I'm Up On Buzzbands: Mating Ritual at Zebulon

I'm up on Buzzbands with a photo gallery and write-up of the amazingly fun Mating Ritual set at Zebulon. If you're a Lakers fan, you'll really enjoy the post.

I'm Up on Buzzbands: Rosie Tucker at The Echo

This actually happened a little over a month ago, but I have a photo gallery and write-up on Buzzbands for Rosie Tucker's set at The Echo. The night was in support of her "Sucker Supreme" album. I know, maybe ridiculous to post about this a month later, but I'm a Rosie Tucker fan and I just forgot to do my usual promotion for my Buzzbands posts.

Quick Hit Artist Interview: Slip

Slip at the Lodge Room (shot for Buzzbands)

Interview with the artist. Enjoy:

What is currently inspiring you in terms of music? I feel like this answer changes every so often for me, but there have been some live shows that have been really inspiring to me this year. Idles at the Wiltern was my favorite show in a while. Khruangbin at Desert Daze was like a masterclass at instrumental proficiency. Thom Yorke at the Greek was magical - Radiohead and Thom have been prevailing influences for me for a while, if it wasn't overtly obvious already. Aside from that I've been spinning Prince's S/T record almost daily for the past month.

What is one of your high or low moments and what makes it stand out? I think I need some more highs and lows as I've only played a handful of shows as slip up until now. Hopefully more highs than lows, although you can't have one without the other, I suppose. Get back to me in like a year or two on this one ;)

Own final thoughts: I produced, mixed, and to a certain degree wrote my debut album 'the cost' in track order. A lot of artists will typically write a bunch of songs and then piece it together after - I pieced it together as I went along, knowing that from the day I wrote and recorded track 1 ("the patient," which I wrote and demo'd in two days in my friend's garage). I feel like that went a long way in terms of how the album feels cohesive and has a narrative structure.

I'm Up On Buzzbands: Gypsum at Zebulon

I'm up on Buzzbands (click on this link) with a photo gallery of Gypsum, Potty Mouth, and Julie at Zebulon. Gypsum was celebrating their self-titled album release.

Gypsum

Quick Hit Band Interview: The Night Times

Photo taken at The Teragram Ballroom for Buzzbands

Interview with the band. Enjoy:

Ben (Organist) 

What is currently inspiring you? Currently been listening to a lot of CCR, Mazzy Star, Metallica. Four Horsemen is my all-time jam and can't let go of it 

How would you like your music to impact people who listen to your music or see you play live? Rock n roll and keep the partyin' going is all I gotta say. 

Tanya (Drummer) 

What is currently inspiring you? I've been inspired by a whole lot of Bad Brains and X-ray Spex. 

How would you like your music to impact people who listen to your music or see you play live? Just have a blast and enjoy themselves. 

Magoo (Guitarist) 

What is currently inspiring you? Lately been listening to a lot of early AC/DC, Flamin' Groovies, The Seeds, Tommy and the Commies and other stuff. 

How would you like your music to impact people who listen to your music or see you play live? I'd like for people to have a great time!! keep rock n roll alive!! 

Squints (Guitarist) 

What is currently inspiring you? Some of my influences right now range quite a bit! From listening and helping my buddy learn some traditional country to jamming out to some 77's. It’s hard to pin point exactly, anything really that moves me! 

How would you like your music to impact people who listen to your music or see you play live? I’d like for the audience to feel what we all individually bring to the stage, each one of us is a different musician! And I hope they like it! 

Is there a Q&A you’ve always wanted to answer: We can’t really think of a question that we’ve always wanted to be asked. If you have any questions or just curious, just ask us! We are everyday people. We talk to everyone who talks to us! 

Chris (Singer) 

What is currently inspiring you? Currently, the band is driven off of high energy and pure adrenalin . . . I’d like to say we feed off of each other and other local musical groups of past present and future . . . 

How would you like your music to impact people who listen to your music or see you play live? Like to see the crowd engage the feeling of moving and being a part of the performance . . . dancing, moshing, or even tapping their toes . . .

Quick Hit Artist Interview: Edgar Everyone

Edgar Everyone at the Lodge Room (shot for Buzzbands)

Interview with the artist. Enjoy:

How would you describe your music? I would say it's mostly Electro Pop. Synthesizers, drum machines and vocal melodies in the foreground, but I also come from an indie rock background so I add some guitars on the productions too. Keywords for the style: electronic, dancy, pop, glamorous, French Touch, melodic, and at times melancholic.

Do you have a favorite music-themed movie, tv show or book? And then of course, why the choice?  Ahah, I would say Wayne's World actually! Just because I used to watch this non-stop as a kid growing up in France. I actually had the version DUBBED in French which is quite ridiculous and later when I got older I finally watched the original version and it changed my life :)

Own unique thoughts: I lived in Hong Kong for 2 years! (note that in the movie Wayne is actually learning Cantonese which is HK's language ahah) And being there it actually felt like 10 years . . . I was in my early twenties and still working in an office, before I committed to music full time. I don't know if you're ever been there but Hong Kong is quite a magical place. I actually went back 4 times since I moved out. It's still in my heart. And now with the protests and the political tensions, my nostalgia for the place is more alive than ever.

