Dead Rock West draws its sound from the leadership of vocalist Cindy Wasserman and singer-guitarist Frank Lee Drennen, delivering jangly West Coast alt-country that occasionally veers into pop and punk, recalling the Gram Parsons-era Byrds crossed with the edge of L.A.’s X. The group came together in 2002 and features multi-instrumentalist Phil Parlapiano on mandolin and organ, drummer Bryan Head, and bassist David J. Carpenter, all of whom carry deep roots in the Southern California rock and roots community. Past projects for the members include stints with the Hatchet Brothers, the Troubled Sleepers, Abandoned Pools, the Brothers Figaro, and Loam, where Drennen remains a central figure. Wasserman has toured alongside Grant Lee Phillips, while Parlapiano’s résumé includes work with Grant Lee Buffalo, Tracy Chapman, Lucinda Williams, Rod Stewart, and Social Distortion. That accumulated experience fueled the band’s debut, Honey and Salt, cut straight to 2" tape and mixed by Grammy-winner Richard Dodd before Populuxe Records issued it in 2007. The album’s eclectic range, shaped by Flying Burrito Brothers-style textures meeting X’s rawness yet benefiting from polished production, highlights the rich vocal harmonies between Drennen and Wasserman and earned favorable critical notice. In 2011 the duo released Bright Morning Stars, focusing on spiritually themed material that drew heavily from traditional sources. Two years later they issued the energetic tribute It’s Everly Time!, and in 2017 John Doe produced their next studio effort, More Love, which Omnivore put out.
