Rancho De La Luna is a recording studio in

Joshua Tree, California Joshua Tree is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Bernardino County, California, San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population was 7,414 at the 2010 census. At approximately above sea level, Joshua Tree and its surrounding c ...

that was founded in 1993 by

Fred Drake Fred Drake (January 28, 1958 – June 20, 2002) was an American musician best known as a founding member of earthlings?. Drake is also renowned for having been co-owner (along with Dave Catching) of Rancho De La Luna, the setting for the colla ...

and

David Catching David Catching (born June 7, 1961) is an American musician from Memphis, Tennessee. He is a founding member of the California stoner rock band earthlings?, a touring member of Eagles of Death Metal and the co-founder of the Rancho De La Luna re ...

. After Drake's death in 2002 to cancer, the studio was operated by

and Drake's collaborators Tony Mason,

Ted Quinn Teddy "Ted" Quinn (born November 12, 1958, in La Porte, Indiana) is an American musician, record producer, radio personality and actor. As Teddy Quinn, he was a child actor who appeared in many commercials, films, and television shows of the 1 ...

Dean Chamberlain Dean Chamberlain is a photographer who specializes in unique lighting effects and extended exposure times. Famous models for his pictures sit for up to five hours as he leaves the camera shutter open and "paints" the space around them with carried ...

, Billy Bizeau and Fred Burke until 2004. It has since doubled as Catching's home, where he has been known to cook for bands, as well as produce records. The studio is cited as everything in it being "weird, but functional", filled with idiosyncratic recording gear and a raw desert vibe curated by studio owner (and guitarist) Dave Catching. It is most well known for being the home of the

Desert Sessions The Desert Sessions are a musical collective series, founded by Josh Homme in 1997. Artists such as Brant Bjork, PJ Harvey, Twiggy Ramirez, Dave Catching, Nick Oliveri, Mark Lanegan, John McBain, Ben Shepherd, Josh Freese, Chris Goss, Alain Jo ...

. (including sessions with

Josh Homme Joshua Michael Homme ( ; born May 17, 1973) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the founder, primary songwriter, and only continuous member of the rock band Queens of the Stone Age, which he form ...

, Alain Johannes, Natasha Schneider, Dean Ween, Twiggy Ramirez,

Joey Castillo Joseph William Castillo (born March 30, 1966) is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known for being the drummer of the hard rock band Queens of the Stone Age from 2002 to 2012. He is currently a member of Circle Jerks, The Bronx an ...

, Pete Stahl,

Mario Lalli is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creat ...

Troy van Leeuwen Troy Van Leeuwen (born January 5, 1970) is an American musician and record producer. He is best known as a guitarist and multi-instrumentalist in the rock band Queens of the Stone Age, with whom he has recorded four studio albums. Joining the ba ...

, Nick Oliveri, Brant Bjork,

Chris Goss Christopher Ryan Goss (born August 17, 1958) is an American record producer and musician. Best known for producing records for Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age, he is regarded as an important figure in the development of stoner rock and deser ...

Ben Shepherd Hunter Benedict Shepherd (born September 20, 1968) is an American musician, best known as the bassist of the rock band Soundgarden from 1990 to 2019. Shepherd has won two Grammy Awards as a member of Soundgarden. Early life Shepherd was bor ...

Alfredo Hernandez Alfredo (, ) is a cognate of the Anglo-Saxon name Alfred and a common Italian, Galician, Portuguese and Spanish language personal name. People with the given name include: *Alfredo (born 1946), Brazilian footballer born as Alfredo Mostarda Filho ...

, Brian O'Connor, Jesse Hughes) According to Catching: "There is something about this studio. Everyone that's been here and recorded here feels it, so there is something to it. Maybe it's just all the love that's here from over the years. People do freak out about the drum room: they say it's the best drum sound they have gotten—even the engineers." Catching has talked about the special nature of the studio in multiple sources. and due to the pastoral and unique location it is a favorite spot for tech gear spotlights. Many artists have talked about the relaxed and easy nature of the studio, citing the lack of distraction and easy availability of unique and interesting instruments as welcoming and unique. Alain Johannes explains: "Everything is the opposite of a, quote-unquote, professional studio: 'What is this – are you sure it's a mic? It looks like a grenade…' You plug it in… find out if it goes off."

Notable bands and artists to record at the Rancho De La Luna

* Arctic Monkeys *

Barb Wire Dolls The Barb Wire Dolls are a grunge/ punk rock band from Greece, based in the United States. They were championed by Lemmy on whose personal record label (a subsidiary of Warner Music Group) their third and fourth albums were released. History The ...

* Brant Bjork * Bingo's Dream Band *

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* Daniel Lanois *

Dave Grohl David Eric Grohl (born January 14, 1969) is an American musician. He is the founder of the rock band Foo Fighters, in which he is the lead singer, guitarist, and principal songwriter. Prior to forming Foo Fighters, he was the drummer of gru ...

(including sessions with

, Alain Johannes, Natasha Schneider, Dean Ween, Twiggy Ramirez,

, Pete Stahl,

, Nick Oliveri, Brant Bjork,

, Brian O'Connor, Jesse Hughes) *

Dot Hacker Dot Hacker is an American experimental rock band from California, formed in 2008. The band consists of Josh Klinghoffer (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Clint Walsh (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Jonathan Hischke (bass) and Eric Gardner (drums ...

The Duke Spirit The Duke Spirit are an English rock band based in London. Their sound has been seen as a melding of influences ranging from alternative rock bands such as The Jesus and Mary Chain and Spiritualized, the tremulous rock'n'roll of bands such as The ...

