Quick Hit Band Interview: Paper Idol

Paper Idol at The Hi Hat

Interview with the band. Enjoy:

What is currently inspiring the band when it comes to your music? Been very inspired by Future Funk, Arthur Schopenhauer, New French Extremity cinema, Francis Bacon, VSauce.

What thrills you about performing live? Having the opportunity to dance awkwardly in front of a large number of people

Own Q&A: Boxers or Briefs? A: (by band member) Adam: Briefs, Matan: Briefs, Victor: yet to be disclosed.

Quick Hit Band Interview: Spectre Jones

Spectre Jones at The Hi Hat

Interview with the band. Enjoy:

What is currently inspiring the band when it comes to music? There are five of us, and we’re different stuff, but our current output is inspired by a lot of classic stuff like the Beatles and Fleetwood Mac. But yeah, we love all kinds of music!

For the band and its future, how would you define success? Success for us is sharing some love with people through our music. Anytime somebody hears something in their headphones or at a show and it connects with them and makes them feel seen, that's a success.

Quick Hit Artist Interview: Hux

Hux at The Hi Hat

Interview with the artist. Enjoy:

What do you currently find inspiring when it comes to music? I find writing about my story in my music even if it feels messy. It inspires me knowing someone else from across the world could listen and find relatability in any of my lyrics with their own lives. That’s extremely powerful.

What’s a dream venue/festival you’d love to play at and what about it intrigues you? My dream venue would be a sold-out show at the Gorge Amphitheater. It overlooks the Columbia river, it’s absolutely beautiful.

Quick Hit Artist Interview: All Things Blue

All Things Blue at The Hi Hat

Interview with the artist. Enjoy:

What is currently inspiring you in terms of music? I don’t really know, as far as artists and bands or whatever. Always my friends’ music more than anything else, but I have been watching a lot of older movies lately, mostly mystery or suspense, and that’s been seeping into more and more of our songwriting process, I think. Jerry Goldsmith especially.

Other than Los Angeles, where could you see yourself living/playing music and why? Aside from my hometown, Philly, I think I’d really dig living somewhere like Eugene, Oregon. It would be cool to play house shows again. Richmond is always fun to play but I could never live there. I do love the crowds though, they get wild

Massacre Week for the Los Angeles Music Scene

The coronavirus pandemic hit the Los Angeles music scene hard during the week of July 12th - 18th. Music venues announced that they were closing left and right. The parade of closures started first with Saint Rocke. The owners are putting the location up for sale. I suppose if the right investors bought the property, there is the possibility it might remain a music venue. Who knows, maybe if they can't sell the property and coronavirus becomes a non-issue in say 2021 perhaps they'll just go ahead and re-open. I will admit that I don't think if I've ever been to this venue. It is possible I went there once way back when, but definitely not twice. Yet, hearing the news was more than concerning.

Then there was a Friday massacre. The Satellite and The House of Machines called it quits. The Satellite will switch over to a full-time bar and restaurant. Now at some point they could turn back into a music venue, but how likely will that be as they've torn down the stage and are investing money. Here is part of what they wrote on Instagram:

We are currently removing the stage and redesigning the club to be more of a place to get good quality drinks and food. We will be re-opening the kitchen and doing a complete redesign. Due to the lack of funds, this will not happen quickly. 

We will be opening in the parking lot for food and drinks as soon as we have the kitchen re-opened or the government lets us hire a food truck.

Doing all that takes money. This isn't something that one can go ahead and just switch everything back to a music venue as doing that would also cost money.

This was a big hit for me as I've been going to The Satellite for well north of a decade. All those wonderful memories. In fact, one of the greatest local music line-ups that I've ever seen happened at The Satellite in 2012 when Haim, Cold War Kids and Milo Greene played on a Monday night.

Gustaf at The Satellite (my last time at the venue)

Soon after learning about The Satellite, someone sent me an Instagram IM about The House of Machines. I don't have the same history with The House of Machines as I do with The Satellite. I've only been going to this venue for the last year or so. Yet I would often find myself heading down there just to catch a band.

Their Instagram post said:

To our THoM family and beloved L.A. community – it’s with great sadness that we announce the closure of our store in the Arts District. The ongoing uncertainty in California caused by Covid-19 has left us with little choice.

And honestly, I expect that The Hi Hat will eventually announce that they're closing down. The owner just needs to find a buyer for his property.

