Song Spotlight: Zelma Stone's Want You All The Time (a night at The Goldfish)

I went over to The Goldfish for the Rocknite showcase to catch Zelma Stone (the moniker Chloe Zelma Studebaker). I ran across them twice in 2022, but hadn't gotten another chance to catch a set since. When I noticed they were scheduled for Rocknite, I circled the date and off I went. 

Zelma Stone at The Goldfish

But before their set, I got hit with a stunner of bad news. Sound guy Seth came up to me and told me that Rocknite only had a few more shows left (three, including this particular night) at the venue. I had actually been given a heads up by The Witching Hours in early February that the venue was getting out of live music, but I was thinking that maybe Rocknite would continue on as they kept on booking Wednesday nights. A couple days after Seth's comment, Rocknite made it official on their Instagram page (see here). Could it be a done deal (as in forever) for this location that I've seen live music at since The Hi Hat days? 

Zelma Stone at The Goldfish

Back to Zelma Stone. The following description of their music is from their Spotify bio, "Sorrow and acceptance, love and loss, faith and doubt sit side-by-side in the gripping sonic worlds she builds, her voice a raw harbinger of truths that are at once devastating and affirming." The bio mentioned that they're based in San Francisco, but I suspect they've since relocated to Los Angeles. Someday, I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong with that assumption. 

Comment of the set: Do you mind if I put on some ChapStick first? 

Zelma Stone at The Goldfish

I do believe they used the Rocknite opportunity to test out new material as the only setlist song I found on Spotify was "Gift Horse." At times during that song, it was as if there was a cry out into the darkness. The set opened up with "Body Bag" where I think there was a touch of the snare in the vocals. "I'm On It" had a sense of anger or irritation. 

The set included a friend on keys and backing tracks. The intertwining of keys, tracks, and their own electric guitar gave the singer-songwriter set a twist of the dark wave synth beat. It was put to good use in "Big Boy" that had the track drum beats helping drive their restrained vocals forwards. 

Zelma Stone at The Goldfish

The song spotlight goes to a song that was not on the setlist, but is their latest single "Want You All The Time." Their Instagram post on the song mentions that it was written in 2020, recorded in 2023, and finally released in 2026, "I relate to it in a totally new way now, with a much less co-dependent twist, which feels really good and sweet." The video on the post has her on a pre-cellphone phone -- the phones where people used to have to turn the dial in a circular direction.  

Well, I held you on my back

How could you not want a love like that

Setlist: Body Bag, I'm On It, Big Boy, Serve, Control, Gift Horse, Not Looking.