New Music and Video Alert: Disco Shrine's "Hello"

Disco Shrine has a new single release called "Hello" along with a video. The song "chronicles her dating life in Los Angeles . . . everything from love at first sight and heartbreak to feeling empowered on your own and having friends with benefits." The music has a summer feel to it with a touch of RnB. It explores relationships that were viewed differently by both individuals, "Thought that it'd be good for a minute. Thought that it'd be fast but it wasn't. You thought that it would last but I didn't."

The video takes place in different locations such as paddle boats in Echo Park and what looks like Elysian Park. Were those areas that she went out on dates? I'm thinking yes.

Photo take at the Echoplex

New Music Alert: Ariel Beesley's "So Baby"

Ariel Beesley has a new song out called "So Baby." 

She writes on her Instagram page: This song was a catalyst for me finishing my debut album with a bang. Meaning a bunch of songs about loving myself instead of giving my time to straight up babies. I hope you love it and dance and just feel things. Most importantly that you matter. Because you do. So much. 

Lyrics of the song: Your stupid fuckin' smile that gets me every time. You know all the lines that make my body shake.

Those lyrics represent her meticulous writing style. And the music backs it up with new wave punk rock sounds that provide sonic waves that one feels can be walked upon up towards the stars.

 

photo take at the Echoplex

Quick Hit Band Interview: Pink Sock

Pink Sock at the Echoplex

Interview with the band. Enjoy:

How would you describe your music? Our music is romantic and debaucherous.

Is there a story behind one of your songs that you’d like to share? “Westside Girl” is based on the struggles of being a Santa Monica boy meeting women that all seem to be exclusively from the east side.

Own Q&A. Steam Room or Sauna? A. Steam all the way baby!

Quick Hit Artist Interview: A.O. Gerber

A.O. Gerber at the Echoplex

Interview with the artist. Enjoy:

What is currently inspiring you (in terms of music)? Honestly my friends' music is my biggest inspiration most of the time. I learn everything from them.

Outside of music, what are some of your other interests? I've been having a lot of fun trying to get better at graphic design and digital art. I also love reading and just generally being outside.

Echoplex: Ariel Beesley with Suzie True and Pink Sock

It was Ariel Beesley's 28th birthday party at the Echoplex. I was sick and coughing, but I didn't want to miss this night. She literally kicked her way through her birthday. She did 4 or 5 high kicks. Some of those kicks ending with her foot higher than her head. There was a little help in terms of keeping her balance with the microphone stand, but I'm still not sure how she didn't lose her balance with at least one of those kicks.

Ariel Beesley

Early in the set, the audience spontaneously sang Happy Birthday. And towards the end of the set, Pink Sock brought out a cake for her, which sent her into tears. It was a tender night that was highlighted by her brilliant music the talks about heart break. She mentioned that she always looks for a man who will love her like she should be loved. She said she came to a realization that her friends in the audience provided her with that love.

Opening up the night was Suzie True. I had just seen them 3 weeks earlier at a small DIY venue called Sun Space. I also first caught them at The Smell. It was a revelation to catch this punk pop band on the much larger stage of the Echoplex. I did notice at the other two venues how this band liked to put on a show, but on a larger stage they were able to do so much more. Like with Ariel Beesley there were high kicks. They also were able to do much more jumping and stage movements without ending up against the edge of the stage.

Suzie True

Pink Sock came on after Suzie True. I remember catching this band for the first time at Echo Park Rising 2018. I was shooting for Buzzbands and was rushing from venue to venue. I was in the middle of heading to another venue, but noticed all these people jumping out of Ubers and such and running into Little Joy. I figured that must be a good sign so I went in to catch the band. Flash forward to 2020, and I finally caught the smooth jazz sounds of this band for the second time. To close out their set, Ariel Beesley jumped on stage and danced from the first note to the last note.

Pink Sock

Day 4: Echo Park Rising

Day 4 at Echo Park Rising was my fun day. I wasn't shooting for Buzzbands so I showed up later than I would have if I was shooting for the site and I just set up camp at The Echo/Echoplex.

The day started out catching a couple touring bands. Autumn was coming in from Minnesota while The Bellwether Syndicate hailed from Chicago. Both rocked it out under the lights of the Echoplex. What was the best moment of the two sets was actually what happened after The Bellwether Syndicate. The drummer brought up his little girl who started banging away on one of the drums.

Autumn

The Bellwether Syndicate

Collapsing Scenery didn't play the main stage at the Echoplex. No, they played in the far back corner of the venue. I didn't even realize it until just before they were about to play. I was just hanging out at the main stage, watching the young kid having the time of her life. I turned around and there were sheets hanging from the ceiling and floor lights shining. Yep, that was Collapsing Scenery. That band loves to rock against the backdrop of flashing lights.

Collapsing Scenery

Then it was a rush upstairs to The Echo to catch Ever So Android. They started their set a touch early, because as I headed up a little before their 6:45 p.m. start time I could hear them hitting up their first song. The venue was packed for their set. Some call their sound goth punk. Others call it industrial. It doesn't matter, I love their music and was thrilled they were playing in front of such a large crowd. Lead singer Hope jumped into the audience for one song to get the mosh pit going. A guy to my side decided it was a good time to protect his $10 drink.

