Daily Dose: Temple of Switches – Desert Sands

Temple of Switches is from the Central Coast of California. The core members, Kevin McConnell(keys and vocals), Jay Heffner(drums) and Mike Monda(guitar and backing vocals) have known each other for decades and had played music together in “Jam” bands back in the late 70’s and early 80’s. The three reunited in mid-2012 to create what is now Temple of Switches.

The two primary writers Kevin and Mike are on opposite sides of the fence when it comes to their approach to music. Mike likes the dark and dissonant and would rather not play at all than compromise. Kevin, on the other hand, is perfectly at home in the pop genre with a desire to appeal to the millions.

Lyrically Mike draws from pain and sadness and typically paints a cloudy picture whereas Kevin is the inspiring optimist with his fist in the air. On songs like “Desert Sands” and “The Positive side (part two), there is almost an outright conversation between the two where the song dwells on the sad and hopeless until Kevin steps in to let us know that it’s not that bad, and that everything will be alright in the end.

The result is a perfect blend of dark and beautiful, melodic and dissonant, power and finesse. Decidedly retro sounding with rich Hammond organ tones through a gritty old Leslie, and every guitar sound in the book.

For the rhythm section, Jay’s approach to drumming is powerful and at the same time complex and full of creative fills (Neal Peart fans take note). Since the band’s inception a few years ago finding the right bass player had been quite a dilemma, cycling through more than a handful of people, with Mikes brother Joe traveling over 300 miles to fill in when needed, and eventually recording the bass tracks for their debut CD.

SOURCE: Official Bio

LINK:
https://www.templeofswitches.com/