Quick Hit Band Interview: Inspired and the Sleep

Inspired and the Sleep at Chinatown Summer Nights

Interview with the band/ Enjoy:

How would you describe your sound? East LA Psych-Pop

How do you go about combining lyrics and sound? When it comes to songwriting, for me, everything revolves around melody. I attach a concept that is relevant in mind and then the song writes itself.

Own unique final thoughts: We are all adamant Fernet drinkers.

Quick Hit Band Interview: Weslee

Weslee at Chinatown Summer Nights

Interview with the band. Enjoy:

How would you describe your music? I would say our music is a reflection of the vibe/place we are in at the time we are writing it. I mean us as people don’t have just one mood so why should our music, haa.

You mentioned you moved to Los Angeles from London? Did you consider any other US cities and what convinced you to go with Los Angeles? I actually moved to New York from London! It honestly took me a couple years to finally make the move from NY to LA. Always seen myself as more of a city girl, but the west coast way of life is growing on me.

Quick Hit Band Interview: mmmonika

mmmonika at Chinatown Summer Nights

Interview with the band. Enjoy:

What inspired your band name? The band sat down all together for the first time sharing a meal made by a lovely woman in the mountains named Monica.

What motivates you to write your music? Depression and friendship!

Own final thoughts: the band's favorite food is Costco churros.

Quick Hit Artist Interview: Lijie

Lijii at Chinatown Summer Nights

Interview with the artist. Enjoy:

What is currently influencing you as a musician? Reading poetry, listening to BeeGees, classic soul music (Solomon Burke, Etta James, Sam Cooke), Fleetwood Mac, SYML (I used to listen to this artist when he was in a band called Barcelona, from Seattle Washington, check him out he is AMAZING), Sia, Lana, Rihanna, Fiona (Apple), any artist whose name ends with an "ah" sound, and Khalid.

What's a dream venue/festival you'd love to play at and what about it intrigues you? Oooh, this is a good question. There are so many venues I would love to play, the first one that popped into my head is the Hollywood Bowl, because I have seen some of the BEST concerts in my life there (Radiohead, Coldplay, Corinne Bailey Rae, Bjork, Seal...). It's a giant venue, but you don't feel lost inside of it when you're there. It would be a dream come true to play with a live band and full orchestra. In the background the sun slowly sets and the stars appear in the sky, and the audience is enjoying the live music and falling in love with their date while drinking wine and eating sandwiches and crackers with fancy cheese. It would be a beautiful moment/memory for everyone (except maybe the traffic police working the event).

Own unique info: a friend took me shooting for the first time (it was terrifying) and we found out I've got good aim!

Chinatown Summer Nights: August 2019

One of my favorite annual summer events, Chinatown Summer Nights, came to a conclusion for 2019 on a recent Saturday night in August. Interestingly, I interviewed 4 of the 5 artists that I saw on this particular night. It made for a special event.

Mara Connor opened up the day with her sweet Nashville sounds. She ranks right up there with anyone when it comes to sweet vocals. This was my first time catching her set this year. I mentioned earlier this year that I like to keep an annual tradition: catching Mara Connor, Pu$$y Cow and Jenny O at least once a year. With the year entering the 2nd half, I can now say I've seen Pu$$y Cow and Mara Connor. Let's hope Jenny O plays a show in Los Angeles by December 31st.

Mara Connor

Nicole Kiki Jaffe came up with her rock sounds that were enhanced by a cello. I was told randomly by someone that the cellist also plays with Meg Myers. As is her norm, she sang The Cranberries' Zombie. I love that song and love hearing her sing it.

Nicole Kiki Jaffe

Inspired and The Sleep was a new band for me. They have some chill pop sounds. Their sound causes one to float a couple inches above the ground. The band got the prime golden hour. Temperatures were drifting lower as the sun dipped below the horizon.