Ever So Android

I then rushed back down to the Echoplex to catch a few songs by Poppy Jean Crawford. Love her quiet attitude on stage.

Poppy Jean Crawford

Then it was back to close things out at The Echo with Dancing Tongues, Draemings, R Clown (no known link) and The Bank of America (no known link).

Draemings is a favorite of mine. I heard someone to the side of me say of lead singer Kimi, "She's so pretty, I love her." In regards to Kimi, this was her 6th set of the festival. She did 4 sets with her band Kevin, one with Draemings and a solo set. And this was done over 3 days and not 4 days. Talk about being busy. Maybe driven by surviving those 6 sets, she jumped into the crowd and danced with great joy.

Draemings

As for The Bank of America, I couldn't catch The Paranoyds as I was doing photography on the east side during their Friday set. So what do I do, I catch The Bank of America. Lexi of The Paranoyds is in the band. This band is totally different from The Paranoyds. There are no vocals. The band just jams, sending out pulsating beats.

The Bank of America

Dancing Tongues and R Clown got the crowd hyped up for some mosh pit action. The crowds were still ready for the mosh pit even after four days of music.

Dancing Tongues

R Clown

Quick Hit Band Interview: illuminati hotties

illuminati hotties at the Echoplex

Interview with the band. Enjoy:

What’s the story behind how you started out as a band/artist? I have always been writing lil songs here and there, and started to regularly write toward the end of high school. As a producer & engineer, I found songwriting to be an integral part of my craft - it's essential to running successful sessions when an artist is in the studio. illuminati hotties really came about when I noticed that my songs were following certain patterns that I loved, and I thought it would be cool to make a record as sort of a calling-card to my production work. I was encouraged by several close friends to start playing the songs out as well, and as soon as I got on stage I caught the artist bug. I buckled down on playing out around LA a bunch and finishing the album with my friend Collin Pastore, who is my voice of reason and an amazing soundsmith in his own right. Once I had a finished product, I was fortunate enough to catch the ears of the label Tiny Engines, and the rest took off from there. It's so wonderful to be in a place where I can combine studio work with performance so naturally, and I'm excited to see where this project takes me!

What inspires you to write/compose your songs? So many things! Inspiration can be so fickle and insincere, so I try to combat the irregularity of the muses by being an expert observer. I've collected so many small moments by watching the world around me, and engaging with the people or surroundings nearby (or far away!). I try to write at least a small something, even just a line of lyric or a short riff, every day. The practice of writing things down, no matter how "good" or "inspired" they are, has generated a lot of ideas that eventually show up in songs. Mostly though, the practice of noticing and internalizing has really informed my music.

Echoplex: Cat Scan with Shark Toys and D.A. Stern

I wish I had seen Cat Scan twice, but it just didn't work out. I did get to see them for their final residency night and that will have to do for now. This band will just rock you with their garage punk sounds. I love how the band switches vocals between two of the band members. It helps switch up the sound. In the back of my mind, I was thinking, "I'd love to see Cat Scan playing with The Paranoyds and Potty Mouth." That would be one fun night. Especially since each has a band member who likes to put on a stage show with wild moves. 

Cat Scan

Opening up for Cat Scan was Shark Toys and D. A. Stern.

Shark Toys played similar to Cat Scan's punk sounds. In fact, one members in the audience attempted to start up a mosh pit, but failed. If only, the night was all-ages. They were speeding up their music to the point where I thought for sure a stage fire would start.

Shark Toys

D. A. Stern started the night with some calmer sounds. The keyboardist added a nice twist to the band.

D. A. Stern

Quick Hit Artist Interview: Trans Van Santos

Trans Van Santos

Interview with the artist:

How would you describe your sound? I have always had a hard time with that, but a label once told me, "you are too psychedelic for the folk scene, too folky for the psych scene and too good for the jam band scene.." I sometimes call it Americalia or Acid Gospel or New American Devotional.

Is there a story behind when you knew you wanted to become a musician/singer? 18 years old, strung out on meth. I spent 10 hours trying to play Guns and Roses' "Sweet Child of Mine" and decided to quit meth and get strung out on music.

P.S. I was backed up that night (Echoplex show) by Seth Ford Young of The Magnetic Zeroes, Mark Laughlin of Dead Meadow, Matt Adams of the Blank Tapes and singer Sol Ange.

Quick Hit Band Interview: ADLT VDEO

ADLT VDEO at The Echoplex

Interview with the band. (Archives -- Oct 2016):

How would you describe your sound? Our sound is like looking through dark glass... Or spaghetti and meatballs.

Other than Los Angeles, where could you see yourselves living/playing music and why? The Galápagos Islands. Because, turtles.

Quick Hit Band Interview: Draemings

Draemings at The Echo (LA)

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

How would you describe your sound? We have a hard time describing our sound, because it's constantly changing. Grave-wave creature pop is the current genre we use to describe ourselves on our Facebook page. I like the idea of creatures and monsters and dark shadows having full-out dance parties to our music.

