Zebulon: Gretchen Lieberum

I'm always up to just randomly going out to catch a new band or artist. Gretchen Lieberum fit the bill earlier this month. She's a jazz singer who was celebrating the release of her new album "This May Only Be a Dream." It is a album filled with jazz standards. Her set list had her singing the new release from start to back though she left off the last two songs -- which I found interesting. She also sang a song called "Key Largo," which is not on the album. 

My standard outings in the Los Angeles music scene ranges from Americana / folk to pop to punk to the occasional metal, but how was it seeing a jazz performer? One thing I noticed was the very careful manner in which the music was sung. For the song "Lonely Sea," her daughter came up to join in a duo. They spent the song watching each other and making sure their singing aligned as perfectly as possible. For the final song which featured another guest on piano, the pianist carefully counted out the beat before starting the song. Precision in the improvisation of jazz. 

The backing band had a horn section, guitarist, drummer and keyboardist.

It was a great night at Zebulon with chairs set out in front of the stage, but that was hardly enough as there were plenty of folks standing behind those chairs. 

Zebulon: All Things Blue, SLUGS, Slut Island

I know this night was headlined by All Things Blue, but one has to give it up for Slut Island. They stole the night as the opener. India Coombs, lead singer of All things Blue, had to admit at the start of her set that she included some really funny bands (not to forget about SLUGS) to open the night. Slut Island started the set like any other band would, starting with their first song . . . duh. After finishing it, they stopped. "There's something wrong with our sound," they said. From there they demanded that the sound guy come up and see how bad the sound was. The sound guy (I believe was a friend) went up to the stage and started to make these mimicking sounds into the microphone, playing with the pedal boards, and hitting the drum set with the sticks. "Nothings wrong," he said. The band wasn't happy with that reply so they jumped him and started to choke him. As they continued on their set, they did a song about how smart artists are. They looked out into the audience and said, "If you're not an artist, leave the venue." They then asked that folks who weren't artists should raise their hands. I raised my hand and got the response, "You have a camera." They went to another person and came up with an excuse on why he could stay. Of course, my raising my hand got me in trouble. For the last song, they asked to know who had a birthday and if that person would come up on stage. One person did have a birthday and was more than eager to jump on  stage. That was the only person; however, that had a birthday or was willing to admit it. They wanted another person on stage and started to look around for a forced volunteer. That person just so happened to be me. Maybe if I had stayed quiet about the artist question, I would have drawn their attention or maybe I would have anyways. Either way, my first impulse was to decline, but then no one else was willing to go on stage and so I also felt compelled to help them out. Anyways, on the stage I went. The two of us were asked to sit in front of the drum kit and hold hands while they played their final song. There was some butt shaking going on by the lead singer during that song. And when all was said and done, the person celebrating her birthday got to sit behind the drums while I was handed the guitar. A very comedic and memorable set.

Slut Island

What else can be said about the night other than that long write-up.

SLUGS

SLUGS gives the best side eyes in Los Angeles. If someone is at the other end of that look, one would have to think that she is either amused or bemused. The duo that makes up the core of SLUGS also backed up All Things Blue for the final song of her set. Got to say that All Things Blues definitely loves her guitar, giving it a long tight hug at one point.

All Things Blue

 

Zebulon: Honey Child with Crook and Dove Armitage

Honey Child was celebrating the release of their "Starving Hearts" album. Claire McKeown fronts the band. I've followed her career since 2011 when I was covering the New Los Angeles Folk Festival and came across this band called Dirt Bird. I was just mesmerized by her operatic vocals. I also came across her in a band called Afternoons where she did the backing vocals. I came across that band in 2014. I then came across Honey Child back around 2016. 

With a 6 member choir and Claire McKeown wearing a black wig, the choir soothed the audience with tenderly sung tunes. There were two music stands on the stage, which I always love seeing. To me, it just indicates a music composition training. A variety of musical instruments were used during various parts of the set: flute, guitars, mini-piano and I believe a French horn (maybe I've got my horn instruments messed up there). 