Inspired and The Sleep

Oddnesse is a band I just saw a couple weeks back in Highland Park. The band was the same, except for a different keyboardist. I did notice that. Her Bob Dylan style catches your attention and holds it.

Oddnesse

VIAA closed out the night. I hadn't seen her since 2016 at the Bootleg Theater. She got the crowd dancing to her catchy sounds. In fact, two kids couldn't have had more fun. They were putting the moves on that would challenge any of the adults in the audience.

VIAA

Chinatown Summer Nights 2019: June Edition

I've been going to Chinatown Summer Nights for years. I'm seen some great bands there like Eastern Conference Champions, Dorothy and Lauren Ruth Ward. This summer series is always on my list. The first night of this 2019 summer series occurred on a recent Saturday night. I was able to catch:
JEMS, Lijie, Mark Diamond and syd B.

The biggest surprise of the night was syd B who closed out the night for me. She just has this smooth soul sound that is very addicting. She also had two young fans that were likely related to her and just loved her. Before the set, I saw one of them going up to her and hugging her leg tight. It was so cute. Like all the artists that I saw, syd B had a hard time convincing folks to leave the beer garden and come up to the stage (though she did have folks packing the front of the beer garden). With her two young fans, they followed her request to come closer to the stage. They spent the set running to the front of the stage for a song and then running back to their parents and then running back to the stage.

syd B

Mark Diamond was also a pleasant surprise. His vocals are so pure and lyrics thoughtfully written. I do believe his girlfriend was in the audience and when he started one song, I swear I saw her say to a friend, "That song is about me." The band played at the golden hour. For the first part of their set, the sun was blinding the members of the band, but by the end the sun had slipped below the building that was next to the stage, which resulted in the golden lights of the fading sun. A wonderful backdrop for his music.

Mark Diamond

Opening up the day was JEMS. I previously caught about half their set at a Wild Riot event. Their music is a shared experience between the three members of the band. The harmony between the three is as perfect as one can get.

JEMS

Lijie hit the keys and guitar for her set. I did a little research online and saw that she co-wrote a song called "Glorious," which was sung by Adam Friedman. I noticed that the sound is very similar to a band that I love called Wild. It is an anthem for looking on the brighter side of life. And I think you'd be correct to assume that Lijie's set was filled with the same positive energy.

Lijie

Quick Hit Artist Interview: mini bear

minibear at Chinatown Summer Nights

Interview with the artist. Enjoy:

What is currently influencing you in creating your music? The way that we interact with technology, and how that affects our sense of self and the way that we relate to one another. A lot of my newer songs also touch on reclaiming power that has been taken away from women by objectification and societal structures. I’ve also been going through a lot of sexual identity realizations lately so I’ve been working out those feelings through song.

What is your favorite lyric (own lyric) and what about it makes it so special? “Your face I see it on the screen. Your words, what does real really mean?”. The way that we communicate through screens is in a way presenting the best versions of ourselves. It makes it feel as if nothing is real, yet at the same time it can bleed into IRL and make it seem as if cyber reality is actual reality. In other words, reality is very confusing.

Own final thoughts: Something unique . . . or dream passion project . . . I love producing and creating a unique aesthetic. The ability to take ownership of how you create is so important, specifically for female identified and non-binary folx. Visibility is so important because it allows you to believe that you have the ability to be a producer, engineer, etc. My dream is to create a supportive space for female identified individuals who have the space to create and feel empowered through the strength of community.

Quick Hit Artist Interview: Emma Cole

Emma Cole

Interview with the artist. Enjoy:

What's the story behind when you knew you wanted to become a singer? My mother says I started singing the same time I started talking, but I remember discovering my own voice in a real way around 10/11yrs old when I recorded myself singing ‘Stupid Girl’ by Garbage on our Fisher Price tape recorder.

