Not a lot of people showed up on August 14, 2019, in Hermosa Beach for the DJ Williams’ Shots Fired show. That is a shame, because the band put on a stunning performance for the people that did come out to Saint Rocke, a club that does a great job of booking a diverse array of talented bands. The enthusiastic audience enjoyed a hard-charging, funky set of music. Led by DJ Williams on guitar and vocals, the band kept the crowd moving for nearly two hours.
Local Los Angeles band Mestizo Beat opened the show. They blend funk, soul, Afro-beat, Afro-Cuban and R&B into a mesmerizing stew of sweet sounds. Their short set of upbeat tunes clearly drew inspiration from their influencers like the J.B.’s, Parliament-Funkadelic, the Meters and WAR. In fact, they closed out the set with an inspired version of WAR’s “Cisco Kid” that featured a flashy guitar solo by Aquiles “Lito” Magaña, who also teased Santana’s “Oye Como Va” before ending the song.
After a short break, DJ Williams’ Shots Fired hit the stage. Williams has built a strong following as a member of Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe. When he is not touring or recording with that band, he pulls together a who’s who of the jam, funk, ska, hip hop and soul scene to form Shots Fired. Williams’ funky and explosive guitar work is showcased on the original songs he writes and on select covers that the band makes their own.
At Saint Rocke, Williams brought along a talented group for the show. Max MacVeety (Lyrics Born and KDTU) on drums, Derrick Wong (Doug Pinto, Elan Atias) on bass, Bobby Cressey (San Diego Padres organist; Snoop Dogg) on keys and Adrian Olmos (Alice Cooper, Iration) on saxophone accompanied Williams. On a fiery original called “Monk Strap,” Williams asked Max and Sam from Mestizo Beat to join the band and they contributed impressive trumpet and saxophone solos.
Most of the songs played during the set were instrumentals, several from the band’s 2018 album Live From Over Where. Williams also did some singing on “Woman,” “Super Star” and “Power of Love,” which was the encore that ended the show. However, the emphasis all night was on the musical chops of the band members. They played a slowed down, funkier instrumental version of Nirvana’s “Heart-Shaped Box” that Williams turned into a showcase for his guitar skills.
Williams tells us that he has two new albums in the works. One will be released on Eddie Roberts’ (The New Mastersounds) label Color Red Records. The other is inspired by cinematic soundtracks that he will be releasing himself. One of the new songs, “Luke’s Rage,” is a hard rocker with an intense guitar riff. Another new song called “Prime” has a rapid, flamenco-style with intricate interplay between the keys and guitar. “Gimme A Minute” sounds like it could have been on the soundtrack of a hip, 60s action movie.
Shots Fired expertly played a mix of older material, covers and new songs that were both passionate and spot-on. It is a shame so few made it out last Wednesday at Saint Rocke.
