By Chloe Davis, SFR Intern
With drippy old-school punk sounds, Low On High brings a breath of fresh air to punk rock fans in Santa Fe. While the band's sound doesn't fall far from the tree of the prettier of Velvet Underground's songs, one could say that Low On High is more active and energetic; it induces wild dancing and head bobbing, rather than shoe-gazing.
With LOH, Santa Fe filmmaker
and his wife Amy Davis have formed a band that tests its audience but is simultaneously totally listenable. Now this mixture of old-school and nu-wave plays at Corazón on Sunday along with Venus Bogardus, Rainbow Arabia and Broken Water as part of Corazón's
(Rainbow Arabia and Broken Water are on their way to Austin for SXSW).
Learn more about LOH and get the details on the performance below the jump.
The couple met at a party when Davis was only 17 years old and Moritsugu 20. “He was so ratty and hardcore-looking," Davis says. "I couldn't help but follow him for the rest of the night. It was so superficial."
The band started almost 16 years and went through too many names to count. Some of the more memorable ones were Skipper Six and Monster Golanca (meaning monster sausage). It played shows all over the West Coast (California and Washington) until Moritsugu and Davis moved to Hawaii. (As for Low On High, don't look for deep meanings; “We found the name on a bathroom stall in Seattle,” Moritsugu and Davis explain.)
“When we were in Hawaii, we became more of a studio band, and we had a lot of music on the radios,” Moritsugu tells SFR. After living in Hawaii for a few years the couple moved to Seattle, where they landed a record deal for the band, which by now was called Low On High. Morsitsugu and Davis, are the only members of the band. Between the two of them they cover vocals, guitar, bass and drums.
Red Cell of The Process, the institution known for bringing off-the-beaten-path shows to Santa Fe, is the one responsible for the band's gig at Corazón. “I paired them with Venus Bogardus because this is Low On High's first show, and Venus Bogardus just had a CD release. As for [Rainbow Arabia and Broken Water], they compliment the sound to no end,” Cell tells SFR.
Davis' soft, sweet voice compliments the washed-out, distorted sound of Moritsugu's guitar. The guitar's distortion is on so high and the drums are so faded-out that in comparison the vocals are so clear they sound almost eerie. It's not unrelated that Moritsugu has been making experimental films since 1985; you can almost hear the influence of his films in LOH's music in the way it strays from the beaten path and revamps the hardcore sound.
LOW ON HIGH,
BROKEN WATER, RAINBOW ARABIA, VENUS BOGARDUS
8 pm
Sunday, March 14
$5
Corazón
401 S. Guadalupe
983-4559
Santa Fe Reporter