Panthr Radio Podcast E01 Westerner

Westerner is a psychedelic electro-rock band hailing from Los Angeles, CA. Known for their highly electric and theatrical live shows, the four pack is made up of Cooper Bombadil aka Enigma (lead guitar, vocals), Mike Gattshall aka Shadow (drums/electronic percussion and samples), Brandon Valerino aka Mojo (bass - electric and synth, backing vocals) and Javier Olmedo aka Volto (guitar/slide/wah). Bombadil recorded and released his debut album, Unreal City, back in 2014, but needed some musicians to help fill out the live show. During a Westerner gig with previous musicians, the sci-fi rock opera-esque songs caught the attention of audience goer and drummer, Gattshall. The two struck up a conversation about music after the show and as it happened, Bombadil’s drummer was planning on leaving the band. Gattshall quit the 6 other bands he was playing in at the time to dedicate his time to Westerner. As for Valerino and Olmedo, they happened to be in the audience during another wild performance night and were blown away. A chat after the show revealed that Bombadil’s guitarist was quitting and that Olmedo was more than welcome to come in the following week to audition. About a year after that, Westerner’s bassist hurt his hand and they called in Valerino to sub in. The rest is history.