What's the story behind what got you to take the step to start performing live? I started doing open mics in Chicago and LA when I was 18. I didn't have my first set until two years ago. A week before my first performance at The Viper Room, my best friend and I did a gig simulator inspired from the movie Tenacious D. We put my keyboard in the living room, and she put up stage curtains and created a fake audience made up of paper plates. She threw things at me while I played through my set. It was hilarious, but helpful, and I've been doing shows ever since!
Outside of music, what are some of your other interests? I love fashion and thrifting for vintage styles, films, writing poetry, screenplays, and short stories and helping my friends with their creative projects! I'm an art school kid, I can't help it.
Own final thoughts: Biggest musical influences: Prince, David Bowie, Lady Gaga.
Your song Power is about being strong during times of doubt. Are you interested in providing an example of one of those moments in life? Yeah, I think as an artist you're constantly doubting yourself and your worth and if you're making the difference you want to make with your art. I definitely struggled with that this year, but instead of turning my back, I just dived deeper into music and ended up reassuring myself and finding my confidence again through the music I was writing.
You've released 2 singles in short order: Alright and Power. What's your song writing process been like for those two songs? They were so different. Alright was written a long time ago remotely, because UNBLOOM [co-writer] lived in Canada. So we never met in person as we were writing the song together. Power was more organic. We met up in Magdalena Bay's [co-writer] home studio in Mid Dity and just talked and shared about music and our lives and ended up with this song.
2019 is coming to an end. Anything you'd like to share about plans you have for 2020? Yes. Music, music, and more music. Going all out next year and plan on sharing a lot of the new music I've been working on.
Editor note: this was posted first on Instagram back in 2019 so the final question is a touch dated.
I've known Disco Shrine (Jessica) for over 5 years now. She used to work the music festival Brokechella/Broke LA for a number of years. She was always someone who would help me with my photo pass. So when I learned she was throwing a party to celebrate the release of her music video Alright, I didn't hesitate to show my support.
Disco Shrine
Of course, getting to High Tide to provide my support was a bit of an adventure. I parked my car a bit too far away and found myself walking through the darkened part of 4th Street. It was basically a lot of store fronts that had closed up for the night. It wasn't exactly a safe feeling walking towards High Tide, but I did make it. And I made sure to take a totally different path to my car after her release party.
The party featured a number of fun little booths/tables where one could get cotton candy and get your tarot cards read to just name a couple of the booths. There were also a couple individuals working in an enclosed protected area, creating decorative glass. It was fascinating how they were making their glass jars.
Kit Major
When it came to the live music, Kit Major opened things up with her pop-dance sounds. After a short set by Kit Major, Disco Shrine hit the stage. She was introduced as the Persian Barbie, which referenced her song Alight. When you see Disco Shrine doing a set, you know you're going to get a set of constant dance moves and cheer. You can't help but feel like bouncing with her dance tunes.
She ended the set with the video of Alright. It is probably best for her to explain what the takeaway should be from the video:
I just released my new music video for ‘Alright’! I'm so excited to share it with you and can't wait to hear what you think of this Barbie dream world we created. It features a bunch of badass babes reading magazines, playing nintendo, snapping polaroids, breaking into choreographed dance sequences, and skating through clouds in a y2k themed sleepover.
It's proof that girls can appreciate a cliche without being one.
