New Music Alert: Jagged Baptist Club's "Temptation Death House"

 

Jagged Baptist Club's "Temptation Death House" song release has you thinking Depeche Mode and "Personal Jesus." The vocals and lyrical style just ring similar. The song is driven by the lead vocals as well as hypnotic synths. The synths just drive a continual forward motion to the song. 

Photo taken at The Hi Hat

5 Nights: Sun Space to The Echo to The Satellite to Harvard & Stone to The Hi Hat

Something that I rarely do occurred recently. I went out five straight nights to catch various bands. There was a band or singer at each night that I wanted to catch so none of this was random. And some of this was also driven by traditions that I hold dear.

First night out was Saturday where I headed out to a venue I'd never gone to called Sun Space. It is a small venue that probably has a maximum capacity set at 35 - 40 people. It is a non-profit and has a Pehrspace vibe -- though much smaller. The location has two small rooms. The back room is dedicated to art while the front room is dedicated to live art (via their Instagram they hold comedy and music nights).

I went there specifically to catch Suzie True. I caught this band earlier in the year at The Smell and had wanted to catch them a second time ever since then. I love how their music speeds along, but the vocals have a melodic tone to it. Also playing was Lindsay B who closed out the night and Foxx Bodies who played prior to Suzie True. Opening the night was Girl Hazel. I only caught a couple songs, but am definitely interesting in hearing a full set after just that brief introduction.

Suzie True

On Sunday, it was off to The Echo to catch Kevin. I saw Kevin for the first time in August at Echo Park Rising and have been rather addicted to this band since that point. Quincy and Kimi have way too much fun playing off each other. It is just great seeing them having so much fun on stage. The night actually belonged to French Vanilla who was ending their tour. This was my first time catching them this year. I just love how their punk rock sounds include a saxophone. Opening the night was Mary and Heaven Pegasus. They switched off with each other during a 30 minute set. When one was playing, the other would rush off stage and change into a different wardrobe. It was rather amusing.

Kevin

Monday was spent at The Satellite to catch Livingmore and Oriah. Oriah opened up with some rocking sounds. Livingmore is obviously a band I spent a number of nights catching throughout 2019. And I should say that includes 2018, as well. I've mentioned to lead singer Alex that sometimes they go more country and other times they hit the rock tunes. I think this time they hit a perfect mix between the two. Closing out their residency was King Leg.

Livingmore

Another residency was ending Tuesday at Harvard & Stone. The Little Miss was playing her last set there. I previously saw her way back in October 2018 at the Resident. I did happen to see her as the MC at a recent Stories Books & Cafe. Her MCing was so funny, I decided I needed to catch her live as soon as possible, which was helped along by the fact that she was doing a residency at Harvard & Stone. I have to say I was a little tired out as this was my fourth night out, but I just did a quick hit and run and skipped out on the other two acts. I believe I was in bed by 11:30 p.m.

The Little Miss

My final night out was Wednesday at The Hi Hat. At this point, I was really exhausted, but I had to catch Zealyn. I hadn't caught Zealyn since last year's WFNM holiday party. This particular Wednesday night was also a WFNM holiday party. I just love Zealyn's vocals and leg kicks. Opening was Fyohna, LeyeT and Spectre Jones. I previously caught Spectre Jones at The House of Machines. That band has the best vocal sounds. Unbelievable. LeveT had those youthful energy and pop vocals. Fvohna was electronic synths. Fvohna had one of those accidents that everyone hates to see. Her Mac laptop took a 3 foot drop from the stand to the floor. I swear there has got to be an easy way that would prevent that stuff from happening. I probably see it happen 2 or 3 times a year.

Zealyn

Most amusing moment throughout those five nights happened at The Hi Hat when a person in the audience set up a chair at the front of the stage and sat there throughout most of the four acts. Ah, The Hi Hat is not Hotel Cafe.

I don't know the next time I'll ever do something as crazy like that. Five straight nights puts a strain on the body. But I will say, I enjoyed all five nights.

