Los Desnudos

The Universe gave birth to Earth. The Earth spawned California, and hence, Los Angeles. Los Desnudos emerged out of the dusty landscape of this so-called 'City of Angels'; rock bands, theater troupes, R&B groups, jazz casuals - they had done it all - to spearhead a movement of musical re-vitalization in the original city of the eternally jaded. Some call it “thrash jazz”, while others prefer the term “inexplicable madness”. Explaining their origins, guitarist Steve "Killer" Kowalski says, "We just got together and started playing everything we couldn't play at our other gigs."
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Their debut album, “Nude Awakening,” was released in February of 2007, recorded over three weekends in a villa nestled against the mountains flanking the sprawling Palm Springs basin. It is a celebratory homage to the sly innocence of that desert paradise, as well as a diffused portrait of the increasingly elusive landscape leading back to the East Hollywood neighborhoods of Los Angeles that they call home. Whether it's the live improvisations of “Enlightening Valley” and “Mountain Views", the group choruses of “Giant Buttons” and “Something is a Foot”, the unabashed thrash of “Hot Water Pipes” and “Fezz Puddles”, or the warped a capella of “U.S.A.", it’s a new direction in finely-crafted, yet effectual and "distinctly Californian" sound-art sunshine.
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It is a wholly unique sound, punctuated by the unpredictable, manic celebration of their live shows. Echoing the sentiments of other first-timers, the engineer at a recent gig greeted the band post-set by saying, "Man, I don't know what the fuck that was, but it kicked ass." Los Desnudos' drummer, De Longpre, sums up their sound best: "We're in flux, 72 times."