How do you believe you have progressed over time as an artist? We as humans are constantly evolving. I embrace my evolution as a human and I welcome it in my art. I used to let outside circumstances effect the progression of my art. For example, how many live shows I was playing. I was trapped inside of my own fear. I was afraid of how I would figure out how to pay my band, how could I possibly make these shows happen? I realized that there is freedom in saying yes and figuring it out. The more I trust in the opportunities coming my way, the more I progress as a human and an artist.

Quick Hit Band Interview: Iconique

Iconique at Chinatown Summer Nights

Interview with the band. Enjoy:

When it comes to music, what currently inspires you? Honestly, ever since I saw the Whitney Houston documentary that's currently in theaters, I have been obsessively listening to her. I've been a lifelong fan, but I have such a renewed appreciation for her artistry, particularly as a live vocalist.

What is one of the band’s high or low moments and what makes it memorable? The only low point we've had as a band is this one gig we had a while back where I was rushed in applying my makeup beforehand so my winged eyeliner wasn't perfectly symmetrical. An indescribable sense of shame.

Quick Hit Artist Interview: Krys Wright

Krys Wright at Chinatown Summer Nights

Interview with the artist. Enjoy:

How would you describe your sound? I would describe my sound as electro-soul. I grew up listening to a lot of soul, neo soul, and jazz so those elements will forever color my sound and overall style but I do love the mashup of traditional R&B/Neo-Soul with some House.

What are some of your favorite spots, locations, areas in Los Angeles? What make them your favorites? Home is my favorite place. There, I'm surrounded with good energy that I've curated for myself allowing me to be my most creative self. Other than that, I feel like that changes pretty frequently. The Self-Realization Lake is pretty cool.

Three Days of Music: Chinatown Summer Nights, Happy Sundays Long Beach, The Echo

It was a jammed packed three days of straight awesome music.

It all started on a Saturday in Chinatown for the final Chinatown Summer Nights of 2018.

Emma Cole with Lauren Ruth Ward

Opening up was Emma Cole who had some wonderful cameos, which included Lauren Ruth Ward. Jane Holiday followed up. When I looked at the schedule, I had no clue who he was. Then when he went up on stage, I recognized him. He used to go simply by Jane when I caught his set at The Hi Hat in early 2018. mini bear was up next. That band will get you dancing. Jasper Bones had the crowd packed in and swooning to his vocals. CLARA-NOVA gave us some French inspired pop while I got fascinated with her drum stick.

Then on Sunday I took a long trip down to Long Beach. I don't go to Long Beach all that often. The inspiration for heading off on this day was that a number of bands that I follow were playing a music festival called Happy Sunday: Spare Parts for Broken Hearts, Ramonda Hammer, The Paranoyds, Holy Wars, Draemings, and Death Valley Girls.

Those weren't the only bands I saw though. I also caught DCHAV, No Tides, The No. 44 and The Shrine.

Best memory was when The No. 44 ended their set at Iguana Kelleys. The Paranoyds were up next and weren't anywhere to be seen. One of the individuals running things went to the microphone, "If The Paranoyds are around, you can set up now." The stage remained void of The Paranoyds. Next, the person went up to someone in the audience and I could hear him ask, "Do you see The Paranoyds anywhere? Do you know what they look like?" Well, shortly after that, they walked in, set up, and basically started on time.

The Paranoyds

Another memory has to deal with Death Valley Girls. It was either the first or second song and the lead singer broke a string on her guitar. The look on her face was priceless. The bassist on this night just happened to be the bassist for Cat Scan.

I also happened to take a walk down to the Long Beach Playhouse to see a photo exhibit of Emery Becker's photography. He was a Los Angeles photographer who died in a highway accident earlier this year. It was a very moving tribute to his work. The photos were amazing.

To close out the three day stint, it was off to The Echo to catch the final Slugs residency night. The night had, in order, Egg Drop Soup, Rumblepak, Nicky Blitz, Slugs, and Turtles on Speed. I was eager to catch Egg Drop Soup as a photographer I know did a photo shoot for them. They were a fun band. I had previously interviewed Rumblepak and Turtles on Speed. Nicky Blitz got hot while wearing his a sport's jacket. It was a fun final night to catch Slugs. They were doing a team sports night. Jerseys were in and Lauren Ruth Ward did some on stage cheerleading.

