Cazadero
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Cazadero

San Francisco, CA | Established. Jan 01, 2012 | SELF

San Francisco, CA | SELF
Established on Jan, 2012
Band Rock Folk

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This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

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"Cazadero - Old Friends (review)"

Cazadero out of San Francisco recently released their LP ‘Old Friends’ a beautifully crafted album filled with Alto Sax, Slide and Petal guitar, piano, and organ. Joe Hayes has a great voice that blends perfectly with the excellent harmonies from all the members, and delicious vocals from Nika States (on Below Zero, Ain't So Bad, and Jenny Jones) The songs have feel good melodies that slip effortlessly between country, blues, folk and jazz.

From the haunting beat heavy ‘Below Zero’ (available free below) with stirring guitar riffs, Floydish harmonies, and the slide and honky tonk piano combo with Nika and Joe duet on ‘Ain't So Bad’ it moves to a jazzy roadhouse song ‘Last Mine.’ On ‘Jenny Jones’ the organ takes on a carnivalesque intro while Joe sounds a bit like John Lennon and again Nika adds her gorgeous harmonies on this slow touching ballad. ‘You Have Passed’ is a great bluesy number reminiscent of a JJ Cale and Leon Russell song with Gata adding Harmonica and vocals. ‘Old Friends’ the title track and ‘Midnight Picnic’ have a Key West laid back funky kinda vibe. The closing track ‘Pious Companion’ is an instrumental with a cool Ennio Morricone feel to it which you all know by now really tickles my fancy. Jon Wujcik on Drums and Nate Baker on Bass both anchor the band while at the same time seem on the verge of improvisational flourishes at the drop of a riff. I highly recommend you pay this band some attention. - Popa Tunes


"Cazadero set to release ‘Old Friends’ LP"

Cazadero‘s criminally under-the-radar Dusk for Dawn was one of my favorite albums of 2012 – from anywhere, not just the Bay Area. The album hit a sweet spot where country, folk, and pop from the 70's meet while still managing to sound fresh and new.

Less than a year after Dusk for Dawn was released, they’re already back with a follow-up LP, Old Friends. The band shared three tracks from the album on their Bandcamp page, where you can also pre-order a vinyl copy that will ship this summer. It sounds like the album will continue with a similar retro vibe, but with more upbeat tempos than Dusk. You can listen to the standout title track from Old Friends below, and be sure to check out Cazadero live at Bottom of the Hill April 15. - Bay Bridged


"ALBUM REVIEW: Dusk For Dawn (Cazadero)"

‘Roads’ is a song which needs you to lay back and listen; it’s full of promises and dusty highways and old men drinking whiskey in saloon bars. The jangly guitar works well here, creating a lovely hazy feel and the most important part aside from the atmosphere is the fact that it’s so uncomplicated. Cazadero avoid the trap that most new bands fall into of adding needless instrumentation and effects and simply let ‘Roads’ speak for itself. And it speaks of hazy, atmospheric nights and lone wandering by day.

‘Still Life’ is the next track, and one that lives up to its name yet again. It’s more relaxed and the vocals have a Tom Waits growl to them, with the female backing vocals providing a lovely contrast. Cazadero keep the lack of complication and fit the parts together neatly – it’s simple but that’s not to say it’s easy. Simple can be difficult to do, and ‘Still Life’ pulls it off with ease. ‘I will turn you inside out’ promise the lyrics, and manage to make it the kind of promise you want to be fulfilled.

While the vocals on ‘First Time’ dip a little too low at times, it serves as a testament to how well the songs manage to differ from each other, without ever becoming generic or losing the sense of cohesion in the album. There’s a lovely atmospheric feel running through the album and it creates an imagery that a lot of records don’t; a few moments listening and you’re lost in an indulgent Tolkien tinged world.

‘We’re Alright’ is the album closer, and the first fifty seconds or so feel like a practice or misstep. The song could do without them, but once they’re over it’s a lovely closer and concludes the record nicely. If you long for dusty roads and horseback rides, then you’ll struggle to do a lot better than ‘Dusk For Dawn.’ - I Just Wasn't Made for These Times (blog)


"Best of 2012: Russell Jelinek’s Favorite Tracks, New Bands, and Videos"

Cazadero: According to their Bandcamp page: “Dusk for Dawn was under-conceived in a period of nine weeks at the onset of 2012 between rehearsals across from Ocean Beach in San Francisco, and a pleasantly dank, carpeted room in Oakland. Shortly thereafter, it was casually put to tape at Tiny Telephone in San Francisco by eight musicians over the course of four days.” If you didn’t read that before you listened to the album, you’d think you were hearing a work of art years in the making. Check out the smooth retro California country and pop vibes from Cazadero’s Dusk for Dawn below. - The Bay Bridged


"Cazadero releases ‘Domestic Refugee’"

Cazadero, the project fronted by our good friend and former Bay Bridged contributor Joe Hayes, just released Domestic Refugee, their third LP in a little over four years. Hayes, a longtime veteran of the local scene was once a member of the eclectic improvisers The Don'ts, (who were featured on The Bay Bridged's first compilation album and Podcast 217). With Cazadero, Hayes and his band have developed a distinct retro sound that makes me want to use the word "ramble" for some reason. Domestic Refugee is a trip across the United States (rambling in a large olive-green Buick from the 70's, at least in my mind). Hayes explains:

Crossing the Mississippi from East for the first time, Joe Jones proceeds to pass through 48 states. Domestic Refugee is a coming-of-age travelogue through the barren farmland of northern New England (Bigger Life) to the desolate mass of Wyoming (Rest Area), underneath Florida's gaping sink holes (Hold Still), resolving in the uninhabited log-jammed beaches of the Northwest (AM Blues) after an ephemeral romance with California (Been A Long Time). Escaping cults (Heaven's Bus), natural disaster (Remains of Day), and family tragedy (Oklahoma), the songs trace a diaspora of the domestic US rural community, as experienced by Jones. - The Bay Bridged


Discography

Dusk for Dawn (2012) LP
Old Friends (2013) LP

Domestic Refugee (2015) Album Digital

Slow Notion (2017) Album Digital

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Bio

Northern California's Cazadero plays the kind of darkly-tuned, beer-swilling cosmic Americana that isn't out of place on a playlist with genre gurus My Morning Jacket, Vetiver and the early rustic side of Modest Mouse. Releasing four albums recorded at John Vanderlice's analog haven Tiny Telephone since 2012, Cazadero weaves Nashville spirit into moody living room jams.

Slow Notion, Cazadero's fourth record, is based on journeys up and down the coast from LA to Neah Bay (WA), recalling the desolate Mission towns, desert drifters, houseboat communities and disenfranchised creatives encountered along the way. Recorded with tape, hiss and intuition, this set features guest contributions from Jessi Phillips (Eight Belles), David Cuetter (Paula Frazier/Tarnation) and Aaron Weiss (formerly Social Studies, Maus Haus).

Band Members