Rudy De Anda at Porch Party’s headquarters in Long Beach. Photo by Esther Kang.
Rudy De Anda has had a busy year making ripples beyond his hometown. From curating and playing the Celsius Festival in Mexicali to opening for Chicano Batman at The El Rey last August following the release of his debut EP “Ostranenie,” the Watts-born, Long Beach-bred musician is aware of listeners as far as Argentina.
He and his band kicked off 2016 with a performance at the Noise Pop Festival in San Francisco. Just two months into the new year, it can’t be denied that the wheel is only picking up speed.
Next Thursday, De Anda and his band are hitting the road with Lolipop Records’ SXSW Caravan for a 15-date cross-country tour, making their mark at the Neon Reverb Festival in Las Vegas, New Mexico, Arizona and at the Spiderhouse for SXSW in Austin. Their local following will be giving them a proper sendoff Tuesday at two back-to-back L.A. shows at The Smell and The Resident, respectively, and on Wednesday at The Wayfarer in Costa Mesa.
“We’re probably gonna play, like 20 shows this month,” he said, laughing.
When the tour wraps up at the Ace Hotel in Palms Springs on March 25, the period of rest will only be momentary for De Anda, the 27-year-old former frontman of Long Beach psych-prog group Wild Pack of Canaries. Next month, he will be releasing his second EP titled “Delay, Cadaver of a Day” via Porch Party Records and Lolipop Records in the two entities’ first-ever collaboration.
Named as an ode to some of his favorite writers and filmmakers including Allen Ginsberg, Aldous Huxley, Alejandro Jodorowsky and Federico Fellini, the title portends an ominous, dark vibe that juxtaposes with the lighter, modern-pop sensibilities from his solo debut EP “Ostranenie,” released last summer.
In the latest culmination of a longtime musical partnership, De Anda recorded and produced “Delay” with Long Beach sound engineer J.P. Benzinski, who plays guitar in the band. The two met in 2008 through drummer Alfred Hernandez—the three were core members in the Wild Pack of Canaries—and their rapport is undeniable.
“J.P. is always gonna be my partner-in-crime, no matter what we’re called or what band we’re in,” De Anda said. “[Now] we have a tangible piece of music to show everyone what we are capable of doing together.”
Since the days of Wild Pack, De Anda has decidedly grown older and wiser. Being the frontman of a seven-piece band had its share of challenges, he admitted, but Wild Pack of Canaries won many hearts with its frenetic brass-infused energy. Following its formation in 2008, the band released three full-length albums and a seven-inch before its unofficial dissolution about five years later. Still, the group is like a brotherhood, De Anda said, noting proudly that each member is making his own wave in new Long Beach/LA projects that include The Buttertones, I/O and pedal-maker Stacks FX.
“I always put my heart and soul into Wild Pack,” he said. “But sometimes you realize you have to close the door for another one to open.”
That new door, for De Anda, opened in 2013 when the late Ikey Owens, a mentor and friend, expressed interest in De Anda’s new solo material and offered to record it. Much of it was tracked in Owens’ living room in the small pockets of time when Owens was not on tour—their last session was in September 2014, just about a month before his sudden passing. His brother Brandon Owens, who contributed to Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly, tracked the upright bass on several tracks at the Compound Studio.
Released in the summer of 2015, Ostranenie, a five-track EP debuting De Anda’s new dreamy prog-pop sound with an affinity for Spanish lyrics, was a giant success and named by OC Weekly as one of the top albums in 2015. OC Weekly also named Rudy De Anda the Best Indie Band of 2015, a firm nod to his group’s tried-and-true chemistry. His current lineup includes J.P. Benzinski on guitar, Lily Stretz (Meow Twins) on bass and the most recent addition of Alfred Hernandez on drums. De Anda and Hernandez have been playing together on-and-off since middle school.
Looking ahead, De Anda said another five-track EP—produced by Joel Jerome—will be released later this year, followed by a cross-country tour. He’s also looking forward to announcing more festival dates and exploring writing in different languages, including Portuguese and French.
As for this upcoming SXSW round, fans and friends can expect a more “even-keel” version of himself on the road, he said.
“Performance is where I want to focus my energy on this time around,” De Anda said. “I’ll have fun, but before, I think I was really into getting crazy with adventures and stuff, which is still gonna be a part of it. But I want people to leave these shows like, ‘Fuck, what the fuck was that band!’ That’s basically what I want every time I play.”
Rudy De Anda performs next Tuesday at The Smell and Wednesday at The Wayfarer with Pity Party, Janelane and Friendly Males (all ages); and at The Resident next Tuesday (21+).