Slugs

Interestingly, the three nights was a nice way to catch full sets of bands that I wasn't able to catch during Echo Park Rising. That includes Emma Cole, mini bear, Spare Parts for Broken Hearts and The Paranoyds. I won't mention Ramonda Hammer as I essentially caught 95% of their Echo Park Rising set.

Resident to Chinatown Summer Nights: Saturday Adventure

This was a day of diverse music. The Resident was doing free Saturday afternoon shows. The Paranoyds played one afternoon, which I happened to miss. I wasn't going to miss Feels. I hadn't seen Feels since March 2017. That's well over a year! But I have to say in some ways it wasn't that long of a time frame. Shannon Lay has been doing sets across Los Angeles and I saw more than a handful of them. Laena Geronimo backed her up on a number of those nights -- if not all of those nights. Also, Laena is in a band called Numb.er, which I saw during their recent residency. So yes, it was forever since I last saw Feels, but I've been keeping up with the various projects of the band.

For this set at the Resident, they played outdoors on the patio. This actually got me excited due to how things were set up. The area they were playing required the drum set to be set up at the front of the stage. This meant I'd get some photos of the drummer. It is always cool to be able to snap some easy shots of the drummer.

This psychedelic punk band was having fun during this set. There were smiles and on the spot self commentary throughout the set. I believe for one song Laena wasn't able to get her guitar adjusted corrected so put it aside and just did the front woman singing portion of it. At the end, bassist Amy replied, "That was the censored version of the song." And then another time, Laena looked over at Michael on drums and said, "You're playing into the sun." The familiarity that comes from a band that has played together for years. The crowd wanted an encore. The band was discussing possible song options, but then the DJ started up the tracks and that ended any potential encore.

Feels

 From there, it was off to Chinatown Summer Nights to catch a few artists/bands.

La Louma was playing as I walked over to the LA Weekly stage. She's a singer-songwriter. During the set, she used three different instruments. A flute, a guitar, and another string instrument that I'm unsure of the name. Funny moment of the set actually came in at the end. She accidentally started the song with the wrong instrument and she'd already started her backing track. Well, that threw her off the mark so she replied, "Since 98% of you are friends and family, I'm going to just restart it all."

La Louma

Cosmos and Creature brought the electric dance pop. And I have to say, I wasn't sure who was Cosmos and who was Creature. This band put on the dance moves.

Comment of the night: Thanks for hanging with us. It's been really fun. I'm really sweaty."

Cosmos and Creature

Krys Wright changed things up with some RnB. Throughout the set, she made sure we knew how to spell Krys. Let's be honest, it isn't the standard way to spell out Chris or Kris. She also blew away the audience with some stylish vocals that combined a bit of Paula Abdul with Sade.

Krys Wright

Iconique closed out the night for me. There was actually a delayed arrival. The MC announced that Iconique was coming on stage. A moment passed. Another moment passed. Nothing. Than out ran one of the musicians to turn on the introduction tape. That started off 30 plus minutes of disco dancing. Front man Leo just doesn't stop moving. It actually made it hard to focus my camera on him. The show also included a full wardrobe change with Leo running off to a tent to make the change.

I have to say, the audience loved it. Fans were out in full, dancing to their full content.

What did I notice: before the band started, a couple folks wanted to come up to the stage, but then one of them said, "Let's stay back here and let the photographers have their space."

Iconique

Chinatown Summer Nights: Holy Wars, Blacktop Queen and Gothic Tropic

One of my favorite events during the summer are the monthly Chinatown Summer Nights. I've been going to these nights for a number of years now. I was really anticipating this night as Holy Wars and Gothic Tropic were playing.