Quick Hit Interview: Magic Bronson

Magic Bronson at The Hi Hat

Interview with the band (via Matt). Enjoy:

What's the story behind how your band started? Me & Mike both lived out in the suburbs in Agoura and Thousand Oaks & knew each other through different bands we played in at the time. I was in an indie hip hop band playing bass & he was drumming for a few different groups. I ended up running into him at a local bar one night in 2011 and he invited me over to his dad’s garage studio to hang out and jam sometime. We started recording & writing the first day we got together and realized we worked together really well in the studio and had a lot of the same influences and it kind of just took off from there.

What struggles has the band had to over-come to get to this point as a band? I think mostly just staying positive and trusting the process. For us, we know if we are always writing & recording good things will happen. Sometimes it can be hard to find the right people to take you to the next level or step, but if you keep at it and put out good songs people will hear them and be willing to help.

Final thoughts: People always ask us where the name Magic Bronson came from: We’d been trying to figure out a band name for months and couldn’t come up with anything. We knew we wanted a play on something, but weren’t sure what. I had recently seen the movie “Bronson” with Tom Hardy about the London criminal Charles Bronson and Magic Johnson has been in the news a bunch because he was going to become a part owner of the Dodgers. In Mikes backyard one day while taking a studio break, I just blurted out what about Magic Bronson and it just stuck. We didn’t find out about Action Bronson till about 3 months later, but people liked our name so we kept it.

Quick Hit Artist Interview: Dyllan

Dyllan at The Hi Hat

Interview with the artist. Enjoy:

How would you describe your sound? Dark Dreamy Pop.

What motivates you to write your music? Mostly heartbreak.

Quick Hit Band Interview: The Premonitions

The Premonitions at The Hi Hat (shot for Buzzbands)

Interview with the band (with Mikhail). Enjoy:

What’s the story behind how your band started? We came together very naturally. We’re all good friends and introduced ourselves to each other. It started with two different projects; Blue Hearts, which became Nobodyz Children. Different line ups in both bands. The Premonitions came out of us finding each other through those projects and we had one thing in mind, to make primitive Rock n’ Roll that people could dance to. I think what makes us original is that we all have influences all across the board individually and we bring that into the general sound we have, which is heavily influenced by 60’s punk. For instance, I’m really into the 50’s and Vocal Group, whereas Eric (drummer) is really into soul and Daniel (bassist) is into 70’s and psychedelic. At the end of the day though, we’re brought together by 60’s garage which is definitely the main sound we love and strive to make.

Quick Hit Band Interview: little DNGR

little DNGR at The Hi Hat

Interview with the band (via Lisa). Enjoy:

What's the story behind how your band started? We've been working behind the scenes as a songwriting/production team for other artists and tv/film for about 5 years, but the idea of being in a band together was always in the back of our minds. I have a background as a sound designer, keyboard player/performer with the Smashing Pumpkins and others and Joshua is a badass multi-instrumentalist with this powerful, Jeff Buckley-esque type voice. It's amazing to sing with him. We love writing together and both of us started out as artists so littleDNGR really feels like a natural next step for us.

Where is your favorite spot to write music? And why the spot? Josh and I love to write whenever and wherever we can. On a plane, in the car, at a crowded party. Wherever we find the inspiration, really. And sometimes it hits us when we're actually in our studio. Which is ideal. I guess we don't necessarily have a fav spot to write so much as we are each other's favorite person to write with.

Quick Hit Artist Interview: Oddnesse

Oddnesse at The Hi Hat

Interview with the artist. Enjoy:

What is currently influencing your music? Classic pop songwriting, lush vocal harmonies, dramatic synth lines, earthy guitars and percussion.

What’s your favorite set/tour story or memory? Echo Park Rising last year was the most fun I ever had playing a show. I was so amped that I stayed out until sunrise that night, rare for LA and pretty much unheard of for me.

Own final thoughts: I used to make electronic music. Grey Goon calls me the velocity queen for the precision with which I will sit there and edit the bass midi. About half our tracks have programmed bass. I am not ashamed.

Quick Hit Artist Interview: Dylan Rodrigue

Dylan Rodrigue at The Hi Hat

Interview with the artist. Enjoy:

What is currently influencing you in creating your music? Currently, I am interested in trying to dissect the human experience in music. We are such a confusing and complicated species and a lot of what I have been writing about is simply questioning why we all do the things we do. We are capable of such amazing and horrifying things, both of which I am very much interested in. Lately, this results in some songs that reflect on certain extremes that may be disturbing to some people at first glance. I tend to be of the opinion that it’s better to piss someone off with what I do than to leave them bored. More often than not, I find that the things that disturb me are the things I’m most fascinated with.

