I'm Up On Buzzbands: Feels with Vaguess and Oog Bogo at The Echo

I'm up on Buzzbands with photos and write-up of Feels and their return to the stage after the long pandemic shutdown. Vaguess and Oog Bogo opened. Enjoy a preview photo below.

New Music Alert: Almost Monday's "Live Forever"

Almost Monday is one of a growing list of bands that I've seen only via an online set. I've actually seen them twice online. First time I saw them was via WFNM where they were doing an acoustic fun set. Then I saw them a second time on Home School (School Night), which was a pre-recorded full on band set.

Their recent release "Live Forever" is a snappy pop song. The lead vocals are crisp and perfect. The beats are catchy. This is a song to just blast in your car. Sure, I guess it isn't one of those aggressive songs that you'd play when in a traffic jam and you want to just give the middle finger to anyone who cuts you off. But it is one of those songs that you'll want to play when you're just in a good mood and nothing is going to keep that mood from going south.

Lyrics: We could live forever. I'm thinking like together. Can think of nothing better. Just me and you forever.

Screen shot from Home School

Hotel Cafe: Monday Monday at Hotel Cafe

Hotel Cafe had a packed line-up for the Monday Monday at Hotel Cafe series. The musicians played three or four song sets. The line-up was: Jenni Alpert, Daniel Blake, McKail Seely, Adanna Duru, Aryk Crowder, Jessica Childress, Eli Pafumi, Juliette Irons and Joel Eckels.

Jenni Alpert

Daniel Blake

Jennie Alpert told her story about growing up in foster care and her search for her biological father. She did find him and he backed her up on guitar for a song. I would love to hear more about her search for her father, because she also mentioned that he was homeless. 

Adanna Duru

McKail Seely

McKail Seely is a familiar individual to me as she sings in the band Luci. Her bandmate Ashley joined her for one song. And, of course, there had to be some funny interaction. McKail said, "Ashley is such a good writer." Ashley responded, "She's so nice." In return, McKail said, "I know."

Jessica Childress

Aryk Crowder

Aryk Crowder mentioned that he had just signed with a indie record label.

Jessica Childress sang a song about a nasty breakup and had the audience cheering loudly at the end of her set.

Juliette Irons

Eli Pafumi

Juliette Irons totally changed up the singer-songwriter vibe. She went on stage with a drummer and an electric violinist. She brought some dance vibes to the audience. Most everyone was seated, but I'm sure that if it was standing room that everyone would have vibed with her. 

Joel Eckels

Joel Eckels closed out the night. He's the one who puts on these weekly events at Hotel Cafe.

I'm Up On Buzzbands: The Paranoyds with Moonily and Upchuck

I'm up on Buzzbands for the first time since early 2020 (due to the shutdown of music during the pandemic). I got the opportunity to shoot The Paranoyds, Moonily, and Upchuck at The Echo. As can be seen by the below photos, it was an extremely fun night.

New Music Alert: Forever X2's "Tape Deck"

Forever X2's lead singer, Peter Verdell, was previously in a band called Act As If that I came across a couple times back in the day. The band had that local music vibe of fun times that included imagined walks in Echo Park and Silver Lake. 

Now what about Forever X2 and their new song "Tape Deck?" The music still has that fun times vibe, but one isn't walking around Echo Park and Silver Lake. No, you've got the head phones on with electronic dance beats blasting into your ears. And you're walking around Hollywood, checking out the scene. You strut just a touch, because the music just inspires you to do so.  

photo take at The Satellite

Los Angeles Music Scene: Report on Save Our Stages Grants Update

Back at the beginning of July, I took a look at how the Shuttered Venue Operators grants were being allocated out to various venues in the Los Angeles area. At that time, $1.5 billion in grants had been provided across the United States out of a total of $16 billion that is available. 

At the time, here is what was known: 

Regent Theatre: $2.5M 

Lodge Room: $1.7M 

The Baked Potato: $0.4M

Since that time, $6.8 billion of that $16 billion has been allocated (42.5%). The list of venues getting grants have expanded, of course.

Teragram: $1.9M 

Orpheum: $1.7M 

The Mayan: $1.6M 

Whisky a Go Go: $1.2M 

Resident: $0.928M 

Zebulon: $0.875M 

Glass House: $0.873M 

Moroccan Lounge: $0.745M

I will admit that I find it interesting that Resident got slightly more funding than both Zebulon and Glass House. Zebulon (250 capacity) and Glass House (800) are far larger in size than Resident (210). The Resident does have a beer garden, but so does Zebulon (in a way) as well as a restaurant. I guess there are some high volume drinkers in the Art District.

