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Gary Arce

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Gary Arce
Gary Arce
Background information
Birth Name Gary Michael Arce
Occupation Musician
Genres Desert Rock, Stoner Rock, Jazz, Instrumental Rock
Instrument(s) Guitar
Years active 1982 - Present
Labels Alone Records, Lexicon Devil, SST Records, Cobraside Distribution, Man's Ruin Records, Small Stone Records, Heavy Psych Sounds, Ripple Music
Associated acts Yawning Man, The Sort Of Quartet, Fatso Jetson, Yawning Sons, Ten East, Zun, Big Scenic Nowhere, The Breed, The Perfect Rat, Dark Tooth Encounter

Gary Michael Arce is a guitarist based out of California. Active since the early 1980s, he is best known for being the lead guitarist of the seminal desert rock group Yawning Man along with a major player in the generator parties of the 80s. Along with his involvement with the highly influential desert rock band, Arce has performed with numerous other bands in a wide arrangement of styles be it ensemble collaborative projects such as Yawning Sons and Big Scenic Nowhere or one-time studio projects such as The Perfect Rat, Dark Tooth Encounter and Zun. Many of Arce's projects have been instrumental over the years and often in collaboration with recurring friends such as Mario Lalli and Bill Stinson, both of whom perform with Yawning Man.

Arce is known for his distinctive playing style with his fingers rather than a pick,[1] creating a disctintive guitar sound that is rooted in elements of psychedelic, surf, jazz, gothic and stoner rock.[2] He stated in a YouTube interview, he tried a pick once and it "felt unnatural", preferring to use his thumb and fingers.[3] Along with a fondness for hardcore punk of the 1980s such as Bad Brains, D.O.A.,[4] Discharge and Amebix,[5] Arce would cite The Grateful Dead, Southern Death Cult, Lords Of The New Church and Bauhaus as significant influences.[6]

Arce's freeform experimentation has lent itself to five studio albums with Yawning Man and several other albums with numerous projects over a career spanning five separate decades. Arce is sponsored by the Arizona based company Ayers Guitars.[7][8]

Biography[]

Early Bands and Yawning Man[]

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

Prior to the formation of Yawning Man in 1986, Arce would be involved with numerous early bands in the Desert scene. Arce was heavily influenced by the likes of Greg Ginn, Miles Davis and early 80s hardcore (Though was not fond of heavy metal or even most rock music).[9] His earliest known band would actually be as lead vocalist for a punk rock band known as The Breed.

Following more short-lived bands such as Funeral Hair, Dry Heat and Priest Milk, Yawning Man would be founded 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.[10] 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.[11]

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 Crippled Dick Hot Wax!.[12] 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.

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.[13] 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.[14][15][16] Yawning Man would go on their first ever tour that June in support of Rock Formations but Billy Cordell would take Mario Lalli's place on bass as Mario had moved and was unable to perform the tour or recordings on the next EP.

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 Music. 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 Music (The Demo Tapes) 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,[17][18][19] reaching #9 on The Obelisk Top 20 of 2010.[20] Yawning Man would tour Europe that year in support of the album, which included appearances at Hellfest and Stoned From The Underground.

Yawning Man would return to Europe that next June with the lineup of Arce, Lalli and new drummer Bill Stinson. This two-week tour with Blaak Heat Shujaa also included shared dates with Karma To Burn and began with an appearance at Duna Jam.[21] Billy Cordell and Greg Seanz would take over in the rhythm section around 2012 but no information of the band touring or performing that year is available. The next year the original lineup would tour with Fatso Jetson for the Legends of the Desert tour which included marquee appearances at DesertFest London and DesertFest Berlin. Both bands also released a split LP together for the tour on 26 April 2013.[22]

Stinson would rejoin as drummer in line for a 2014 European tour through August and September. Work would also begin on a new record. The next year would see a second Legends of the Desert tour with Fatso Jetson through February 2015. In one of their busiest touring years yet the band also made appearances in South America for the first time and toured Europe again later that summer, though it'd be partially canceled. A live album of the band's performance at Maximum Festival would also be released in 2015.

After a six-year gap and recorded in a single evening at at Ion Studio in Buenos Aires, Historical Graffiti would be released on 18 August 2016 to positive critical acclaim from the likes of The Obelisk,[23] Echoes and Dust,[24] Sputnik Music,[25] The Sludgelord[26] and Outlaws of The Sun.[27] The trio would return to Europe for a 26-day tour, including appearances at Up in Smoke Festival, Berlin Swamp Fest, Villa Pace and Reverence Festival.

