Quarantine Online Sets: Version 9

Weekends start on Thursday afternoons, right? Maybe in this new virus world it does. Thursday thru Saturday was spent with Buzzbands. Thursday brought Hamis Handerson. He hooked in some 70s guitar rifts from Australia. YIP YOPS were up on Friday afternoon. Just like their live shows at venues from The Hi Hat to Echo Park Rising, they had the lights flashing bright. The drummer was slamming those sticks. The lead singer left everything out there. Saturday was spent catching a short 15-minute set by Starcrawler. It was lead singer Arrow's birthday the previous day. Two members of the band kicked it in what seemed like an industrial setting. Both wore masks with Arrow wearing red gloves. It was a laid back and yet in your face type of set. I'm not sure if that sentence makes much sense, but it seems like a good description.

Hamis Handerson

Yip Yops

Starcrawler

Saturday was a busy day in terms of watching online sets. Prior to Starcrawler, I caught Emily Kinney. First on Facebook, which resulted in technical issues. Her vocals kept cutting out. Her fans convinced her to switch over to Instagram so to Instagram we went. She said something like, "This feels like me telling everyone that we should just jump to the venue across the street." She handled the Facebook vocal problems with a very cool and calm outlook. Personally, I would have thrown up my hands and said, "Sorry, we'll have to meet up on another day." Over on Instagram, around the same number of people tuned in so everyone did jump from one venue to the other. A couple years have passed since I last caught a set from her. I realized that the next time she plays Hotel Cafe, I'm there.

Emily Kinney

Closing out Saturday was spent catching Mara Connor's record release party on Zebulon's Instagram page. She did a round with her favorite musicians. She would do a song and then pass it off to a friend. Sam Outlaw was up first playing from Nashville. Desure played from Los Angeles. There were a number of Internet glitches. Somehow he kept dropping off of Instagram. On one occasion, someone off camera whispered to Mara, "He's dropped off." Maybe there was an Android vs. Apple familiarity issue, because Mara shut down Instagram Live and came back on using a new phone. Cale Tyson joked about hanging with friends on the patio of Zebulon. He then let on that he was hanging out in Texas with his parents. (Honestly, what's up with Texas. I know a handful of people who have left California during this pandemic and are in Texas.) Ryan Pollie played his set from his car after he'd gone grocery shopping. He bought toilet paper, coconut milk, and wine. Ryan and Mara admitted that this was the first time both of them played Zebulon. It was so amusing watching cars driving pass during his song. Leeann Skoda played in front of a rather futuristic metal backdrop. Amusing moment was towards the end, Mara accidentally starting clapping while Leeann was still singing. The problem was that Instagram froze for a few moments so Mara figured the song was over. Will Fox closed out the guest with some pink/blue room lights.

Mara Connor

Mara Connor with guest Desure

Quarantine Online Sets: Version 8

April 17th thru April 19th was spent watching a couple of online festivals. The whole weekend was spent watching sets here and there of the Couch LA festival. The one cool thing about this particular festival was that half of the money raised would get donated to The Satellite and The Hi Hat. On Friday night, I was only able to catch Egg Drop Soup. The band played from their 3 homes. Three cameras tracked the band members. I have to say they did a solid playing their punk music from unknown distances from each other.

Egg Drop Soup

Saturday was spent catching The Gooms and Lauren Ruth Ward. The Gooms was a one person show with the other three band members taped to the wall of the shower. I've seen a handful of online sets played in bathrooms. I believe that Early Evil, who played on Saturday, was also in the bathroom. Is it something to do with the acoustics of a bathroom or the best place to play and not disturb the next door neighbors? Lauren Ruth Ward was the last band for Saturday night. Lauren played it up to the camera throughout the set. Amazing music, as always.

The Gooms

Lauren Ruth Ward

On Sunday, many of the bands took it up a notch. Easy Friend is hanging out in the desert. I guess he's officially moved to the desert and out of Los Angeles. He owns property out there and plans to live on around $6,000 a year. That's some minimalist living. His set includes a few minutes of just looking out into the desert as the wind whipped past. Then you could hear the noise of a motorcycle. He road up and started his set. SLUGS did Egg Drop Soup by one. Egg Drop Soup had 3 members playing from 3 locations. SLUGS had 4 members playing from various locations. I can't believe over a year has passed since I last saw that band at the Moroccan Lounge. Dream Phases is writing some new music while in isolation. And played his set in the dark confines of his apartment. Holy Wars really outdid everyone that I caught during this festival. They didn't play live (honestly, not sure if Egg Drop Soup or SLUGS were playing live, either). They put on this great long form music video with a couple cameras and inserted TV shows from the 1950s or 1960s. During the video, they interacted with those watching online via the comments section. It was just super awesome.

Easy Friend

Early Evil

SLUGS

Dream Phases

Holy Wars

Before heading over to Couch LA on Sunday, I spent the afternoon watching bands playing the Live From Quarantine festival put on by Magic Giant. I actually tuned in to catch Meg Myers, but she had technical difficulties and wasn't able to play the festival. The second reason I tuned in was to catch Glen Hansard. I so remember catching the movie "Once" back in 2007. So long ago, but I loved that movie and fell in love with the music. During his short set, he played a few lines of "Falling Slowly." Beautiful. Filling in for Meg Myers was Max who shifted his set forward. He was totally cool with it and did a great job at it. Closing out my time with Live From Quarantine was Shaed. I totally didn't realize that this band sings the song "Trampoline." I swear at times when I hear this song on the radio I figure it is a song by Lorde.

Magic Giant

Glen Hansard

Max

Shaed

Coronavirus Diary: April 25th

Luckily, I've been rather busy working from home. So that has kept me occupied over the last couple weeks. In fact, it is rather stressful. I really can't complain about that too much. I do wonder how much my electric bill will increase with my having my work computer and lights on all day long.

One significant thing I did (significant is relative) is that I went to Smart and Final on Monday night at around 9:15 p.m. It was on a whim. I've avoiding going to Sprouts, Trader Joe's and Vons since mid-March due to fear of crowds. I don't know what spurred me to do it, but I did a Google search on store hours for Smart and Final and noticed that they were still open as always until 10 p.m. The other grocery stores have all shortened their operating hours. So off I went just to see how many people were shopping inside the store. There were maybe between 15 - 20 customers AND employees inside. I was so thrilled. The only time I really got within 6 feet of anyone was waiting in line where there were three employees doing check-out and maybe 4 of us waiting in line.

I did feel the recent earthquake that rattled Los Angeles. Honestly, I wasn't sure if it was an earthquake. My upstairs neighbors started to run around upstairs and so I wasn't sure if it was an earthquake or my neighbors just making a lot of racket and causing the ceiling to rumble. One thing I have noticed about my upstairs neighbors is that they vacuum their apartment one to two times a day. I don't know if this is a COVID-19 thing that they do or if they've always done it and I've just always been at work when they vacuum.

Another strange thing that this COVID-19 life has impacted is my sleep. This past week, I've gone a couple nights where I couldn't fall asleep until 2 a.m. while other nights I sleep from 11:30 p.m. until 8 a.m. It might be driven by the heatwave the has hit Los Angeles this week. My body might need to get used to these higher temperatures again.

In terms of TV/movies, I've kept myself busy watching HBO's Ballers. I got through all of Season 2 this past week, watching a couple episodes every night. I'm not saying it is a favorite TV show, but I am enjoying the series.

Move Review: Silver Lake

Silver Lake is a movie that was on my DVR for months. With Los Angeles in the middle of a coronavirus lock down, I decided to watch the movie one night. The movie is about an author named Nathan. He has written a couple books and at the beginning of the movie earns a fellowship to start work on a third novel. When he isn't writing, he is a teacher. (As the movie progresses, I got the sense that he was probably an occasional adjunct professor at a local university.) His main group of friends are creatives. They meet up on occasional at a house where people share music and poetry. His girlfriend, Mary, has a more conventional life. She works in an office, is divorced and the mother of two. You can just tell by her name, Mary, that she leads a more conventional life.

The movie explores the two sides of life. Nathan is seen struggling with writing. To avoid his lack of inspiration, he hangs out with his mentor Howard at baseball games, helps a fellow writer named Eric with his hospital visits and gets life advice from a Buddhist mystic named Jeff. He also spends time with Mary and her two children. Mary wants to settle down in life with Nathan, but wonders if Nathan has the same desires. Of course, Mary's child Charlotte doesn't help Nathan in his decision making as she is constantly telling Nathan that she hate's him. Mary's ex-husband Dan seems to make Nathan feel inadequate. There are also financial issues that pop up. Due to the divorce, Mary is living on the edge with school and housing expenses that are above her head and Nathan feels that he needs to earn a wage that would help put a dent in those family expenses.

The movie is low-keyed and probably done on a very tight budget due to its indie nature. I loved recognizing the various locations of Silver Lake. And I loved the philosophical dialog about life and how to deal with it. There is also that tension between the creative and conventional worlds. Finally, there are a number of familiar faces such as Martin Starr of Silicon Valley (which I have to admit, I've never seen), Deborah Ann Woll of True Blood, and Seth Gilliam of The Walking Dead.

The tension in this movie is the exploration of the creative vs conventional worlds. Throughout the movie, the creative world is portrayed in a negative light. You have people hyping up their credentials. Nathan's mentor, Howard, is brilliant and yet holds some darkness to him. Those same short-falls can also be applied to the conventional world, but really aren't explored in-depth other than perhaps the troubled life of Mary's ex-husband. And yes, this movie is about choices and having to pick which world fits best for an individual. Which world will bring the most satisfaction in a holistic manner (personal finance, personal satisfaction, stability, etc etc).

This movie really feels like an autobiography for Sean McGinly, who is the writer/director of this movie. I looked him up on IMDB. This movie was released in 2018 so it hasn't been that long, but this was the last movie he's been involved in. And in the last decade, he's been attached to only 3 projects. I wonder if this was his middle finger to the life of a creative. Or maybe not. It'll be interesting to see if he writes/directs another movie in the near future. I'll need to keep an occasional eye out on IMDB, because I'd love to see where he goes next.

Quarantine Online Sets: Version 7

I saw a full set by tiLLie for the first time in 2018 at Broke LA and immediately fell in love with her pop driven music. A couple years went by and I was invited to the Geometro Party where I got to catch a two song set. When I noticed that she was part of BIIANCO's curated Uncancelled Fest, I was on board. Sure, it wasn't the same as seeing her live, but it was still an amazing experience. She spent her time siting in front of the camera inside her garage, either singing karaoke to tracks or using a synth-type guitar. The set went from talkative to depressing to party town. She took us through all levels of emotions. And she gave an over-time performance, adding 15 minutes to her set for a 45-minute set. Just brilliant.

tiLLie

Buzzbands has been doing a series of QUARANTUNES. Up recently were Will Fox, Alicia Blue, and Mini Trees. Will Fox, like tiLLie, gave an extensive set at 45 minutes. As his 30 minute set was coming to a close, he kept saying, "Let's play one more." Though there was no interaction between those watching and the musician other than messages on Instagram Stories, it felt all so close none the less.

Will Fox

Alicia Blue and Mini Trees played 4 p.m. sets on Thursday (4/16) and Friday (4/17). I'm currently working at home so I tuned in while working on the computer. The folk sounds of Alicia Blue and the acoustic moods of Mini Trees made for a perfect background music while closing out the workday. What was really cool was seeing my Show Alert for Alicia Blue go a touch viral on Instagram Stories. I saw that it got picked up by Alicia Blue, The Hi Hat and Buzzbands. Maybe others picked it up, also.

Alicia Blue

Mini Trees

Coronavirus Diary: April 19

There doesn't really seem to be much interesting happening in life other than the mundane. I went out for an hour walk on Saturday morning. That seems very similar to what I've been doing on a daily basis. I did skip a couple days in the middle of the week. Lucky for me, it was driven by the fact that I was busy working from home. That honestly isn't something to complain about these days considering all those who are finding themselves unemployed. Though I will say that I find it hard to keep motivated to do my work. For me, there's just something about going to the office vs always being at home.

I live by some hills in Glendale. I used to climb up them, but stopped when I started to wear a mask while walking. A couple weeks back, I went walking up a hill in a mask and nearly fainted by the time I got to the top. I decided to not do that any longer until I can exercise without a mask. I noticed a Facebook comment from an old summer camp friend who also said she had difficulties exercising with a mask on. It does bring a whole new dimension to exercising.

What I continue to do is jaywalk across the four lane boulevards that cross Glendale. I just don't want to touch those "Walk" buttons. I just keep an eye out to see if any Glendale police are driving around and then just go for it.

There were some scary moments on Tuesday night (4/14). It seemed like throughout the night, ambulance sirens were heard constantly throughout the night. A friend asked if maybe it was just police sirens. I replied back that this would have been even more scary if the police were having to turn their sirens on so often throughout the night.

A couple new things I'm doing is re-arranging my apartment and tossing things into the garbage bin. After having to create a small office space, I tossed everything that was in that area onto the floor of my bedroom. Well, I finally got into properly re-arranging some of the stuff (most of it) in an organized manner. It only took 4 weeks. On Saturday, I went through my closet and started to look through everything. I tossed a number of things. I didn't go through the full close, just 1/3 of it. I'll go through the rest eventually. 

In terms of going through my DVR library, I watched the movie "Wonder." I found it very enjoyable, but in the back of my mind I couldn't help but think it was a totally unrealistic view point of someone living with disfigurement. Of course, the message of the movie is to treat everyone with respect and love and to look beyond appearances.

Quick Hit Band Interview: Okudaxij

Okudaxij at La Tierra De La Culebra

Interview with the band. Enjoy:

How would you describe your music? I would describe my music as short and intense explorations of very specific emotions. I would also describe it as indie rock :)

What inspires you to write/compose your songs? I get inspired to write music by experiencing life and experiencing art. Music by other musicians is often very inspiring to me. I’ve stolen more than my fair share of ideas. Sometimes I need to write songs in order to digest what I’m feeling, and those are usually my favorites. But mostly I create music not because I get inspired but simply because it’s what I love to do!!

Own final thoughts: The name “Okudaxij” is a terrible name that I gave to a video game character while I was attending college. The game I was playing was very long (it lasted a whole semester) so by the end of it some of my roommates were calling me Okudaxij, so it’s sort of a nickname I gave myself, but also not.

Coronavirus Diary: April 15

Easter Sunday was spent doing a very long walk in Glendale. Maybe I was a little too aware, but I swear I heard some serious coughing coming from two apartments/condos and from a parked car. I'm not talking an occasional "my throat has a scratch," but really long worrisome coughs. Other than that, it was a nice walk with a lot of jaywalking across Broadway and Colorado (two major streets in Glendale). There weren't that many vehicles on the road so it made it rather safe to run across four lanes of roads. I did it, because I have this issue with pressing the "Walk" buttons these days.

I went through the movies that are on my DVR and checked out the British alien movie, "Attack the Block." I really enjoyed it though I honestly couldn't understand the accents half the time. It is a movie from 2011. These street punks rob a young nurse. As they're robbing her, a space meteor slams into a car. One of the punks checks it out. Out comes an alien. The movie then turns into an amusing tale of the young punks (eventually joined by the nurse), fighting off aliens that have invaded their block. The lead actor is John Boyega before he went on to the 3 recent Star Wars movies.  Nick Frost of Shaun of the Dead and Into the Badlands also has a nice part.

I turned on the radio briefly to KFI AM 640. There was a quick discussion about a Los Angeles Domino's that had to shut down, because workers tested positive for COVID-19. I previously wrote about my desire to support some of the local mom and pop restaurants that I used to hit up. That story on the radio really had me re-think that desire.

My fears of restaurants hasn't stopped me from going grocery shopping. I went out right after my long walk to two local grocery stores near my neighborhood. I checked out a grocery store that I always walk pass, but have never gone inside. I also went to another store that I have gone to before. I will stick to my original grocery store. The first store just seemed too tight for me, making it really difficult to keep any social distancing. Also, when I went to check out, someone stood within a foot of me, which really freaked me out. My original store is a little larger, which makes it easier to keep some distance from the other customers.

Quarantine Online Sets: Version 6

In Version 5 of this blog site, I talked about the Wednesday, April 8th, sets that I caught. Well, my Wednesday kept going. WFNM was hosting a number of musicians and I happened to catch two of them: Madison Malone and Holander.

Madison Malone on WFNM

Madison Malone played with her phone right up to her face. The music had that singer-songwriter charm to it. Toward the beginning of the set, there was a mid-song disruption. Her phone charger slipped and fell onto the floor and the phone followed. Yet, the Instagram feed didn't shut down. She just had to pick up the phone and charger, set things right, and re-start her song at the chorus.

Holander with her pink hair wasn't able to do her dance routine (which I saw her do when I caught her at the Bootleg Theater), but her acoustic set still highlighted the dance qualities of her music. She also conveyed her bubbly personality over the web.

Holander

Perhaps the best set I've seen online during this time of quarantine was Thursday's Poppy Jean Crawford's set on Buzzbands. Okay, maybe tied with Strawberry Army's online set. Her set was in a nicely decorated room, which included colorful paper thin sheets that covered the walls and windows. They were thin enough to allow the late afternoon sun to provided light for the set. She played the set sitting on a rug. Though the set wasn't as psychedelic as her live sets, her set still carried the undertone of her live show.

Poppy Jean Crawford

What was also just fun was the interaction she carried on with the audience and her mom who was off to the side. She'd read the comments and then her mom would make comments. Then when she started to feel a little nervous, her mom encouraged her to smoke a cigarette. The comments section exploded when she lit up a cigarette with people asking her not to smoke.

Quarantine Online Sets: Version 5

Talker has been one of the busiest Los Angeles musicians since we went into self-isolation. She's done a number of online sets. Perhaps it is driven by the fact that her birthday was on April 8th (Wednesday) or maybe this is how she's dealing with self-isolation or maybe some other reason. Who knows, but I'm happy she's doing so. I caught a set of her's for the second time on Monday, April 6th. The Satellite must have caught on that Talker (Celeste) has been very busy as they gave her a shout out on their marquee: Support Talker Online.

Screen shot of Talker's Instagram Stories

Celeste

On Tuesday, I decided to catch Echosmith on Billboard's Facebook page. That band has been around for years, but this was my first time catching their pop tunes. One of the amusing things about catching online sets is seeing bands adjusting to this new world of online sets. In order to read the comments, lead singer Sydney left the microphone and went over to camera/video recorder. She'd start talking about the comments, but no one could hear what she was saying as the microphone couldn't pick up her voice. Someone off camera mentioned it to her and so she dragged the microphone over so that she could read the comments and folks online could hear what she was saying. Then, later in the set, someone off-screen handed her a tablet so that she could read the comments.They ended their set with the addictive "Cool Kids" song.

Echosmith

Wednesday was packed. Up first was Lake doing a 15 minute set on Facebook (via Jenn Grant, who from what I can tell is also a musician). The last time I caught this band was in 2012. They're a band from Washington state though I believe one of the members grew up in Los Angeles, if I recall correctly. I remember catching a set for the first time at The Smell way back when. It might have been 2011 or 2012, I don't recall exactly (I know the 2nd and last time I caught them was in 2012). I was just over-whelmed by how their music filled the DIY venue. I know that they played in the Los Angeles area a couple months back, but I wasn't feeling that well. If I had, I would have sent an e-mail offering my camera services. Though the video on Wednesday was of really poor quality, the music was just as great as I remembered.

Lake

Mara Connor was up next on Dash Radio. She played with a No Fun banner above her head, which is the title of her recent album release. Her folk-America tunes have captured my soul for years. She's an artist that I always try to see at least once a year for perhaps 4 years now.

Mara Connor

Then it was off to catch The Living Roomers doing a Buzzbands set. I read on Buzzbands that they're a pop-punk band. Listening to one of their songs online, I'd say that sounds about right. But for this online set, they took it down several steps via an acoustic set. Though I've never heard of The Living Roomers before, I'm eager to catch them live and see their more amped up  performance. What I loved about the set was the creativity behind the set. They played outside in what looked like a backyard. The band was spread out and in front of them were mirrors on the grass. Whomever was doing the filming of the set would occasionally film the reflections of the band members off the mirrors. It was really a cool concept.