Honey Child

Opening up the night was Crook. Now the band Crook is pulsating and ear popping. But when Daniel Crook does his solo sets, the music is soft and emotion. It can bring a tear to the eyes. Dove Armitage closed out the night. I don't know how many people in the audience were aware of who Dove Armitage is. Crook opened with his emotional take on life. Honey Child had the opera influence. And then Dove Armitage came out with her death goth look and bondage style. I loved it. I've followed Quincy for a number of years via Cat Scan and then Kevin. To me, it was a nice surprise end to the night, shake things up and send you home.

Dove Armitage

Crook

I'm Up On Buzzbands: Mating Ritual at Zebulon

I'm up on Buzzbands with a photo gallery and write-up of the amazingly fun Mating Ritual set at Zebulon. If you're a Lakers fan, you'll really enjoy the post.

I'm Up On Buzzbands: Gypsum at Zebulon

I'm up on Buzzbands (click on this link) with a photo gallery of Gypsum, Potty Mouth, and Julie at Zebulon. Gypsum was celebrating their self-titled album release.

Gypsum

Zebulon: Walt McClements, Patrick Shiroishi and Barry Johnson

Walt McClements had a recent record release at Zebulon. He uses the accordion as his main musical instrument. He also used a trumpet for a couple songs. I've got to say I grew up not exactly liking the sound that came from the accordion. But after first coming across Sugar Rum Tantrum a few years back and now Walt McClements, I have a much greater appreciation for the accordion. The way he played it brought forth such intriguing sounds. His music had that quality where I pictured his music playing during a philosophically revealing moment in a motion picture. As for the trumpet, he played both the trumpet and accordion at the same time. For some reason, that feels rather like a complex exercise.

Walt McClements

Patrick Shiroishi opened up for Walt McClements. His cousin had died that day and so he dedicated his set to his cousin. The set started with him blowing very softly into his saxophone. It was like a gentle wind was sweeping through the venue. He also did something I've never seen done: he removed the mouthpiece and just blew directly into the barrel of the saxophone. The set, influenced by the loss of his cousin, had a feeling of sadness.

Patrick Shiroishi

Opening the night was Barry Johnson. I only got to catch two of his songs. I did want to catch his full set, but trying to figure out set times at the Zebulon is a bit difficult so I always show up at around 9:30 p.m. I just figured that was when the first set starts, but I was wrong. He must have started around 8:45 p.m. or so. Oh well. What I caught was some well sung tunes.

Barry Johnson

Zebulon: Flaccid Mojo

I do believe that Zebulon is the last music venue in Los Angeles to open up. They finally opened up their doors on Wednesday, August 11th. And on Thursday, August 12th, it was the return of live music. I was hanging out at WFNM to catch some bands and then rushed out. It was a rush from West Hollywood to the edges of Frogtown. I wanted to at least capture one band that was playing Zebulon on this night.  

The band I caught was Flaccid Mojo, the final band of the night. The duo are members of Black Dice. (From what I can tell, Flaccid Mojo does not have an Instagram page so I can't link directly to them.) First off, the band had images shown on the screen behind them. As can be imagined by the band name, there were a lot of penis images. Anyways, the two members of the band used electronic synths to create the most hard punk sounds imaginable. It was electronic, scratchy, somewhat irritating like a finger nails down a chalk board, head slamming, wild music one can hear. Yes, it was disturbing and triumphant all at once. 

Zebulon was rather packed for the band. What a perfect way to re-open Zebulon, which to me is known for bringing in bands that are well known across Los Angeles and mixing in nights of experimental exploration. 

We Make Events: Red Alert

I happened to come across this Los Angeles Times (Sep 1) article last week. There was some updated info on the situation over at the Bootleg Theater via an interview with Kyle Wilkerson who runs the promotion firm Sid the Cat. Here's a quote from the article: 

Wilkerson and his team are holding on as best they can. They’re lucky in some respects, as the club did receive some PPP funding and nonprofit grants for its theater programming. But Wilkerson estimates that it will take “into six figures” for the club to survive the year and much more if COVID-19 shutdowns continue into next spring and summer. 

These next few months will determine if there’s a future for the club or not. 

Six figures. That is a lot of money required if bills such as Save Our Stages doesn't pass Congress. And that Bootleg Theater estimate takes into account the PPP (Paycheck Protection Program) funding and nonprofit grants they got. If they need six figures to survive until the end of 2020, just think how much money the other local venues in Los Angeles need to survive who didn't qualify for PPP and grants. Okay, probably not seven figures, but perhaps double what the Bootleg Theater needs to stay afloat for the rest of the year? Let's make up a number, $250,000? That's not exactly a sum that can be raised via a fundraiser.

