Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

I need a bigger amp!

There’s no joy like the new Joy record, Under the Spell of Joy. Just ask Zach.
There’s no joy like the new Joy record, Under the Spell of Joy. Just ask Zach.

Nik Turner, Hawkwind founder, amphetamine mystic of space rock, nominally of England but probably from a few solar systems over, has been known to sport full-head makeup, paisley camouflage, and alien armature. But according to Zach Oakley of San Diego’s own hydrogen-bomb-ignited intergalactic rockers Joy, Turner can be disarmingly down-to-earth.

“Another band I play in, Artifact,” Oakley remembers, “opened for Nik when he played San Diego about a year ago. We put him and his band up for the night and he hung out and jammed, so I guess we hit it off right away....

“He played saxophone and flute on the [Joy] record. His sax solo on ‘Confusion’ is killer! My favorite is the flute that he put down on the acoustic tune ‘Death Hymn Blues.’ Overall, Nik is a righteous musician, a friendly and caring person and a total pleasure to work with.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Joy’s titled their new album, Under the Spell of Joy, no relation to their first album, Joy. “The first record was simple,” explains Oakley. “We played it all live, straight to tape without too many overdubs. From start to finish, I think the new album has a wider range of tempos and rhythms and it even has a couple of acoustic tracks. Under the Spell of Joy ebbs and flows, which I think makes it more psychedelic than the first record.”

For Under the Spell, elaborates the guitarist, things got weirder. “The more, the merrier and whoever was willing to come out and play got to put down whatever they wanted. I was super stoked to have Parker Griggs [of Radio Moscow] play on the album. He’s one of the best blues guitar players around and put some hefty licks on the final track of the record ‘Back to the Sun.’ Brian Ellis [of Astra] plays organ and sax on a few tunes as well, and did a killer job mixing and putting the whole thing together.”

Past Event

Nik Turner's Hawkwind, Witch Mountain

  • Thursday, August 28, 2014, 8 p.m.
  • Casbah, 2501 Kettner Boulevard, San Diego
  • 21+

Asked about Joy’s influences, Oakley waxes candid: “Blue Cheer and Hawkwind are the fundamentals. What we are doing wouldn’t exist without those dudes. Earthless freaked us out — in the best of ways! — the first time they had us on a show with them as opener. I remember thinking, Shit, I need a bigger amp! I think that might also be a reason for the Blue Cheer comparison; we are a very, very loud live band.”

Nik Turner’s Hawkwind blows into Casbah on August 28.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Oceanside toughens up Harbor Beach

Tighter hours on fire rings, more cops, maybe cameras
Next Article

Trump disses digital catapults

Biden likes General Atomics drones
There’s no joy like the new Joy record, Under the Spell of Joy. Just ask Zach.
There’s no joy like the new Joy record, Under the Spell of Joy. Just ask Zach.

Nik Turner, Hawkwind founder, amphetamine mystic of space rock, nominally of England but probably from a few solar systems over, has been known to sport full-head makeup, paisley camouflage, and alien armature. But according to Zach Oakley of San Diego’s own hydrogen-bomb-ignited intergalactic rockers Joy, Turner can be disarmingly down-to-earth.

“Another band I play in, Artifact,” Oakley remembers, “opened for Nik when he played San Diego about a year ago. We put him and his band up for the night and he hung out and jammed, so I guess we hit it off right away....

“He played saxophone and flute on the [Joy] record. His sax solo on ‘Confusion’ is killer! My favorite is the flute that he put down on the acoustic tune ‘Death Hymn Blues.’ Overall, Nik is a righteous musician, a friendly and caring person and a total pleasure to work with.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Joy’s titled their new album, Under the Spell of Joy, no relation to their first album, Joy. “The first record was simple,” explains Oakley. “We played it all live, straight to tape without too many overdubs. From start to finish, I think the new album has a wider range of tempos and rhythms and it even has a couple of acoustic tracks. Under the Spell of Joy ebbs and flows, which I think makes it more psychedelic than the first record.”

For Under the Spell, elaborates the guitarist, things got weirder. “The more, the merrier and whoever was willing to come out and play got to put down whatever they wanted. I was super stoked to have Parker Griggs [of Radio Moscow] play on the album. He’s one of the best blues guitar players around and put some hefty licks on the final track of the record ‘Back to the Sun.’ Brian Ellis [of Astra] plays organ and sax on a few tunes as well, and did a killer job mixing and putting the whole thing together.”

Past Event

Nik Turner's Hawkwind, Witch Mountain

  • Thursday, August 28, 2014, 8 p.m.
  • Casbah, 2501 Kettner Boulevard, San Diego
  • 21+

Asked about Joy’s influences, Oakley waxes candid: “Blue Cheer and Hawkwind are the fundamentals. What we are doing wouldn’t exist without those dudes. Earthless freaked us out — in the best of ways! — the first time they had us on a show with them as opener. I remember thinking, Shit, I need a bigger amp! I think that might also be a reason for the Blue Cheer comparison; we are a very, very loud live band.”

Nik Turner’s Hawkwind blows into Casbah on August 28.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

The Art Of Dr. Seuss, Boarded: A New Pirate Adventure, Wild Horses Festival

Events December 26-December 30, 2024
Next Article

Mary Catherine Swanson wants every San Diego student going to college

Where busing from Southeast San Diego to University City has led
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader