The Silverlake Lounge: Nicholas Mudd Band, RJ Bloke, and Lasers Lasers Birmingham

It was off to The Silverlake Lounge to catch Small Town Friday Nights Acoustic Night. This was my second Friday night heading out to this event. On this night it was Nicholas Mudd Band, RJ Bloke and Lasers Lasers Birmingham hitting the stage with country, Americana tunes. Maybe this is just the numbers person in me, but one thing I noticed: Nicholas Mudd had three members of the band on stage, RJ Boke had a duo and then Lasers Lasers Birmingham did a solo set, 3 - 2 - 1. 

Nicholas Mudd showed some Kentucky pride. As I mentioned once on this blog, I'm a Duke basketball fan. If anyone knows the history, Kentucky and Duke have an intense rivalry. But hey, that didn't prevent me from enjoy the set. 

Nicholas Mudd Band

RJ Bloke brought out the harmonica while his guitarist hit those strings hard.

RJ Bloke

Lasers Lasers Birmingham opened his set with three straight covers. What did he do during the pandemic? He said he obviously learned cover songs.   

Lasers Lasers Birmingham

Online Quarantine Sets: Version 102

I'm not sure this has ever happened on at School Night (online or live), but I previously saw all three bands / musicians that were scheduled on this particular Wednesday night. I was excited to watch this one online, because of the three on the schedule.

Up first was X. Ari who I first saw on WFNM Instagram Live. For her WFNM online set, she had some technical difficulties and so I was eager to catch another set. This set was pre-recorded at what looked to be the Resident in the Art District of Los Angeles. She had a pop - rock sound that would fit perfectly on the Sunset Strip. She bounced around that stage like there was a full on party going on. At points, her vocals hit so high that I'm sure the classic breaking of glass was happening. One other thing I noticed was that the drummer was slamming his set like he had waited 15 months to do so. 

X. Ari

Up next was Rituals of Mine. I previous saw them at The Echo where they opened for Y La Bamba. What a contrast, which is why I so remember this band. Y La Bamba has a folk sound while I say Rituals of Mine had a doom punk sound. I will say that for School Night they appeared to take down their sound just a notch. Their set had a mix of hard core punk and poetry, especially as she sang out, "Stay in my lane." I loved how they had brief breaks between songs where their band name popped up on screen that conveyed a Matrix feel. 

 

Rituals of Mine

Closing it out was BIIANCO. Well, I've seen BIIANCO plenty of times and for years in prior iterations. I just can't get enough of those interpretive dance moves and projected visuals. What I loved about the video? I loved how at times it was just a touch out of focus as the camera worked on regaining focus. I can't wait to see BIIANCO live again.

BIIANCO

Los Angeles Music Scene: Bootleg Theater Closes Down

The Los Angeles indie music scene got hit with a harsh gut punch on Monday when an unexpected announcement arrive from the Bootleg Theater.

On their Twitter feed, they wrote:

This was unexpected as Sid the Cat (their music booker) was posting on their Instagram feed about upcoming shows at the Bootleg Theater. Based on the above, it looks like the Bootleg Theater would have been able to survive the COVID-19 shutdown. The key issue was "irreconcilable differences with the partner we originally purchased the property with in 1999."

Let me just speculate. Loopnet states that the total assessment (I'm thinking this will be updated shortly so if one clicks on that Loopnet link, the assessment might be different) of the property is $943,675. We know the property was on sale back in January for a list price of $5.25 million. Hmm, is it possible the "irreconcilable differences" had to do with the other partner wanting to cash out on this significant appreciation in value? Either the other partner put up the majority of the investment or the agreement was written in a way to state that if one wanted out the property needed to be put up for sale and so this unknown partner was forcing a sale. Once again, this whole paragraph is just speculation. 

Sid the Cat wrote on Instagram:

There are little words to say how we feel right now about the recent closure of @bootlegtheater. We’ve lost a home and a gathering place for our community. There was truly no place like it. It will be missed. But we will move forward.

We thank all the artists and patrons who’ve made Bootleg Theater a communal and safe space for art. And a special thank you to all the supporters - especially in the past year with #CoverTheBootleg and the GoFundMe donations for Bootleg staff.

While we mourn the loss of the Bootleg Theater, it will live on in lore and legend for Sid The Cat. From the formative shows by Phoebe Bridgers and Big Thief, the illustrious gathering of songwriters for the Swamp Soiree, the 3 phenomenal years of Gxrlschool Festival and all the way up to early 2020 with the celestial Moses Sumney residency. We will cherish the memories and music that were made and celebrated in the space.

We look forward to the future and all of the exciting things to come as we continue to promote artists and create memorable concert experiences for music fans and friends. Thanks for your support and see you soon.

Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow

(Please check back for updates on venue changes for current shows. New show locations to be announced soon)

Buzzbands got this quote from the spokesperson for the new owners:

“Our intention is to continue operating the former Bootleg as a multidisciplinary performing arts venue, with an initial emphasis on music, cinema and literature. We’ll be operating a bit more like an arts cooperative than a concert hall, and hosting some long-standing L.A. concert series and arts non-profits who, like many, found themselves on precarious footing during the pandemic.”

Speculation again. Sid the Cat appears to be moving on from the location, which indicates that the new owners have a different vision -- why would you want to cut ties with a booker that was packing the venue? The spokesperson for the new owners said that "we'll be operating a bit more like an arts cooperative than a concert hall . . . " This seems to indicate that they're moving away from the Bootleg Theater model. Then they follow that with "and hosting some long-standing L.A. concert series." That sounds like maybe any music will be dedicated to classical music or other artistic types of music -- another indication that they're moving away from the Bootleg Theater model.

As the asking price for the property was $5.25 million, I am going to speculate again that the new owners are wealthy and are taking on this project as a gift to the Los Angeles art community. Over-all, this sounds like a loss for the LA indie music scene, but a huge gain for the LA indie art scene.

Here's my list of venues that have shut down since the start of the pandemic:

Blue Whale (jazz focused)

Bootleg Theater

The Factory

The Hi Hat*

The House of Machines

Moon Room

Saint Rocke

The Satellite

Sun Space

* The Hi Hat is now being called The Goldfish, but I'm not sure that the venue will be as fully dedicated to music as The Hi Hat was. It is also going to have indoor dining for the Sticky Rice restaurant so I'm not sure that diners are going to want some rock band blasting their amps. 

  

Though the Bootleg Theater closing is a dispute between partners, it really does make me wonder about the current holding power of some of the remaining independent music venues such as Hotel Café, Moroccan Lounge and Zebulon. Are there potential land minds there that no one is aware of and have nothing to do with the pandemic (other than the stresses of being in a partnership during a pandemic) -- that is partners just deciding they want to explore new options?

And here's a link to an LA Times talk with Sid the Cat's Kyle Wilkerson.

The Silverlake Lounge: Ryan Hahn & The Believers, The Little Miss and Water Tower

As mentioned in my Starcrawler blog post, before this Silverlake Lounge outing, I'd already gone out to catch some live music - Starcrawler, of course. But I considered the Starcrawler set to be a pre-season outing on my part as the band didn't do a full set and it was an acoustic one at that, which is nothing like their live sets. 

I honestly was thinking that I might not catch another live set until early July when I plan to catch a DIY festival (there is an El Cid event that I really want to go to in a week, but I already know I'll be working late that night). But as I was scanning through Instagram, I came across a night at The Silverlake Lounge that featured Ryan Hahn & The Believers, The Little Miss, and Water Tower. The event was also listed as an acoustic night, but it didn't feel like one -- other than the absence of their drummers. This is my long way of saying that I consider this night to be my official first music outing of the (hopefully) pre-COVID-19 world.

Ryan Hahn & The Believers

So how did it feel to be back seeing live music inside an actual venue? Since Feb 2021 (the last time I went out before COVID-19 shut down the music industry), I've seen live music -- I'm not going to lie. I've been invited to see some acoustic sets played. I ran across some music alongside the LA River. I was invited to photograph a taping of a band for the online version of Echo Park Rising 2021. But this, with the hope that we are past COVID-19, brought a big smile to my face. I just couldn't help it. The crowd was enthusiastic. This was the most people I've seen inside The Silverlake Lounge in years. It was amazing.

The Little Miss

The night was filled with Americana Rock. And yes, it was listed as an acoustic night, but the bands had the speakers blasting and the electric guitars plugged in (okay maybe just one). It didn't remind me much of a quiet acoustic night.

Comment of the night came from The Little Miss: How many people found themselves spending a lot of time on Zillow? Like, how would it be to live in Missouri? Cheaper. 

Water Tower

  

 

Starcrawler at Stories Books & Cafe

I'm not sure if this Starcrawler set officially counts as my first night out catching live music since the re-opening up of Los Angeles due to COVID-19. The band was trimmed down to two members who did an acoustic, mini-set for the book signing of "Permanent Damage: Memoirs of an Outrageous Girl." The book is an autobiography by Mercy Fontenot and written by Lyndsey Parker. Mercy Fontenot was a member of GTO's band. Does it count as an official first outing when the focus is on a book release? Let's use a sports analogy and call it a pre-season outing.

It has been years since I last saw Starcrawler live and in-person. It was a thrill seeing them and being in a crowd. There were around 50 people crowded into the patio of Stories Books & Cafe. After their short set, the band got cheers from the crowd and a request for an encore. The band declined as up next was a funny and emotional telling of the life of Mercy Fontenot.

Online Quarantine Sets: Version 101

With live music coming back, I'm not sure how many more of these online sets I'll be catching. Who knows, maybe I'll catch one or two more. 

Anyways, on to School Night's online sets. Julia Wolf opened it up this past Monday night. Her music had this Asian vibe to it. Even with that Asian vibe, her music lyrics were a mix of Italian and English. So hey, I'd call it world music, taking inspiration from various music genres around the globe. She played her set sitting on her bed with her tracks on the computer and a microphone held close. 

I loved how she had brief discussions before each song, providing insight into the music. One song was about her sister. Another about someone who unfollowed her on Instagram, but kept on viewing her Stories. 

Also, got to give props to the bedspread and pillow visuals. The bedspread had flower prints. The pillow had a skeleton.

Julia Wolf

Jubel is a duo from Stockholm, Sweden. I have a love affair with bands and musicians from Sweden -- such as Final Child. I love the way Jubel played with the camera angles during their pre-recorded set. Shots from the top. Shots shooting up from the ground. Shots that were level. It was like watching a music video.

Their songs had dance vibes. One song also had some Puerto Rican dance vibes. That song was a vacation song that had the waves washing across the imaginary beach shore.

Jubel

Los Angeles Music Scene: Frustration Growing with Save Our Stages Funding

Shuttered Venue Operators Grants as of June 3rd were being issued at a snail's pace. On that date only 50 grants had been awarded. As of Jun 14th, that had increased to 411. Now that is out of 14,214 submitted applications so we're talking just 2.9% of applications have had their grant approved, but one has to admit the pace is increasing. Hopefully, that snail's pace starts to speed up to that of a race horse running down the stretch.

(Note: some of the grant numbers below have lower figures than the 411 that I mention above. The reason is the articles are dated and so are using older reports from the Small Business Administration.)

Frustration is mounting regarding the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant process.

Music Fest New (Jun 10th) had this quote from Sean Watterson, who co-owns The Happy Dog in Cleveland:

The Office of Disaster Assistance never wanted this program. They resented being blamed for fraud in other programs, like PPP and EIDL, and reacted spitefully, solving for the risk of fraud by not making any awards at all (90 grants in response to the 14,000 applications made).

We’ve been lied to, blamed, ignored, patronized – everything but funded. The SBA hired 500 reviewers who took 6 weeks to make 90 grant awards. Any way you do the math, it is unforgivable.

The SBA has singlehandedly done more damage to independent music venues in the last six months than covid did in the prior nine. Life savings exhausted, homes mortgaged, personal guarantees made on lines of credit – all done after the bill passed, with the expectation of implementation.

On the plus side for The Happy Dog, their first show will be on June 25th. I do hope he's already gotten his funding, because on the negative side: has the Small Business Administration read that quote?

Gothamist (Jun 12th) had this quote from Kambri Crews, who owns the Q.E.D. Astoria in New York (appears to be a comedy club):

So many folks acting like QED has survived. Nope we’re just enjoying the protections of the eviction moratorium as we wait for relief and I hang on by a thread with mounting debt and stress I couldn’t have imagined. #saveourstages

That does not sound good -- though I still have to say I'm not sure why a bank or landlord would walk away from the potential of collecting significant back payments. 

The article provides this tidbit for what is causing some of the issues for some venues.

In addition, many venue owners have run into issues with 4506-T tax forms and "Death Match Files"—some owners received notices from the SBA that they were deceased and ineligible for funds despite being very much alive.

What is a 4506-T tax form? Looking it up, it appears to be specific to businesses that don't due their tax forms on a calendar basis. Most of us pay our taxes based on our income from January 1st to Dec 31st. I guess some businesses pay taxes that cross fiscal years and so need to fill out a 4506-T tax form.  

Also, maybe the SBA didn't have one of their best individuals leading the charge:

The person leading the SVOG has been replaced by people that led the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, and they are adding more application reviewers to the team. 

Variety (Jun 15th) adds this additional fact:

Almost six months after Congress passed the $16 billion Save Our Stages act into law, less than 100 of the nearly 5,000 struggling independent venues have been approved for relief money, according to its most recent report, released June 9 by the Small Business Administration, which distributes the loans. Venue sources tell Variety that just “a few” have actually received any money.

As I mentioned previously, getting approved for a grant is just step one. The next step is filling out even more paperwork on how the funds will be used.

