Electric Citizen, Mondo Drag, Slow Season, Blackout

Electric Citizen is a rock n roll band from Cincinnati, Ohio whose heavy sound is timeless and music to the ears of any rock n roll fan. Formed just over 2 years ago by guitarist Ross Dolan, vocalist Laura Dolan, Nick Vogelpohl (bass) and Nate Wagner (drums), the band has had a very busy year turning heads and ears onto their music. Since signing with RidingEasy Records in early 2014, they've done several direct support tours with Wolfmother, Fu Manchu, and Budos Band. The band's debut album came out July 2014 and ended up on several end of year best of lists. In July, Electric Citizen will be taking a break from recording their sophomore album to headline a tour with label mates Mondo Drag and Slow Season.


The creatures known as Mondo Drag hailed from deep along the banks of the wild Mississippi River where they created ominous, spiritual, savage psychedelic revival sounds. Summoned to the edge of the Earth, they journeyed west, collecting new sounds reminiscent of desert scapes, acid dreams, all-night prog vinyl spinning and a dark galaxy of protometal swirls, exalting the band unto new, wickedly brilliant horizons. Now settled in the deep realms of Oakland, the ensemble continues to create cosmically proportioned, churning jams evocative of a rainbow of obvious inspirations but also numinous new sounds emerging from the organ - heavy riffs. If you love Blue Cheer, Black Sabbath, Can, Atomic Rooster, Hawkwind, Budgie, Uriah Heep, Deep Purple ,Italian prog, Krautrock in general, and heavy space-outs....get into Mondo Drag. They'll knock your socks off, let your hair down and take you on a mind's eye exploration you won't soon forget. Though they exude love for the spiraling tapestry of heavy psychedelia of the past, they are on a rock and roll mission all their own: an unearthed prog band, futuristic in their time capsule, rocketing forward through the depths, gathering the sounds of space itself.
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IF IN THE YEAR 1969, road-weary, garage-monotony-escaping Texas psych wizards picked up some electronic trinkets and united with heavy, proto-metal gods in a frenzy of aural worship on a transcendental journey through the middle of ancient ruins in a vast and endless metaphysical desert where every sound reverberates at cosmic proportions and they came upon a freaky Hammond haloed in heat waves and there, liberated of the confines of time and place , slammed out blissful, melancholy chords that shook from the shadows a tribe of Euro prog lords wielding silver flutes, took peyote and listened to tape recordings of kraut and Bach simultaneously, only long enough to get naked to a synth freak beat, creating rhythmic head bangers, seething guitar riffs, ominous organ howls and vocals stolen from wind storms, etching out sounds equally as catchy and intense as they are dark and mystic, and 9 months after this very sweaty, unforgettable orgy, had a futuristic, long-haired space baby, it would be called MONDO DRAG.
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Under the spiritual guidance of the forefathers of heavy psych, prog, and proto-metal, Mondo Drag has created an amalgamation of sounds the likes of which have not resounded through the atmosphere for decades. The band's unique sound, and rare cohesion probably stem from the fact that core members John Gamino, Nolan Girard, and Jake Sheley actually grew up together and have been playing music with each other for 15 years.

New Rituals was released by Alive Records in 2010 and for the next fourteen months the band hit the road hard, headlining a half a dozen tours in the US and appearing at numerous psych fests along the way. The band's stellar live performances soon became a thing of wonder and saw the band share stages with contemporary artists such as Sleepy Sun, Dead Meadow, Witchcraft, Pentagram, Black Mountain, Wooden Shjips, and Naam to name a few.

After a tumultuous tour in early 2011, Johnnie Cluney (drums, vocals) and Dennis Hockaday (bass) left the band. After what seemed like an endless search for a new rhythm section, the band caught a break when Cory Berry and Zack Anderson moved back to Iowa after leaving Radio Moscow. The two came to live with the band intermittently, while rehearsing and preparing material for the new album. This transitional period also saw John step into the role of lead vocalist for the band.