Quick Hit Band Interview: Rose Cologne

Rose Cologne at the Bootleg Theater (shot for Buzzbands)

Interview with the band. Enjoy:

How would you describe your sound? A blend of post-punk, surf and psychedelia... the love child of The Cramps, Mazzy Star and Shocking Blue.

What motivates you to write your music? Pain, fear, love... and a desire for a deeper inner experience shared thru sonic wavelengths and shot out into hearts and minds of the universe.

Quarantine Online Sets: Version 11

Wednesday's work at home got interrupted between 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Moses Sumney popped up on Seattle's KEXP's Live at Home Youtube show. I missed his Bootleg residency due to work, illness and a fear of crowds. His Lo-Fi, minimalist music rang true during his set. He'd record his vocals and then allow those recordings to back up his singing. His set ended with his song "Doomed" that just had these sonic echos. The KEXP host also conducted an interview with Moses. Unfortunately, my laptop computer's speakers couldn't pick up his interview very well.

Moses Sumney

Then up on Buzzbands' Instagram site was Trapdoor Social. Well, it was just Skylar. His set went the full hour with him shifting from guitar to piano to a harp. Yes, a harp. A lot of the back half of the set was with Skylar multitasking. He'd start singing and at the time reading the messages that were being left on Instagram and then mid-song, responding to the messages. It was fun. He ended the set singing his song, "No Regrets." He mentioned that he hadn't sung the song in years and had written it ten years ago and had forgotten how it started. Some fans did Internet searches or something and wrote down the opening lyrics to the song. With the memory help, he started up the song.

Trapdoor Social

Thursday was a similar situation where work got interrupted again. This time between 4 p.m. and 5: 30 p.m. Up on Buzzbands' Instagram site was Sam Marine who played a couple of his country-western tunes in a sideways manner on Instagram. Some folks on Instagram started to message that he was sideways. He sort of chuckled. I'm not sure if he was playing sideways on purpose or thought folks were making a joke. Anyways, his wife came into the room (off screen) and told him to turn his phone 180 degrees.

Sam Marine

Then 30 minutes later, I jumped over to Cuffed Up's interview with Emily Kinney. Actually, I was interested in finding out how the two of them knew each other. They never got to that point, but they have an interesting conversation about music in this time of the pandemic. Emily mentioned that initially she didn't find it all that unusual to be stuck inside her house. Since she's also an actress, she's used to not working for a period of time. Then at the 30 minute mark, the video for Cuffed Up froze up though one could still hear his voice. They decided to end the conversation at that point due to the technical difficulties (which if you read one of my previous posts, you know that Emily is used to suffering through).

Cuffed Up/Emily Kinney

Quarantine Online Sets: Version 10

Molly Moore had what I'd call an unanticipated series of slap stick comedy during her Buzzbands set. She might not have thought so, but I have to think the audience found it amusing. First, she started her set on her own Instagram site versus Buzzbands. Buzzbands must have pinged her, because after she finished her song, she apologized and asked everyone to head over to Buzzbands. In the middle of her Buzzbands, she did a Britney Spears cover. Then she moved over to her own song with lyrics that kind of went like, "My friends say I should cut you off." Well, as she was in the middle of the song, her set got shut down. She popped back up on Buzzbands a few moments later. She must have gotten a warning from Instagram about singing a Britney Spears song. So I guess you're not allowed to do covers of artists on Instagram? What was so spectacular about her set was that there was a light/halo that just shined across her face throughout the set. Not sure if that was due to the video quality, but I did love that special effects.

Molly Moore on Buzzbands

WFNM had their Wednesday extravaganza. Up first was Sophia Gripari playing on guitar with her roommate on drums. As the set was coming to an end, a third roommate came over with the house pet, a dog. She's a Brit who decided to pursue her career in Los Angeles. Her vocals had that perfect British accent that made the music unique. Tory Ruperto came up next singing tunes and playing chords on her piano. Sleeping Lion closed out the night for me. There was melodic duo singing going on during their set. The pianist was wearing a WFNM t-shift. Their set was played under the pink-ish lights of their living room.

Sophia Gripari

Tory Ruperto

Sleeping Lion

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 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

Quick Hit Band Interview: Gustaf

Gustaf at The Echo (shot for BuzzbandsLA)

Interview with the band (with Lydia). Enjoy:

How would you describe your sound? Audio drag for ego slobs.

For the band and its future, how would you define success? Handheld sustainable euphoria.

Thanks for catching our set in LA! Such a fun night.

Up on Buzzbands: Sasami with Slut Island and Rebecca Schiffman

Sasami at The Echo (shot for Buzzbands)

I'm up on Buzzbands. It is FOMO week. Did you miss Friday night? Well, head on over to Buzzbands for some photos and write-up.