Daily Inspiration: Meet Elena Fabri / Desert Wild Band

Today we’d like to introduce you to Elena Fabri / Desert Wild Band.

Hi Elena Fabri / Desert Wild Band, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Desert Wild really began with a love of rock music — especially the iconic songs that shaped generations but were overwhelmingly written and performed by men.

The founder and lead singer, Elena, grew up loving artists like Aerosmith, The Police, David Bowie, Tom Petty, AC/DC and U2, along with the huge melodic rock and power ballads of the ’80s from bands like Night Ranger, Def Leppard, White Snake, Asia and Warrant. Those were the songs she wanted to sing — and they weren’t necessarily the songs people expected to hear from a female-fronted band.

After years of often being the only woman in the band, she wanted a different dynamic — one where women could simply come together and make great rock music. So she decided to build an all-female band.

But the idea was never just to be an all-female band, It was about taking on music women aren’t traditionally expected to perform and bringing something new to it.

That became the heart of Desert Wild.

The idea: “An all-female tribute to the icons of rock”. All icons, male and female. But the twist really comes when the audience hears something they don’t expect from a band like us, and the payoff is so terrific!

That’s what “Rock. Reborn. With a Female Edge” means. We don’t impersonate like a tribute band, we pay homage with our own perspective. Don’t get me wrong. Tribute bands are amazing, we are just doing something different.

It’s the music people already love — heard through a new and unique lens.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
One of the biggest challenges early on was simply getting bookers to understand what we were trying to create.

When you say “all-female rock band,” people can make assumptions about what that means.We wanted to take songs people already knew and loved and bring a completely different energy to them.

Initially, that could be difficult to communicate to bookers. But once we started getting in front of audiences, it became much easier. There is something really fun about watching an all-female band launch into a song you don’t necessarily expect them to play. Audiences recognize it immediately, but they’re hearing and seeing it in a fresh way. That reaction has become one of our favorite parts of performing.

Like any working band, we’ve also had lineup changes along the way. Right now, we work with a small rotation of talented female lead guitarists depending on the performance, the remaining Singer, Bass Player and Drummer are core to the band. Rather than it stopping us, it has actually reinforced our ability to adapt. Each lead guitar player brings her own personality and style to the music while the identity and sound of Desert Wild remains consistent.

Building something from scratch is never a straight line. But many of the things that felt like challenges in the beginning — being difficult to categorize, taking unexpected songs and making them our own, and navigating changes along the way — have ultimately become part of what makes Desert Wild distinctive. Evolution is necessary to refine a good product and it’s actually necessary to create a good outcome.

Lastly, having to change the name three times! The 1st time – it was too obscure (no, I won’t tell you the name Lol People hated it, I loved it) 2nd time – we were served a cease and desist – Learned about copyright very quickly. 3rd time – seems to be sticking… for now (ha-ha)

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Desert Wild is an all-female tribute rock band built around one simple idea: take iconic rock songs people already know and love and bring a completely different energy to them.

Our setlist crosses generations and isn’t limited by whether the original artist was male or female.. We also love reaching into the ’80s and pulling out songs people don’t necessarily expect to hear from an all-female band. Stay tuned for some fun surprises in 2027!

That’s probably what we’re most proud of — creating those moments when an audience realizes what song we’re about to play and you can almost feel the reaction. These are iconic songs, but seeing four women onstage bring their own musicianship, personality and energy to them makes the experience feel fresh again.

We’ve had the opportunity to perform at festivals, fairs, community events, and venues throughout Southern California, and watching the band connect with increasingly larger audiences has been incredibly rewarding.

At the end of the day, what we do is pretty simple: we love great rock music, we love performing it live, and we want people to leave a Desert Wild show remembering how much fun those songs made them feel.
It’s not just the moment, it’s the memory its connected to.

Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
**Likes:** Great rock songs with huge hooks, ’80s rock power ballads, discovering an unexpected song that works perfectly for Desert Wild, the moment an audience recognizes the first few notes of a song, musicians who come prepared and leave their egos at the door, and a crowd that’s ready to sing along. We have a real weakness for songs that make you immediately think, “I haven’t heard this in forever!”

**Dislikes:** Musical egos, playing it too safe, being told a song isn’t something a female band would normally play — which usually just makes us want to play it more — and anyone who thinks great rock music has an expiration date. Lastly, just be a nice person.

Pricing:

• Please call or email us! We have reasonable rates

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.desertwildband.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/desertwildband/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@desertwildband

Image Credits
Photography by Ellecina Sliuzas Instagram: @ellecina.sliuzas