Sean Genockey toured the world as guitarist with Moke in the late 90s, before making his name as a producer/engineer. Alas, even the experienced err, as Sean found out when his new project Red Racer went to record at the legendary Rancho De La Luna studios in Joshua Tree, California.
"We were so confident going out there," he laughs. "We were like, 'We'll show those desert boys what it's all about!' But when we played back our demos and we just sounded like The Monkees!"
"[Rancho De La Luna was wild. It goes to show how powerful a place like that is - the environment and the way it makes you work."
With desert rock "alchemist" David Catching and Jesse Hughes (of Eagles Of Death Metal) heading in to work on the project, the pressure was on and Sean and drummer John Hogg somehow magicked together the arid punk-rock 'n' roll songs that would become debut album, Define.
"It was wild," recalls Sean. "It goes to show how powerful a place like that is - the environment and the way it makes you work."
Now the band's fuse is lit and the tour dates are lining up. Sean's taking two 70s Hiwatt DR504s heads ("I probably shouldn't be touring them, but bollocks to it") plus an enviable collection of custom-built Roger Mayer pedals to power his live sound. There's even a custom Red Racer guitar on the way from Peerless.
"We're writing all the time, too," enthuses Sean. "It's none of this 'lifetime to make the first album, a year to make the second.' We wrote this in three weeks - that theory's out the window!"
For fans of: Queens Of The Stone Age, first-wave punk
Hear: Put It Out
