Longtime area rocker Chris Leyva has been playing in San Diego bands for over a decade, building a following the old-fashioned way – gigging. All the hard work has paid off for his latest band, Falling Doves, recently signed to Britain’s RMN Records.
Plans are for the label to eventually release all of Leyva’s recordings, but first, this July 4, the label will release the debut international release, “Doves of War.” Produced by Rick Parker, best known for his work with the likes of Stone Temple Pilots, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and the Dandy Warhols, it’s a world-class effort. Meantime, the band, comprising Leyva (vocals, guitar), Mike Dorsey (lead guitar), Kyle Jordan (drums) and Clint Feddersen (bass), has released a single, “Paris,” and is kicking off several months of touring that will see them criss-cross the U.S. before heading to Europe. The tour starts in Los Angeles at the Globe Theatre on Feb. 18 and includes a show at Gallagher’s in Ocean Beach on Feb. 20.
“Of course, we have to play a show in OB,” Leyva said good-naturedly. “It’s home turf, but even beyond that, everyone there has been so supportive and just plain nice that we will always include a stop in town when we tour.”
Leyva chocks up the current success of Falling Doves to timing. “Everything comes around,” Leyva explained. “When I started out in the late ’90s, rock ‘n’ roll wasn’t as revered as it is now. The new generation is really getting into it and digging deep. They have better collections of music and seem to know more tunes than I ever did at that point. It’s refreshing to see this change happening.”
He notes that working with Parker takes things to a new level for him. “He’s great to work with,” he said. “It’s hard for me to say what our sound is specifically, rock ‘n’ roll for sure, but with a lot of different influences, Beatles to indie rock. However, our fans are the ones who have come up with labels, and I have heard things like ‘a poppier STP’ mentioned more than once. So it was kismet that Parker and us got together. I think the results speak for themselves – we couldn’t be happier.”
The first single, “Paris,” is not directly about the recent tragic events in France, but Leyva considers it a tribute nonetheless. “It’s a love song,” he said. “Paris is such a romantic city. It was written well before what happened, but with the timing of the release, it ends up being a tribute to a wonderful place.”
Leyva is happy with the recent turns his career has taken. “To be honest, I’m pleasantly surprised by things,” he said. “It’s nice to see hard work pay off and even nicer to have a label like RMN not just believe in us but also put their time and energy into pushing Falling Doves further “This is just the beginning,” he said. “We’re all having a great time and are especially looking forward to touring Europe. It’s fun to see how far playing the guitar will take you, but we’re also realistic. Even though we’ve put in years of work, this is really just the beginning of what we hope will be a very long journey, It all grows from here, but we’re more than willing to do the hard work it takes to move to the next level.”