Taleen Kali at The House of Machines (my last time at the venue)

Quick Hit Artist Interview: Tiny Stills

Tiny Stills at The Hi Hat (shot for Buzzbands)

Interview with the artist, Kailynn. Enjoy:

How would you describe your sound? We’re a rock band heavily influenced by pop punk and early 00’s rock and pop music. We write happy songs about sad things. We have lots of feelings. 

Outside of music, what are some of your other interests? I am an audio engineer so I love mixing music and producing it, as well as playing with my dog, trying to propagate succulents, and trying to make a rented apartment feel like home. I have time to bake rad pies, homemade bread and make homemade ice cream a few times a year and I love making pierogi from scratch. HGTV forever. I love eating food and surrounding myself with beauty. Other interests also include going to therapy and masturbation. 

Own final thoughts: something unique about this band is that when it first started it was just me, Kailynn West, and I played all the instruments on the first record except the drums and the bass. Now, on our most recent EP we put out with Odd Robot I didn’t even play guitar- our lead guitarist Zach Comtois did. It’s been a fun journey to this point. I also feel like quitting every day.

Quick Hit Band Interview: The Rare Occasions

The Rare Occasions at The Hi Hat

Interview with the band. Enjoy:

How would you describe your sound? I would describe our sound as indie rock (specifically garage rock / post-punk). We have some strong jazz influences in our music as well, but stylistically it definitely falls under the "rock" umbrella.

You mentioned that you won the John Lennon Songwriting Contest. What's your process to songwriting? Riff or chord change, and we build out the arrangement from there. We record our rehearsals and make notes about how we can improve the songs. After a few iterations, we either have something we're happy with or we ditch the idea if it's not working. I'll write lyrics and then we start recording the studio version in our rehearsal space. The writing process often bleeds into the recording process as we add layers of different instrumentation.

Own final thoughts: We started this band in the Boston/Providence area while we were still in school and now we're based here in Los Angeles.

Quick Hit Artist Interview: Tiffany Stringer

Tiffany Stringer at The Hi Hat

Interview with the artist. Enjoy:

How would you describe your sound? The sound of live shows are pretty pop-rock centered. I’ve been referring to my latest recordings as alternative-pop because I’ve been experimenting with the classic pop elements as well as anything I come across that inspires me/ makes me feel carbonated inside.

Where is your favorite spot to write music? And why the spot? My favorite place to write music is in a special moment as it is happening. It feels like I’m a researcher, trying to capture as much of the moment as possible.

Own final thoughts: Life imitates art! I’ve started being quite intentional about the art I create because I’ve seen first hand how it changes one’s reality.

Quick Hit Band Interview: The Haunts

The Haunts at The Hi Hat

Initially seen on  CaliforniaRocker.

Interview with the band. Enjoy:

What's the story behind how your band started? Aaron and Alanna had been in several bands prior to The Haunts, and had just left their prior band to start a more stripped back project. After several unsatisfactory sessions auditioning vocalists, they were ready to just go fully instrumental, until they met Max in the final few auditions they had scheduled. One hungover morning audition later, The Haunts were official!

For the band and its future, how would you define success? For us, success is getting to play shows in front of different crowds and have the music we make be positively received. We really do appreciate each and every person that comes to our shows, and we love to meet and interact with everyone. We have a lot of goals and plans for 2020, and are excited to see what the next year holds for us as we branch out of California more. Hopefully our future successes include being able to fully support ourselves off of our music!

Own Q&A: Why don’t The Haunts have a bassist? We started this band with the concept of being able to strip down a song to its most bare components, while also still being able to write songs we all felt were complete. We think a big aspect of our songwriting process is to not overthink any aspect and remember that there really aren’t any rules to what defines a band. We’re sure we’ll end up with a 4th member at some point, but for now, as long as we’re happy making and playing the music we write, the rest will hopefully follow. Plus, our minivan we tour in is super small, but that answer isn’t as fun.

Quick Hit Artist Interview: Speelburg

Speelburg at The Hi Hat

Interview with the artist. Enjoy:

How would you describe your sound? Speelburg sounds like you've put a whole bunch of pop culture from around the world into a blender. I often describe it as weird pop coz if you accept that you make pop instead of trying to hide behind something a little more niche, I've found that it actually gives you a little more creative freedom to just do whatever the hell you want.

How have you grown as a musician? I use less reverb. I use to hide behind it, then I got better at singing so I dried it up. Then I got back into it in fun and creative ways. I also think I got better at mixing, generally more confident with my own work. to go "Yeah, I like the way that sounds" and accept that's how it's going to sound on the record and be fine with that took a minute, but this whole upcoming record (Character Actor) was mixed at home in my studio and I couldn't be prouder.