For you and your music future, how would you define success? I would like to be able to make a reasonable living touring with music. I really try not to spend too much time measuring my own success. My main goals are to be able to keep playing and writing music, growing as a musician, and to be as good of a person as I possibly can. I have found that it’s always good to keep in mind how much you have to be grateful for. The more I take what I have for granted, the more I think of success as some intangible thing that’s always just out of reach. Life is hard already and I have no desire to make it harder for myself. I’m trying to live in the now like all of them Buddhists.

Quick Hit Artist Interview: Christinna O

Christinna O at The Hi Hat

Interview with the artist. Enjoy:

How would you describe your sound? I would describe my sound as a new channel of R&B, submerged with influence from jazz, electronic, and soul . . .

What’s your favorite song/track (your own) and what makes it the favorite? The most honest songs always end up being my favorite. My next single ”Lay It Down” would have to be my favorite. It's honest about me finding that person that I can lay down my burdens with, to feel safe and valid in vulnerability and ultimately . . . love!

The Hi Hat: Purple Bite night

Purple Bite highlighted some of their current and former clients this past Friday night. The night was filled with variety of sounds and the crowd was filled with familiar faces.

Alicia Blue started the night off with some singer-songwriter sounds. I just recently saw Alicia Blue at a Wild Riot event at El Cid. I didn't even know she was playing The Hi Hat on this particular night and when I saw her coming on stage, I was thrilled. There is something magically about her vocals. And she had the comment of the night, "I've always been an old soul. Interestingly, all my recent boyfriends have been younger than me."

Alicia Blue

Dyllan has a pop sensibility. I happened to cross paths with Mikel of Purple Bite in late April and asked him about his new clients. He mentioned Dyllan. So yeah, I won't lie, Dyllan was one of the main reasons I showed up at The Hi Hat for this event. You can tell she has a passion for music and I can't wait to hear her throughout the years.

Dyllan

Molly Moore is someone I saw last year at Chinatown Summer Nights when she was singing in a band called Cosmos and Creature. Her set on this night brought the dance tunes to The Hi Hat. And I noticed that her guitarist brought her own fans with her. Just before their set was about to begin, a couple friends came over to the stage and gave her some waves and love.

Molly Moore

Magic Bronson turned up the funk volume. Or is it funk? I find it hard to describe their music. It is a sound that makes you want to Pogo dance. It is a sound that makes you want to form a mosh pit. Though no one formed a mosh pit, you could see folks in the audience having big smiles and going just a bit wild in their dance moves.

Magic Bronson

Georgi Kay is someone I've seen on various bills throughout Los Angeles for a while now. I've also seen her hanging out at various venues. I've just never gotten a chance to catch a set. Well, on this night, I got to do so. She's a one person show with her electric drum, computer and vocals. It was one enjoyable set.

Georgi Kay

Closing out the night was the Yip Yops. The Yip Yops have gone from a four piece to a two piece as two members of the band decided to head off to college. Yep, this band is still very young. I believe when I first came across the band, at least one of them was still 16. On this particular night, the floor lights flashed bright and the music was electric with slamming drums and guitar riffs. We'll have to see if they stick with the two piece or eventually add in new members.

Yip Yops

Quick Hit Band Interview: Absurdist Fiction

Absurdist Fiction at The Hi Hat

Interview with the band (with Tyler). Enjoy:

What's the story behind how the band started? I started writing and playing music as a way to express and acknowledge thoughts and feelings I didn’t know how to express otherwise. I’ve realized over time playing these songs that they resonate with people because there is no judgement in them, they acknowledge feelings of depression, of loneliness, despair, and etc. and that it is okay to have and struggle with them. Because of this I felt that I had an obligation to do my best to share these songs with people to give them a sonic world that they can be in without carrying all of life with them for a while.

What’s a dream venue/festival you’d love to play at and what about it intrigues you? I would absolutely love to play Desert Daze. I think it’s the best curated music festival in the USA. The thing I find most amazing about it is how they have carved out such an eclectic cultural space to share music and ideas.

