Eagle Rock Presbyterian Church: Gracie Gray, Ryan Pollie and The Berries

While hanging out at Zebulon one night, I got an invitation to check out some bands at the Eagle Rock Presbyterian Church. Gracie Gray was on the bill so I was definitely there. She did not disappoint. And when she finished her favorite cover "Over the Rainbow" the crowd was in awe as they often are. 

Gracie Gray

Ryan Pollie is hosting the shows at the Presbyterian church. There are a total of four. This particular night was the second of the series. His set included the use of the F-word. There was a look up to the heavens, asking for an apology. I saw him previously at Junior High doing a solo set just as venues were opening up. This set was with a full band, including a horn player on crutches. It was a real blast.    

Ryan Pollie

Opening up the night was The Berries. It was a solo set with a singer-songwriter bent.

The Berries

There is some nice effort that is put into this series. Across the front of the podium, there was a sign that read out "Rock N Roll Church" put together with construction paper. Inside the words were white Christmas lights. It made for some cool photos when I took out my 20MM lens. I suspect the church is used to the sounds of rock music. Along the main podium were two other smaller podiums. One podium had a drum kit. The other was used by the other musicians. 

Vacation Week: Time To Go Out Multiple Nights

I took a Friday to Friday vacation recently and decided to head out a number of nights to catch some live music. I was tempted to go out every night, but ended up deciding against that.

Friday

Friday was spent heading off to The Love Song Bar to catch a favorite for the first time in 2021: Gracie Gray. I knew it was going to be dark inside the venue so I pulled out my 85MM F/1.2 lens. It is a very slow lens when it comes to focusing, but luckily Gracie Gray is a singer-songwriter. Towards the end of her set, she sand "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." I am blown away every time I hear her sing that song. The audience was blown away, as well. Backing her up was Lexi of Mini Trees on bass -- her regular bassist was off playing in Pomona with Livingmore. 

Gracie Gray

Opening up was Mercutio. Since their Instagram reads: Bay Area Synth Guy, I'll assume they came down from San Francisco. Rather soothing music if I can say so.

Mercutio

Tuesday

Tuesday was spent at Little Joy and the music switched to punk - rock sounds. Moonfuzz just throws out the fuzz. And they're just exciting to watch with the constant face offs between the bassist and guitarist as they amp up the music.

Moonfuzz

Mr. Max brought the rock. Ladyhump brought the old-school punk. The Richard Ramirez Beatdown had those in the audience talking about the band name. 

Mr. Max

Ladyhump

The Richard Ramirez Beatdown

Wednesday

I went off to The Silverlake Lounge to catch my second dose of The Gooms' October Residency. One thing I've noticed is they've changed things in terms of their stage show. It used to be Chase Buttons (lead singer) who used to do the jumping on stage. They've now allocated that fun duty to Nicole Rae (guitarist).

The Gooms

To be honest, the main reason I went to this particular night (I had previous gone to see The Gooms' a couple weeks previously), was to catch Young Winona. This was my first time catching this New Zealand band live and in person. I previously caught their set online. 

Young Winona

Also playing was New Media with their 80s / 90s rock sounds.

New Media

Thursday

This night was spent driving off to Bar Lubitsch to catch what WFNM had on the docket. I was already familiar with three of the artists: Heyboy, Mia Nicolai, and Hayley Warner. I love Heyboy's enthusiasm on stage as well as the earnest nature of his music such as the song "Wasn't it Fun?" Mia Nicolai is in Los Angeles from The Netherlands. I hope she sticks around. I love her enthusiastic personality. It is infectious. Like Young Winona, my introduction to Hayley Warner was from watching an online set. She was definitely the primary attraction of the night for those who dropped by the venue. I can totally understand. Estef opened up the night for me with a soulful performance.

Heyboy

Mia Nicolai

Hayley Warner

Estef

Friday

I got an invite by French Mouth to head out to Permanent Records Roadhouse. Enjoyed the set, but am mad at my photography skills. There was a moment where the lead singer got up on a counter and I just knew he was going to jump off at some point. So I got my composition all set up, but . . . forgot to up my shutter. Shoot.

