This Sunday night, California pysch-rock legends Thee Oh Sees will perform at the Hi-Tone. Originally formed in San Francisco before being priced out by the tech boom and relocating to Los Angeles, Thee Oh Sees have cranked out over 40 releases in all, including a heavy grip of LPs, a smattering of singles, and enough odds and ends to keep even the most persistent record collectors on their heels.
For the last decade and change, the one constant member through all of these releases has been John Dwyer, the band’s songwriter, mascot, and (for most releases) record label head. An unmistakable front man due to his on-stage antics that include throwing up, professional-grade headbanging, and bizzare face contortions that would make any mother proud, Dwyer has long sat atop the psych/garage-rock throne through his work with Pink and Brown, the Coachwhips, and now Thee Oh Sees.
While Thee Oh Sees’ live show is definitely the band’s calling card (a past Memphis gig involved lighter fluid-soaked, flaming cymbals), Dwyer’s capability in the studio is what sets his band apart from the throngs of psych-rock bands imitating the California party-band blueprint. Simply put, Thee Oh Sees wrote the book on fuzzed-out, trippy, modern garage rock, and their die-hard fan base is a testament to the monster Dwyer’s created.