I almost missed the start of Holy Wars. I was stuck with my real job 15 - 30 minutes longer than anticipated. I got there with about 5 minutes to spare. This is a band where every song drips with emotion and missing a single song is just too much, in my opinion. I first saw this band about a year ago at Harvard and Stone. At this point, I've seen them a handful of times. And that thrill just never leaves. I noticed on Instagram that someone commented that Kat had that Beetlejuice style going. I don't disagree, but I was also thinking Pris (Daryl Hannah) from Blade Runner.

What I noticed: Nicolos Perez (guitarist) ripped out his guitar strings to end the set and tossed his guitar to the side. He's done this in the past. I'm going to need to remember to capture this moment if he does it again.

What I noticed 2: I wasn't there to see all the bands, but I have to say a lot of photographers showed up for Holy Wars. As one photographer friends said, "They're famous now." 

Holy Wars

Blacktop Queen was the middle band for me. Too many folk were stuck in the beer garden for this set. The lead singer mentioned this when saying something like, "They've put the beer garden fence just far enough away to make things awkward. I'm going to need to make this feel less awkward."

Their music combines styling moves and pop-dance tunes. The band dressed in yellow, making one think for a moment of Stryper. The lead singer put on the stage show with some shifty moves that had his guitar swinging all over the place. Kevin Bronson, who hosted the day, mentioned that if Blacktop Queen didn't sing his favorite "Desert" that he might just need to jump to his death. They held that song to the end and that song does provide those pop-dance hooks. I could see this song being played at dance clubs across America. 

Blacktop Queen

Gothic Tropic is a band I first came across in 2012 at Silverlake Jubilee. I saw them on a side stage, El Cid. After that night, I've always kept them in mind. I should note that that 2012 festival had some awesome bands that are still around currently: Las Cafeteras, FIDLAR, Allah-Las, Robert Delong, The Record Company, Mondo Cozmo (via Eastern Conference Champions).

What did I notice? Okay, I didn't actually notice this until looking through photos shot by other photographers . . . but lead singer Cecilia was playing on a clear, see-through guitar.

Gothic Tropic has this smooth tropical sound off set with the occasional guitar jam.

Gothic Tropic

Quick Hit Band Interview: The Americans

The Americans at Chinatown Summer Nights

Q&A time with the band. Hope you enjoy:

How would you describe your sound? How did the band gel together as a group? We write and play rock music, but we met pouring over pre-war blues and folk, so our songs contain remnants of a lot of that stuff. We regularly use old records from the '20s and '30s as reference points when writing together.

Chinatown Summer Nights: Francisca Valenzuela, The Americans and Zealyn

It was the last Chinatown Summer Nights of 2017. I've always done a hit and run at Chinatown Summer Nights. By that I mean I don't stick around for all the bands. I catch 3 or 4 bands and then leave. I suppose that isn't necessarily a hit and run as catching 3 or 4 bands is sticking around for around 4 hours. Anyways, forget the technicalities, the issue is that I always try to catch the bands that I believe I'll enjoy the most.

This time around, I knew I wanted to catch Zealyn so everything revolved around her. Taking a look at the line-up, I noticed that at 6 p.m. there was someone named Francisca Valenzuela. I took a look and I noticed that she had a large number of both Instagram and Facebook followers. I was like, why is she playing at Chinatown Summer Nights? I took a deeper look and saw that she is from Chile. Well, I used to love this music festival called Culture Collide, which brought musicians into Los Angeles from around the world. So I decided I just had to see her and see what a large number of Chileans loved about this artist. So yeah, I don't speak any Spanish what so ever and all her songs were in Spanish, but mercy me it was inspiring watching her on stage. For 30 minutes, I didn't realize that it was like 105 °F. And for 30 minutes, I did realize that I had a silly grin on my face that lasted well past the end of her set.

The Americans came up next for me. I first saw this band at Villains Tavern a few years back. I just remember that night heading out to this tavern that was on the outer edges of the Art District (or maybe it isn't even in the Art District) and thinking, "This out in the middle of no where tavern is showcasing this really awesome band." It was awesome to catch this band again with their Americana sound. And one of the best things in the music world is seeing a stand-up bass on stage, right?