2017 would see a string of shows throughout March supporting Greenleaf and Truckfighters in what would be the band's first ever North American tour, 31 years after their formation. A tour of Europe would follow along with an appearance at Psycho Las Vegas and a 28-date North American tour and a mini-tour of Europe to close out one of the band's most extensive touring years. Work would also begin on a fourth studio album.

Yawning Man's first notable appearance of 2018 would see them perform in the desert at Stoned and Dusted, also featuring a guest spot by Brant Bjork on drums. On 18 May the band would announce their fourth album was set for a 6 July release along with a European tour in support.[28] The Revolt Against Tired Noises would be released on 6 July via Heavy Psych Sounds to widespread critical acclaim from the likes of The Obelisk,[29] Ghost Cult Magazine,[30] Echoes and Dust,[31] More Fuzz,[32] The Sludgelord,[33] Sputnik Music[34] and Outlaws of The Sun[35] among others. Notably it's also the first Yawning Man studio album to feature vocals, with Mario contributing to two tracks. This would include "Catamaran" as covered by Kyuss.

Following a string of California shows supporting Dead Meadow, Yawning Man would embark on a seven-week European tour in support of The Revolt Against Tired Noises and also release The Birth of Sol on double cassette and double LP in support. The trio would go into 2019 on a month-long North American tour with Mondo Generator and Freedom Hawk. On 10 April 2019 Yawning Man would confirm a follow-up album was set for a June release via Heavy Psych Sounds with pre-orders and further details set for 16 April. Yawning Man would confirm the name of the album as Macedonian Lines on their Facebook.[36][37] Macedonian Lines would attain positive reception among the stoner and desert communities as the band toured Europe in support of the record. That August, Yawning Man would announce they would be touring Australia for the first time in 2020. The tour in itself would be successful as The CO-VID19 Pandemic would follow right after.

On 13 July 2020 Yawning Man would announce that a new live album, Live at Giant Rock, is in the works. It would be a concert film released on DVD or Blu-ray with a complimenting LP, recorded in the Spring of 2020.[38] Further details would be announced on 9 September for Live at Giant Rock, including a release date of 30 October 2020.[39] Live at Giant Rock would see critical acclaim. Yawning Man would perform once in 2021, on 17 July at Indian Cove Ampitheater in Joshua Tree with Sean Wheeler as direct support.[40]

Ten East[]

  • For more details, feel free to view the Riffipedia page on Ten East.

Ten East was birthed in 2001 when Bill Stinson and Gary Arce had got together with Greg Ginn to jam. While at the time no recordings came from it a project was eventually in the makings. Four years later Arce, Billy Cordell and Stinson were working on jams sometime after the recording of the Yawning Man releases Rock Formations and Pot Head, jamming out with the intents of it being a new Yawning Man album. Originally Ginn was intended but Arce suggested jamming with Brant Bjork on bass and Mario Lalli on second guitar, the latter Arce hadn't played with in months.[41][42] This quartet would record as Ten East in November 2005, eventually releasing Extraterrestrial Highway on 30 October 2006 via Alone Records.

Ten East would tour in-between Yawning Man's growing tour cycle. The band's first tour would happen in June 2007 throughout Europe performing with the likes of Wolfmother and Mother Superior. This tour would feature the lineup of Arce, Stinson, Greg Ginn (Black Flag) and Steven Houtmeyers (Hypnos 69).[43] That year Ten East would sign with the Australian label Lexicon Devil as work began on a second album.

The Robot's Guide To Freedom would be released on 10 May 2008 and feature Ginn and Lalli along with Bryan Giles (Red Fang) and Scott Reeder (Across The River, The Obsessed, Goatsnake, Kyuss). Ultimately the album would attain positive reviews and follow with Ten East touring Australia, this time with the lineup of Arce, Stinson, Giles and Billy Cordell on bass.[44]

Ten East would go relatively dormant as Arce would concentrate on Yawning Man (With Stinson later joining). However Ten East would play with Yawning Man and Fatso Jetson for one date on the Legends of The Desert Volume II on 13 February 2015 at De Hip in Deventer, Netherlands. This time Arce and Stinson would collaborate with members of Automatic Sam, eventually composing a new album in Skyline Pressure which was released on 14 October 2016 via Cargo Records and Small Stone Records to positive reviews.[45]

On 3 June 2021 it would be announced that Ten East would perform their first show in over a decade on 11 June, featuring the lineup of Arce, Stinson, Mario Lalli, Brant Bjork, Ryan Gut and Sean Wheeler.[46]

Yawning Sons[]

  • For more details, feel free to view the Riffipedia page on Yawning Sons.

