Review: Blood is Spilled at Murder Ballads & Dark Songs Event

October kicks off three months of holiday celebrations. And for those in the know, Explorsion (aka Daiana Feuer) and Stepping Stone Presents (aka Liz Garo) put on their annual Murder Ballads & Dark Songs event. Last year, the event occurred at 2220 Arts. This year, they shifted locations to Zebulon. 

Sugarmill Slim at Zebulon

To bring along the Halloween spirit, there were bowls of candy throughout the venue. Did I have some candy? Of course, I did. The Halloween theme did not stop there. As one entered, spooky sounds could be heard. The stage was decorated with skeletons, a severed arm, eye ball floor lights, and synthetic spider webs. Those spider webs did do their job as I saw them clinging to people throughout the night.

What were some of the highlights of a night that included 16 acts? 

The scene-stealer belongs to Sugarmill Slim (Anders LaSource). "Have you seen my daughter?" LaSource said, rushing around the venue before getting back up on stage to sing PJ Harvey's "Down By The Water." It ended with fake blood being splattered across a white dress and a death scene. Add to it all: Easy Love on drums -- do I have to go back to Summer Twins days when I last saw her behind the drum kit? Maybe. "I bet you never saw that episode of SpongeBob SquarePants."

Main squeezes, Borrowed Lips and Swimming Bell, sang tales from two perspectives. It was Borrowed Lips first performance ever. Swimming Bell (Katie Schottland) mentioned that "Murder Ballads were the very first form of storytelling. That's how news got around. People would write songs and tell the story of the news." 

Borrowed Lips and Swimming Bell at Zebulon

Ravens Moreland took Bob Dylan's folk tune "Ballad of Hollis Brown" and turned it into a "nocturnal industrial death rock" cover. Does one dare say that Ravens Moreland's version is superior to Bob Dylan's. It can't be. It must have been the Halloween ghosts having too much influence. 

Ravens Moreland at Zebulon

Los Angeles punk royalty, Alice Bag, performed a song before a peak audience crowd. Backing her up were the Bloody Death Skull band members. You could tell it was a moment to remember for them. Alice Bag's right hand was telling the story. "I love Alice Bag, that's all I've got to say," was Taleen Kali's reaction.  

Alice Bag at Zebulon

Four favorites went back-to-back starting with Taleen Kali. I've seen her a number of times throughout the years. There was a moment where I was just stunned by her vocals. I was thinking, I don't believe I've ever heard her hit those high notes before. Anyways, the band has a Kickstarter going to raise funds for their sophomore album (link can be found on their Instagram page). 

Taleen Kali at Zebulon

Covers of the Williams country family were a favorite for Harry Katz and the Pistachios and Emily Rose. Harry Katz sang "Endless Sleep" by Hank Williams Jr. while Emily Rose sang "The Angel of Death" by Hank Williams. 

Harry Katz and the Pistachios at Zebulon

Between Harry Katz and Emily Rose was Bart Davenport with Emily Rose doing backing vocals. 

Emily Rose and Bart Devonport at Zebulon

I had seen over half of the 16 acts before, many multiple times. So who was new to me (in a way) and will need to catch in the future? Crowjane. She's a member of Egrets On Ergot (I don't know how active they are at the moment). Oh mercy, it was a blast from the past. That band made my list of favorite new finds of 2018. 

Crowjane at Zebulon

The night ended at "10 o'clock on the dot." 

Song Spotlight: Sylvia Fae's Wolves (a night at Harvard & Stone)

Sylvia Fae (aka Sylvia Fae Massey) set at Harvard & Stone (a Swyndle showcase night) was a stylish goth performance. She mentioned with a deserved sense of pride that she "produced all the tracks [of the set] in her bedroom." She is a multimedia artist. In 2024, she released a book titled I Could Be a Maggot's Feast which is a collection of "poetry, photography, and drawings from 2017-2023." The inspiration behind the book is the fact that she moved from North Carolina to Los Angeles in 2022. Not only was it a coastal move, but it was also her first time living outside of Carolina. 

Sylvia Foe at Harvard & Stone

Song Spotlight: Tele's Salvation Mountain (a night at Zebulon)

Tele (moniker for Sophie Telegadis) brought her vibrant personality to Zebulon. Before starting her set, she jumped excitedly on stage, she was almost giggly. Yet, when the music started she went for a cool nonchalant attitude that worked perfectly for her desert-psychedelic rock. One could see influences of Jesse Jo Stark in both her music and performance style. 