Quick Hit Band Interview: Bizou

Bizou at The Hi Hat

Interview with the band (with Josiah). Enjoy:

What is currently influencing the band? Currently we’ve been influenced by early 80s goth bands such as Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, 1919, 13th Chime, and The Cure!!

How has the band grown together as a group? We started this band in February of this year so we’re just getting started. We’ve all been in other bands and were friends before that.

 Own final thoughts: Members in our band have been in The Smashing Pumpkins, Wax Idols, Veruca Salt, Tennis System, and Light FM.

Quick Hit Band Interview: Jody

Jody at The Hi Hat

Interview with the band. Enjoy:

How would you describe your sound? We would describe our sounds as a mix of multiple different genres. It’s pretty hard to just nail it down as one sound but we feel we fall under a few styles such as pop, punk/post punk, and garage-y style rock. Usually each song that we work on and write ranges from different energies and emotions so it’s hard to just say “we are pop” or “we are post punk.” Feels like that’d be wrong.

Based on your social media, it looks like you took a hiatus (at least from playing shows). What got you all to come back playing shows? We just decided to take a hiatus but now we are back and excited to be playing again!

Quick Hit Band Interview: Mo Dotti

Mo Dotti at The Hi Hat

Interview with the band (with Gina). Enjoy:

How would you describe your sound? Intricate and raw. Noisy, delicate and dreamy.

What is your favorite lyric (your own) and what about it makes it so special? “It’s a bean and it’s sweet. In the autumn of life. Where’s my mouth? On my face. “

It’s the chorus of my favorite song to play (at the moment). I think it’s about a fleeting pleasure, despite feeling mostly negative and doomed. It is also about not knowing where you stand, or how to feel. It’s not obvious to anyone but it’s how I feel when I sing it.

Haunted Summer (The Hi Hat) and Alaska Reid (Bootleg Theater)

I don't normally jump from one venue to the next. In fact, whenever I do think about going to two shows on the same night, I often find myself just heading home after the first show.

Yet for Haunted Summer and Alaska Reid I did make a drive to different venues on the same night. I hadn't seen either for a few months. The last time I saw Haunted Summer was back in June 2018. And I hadn't caught Alaska Reid since October 2017.

The night started off at The Hi Hat to catch Haunted Summer. They're heading over to Italy to play some shows and they wanted to do a test run of their acoustic set. Though acoustic, it was as dream inducing as their full sound version. And by dream inducing, I don't mean a nightmare type dream, but a wonderfully pleasant dream.

Haunted Summer

After their set, it was off to the Bootleg Theater to see Alaska Reid. This was my first time seeing her performing under her name. The previous times were always under the band name Alyeska. I think there's just something catchy about her soft-spoken vocals and carefully crafted guitar chords. And even though, from what I could tell, it wasn't the most highly promoted event; there was a solid crowd out to catch her set. People stood close to the stage instead of relaxing 5 feet back. There is definitely something about her and her music that resonates with people.

Alaska Reid

Quick Hit Band Interview: The Silent Comedy

The Silent Comedy at The Hi Hat

Interview with the band. Enjoy:

What's the story behind how your band started? The Silent Comedy started as a casual side project of a very different band, called Dehra Dun. We began playing these rowdy folk shows that took on a life of their own, and the side project ended up eclipsing the band that spawned it.

I read (via Sideways Media) that you grew up traveling around the world. How do you believe that has impacted your music? My brother, Jeremiah, and I traveled the world with our family, spending the majority of that time in Southeast Asia. Going from Orange County, CA to the streets of Kolkata had a profound effect on us. The things we experienced changed our worldview permanently, and we eventually returned to the United States feeling very removed from the culture we were raised in. To some extent, that feeling has continued to the present day.

Quick Hit Artist Interview: Hawk Percival

Hawk Percival and Friends at The Hi Hat

Interview with the artist. Enjoy:

What's the story behind when you wanted to become a musician? When I was 7 years old, a classmate of mine brought in the animated version of “Yellow Submarine” by the Beatles. I was completely amazed, I never heard music like that before. When the movie was over, I decided that I wanted to make music as well and play in a band.