In 2008, Yawning Man guitarist Gary Arce was invited to the United Kingdom by Sons of Alpha Centauri to produce new tracks, but upon arrival, the idea of simply producing the record was scrapped. Within one week, Arce and Sons of Alpha Centauri wrote and recorded an entire album's worth of material together.[47]

Released on 23 July 2009 by Australian label Lexicon Devil Records, Ceremony To The Sunset saw it's release.[48] Ceremony managed to attain mostly positive reviews and heavy accolades among the stoner rock circles,[49][50][51][52][53] the album was placed eighth on The Obelisk's Top 10 Albums of 2009.[54] A deluxe vinyl edition of the album was released by Alone Records in 2014.[55] In 2010, in collaboration with WaterWays, a project that includes Arce, fellow Yawning Man member Mario Lalli and Fatso Jetson drummer Tony Tornay, the group followed up with a split entitled Yawning Sons / WaterWays that also received generally favourable reviews.[56][57][58][59][60] The album was mastered at Abbey Road Studios in London and released by Space Age & Cheesecake Records on 24 December 2010.[61]

In April 2013, Yawning Sons performed for the first time (And to date their only live performance) on the main stage on the opening night of DesertFest London alongside Yawning Man and Fatso Jetson.[62] However, they had to cut their set short due to technical difficulties with Arce's guitar, only able to deliver full performances of "Meadows" and "Ghostship/Deadwater".[63]

On 28 October 2019 Dandy Brown would post some screenshots on his Facebook with the following statement implying new Yawning Sons material: "Finally finished shots for the Yawning Sons video. My goodness, Dawn is so ravishing. Really looking forward to the release of the album next year.".[64] On 1 December 2020 it would be announced that Yawning Sons would sign with Ripple Music for their second studio album, set for a 2021 release.[65] Premiering two new songs in February,[66][67] Sky Island would be set for a 26 March 2021 release, featuring guest spots from Mario Lalli, Scott Reeder, Wendy Rae Fowler and Dandy Brown. Sky Island would attain critical acclaim from several publications,[68][69][70][71][72] including a perfect 10/10 score from GBHBL, would speak highly of all eight songs and state that "They could sell this as massage treatment such is the incredible relaxation capabilities of it.".[73]

Big Scenic Nowhere[]

Big Scenic Nowhere would first be announced in February of 2019, with Gary Arce and Bob Balch being the first known members of the project. The initial announcement would state the following: "BIG SCENIC NOWHERE is the brainchild of Bob Balch (Fu Manchu) and Gary Arce (Yawning Man). This is a project that will feature the unique and vastly different styles of both guitarists- as well as some surprise guests in rhythm and vocals."[74]

Various guests would be confirmed over the next couple months. Along with Bill Stinson as the main drummer and a guest spot by Nick Oliveri, Mario Lalli (Yawning Man, Fatso Jetson) would be announced to contribute bass on 11 March. The next month various guests would be announced including Tony Reed (Mondo Generator), Ian Graham (The Well), Lisa Alley (The Well), Thomas Jäger (Monolord) and Per Wiberg (Candlemass, Spiritual Beggars, Opeth) as guests for both upcoming releases. On 23 April 2019 the band would announce that their first EP would be finished and set for a mid-summer release while the studio album would be set for a fall release.[75]

On 21 August 2019 one of the songs from Dying on The Mountain in "Towards The Sun" would be premiered along with details on how the project started and a release date of 13 September.[76] On 7 October 2019 the title of the debut album by Big Scenic Nowhere had been revealed in Vision Beyond Horizon and a release date of 31 January 2020 via Heavy Psych Sounds.[77]

On 6 February 2020 it would be revealed that Big Scenic Nowhere would perform live for the first time at the 2020 edition of Stoned and Dusted.[78] A show was also intended for Monolith on The Mesa but both gigs would be canceled when The CO-VID19 Pandemic had hit. The band would instead opt to write and record new music and on 30 July 2020, announce a second EP recorded the past November entitled Lavender Blues, featuring the likes of Tony Reed (Mos Generator), Daniel Mongrain (Voivod) and Chris Goss (Masters of Reality).[79] It would see release on 23 October 2020.

A second album would be in the works throughout 2021, collaborating with the likes of Per Wiberg (Opeth, Kamchatka, etc.) and Reeves Gabrel (Tin Machine, David Bowie) on the 20-minute title track. Announced in the Fall of 2020, The Long Morrow would be set for release on 14 January 2022.[80] Big Scenic Nowhere would perform live for the first time on 20 November 2021 with Fatso Jetson and Stoner.[81]

Other Projects[]

Arce would be briefly involved with the desert rock band Fatso Jetson, joining the band in 1998 as a rhythm guitarist for a 1998 tour with Queens of the Stone Age and continued to play with the band for a European tour (Also with Queens), which included an appearance at Dynamo Festival and an appearance at SXSW prior to the tour. Arce would depart from the band in April 2000. In August 1998 the band would record at Goss’ Monkey Studios. Flames For All, released circa 8 January 1999 via Man's Ruin Records to positive reception.

Arce would compose two studio projects in the 2000s along with Ten East. Arce, along with Bill Stinson and Greg Ginn, would compose The Perfect Rat with numerous collaborators.[82][83][84] Endangered Languages would be released via Italian label Alone Records in 2007, featuring spoken word poets along with a wide arrangement of collaborating musicians.[85][86] Arce and Stinson would also compose an experimental, abstract project known as Dark Tooth Encounter. The duo, along with guests in Mario LLalli and Scott Reeder,[87] would release Soft Monsters via Australian label Lexicon Devil on 1 May 2008.[88][89]

Waterways (Often stylized as WaterWays) was a desert rock side project featuring members of Yawning Man and Fatso Jetson, described as "aqua beat surf rock".[90][91] Arce would form the project in 2007 with Mario Lalli and Tony Tornay (Fatso Jetson, All Souls). Waterways would record a studio album in 2008 with Abby Travis (Masters of Reality, Eagles of Death Metal, KMFDM, etc.) with intents to release the album that same year via Lexicon Devil Records. However due to legal issues with the label the project would be shelved. Many of the Waterways tracks would be released through three separate split releases between 2010 and 2018.[92]

Zun are a collaborative studio band featuring Arce collaborating with vocalists Sera Timms (Black Math Horseman, Ides of Gemini, Black Mare) and John Garcia (Kyuss, Slo Burn, Unida, Hermano). Along with Arce working with two esteemed underground vocalists of different generations the band features various other contributors such as Mario Lalli, Bill Stinson and Robby Krieger (The Doors).[93] Burial Sunrise would be released on 25 March 2016 via Small Stone Records to positive reception.[94][95][96][97]

Bands[]

Discography[]

With Yawning Man[]

With The Sort of Quartet[]

With Ten East[]

With Yawning Sons[]

With Big Scenic Nowhere[]

Other Band Releases[]

Guest Appearances[]

External Links[]

Official Links[]

Archival/Interview Links[]

References[]

