FYM ON THE LIST: EMA LIVE AT THE ECHOPLEX • LOS ANGELES CALIFRONIA, USA

"Take the hair and turn it white, Take the hair and turn it white, In the desert underneath the night, Twenty kisses with a butterfly knife." 

If you can imagine a striking young blonde woman wielding a guitar strung around her body while repeatedly purring those four lines (from her song "Butterfly Knife") like some kind of twisted schoolyard chant into a microphone at the conclusion of a smoldering, noisy rock and roll song, then you get the idea of how Erika M. Anderson spent last Friday night at The Echoplex in front of large crowd of her Los Angeles fanbase. If you're seeking a different kind of alluring visual, then try imagining Anderson singing the infamously scatological lyrics to The Violent Femmes' "Add It Up", which also very much happened, witnessed by those keen enough to catch her on her current tour.

Anderson, rapidly becoming known to the masses as EMA, treated the LA crowd to a little under an hour's worth of music from her recently released debut album Past Life Martyred Saints (available HERE on Amazon for just $6.49). As good as the album itself already is, the live renditions of these songs seem to pack quite the extra punch.

(Above) Past Life Martyred Saints -Due to the alarming recent influx of musicians who, low on funds, decide to use prerecorded instrumentals in place of a backing band (making their performances seem more karaoke than rock show), I had, for reasons that are beyond me at this point, expected EMA to adopt a similar tactic for her live show. Not only did she bring along a full band (complete with duo distorted electric violins during "California"), but the whole thing had a 'Seattle in the early 90s' vibe going for it; only that Anderson is a lot more Kurt than Courtney or Kim.

Past Life Martyred Saints' lo-fi jams become radio-ready monsters when played live. "Milkman" could have been placed between "Bodies" and "Thirty-Three" on Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness with its soaring guitar-driven chorus. A sea of noise and feedback helps the aforementioned "Butterfly Knife" expand into a lengthy experimental rock track, only that the term "experimental" suggests Anderson is still tinkering with her songwriting skills when she exudes vigorous confidence that she knows exactly what she's doing.

I'm not sure how serious she was, but at the end of her set Anderson mentioned a craving for smashing a guitar or two, and invited the audience to bring her an old guitar for her to smash on stage (or she'd even just let you do it for her) the next time she came to town. So, fellow West Coasters (or all of you from anywhere else), bring her your (or your little brother's) first Fender Squier or whatever your first guitar was and sacrifice it in the honor of Erika M. Anderson. Here's the video for "California", which looks and sounds like the decree of a revolution:

And here's a video of her "Add It Up" cover from earlier in the tour:

EMA hits the east coast for the rest of the month, apparently part of a three-letter all caps lock band name tour with MEN and CSS:

10/22 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall
10/23 – Boston, MA @ Paradise Lounge
10/24 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
10/26 – Athens, GA @ 40 Watt Club
10/28 – Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
10/29 – Houston, TX @ House of Blues
10/30 – Austin, TX @ La Zona Rosa

Words & Photos By: Will Sellers

Graphic: by J. Thomas Codling

FYM LIVE: SCREAMING FEMALES, LA SERA AT THE ECHOPLEX- LOS ANGELES CALIFORNIA

(Graphic By: Jesse Codling - Words and Photos By: Will Sellers)

On Monday night in Los Angeles, Screaming Females and La Sera took the stage in what was essentially an advanced placement course on gorgeous melody and guitar prowess.

Los Angeles-based and New Jersey-raised Katy Goodman pulls double duty as the singer of Vivian Girls and as the singer-bassist of her own project, La Sera. La Sera eliminates most of the noise and raw punk rock sound of Vivian Girls and focuses on crafting elegant and ridiculously catchy vocal melodies delivered by Goodman's truly golden voice, all backed up by some expertly toned reverb-aided guitar and drums.

The plaid-drenched band seemed to tear through about 15 (possibly more?) songs in about thirty to forty minutes: all great, relatively short tunes with all nothing excess; just straight-up great melody followed by great melody. It was such a feel-good set for La Sera, as the band (especially Goodman herself) were all smiles all night with some witty between-song onstage banter. The group hadn't played a live show in about a month, and one could tell they are very eager to play these songs off their new album on the road very soon.

That new album is the self-titled debut La Sera, which is to be released on Hardly Art on February 15. Check out the adorably gruesome video for "Never Come Around" just below the La Sera album art:

Screaming Females is a band that needs to be seen to be believed.

Before their set, you spot one big indie rock dude setting up his bass, a sort of scrawny looking drummer building his kit, and then singer/guitarist Marissa Paternoster, who is maybe five feet tall, looks 15 years old, hardly says a word, and makes eye contact with seemingly nobody, fiddles with her effects board on the floor. If you're unfamiliar with the band, you understandably don't really know what to expect. And then within 10 minutes of their set, your melted face is next to your shoes on the floor.

What Marissa does to the guitar can only be described as a savage phenomenon. Like a character out of Scott Pilgrim, you will be completely floored by her badass-ery and utter uniqueness. Some days it might be easy to think that the electric guitar seems overused and stale, and then someone like Marissa comes along and tells you to "shut the fuck up" via extended guitar shredding. Luckily, the boys in the band are also talented enough to keep up with her.

Check out this great video biography of the band, which features some fine examples of Paternoster's pristine skills:

Screaming Females' latest release is the compilation EP Singles, out now on Don Giovanni Records.

HEALTH + BEST COAST @ ECHOPLEX, L.A.

Two of Los Angeles' finest musical acts headline at Los Angeles' finest venue, the Echoplex, tonight (June 8).

HEALTH spent the better part of the past year or two opening for Nine Inch Nails, collaborating with Crystal Castles, and touring with Dan Deacon, among many other things. Their second album of remixes, DISCO2, hits stores June 22. If Best Coast captures the sound of fun Los Angeles days, then HEALTH definitely is the soundtrack of the dark alleyways you don't want to get stuck in if you've wandered too far from Echo Park.

Check out their NSFW video for one of their more melodic and seemingly hip hop backing track-inspired song "USA Boys":



Best Coast, lead by frontwoman Bethany Cosentino, has their debut full length album, Crazy For You, dropping on July 27. Best Coast is today's premiere lo-fi indie band, highlighted by Cosentino's majestically fuzzed-out vocals and 60's girl group throwback melodies, all sounding like Phil Spector managed to secretly record her from jail. The songs perfectly capture the mood of hot and lazy Los Angeles weekend afternoon trips from downtown to the beach.

Here's the video of Best Coast's "When I'm With You", which is also a loving tribute to not only Los Angeles, but also one of Los Angeles' finest eating institutions:



The amazing cover art for Crazy For You:


Indian Jewelry and Gold Panda round out the solid lineup.

Tickets are $14.