D'Santi

See "Audio" to listen to D'Santi interview. - Toxic Underground Live!

California based indie label Citation Records is all kinds of excited to announce its new signing, blues/funk rockers and fellow Californians, D’Santi. West Coast live music fans already know that D’Santi can mix up a big bowl of influences like John Lee Hooker, Humble Pie and Doyle Bramhall and make it come out tasting like your favorite dish, and now Citation Records is pleased to be the label to serve that D’Santi sound up to the masses.

As for D’Santi themselves, they describe their influences as “old scratchy records and big headphones with a volume knob and coil chord.” In other words, this is music by music fans, for music fans. We’ll give you a few moments to digest that. The revolution starts here.

D’Santi’s debut album will be released on Citation Records in early, 2009.

For more information about D’Santi and Citation Records, contact us. - Citation Records

Bluesman Albert King stared down the two moppet-headed boys sitting in the front row at the Golden Bear in Huntington Beach. He couldn’t help but rank on them. “I remember him looking at us and saying, ‘Who are these punk kids sitting in the front row?’” says Mike D’Santi, vocalist and guitarist for the band D’Santi.

These “punk kids” were Mike, 12, and his 14-year-old brother, Paul. Their adoration of the blues popped its head out at such an early age, even King, a seasoned blues player, was amused.

“We were starting to let our hair get a little freaky,” Mike says, now in his late 30s. “We didn’t know anything. We were still trying to understand at the time.” It had been less than a year since Mike discovered the drums and quickly abandoned them.

Paul took to the skins, signing up for drum lessons. Mike gravitated toward one of daddy Al D’Santi’s guitars hanging on the wall. The two were half way to their first band.

Those early days in Ontario were filled with ear benders from their musician father, garage jam sessions and plenty of research through the bins of rock, blues and jazz vinyl.

“There was equipment around the house all the time, bands rehearsing,” Mike says. “That had a big influence on us.” By ages 8 and 9, the brothers had already been spending their lawnmowing money on Saturdays, picking two 45s each to add to their collections, so it wasn’t too much of a surprise.

“I loved Saturdays,” Paul says. “I think we just naturally gravitated toward music. Our dad had a lot of influence on us, but he never forced anything, just made it available.”

From the time he was 3, Mike was suckling Cream’s Wheels on Fire. He and Paul graduated to Stevie Ray Vaughn as teens, mixing things up with trailblazers like Meshell Ndegeocello by their mid-20s.

Mike, a guitar powerhouse in the vein of Derek Trucks and John Mayer, fed off his dad’s stories about the L.A. music scene in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. The elder Al took the boys to shows and raised them on a strict diet of Eric Clapton, Allman Brothers, Doobie Brothers and Jimi Hendrix mixed with blues axe men like King.

Once the boys ingested the basics, they added some funk and jazz-fusion via George Benson and Santana to round out their influences. “We were so young that it didn’t make sense until later,” Mike says. It came in handy.

The D’Santi brothers started inviting friends to play. By 1989, Mike Johnson joined. When they decided to get serious about being a band, they brought on bassist Rick Tillery of Alta Loma.

Since then, the band has gone through a few incarnations with percussionist Johnson coming and going (he shares frontman duties, as well) and female vocalists staying for stints, even a saxophonist. They’ve been everything from a trio to a six-piece, but the band’s nucleus remained constant. Then things slowed.

“There were a couple of points where we all sort of gave up,” Mike says. “There was no spark. We were just trying to hold it together.”

By the late 1990s, early 2000s, the guys were settling down, as were many of their fans who pushed rooms to fire capacity with lines out the door 75 deep waiting for their sweaty spots on the dance floor. At their peak, the band packed Mt. Baldy Lodge and El Gato Gordo, playing solid three-hour sets of originals and covers like “Pink Houses,” “Boogie Woman” and “Bust a Move.” Every weekend was an event.

While they didn’t book many live shows during those years, they never stopped playing. “I think it’s because we’ve been friends since high school,” Mike says. “We love playing together, and we know there is something special between the four of us.”

“We were riding pretty high,” Mike says recalling the band’s heyday. “We didn’t stop to take a break. We pushed too hard and it wasn’t going anywhere. It was a huge eye opener . . . But now we’re going for round two.”

This next round includes a new album, Groove D’Luxe, released on Upland-based Citation Records last year, and gigs at the Texas Rockfest and the Red Guerilla Festival in downtown Austin March 17-21. Then they return to play Hip Kitty Thursday, March 25, and come April 24, it’s reunion time: Mt. Baldy Lodge. Get up off of that thang and get a babysitter. - Inland Empire Weekly - Arrissia Owen Turner (3/18/2010)

I stumbled on the band D'Santi, as I walked down 6th street around noon time and they were jamming at Chuggin Monkey. The one thing that caught my attention more than anything else was the fact that they were playing these very rock and blues songs with a conga player. As the jam session ended and I returned to walking down 6th street the manager of the band gave me a card and said, "We're playing here tonight. Make sure you come check it out." Little did I know that the jam session was just the beginning of a beautiful discovery.

At Mug Shots on 7th Street later that evening D'Santi played a very short and sweet set for a slowly growing crowd. This rock band knows more than the music they play, they know the crowd they play for. The instrumental opener gave everyone the chance to see the capabilities of each musician. The conga player's technique made a round and rich sound. The drummer was the showman of the group. Every song was played with animation. He was fun to watch. The guitarist plays with passion and what seems like an effortless approach to performing. And the bassists, the foundation of the music, varied playing styles put the icing on the cake. Together, they bring all of their influences to the music. After the set at Mug Shots, I got to talk with lead guitarist, Michael D'Santi.

How did D'Santi get started? "The drummer is my brother and our dad played in a band, he played guitar. [He played us] A lot of good music. Albums were being played constantly. So it was like, 'Wait a minute, something's up here.' He saw that we had a little bit of inspiration and he started taking us to good shows. Like Albert King and George Benson. More guitar players. Except, we were kids, we didn't know what was going on. But there was something there."

"Then, the conga player Mike Johnson, came into the picture. His dad played guitar too, so our dads hooked us up and we used to always have jams on saturdays. Then that week we found Rick, the bass player, and ever since then we've been going." Or as many would say, 'the rest this history.'

Being such a tight and solid group must mean y'all have been playing together for quite some time. How long have y'all been playing together? "On and off for like 20 years. We've done a lot of different things but now we're back and we're trying to hit it again. We're trying not to give up on it."

Now y'all are here at SXSW. How did that happen? How are you liking it? "This happened through Bryan (the bands manager) actually. He hooked us up. He said, 'hey I got a gig out here if you guys wanna come do it.' And we said sure. So here we are."

"Oh love it. [We've] Been here a few tiimes when it wasn't the festival. Just to cruise down 5th and 6th and some of the suburb area like S. Congress and what not. There's amazing players out here. The music is great."

So, born and raised in LA and the band is based out of LA. How do you like it? "Um... it's starting to get a little rough. [Laugh] Musically and art wise it's too spread out. This is nice because it's essentially in it's own spot. Hopefully something soon will change. It's very money hungry at times and it hurts that the bands are suffering from that."

Any touring plans coming up? "We pop in here and there. You know like this, where we do little one's and what not."

Their new CD "Groove D'luxe" is now available. - Houston Music Scene Examiner - Crystal Mata (3/21/2010)