The following also caught my attention.

On Tuesday, association-allied venues will light their exteriors red to show the spaces that are in critical danger. Across L.A., the Satellite is already done for as a music venue, and even the Troubadour is in rough seas. 

This event was put on by We Make Events and started at 9 p.m. on September 1st at participating venues across the nation. I learned that Zebulon was participating in the Red Alert so I drove over to take some photos. Below is one such photo that I took.

If you're interested in reading a little more about what is happening at Zebulon Cafe during this COVID-19 pandemic, read an interview that KCRW did with owner Jef Soubrian. 

Quarantine Online Sets: Version 9

Weekends start on Thursday afternoons, right? Maybe in this new virus world it does. Thursday thru Saturday was spent with Buzzbands. Thursday brought Hamis Handerson. He hooked in some 70s guitar rifts from Australia. YIP YOPS were up on Friday afternoon. Just like their live shows at venues from The Hi Hat to Echo Park Rising, they had the lights flashing bright. The drummer was slamming those sticks. The lead singer left everything out there. Saturday was spent catching a short 15-minute set by Starcrawler. It was lead singer Arrow's birthday the previous day. Two members of the band kicked it in what seemed like an industrial setting. Both wore masks with Arrow wearing red gloves. It was a laid back and yet in your face type of set. I'm not sure if that sentence makes much sense, but it seems like a good description.

Hamis Handerson

Yip Yops

Starcrawler

Saturday was a busy day in terms of watching online sets. Prior to Starcrawler, I caught Emily Kinney. First on Facebook, which resulted in technical issues. Her vocals kept cutting out. Her fans convinced her to switch over to Instagram so to Instagram we went. She said something like, "This feels like me telling everyone that we should just jump to the venue across the street." She handled the Facebook vocal problems with a very cool and calm outlook. Personally, I would have thrown up my hands and said, "Sorry, we'll have to meet up on another day." Over on Instagram, around the same number of people tuned in so everyone did jump from one venue to the other. A couple years have passed since I last caught a set from her. I realized that the next time she plays Hotel Cafe, I'm there.

Emily Kinney

Closing out Saturday was spent catching Mara Connor's record release party on Zebulon's Instagram page. She did a round with her favorite musicians. She would do a song and then pass it off to a friend. Sam Outlaw was up first playing from Nashville. Desure played from Los Angeles. There were a number of Internet glitches. Somehow he kept dropping off of Instagram. On one occasion, someone off camera whispered to Mara, "He's dropped off." Maybe there was an Android vs. Apple familiarity issue, because Mara shut down Instagram Live and came back on using a new phone. Cale Tyson joked about hanging with friends on the patio of Zebulon. He then let on that he was hanging out in Texas with his parents. (Honestly, what's up with Texas. I know a handful of people who have left California during this pandemic and are in Texas.) Ryan Pollie played his set from his car after he'd gone grocery shopping. He bought toilet paper, coconut milk, and wine. Ryan and Mara admitted that this was the first time both of them played Zebulon. It was so amusing watching cars driving pass during his song. Leeann Skoda played in front of a rather futuristic metal backdrop. Amusing moment was towards the end, Mara accidentally starting clapping while Leeann was still singing. The problem was that Instagram froze for a few moments so Mara figured the song was over. Will Fox closed out the guest with some pink/blue room lights.

Mara Connor

Mara Connor with guest Desure

Zebulon: Shannon Lay and Mikal Cronin

Shannon Lay gets better and better every time I see her. She had a backing band at Zebulon on a recent night. They did a group meeting on Zebulon's floor before heading up onto the stage to provide the audience with some beautifully structured music. I do believe this must be one of the first sets that had this specific backing band. One of the musicians was playing drums and keys throughout the night. There were a couple moments where it seemed like she was uncertain if she should be on drums or keys. It didn't matter. It was just some amusing moments that just blended into some beautiful music. The night ended up with the song "Everybody." The band switched to backing vocals. That created wonderful chills.

Shannon Lay

Mikal Cronin opened up the night with a one man multi-instrumental set. There was an art flare to his set. He switched up between keys, guitar and electronic flute.