In the Winter of 2011-2012, the band returned to Future Appletree Studios Too (New Rituals was recorded here also) to record their follow-up album with friend and gear guru, Patrick Stolley. Utilizing Stolley's extensive vintage gear library and his expansive knowledge of analog recording, they were able to capture full-band live performances recorded to analog tape. Most of the live tracking was recorded with 1940's and 50's RCA ribbon mics and everything recorded on the album ran through tube pre-amps and transformers of the same era.

Shortly after the album was recorded, Zack moved to Sweden and Cory soon followed to pursue their new group, Blues Pills, which was really taking off in Europe. This left the band with still no rhythm section. After much deliberation, the band decided it was time to move and reform the group so in 2013 they caravanned to Oakland, CA with a moving truck full of records and gear.

Since relocating, the group has picked up a new rhythm section consisting of Ventura Garcia (drums) and Andrew O'Neil (bass). The group has quickly become a staple of the bay area's psych/prog scene.

The band released their debut album 'New Rituals' on Alive Records in early 2010 and have been touring heavily since. This year has seen Mondo Drag touring from coast to coast supporting acts like: Sleepy Sun, Black Mountain, The Black Keys, Wooden Shjips, The Growlers, High On Fire, Pentagram, Radio Moscow, Sweet Apple, and many others.


Press "play" on Slow Season's second full-length album MOUNTAINS, and you might just forget what era you're in. It could very well be the sixties, seventies, or now. It almost doesn't matter though because this is hypnotic, heavy, and howling rock 'n' roll that defies both musical and temporal categorization.

The Central California quartet – Daniel Rice (vocals, guitar), David Kent (guitar), Hayden Doyel (bass), and Cody Tarbell (drums) – scale new heights, while recognising where it all began.

"I'd love for people to wonder if this record is actually from 1969," grins Cody. "We wanted to capture that spirit. That was the goal."

In order to do so, the musicians holed up in Cody's home studio, which actually doubles as his parents' garage, and cut Mountains ten tracks throughout the course of early 2014. Hayden had just returned home from a short detour at college in Idaho before recognizing he belonged jamming with his brothers. Officially back in the fold, excitement to record proved pervasive. Moving when inspiration struck, they actually recorded the songs live on reel-to-reel tape. Eschewing the digital mindset of today and not even uttering the words "Pro Tools", everything was caught on analog, giving the music a crackling kinetic energy.

"I like everything associated with reel-to-reel," Cody goes on. "I love the sound. I like the mojo that comes along with it."

"Working with the limitations of tape really pushed us to play our best," adds Daniel. "You have to prioritize your ideas. You can't layer too much on there. You also have to nail the takes. You don't get to go back and cut paste. You have to feel it when you're playing it. When everything comes together, it really shines because we're all playing together on tape."

They lock in during the album opener and first single, Sixty-Eight. It snaps into a bluesy riff and bombastic beat before Daniel lets out a soaring refrain and a screeching solo roars. "We wanted to nod back to Led Zeppelin," the vocalist says. "We managed to get this really big sound in the garage. It's very organic and natural. The subject matter is pretty gnarly, and I'd encourage everyone to take a close listen to the lyrics."

That mystique carries over to the hazy Synanon, which details the exploits of a mountain cult nearby where the boys reside. Meanwhile, Endless Mountain drives forward on robust guitars and propulsive drums. It also reflects the overarching theme inherent within the title.

"Mountains embody a few things," explains Daniel. "They're difficult, seemingly insurmountable, and bigger than us. They're both foreboding and beautiful at the same time. I had been doing a lot of hiking and backpacking in the higher Sierra Nevada. It all fit together. We live right next to Sequoia National Park, and we go up there all the time. We connect with the idea of man versus nature."

SLOW SEASON first emerged in 2012 with their self-titled debut. Supported by shows throughout California and nationally, they began to garner palpable buzz. Now, Mountains kicks off their next chapter. However, they'll continue to exist within an epoch of their own.

Daniel leaves off, "I want people to walk away knowing there's integrity behind the music, the process, the words being sung, and the notes being played. We love what we do, and we hope that listeners do too."