Would you rather be a 1 hit wonder known all around the world -OR- have a steady underground following? And then of course, why the choice? Steady underground following. I think when you are known for that one-hit, the rest of your career you'll be expected to just make copies of that one hit, rather than continuing exploring what you have to offer as an artist. It's the difference between wanting to be famous and wanting to make great music. As a band, I think we'd rather be able to make whatever music we want, and have a fanbase that will take that journey with us.

Concert Review: Bloody Death Skull's residency at The Echoplex

This night was Bloody Death Skull's residency night at The Echoplex. Being that, one would expect some quirkiness throughout the evening.

Opening up for them was Quazar and The Bamboozled. From my understanding, the lead singer Brandon Jay writes music for Orange is the New Black. Their set was quirky and fun. The lead singer came across as a comedic magician who could, at any time, pull a rabbit out from under his top hat. At times, his hat would fly off and I would almost have bet with someone that a rabbit would have appeared sitting on the top of his head.

Zero DeZire came out on stage with one of the members wearing a duct tape bra. I was ready for another interesting set. One song was about an ex-friend's phone number and the fact that he stopped talking to one of the band members. It was hysterical. They sang a song called "It's My Birthday." In the back of my mind, I was thinking, "I've heard this song before." Well, an Internet search revealed that it was a song on HBO's Girls.

So to be honest, Happy Hollows was the reason why I selected this night to catch Bloody Death Skull. I've followed this band for years. By years, I mean that I saw them way back in 2009. I just love the infectious energy of the lead singer. They mentioned that they hadn't played a set in a year. Well, they obviously created pent up demand, because their fan base was out in force.

Bloody Death Skull is always this super quirky band. Why? Well, come on, one member of the band spent part of the set playing with dolls. When I saw this band a few months back at the Resident, she was rolling marbles around in a bowl. The lead singer donned a guerrilla mask for one song. Hopefully, those are solid enough examples of the quirkiness of this band. Vaudeville like magic.

Quick Hit Band Interview: Happy Hollows

Happy Hollows at the Echoplex (LA)

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

How would you describe your sound? Our sound is a blend of rhythmic synthesizers and spiky, angular guitars. On top of that, we layer Sarah's expressive vocals. I think we certainly take inspiration from the post-punk era of music in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but we put our own distinct spin on that sound.

What are your favorite gigs We've had many fun shows over the years, but some of the best are the Fillmore with Silversun Pickups, the Great American Music Hall with Deerhoof, and Emo's with Lucius.

Moon Honey with Wall of Ears, Smoke Season and Miya Folick at the Echoplex

It was Moon Honey's final residency at the Echoplex. And the place was quickly packed with fans. I couldn't help but notice when I arrived -- early to catch Wall of Ears -- that there were already three photographers waiting to get inside the venue. And, I made four. Yeah, we made a small wall in front of the stage throughout the night. I'd say three or four other photographers showed up later in the night.

Wall of Ears had me thinking jangle pop. Honestly, I'm not sure of the exact definition of jangle pop, but that's what came to mind when I noticed the 70's inspired fashion. After their set ended, the lead singer asked the many photographers, "Take any good photos?" Of course we did, and I had to ask -- having learned that they're from Seattle -- "Have you heard of Mommy Long Legs?" Mommy Long Legs is also a band from Seattle that I recently saw at The Smell. The answer was, "Yes." Awesome.

Smoke Season followed up. Gabe, I swear, was channeling Lauren Ruth Ward. I do love this band. As was mentioned on stage, she does get her exercise in during the set. I'm not sure I could sing and dance like Gabe. I'd be gasping for breath rather quickly. She did go through one wardrobe change during a song. The change was wearing a jacket that was decorated with lights and may or may not have entailed the risk of getting an electric shock.

Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus" was playing while Miya Folick set up her gear. I noticed her singing along for a few lines. Well, to me, that was a good hint that I was going to love her set. It was a power packed set with depth and energy. Even then, she was able to take a moment and call out to her mom in the audience, "Do you need ear plugs?" The answer was yes and Miya quickly provided her with some. What I found via an Internet search: she found at least one band mate via Tinder. How about that.

Closing out the night for me was Moon Honey. They had me thinking space opera. They had the stage decorated with objects that represented the moon and honey clouds. Sure, these stage objects were there for the other bands, but it took on more meaning when they came on stage. Maybe that meaning was emphasized by the light show that flashed the stage and at times had me thinking of the first Thor movie. Yes, everything combined had me thinking space opera.

Quick Hit Band Interview: Wall of Ears

Wall of Ears at the Echoplex

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

How would you describe your sound? Wall Of Ears is the voice of aliens beaming thru four foreheads in the manners of exxxtra texturized wall-of-sound improvisational pop. Sonic ejections in the shape of the void.

What’s the story behind how your band started? We initiated in the swamps of Louisiana, alien country, and the wet woods of Washington and slowly but surely gravitated towards each other via instrumental guidance and a severe hankering for avant-garde experimental lust. The band started as a solo project of pure psychedelic transmissions but continues to swell and evolve and undo itself and has morphed into a four-piece music collective localized in the Seattle underground.