New Music Alert: Glaare's "Young Hell"

When I saw GLAARE at The House of Machines, I wrote this in my blog post on that night, "The lights were brighter than they might have wanted, but that didn't stop them from putting on a solid sound of doom."

The song "Young Hell" falls perfectly in that vain of doom. The music video starts off with a brightly lit background and a hand slowing dropping into view. The finger nails are painted blood red. Though the hand moves slowly and you know the finger nails are painted red, it still makes you think of death and dripping blood. And then the screen turns blood red. The music blasts into electronic death and we are brought into a room that might just represent a torture chamber with our lead singer tied up in rope. 

A video that dives into the music of this electronic gothic band. 

photo taken at The House
of Machines

Los Angeles Music Scene: A New Venue - The Goldfish

It appears the Los Angeles music scene has a new music venue called The Goldfish. It also appears to be owned by the folks behind Sticky Rice. It is located at the old The Hi Hat location so one music venue goes away and another comes in. I started to get a little suspicious that something might be going on when The Hi Hat Instagram page got a name change to Slank Blate. I am not sure if the Instagram page got hacked, the owner of the page is deciding what to do with it next or if it got sold off. I'm sure there are other possibilities I'm over-looking. Anyways, I got curious. A few days later, a music friend of mine posted on her Stories about the fact that the building was now called The Goldfish. It all made sense. Doing some Instagram snooping, it would appear that people in the know would have known something was up starting late April.  

Now I have plenty of questions:

1. Did the Sticky Rice owners buy the building? It has been on the market since early 2020. Or is Sticky Rice just renting?

2. How much emphasis will there be on music versus other possibilities.

3. How much space will be dedicated to The Goldfish versus Sticky Rice? This would indicate what the emphasis of the music venue will be -- trying to get touring bands like The Hi Hat or more an emphasis on the local music scene.

4. Did they get a liquor license? Based on plenty of discussions with those who are involved with the music scene, this is a very important license to get for a local music venue to run profitably. 

Online Quarantine Sets: Version 100

I find it hard to believe, but this is my 100th Online Quarantine post. Though I have enjoyed watching these online sets over the months, I am feeling eager to see some bands / artists play live sets. It looks like live music is starting to ramp up in Los Angeles. I might be heading out sometime this month of June, but definitely in July.

Meanwhile, I tuned into School Night on Monday night (I definitely can't wait to catch a live night of School Night). Soran opened it up from Montreal, Canada. The band started with some funky jazz beats. One of their songs did a shout out to someone named Emma, "Will I ever lose you?" was sung with adult contemporary passion.

A random thought that came to mind as I watched the band play was that, "I don't even find it strange to see full bands together any longer. In the past, I might be like, what's up with the full band playing together in this COVID-19 era?" 

Felukah's set came in from Egypt. It was just her and backing tracks as well as the smells of incense. Well, maybe we weren't able to smell it, but we could imagine it as whiffs of smoke drifted across the screen throughout the set. She played her set in a room that had bookshelves filled with books and magazine. She sat on a rug and sang her RnB sounds. For her song "Heliocentric," she had the candles out. 

Rebounder closed it out from New York. Their set was played at a venue called Baby's All Right. The stage looked like it was made from a steel beam that was taken from a long ago torn down bridge. The back wall had a disco feel to it. The video of the set had a 1970's hand held film grain to it. As for the sound, there was a rock beat with pop undertones. The vocals had a dreamy quality. Their friend Silver Sphere came in for a cameo, singing the cover "Everything Is Embarrassing" by Sky Ferreira. Her vocals brought an emotional kick to the lyrics, "You're only one step closer to the door . . . maybe if you'd let me be your lover." 

Los Angeles Music Scene: Save Our Stages Still a Slow Process

On June 1st, the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) sent out this tweet with the following: Friday, we learned of several NIVA members that received approval notices from the Small Business Administration (SBA) stating that their Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) applications have been approved. The collective cheering from fellow independent venues and promoters has been reverberating throughout our membership, as the anticipation of emergency relief coming for all eligible entities appears closer each day.

National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) has issued a statement regarding the first Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) approvals. pic.twitter.com/g8qbL5tg9L

— NIVA | #SaveOurStages (@nivassoc) June 1, 2021

The process is moving along, but leave it to the Rolling Stone (June 3) to splash a dose of reality onto that storyline:

Of the 13,619 qualifying venues, promoters and other live entertainment businesses that applied for the SVOG, just 31, or about 0.2 percent, have had their applications approved, the SBA confirmed. Another 2,945 applications are currently in review, while 10,641 are awaiting their review. On average, the agency announced they have awarded $1.1 million per venue. Approved grants doesn’t necessarily mean applicants get cash-in-hand. Upon approval of their grant, an applicant must file more documents regarding the use of their grants before receiving payment.

