Song Spotlight: Mingko's Get A Job (a night at Zebulon)

Mingko (moniker for Abigail Zachko) played before a packed Zebulon crowd. And why not, it was a Rocknite showcase night. Zachko mentioned during the set that this was only their second time playing in Los Angeles. Prior to their move to Los Angeles, they attended the Berklee College of Music. Their website bio has some additional background. In Boston, they used to be in the band Ski Club and there is this quote associated with the band, "As a songwriter for the band, Abigail’s intricate and innovative compositions have helped define the group’s unique sound."

Mingko at Zebulon

Song Spotlight: Chalk Teeth's Floor It (a night at Harvard & Stone)

I say this often, but I've tried to put limits on how often I catch live music each week. On this particular week, I hit my limit by Wednesday. Each day out was magical so no regrets there. I decided to go over my limit on Friday as I thought I was going to get a press pass to catch an artist at a local DIY venue (I'll leave out the name of the venue as someone might be able to figure out who the artist was). Anyways, I never got any response back from my contact, but in my mind I had to do something on Friday night, because I was planning to go out anyways. I was putting together my weekly show alerts for the upcoming week and took a look at what Harvard & Stone had on their schedule. I noticed that on Friday night they had Chalk Teeth as their headliner and Nail Polish in support. I had recently seen Nail Polish (you can read my song spotlight review here). Then I noticed that Chalk Teeth was part of Buzzbands' latest playlist. It was also a free night. Put that all together and the result was a strong GO replacement signal. 

Chalk Teeth at Harvard & Stone

Song Spotlight: Declan Palmer's Am I Into You? (a night at Bar Lubitsch)

With a full backing band, Declan Palmer took to the WFNM showcase at Bar Lubitsch to perform his recently released EP, Scarred/Shining. On a recent Cal State Northridge Music Industry Studies Instagram post, he described his music as, "Alt pop, singer-songwriter type stuff. I love cool chords and cool production." 

Declan Palmer at Bar Lubitsch

Song Spotlight: JAMMA's Farewell (a night at Bar Lubitsch)

Playing the last set of the WFNM night at Bar Lubitsch was JAMMA (moniker for Marianna Vitale). She mentioned that she moved to Los Angeles from Italy a year ago. There was also mention that her name is pronounced with a sharp Y versus a J. I was thinking this has to be an Italian accent. I did an Internet search and in the Neapolitan (Naples) region the J (at least for this specific word) is pronounced like an English Y.      

JAMMA at Bar Lubitsch

Review: Monday Monday at Hotel Cafe celebrate the life of John Skoog

It was a hot minute since I last went to Hotel Cafe (April 2025). Since learning that they were moving locations, I had long wanted to head out to the venue one last time. I kept taking a look at what Monday Monday at Hotel Cafe offered up. I saw an Instagram post that mentioned that long time supporter of the showcase, John Skoog, passed away in November. The post has this tidbit, "John loved music and the artists that create it. He would say that Monday Monday was his church and would often explain how he felt that it was more of a pure example of what church represents to so many people. The community, the music, the messages and the human connection resonated so much for him as it does with the rest of us." 

John Skoog Table at Hotel Cafe

Notes from Vivace Show Alerts (Los Angeles): May 3rd - May 9th

A Handful of Show Alerts 

Sunday, May 3rd: Jawdropped at The Echo. Doors at 7 p.m.

You can read my Song Spotlight for their song "Skully" here.

Tuesday, May 5th: SIMI (Hannah Simi Hughes) at The Viper Room. Doors at 6:30 p.m.
You can read my song spotlight for her song "Stranger With My Secret" here.

Wednesday, May 6th: Lola Bonfiglio at Hotel Ziggy. Doors at 7 p.m.
I wrote a recent review of one of her sets, which you can read here.

Thursday, May 7th: The Blushes at Alex's Bar. Doors at 8 p.m.

You can read my Song Spotlight for their song "Celebrity Sex Cult Party" here.

Friday, May 8th: Baba Jenkins at Hotel Ziggy. Doors at 7 p.m.

You can read my Song Spotlight for their song "Wild" here.

Friday, May 8th: Gilbert Louie Ray at Permanent Records Roadhouse. Doors at 6 p.m.

In 2025, I wrote a review of his set, which you can read here.

Song Spotlight: Janelane's Instincts (a night at Permanent Records Roadhouse)

Janelane (fronted by Sophie Negrini) recently headlined at Permanent Records Roadhouse. It was a night to introduce a trio of recently released songs to her loving fans. That fan base includes me as I've followed the band since running across them at Echo Park Rising in 2017. She mentioned that she hadn't played a set since 2024, which shocked me. I knew I had written up two blog posts about Janelane and it all felt so recent. Time just flies by. In early 2024, I wrote up a review of her Love Letters album release party at Zebulon for US Rocker Music (you can read that article here). I actually caught three sets that year and none in 2025 (for obviously stated reason). When I noticed a couple months back that she was playing a set at Permanent Records Roadhouse, I circled the date. 

Janelane at Permanent Records Roadhouse

Song Spotlight: The Silverados' The Public Opinion (a night at The Smell)

The Silverados closed out a recent night at The Smell. It looks like this band started up around March of 2025. In just over a year, it seems like they've played every possible venue in Los Angeles. Okay, that's an over-exaggeration, but not by much. Scanning through their Instagram page, they started off at Harvard & Stone and The Offbeat. Soon thereafter they were playing Permanent Records Roadhouse and The Escondite. Mercy, they even got to play Resident DTLA before it shut down. Viper Room. Moroccan Lounge. DiPizza's. Call me impressed. I found this Instagram post from their lead singer, Patrick Silvers, that mentions 26 gigs in 7 months.  

The Silverados at The Smell

Song Spotlight: The Anti Groupies' Nice is Not an Invite (a night at The Smell)

I am embarrassed to say that my last time hanging out at The Smell was a very long time ago. My excuse is that I've been putting limits on how often I go out and so the venue fell out of my rotation. Starting in late 2025, I started to realize that I needed to head out to The Smell again. Recently I took a look at their schedule with the intension that I was going to head out to The Smell on either a Friday or Saturday night no matter what. The Anti Groupies were playing Friday night and I looked them up on Instagram. The first thing I noticed was this post, which is a Rocknite Long Beach interview with the band. If you've glanced through this blog site, you know I have a lot of respect for Rocknite's ability to find talented bands and singers. (My familiarity is Rocknite LA vs Rocknite Long Beach.) The decision was made: I was off finally off to The Smell. 

The Anti Groupies at The Smell

Song Spotlight: Taylor Sackson's Leonard (a night at Bar Lubitsch)

I first crossed paths with Taylor Sackson in 2023 at a WFNM night. Flash forward to 2026 and she was collaborating with WFNM at a recent Thursday night at Bar Lubitsch. The night was advertised as We Found New Music Presents Sackson and Friends. For me, there is a rather unique commonality between me and a couple of those on her list of friends. In 2023, I ran across both Sackson and two of her friends and all three made my list of favorite new finds of the year. Sackson made the list along with Maddi Fraser via her old band Fresh Hot Waffles (who performed after Sackson) and Gal Musette (aka Grace Freeman who was doing backup vocals during part of Sackson's set). What are the chances? I should add that I saw all three on different nights -- though Fraser was singing backup vocals when I first came across Sackson. 

Taylor Sackson at Bar Lubitsch