It has been around 11 months since I was last at Scribble. That night was also my first time at the venue and I was hyped to see Fuss (former members of The Gooms) playing their debut show. Fast forward to 2024 and I went back to the venue thanks to In Sonic Dreams Presents who invited me to catch the 20th anniversary of Earlimart's album Treble & Tremble. I'll be honest, I had never heard of Earlimart before. I say some interesting symmetry there -- in a way, going to the venue to see bands for the first time.
 |
| Earlimart at Scribble |
I found it amusing and intriguing that I'd never heard of Earlimart. Why? People will often come to me and ask about certain Los Angeles musicians and their history in the Los Angeles music scene. For example, I was once asked during a Silent Mass set what lead singer Ammo Bankoff's prior band was. Brass Box, I said. And I likely added, prior to that she was Black Flamingo. So yes, I found it amusing that I had never heard of a Los Angeles band that has been around the music scene for over twenty years. I also found it intriguing, because I wanted to catch a band that has lasted for such a long period of time and was also having Brian Aubert of Silversun Pickups and Zac Carper of Fidlar join them on stage for a song each. What was exactly the connection with those two beloved Los Angeles bands?
 |
| Earlimart at Scribble |
In my partial defense in never having heard of Earlimart, my involvement in the Los Angeles music scene did start off around the same time frame (one or two years after the release of Treble & Tremble), but I was largely involved in the Kiss or Kill Club scene (ha, how many people who are reading this post have ever heard of that scene). It took a couple years before I ventured beyond that scene.
 |
| Earlimart at Scribble |
Another amusing thought on my part is that Earlimart had a string section for a handful of songs and playing cello was Emily Elkin who I clearly recognized as she has played with various bands for years. I recognize a backing musician, but not the band. What can I say.
 |
| Earlimart at Scribble |
For those who are like me and need an introduction to the band, Aaron Espinoza and Ariana Murray are the duo behind Earlimart. Per Wikipedia, the band was named after the town of Earlimart that sits between Bakersfield and Fresno and has a population of 8,000-ish.
 |
| Earlimart at Scribble |
Scribble was packed for the line-up and it wasn't a late arriving crowd either. When I walked in around 8 p.m., the venue was already filled with fans -- though I was luckily able to squeeze my way to the stage, hopefully not getting those around me too angry.
Some of their music had a post-punk feel with minimal lyrics, at times, such as the song "Sounds" that started with rock beats and vocals that explode into clashing sounds and then quickly transitioning to a string driven instrumental conclusion.
It was an all ages event with two kids front and center. Their parents were behind them. Other than kids, the venue was filled with people ranging from their twenties to their fifties or beyond.
Aubert joined on guitar for "All They Ever Do Is Talk." Prior to the song, Espinoza told a story about how he met Murray and Aubert. It was 1997 and he had just moved to Los Angeles from Fresno. His roommate was Murray and upon meeting for the first time, she invited him to catch Radiohead at the Wiltern. At the time, he had never heard of the Wiltern (or Radiohead -- not sure if I heard that correctly). Once there, he met Aubert who was also going to the concert. Talk about a lifelong friendship.
The song "A Bell And A Whistle" with quiet romantic sounds and lyrics "Sunday nights, Are perfect when they're just, Just the two of us" and hushed bells resulted in some of the loudest cheers of the set.
Carper came up for "Unintentional Tape Manipulations." It was the perfect song for him to come join the band. The song has a buzzy psychedelic organ sound that had the audience doing controlled head bangs.
Espinoza mentioned that Carper used to work at The Ship (the recording studio owned by Espinoza). He said there was a time when Carper was maybe in between places and therefore would always be the first person (air quote needed, of course) at the studio and his explanation was, "I want to get a fresh start and show up and do a good job." Carper was using that time productively; however, because Fidlar was born at that studio in those afterhours nights.
The band's "Heaven Adores You" was dedicated to Elliot Smith who died in 2003. Espinoza mentioned that "the whole album is dedicated to him, every song is about him." The song had a lullaby quality to it.
Tenlons Fort opening up the night -- interestingly enough, I came across the band way back in 2012. The band is fronted by Jack Gibson who had an amusing story to tell about when he was a child actor. He was a background actor for The Wonder Years and was acting like a student should who is on a field trip. He felt that the teacher hated them by the end of the scene. There was discussion about what the theme song was for that TV series and someone called out that it was Joe Crocker singing "With a Little Help from My Friends."
 |
| Tenlons Fort at Scribble |
To close out the set, the band played "Followed by Bad Luck." This song had major flashbacks for me, because the band brought up Nate Cole of Castledoor. I saw Castledoor twice, once in 2009 and again 2010. I actually saw their last set at Spaceland (aka The Satellite -- closed down during the venues shutdown in 2020) when they opened for a band called Princeton. Princeton was the headliner, but I suspect the people showing up were there for Castledoor. The venue was packed for their set and people were being turned away at the door. What a flashback moment to see Cole on stage at Scribble.
 |
| Tenlons Fort at Scribble |
Gibson thanked his band by mentioning that Tenlons Fort is a two-piece and that a last minute call to friends turned it into a five piece for the night.
Comment of the set by Gibson, "I was totally a nervous wreck and kind of a had trip this time. I thought I was going to be a piece of sh*t, but I did alright."
 |
| Tenlons Fort at Scribble |
Jason Lytle from Grandaddy came up next. His set was a series of cover songs that were enjoyed by all. He did two Roger Miller covers. One was Roger Miller's cover of Jim Reeves' "When Two Worlds Collide." Lytle explained why Miller decided to cover that song, "He went and saw a science fiction movie and it was something about worlds battling each other and from that he got 'When Two Worlds Collide.' I thought that was pretty hilarious, because it's suppose to be a sad country song, but really in the back of his mind it was a battling science fiction movie. I appreciated the weirdness of that."
His covers were done using the acoustic guitar except for the last two songs that were done on piano.
His final cover, Earlimart's "Happy Alone," had people lip synching back. Like Tenlons Fort, he mentioned how he was a touch nervous especially when playing "Happy Alone" on the piano, because there were a lot of chords in the song "my hands are shaking . . . will cracking a fake beer help." He opened up his non alcoholic beer from Athletic Brewing that gave folks a laugh.
 |
| Jason Lytle at Scribble |
Earlimart setlist: Hold On Slow Down, First Instant Last Report, Sounds, All They Ever Do Is Talk, The Hidden Track, A Bell And A Whistle, Broke The Furniture, Unintentional Tape Manipulations, Heaven Adores You, It's Okay To Think About Ending. Encores: We Drink On The Jobs, Last Call
Tenlons Fort setlist: Hey Dan, Sober October, Warmth of the Dark, Northwest in Never Leaving, Tonight I Will Retire, Forever is a Long Time, I Just Signed a 360 Deal, Followed by Bad Luck.
Jason Lytle setlist: Dreaming My Dreams With You (Waylon Jennings cover), When Two Worlds Collide (Roger Miller cover of a Jim Reeves song), A World So Full of Love (Roger Miller cover), He Stopped Loving Her Today (George Jones cover), I Started Loving You Again (Merle Haggard cover), Alone in the Universe (Electric Light Orchestra cover), Happy Alone (Earlimart cover)
No comments:
Post a Comment