Let's just say that basically no applications have been approved. I mean 0.2% is basically zero, right? I'm assuming things will start to ramp up from here. But then there is another loop to jump through -- more government paperwork. As Rolling Stone states, more documents need to be filled out once an application is approved. How many glitches will there be in that process? Let me throw out a guess, funds start to go out starting around August to those 31 approved applications. As I've stated before, I doubt that these delays will have any impact on rather or not a venue gets to stay at their location. I would think that a bank or property owner would be stupid to toss out a venue when they're about to be able to collect more than 15 months of back loan / rent payments. In fact, if I were a bank or property owner, I'd probably be sending over a lawyer to help the music venue through the process. The issue is more of the pain of inching through all of this red tape.

I decided to take a look at the SBA.Gov website and came across this report dated June 3rd. As of that date, the approved application list had gone up to 50. Unfortunately, there isn't a list of those who got approved. In a way, it actually might be helpful to have an official list of those who got their applications approved. If you want to discover fraud, it would be rather easy for local music fans to realize that a specific approved application was just bogus. Of the 50 applications approved as of June 3rd, 5 were in California.

Online Quarantine Sets: Version 99

What drew me to School Night on Wednesday was Alicia Blue. I've gotten to catch her live in the past and always enjoyed her sets. For this online set, her music hit some country notes with a high level of confidence. Then she smoothly transitioned to Lisa Loeb influenced vocals. In the middle of her set, she sang the song "Queen of Echo Park," a tribute to Lauren Ruth Ward. As for the stage, there were lamps placed in strategic locations. It gave the set a country feel. 

Alica Blue

Monjola came on next from Ireland. He played out in the living room of his house. His band played the set sitting on two sofas. He sang the set sitting on the shoulder of one of the sofas or occasionally standing next to the sofa. In front of him was a coffee and corner table. The two tables had 2 computers, wires, synths and speakers atop. Yes, a bit of musical messiness. His music mixed in rap and soul with tweaks to his musical progressions. For one of his songs, it looked like he sped up the video to 1.5x. 

Monjola

Sofia Valdes came up next from Panama. She did just a single song called "Silhouette." Though it was just one song, I didn't feel cheated as I was able to catch a longer set a few months back on School Night. She did her song just with a guitar and her vocals. Her vocals just blew the online audience away. She mentioned that her mom was cooking in the kitchen. A touch of home live. 

Sofia Valdes

Closing it out was Emily Vu. She played her set in the back yard of a recording studio. She wore an Oklahoma City jersey. Ouch to all Lakers fans. She did a full set with lyrics that got shot out in the smoothest style. 

Emily Vu

New Music Alert: Final Child's "Monster"

Final Child released a song called "Monster." It is a Prodigal Son (Fox TV series) music video. 

The music has electronic pop beats. Lyrics are sung with staccato beat. Each word is distinct.

Lyrics: Have you ever been in love with a Monster? / Always want a little more from each other? / Maybe it is time that we go a little south / take me to the wild, neither of us will survive

In the lyrics, is there a bit of admitting that there are two in a relationship. Yes, someone in this relationship is a monster. But there is also this hint that there is a two way street here. Both want more from each other. There is the belief that even if they change directions, both will destroy the other.

photo take at The Sayers Club

New Music Alert: Crimson Apple's "War With My Mind"

Crimson Apple is out with a new song called "War With My Mind." It is a song to slam an ex-boyfriend who has been caught cheating. 

Lyrics tell it all with:

Why you gotta lie boy? 

You know how it drives me mad 

But every time you cry boy 

I give chances I don’t have

These images flash making me go blind 

You’re looking in my eyes, but I’m lost in my mind 

Your hands around her waist, your lips go in to taste and now I can’t erase

I came across the band only once at The Satellite. They were the opening band and I was impressed by this four sister band. They give the power ballads of hard rock bands such as Poison and Def Leppard a run for their money.

Photo taken at the Satellite

New Music Alert: Trousdale's cover of The Beach Boys' "Wouldn't It Be Nice"

Trousdale takes a spin at covering The Beach Boys' "Wouldn't It Be Nice." You can catch a pretty cool beach themed video on their Instagram page. Look for the post dated October 9th, 2020. I really don't believe there is another Los Angeles local trio that has the melodic vocal beauty of this band. Their vocals just perfectly harmonize. And yes, those vocals will have you imagining a drive up the California coast.

Photo taken at the Bootleg Theater