Diamonds Under Fire
performing "Never Dreaming of Dreams"
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Rock outfit Diamonds Under Fire is the musical heart of singer/songwriter Vanessa Silberman.
Taking major influences from 90's alternative groups, Diamonds Under Fire leads the way from where the few female-fronted rock groups left off. Her surefire performance is akin to the confidence & spirit of Chrissie Hynde, the rawness of PJ Harvey, and the bare-bones rock & roll of Nirvana.
The Californian singer/songwriter spent her formative years as a bohemian of sorts. Split between living with her mother in Hawaii and living with her father in the Bay Area, Vanessa's developing identity was different from the start. Growing up in Hawaii, she did not have MTV or radio to hear the latest buzz band. Vanessa got her first CDs from Columbia House (10 CDs for a penny), which she found in Rolling Stone and Spin magazines at the library.
She's not old enough to rent a car in the US, but Vanessa has toured the country and overseas, performing shows at such venues as the Double Door in Chicago, the Troubadour in Los Angeles, Sin-é in New York, and the Spice Of Life in London. Wherever she plays, Vanessa is heating up the stage and proving to be more than a diamond-in-the-rough.
Doña Nicha
performing "Crazy Road Trip"
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Doña Nicha is a band from Long Beach. Doña Nicha sounds like a young woman spinning gleefully and clutching her face in ecstasy, and alternately sounds like an aged woman thinking back to the time when she spun gleefully, placing her hands to her eyes and weeping bitterly. Doña Nicha makes lots of noise with two guitars and a drum kit.
Eloise
performing "Viperman"
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Eloise is in perfect balance. Their songs gracefully hover between pop and indie, marrying simple melodies with a growing sonic curiosity. The music and vocals sound delicate, relaxed, youthful, and fun, while the lyrics contain brutally honest reflections on past experiences, old relationships, and present heartache. Eloise draws inspiration from everything: from pesky ghosts to '60s surf culture.
Composed of self-taught musicians, the band's unique sounds originate from a natural curiosity. The Los Angeles-based trio met while working in a Hollywood recording studio, but it wasn't until years after their meeting that they formed Eloise. May Ann Pescante, an LA native, lends her fragile yet robust voice to articulate, insightful, and intense ruminations—such as the opening line in "Little Star" ("I bought a phone card / I pay good money to argue with you")—as she gently strums her guitar. Michelle Torrez, a transplant from Santa Fe, New Mexico, crafts unique and melodic bass lines while singing vocals that haunt, captivate, and support. Cyrus Butler, hailing from California's central coast, anchors the songs with distinctive, driving, and improvised drum parts but also lends his lungs to generate a mean electric kazoo solo in "Substitute." With forces combined, they produce tunes that send tingles down the spine and leave the audience aching for more.
Jack Fris Radio Choir
performing "Gay Paris"
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The Jack Fris Radio Choir is a duo. Jack Fris, the singer and songwriter for the band, grew up in the New York punk rock movement of the 1970s. His lyrics and music combine punk, country, and folk influences, and his dark and satirical lyrics about personal and political alienation have attracted loyal fans. Jack, a former comedy writer and actor, was not only one of the co-creators of the acclaimed innovative theater piece Tony n' Tina's Wedding, but has participated in the subsequent legal mediation involving that show. Sean Hecht, a native Angeleno, provides the music for the band, playing (among other instruments) keyboard, cello, and electrified mountain dulcimer; the dulcimer's unique sound defines the band musically.
The Pity Party
performing "Boring"
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Hailing from Los Angeles, The Pity Party is a two-piece unlike any other. The female half, Heisenflei, plays drums with three limbs, punches out groovy, dirty bass lines on a keyboard with her remaining arm, and takes the lead vocals. Her bandmate, M, plays effect-laden guitar lines, provides back up vocals, and unleashes the occasional necessary primordial scream. Their music blends catchy pop hooks and danceable beats with challenging, moody, sonic atmospheres. The Pity Party adheres to a very genuine DIY policy. All of their CD packaging and promotional materials (posters, handbills, etc.) are handmade from what would otherwise end up in a dumpster.
Super Duper
performing "For Just One Day"
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If you knew you were running out of time, what would you do?
Let us, for argument's sake, say that the world is slowly warming and becoming more and more uninhabitable. Throw in some wars between the world's religions and unchecked greed and ignorance from stem to stern in all the powerful nations of the world—quite a pickle! We know it's hard to imagine, but bear with us just for argument's sake&113;would you round up all the children of the world and put them on a spaceship in the hopes that they would colonize some milky green-blue sphere out there in a neighboring galaxy?
Great! That's your job.
That's not our job. Our job is to make the music for the party you will throw when you realize the damage is already too far-gone to do anything about. We will play that party until everyone melts—and they will, one way or another.
What will the music be like?
We have assembled music from all the great hedonistic artists and genres of the past, and have received secret broadcasts from the future, which have allowed us to create the band that is nothing but superlatives—Super Duper. Blaring horns, gnashing teeth, hip-thrusting rhythm, wit, avarice, malingering, schadenfreude, all melt together in a volcanic grease fire of pure entertainment. There is a lot of incorrect stuff out there, and we are going to correct it until we're all out of time. So pour yourself a cocktail and sidle up to the stage—it's going to be a long night. We're going out—in style.