Straight out of Santa Cruz, Calif., The Expendables mix diverse styles of reggae, ska and punk rock with dueling guitar solos.
The Expendables will take the stage at The Basement tonight in a show that will also feature Tomorrows Bad Seeds, Big B and Dirty Penny, all of whom are friends of the band.
“We’re going to rock, we love to party and have a good time with our fans at shows,” said Geoff Weers, guitarist and vocalist of the California surf rock band.
As a teenager, Weers honed his guitar skills in his high school jazz band, influenced by legends such as Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton.
Around that time, Weers met Adam Patterson, Raul Bianchi and Ryan DeMars.
“They all used to call each other ‘expendable’ because they thought they were so bad,” Weers said.
Weers suggested The Expendables as a name for the band and soon after became lead guitarist and vocalist of the group in 1997.
The Expendables began playing shows at college parties in their hometown as a cover band.
Before long they then began selling out shows at Santa Cruz nightclub The Catalyst, establishing themselves within the surf rock scene and jump starting their careers as professional musicians.
They have remained busy in recent years, touring with NOFX and Less Than Jake, and spent the summer of 2009 on tour with 311 on its Summer Unity amphitheater tour, which opened new doors for The Expendables.
Opting against idle time, the band went straight into the studio following its tour with 311 to begin recording in August 2009.
Five full-length studio albums and 13 years later, The Expendables have rocked hundreds of stages all over the world, including a two-night show in Guam.
“I prefer being on stage to being in the studio. I feed off the energy of the crowd, and they do the same so it’s sort of cyclical,” Weers said. “In the studio it just starts to feel like you are under a microscope.”
The Expendables are currently on tour in support of their fifth full-length album “Prove It,” which will be released nationwide May 11.
Weers said that fans can expect a warm and round sound with tighter and more refined ideas musically in the songs from “Prove It,” with a quality of instrumentation reminiscent of the 70s. The album was produced by Paul Leary, producer of artists such as Sublime, as well as NOFX guitarist El Hefe.
“Paul and El Hefe just brought a creative set of outside ears to the album as musicians and producers that just weren’t there on previous albums,” Weers said. “There are always faults in your musical sound that you may not pick up on, but having those outside ears really helped refine our sound on this album.”
The album features 17 original tracks with guest appearances by G. Love and various members of Slightly Stoopid.
“We started off playing college parties in basements and back yards so we love college towns, and we get to tour with some good buddies of ours,” Weers said. “It’s going to be a great time.”