Zealyn ended the night for me. I've said it before, but this woman has some power vocals. This was my fourth time seeing her. I love her vocals and I love her sound, but what I was keying on was catching a solid photo. I first saw her at Broke LA. I got some decent photos, but I had to take my ISO up to 8000, which isn't ideal. At other venues, I realized that shooting at shutter speed 320 was too slow for some of her moves. Well, at Chinatown Summer Nights I took the shutter speed up to 400 and guess what, still wasn't fast enough. Mercy. Anyways, not only does she have great vocals, but she also has a very friendly personality. She's going on a tour across the US. Folks should catch her tour.

Quick Hit Band Interview: Wait. Think. Fast.

Wait.Think.Fast. at Chinatown Summer Nights

Q&A time with the band. Hope you enjoy:

How would you describe your sound? Our sound is cinematic, lush, bilingual vocals, lots of harmonies.

Looking through my music records, I first saw Wait.Think. Fast. in 2010 when The Satellite was called Spaceland. I also read that you briefly moved to New York since that time. Being back in Los Angeles, how do you feel the Los Angeles music scene has changed/not changed over the last few years? There are so many new bands and festivals!!! It's great. We're also glad to see many of the bands we've loved for years still putting out new music. Angelenos are very lucky in the variety and amount of live music you can enjoy, and often for free.

Quick Hit Band Interview: isle&fever

isle&fever at Chinatown Summer Nights

Q&A time with the band. Hope you enjoy:

How would you describe your sound? Half of our songs have roots in loop-based funk and vintage 70s/80s rock— what we call bedroom disco. The other half of the songs are more chill indie rock structure with some reverby surf elements. That's the isle while the dancier is the fever.

What’s the story behind how your band started? Donald and I just finished working on a project called Blacks& with our friend/singer Jutty Taylor. We had some songs we wrote that we loved but never (to this day) were finished. We decided to keep writing and producing in our basement studio and eventually the vibe was where we wanted it. We brought in our friends Antoine Dilligent and Thomas Bowden to help us out with the live show.

What are you working on now? We are taking a break from playing live to focus on writing more songs and finish recording the best of the dozen or so songs in our queue.

What other music are you listening to that's coming out of LA? We are pretty stoked on our friends' band called TAMPA. Also, our band member Antoine Dilligent's solo album is one of our favorite records of the year. Very Tame Impala but with a bit more ‘tude.

Quick Hit Band Interview: Lucy and La Mer

Lucy & La Mer at Chinatown Summer Nights

Q&A time with the band. Hope you enjoy:

How would you describe your sound? It's a mix of folk and pop.

What is your favorite Lucy & La Mer lyric and what about it makes it so special? “There's something 'bout that da-da-da-da-da on the sidewalk" from Rainy Days. It's fun to sing and I wrote it while I was stuck in traffic, listening to the rain hit my car.

Quick Hit Band Interview: YIP YOPS

YIP YOPS at Chinatown Summer Nights

Q&A time with the band. Hope you enjoy:


How would you describe your sound? It's almost impossible for us to describe our sound accurately from our perspective. Being that we are coming from the inside. It has to come from the outside perspective to give a valuable description. - Ison Van Winkle (lead vocals)

I saw that the band got to play Coachella this year. That's impressive. How do you believe the band has progressed from your beginnings to now? Thank you so much. Playing Coachella was an amazing experience. Like any band, we started off playing to nobody, but we have always had the ambition, work ethic and Ison's unbelievable songwriting behind us that has helped us achieve our goals up to this point. Growing up in the Coachella Valley, of course playing Coachella was going to be a huge goal for us, but it is just the beginning. We are hungry for more and we are continuing to work harder and harder every day to evolve as a band as well as making a name in this business. - Ross Murakami (drummer)