What I learned after the set was that Shannon Lay and Mikal Cronin are hitting the road together.

And interestingly, this is the first time in awhile where I've gone to Zebulon and gotten some really good lights. Usually, the venue loves to keep the lights barely on.

Mikal Cronin

Zebulon: Rain Phoenix, Kokomo and The Motion Motion

I was wanting to catch one of Rain Phoenix's residency nights. I headed off on the last night. The set was filled with wonderful folk sounds. She mentioned that a number of the songs were co-written with her brother River Pheonix. For the final song, she brought up her sister Liberty Phoenix for a duet. As she talked with the audience between songs, she discussed death. She mentioned that this is something we all have in common no matter our politics, religion or nationality. She also apologized for grinning while talking about death, but then it was due to her approach in how she was discussing the topic.

Rain Phoenix

Opening the night was Kokomo which featured Lauren Rocket and Holly Marilyn Solem. Both used to be in a band called The Child. The was a favorite of mine. The Child sped through music like no tomorrow with a electronic, goth feel to it. Kokomo turns that all upside down with chill sounds. This was their first set and so was short and sweet. It included a cover of The Killing Moon by Echo & the Bunnymen.

Kokomo

In between Kokomo and Rain Phoenix was The Motion Motion, an interpretive dance group. I ended up being part of their show so I figured I'd write-up my experience. (No link to a site of their's as I couldn't find one.)

The Motion Motion

To be honest, I’m not sure when their interpretive dance set started. The dancers moved some chairs to the center of the venue. Then they tried to get people to sit on those chairs. Everyone declined. One of dancers came up to me and I felt like declining, as well, but I also felt like someone should volunteer so I took a seat. A few moments later the same dancer came over and said, “You don’t need to sit here anymore. Sorry, I misunderstood what was happening.” I shrugged and left the chair. Less than a minute later, another dancer came over and rather forcefully took me by the arm and pulled me over to another chair. Was this all part of their act?

Well, they started to do their interpretive dance moves and a significant part of it took place on the Zebulon raised seats (as seen in photo). They threw themselves across those seats, which actually freaked me out. I was just waiting for them to throw themselves so aggressively that they’d bounce off the wall and end up tumbling to the floor. They also danced around those that were convinced to take a seat on the chairs.

Throughout the set, they kept yelling out, “Is this on? Is this on?” Who knows what they were talking about, but everyone yelled out, “YES! YES!” As their set came to a close, the first dancer who had asked me to take a seat came over and whispered, “Is this on?” I replied, “I’m uncertain.” That was the honest answer, because I didn’t get what they meant by their question. An audience member looked at me with an amused look. Sorry, I obviously fail at the liberal arts.

April Ends/May Begins: Local Music Blast - Part 2

For me, the Los Angeles music scene during the transition week between April and May was a real blast. This is part 2 of my adventures.

Tuesday night brought Lizzy Land at Madame Siam. This is an artist I've followed for a few years when she was in the band Mating Ritual. She calls her music experimental pop. That sounds good to me. Her sound reminds me of the sounds from IO Echo and CLARA-NOVA. I was just mesmerized throughout her 30 minute set. Backing her was one of the members from Mating Ritual. It is nice to know that they're all supporting each other.

Lizzy Land

Opening up that night was Savannah Sgro and YVR. Interesting notes is that Savannah Sgro was raised in Las Vegas. Moved to Nashville and now I'm assuming lives in Los Angeles. YVR is a recently married couple -- one could see the glow on their faces when that was mentioned.

Savannah Sgro

YVR

Wednesday night I took a break, but was back at it on Thursday night when I headed off to Zebulon to catch Ever So Android, Crook and Draemings. Interesting fact: I've interviewed all three bands.

Draemings stated they were debuting new music. I don't know. It didn't sound like it. The crowd loved every moment of the set. I loved every moment of the set. If this really is their new music, I have to believe they're going to gain a number of new fans. Okay, I have some "humorous" doubt on the new music claim, because it was all so brilliant. Noticed: Kimi set things off with her leopard imagery and had the crowd renaming the band KIMI!!! KIMI!!!

Comment of the set: We're debuting all new music tonight so hopefully you're not here for the hits.

