The following descriptions are taken from the Sounds of LA website.
Lady Vengeance
Lady Vengeance is an all natural, free range, no preservatives added punk band from Los Angeles. One of their most important goals is to create a space for everyone within their music, amplifying the emotional depth of their listeners’ ignored voices. Their line-up consists of Colette Bassett on vocals, Cas Knight on bass, Ollie Mangulabnan on drums, Christian Savage on rhythm guitar and Kate Ahn on lead guitar.
Sonidos Nomadas
Sonidos Nomadas or “Nomadic Sounds,” is an experimental psychedelic rock band established in LA by Daniel de la Cruz in 2016.
In Mexican culture, “tzompantli” is a collection of skulls displayed as offerings to the gods. For Sonidos Nómadas, Tzompantli is a collection of songs displayed as an offering to those who inspire us to change an unequal society. The band is comprised of Andy Bores (bass, guitar, keyboards), Gabriel Villa (Chicano Batman’s first drummer), Crystian (Daniel’s old musical collaborator), Tlaloc (who realized the project’s potential) and Crystal (keyboardist).
—
This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity purposes.
Isabella: Can you share with us your experience performing at the Sounds of La showcase? What was the energy like and how did the audience respond to your music?
Lady Vengeance:
Personally, they’re one of my favorite audiences. Obviously our set was really short but I think we got back a lot of what we gave. I know we all really enjoyed having the space and the sound to just fill the hall and the reactions we got back were very enjoyable.
It was really nice having a big stage to perform on because so far the only venues we play have been backyard shows. You can’t really move at all and you’re kind of stuck in one spot so it was so cool to be able to run around and see the audience.
Sonidos Nomadas: It was a really fun experience and it was a very professional setting. We were able to go up and do a sound check; the sound was really good, the lighting was good and it was just one song but I feel like we got really good feedback.
It also felt really, really comfortable to be there and when we started playing, the crowd reacted to it right away and we couldn’t stop smiling.
Isabella: What was the process like preparing for the showcase and how did you choose your setlist?
Lady Vengeance:
Our first song “Punching Bag” was the first song we ever wrote so I guess it’s just our most rehearsed song. It also has a really fun hook and I love the way it builds up. Also with “Clone Wars”, it’s more fun, playful, punky and it’s one of our newer songs so we thought it would be a great way to introduce everyone to our more punchy side.
Sonidos Nomadas:
Let me start with just saying that’s basically the song we open any show with because of the reaction you guys had. It’s a very good intro because you start strong and end strong. We really liked the sound and we hope it keeps going on for future artists at UCLA and for artists out of the university area, just to get the diversity of sounds in one place.
—
Interview with Lady Vengeance
Isabella: How do you believe your band has developed and evolved since forming?
Lady Vengeance:
Ollie: Coming into this band, I didn’t really listen to punk music and I definitely didn’t do any punk kind of drumming so personally for me, it’s opened up this whole new music genre for me that I didn’t really consider listening to. Just getting to know all these amazing people, however, and you know, just being in the band with them, I feel that I’ve become a better drummer for them.
Cas: I started out in my school’s band program doing classical music. One thing that was really interesting to me is that I’ve always really loved music and playing it with other people but classical music is really elitist and people can be really mean. There would be times where I didn’t want to play anymore because it just wasn’t fun and that kind of negative energy just didn’t make any sense to me. Not playing classical music anymore and picking up a bass guitar and playing punk and rock music was really freeing. I feel like that sort of rock and punk and high energy freeness is so fun and I think everyone else agrees too.
Isabella: In what ways has the punk scene in Los Angeles influenced your music and performance style?
Lady Vengeance:
Colette: I think specifically in the UCLA scene, there’s a pretty big focus on indie music, 70’s music, that kind of thing. With that being said, navigating environments made for that has been challenging, especially being confident in our voice and the kind of performing that we do and the type of music that we make, you know, in a scene where people are expecting to hear one thing. It did take a minute I think to find our footing and to really solidify who we were, and so being able to make that name but still being able to play in other scenes and adapt to those audiences has been such an experience.
We want to understand our audience and we want them to understand what they’re getting from us so really learning from other bands and just playing in the scene with them, even if they are a different genre, has been really influential just in understanding all of our varieties.
Isabella: What challenges do you encounter as a punk band in a city with such a diverse music scene, and how do you maintain your unique sound amidst these various influences?
Lady Vengeance:
Christian: One challenge we do face quite a lot actually is when I told my friends I was joining a punk band, a lot of them immediately frowned at me and said, “are you sure UCLA crowds are going to listen to punk?”, which makes a lot of sense if you listen to some of the other sounds out here. One of the biggest challenges from the jump was just the nervousness before shows that people were going to like the music.
Kate: One funny thing that happens is people assume that we aren’t a punk band or we don’t really know what we’re talking about. I’ve gotten some looks that people assume a certain lack of musical or technical knowledge.
Colette: I feel like it’s also very surprising, especially for me, to be fronting such a loud band. People’s heads kind of go “huh?” when they hear me and then they get used to it, but they do expect a certain thing that I’m not giving. Just being able to steamroll past that and really believe in the band and myself is a challenge sometimes but ultimately worth it.
—
Interview with Sonidos Nomadas
Isabella: The concept of Tzompantli as a collection of songs displayed as an offering to inspire change is very intriguing. Can you elaborate on the theme and messages explored in your latest album and how they reflect this concept?
Sonidos Nomadas:
Daniel: It was a long process because I started that album by myself in 2016. I got to write some stuff here with my point of view of living here [United States] and then when I moved back to Mexico, where I originally am from, the more I opened up my eyes to that I was not paying attention to before.
I wanted to expose more things that were happening elsewhere. Social issues are very important and I feel like that’s the way we can contribute as musicians. There is substance behind it and so making it interesting with different sounds and also the subjects, if one person understand what we’re doing that’s already worth it.
Isabella: What are your future aspirations for the band, both in terms of musical exploration and continuing to spread your message of social consciousness through your music?
Sonidos Nomadas: We’re going to continue pushing the same subjects as Daniel was saying. Like you said, it’s not only about bringing the music which is part of the art but also having a meaning to it and a great way to do that is to expose social justices that make society happier and prosper. We’re coming up with new songs, the same type of feeling, same type of subjects and there’s a lot of stuff to talk about out there.
Isabella: How do you approach experimentation within the band when it comes to pushing the boundaries of the psychedelic rock genre?
Sonidos Nomadas:
Chrystian: I think it’s a lot of just getting inspiration from other artists to see what they’ve done. It’s good to try new things even if you don’t know if it’s going to work out or not and I think people also really appreciate that even if they aren’t used to seeing that as an audience.
Our families are from Mexico and so incorporating instruments from our culture and getting inspiration from folk songs and our ancestors is a good example too of the influences we put into our music making.
Additional message from Tlaloc: I hope more people are rebelling against the standards. This is the way we choose to do it and this has been a great way to learn a lot of new things. Everyday is just something new that I can learn and that I can then put in my music. So yeah, do something different that is positive.
—
Follow @ladyvengeanceband on Instagram and look out for their new music video coming soon!
Follow @sonidos_nomadasband on Instagram, @sonidosnomadas on BandCamp, Youtube and Spotify!