Own final Q&A: Where will you be next week? I'll be on tour in France playing these huge arenas. I'm terrified and I can't wait! If you can make it out, I'd love to hang out :)

Quick Hit Band Interviews: Kid Eyes

Kid Eyes at The Hi Hat

Interview with the band. Enjoy:

How would you describe your music? Perfectly imperfect! :)

What thrills you about performing live? For us, the live show is everything. We love the unknowns that come with playing live - we love not knowing what's gonna happen next! Sometimes those unknowns can feel a little scary (like if your singer falls offstage ;)), but that feeling of living on the edge (literally) makes you feel alive.

Own final thoughts: Honestly, we're just grateful to be doing this.

Quick Hit Band Interview: Opus Vitae

Opus Vitae at The Hi Hat

Interview with the band. Enjoy:

What is currently inspiring your music? Music and writing has always been a therapeutic thing for me, the act of expression and trying to get an idea or feeling out into a song is what drives me. The tunes we've been playing live are from a record I wrote about a very crazy year I had. So they’re inspired by my personal life but also our collective challenges as people in this sometimes beautiful and sometimes often messed up world.

I noticed how the musicians switched around to various instruments throughout the set. How do you go about making determinations on how that is all done? So I wrote and recorded our record solo, and I held a few private listening parties and my old band came and they really liked the record. We decided to take it live. Because the record is super sonically dense and diverse it was a really big challenge to figure out how to bring it live without compromise. It was essentially reverse engineering and problem solving to figure out who would play what and when, and how to make everything happen as seamlessly as possible. I chose based on my band’s different strengths and also just logistically who can get to what instrument.

Quick Hit Band Interview: Mexico City Blondes

Mexico City Blondes at The Hi Hat

Interview with the band (with Greg). Enjoy:

What's the story behind how the band started? Allie and I met through an ad I put on Craigslist and hit it off right away. I loved her voice and we both had a similar vision for the type of music we wanted to make.

What inspires you to write/compose your songs? Mostly inspired by other music, our moods or even certain sounds. I get ideas in my head for how I want things to sound and work hard to try and get that to come out of the speakers.

Quick Hit Artist Interview: Sam Buck

Sam Buck at The Hi Hat

Interview with the artist. Enjoy:

What inspired you to start singing? I’ve been singing since I was a kid, but I think when I started singing country, I found my real voice. Not my narrative voice, but my actual singing voice. I think the best country singers are the ones who apply affect skillfully.

Is there a process that you go through to come up with your song titles? Song titles are hard, I usually just name songs after something I say in the chorus. Usually the word or phrase or concept I've built the narrative of the song around. On the contrary, one song has been titled "groovey" for years because I couldn’t think of a good name for it. It just had a good groove.

Quick Hit Band Interview: The Morning Yells

The Morning Yells at The Hi Hat

Interview with the band. Enjoy:

What's the story behind how your band started? My sister Lulu and I were writing songs in 2016 under the name Phil and Lu. We put out a record called Mood Rock, and The Morning Yells stemmed from us needing musicians to play those songs live. The new group took on a life of its own, so we made it official as The Morning Yells. We put out an EP, "Proper Wilted" in 2017, and more recently a full length "On The Lash" in May 2019.

From what I could gather, your band doesn't have one primary song writer. What's the process behind writing and creating the music behind your songs? That's definitely true. It's evolved a lot from when we started, but we're all songwriters. Generally, one of us has an unfinished demo idea, and we pick it apart together in the studio to make the final song.

Own unique info: Phil and Lulu were in their first gigging band, The Little Blue Band, at 9 years old!

The Hi Hat: Nicole Kiki Jaffe, Lauren Lakis and Fox Violets

Hey, Nicole Kiki Jaffe and Lauren Lakis sharing the stage at The Hi Hat. I had to head out to catch that show. I've been telling people that I've been dealing with a bad flu / cold during the month of January. Luckily, I was at around 90% and felt like I could head out and stay out past 11 p.m. Yes, I've been going out over the last couple weeks, but I've probably skipped 5 or more shows that I really wanted to go to, but felt like I should just stay home and get my body healthy.

Nicole Kiki Jaffe was celebrating the release of her single, "The Lion's Den." She was dressed for the occasion. A friend who is a fashion designer made a special outfit for Nicole (red and western). Her father was also front and center. Her music had those in the audience singing the lyrics with her in songs such as "Stay".

