Mapache

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8PM – Doors
9PM – Show

MAPACHE
Roscoe is a road dog. The 14-year-old Boston Terrier has been there for the whole ride of Mapache, Clay Finch and Sam Blasucci’s band, which has grown from being the casual project of two longtime buds to one of the most formidable cosmic-folk acts around. “Roscoe’s been through a lot of shit,” says Blasucci, the dog’s formal owner. “He’s been all around the country, come on tour a little bit.” With some bemused pride, Finch points out that, for a few years, he and Blasucci bunked together in a room in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles that was just big enough to fit two twin beds. “It was the two of us and the dog,” he laughs.
Naturally, Roscoe has found himself the subject of a good handful of Mapache songs in the past—and on Roscoe’s Dream, the band’s third LP of originals, he takes center stage. (That’s him in quilt form on the album cover.) “I Love My Dog” opens up the album with a blissed-out stack of acoustic guitars and a lyrical explanation of one of Roscoe’s many talents: “I love my dog / Keepin’ the policeman out.”
Just as much an easygoing trip with Gram Parsons into the desert as a mad dash with the Grateful Dead away from the law, Roscoe’s Dream is the purest distillation yet of the distinct Mapache sound, which has been brewing for many years now. Finch and Blasucci first met as students at La Cañada High School, just north of Los Angeles: “There wasn’t much supervision or anything,” remembers Blasucci. “It was really nice. And we got to just play guitars together.”
The two stayed friends through their college years—Finch went to Chico State and Blasucci spent two years as a missionary in Mexico—and eventually they ended up back in L.A., spending their days playing guitar together once again, just like old times. Working with producer/engineer Dan Horne (Cass McCombs, Allah-Lahs), they recorded two albums of originals (2017’s Mapache and 2020’s From Liberty Street) as well an album of covers, 2021’s 3. Often trading solos, and occasionally switching from English to Spanish, Finch and Blasucci are now a well-oiled machine.

JOHNNY PAYNE
Johnny Payne is in it for the music. He’d much rather be in the public ear than the public eye. So we’ll just introduce him to you and let his new album speak for itself. 
Johnny spent much of his 20’s in The Shilohs. He wrote and produced more than half of the band’s material that contributed to 3 full length albums and an assortment of other releases. 
Since leaving the group a few years ago, he has been producing, recording for film and quietly releasing his own music. One such release was the much loved “Johnny” EP, which was recorded and co-produced by Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley of Tennis. 
Johnny has always had a keen ear for melody, harmony and production but he has also always been a performer. He can play just about any instrument you hand him and he usually takes care of all the vocal parts too. 
Johnny has been laying low the past couple of years but his latest album, “King of Cups” is all Johnny Payne. He wrote it, arranged it and produced it, and we can tell you, it’s his best work to date. 
We know Johnny couldn’t care less about getting into “Who’s Who,” but at least soon he will be out of “Who’s he?”