Draemings

Ever So Android went from a 2-piece duo to a 4-piece band. This only expanded their punk sounds. The one disappointment is that they asked for the lights to be lowered (and the Zebulon already has low lights) and their own stage lights weren't operating properly, which meant my camera didn't have a lot of fun.

Ever So Android

I caught Daniel Crook as a solo artist at The Hi Hat and so this was my first time catching the full band. When you first see the band your eyes have to notice the fashion statement, but when the music hits you are pulled into an emotional vortex.

Crook

Friday closed out the music run. I got invited to an outdoor event called Shaken Vanity Block Party. On the first Monday of each month, businesses around the 500 block of Hoover Street apparently are given free range to do what they like. So one business has an outdoor music festival. I went down to catch Dirty Cakes and Speed of Light. Both bands rocked out their punk sounds. Dirty Cakes brought the punk sounds of experience. Speed of Light brought the punk sounds of youthful exuberance. Both bands are fixtures at the monthly/bi-monthly shows that are hosted by The Satellite at the American Barbershop in Echo Park.

Dirty Cakes

Speed of Light

Two Sundays/Two Members of Feels along with friends

I've followed Feels for a number of years now. Way back when they were called Raw Geronimo. That probably makes me a super fan compared to others. Yet, to be honest, over the last year, I've seen solo sets by the members of Feels more than I've seen the band as a whole. That trends continued recently. On the final Sunday of 2018 and the first Sunday of 2019, I caught members of Feels, Shannon Lay and Laena Geronimo, doing solo sets.

Shannon Lay

Shannon Lay was at Zebulon for the final Sunday of 2018 and Laena Geronimo was at The Echo for the first Sunday of 2019. If one goes to their solo sets to get a different take on the psychedelic rock of Feels, one would be disappointed. Instead, both bring thoughtful singer-songwriter sets. Shannon's set definitely has vibes of ancient elves. Laena found joy in finishing complicated guitar chords.

Laena Geronimo

Earth Girl Helen Brown

Closing at Zebulon on that final Sunday was Earth Girl Helen Brown. Shannon Lay also joined in with the backing band.

Anna St Louis

Justin Sullivan

At The Echo, Anna St Louis and Justin Sullivan brought lovely solo sets. Anna St Louis and her music was so memorizing that it almost felt wrong to disturb the music in anyway. The crowd was equally attentive to Justin Sullivan. Who responded, "You're so quiet. Not like other venues I've played at where anything goes."

Fell Runner

Fell Runner and Red Channel changed things up to close out the night at The Echo. Fell Runner sounded like Arnold Schoenberg had decided to turn his music into rock sounds. Their sound was just fascinating in its sophistication. Red Channel ended the night with a quick 20 minute set, bringing two synths into a dancing mode to send folks home.

Red Channel

Quick Hit Artist Interview: Rocco DeLuca

Rocco Deluca at Zebulon

Interview with the artist. Enjoy:

I believe the first time I saw you was in 2009 at Spaceland. How has your music changed over the years? It seems to me that this music that I play is always sifting for a more direct and simple approach. As I get older, I am more able to quickly articulate my sentiments through music. I've been enjoying playing my baritone lap steel guitar that my friend Pavel Maslowiec built for me. The instrument allows for me to be dynamic with very little, and I'm enjoying the experimentation that I've been afforded in recent years. An example of this experimentation can be found on “Goodbye To Language” with Lanois. I am always searching for the pure tone, and that is ever-changing.

How has the Los Angeles music scene changed over the years – from your perspective? The nice element to the LA music scene is that it is wide open: meaning all things can be tried. It has always felt like anything could happen in Los Angeles on any given night. This music scene must be discovered. One has to search for something new and authentic in LA. When you are confronted with so much information it is hard sometimes to see past these bright lights, but possible. The only significant change I see, is that more people are moving here from around the world, I'm seeing more variety than ever before.

Quick Hit Artist Interview: Jim Wilson

Jim Wilson at Zebulon

Interview with the artist. Enjoy:

What’s the story behind how you started out as a musician? I've been obsessed with music my whole life. All I ever wanted to do was sing and play. And collect records.

How would you like your music to impact people who listen to your music or see you play live? I don't sing anything if there's no feeling. I go through a lot of song ideas to find things that I can feel and if I can feel it, I know other people will feel it too. I guess it's called 'soul'.

