La Isla Bonita Cassette

Album Details

Blame it on the Ramones. After Deerhoof finished recording demos for La Isla Bonita this past February, they began rehearsing for an upcoming tour. Halfway through a run-through of a long-time Deerhoof live favorite, their cover of the Ramones classic “Pinhead,” someone offhandedly asked, “Why don’t we ever write a song like this?” So Greg quickly dashed off a song on a scrap of paper, showed it to the band, and they recorded the breakneck stomper “Exit Only” in one take. “And we suddenly realized,” Greg says, “this is the whole thing, this is what the whole record is about!”

La Isla Bonita was recorded in guitarist Ed Rodriguez's basement. Situated next to a parking garage, it was perfect for making noise till the wee hours. They recorded live, DIY style, "a weeklong sleepover arguing over whether to try and sound like Joan Jett or Janet Jackson, cracking each other up, one guitarist whose name starts with J always putting too much red chile into the rations," says Greg. But more than that La Isla Bonita is about the eclectic worldwide community that has supported them.