In the second episode of our series, Son of The Velvet Rat visit my solar powered cabin in the Mojave Desert. For director, Joshua James Huff, and myself, it seemed fitting to have them as our first guest band on the show: the first musical performance that Joshua and I saw at Landers Brew Co, the little pub down the sand road from my cabin, was Son of The Velvet Rat. I was already a fan of their albums. Plotting to leave Portland behind for the Mojave Desert, I stumbled across them while investigating what musicians were out there in this wind swept land of boulders and Joshua trees. Son of The Velvet Rat's music embodies the stark landscape; high contrast between flat dry lakes and mountains, and beautiful panoramas that slowly change in the light of different times of day. Their songs creep up on you. Not much seems to be happening at first, and then your imagination runs while following the lyrics and melody. Between the listener and the song, in that very moment, a world is created. Not every songwriter is capable of pulling that off.
Son of The Velvet Rat is currently in Europe continuing a run of performances through July. Their latest studio album, from Fluff and Gravy and Mint Records, titled Dorado is excellent and is a perfect entrance into their world. For the Solar Cabin Sessions, Son of The Velvet Rat play an unreleased song called Dragon Fly and Water Lily.