Tommy Guerrero, Shannon Lay, & Dan Too - Artist Spotlight
Ryan Baesemann
Tommy Guerrero
Tommy Guerrero has been playing music since the late 70's with his brother Tony. They were both raised on a steady diet of DIY punk music/ethos and skateboarding, which informed and shaped the person he is today. Since then, Guerrero has become an accomplished bassist and guitarist with influences as diverse as John Coltrane, Bad Brains, Joy Division, and Gabor Szabo.
Born in San Francisco, Guerrero joined the skate company Powell Peralta in 1984 and became one of the original members of the legendary "Bones Brigade" team. While Tommy may be better known in the world of skateboarding than music, his extensive catalogue of original tunes represent jam-driven blues rock anthems unique to themselves.
This will be TG's second time performing at DIO Fest, as he played bass with the infamous Mattson II brothers in 2015. We're stoked to have him back with his full band for this year!
Give a listen to one of TG's staple tracks in the link below:
shannon lay
We're over the moon to have Shannon Lay joining us for DIO Fest 2018. She'll have just wrapped up an extensive European tour before gracing the mountain top with her wildly intricate strumming patterns and soulful vox. Aside from that, her quirky interludes between tracks are sure to give the audience a genuine insight as to her approach to music.
She's been dominating the LA-music scene for well over the past two years, being a South Bay local and current Echo Park resident. With an established background as a punk musician, performing as the lead guitarist and back-up vocalist in Feels, her solo project is certainly a unique take. Having toured with Ty Seagal, as well as recorded an EP with Emmet Kelly at his home studio in LA, Shannon is most certainly on the rise.
Watch one of Shannon's intimate solo performances below:
Dan Too
It's been said in respectable circles that Dan Too is the bonafide personification of all things americana/alt-country rock when it comes to the Santa Cruz music scene. Dan Talamantes, the frontman and chief song writer of the group, is a longtime DIO family member and has graced our stage under his previous project Dan Juan. This is the second iteration of his musical-sauce, being Dan as well, the second Dan, or "Dan Too." The group is ripe with life, as they're currently putting the finishing touches on their debut album. In describing the sound of this production, they have affectionately taken to calling it "yacht rock."
They're a particularly tightnit outfit with a large, yet kempt sound. With Tyler Larson playing bass, Ian Parks on pedal steel and lead guitar, and John Payne holding down the drum-kit, this is arguably a central-California megaband in the making.
Their first single release, Isis and Osiris is in the link below:
