Alma Desnuda Reaches Our Naked Souls

Wow, it was a fantastic long weekend for music!  I almost wish I could’ve been in many places at once, and yet I am glad I was not; for Saturday night’s line up at Saint Rocke, Hermosa Beach, turned me on to a wonderful group of guys by the name Alma Desnuda: translating from Spanish to Naked Soul.  This uplifting San Francisco based band transcended our hardened, worn exteriors, reminding us in the audience that throughout this complicated life we can still be well balanced, beautiful humans.

Alma Desnuda is an extremely energetic and positive band that uplifts and connects with their audience. They deliver their message through a diverse myriad of acoustic sound and a collage of percussive instrumentation.  Their highly energetic live presence takes the music through many transitions, ranging from the casual and bubbly to more heavily driven jams; an eclectic sound with funky riffs and apparent reggae vibes.  Alma’s strong, clear vocals speak of  consciousness, living a rich life, seeking balance, and the moment; our moment. The resolute lyrics are powerful, contemplative, hopeful, and therapeutic.  These boys aren’t afraid to harmonize or chant vocalizations either (or sing in Spanish).  It is clear that this band comes to us with a purpose, one which they’ve chosen to convey through their effectual music.  ”Every single day of this life is a gift, cuz one day we’re not gona be here (Alma Desnuda, introducing a song Saturday night).”

I feel compelled to tell a quick side story here as well.  During Alma’s Saturday night set, while I was jotting down notes in the low light upon the table next to me, a friendly dude sitting at the table kept pushing a candle closer to my paper to help illuminate my efforts.  Asking me if I knew the name of the band, he and his lady confessed that they had only come there for dinner, but had been captivated by the music and decided to stay through the entire set.  The guy was super stoked on the band and expressed his surprise and delight in their “very talented, diverse” sound. While I was speaking with the band outside after the show, the same guy comes up with Alma Desnuda’s new album in hand (Middleway), raving about their set.  He shared that he has some friends at Brushfire Records (Jack Johnson’s label) and that he’d be putting the disc into their hands.  During this encounter it was eventually divulged that this same cool dude who’d graciously offered me his candle, was Byron McMackin – the drummer of a little old group named Pennywise!  On his way out, Byron pointed at me and said, “Make sure you write these guys a good review.” Well, for now I hope I did  Alma Desnuda a bit of introductory justice, but I’ll have to let their music speak the rest for itself: I’m sincerely delighted to welcome this wonderful band to Dirty Hippie Radio - look for them soon!

~Dirty Jeff