Nicole Kiki Jaffe

Lauren Lakis closed out the night with her rock tunes. She flipped her hair and gave a smile to the audience throughout the set. There is just this level of enthusiasm in her sets. It really gets the audience into the set.

Lauren Lakis

Opening the night for me was Fox Violet. I got to catch around half of this rocker's set.

Fox Violet

Quick Hit Artist Interview: Party Nails

Interview with the artist. Enjoy:

What is currently inspiring you in terms of your music? The music I am currently working on is really inspired by current events. There is a lot of sadness, anger, disconnection and masking of truth and feelings that I see going on, and I'm making music about all of that.

Editor note: the following question is a bit dated as this interview was first posted on Instagram a few months back, but still has some good thoughts.

At The Hi Hat, you mentioned that this was the final night of your tour. I also happened to notice that you're going out on tour again in June. What do you enjoy about going out on tour? And maybe even what you don't like about touring? I'm heading out on tour again at the end of June, this time with my friends PRXZM who are an electronic duo that I toured with last year. I really love touring. I love traveling, visiting people and making new friends along the way, getting closer to the people I'm traveling with, and of course playing music and spending time with fans is magical and deeply important to me. The hardest parts about touring for me are being away from my home life with my kitchen, my person, my bed, my space. But leaving makes coming home even sweeter.

The Hi Hat: Kat Leon with Naika, Badtooth and Roman the Cartoon

It was a rather diverse music line-up at The Hi Hat on a recent Monday night. Roman the Cartoon opened things up with a sound that was very similar to that of Magic Bronson. What made his set very amusing was that he had two individuals on stage who did some music box spins. Initially, there was an individual dressed in a suit, spinning in circles. Then a second individual came up on stage, in a mask that had one thinking of Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut.

Roman the Cartoon

Next up was Naika. Interestingly, Marley from The Colour Coast was in the audience. Why was this interesting? Well, the sounds of The Colour Coast and Naika are very similar with some tropical vibes. Naika mentioned that she is Haitian. She was also very personable, telling us how she came out to California after finishing college and had a mental meltdown due to the stress of being an adult. An experience that many feel throughout adulthood.

Naika

Kat Leon was the main attraction for the night. This was advertised as a one time event. A solid crowd showed up for this event. She mentioned that the 7 song set was inspired by a love of movies (well, one song was also a Radiohead cover, Exit Music). She was backed by six musicians, which included Holy War's Nick on keys and Dolly from Doctrin on vocals.

Closing out the night was Badtooth. So we went to heavy r'nb/rock beats of Roman the Cartoon to the Haitian sounds of Naika to the movie inspired rock tunes of Kat Leon. Badtooth ended the night with goth sounds played under the bath of red lights. At times, the band disappeared into the glow of the red lights while their music pierced it.

Badtooth

The Hi Hat: Champs, Kid Eyes, Tiffany Stringer

Sometimes, you never know who you'll catch on a night out. I felt like heading out on a recent Wednesday night and so headed off to WFNM's night at The Hi Hat. Champs was the first band that I caught. They were doing their first official show in Los Angeles. I kind of felt like based on that statement that they'd played in Los Angeles before, but perhaps in an informal type of way. This band features two brothers. I was very impressed with their 80s inspired tunes. I could have listened to them all night though the sound guy needed to cut them off before they were able to get to their last song.

Champs

Kid Eyes has a lead singer that can twist his body in any way he wishes. At times, one could imagine him in a straight jacket, attempting to release himself from the constraints during the set. I just got caught up trying to capture all those moments.

Kid Eyes

When I walked into the venue, one had to immediately notice Tiffany Stringer. During the music for the other acts, she was up front, dancing away. Talk about a person filled with energy. Her set was the same way. Her pop sounds were aligned with her bouncing stage show. It was a nice way to end the night. Doing a little Google research, I found out that she was a contender on American Idol a few years back.

Tiffany Stringer

Quick Hit Artist Interview: Scott Bartenhagen

Scott Bartenhagen at The Hi Hat

Interview with the artist. Enjoy:

How would you describe your music? My music is one part 70's folk artist, one part 90's Sting, and one part 10,000 BC caveman striking hollow log.

Where is your favorite spot to write music? And why the spot? I write most music on my bed, criss cross apple sauce. I only enter creative flow when my legs fall asleep.