Thursday, March 06, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Mercury

Music: A tribe called persistence

The Joynt Chiefs weather the fickle local scene

By Brock Radke

Quick. Name five local bands that have been around for five years or longer. Can't do it? Me neither.

That's not to say the phenomenon doesn't exist, but because of break-ups, start-ups, new bands and old ones calling it quits for the same old reasons, Las Vegas bands with real longevity are hard to find. Overall, things are never what they used to be.

"I don't know what it is, man," says Josh Herzog of the Joynt Chiefs, one of the few surviving bands from the days when the Boston ruled the scene. "Maybe the clubs now have too many security guards and not enough bartenders. All I know is, we used to play shows and in some songs girls would come up and take their clothes off, and in other songs we'd have a mosh pit going. No one seems to support each other anymore."

Is is really so much to ask, that some longtime funksters should get a little booty and a little violence at their concerts? What's the world coming to?

It was five years ago when MCs Nick Bluntz and John Paul started the Chiefs, a partying bunch that quickly gained a rowdy reputation behind its reggae-rock-rap hybrid. After too many lineup changes and rotating musicians to count, the group is finally off a drummer-less hiatus and back at work again, gigging around town and compiling a new CD.

Rounding out the dueling rappers and Herzog on bass is returned drummer Junebug Jones, DJ Cansir and guitarist Hott Carlos. After years of compiling one of the more impressive resumes around town--sharing bills with everyone from Kittie to Run DMC and making the occasional road trip--the Chiefs have focused on returning to their roots.

"With Junebug coming back, we're all about security blankets right now," Herzog says. "We've never done anything in a typical way, and we've made some snap decisions that haven't worked out for us. So right now we're trying to think everything through."

Like everybody else, the band is still hunting down that ever-elusive record deal. But the discouraging local scene has taken its toll. While the Chiefs still love to do what they do, the time and dedication sometimes lag.

"We all have day jobs and demanding schedules, which has made it difficult to get out of town," Herzog says. "It's more than just money when you don't have the time."

Don't take it the wrong way; the Joynt Chiefs aren't giving up. The group still lives up to its party band reputation and plays a prominent role in a still steady local hip-hop rock scene.

"The Chapter has some guys that used to be in the Watson Family, and the Watsons got started around the same time as us," Herzog says. "So you look at bands like that, and the Chapter is amazing, and you think if they can stick around, then why can't we?"

The band's sound is evolving away from what has come to be known as rap rock and into a more stripped-down, mellow vibe. Although its members are heavily influenced by everything from Public Enemy to the Misfits to the Afghan Wigs, when the group comes together, things are pretty groove-heavy.

To Herzog, the circle of local bands that connect and support each other has only gotten smaller over the years as trends and venues have come and gone. He attributes a dwindling scene to that factor, along with the transient nature of Las Vegas and the lack of quality bands in town.

"I think it's about 50-50. Half the bands are good or have great potential and half aren't good but they have rock-star attitudes," he says. "I can understand why there's not a lot of people going to shows right now. No one's really to give up anything to anyone else."