What’s your favorite (own) song and what makes it the favorite? This is a tough one to answer, I’m weird when it comes to my own music. I don’t necessarily have a favorite but the one that has been stuck in my head lately is a track called “Low”. I wrote it while watching “The Princess Bride,” one of my favorite movies.

The Hi Hat: Purple Bite Holiday Party

Whenever I run into Purple Bite PR around various music venues in Los Angeles, it is usually because they represent many of the top music talents around town and their bands/artists are playing sets. Many of their clients did residencies across Los Angles in 2018 and prior years. Lauren Ruth Ward and Jesse Jo Stark are perhaps the biggest names on their client list to have residencies. But other residencies were put on by Magic Bronson, Saigo, and October's Child. And I'm probably over-looking others.

Lauren Ruth Ward

On a recent Saturday night, they put on a free holiday show showcasing their talent at The Hi Hat.

Rainsford

The biggest musician of the night was, of course, Lauren Ruth Ward. I previously mentioned that Lauren Ruth Ward is the most supportive local musician in Los Angeles. One can't help but love the growing success she is having. One can only hope her success continues to grow in 2019. She gave the audience a stripped down set with just her and one other. The acoustic set just let her vocals float across an adoring crowd.

Rainsford definitely had her fans, as well. And just a few cameras were out and about. If I'm not mistaken, she was the only one who did a Christmas cover. She mentioned that she thought it was a holiday party so she had prepared a cover of White Christmas. Well, it was a holiday party and the cover was perfect -- especially since is was cold (Los Angeles version) that night.

Kera and the Lebians

Kera and the Lesbians is someone I've seen on occasion. (She might just go by Kera now, not totally sure on that.) I still remember the first time I saw her at the Bootleg Theater. Her set that night left me misty eyed. She only did a two song set on this particular night, but it still highlighted the emotional impact of her music.

Loyal Lobos

Loyal Lobos was a wonderful surprise. I swear she has lovely hints of Enya. And bringing up Enya, I still remember the first time I heard the Watermark album. I will remember the first time hearing Loyal Lobos.

Also, playing sets were Crow, Oddnesse, O Future and Glory Daze. O Future definitely has one unique sound -- perhaps I'd describe it as Silicon Valley infused music. Oddnesse had a beautiful singer-songwriter vibe. Crow gave a stripped down version of her more artsy set that I remember from when I saw her at Broke LA. I only caught a song or two of Glory Daze. Hey, it was college football playoffs night.

Oddnesse

It has to mentioned that this was a night where a lot of the Los Angeles influences and musicians hung out to celebrate the success of Purple Bite PR.

O Future

The Hi Hat: Bizou, Absurdist Fiction, Crook

I circled this night on the calendar when I saw that Bizou was playing. I've wanted to catch this band since they first hit the scene. The driving force was their drummer, Erin, who I follow on Instagram. When I saw them hit the stage, I realized that I actually recognized many of the band members. I was later told that the members of the band have played in various local bands such as Tennis System (Erin), Light FM (Josiah/Nicki), Smashing Pumpkins (Nicole - okay maybe not local, but she's played in other local bands that I've seen though can't recall the band names off the bat), Wax Idols (Marisa). As would be expected of a band with so much local music experience, they put on a top notch set. I only wish the lights weren't so bad for their drummer, Erin.

Bizou

Opening up was Crook, who gave a very personal set. He opened up the night so the audience was smaller when compared to the rest of the night, but those who were there made it feel very close knit. Most of the audience took a seat on the floor of The Hi Hat. As if to emphasize the fact that this was a group of close friends, there was also a text message that was sent to Crook towards the end of his set that he took the time to speed read through.

Crook

Also playing was Absurdist Fiction.

Absurdist Fiction

I'm up on California Rocker: Interview with Crook

I'm up on CaliforniaRocker with an interview with Crook.

Here's a sneak peak of the interview:

Do you find greater enjoyment writing a great song or performing a great song? Why the choice? Performance is always on my mind when writing. I'm trying to think of the visual character of each song constantly. This is more visible when I am performing with my whole band than when I am solo/locked in to the keyboard. I want the songs I write to have a visceral, lasting effect on the listener and often that requires a bit of physical finesse.