The Los Angeles fires that started on January 7th, 2025 will have long lasting impacts on the Altadena and Pacific Palisades communities. The local Los Angeles music community has galvanized together in a way that I don't believe I've ever seen. All to provide some glimmer of hope to those who lost so much. Zebulon shuttered for a few days to collect donations. Venues such as Permanent Records Roadhouse has held several events where door proceeds were donated to various causes. I covered a large dance party at The Bellwether (you can read about it here) that raised $70,000.
Last week, the sense of community continued at Zebulon where Gift Horse Project put together a fundraising effort for Altadena Musicians, which is a nonprofit to help musicians who lost their gear in the fire. The nonprofit is headed by Brandon Jay, himself impacted by the fires. The website for the project has the following:
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| Brandon Jay of Altadena Musicians at Zebulon |
"Thousands of musicians lost their musical instruments to the LA fires. We are doing something about it. Instrumental Giving powered by Altadena Musicians is our forthcoming registry app where musicians can list the gear they lost in the LA fires – and donors can help to replace them through gifting or purchasing directly. Think of it like a wedding registry for musicians! (And it’s tax-deductible!)"
The night was headlined by Escape Artist Lovers, but stealing the show was the opening band, Red Pistols. The tweens and teens had a blast singing covers such as "Should I Stay or Should I Go" by The Clash and "Someday" by The Strokes. There was also an unusually high number of f-bombs tossed around, which was interesting to say the least. Two of the band members did lose their home due to the fires. There was some gallows humor allowed, "We're hillbillies." What was actually the most fun moment happened prior to their set. It was a family night to start things off and there were a lot of kids in the crowd. They were running around and having the time of their lives. A couple of them nearly ran right into me before veering off at the last moment. I kept a close watch on where the kids were running around and how I was holding my camera gear. It would have been a really bad night if one of those kids ran directly into my camera lens and ended up having to go to the hospital for some stitches.
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| Red Pistols at Zebulon |
After the Red Pistols, a number of artists came up to play quick three song sets. First up was Mercedes Kilmer. Talk about having to come up after a band that got the loudest cheers of the night. Did Kilmer go screaming bloody murder at her manager after her set, demanding how she got that time slot? Ha ha, no, she was seen throughout the night, hanging out with friends and in good cheer. She dedicated her first song to high school surfers and their significant others. I previously saw Mercedes Kilmer during Zebulon's traditional Super Bowl afterparty. She's actually the first musician that I've seen more than once in 2025.
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| Mercedes Kilmer at Zebulon |
Chris Stills came up next with the highlight being "Sweet California." "All my sorrows will be gone tomorrow. You can follow me to be free in California." Okay, one has to mention that he had one of the more humorous moments of the night while singing the lyrics or not singing the lyrics. "Wait wait, hold on," big laugh, "okay, I got off a plane from Paris today. Sorry . . . Now I just lost it again. Here it comes back." He had the crowd clapping to the beats of his music.
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| Chris Stills at Zebulon |
Malena Cadiz gave praise to the Red Pistols and then said, "It reminded me so much of my teenage band, which was called menarche . . . a woman's first period. It looked kind of hard core on our fliers." One of her three songs was "Call It A Night," which was about "doubling down." "I like it better way over my head. It gives me room to kick around. And stretch my legs."
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| Malenda Cadiz at Zebulon |
Before the headliners Escape Artist Lovers, surprise guest Rodrigo Amarante came up on stage. He told the audience, "I'm singing three songs in American English. There's a difference." He opened the night singing the tender song "In Time" which he composed for the movie His Three Daughters. His final two songs were bookend songs: "I'm Ready" and "The Ribbon." The first is from the mother's perspective. The second is from the son's perspective. Per Genius, the two songs are about a son who died in a war. Another humorous moment happened during this set. It was also about forgotten lyrics, but for this one Amarante did some research beforehand for the song "I'm Ready," "I had to look up the lyrics on the Internet and I wrote it!" I think Amarante was a touch distracted by the enthusiastic response to his music by one fan.
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| Rodrigo Amarante at Zebulon |
Closing out the night was a favorite band of mine, Escape Artist Lovers. The band opened up the night with one of their more subdued songs "Broken Law" that is their latest release. It might be the latest official release for the world to hear. I've, of course, heard it live for awhile. Ha ha. "When we turn our eyes to the sun. And all those words forgotten." Those lyrics "words forgotten" definitely applied to Chris Stills and Rodrigo Amarante. The song ended with singer Rain Phoenix and drummer Kevin Stevens swinging pool noodles above their heads. The band played some of my favorite songs towards the end of their set such as "Heavy with Stars" and "Follow the Leader." I love the body vibrating energy of those songs.
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| Escape Artist Lovers at Zebulon |
Comment of the night: If you're not sweating, you're probably doing something wrong."
Escape Artist Lovers setlist: Broken Law, Hey Motherfucker, Fall Easy, Where I Can Wander, Heavy with Stars, Follow the Leader, Smile at the Unknown, Drowned in Blue.
And just to end this write-up: if you wish to donate to Altadena Musicians, you can do so here.
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