Eagles of Death Metal Eagles of Death Metal is an American rock band from Palm Desert, California, formed in 1998. Founded by Jesse Hughes (vocals, guitar) and Josh Homme (drums), the band also includes a wide range of other musicians who perform both on the band's ...

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earthlings? earthlings? is an American psychedelic rock band based in Joshua Tree, California. The band includes members from Queens of the Stone Age, Desert Sessions, Eagles of Death Metal, Kyuss, Masters of Reality, Goatsnake, The Twilight Singers, Gu ...

Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster (often referred to as Eighties Matchbox, 80s Matchbox, TEMBD, TEMBLD or shortened to just Eighties or 80s) were an English rock band from Brighton, formed in 1999. They released three albums, ''Hörse of t ...

* Fatso Jetson *

Foo Fighters Foo Fighters are an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Foo Fighters was initially formed as a one-man project by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. Following the success of the eponymous debut album, Grohl (lead vocals, guitar) re ...

featuring Joe Walsh *

Fu Manchu Dr. Fu Manchu () is a supervillain who was introduced in a series of novels by the English author Sax Rohmer beginning shortly before World War I and continuing for another forty years. The character featured in cinema, television, radio, comic ...

* The Gama Sennin *

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*Giraffe (disambiguation) {{DEFAULTSORT:Giraffes, The ...

* Goatsnake * Gutter Twins (

Mark Lanegan Mark William Lanegan (November 25, 1964 – February 22, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter, and poet. First becoming prominent as the lead singer for the early grunge band Screaming Trees, he was also known as a member of Queens of the St ...

and

Greg Dulli Greg Dulli (born May 11, 1965) is an American musician from Hamilton, Ohio. Debuting as a member of the rock band the Afghan Whigs in 1986, Dulli has been a member of the Twilight Singers, Gutter Twins, and in 2020 released his debut solo albu ...

) * Household Gods (

David Pajo David Pajo (born June 25, 1968) is an American alternative rock musician. He has played a wide variety of music, loosely fitting into several other genres such as hardcore punk, math rock, post-rock, electronica, folk rock and indie pop. Though ...

Slint Slint was an American rock band from Louisville, Kentucky, formed in 1986. The band consisted of guitarist and vocalist Brian McMahan, guitarist David Pajo, drummer and vocalist Britt Walford, Todd Brashear (bassist on ''Spiderland''), and Etha ...

, Vern Rumsey of Unwound) * Hulk *

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of ...

* John McBain *

Josh Freese Joshua Ryan Freese (born December 25, 1972) is an American session drummer. He is the son of tuba soloist Stan Freese and the older brother of musician Jason Freese. He is a member of the Vandals (since 1989) and Devo (since 1996), having forme ...

Kurt Vile Kurt Samuel Vile (born January 3, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He is known for his solo work and as the former lead guitarist of rock band the War on Drugs. Both in the studio and during li ...

* Kyuss *

Masters of Reality Masters of Reality is an American rock band formed in 1981 by frontman Chris Goss and guitarist Tim Harrington in Syracuse, New York, United States. They took the name for the band from a misprinted label of the third Black Sabbath album. Goss ...

Mondo Generator Mondo Generator (sometimes known as Nick Oliveri and the Mondo Generator) is an American rock band founded in 1997 by Nick Oliveri. History Formation and ''Cocaine Rodeo'' (1997–2002) Nick Oliveri (under the moniker ''Rex Everything'') fo ...

* Midget Handjob featuring

Keith Morris Keith Morris (born September 18, 1955) is an American singer and songwriter known for his role as frontman of the hardcore punk bands Black Flag, Circle Jerks, and Off!. Born and raised in Hermosa Beach, California, he formed Black Flag at the ...

Mojave Lords
*

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* Nine50nine featuring Dave Krusen and Ty Willman * Philiac *

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PJ Harvey Polly Jean Harvey (born 9 October 1969) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments. Harvey began her career in 1988 when she joined loca ...

Queens of the Stone Age Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated QOTSA) is an American rock band formed in 1996 in Palm Desert, California. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme, who has been the only constant member throughout multiple line- ...

Skegss Skegss are an Australian surf and garage rock trio originally from Byron Bay, New South Wales. The band's line-up consists of Toby Cregan (bass, vocals, guitar), Jonny Lani (drums) and Ben Reed (vocals, guitar, bass). They have released sever ...

* Sky Valley Mistress *

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Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...

* Tinariwen * Twilight Singers * UNKLE * Victoria Williams *

Wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. As ...

Rancho De La Luna Mezcal

In 2016,

and Bingo Richey released a signature brand of Mezcal named after the studio. Built, in part, off of the "massive consumption" of liquor at the studio for sessions.

Rancho De La Luna in other media

The studio was also the focus of the fifth episode of the

Sonic Highways series

Anthony Bourdain Anthony Michael Bourdain (; June 25, 1956 – June 8, 2018) was an American celebrity chef, author, and travel documentarian who starred in programs focusing on the exploration of international culture, cuisine, and the human condition. Bourdai ...

filmed a
episode
of No Reservations at the Rancho De La Luna. The studio is also featured heavily in the documentary American Valhalla, which chronicles the creation of the

Post Pop Depression ''Post Pop Depression'' is the seventeenth studio album by American rock singer Iggy Pop, released by Caroline International / Loma Vista Recordings on March 18, 2016. Produced by Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age, the album was recorded in s ...

record by

and ensuing tour.

References

{{Reflist

External links

ranchodelaluna.com
- official website Recording studios in California 1993 establishments in California Companies based in San Bernardino County, California