The Living Roomers

Coronavirus Diary: April 9th 2020

One thing I've been doing during this period of self-isolation is going out for a walk during the lunch hour. I've probably been doing one or two miles during these walks. I've actually run into people I know during these walks. Once, I ran into a young family that I know. We said hello from 6 feet away from each other. Than I ran into Kat from Holy Wars. That wasn't unexpected as we live about half a mile away from each other. Keeping about an 8 foot distance, we chatted about some random topics such as the local grocery stores that we visit as both of us are hesitant to go to Trader Joe's and Vons that are near our neighborhood. One thing about our neighborhood in Glendale is the fact that there are a number of locally run Armenian and Mexican mom and pop grocery stores. A lot of times when I'm in these stores, there are only 2 to 4 other shoppers around. Sure, the selection isn't the same as it would be at Trader Joe's or Vons, but I am willing to adjust my diet. I've bought a lot of dry goods such as lentils. I've told friends that once this is over, I will never eat lentils again. I figure it might be another 3 or 4 weeks before I head back to a Trader Joe's. My theory: the less people there are around, the less likely you cross paths with someone who has COVID-19.

I usually walk in my specific neighborhood of houses/apartments, but I decided to venture out recently onto Glendale Blvd to see what the city of Glendale was looking like. I'm usually at work so I don't know how busy this boulevard is during the work week, but there was a nice flow of vehicles. There really weren't a number of cars waiting at the stoplights; however, so maybe there really wasn't that much traffic. I can't help but wonder, "Where are these people going to or coming from? Are they going to work at the local Vons or Trader Joe's? Are they going grocery shopping? Are they breaking self-isolation and heading to see a friend?"

What do people think about eating out versus cooking your own food? I've been cooking my own food for a very long time. The last time I actually went to get food at a restaurant was in late February. I was talking to some friends and was saying how I felt a touch guilty for not supporting some of the small restaurants, food trucks and food stalls that I visit. One of those food stall, which is now operating out of their kitchen versus Highland Park, is Cena Vegan. Based on their Instagram photo, it looks like they are taking the virus seriously and are attempting to protect the cooks and those ordering from them. Also, I am seeing photos/videos of restaurants providing food to the local hospitals. If doctors and nurses are eating food provided by restaurants, why am I so concerned? Maybe I am being too paranoid and will start to patronize my local food spots. Of course, Los Angeles is saying the next 2 weeks are key so maybe I'll wait for 2 weeks to past (technically, I suppose, the next 1.5 weeks).

On the television front: I saw the movie The Commuter staring Liam Neeson. Oh mercy, what a mess. It started off well. I figured it would be about some deep state conspiracy or sci-fi intrigue, but then it ended being some rather boring outcome.

Coronavirus Diary: April 7th 2020

Unlike many people in America, I'm lucky to have a job. And luckier still, I am able to do that job from home. In fact, I'm in week 4 of working from home. If my company every put me on furlough or laid me off, I suppose I wouldn't be surprised, but that might not happen as we're still doing business. From that perspective and the fact that I feel healthy (knock on wood), I really don't have much to complain about in life.

One thing I've realized during this period of quarantine; however, is how much of my pre-COVID-19 night life revolved around music photography. I will admit that my time out and about during 2020 was limited. I got the flu (let's assume it was the flu and that I wasn't one of the first individuals to come down with COVID-19) in mid-January that hit me hard for 5 days or so and it took about 3 or 4 weeks to feel really up to speed. I still went out, but missed a number of shows that I wanted to catch as I didn't want to relapse. Then towards the middle of February, I started to pick it up again. Then music came to a screeching halt. I came down with a mild sore throat and cough at the start of March that got me worried about getting the flu again and so I put a stop on going on. The sore throat and cough never went beyond that, but by the time it passed the world had changed and the chance of catching bands ended.

I was talking to a friend recently over the phone and mentioned how I was busy during the day (work), but my nights felt way too open in this new world. I was/am spending way too much time watching television or surfing the web. Then I started to describe how my nights were in the past. I probably averaged going out 2 times a week to catch bands/singers. The following nights after going to shows would also be busy as I'd spend time going through my photos and sending out e-mails to conduct my Q&A interviews that I post on Instagram and then later end up posting on this blog site. Then other nights would be spent collecting responses as well as doing things on this blog site. I personally at times felt like I was spending way too much of my life doing this, but then it is a fun hobby and I enjoyed it. So now, there is this big amount of free time that I need to fill.