Hotel Café, Troubadour and the Viper Room all appear to be waiting for funding. It is possible that they already got funding as the business addresses for those venues might differ from the venue address. A Troubadour did get some funding, but it is a Troubadour in Kentucky.

Bar Lubitsch: Arisa, Ash Leone, Tessa Rae, Haiden and Heyboy

A recent Thursday night meant another reason to drive out to West Hollywood to catch a WFNM night of music. The night was highlighted by the debut performance of Heyboy. There doesn't appear to be much info about Heyboy out there on the Internet, but I have to believe that will change. The music is perfectly crafted pop. The perfect example being the song "Wasn't It Fun?," which Heyboy mentioned is a reflection about the end of a relationship, but remembering the beauty of the beginning. He had a large contingent if supporters in the audience with people standing on the couches that line the walls of the bar to get a full view of the very energetic performance. 

Heyboy

Opening up the night was Arisa. His music left explanation points throughout the set. And for one song, those in the crowd were so swayed by the music that they brought out their smart phones and turned on the flashlights. For his final two songs, he started off with a song inspired by his listening to Disney pop songs and then ending the set by just rocking it out. To close it out, he walked off the stage and turned to watch his band close out the set.

Arisa

 Ash Leone brought classic singer songwriter vocals that I think could fit perfectly across the decades of time -- be it the 1940s to the current. I swear I could see her singing backing vocals for Judy Garland. She had the comment of the night when she said, "A woman's intuition is always correct except if it is anxiety driven." And when she sang too many songs that were sad, she mentioned, "I guess I'm just a sad bitch."

Ash Leone

 Tessa Rae brought the dance beats to the night. While she brought the dance moves on stage, her band was just having the time of their lives. Smiles were being exchanged between the band along with some posing for the camera. The joy of playing live music after such a long pandemic was obvious. What did I notice: the color she used on her finger nails perfectly matched the color of her hair and cloths. Also, most of her friends were fully masked. 

Tessa Rae

Haiden was also doing his debut performance. He was a bit nervous, joking about how he had done some research about how to deal with a debut performance. He mentioned his height -- he is very tall; he is so tall, in fact, that the microphone stand couldn't extend high enough. And then laughed about his facial expressions while singing. Even though it was his first live set ever, he definitely had the swoon style down perfectly.  

Haiden

Little Joy: Lavalove and Hair

It was off to Little Joy to catch Lavalove and Hair on a Tuesday night.

Lavalove is a perfectly named band, because the music so aligns with the band name. The music is as hot as lava, but as soothing as love. This four female band has you thinking back to a former Los Angeles band called Summer Twins (the duo twins now perform under Chelsea Rose and Easy Love). The vocals are youthful while the music carries a minimalist feel. What did I notice: when wanting to take some photos of the drummer, I could have sworn that the bassist edged away just a touch to allow me to have a cleaner angle.

Lavalove

Hair came on next with some 1970s rocking music and . . . hair. Well, maybe just one of the band members has the 70s hair look down. The music had you pumped up and the band put on a stage show to match. The guitar and bass were swung in every direction that was possibly allowed on the small Little Joy stage. And the drummer locked in the corner of the stage was hitting those cymbals with all his might.

Hair

The two bands were like polar opposites: low key pop tunes versus rocking stage action. Yet, both were so solid and made for an excellent night of music.

Harvard & Stone: The Sweet Kill with Beck Black

It was off to Harvard & Stone for the first time since music re-started in Los Angeles. The Sweet Kill is doing a July residency with some gothic themes. The band played a driving and relentless set with the lead singer dressed to the nines while the bassist went shirtless. That was a contrast of vampire proportions. One thing I somewhat forgot about Harvard & Stone was that sets start really late, which fit in perfectly with the rise of the vampire sounds. The set started off at around 11:45 p.m. and didn't end until 12:30 a.m. Though there were some technical difficulties that pushed the time slot. The bassist had some tuning issues, which caused the band to have to stop a couple of times at the start of the set. What did I notice: as the band was about to start, the bassist carried three cups of water and carefully placed them to the side. I noticed him only drink one of the three, but that doesn't mean he didn't down all three during the set.

The Sweet Kill

The Sweet Kills bass problems might have been partially caused by the fact that the bass was lent to the opening band, Beck Black. Beck Black's set was delayed as the battery had died on their bass. It took a few moments to figure out what was happening and The Sweet Kill was kind enough to offer up their bass (which might have thrown off the tuning). Beck Black's set started off with the melodic sounds of the synth that grew in power until diving into full rock power. What did I notice: when the lead singer reached for her bottle of Perrier during the set, she slipped and fell to the stage floor. She played it off beautifully by grabbing the bottle and taking a few gulps of water while laying on her side.

