Biography
The San Diego power trio Earthless fuses ingredients drawn from classic rock, psychedelia, electric jazz, and Krautrock. Guitarist Isaiah Mitchell, bassist Mike Eginton, and drummer Mario Rubalcaba form the group. Although their 2005 release Sonic Prayer contained no vocals whatsoever, Rhythms from a Cosmic Sky two years later added a sung version of the Groundhogs’ “Cherry Red.” Following the 2008 concert set Live at Roadburn, the musicians continued to favor live documents until the studio album From the Ages appeared in 2013. Black Heaven, issued in 2018, marked the first time they committed original vocal material to tape in a studio setting; that record was succeeded by From the West, captured onstage at San Francisco’s Great American Music Hall. In 2021 the band resurfaced with Live in the Mojave Desert, Vol. 1, a program of three extended instrumentals that runs close to eighty minutes.
Earthless came together in 2001 when three active players decided to collaborate. Drummer Mario Rubalcaba, also known as Ruby Mars, already belonged to Rocket from the Crypt and had earlier stints with Black Heart Procession, Hot Snakes, the Sultans, and Clikatat Ikatowi. Bassist Mike Eginton had performed with Electric Nazarene. Longtime friends, the two also co-owned San Diego’s Thirsty Moon record store when they encountered guitar teacher Isaiah Mitchell, whose résumé included Nebula and Drunk Horse. The three shared deep admiration for the Krautrock of Amon Düül II, Can, and Faust together with vintage Japanese and American psychedelia, hard rock, and proto-metal. Scheduling conflicts created by Rubalcaba’s other projects made rehearsals sporadic, yet they managed to stage their debut performance—later issued digitally as Earthless: Live at the Casbah 08/12/2004—whose organic interplay merged substantial hard-rock riffs and vamps with fluid improvisation and shifting textural space. The following year Gravity Records, run by Matt Anderson, released their first studio effort, Sonic Prayer. Regional West Coast appearances accompanied widespread international acclaim for the album. Their next outing, 2007’s Rhythms from a Cosmic Sky on Tee Pee, comprised a six-part suite, the expansive title track, and Mitchell’s vocal reading of “Cherry Red.” Critics and listeners responded favorably, and the album earned a nomination for Best Hard Rock Album at the San Diego Music Awards—where it ultimately lost to Sonic Prayer, itself also nominated—while the band collected the Best Hard Rock Artist prize.
That March they appeared at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, then launched a European tour in the spring. Originally booked for a 200-person club at Holland’s Roadburn Festival in Tilburg, the trio was asked mid-setup to fill the main stage after headliners Isis performed only half their allotted two-hour set. Earthless accepted, astonished the larger audience, and left to a ten-minute standing ovation; only afterward did they learn the performance had been recorded. Tee Pee later arranged with festival organizers to issue the set as Live at Roadburn.
Nearly three years of touring followed those releases. In 2009 the band crossed North America alongside Witch and then headlined their own dates. Spring and summer 2010 found them in the U.K. and Europe with Russian Circles; November and December brought support slots for Baroness before a headline Australian run. At home, new obligations complicated rehearsals: Rubalcaba joined Off! while Mitchell moved to Northern California and entered Howlin’ Rain.
Their third studio album, From the Ages, surfaced in 2013 after minimal preparation, relying instead on established live rapport. Headline touring occupied most of the next eighteen months. A spontaneous 2014 Roadburn jam with Heavy Blanket yielded In a Dutch Haze, followed in 2015 by the concert albums Live at Freak Valley and Live at Tym Guitars, Brisbane Australia. The next year saw the split EP Acid Crusher/Mount Swan with Harsh Toke. Nuclear Blast issued the fourth studio album, Black Heaven, in 2018; produced by David Catching, it incorporated Mitchell’s vocals as an integral element for the first time. Extensive touring occupied much of 2019, and in November Mitchell participated in the Black Crowes’ thirtieth-anniversary reunion shows.
Early in 2021 the group live-streamed, filmed, and recorded five multimedia performances at a natural amphitheater in California’s Mojave Desert, accompanied by the Mad Alchemy Liquid Light Show. Heavy Psych Sounds released the resulting Live in the Mojave Desert, Vol. 1 in April of that year.
Earthless came together in 2001 when three active players decided to collaborate. Drummer Mario Rubalcaba, also known as Ruby Mars, already belonged to Rocket from the Crypt and had earlier stints with Black Heart Procession, Hot Snakes, the Sultans, and Clikatat Ikatowi. Bassist Mike Eginton had performed with Electric Nazarene. Longtime friends, the two also co-owned San Diego’s Thirsty Moon record store when they encountered guitar teacher Isaiah Mitchell, whose résumé included Nebula and Drunk Horse. The three shared deep admiration for the Krautrock of Amon Düül II, Can, and Faust together with vintage Japanese and American psychedelia, hard rock, and proto-metal. Scheduling conflicts created by Rubalcaba’s other projects made rehearsals sporadic, yet they managed to stage their debut performance—later issued digitally as Earthless: Live at the Casbah 08/12/2004—whose organic interplay merged substantial hard-rock riffs and vamps with fluid improvisation and shifting textural space. The following year Gravity Records, run by Matt Anderson, released their first studio effort, Sonic Prayer. Regional West Coast appearances accompanied widespread international acclaim for the album. Their next outing, 2007’s Rhythms from a Cosmic Sky on Tee Pee, comprised a six-part suite, the expansive title track, and Mitchell’s vocal reading of “Cherry Red.” Critics and listeners responded favorably, and the album earned a nomination for Best Hard Rock Album at the San Diego Music Awards—where it ultimately lost to Sonic Prayer, itself also nominated—while the band collected the Best Hard Rock Artist prize.
That March they appeared at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, then launched a European tour in the spring. Originally booked for a 200-person club at Holland’s Roadburn Festival in Tilburg, the trio was asked mid-setup to fill the main stage after headliners Isis performed only half their allotted two-hour set. Earthless accepted, astonished the larger audience, and left to a ten-minute standing ovation; only afterward did they learn the performance had been recorded. Tee Pee later arranged with festival organizers to issue the set as Live at Roadburn.
Nearly three years of touring followed those releases. In 2009 the band crossed North America alongside Witch and then headlined their own dates. Spring and summer 2010 found them in the U.K. and Europe with Russian Circles; November and December brought support slots for Baroness before a headline Australian run. At home, new obligations complicated rehearsals: Rubalcaba joined Off! while Mitchell moved to Northern California and entered Howlin’ Rain.
Their third studio album, From the Ages, surfaced in 2013 after minimal preparation, relying instead on established live rapport. Headline touring occupied most of the next eighteen months. A spontaneous 2014 Roadburn jam with Heavy Blanket yielded In a Dutch Haze, followed in 2015 by the concert albums Live at Freak Valley and Live at Tym Guitars, Brisbane Australia. The next year saw the split EP Acid Crusher/Mount Swan with Harsh Toke. Nuclear Blast issued the fourth studio album, Black Heaven, in 2018; produced by David Catching, it incorporated Mitchell’s vocals as an integral element for the first time. Extensive touring occupied much of 2019, and in November Mitchell participated in the Black Crowes’ thirtieth-anniversary reunion shows.
Early in 2021 the group live-streamed, filmed, and recorded five multimedia performances at a natural amphitheater in California’s Mojave Desert, accompanied by the Mad Alchemy Liquid Light Show. Heavy Psych Sounds released the resulting Live in the Mojave Desert, Vol. 1 in April of that year.
Singles
Live