So yeah, I've been watching some online concerts (as can be seen via my Instagram posts: @notesfromvivace if you're randomly coming across this). But actually most of the sets I've seen have been watched while taking breaks from work as many of the sets are between noon and 6 p.m. As mentioned above, I have been watching too much television. One show; however, that I really loved and did a big binge watch of was "War of the Worlds" on Epix. Season 1 of the show just finished and was 8 episodes. Instead of taking an American point of view, the show focuses on France and the UK. I found it really edge of your seat watching and perhaps too relevant in this day and age. In the second episode, we learn that billions of the world population has died due to the space invaders. I personally find the story line intriguing. I get this sense of dread as these invaders hunt down human survivors and then there is also hope as two scientists do research from two different angles. And the soundtrack provides a level of slow-burn fear.

I've also started reading a book called "The Feather Thief," which is about an individual who stole bird feathers from a museum. I'm only about 20% of the way through the book. It isn't as intriguing per say as "War of the Worlds," but there is some interesting history about birds in the book. 

Anyways, I did accomplish one major thing during my time: I finally submitted my taxes. I always have a dread of doing my taxes as I'm always fearful that I've made an error. But I decided to finally just hit submit and if I get audited, I get audited. Hopefully, I made no mistakes.

Quarantine Online Sets: Version 4

I caught a couple online sets on Tuesday, March 30th.

Shannon Lay was up first playing in front of a decorative Western/Native American themed blanket. I might have said this before, but her vocals make me flash back to when I first heard Enya's song "Orinoco Flow." I remember hearing that song being blasted and thought it was one of the most wonderful moments I'd had. What makes Enya's songs so wonderful is how she meticulously blends sounds together. Yet, I swear, Shannon Lay can do that all live with just a guitar and her voice.

Shannon Lay

Strawberry Army came up next for Reckless Magazine's music series. This is a band that usually goes punk-pop, but for this set they went acoustic. Playing from their home and with their dad backing them, it was a wonderful experience. Their joy playing was highlighted as usual with arms raised, the occasional hair flip and playing hide and seek with the camera. Yet, what really had me was the acoustic side of their songs. Can I dare say I enjoyed these versions better?

Strawberry Army

On Wednesday, March 31st, I caught Heather Cole. The first time I saw her sing was when she was doing back-up vocals for Michelle Young about a year ago at The Hi Hat. I've wanted to catch her since, but never got around to it. Then came this coronavirus quarantine and I noticed that she was doing some songs with her sister. Great singer-songwriter vocals. 

Heather Cole

Quick Hit Band Interview: Oozelles

Oozelles at The Satellite (photo taken for Buzzbands)

Interview with the band (with Dante White Aliano). Enjoy:

How would I describe our sound? Reluctantly. There are no existing genres I'm comfortable with and I'm tired of making up cute sounding genres for my bands. We like to leave it open to whatever influences come up and right now our sound seems to be going in a darker direction, which could change without any notice. Most of us listen to an eclectic blend 60s and 70s music from Asia, Africa and the Caribbean which we got into after wearing out our punk, death rock, garage, post punk, proto punk and 60s soul records. We also love the weirder, less characteristic "filler" efforts of more well-known artists. The answer will usually depend on who I'm talking to. I'm not going to tell my grandfather or a cop that we sound like Mahmoud Ahmed meets the Scientists or Dur Dur Band meets Scratch Acid.

What’s the favorite part of your set? My favorite part of the set is usually when we're playing new songs, but our song Refill The Swamp is consistently enjoyable for me.

Final thoughts: Most of us have either played together in multiple projects and/or been friends for a very long time. Even though there are 6 of us, we write nearly everything together and it almost never feels like too many cooks. It's the most collaborative band I've ever been in. We record every practice in my recording studio and every practice at least one new idea will come to us from some unknown source. I feel extremely lucky to be a part of it.

Quarantine Online Sets: Version 3

On Saturday, I caught part of Lauren Ruth Ward's talk with Holy Wars. Then I switched over to catch Ariel Beesley on Instagram. She played outside her home on a ukulele. Occasionally, she rushed off to get her dog. She also talked about her songwriting process and stories behind the songs. She even sang a very raw song that isn't ready for prime time. It was very personal type moment that you won't usually get in a concert setting.

A couple hours later, I went over to Pancakes and Whiskey to catch Lauren Ruth Ward. It is always a pleasure to catch a Lauren Ruth Ward set be it in person, online -- or even just running into her when she's out supporting the Los Angeles music scene. I hung around to HNRY FLWR who was playing from New York -- Temple of the Void.

Lauren Ruth Ward

HNRY FLWR