Balto is a band from L.A. but the inception for the group actually came from Russia. Front man Daniel Sheron was living in Moscow as a journalist, and having a bit of a miserable time, he started writing music and everything began coming together. He left Russia to travel and made his way back to the States, first to New York and then to Portland.
“Balto was kind of a revolving project in Portland and we decided to move to L.A.,” said Sheron. “It took a while to connect with the other musicians we wanted to play with to solidify the band and we organically found the right people. We live for touring and the feeling of playing in front of a crowd is something we’ve really missed.”
Their tour should scratch that itch. The Duck Club is bringing Balto to Boise Saturday, Aug. 14 at 7 p.m. to play at the Neurolux with Smokey Brights and Gipsy Moonrise. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door. People can get more information at the Neurolux website or Ticketweb.
The band’s debut “October Road” was released in 2011 out of New York when Balto was a collection of different musicians playing Sheron’s songs. Sheron toured and made his way to Portland and then L.A. The current members are: Sheron, Adam Ditt, and Tristan Leabu.
The band has released different music with members over the years. Studio albums are: “October’s Road” and “Strangers,” 2017. EPs and 7-inchers include: “Monuments,” 2012, “Call It By Its Name,” 2015, “Songs For Viktor,” 2018 and “Black Snake Mojave Blues/Still Don’t Know,” 2018. Balto’s music is an eclectic mix of Psych Rock, R&B, Americana and Rock & Roll. It’s fun to listen to and not your run-of-the-mill country — it also rocks and the band has received great reviews from Rolling Stone.
Sheron said they did some recording over the pandemic, including a holiday cover tape. New music is always being worked on but for now they’re just excited to get back on the road and reconnect with fans.
“The mundane part of touring is even something I really miss,” said Sheron, “even things like stopping at a gas station on your way out of town. We try to be aware that we are doing what we love and we hope that translates to the audience, the joy we have in being there. We’ve been through Boise before just kind of checking it out and seeing the music scene and we’re excited to see how much that’s grown.”