Beck Black

Street Food Cinema: Dream Phases

Dream Phases hit the stage for the first time in over a year. Their set was played to start off Street Food Cinema, which was showing "Raiders of the Lost Ark" at LA State Historic Park. (I think the last time I shot a band at the LA State Historic Park was way back when FYF was holding their festival at the park.) To celebrate the showing of the movie, an Indiana Jones impersonator with whip was seen hanging out in the crowd. 

The band mentioned that they were nervous about playing their first set in such a long stretch of time, but it didn't sound like it. To help with the nerves, they started the set cracking a joke about how those who were unvaccinated in the crowd were having the time of their lives while the vaccinated appeared to be playing it extra safe. I could hear someone in the crowd say, "That's so true." 

The band then kicked off a 45 minute set of their psychedelic rock tunes. It was a nice setting with DTLA off in the distance and the crowds in their COVID-19 pods. The band's "Almost Famous" styling fit in perfectly as the golden hour of sunsets approached.

Bar Lubitsch: Hollis, Miss Madeline, Gia Woods, DeathbyRomy

The last time I went to a WFNM live event was back in December 2019. Can you believe that? With that long gap, I was eager to make it back to the return of WFNM at Bar Lubitsch. I wasn't the only one as the bar was packed. 

Opening up was Hollis, a singer-songwriter who played with a backing guitarist. Her set was delayed significantly as WFNM worked to get the sound equipment working. It didn't phase her a bit. Her music had a calming effect that smoothed us all back into the world of live music. There was the element of poetry in her music that touched the soul. And her hands helped tell the story be it via a touch to the heart or a finger pointed to the heavens. When her set ended, she looked at the row of photographers and thanked us for being there. 

 

Hollis

Up next was Miss Madeline who hit the dance tunes. She had two backup dancers who danced throughout the 30 minute set without even a breather. The choreography fit the music like a glove. Her set exuded with female sexuality and seduction. The set was briefly interrupted when someone in the audience fainted.  

Miss Madeline

Gia Woods came up next. There were two floor fans put on the mini stage that was created in front of the actual stage. The fans created the perfect conditions that had her California blond hair flowing throughout the set. Of course, the two fans didn't prevent her from occasionally throwing in an extra head swing that sent her hair into plume. On the main stage by the sound board, a friend could be seen secretly (or not so secretly) dancing along throughout the set. 

Gia Woods

Closing out the line-up was DeathbyRomy with her death punk, industrial sound. It was a perfect way to close out the night: get that anger that no doubt built up during COVID-19 out of the body. Though her music has a very aggressive sound, it contrasted with what came across as a sensitive and modest personality. On one arm, she had "Dad" tattooed inside a heart. When it came to her barely there dress, she joked (I think it was a joke), "My Mom designed this dress." There was also these hints of modesty during her set. This dichotomy had the crowd cheering for more and she accommodated the wish by singing an encore.     

DeathbyRomy

Little Joy: Mitchell Manburg, Kilo Tango, Slite of Hand

It was off to Little Joy for the first time since Echo Park Rising 2019. I went there to catch Slite of Hand, which is fronted by Jonny of Spare Parts for Broken Hearts. I got there in time to catch part of Mitchell Manburg's set. He was celebrating his EP release. He had a nice group of friends in attendance. If I heard correctly, he moved out of Los Angeles during the pandemic and so this was a return visit, as well. His fingers really played those guitar strings.

Mitchell Manburg

Kilo Tango came on next with some "bummer" songs. She said that she was singing songs that she wrote during the pandemic. She did have one less depressing song. Her 11 year-old nephew told her that her songs were too depressing so she wrote an upbeat song for him. Her vocals waifed across the small back room of Little Joy.

Kilo Tango

Slite of Hand then hit the stage with a violin and guitar. The set list was a mixture of non-vocal songs, a song sung in Spanish, a cover and songs about $13. The audience was more than appreciative, even encouraging when Jonny hesitated about playing one of his non-vocal songs. In the audience were a number of familiar faces such as Caitlin Dee of Pipe Dreams. It was nice to recognize so many people and realize that slowly, but surely the LA music scene is coming back.

Slite of Hand

Big Top DIY Fest

With many Los Angeles music venues still filling out their schedules after the ending of COVID-19 lockdowns, local bands are finding other ways to perform live around the city. One such way happened on July 3rd in a Highland Park backyard. Based on what I heard from the stage, it appears that Bloom Closet Records had asked the owners of the home if they could put on a music event in the backyard once the pandemic had eased. The owners said yes and the result was that 300 or so people got to enjoy a DIY music festival. 