Quick Hit Band Interview: Prissy Whip

Prissy Whip at Zebulon

Interview with the band. Enjoy:

How would you describe your sound? Our sound is like morbidly orthopedic. As well as diabetic-ally and utterly ferglicious with a dash of sweet sweet harmonic horse piss / ejaculate

What’s the favorite part of your Prissy Whip set? My fav part of the set is when I impregnate the cis sound man via sext and lactate on dem hoes

Zebulon: Death Valley Girls, Collapsing Scenery and Prissy Whip

I came across Death Valley Girls in March 2017. I noticed that they were playing at Zebulon, supporting Collapsing Scenery's residency. I circled the date.

Prissy Whip opened the night with a performance by the lead singer that mimicked neurotic toy soldiers, attacking their child owner. And then the guitarist played his set like a malfunctioning robot from an Isaac Asimov novel. Think about that and you can imagine the band's sound. Oh, and their friends tossed roses on stage throughout the set. Yep, good way to begin a night.

Prissy Whip

I caught Collapsing Scenery once before at Zebulon. They were playing with a band I love called The Big Pink. This band uses a light show powered by various projectors to highlight movements of their band members, especially that of the lead singer. Interestingly, the first time I saw them they used only a very small portion of the Zebulon stage to put on their show. This time, they expanded across the whole stage. Their sound is intense and tight. There is no relaxing.

Collapsing Scenery

Death Valley Girls had their fans out as well as their photographers. The photographers, like me, lined the stage well before their set began. Unfortunately, for us photographers (unless you use flash), the lights were dimmed for their set. One of the guys at Zebulon, in fact, came up to me and said to me before their set, "Sorry, about the lights, I know photographers like brighter lights." The lights were dimmed, but Death Valley Girls was bright. Their music is like a shot of adrenaline to the heart. This band makes you want to jump around and toss your hair around (if you have hair to toss around).

Death Valley Girls

A February Friday night at Zebulon: The Big Pink, Collapsing Scenery and Palm Springsteen

What did I notice right off the bat, hanging out at Zebulon? The place was packed for the first band, Palm Springsteen. Most of the time in the local scene, the first band plays in front of just a handful of individuals. There was good reason why the place was packed. The band put on a high energy set, sending fans into short-form dance moves in front of the stage. And the lead singer surely knows how to do leg kicks and spanking of the cowbell.

Palm Springsteen

Collapsing Scenery was the middle band of the night. Zebulon was even more packed in by this time and the fandom even more intense for this band with the pulsating sounds and white light projections. The photographers were out in mass, as well. I couldn't help but think that the lead singer found us photographers amusing. For some reason, Collapsing Scenery only used about 1/3 of the stage. It was almost like the band likes to be within inches of each other. At the same time, the confined space put restrictions on the lead singer's movements. So when a photographer went to the front of the stage and leaned over to capture a photo of the drummer -- which even further restricted the amount of available space -- the lead singer looked at the photographer with an amused nod.

What I couldn't help but notice: at one point, the lead singer was whipping around his microphone cord. It happened to get stuck around a cymbal stand. Well, that resulted in him having to hang out within inches of the drum set until the end of the song.

Collapsing Scenery

The Big Pink closed out the night. They were the main driver for me heading out that night. (I did a review of their set in mid-November 2017 at The Hi Hat.) This band, I love. They had the lights blasting. I swear, it some ways, the lights were just as loud and ear pulsating at the band itself.

What I couldn't help but notice: as the band was setting up, the bassist couldn't help but dance on stage to the sounds of the DJ.

The Big Pink

After The Big Pink ended their set, I headed outside to the Zebulon's parking lot/patio area. The place was packed. It was actually difficult to move between people -- my camera bag didn't exactly help. Then I made my way to the exit. I noticed there was a line of people waiting to get into Zebulon. So has Zebulon become the new non-Artist District version of the Art District's Villains Tavern?

Quick Hit Artist Interview: Kittie Harloe

Kittie Harloe at Zebulon

An interview with Kittie Harloe:

How would you describe your sound? In a writing session, someone once described my voice as making them feel like they were being "descended into hell by angels." I love that.

Outside of music, what are some of your other interests? Outside of music, I love dancing, thrifting, and studying art.