Powered Wig Machine

The desert occupies a sentimental corner within the ever growing pantheon of rock and roll. From America to Kyuss, the endless tracts of sun baked landscape have kindled a sense of mysticism and adventure inside the souls of many musicians who pass through it on the lonely highways or call it a home. Desolate, parched, and drab…yes, the desert is all of these things on the surface, but when one digs into the music borne from the mind opening freedom of its deep blue sky, an indelible sound is discovered. It is the gritty haze of the midday heat and the cool, quiet breeze of midnight distilled into the driving groove of the southern latitudes… it is the sound and place inhabited by Powered Wig Machine.

Formed circa 2006, these four desert rock dealers hailing from Sierra Vista, AZ tore a page out of the “How To Rock” pamphlet authored by the forefathers of the genre and inked a few new earnest lines of boldly colorful notes upon it. Heavy with the blues and some respectful nods to the heyday of the 1970s, Powered Wig Machine quickly became a versatile musical force of the region with their ability to steamroll an audience with the bone rattling crunch of the riff or to mesmerize them with the chilled out vibes of a jazzy interlude. The music simply knocks on the inner ear with a smiling, utterly approachable charisma that entertains in conjunction with the oddball imagery and wordplay of the lyrics.

Consisting of the brothers Rudell: Wayne on guitar and vocals, Joey on bass and backing vocals; plus drummer Daniel Graves and guitarist Brian Gold, Powered Wig Machine loosed their first fuzzed out arrow of rock fury via 2009’s Bearded Goddess EP, which featured songs like the jauntily stomping ‘Mullet Man’ and the playful swagger step of ‘Recipe for Badass’. Tirelessly jamming all across the Southwest for years afterward while working on new material and side projects, the band experienced an amicable split with guitarist Brian Gold, who left to found Primrose Studios and focus on his recording career, but remained as the band’s “fifth Beatle” who contributed much, including organ performances during recording sessions. Guitarist Dusty Hinke from Tucson heavy groove merchants Yeti Ender joined the band shortly after Brian’s change of roles and Powered Wig Machine kept the tills of tune making turning, releasing their first full length album Supa-Collider in March 2014.

While the Bearded Goddess EP was a glimpse behind the mirage on the horizon, Supa-Collider was the sound of Powered Wig Machine unveiled in full clarity and focus as it bounded out of the speakers like a tequila drenched wildcat riding along the edge of a dust storm. Confident and tight in both performance and writing, songs such as the deep and bluesy ‘At the Helms of Hades’, the straight rocker ‘Here Come the Freaks’, or epic album closer ‘The Brain of Hank Pym’ showcased the broad spectrum of sound and tone developed over the years since the band’s first release.

Now, as 2014 draws to a close, Powered Wig Machine is once again riding the show circuit in support of Supa-Collider, which will be released as a deluxe LP with an all new bonus track in early 2015 via Battleground Records. From there the band will continue to devise a little more of the musical lightning they’ve generated over the last eight years as a group of musicians who proudly sport the dusty sleeves of that heavy western desert rock.