French Mouth

Urns & Argyles and Hurt Hawks opened it up. Hurt Hawks sound is aggressive punk. Urns & Argyles had a goth rock sound that fit in perfectly with the Halloween theme though the lead singer apologized for not dressing up in a costume.

Urns & Argyles

Hurt Hawks

Saturday

I decided to do a random run to Highland Park Bowl. The band name Friends Don't Die caught my attention. They were supposed to go on at 10 p.m. and so I targeted to get their at around 9:45 p.m. Luckily, I planned to get there early, because they must have gone on at 9:30 p.m. Shoot. I'm telling you, that vocalist has some pure sounds. Just loved it.

Friends Don't Die

New Music Alert: Gracie Gray's "alienlover"

I first came across Gracie Gray at The Satellite. I was immediately touched by her music. And then she performed the cover "Over the Rainbow." That sold me. I became a big fan right there. 

A recent single called "alienlover" can be found out on the Internet. The music starts off with some hard bass beats before shifting to the atmospheric blending of Gracie Gray's vocals. The bass downbeats dissipates into the layered vocals that soar just at the right moments. A choir of voices gather together in this wonderfully tuned and thought out song.

Photo taken at La Tierra De La Culebra

La Tierra De La Culebra and The House of Machines: Gracie Gray, Okudaxij, Glaare, Spare Parts for Broken Hearts, Milly and Tennis System

A recent Saturday was a busy music day. First up, it was out to a park in Highland Park called La Tierra De La Culebra. I had never heard of this park. It is on 57th Street, not that far from Highland Park Bowl. It is a community park kept up by the neighbors in the area. There are some giant trees that keep the area shaded. And there are paths along the area that takes you up and down the 3 tiers of the park.

The afternoon was put on by Beating Lights. I specifically went to catch Gracie Gray. I had just recently seen her at The Satellite and just fell in love with her vocals. Watching her a second time, playing under a massive oak tree, was like listening to the vocals of an angel. And the atmospheric sounds of her music hits you emotionally.

Gracie Gray

I also happened to catch Okudaxij and his folk tunes. He mentioned that his band name was hard to remember so he just told folks to find his Instagram by typing in OKUD. He also looked over to where Gracie Gray was sitting and said that he noticed that her Instagram account was GracietheGray. He wondered if that was a reference to Lord of the Rings. Gracie lifted up her left arm and yelled out, "Yes."

Okudaxij

A couple hours later is was off to The House of Machines to catch a few more bands.

Up first was GLAARE. I had previously caught GLAARE at The Satellite. As they started their set, they asked if the lights could be brought down to match their goth sounds. Unfortunately, the guys at the soundboard said they couldn't really do anything about the lights. Maybe they're connected to lights that impact the rest of the building? The lights were brighter than they might have wanted, but that didn't stop them from putting on a solid sound of doom.

GLAARE

Spare Parts for Broken Hearts was the highlight of the evening. Their punk sounds brought sunlight to the venue. They just are relentless in their music. One moment will stand out for me. Johnny, inspired by being in the moment, kicked a cup of water into the audience. I happened to be kneeling down at the stage during the moment. Drops of water splashed across me. A little bit hit my lens. No big deal, but my one thought was, "I wonder if I'm going to take anymore photos of Spare Parts for Broken Hearts or is there just going to be water bubbles all over my lens." I think the water splashes were more on the edges of my filter so I don't think they impacted the photos that much.

Spare Parts for Broken Hearts

Milly came up next. The band likes to play with rather emotionless looks on their faces. Kind of like the faces that models use on the walkway. Well, one friend was having none of it. She ran up to the stage and danced around until she got a smile from the band.

Milly

Tennis System closed out the night. Their sounds shakes the body. Moment of the set has to be when the bassist got atop the speakers that have to be 10 feet above the ground and then took a leaping jump off. I personally would have broken an ankle.

Tennis System