Quick Hit Band Interview: Small Forward

Small Forward at Eagle Rock Music Festival

Interview with the band. Enjoy:

How would you describe your sound? We're heavily influenced by 70s folk, rock and soul (a la Fleetwood Mac and Neil Young) as much as we are by newer indie rock, like SALES and Andy Shauf. Our sound is a blend of all those influences, but also pretty much anything we all listen to across all genres!

What is your favorite Small Forward lyric and what about it makes it so special? I really like the line "I'd hate to see your potential wasted on important days" taken from the song Horses. Kind of shows the confusion/conflict one in their 20s might feel about the things you know, inside, are important vs. the things everyone makes out to be important.

Eagle Rock Music Festival

After more than a few years of not heading over to the Eagle Rock Music Festivals, due to scheduling conflicts and such, I finally was able to attend this festival that meant so much to me when I first started exploring the Los Angeles music scene.

The main reason I wanted to head over to the festival was to catch Lily Waters, the first band I saw at the Emerging Stage. I just can't get enough of lead singer Gabbi's vocals. Just this old school deep vocals. And then she just seems to patiently wait for the right moment to continue her singing. Being a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, her vocals just remind me of the patient method that Le'Veon Bell employs when running the football. (Yes, as a Steelers fan, I'm not all that thrilled that Bell plans to sit out half the season.)

Lily Waters

Super Lunch came up next for me on the same Emerging Stage. Of the 5 bands I saw at the festival, this band definitely had the youngest crowd. My bet is that half the crowd was under the age of 18. With that, I had to take a look at their Facebook account to see where they've played. My bet was The Smell. Well, it looks like they've played their a few times, but have also hit up venues such as Bootleg Theater, The Echo and The Hi Hat.

What did I notice: the guitarist broke his string during the very first song. Luckily, someone in the audience had an extra string so he spent the next two songs fixing his guitar. He's had some bad luck in terms of the band. It was mentioned that they had played a set recently without him, because he had put the wrong address in his GPS.

Super Lunch

It was a change of venue to catch Americana band Dead Wren. Though four of the bands I caught were at the Emerging Stage, I headed into the Women's Twentieth Century Club house to catch this band. This venue had a relaxed vibe for the folk sounds of Dead Wren. Seats were set up in front of the stage and folks drifted in and out throughout the set. What was cool about this stage was that free desserts and lemonade were offered.

Dead Wren

It was back to the Emerging Stage to catch Small Forward and Billy Changer. I previously saw Small Forward in April at the Broke LA festival. They have a cool pop sound. Similar to Super Lunch, there was a distinct vibe around the crowd. There were definitely a number of friends to catch Small Forward. After the very first song, the crowd was yelling out songs that they wanted to hear the band play. One member of the band, replied to one suggestion, "That song will be played later."

Small Forward

Billy Changer closed out the night for me. I've known about Billy Changer for a little over a year now though this is the first time I caught the band. On this specific night, it was essentially, Lily Waters, but with different roles. This time, Robert (who plays guitar for Lily Waters), took lead vocals. Gabbi switched over to keys with backing vocals. It was a good way to close out the night. Since I'm commenting about the audiences for various bands, I should mention that for this band, Numb.er/Feels was there to support.

Billy Changer

Broke LA: Day 2 Highlights

FYI: I'm also doing cross-promotion over at CaliforniaRocker.com for Broke LA Fest.

This year, Broke LA Fest shifted from warehouse locations to DTLA's Regent Theater and surrounding areas. The festival also expanded from one day to two days. This expansion just meant more time to explore the local music scene as presented by the staff of Broke LA.



Some Day 2 Highlights:

Amusing Moments with Super Fan: Sizzy Rocket

She danced her way across the stage like Lady Gaga probably would.

Lyric of the set: You say you want to meet me in the Champagne Room.

I was standing on one side of the stage, taking photos, when a super fan came rushing towards me from my blind side. When she came up to me, she shoved me away from the stage. Hmm. I decided to stay out of her way and moved to the other side of the stage. A few moments later as I was looking through the photos on my camera, another shove came via my blindside. There was just no where near the stage to stay. I moved away from the front of the stage for the rest of the set.

Sizzy Rocket

Dawson's Creek Set: Small Forward

Am I the only one who sees James Van Der Beek when looking at the lead singer?

While watching this band inside the Love Song Bar, I was brought back to when I took a vacation in Iceland. On my first day in Iceland, I ran across a music festival of singer-songwriters that was held across various bars and outdoor areas across Reykjavik. What pleasant memories rushed back while listening to Small Forward.

Small Foward

Double Duty: Blushh

This band is fronted by Shab. I've crossed paths with her a number of time throughout the years. Not as a being part of a band, but various times while she was doing photography or promoting an event. This time she had some double duty going on. Not only was she running the Love Song Bar stage, but she was also played a set on that stage.

Comment of the set said with a guitar pick in her mouth: That was not Radiohead.

Blushh

Fans fans fans: CLARA-NOVA

She brings the sophisticated to her lyrics. Who can't love the lyric: I trace the constellation.

And there are those power vocals backed by bass and synth vibrations.

Oh, and the fans. As soon as the set ended, her fans came up one by one to say how much they loved her set. Others came over, wanting her to sign their CLARA-NOVA purchases. She was barely able to tear down her music equipment to make way for the next band.

CLARA-NOVA

Hanging outside: Flavia

Comment of the set: My name's Flavia. Yeah, that's my name.

Comment of the set 2: This song is for all the exes that stayed too long.

She brought the electronica sounds to the Outdoor Stage. I previously caught her at Hotel Cafe about a year ago. I was hoping for some LED shoes, but I guess that wasn't going to happen at 3 p.m.

Flavia

It's Sunday, Time for Church? One High Five

The whole set was like watching a good old Southern Baptist pastor holding a religious revival. Or an African American church service where hands are held high. The whole set brought out the desire to hold out your hands and give praise to the band.

One High Five