Let me fire this one off with this editorial description about the Space Apaches.

"Kinda like a psychedelic Eagles with a sense of humor..." The Space Apaches create music that makes you feel good! Authentic music, recorded more like Steely Dan albums than contemporary productions. The Space Apaches is composed of talented Asheville, NC session (studio) players that put together really cool, meticulously-crafted rock music fused with a "spaced out" country vibe. The songs are upbeat and take you to a place of "feeling great!" They even do a few cool covers like "Just Dropped In" and a gothic rendition of "Ghost Riders in the Sky" guaranteed to increase your IQ algorithmically! One listen reveals the truth... Whoa!

After repeated listens to this album, these guys aren't messing around as this description sums up Space Apaches pretty well.

Clearly that's not enough though because there's still a lot more going on with this band and their album Smokin' Voyages.

For one, any band can throw a dart at a wall full of ideas or if they prefer, draw them from a hat, which it seems is how these guys might have executed their brand. Except that I'm pretty sure they do like smoking dope and they also like stuff about space, which makes me think they put a little more effort into what they wanted.

And really, the peace symbol necklace is a complete turn off as these guys aren't Earth, Wind or Fire, but they are campy so it's okay again.

Smokin' Voyages starts off rocking out from the get go, with the simple enough arena rock-styled track Sunrise.
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It isn't especially artistic or has a powerful message behind it, it's just a great way to fire off the album's energy.

But the second song takes a more unexpected turn, but not before Space Apache's set off that Pearl Jam trigger which was set up in me back in the 90's, when they open the track with the rapid rock strumming of an acoustic guitar. A moment that isn't very long but for me, quickly confirms they know significant moments in rock history.

That mentioned 'unexpected turn' comes in the form of a completely original chorus that doesn't fall into the basic rock format showing the first signs of their song writing skills, no matter how Space Apaches are packaged.

And by the time the third track comes around, they've already set in motion everything they need to hold a listener's attention with the very melodic track Empty.

I don't need to tell you that I expected less to come from this as it's not a big deal to be dismissive of bands like this.

Space Apaches take a walk
Okay, they might look douchey from a distance, but they're really just about having a good time! But then again, even if they are douchey, I would say they earned it. [image courtesy of Independent Music Promotions]
You know, the douchey rocker types?

But that's a shallow characterization because, these guys have a lot more going on than what we're seeing on the surface.

For instance, I'm already suspicious that they're possibly another band I reviewed some time back. Which if true, they've already proven themselves to be quite the oddity and become one of faves.

Space Apaches still taps into more of their signature sound with Desert Life. And of the videos they've produced, this one is as weird and quirky as they get while they retain their creative edge.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asBghTJ2EMU[/embed]

They're campy through and through, but with some serious musicianship and song writing chops.

Alright so these guys are studio musicians who are probably walking encyclopedias of rock music history who have some love for The Doors which I hear in Desert Life with those Riders On The Storm keyboards.

It's probably safe for me to assume that these guys put on a fun show especially when I visualize them playing their instrumental Breakin' The Ice, jamming out on the keyboards in that Santana style, which they actually double-down on in the following track simply called Smile.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3kT4NNuqC0[/embed]
And those have to be two of my favorite tracks on the album where they have a include a little bit of everything, I like about Space Apaches.

And in case the Space Apaches are reading this and feel you've hit a bit of a lull in compliments being sent your way, here's where I tip my hat to you sirs for creating a great musical atmosphere with tongue in cheek; your planning behind this entire endeavor has not been wasted.

But that's clearly not enough for these guys because they still have to show us how they pull off their rendition of Just Dropped In, which we'll all remember as the bowling ball sequence in The Big Lubowski via Kenny Rogers.
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My goal is now is to find a bar where skanks go to play, see if this thing is on the eCast jukebox.

SoundCloud,

Amazon,

Facebook,

@SpaceApaches,

Official Site

"Space Apaches 'Smokin' Voyages' Is A Creative Toke On The Rock Standard" by incendiaryAmerican is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Based on a work at http://wp.me/p6VWlN-OJ.

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