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Listings are
in the opposite order of appearance: headliner is listed at the top,
next is the support band(s),
and the last band listed is the opener.
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Thursday March 21
2024 8:00PM doors -- music at 8:30PM ••• ALL AGES $18 in advance / $22 at the door Wild Party instagram.com/wldprty Indie Pop Buddha Trixie instagram.com/buddhatrixie Indie/Psychedelic Rock Bloody Bananas bloodybananas.com Indie Rock Wild Party -from Boerne, TX -After a multi-year hiatus, the indie pop maestros, Wild Party, are set to release a new full-length album in 2023. After releasing their debut record, Phantom Pop, in October of 2014, the band toured extensively during the following year and a half before finally calling it quits at the end of 2015. “We played probably 100 shows in 2014 and 2015… but there weren’t a lot of people at the shows who knew the music, and we weren’t making a lot of money…things just weren’t working out,” frontman Lincoln Kreifels recalls. Family and financial obligations meant taking the focus away from music for a while. While Phantom Pop’s infectious melodies and danceable grooves never found a home with a larger market in 2015, the band’s nearly decade-old release has recently found a new, devoted fan base online. “The Spotify algorithm seemed to suggest us to a lot of new fans who were listening to bands that sounded similar to us, and things really began to take off around 2018.” To date, the band has hundreds of millions of streams and a half a million monthly listeners on Spotify alone. A newly found fan-base reinvigorated Kreifels and long-time collaborator Lucas Hughes, and they began demoing songs again in 2018. However, it wasn’t until a close call gave Kreifels what he describes as a re- awakening: “I got really sick about 9 about months ago, and it was almost a miraculous healing… I went from almost dying––my liver almost failed… but I came out of that floating almost, really thankful to be given another chance… music is something I need to pursue.” Together with band member and producer, Ethan Kaufmann, Wild Party has been steadily dropping singles since 2021, culminating into the band’s 2023 EP release, Get Up. The yet-to-be-named full length EP (expected at the end of 2023) will continue to feature the band’s signature indie-pop sound, albeit with more creative ambition. “It’s pretty similar (but) it’s a little more experimental in a lot of ways… there are going to be some songs that aren’t structured so pop-centric.” When asked about touring, Kreifels expresses enthusiasm, “The plan is play shows consistently… (and) make as many real connections with people as possible… (we want to) try and make the world a better place with our music.” Buddha Trixie -from San Diego, CA -Products of Park Village Elementary School, guitarist Andrew Harris, singer/drummer Daniel Cole, and bassist Dennis Moon grew up side by side, witnessing all of each other's awkward years. They harnessed that unbreakable bond into a sick cover of "Gravity" by John Mayer that every parent at their middle school graduation fucked with hard. A bunch of years later, and Kenzo Mann joins the fold, bringing hot synths and hot guitar. They stop playing "Gravity" and write their own songs. Their old fanbase of parents say they've changed. It's okay. The kids love the new songs about whatever Daniel's deal is. Every song they record soon becomes a #1 single. They exclusively tour the planet Earth, citing the crowds on Mars being "wack". Although now drowned in money and fame, the four haven't forgotten their roots -- they humbly sleep in the same bed like the grandparents from Charlie & The Chocolate Factory. Bloody Bananas -from Los Angeles, CA -Cary LaScala has an enviable résumé as a drummer; he has toured and recorded with a variety of accomplished bands and artists, including Jackson United (Chris Shiflett of Foo Fighters), Wild Party, and Casey Spooner (Fisherspooner). But his most recent band, Bloody Bananas, has LaScala stepping out from behind the kit to play the multifaceted role of songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and front man. “I’ve just always had the itch to do my own thing,” he says. “I think I have a lot to say, and I'm always coming up with different song ideas.” Those ideas have culminated into a well-crafted collection of tunes, featuring hummable melodies interwoven with guitar hooks set against, of course, LaScala’s signature drumming. When asked about the myriad of new roles he plays in his band, he claims, “It's strange to consider myself as a multi-instrumentalist… I'm self-taught on drums, guitar, bass, and as a vocalist, but don't claim to know what I'm doing or anything.” Despite that admission, LaScala seems to have had no difficulty in sculpting the sound of Bloody Bananas, creating his own blend of indie pop and garage rock. Enlisting the help of producer Ethan Kaufmann (Wild Party, Paper Jackets), the Bloody Bananas debut record sounds like a band who has long since found its groove and settled into a sound uniquely their own. Listening to Bloody Bananas immediately recalls the familiar sound of bands like Franz Ferdinand and The Strokes while still feeling fresh, unique, and irresistibly catchy. “I feel lucky starting out playing drums years ago, because I can sort out the strumming on different guitar parts fairly quickly and easily,” he says. “I feel like I'm a good song listener and have always had the ability to pick a song apart and figure out why I either like or dislike certain sounds, rhythms, or melodies.” While the melodies are catchy and the music infectious, a closer listen reveals a LaScala as a songwriter grappling with deeper material. When asked about his songs, LaScala notes, “My lyrics are usually serious, vulnerable, based around societal bullshit norms, and personal traumas. I try to conflict my sometimes sad and serious lyrics with catchy or poppy sounding chords and rhythms. I've always liked that juxtaposition.” LaScala hails from The Bay Area, but has recently transplanted to Los Angeles, which is where Bloody Bananas now calls home. While LaScala recorded all of the parts himself, he has recently recruited a cast of experienced members to round out the lineup of the band for live shows and touring. Mixed by veteran Los Angeles mix engineer Will Brierre (The Killers, Fleetwood Mac) and mastered by Steve Hall (Tom Petty, Green Day), the first Bloody Bananas’ single, Can’t Be For Real, embodies the band’s tight, polished yet visceral sound, and is set to drop in the spring of 2023 followed shortly thereafter by an EP release. A full-length release is expected the latter half of 2023. ~ J. Michael Smith |
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