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Hard Rock Supergroup Plays Rare Show At The Chapel

By Dave Pehling

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- A heavy psych outfit anchored by luminaries including Dinosaur Jr.'s J Mascis, King Tuff leader Kyle Thomas and Lecherous Gaze guitar wizard Graham Clise, Witch stops in San Francisco on a rare tour Sunday night.

Started in 2005 by Mascis and his longtime friend and bassist Dave Sweetapple with the aim of playing the kind of hard rock the pair grew up with, Witch found alt-rock guitar hero Mascis returning to the drums, his original instrument he had played in high school jazz ensemble and his early hardcore group, Deep Wound. Teaming with King Tuff singer/guitarist Kyle Thomas and guitarist Asa Irons -- both of whom also played in the psych/folk outfit Feathers -- the quartet were quickly signed to hard-rock imprint Tee Pee Records, which released it's lumbering, fuzzed-out eponymous debut the following year.

Witch - SEER by Tee Pee Records on YouTube

Taking cues from cornerstone inspirations Black Sabbath and Blue Cheer, Witch's first album didn't exactly break new ground, but it gave Thomas and Irons ample opportunity to showcase their feedback-drenched, dueling guitar style. Only the more pastoral, acoustic psych ballad "Isadora" that closes the effort veers from the monolithic riffs and howling distortion of the rest of the recording.

Despite Mascis focusing much of his energy to the then newly reunited Dinosaur Jr. (the band got back together for the first time in almost a decade the same year Witch formed), the quartet managed to release its follow-up sophomore record Paralyzed in 2008. Upping the tempos on more punk-flavored tracks "Eye" and "Disappear," the band moved away from Sabbath template on the second album without abandoning it entirely.

Witch - Disappear by lazycalmcat on YouTube

While the band has not released any new music in over a decade, it would continue to play occasional live shows including a 2012 appearance at Roadburn and more recently at Desert Fest London last May. Guitarist Graham Clise -- who made his name in the late, lamented Annihilation Time before founding his current project, scuzzy hard rock outfit Lecherous Gaze -- would take over on second guitar in 2010 after the departure of Irons. Clise also added his six-string talents to Earthless Meets Heavy Blanket In a Dutch Haze, a live collaborative recording made at Roadburn in 2012 featuring Mascis and Clise playing with the powerhouse Earthless rhythm section of drummer Mario Rubalcaba and bassist Mike Eginton.

Witch - Hand of Glory || live @ Roadburn / 013 Tilburg || 13-04-2012 by KoenG on YouTube

Fresh from an appearance at this year's Desert Daze Festival in Southern California, Witch brings its pulverizing sound to San Francisco for the first time in ages for this (((folkYEAH!))) produced show at the Chapel Sunday night. Joining them will be a pair of notable Bay Area bands. Prog/psych rockers Mondo Drag were founded over a decade ago in Davenport, Iowa, by singer/keyboard player John Gamino, guitarist Jake Sheley and guitarist/synth player Nolan Girard before relocating to Oakland in 2014. Playing a style of heavy psych influenced by Hawkwind and Uriah Heap, the quintet recently resurfaced after an extended hiatus to play songs from their forthcoming third album. Opening act Very Paranoia is a new high-octane, proto-punk band featuring members of Hot Lunch, Annihilation Time and Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound. Witch and Mondo Drag will also play Gundlach Bundschu Winery in Sonoma next Friday, Oct. 18.

Witch
Sunday, Oct. 13, 8 p.m. $35
The Chapel

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