The sets started off at 6:30 p.m., which was a perfect time as the summer heat was quickly dissipating into a pleasant evening and night.

The bands I came to see were Suzie True with anxiety filled end of relationship songs and Cheekface with their adoring fans. Suzie True was the last band to play before the sun set while Cheekface played until the festival organizers felt that the next door neighbors might be on the verge of calling the cops -- 10:30 p.m.

Suzie True

Cheekface

Opening up was Max Look who kicked it up on stage with dramatic spins of the body and guitar. June Swoon emphasized that one shouldn't date or marry someone named Jared. (The first thing that came to mind was, "Did she also mean Jared Leto?") 

Max Look

June Swoon

Buckets and GUPPY get the award for going with the true theme of the festival: Big Top. Both wore face paintings to emphasize that clowns can play music. Buckets read a letter on stage while GUPPY's bass player showed his stretching abilities.

Buckets

The festival was attending my many notables of the Los Angeles music scene such as Potty Mouth and Ramonda Hammer. 

GUPPY

Junior High: Christina Apostolopoulos, Discotelle, Ryan Pollie

I decided at the last moment on a Wednesday night that I'd take a walk from my Glendale apartment to Junior High. Junior High is a not-for-profit arts space that used to be in Hollywood, but recently moved to Glendale. This was my first journey out to the recently opened space. The space has a minimalist feel to it. Concrete floor. Ceiling to floor drapes that separate the rooms. White painted walls. All clean, bright and new.

I walked in and Christina Apostolopoulos was in the middle of her set. I was disappointment that I showed up so late. I previously only caught part of her set back at Echo Park Rising in 2019 (was off shooting multiple bands for Buzzbands) and was hoping to catch a full set this time around. It just wasn't meant to be. What I caught was enjoyable and maybe I will be able to catch a full set in the near future.

Christina Apostolopouls

Discotelle came on next with a folk sound that initially started out with a duo, but they added a cello at the end, which made the band's music sound all the sweeter. There was a brief fake out by the lead singer when she jumped into the middle of the floor early in the set. I thought she was about to turn her set into a dance party. 

Discotelle

Closing it out was Ryan Pollie. I last saw him at the Bootleg Theater where he played with a band that was called Los Angeles Police Department. His set was all smiles and barefoot. He was barefoot so that he could play a little drum set that was on the floor. For one song, he was supposed to use a harmonica, but had forgot to fit it over his head. To help mitigate the forgetfulness, the guitarist for Discotelle ran over and amusingly tried to place it over Pollie's head. It gave the audience a good laugh. 

Ryan Pollie

What did I notice: For Christina Apostolopoulos' set, most everyone was sitting down. For Discotelle's set, most everyone was standing. For Ryan Pollie's, most everyone was sitting. Okay, maybe I'm the only one finding that an amusing observation.

Los Angeles Music Scene: Report on Save Our Stages Grants

The Small Business Administration is reporting on the allocation of the Shuttered Venue Operators grants. The most recent report that I am basing this post on was June 28th. It looks like they might be doing weekly updates each Monday (or Tuesday if Monday is a holiday).As of June 28th, $1.5 billion in grants have been provided to various entities across the United States. There is a total of $16 billion available so there will be a lot more entities added to this list over time.

In terms of Los Angeles music venues, the Lodge Room is getting $1.7M while Regent Theatre is getting $2.5M. 

For those who love their jazz, The Baked Potato is getting $0.4M. 

For those who love the movies, Laemmle Theatres got $5.7M while Vintage Cinemas (Vista) is getting $1.6M.

What sort of gives you some insight into how corporations are set up, Golin Theatres is getting $10.0M while Regency Theatres is getting $9.6M. If my Google searching is correct, Golin is owned by Regency so Regency is actually getting $19.6M.

Still waiting (that's my assumption, I could be wrong) for their allocations are The Roxy, Troubadour, Teragram / Moroccan Lounge, Viper Room, Whisky A Go Go, and Zebulon. As well as many many more. 

New Music Alert: Holy Wars' "Little Godz"

Holy Wars has a video out of their song "Little Godz." The music hits you in the face at full speed. It only allows you brief moments to let your guard down before kicking it back up. The music had me thinking U2's "Achtung Baby"/"Zooropa" albums. 

The video has people surrounded by smart phones, unable to escape the power of the devices as they're imprisoner by them. There is a neck collar around each with multiple smart phones attached to these collars. Eyes are hypnotized by what is being shown. Does the video provide any hopefulness? No, the last scene is of a person stuck under the power of those little godz.

Lyrics of the song: I battle with a God inside my brain. A torment into taught, a school of pain. We say forget me not but we’ll still fade to dust. Compare compare compare combust.

photo take at Madame Siam