By JOHN DALY
The Chocolate Watchband, the beloved garage rock band from the 1960s, is releasing a new album called This Is My Voice in February. Watch their new videos for “Rendezvous” and “Judgement Day” here.
The Chocolate Watchband is considered one of the important early psych-garage and proto-punk bands that came from the West Coast during the second half of the 1960s. This Is My Voice (Dirty Water) is the first album since the band’s self-released 2000 album, Get Away, and the first album of new material to get a wide release since 1969’s One Step Beyond.
Seeds Song on This Is My Voice
Out on the 22nd of February on Dirty Water Records, This Is My Voice will contain 11 new recordings, including a cover version “I Can’t Seem To Make Your Mine,” originally done by their ’60s contemporaries The Seeds.
Have things changed since the rebellious days of the 1960s? Apparently not because the more recently written songs address the current situation in the world, and more specifically in the US. Lead vocalist Dave Aguilar said he was moved to write songs like “Judgement Day” after seeing that “Families were living in their cars. It was a terrible time for the American dream. It resulted in the anger that put the current president into the White House. The Who were wrong, Americans can get fooled again!”
A Reunion of Chocolate Watchband
This album reunites Aguilar with original members Tim Abbott on guitar and Gary Andrijasevich on drums, alongside new generation members Derek See (guitar) and Grammy-nominated producer Alex Palao (bass). The band embarks on a US and European tour to promote the album and thus there is only one question to ask, as they did on one of their original hits, “Are you gonna be there?”
The band will play Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco on Nov. 30 and The Mission Theater in Portland on Dec. 1.