Tele at Zebulon

Band Interview: Someday (a night at Zebulon)

Someday's passion came through during their set at Zebulon. The vocals screamed emotion and their music rocked the night. One could tell that the crowd was getting into their sound -- and not just their cover songs. For their soon to be released tune "Falling," the crowd could be heard yelling their approval as the band stretched those guitar strings to the limit. I conducted an interview with the band, which you can read pass the jump.

Someday at Zebulon

Notes from Vivace Show Alerts (Los Angeles): Oct 11th - Oct 17th

A Handful (Massive) of Show Alerts

Sunday, Oct 11th: Murder Ballads & Dark Songs at Zebulon. Doors at 6 p.m.
In 2025, I covered the set, which you can read here.

Sunday, Oct 11th: Susy Sun with Valley Queen at Scribble. Doors at 7:30 p.m.

In 2021, I wrote a review of Susy Sun's set, which you can read here.

I wrote a Song Spotlight for Valley Queen's song "Ride" back in 2025, which you can read here.

Tuesday, Oct 13th: ALYSSAD at the Moroccan Lounge. Doors at 6 p.m.

I wrote a Song Spotlight for her song "butterf(lies)" early this month, which you can read here.

Wednesday, Oct 14th: Adam Wilson at Hotel Ziggy. Doors at 7 p.m.

I wrote a Song Spotlight for his song "Together" back in 2025, which you can read here.

Wednesday, Oct 14th: Essencer at The Airliner Bar. Doors at 8 p.m.

I wrote a Song Spotlight for their song "So Long" back in March, which you can read here.

Wednesday, Oct 14th: Ultraviolet Communication at Oblivion. Doors at 8 p.m.

You can read my Song Spotlight for their song "No Return" here.

Thursday Oct 15th: Jesse Detor at Alex's Bar. Doors at 8 p.m.

I wrote a Song Spotlight for her song "Hands" back in January, which you can read here.

Thursday, Oct 15th: Stella Prince at Zebulon. Doors at 8 p.m.

I wrote a Song Spotlight for her song "The Replay" back in June, which you can read here.

Thursday, Oct 15th: Tyler Ballgame at the Lodge Room. Doors at 7 p.m.

I wrote a Song Spotlight for his song "Matter of Taste" back in June, which you can read here.

Thursday, Oct 15th: UGHH at Non Plus Ultra. Doors at 8 p.m.

In 2025, I wrote a review of the band's set, which you can read here.

Friday, Oct 16th: Chalk Teeth at Licorice Pizza Records. Doors at 7 p.m.

I wrote a Song Spotlight for their song "Floor It" back in May, which you can read here.

Friday, Oct 16th: Matt Axton at Gold-Diggers. Doors at 7 p.m.

I wrote a Song Spotlight for his song "Golden Times" back in 2024, which you can read here.

Friday, Oct 16th: Jesse Detor at Permanent Records Roadhouse. Doors at 6 p.m.

This is the second of back-to-back performances.

Friday, Oct 16th: Syd Taylor at The Echo. Doors at 7 p.m.

I wrote a Song Spotlight for her song "Heaven" back in 2025, which you can read here. 

Saturday, Oct 17th: Marni at Non Plus Ultra. Doors at 8 p.m.

I wrote a Song Spotlight for their song "99¢" back in July, which you can read here.

Saturday, Oct 17th: ZIG ZAGS at Permanent Records Roadhouse. Doors at 9 p.m.

I wrote a Song Spotlight for their song "Why I Carry A Knife" back in July, which you can read here.

Song Spotlight: Eva Rose's Isn't It Scary (a night at El Cid)

I try to head out into the DIY Los Angeles music scene a specific number of times a week. On this particular week, I had a couple larger venue events (Bellwether / The Belasco) so there were only so many nights left on the calendar to head out to my various favorite venues (I just can't go to these larger venues, I have to also spend a night writing up articles). For my first DIY night of the week, I took off to Zebulon. Then I was like, I'm going to squeeze in one more night. Yep, that would equate to going out four times in a week. 

Eva Rose at El Cid

Photo Review: Pond at The Bellwether

A couple weeks back, I got to shoot Pond at The Bellwether for US Rocker Music. It was my third time shooting the band. You can read my article here. 

I figure I'll discuss one of the photos that I took during their set. I don't get to shoot at The Bellwether that often. In fact, this was my first time shooting the venue in 2026. The last time I shot the venue was when I shot the The Dandy Warhols back in Oct 2025. That night was actually a reason why I got this photo of lead singer Nicholas Allbrook. As I was roaming around the venue (after getting to spend the first three songs in the photo pit), it suddenly dawned on me that I had gotten some good photos of The Dandy Warhols from the right side of the stage. There is an ADA area where people can sit and enjoy the concert. It was just outside that area that I had gotten those photos. So off I went to that side of the stage.