True to their name, the Neverland Ranch Davidians pay little attention to the conventions of popular culture. Their chosen name is a collision of two late 20th-century icons: Michael Jackson and “Waco Savior” David Koresh. Appropriately, the Los Angeles-based trio’s sound is refreshingly disorienting, melding distorted psychedelic rock, primal rockabilly, rough-edged punk, and soulful southern influences to create a unique sonic experience.
The driving force behind the band is Tex Mosley, a guitarist and vocalist who previously played with Philadelphia’s legendary Afro-punk band Pure Hell. Mosley co-wrote the Pure Hell track “No Rules” before joining Bad Actor with the band’s drummer Spider. Mosley eventually moved to the West Coast, where he became involved in the L.A. punk scene. He played with Rik L. Rik in The Slaves, skate punk icon Duane Peters in Gunfight, and rockers The Hangmen, who were signed to Geffen Records.
Mosley teamed up with guitarist Will Bentley and drummer Max Hagen to form the bassless Neverland Ranch Davidians, whose smoldering, psychotic R’n’B sound is akin to a missing link between Blues Explosion, Suicide, and Stax Records.
Heavy Medication Records is proud to release the band’s self-titled debut album.
Comments Tex: “I’ve always loved the minimalism of Suicide, and that less-is-more approach is hardwired into the Davidians’ DNA, That’s probably why we never bothered recruiting a bass player. We’re huge fans of The Cramps and The Gories, neither of which had bass players, so we didn’t feel we needed one either.”
Pat Todd of Pat Todd & the Rankoutsiders describes the music as reminiscent of Hound Dog Taylor, Stax, James Brown, and The Rolling Stones, with a hint of Alan Vega’s art-damaged punk, but with actual songs and no cookie-cutter lo-fi artifice.
According to Bryan Small of The Hangmen, The Neverland Ranch Davidians can be described as the end destination of a rock ‘n’ roll journey that starts from downtown L.A., goes through the Deep South, up to Detroit, and down to New York City.
Heavy Medication Records is an independent rock’n’roll label founded in 2018 by an American expatriate residing in Warsaw, Poland. The label is set to release new albums by various bands, including Pat Todd & The Rankoutsiders, The Dogs (Michigan protopunk legends), Jonesy (Montreal garage-punkers), and Tramp For The Lord (an outlaw country band from the desert featuring Doug Cox, another ex-member of The Hangmen). Keep an eye out for these upcoming releases.
