Skylet Gunner (moniker for Katie Di Cicco) popped up on my radar back in 2022. I saw her two times in 2022 and then twice again in 2023. Then she dropped off of my music radar. When I saw that she was playing a WFNM showcase at Bar Lubitsch, I circled the night. During the set, I learned why I no longer noticed that she was playing around town. She spent time in Berlin and then Nashville before coming back to Los Angeles.
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| Skylet Gunner at Bar Lubitsch |
Recent Belmont graduate Emma Mowery was the opening act at a recent WFNM showcase night at Bar Lubitsch. Her set was a tender singer-songwriter set with Neta Rozenblat (wrote a Song Spotlight of his song "Blood and Ink" back in September, which you can read here) accompanying her on acoustic guitar. Out in the audience, her mom and friends were filming the moment.
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| Emma Mowery at Bar Lubitsch |
I first came across Madisenxoxo (aka Madisen Halberg) a little over a year ago for a Rocknite x Make Out Music collaboration night. I have to say that was a solid night of music with Still Blank and Sophia Roze also on the bill. If interested, I wrote a Song Spotlight about her song "Control Freak" based on that night, which you can read here.
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| Madisenxoxo at The Fable |
Abby Walker and Alex Carr was the opener for a Ryan Pollie showcase night at The Fable. I happened to arrive at The Fable early and got to hear a portion of their sound check. I knew immediately that I was going to enjoy their set. The duo was testing out new material that they are recording for an upcoming album release. Joining the duo on violin was Raina Markham.
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| Abby Walker and Alex Carr at The Fable |
Ragamuffs (moniker for Hailey Finesse) recently moved from Honolulu, Hawaii to Los Angeles, California. My family comes from Hawaii so when she mentioned that fact during her Rocknite showcase set at The Airliner Bar, my interest in her music jumped. Rounding out the band on this particular night was Val Sepulveda on drums and Klauds on bass.
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| Ragamuffs at The Airliner Bar |
Club Oro is the brainchild of siblings Cassandra and Connor Cronin. The duo live (or at least used to live based on Internet sleuthing) in Glendale. I live in Glendale. They're also a favorite of Buzzbands. I love Buzzbands. The band has been around since 2017-ish. The stars finally aligned properly and I crossed paths with them recently at a Rocknite showcase over at The Airliner Bar.
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| Club Oro at The Airliner Bar |
I recently got to photograph Castle Rat at The Belasco. I did a review of the set for US Rocker Music, which you can read here. For me, at least, there was an unusual occurrence on this particular night. Usually, at these larger venues with a photo pit, photographers can to shoot the first three songs before having to leave the pit. For Castle Rat, it was the first two songs and then they let us back in towards the end of the set.
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| Castle Rat at The Belasco |
Brutus VIII (moniker for Jackson Katz) opened up for Tankerlow (you can read that article here) who were celebrating their sophomore album SLAGROOM. His Zebulon set was an industrial experimental thrill ride. Throughout the set, one could hear William S. Burroughs spoken-word Dinosaurs - a desire for humanity to keep on evolving.
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| Brutus VIII at Zebulon |
As I've said before, I try to stick to a specific amount of nights out in the music scene each week. I am actually keeping to my self-discipline better this year than last year. Yet, a recent week was a cheat week as I went out five different nights (one of those nights included hopping venues). I already knew I was going to head out 4 nights that week, but then curiosity hit. I took a look at what WFNM had scheduled for Bar Lubitsch. Catching my attention was jazz singer Stacey Ryan from Montreal, Canada. I sent Grant Owens (WFNM founder) an Instagram message to ask when she was hitting the stage. I learned she was the first performer up for the night. Off I went and then I made a quick exit to head back home. The computer was turned back on and I put in another hour of work.
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| Stacey Ryan at Bar Lubitsch |
I first came across Chalk Teeth back in April. After seeing their set, I wrote up one of my Song Spotlight posts for their song "Floor It." Ever since that point in time, I've wanted to catch another set. I know I've had other opportunities to catch a set, but the timing never worked out. That ended when they had their official record release party (I'm assuming it was their release party) at Licorice Pizza Records for their self-titled debut album. The album came out in June so a little delay in having a party. The band was scheduled at Licorice Pizza a few months back, but had to cancel due to illness.
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| Chalk Teeth at Licorice Pizza Records |
Tankerlow recently celebrated their sophomore album release, SLAGROOM, at Zebulon. The band played the album front to back, which I say is the way a record release party should be done (if possible). The Moorpark band trio includes Guy Azulay, Kyle Norvell, and Connor Scheff. For the night, the band filled out their sound with three other musicians, creating an orchestral wall of sound.
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| Tankerlow at Zebulon |
