reaching #9 on The Obelisk Top 20 of 2010.[11] Yawning Man would tour Europe that year in support of the album, which included appearances at Hellfest and Stoned From The Underground. Following the tour Hernández would amicably part with the band with Bill Stinson as his replacement.

Hernández would return in 2013 as part of the Legends of the Desert tour featuring Yawning Man and Fatso Jetson. A live recording of the band's performance at Maximum Festival would be released in 2015. Bill Stinson would return to the band again following the tour and has remained with the band ever since.

Kyuss, The Desert Sessions and QotSA (1994 - 1999)[]

Hernández would join Kyuss in 1994 after founding drummer Brant Bjork would leave the band. This lineup of Kyuss would tour in the Fall of 1994, sharing the stage with the likes of Dinosaur Jr. and Ween just to name a few. Hernández would record with the band the next spring, leading to the release of ...And The Circus Leaves Town on 11 July 1995 to mostly positive reviews, along with a single in "One Inch Man". Kyuss would tour Europe that summer with Soundgarden but with mounting tensions between the band members Kyuss would disband that October. The band also recorded several other songs in the same sessions including a split single with Wool (1996, Bong Load Records), a 10" single featuring a cover of "Into The Void" by Black Sabbath (1996, Man's Ruin Records) and three songs as part of a split with Queens of the Stone Age, serving as a transition between the two bands. Hernández would also have a brief involvement with Kyuss vocalist John Garcia in Slo Burn circa 1997 but not long before they disbanded in September of that year. It's not known if he played any shows with the band.

Hernández would join Josh Homme's new band Queens of the Stone Age in 1998 to record an album that April at Monkey Studios and Rancho De la Luna. The eponymous Queens of The Stone Age would be released on 6 October 1998 via Loosegroove Records and Man's Ruin Records. Nick Oliveri (Kyuss, Dwarves) would join on bass not long after the recording sessions had finished and the band would tour extensively in 1998 and 1999. However by the end of 1999 when it came time to record the next album Hernández would leave the band to concentrate on other projects. Hernández would also contribute to songs on the first four EPs by The Desert Sessions.

Other Bands[]

Hernández would participate in a one-time side project alongside Brant Bjork and Dave Dinsmore in Ché, releasing Sounds of Liberation on 3 October 2000 via Man's Ruin Records. The band performed only one known show: A CMJ Showcase at The Justice League in San Francisco on 16 September 2000. This showcase would also feature Drunk Horse, Suplecs, Alabama Thunderpussy and Eyehategod.[12]

Hernández would also take part in the psychedelic/latin rock group known as Orquesta del Desierto, whom were active between 2002 and 2006, releasing two studio albums and an EP in their four year run. Through the rest of the 2000s Hernández would also appear on the Mondo Generator release known as III The EP in 2004, along with joining Vic du Monte as a touring drummer and contributing to several releases. He also played drums for Brant Bjork and The Bros from 2007 - 2009, appearing on one studio album in 2007's Somera Sól.

Hernández would also play drums for a punk rock/hard rock band known as Whiskey & Knives, starting in 2010. This band largely played shows in the California area and released a single album (The eponymous Whiskey & Knives in the early 2010s.[13][14] He would appear as a guest on the eponymous third album by Waxy, released in 2010. He also played in the desert hardcore band Family Butcher, a sleazy punk rock band known as Hot Beat Pussy Fiend and a project with Mike Neider (LAB, BL'AST!) and Dave Dinsmore (LAB, Bl'AST!, Unida, Ché) called Gusto.

In 2013 Hernández would join Brave Black Sea with former Slo Burn bandmates Chris Hale and Damon Garrison, along with Sons of Serro bassist Clint Cunningham. The band would quickly record an album in Hale's woodshop, releasing Fragments on 7 April 2014 to critical acclaim. The band would tour Europe in 2014, followed by performing a string of American shows alongside bassist Dylan Roche, whom Hernández also played with in Brant Bjork and The Bros. The band had begun work on a second album in late 2018 though no further details are known.

In 2015 Hernández would join Avon in collaboration with James Childs (Airbug) and Charles Pasarell (Waxy). The trio would compose an album not long after forming, releasing Mad Marco on 24 February 2016 via Spira Records. Avon would frequently tour Europe through the next few years, also releasing a 7" single entitled Six Wheeled Action Man Tank on 30 April 2017 and appearing at festivals such as Desertfest London and DesertFest Berlin. The band would release a second album entitled Dave's Dungeon via Italian label Heavy Psych Sounds on 23 February 2018, followed by a tour of Europe to support it. In 2019 it would be announced that Hernández would leave the band on amicable terms.

Bands[]

Discography[]

External Links[]

References[]

  1. ↑ Scott Reeder's Instagram
  2. ↑ The Sludgelord
  3. ↑ Noisey.Vice
  4. ↑ / Stonerrock.com via Wayback Machine
  5. ↑ / Cosmic Lava
  6. ↑ Sputnik Music
  7. ↑ The Obelisk
  8. ↑ Sputnik Music
  9. ↑ Heavy Planet
  10. ↑ The Obelisk
  11. ↑ The Obelisk
  12. ↑ / Man's Ruin Records via Wayback Machine
  13. ↑ Whiskey & Knives Facebook
  14. ↑ Coachella Valley Weekly
V·T·E Kyuss
Past Members Josh Homme • John Garcia • Brant Bjork • Nick Oliveri • Chris Cockrell • Scott Reeder • Alfredo Hernández
Albums Wretch • Blues for the Red Sun • Welcome to Sky Valley • ...And The Circus Leaves Town
Compilations Muchas Gracias: The Best of Kyuss
Extended Plays Sons of Kyuss
Splits Kyuss/Queens of The Stone Age
Associated Bands Vista Chino • Peace • The Desert Sessions • Queens of the Stone Age • Mondo Generator • Hermano • Fu Manchu • Unida • Slo Burn • Ché • Stoner • Chris Goss • Masters of Reality
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