  1. ↑ The Sludgelord
  2. ↑ Twelve Hallucinations
  3. ↑ Vodka Broad Horizons
  4. ↑ VICE
  5. ↑ Twelve Hallucinations
  6. ↑ The Aquarian
  7. ↑ Coachella Valley Weekly
  8. ↑ The Sludgelord
  9. ↑ VICE
  10. ↑ The Sludgelord
  11. ↑ Noisey.Vice
  12. ↑ Coachella Valley Weekly
  13. ↑ / Stonerrock.com via Wayback Machine
  14. ↑ / Cosmic Lava
  15. ↑ Sputnik Music
  16. ↑ The Obelisk
  17. ↑ Sputnik Music
  18. ↑ Heavy Planet
  19. ↑ The Obelisk
  20. ↑ The Obelisk
  21. ↑ Last.fm
  22. ↑ The Sludgelord
  23. ↑ The Obelisk
  24. ↑ Echoes and Dust
  25. ↑ Sputnik Music
  26. ↑ The Sludgelord
  27. ↑ Outlaws of The Sun
  28. ↑ The Obelisk
  29. ↑ The Obelisk
  30. ↑ Ghost Cult Magazine
  31. ↑ Echoes and Dust
  32. ↑ More Fuzz
  33. ↑ The Sludgelord
  34. ↑ Sputnik Music
  35. ↑ Outlaws of The Sun
  36. ↑ The Obelisk
  37. ↑ Kerrang!
  38. ↑ Yawning Man Facebook
  39. ↑ The Obelisk
  40. ↑ Yawning Man Facebook
  41. ↑ / Roadburn via Internet Wayback Machine
  42. ↑ The Aquarian
  43. ↑ Ten East Myspace
  44. ↑ Ten East Myspace
  45. ↑ Last.fm
  46. ↑ Yawning Man Facebook
  47. ↑ Template:Cite web
  48. ↑ Template:Cite web
  49. ↑ Template:Cite web
  50. ↑ Template:Cite web
  51. ↑ Template:Cite web
  52. ↑ Template:Cite web
  53. ↑ Template:Cite web
  54. ↑ Template:Cite web
  55. ↑ Template:Cite web
  56. ↑ Template:Cite web
  57. ↑ Template:Cite web
  58. ↑ Template:Cite web
  59. ↑ Template:Cite web
  60. ↑ Template:Cite web
  61. ↑ Template:Cite web
  62. ↑ Template:Cite web
  63. ↑ Template:Cite web
  64. ↑ Dandy Brown Facebook
  65. ↑ The Obelisk
  66. ↑ The Sleeping Shaman
  67. ↑ Ripple Music
  68. ↑ Echoes and Dust
  69. ↑ Outlaws of The Sun
  70. ↑ Metal Temple
  71. ↑ Rock Sins
  72. ↑ Monster Riff
  73. ↑ GBHBL
  74. ↑ Big Scenic Nowhere Facebook
  75. ↑ Big Scenic Nowhere Facebook
  76. ↑ Brooklyn Vegan
  77. ↑ / Big Scenic Nowhere Facebook
  78. ↑ The Obelisk
  79. ↑ Big Scenic Nowhere Facebook
  80. ↑ Louder Sound
  81. ↑ Big Scenic Nowhere Facebook
  82. ↑ Stonerrock.com via Wayback Machine
  83. ↑ Yawning Man Official via Wayback Machine
  84. ↑ Aural Innovations
  85. ↑ Discogs
  86. ↑ The Stash Dauber
  87. ↑ Bravewords
  88. ↑ Discogs
  89. ↑ Cyclic Defrost
  90. ↑ The Sleeping Shaman
  91. ↑ Coachella Valley Independent via Wayback Machine
  92. ↑ Discogs
  93. ↑ Ear Split Compound
  94. ↑ New Noise Magazine
  95. ↑ The Obelisk
  96. ↑ Popmatters
  97. ↑ Metal Observer
  98. ↑ Yawning Man Instagram
  99. ↑ Yawning Man Instagram
  100. ↑ Yawning Man Instagram
V·T·E Yawning Man
Current Members Gary Arce • Bill Stinson • Billy Cordell
Past Members Alfredo Hernández • Mario Lalli • Larry Lalli • Greg Seanz
Albums Rock Formations • Nomadic Pursuits • Historical Graffiti • The Revolt Against Tired Noises • Macedonian Lines • Long Walk of The Navajo
Other Releases Pot Head • The Birth of Sol • Yawning Man & Fatso Jetson • Live at Maximum Festival • Live at Giant Rock
Yawning Balch Yawning Balch Vol. 1 • Yawning Balch Vol. 2 • Bob Balch
The Sort Of Quartet Planet Mamon • Kiss Me Twice I'm Schizo • Bombas de Amor • Victim À La Mode
Yawning Sons Ceremony To The Sunset • Yawning Sons / WaterWays • Legends Of The Desert (DesertFest Vol. IV) • Sky Island
Big Scenic Nowhere Dying On The Mountain • Vision Beyond Horizon • Lavender Blues • The Long Morrow • The Waydown
Associated Bands Across The River • Across The River (Demo) • Fatso Jetson • Kyuss • Ché • Queens of the Stone Age • The Desert Sessions • Brant Bjork • Orquesta del Desierto • Vic du Monte • Vista Chino • Waterways • Ten East • Zun • The Perfect Rat • Dark Tooth Encounter
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