Janelane recently played The Fable during a Ryan Pollie night. I first came across Janelane in 2017 at Echo Park Rising. I was shooting the festival for Buzzbands. I technically wasn't suppose to shoot Janelane. I had been assigned the venues east of The Echo. Yet, I decided to check out Janelane over at Spacedust (the store closed at the end of 2023), which was a store west of The Echo. I've been a fan ever since. The band is fronted by Sophie Negrini with a rotating cast of musicians.
I saw Circle the Earth play a spirited set at Hotel Ziggy (a WFNM night) on August 27th, 2024. Of note, the band name is so appropriate as the members hail from across the globe. You have Brazilian drummer Sandro Feliciano, Japanese guitarist Kazuki Tokaji, and Taiwanese keyboardist Sandy Chao Wang. The five piece band is rounded out by Michael McBay on bass and Aviva Scott on vocals. The band's set was filled with the power pop ballads that highlighted Scott's crystal vocals.
Desert Daze announced on August 30th that their four day festival that was to be held from October 10th - 13th was being cancelled "due to rising production costs and the current volatile festival market." There was also an emphasis in their announcement that Desert Daze is one of the few independent festivals.
PAGOTO, a project of L.A. Witch drummer Ellie English, had their record release at Licorice Pizza Records. Knowing that connection, one might expect a sound somewhat similar to L.A. Witch, a bit psychedelic mixed in with blues and rock. That would be totally incorrect. This band is a hard core industrial band. Vocals are screamed at jet engine levels and drums are slammed with the intensity of the flames coming from a rocket booster engine. Their 8 song album, 7989, is 7 songs of industrial with the final song “Ancestor” taking one on a meanderingly chill drug trip – got to let the listener take a breather.
The band played the album in full at Licorice Pizza in front of friends as many a long conversation was had prior to the band hitting the stage. Members of L.A. Witch also arrived to show their support for their band mate.
What is currently influencing your music? I'm currently influenced by my own broken brain, the state of the world, the sometimes overbearing California sunshine, and the nostalgia of a Tennessee summer. Musically, I would say we draw from Fleetwood Mac, Loretta Lynn, Van Halen, and Angel Olsen.
How do you go about combining lyrics and music? I don't normally write a song with the intention of it being about a specific moment or feeling. Normally I'll sit down with my guitar and let my brain go somewhere and the words follow. Then I'll take the skeleton song to my bandmates, Skyler and Duncan, and they beef it up instrumentally.
Allie Crow Buckley has a new song out called "Nothing Sacred." The video has an ancient sacred style to it. The music has a folk tone that includes what feels like what the Druids music might have sounded like.
Saying Druids is not the appropriate route to take on the music as she writes on an Instagram post:
Nothing Sacred was written about this place...
A small town in Italy carved out of the side of a mountain. An area where the Etruscan people once lived. An ancient pre patriarchal civilization of earth worshippers.
In slide 3 you can see the ‘jukebox and ancient token’ - there was this old school jukebox, and it only operated on lira. The owner of this little wine bar would drop a handful on your table.
That evening, we were walking through the town square and saw the locals all doing this line dance. Naturally I had to join in. Filled to the brim with wine, and pleasantly losing the feeling ‘limb by limb.’
So I should said influenced by the potential ancient sounds of the Etruscans versus the Druids, but honestly I don't know if I've ever heard of the Etruscans -- other than maybe they were mentioned in my high school European history class way back when.
Lyrics of the song: Are we onto something / Is this all part of some plan / Living out some prophecy lifetimes in the making.
How is the present connected to the past? Sometimes when we allow life to slow down just for a moment, we can feel it.
What is currently inspiring the band (in terms of music)? I created a Dark & Gothic 2021 playlist on Spotify so the search for hidden gems both old and new to add to the playlist is super
inspiring!
How would you like your music to impact people who listen to your music or see you play live? For those who are listening, I would want that individual to come to the show (now
that we have them again) and vice versa; for someone who's at the show and digging the vibe to dive into the Spotify!
Own final thoughts: I wage war against addiction. I write about the darkness to create the need for the light. The Sweet Kill desires to connect to those afflicted with the heavy of life. To provide a fun space to unplug from the grid with like minded trudgers is my goal!
