The Standard

As last weekend’s fantastic Grammy awards reminds us, nothing can move you like music. Well, prepare to get shook up with the fantastic line-up we have in store for you at this week’s Desert Nights at The Standard, Hollywood.

Chris Laterzo: Chris Laterzo is a Los Angeles based singer-songwriter and recording artist who is in the process of recording his fifth studio album. Originally from Colorado- and with roots in such varying places as Belgium and Massachusetts- Laterzo’s cowboy-rock style of music evokes the spirit of the open road with its romantic lyrics and loping rhythms. Follow Chris on Facebook to have a listen for yourself.

Shane Alexander: L.A.-based singer, songwriter, and guitarist Shane Alexander has drawn comparisons to everyone from Jeff Buckley to Art Garfunkel and Jackson Browne, thanks to his beautifully emotive vocal style and his haunting, finely crafted songs. Born in San Diego but raised in Maryland and Pennsylvania, Alexander took refuge from a troubled childhood in music, falling early under the spell of Simon & Garfunkel’s Greatest Hits, an influence that still slightly colors his adult work. Developing into a fine guitar player, Alexander was spotted by producer Richard Podolor, who began using him as a session guitarist on various studio projects beginning in 1994, an experience that gave Alexander an insight into how to write, shape, arrange, and record a song. The young musician next joined the band Young Art, appearing on two albums with the group before forming Damone, in turn recording an album and a four-song EP with the new band. Damone enjoyed a popular West Coast run on the club circuit before disbanding in 2003. Alexander immediately launched his solo career, releasing Shane Alexander in 2003, The Middle Way in 2005, Stargazer in 2006, and The Sky Below in 2008, all on his own independent Buddhaland Records imprint. As Alexander opened tours for the likes of Seal, Jewel, John Hiatt, Peter Case, and others, his songs began popping up on a host of TV shows, including #The Real World, #Laguna Beach, #Brothers and Sisters, #Bones, #Big Shots, #Criminal Minds, and #Wildfire, all of which helped expand the audience for Alexander’s impressive brand of melancholic Americana.

[David Serby: “Those who can not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” George Santayana wrote those words over a hundred years ago but it is a philosophy that David Serby takes to heart on his new album, Poor Man’s Poem, a song cycle set in 19th century America. It’s one of the more interesting music-world stories in recent memory. As chronicled in a Los Angeles Times cover feature a few years back, Southern California-based country singer-songwriter David Serby finally met his biological father, Pete Canton, some 40 years after Serby’s birth. Turned out that Canton is also a country musician; he’s a bassist who played with Johnny Western (and thus toured with Johnny Cash when Western was part of the Man in Black’s road show) and led Tex Williams’ band for many years. “A strange coincidence, but a happy one for sure,” says Serby. It also might go a long way toward explaining why Serby was always drawn to music despite his adoptive parents not being musically inclined. His birth father was part of L.A.’s country scene in the ’60s and ’70s, and now, 3 decades removed, Serby is a member in excellent standing of the city’s latest roots/country community. And as evidenced by his third release, the fine new “Honkytonk and Vine,” he writes and sings like a man with country music blood chugging through his veins.

What is Desert Nights?

Desert Nights is a weekly gathering at The Standard, Hollywood, hosted by KCRW’s DJ Valida. Every Wednesday, Valida curates three acoustic musical acts to perform a set in the Cactus Lounge. The vibe is warm and intimate, evoking an impromptu jam in a musician’s living room. The music begins at 7:30pm and it’s free.