Best of Both Worlds

Heads will Roll is a classic Halloween song without it being a Halloween song. That is a statement I heard all throughout my teenage years and into my twenties yet I had never gotten the chance to even hear that song play in a party......until it finally happened.

A week ago I dressed up as a cheetah (classic of me I know!) to experience my first ever outing in Isla Vista in terms of pre-halloween festivities. Walking into the first event of the night felt like finally experiencing what all those movies like project X or Spring Breakers makes you think college is REALLY about. To the left of the entrance there was a couch with a couple making out and towards the kitchen a group of people surrounding what seemed to be a beer pong table. All of this happening under red ambient lights while Heads will Roll played, a universal experience I finally became apart of. I didn't give myself enough time to let the college life absorb me though and without even acknowledging it I was already sitting in the balcony thinking about the life I had in LA, a life I'm lucky to run back to even if it means sitting in my car for two hours long.

It feels wrong to crave living in two worlds, one that consist of the beach and riding my bike around school and the other full of wild nights and dancing on top of bar tables. Of course the nightlife is not the only thing I miss about LA, it's mostly the atmosphere that surrounded me, the friendships I had and the potential life I could have attained which sinks into my mind in the middle of my day. That thought itself is what drives back home every weekend, to diminish the feeling of no longer belonging to a world that I so deeply felt connected to, and what better way to get lost inside that world again if it isn't for Halloweekend? I love the idea of dressing up as someone else for a night, to put a costume on so I can have my character's mind rather than my own making impulsive decisions I don't usually take. I twirl around feeling the fringe in my costume dancing along with me. The disco balls hitting the reflection of the mirrors where I can see Alice Ayres, no single version of me in sight. Now you might be asking, if I am so deeply obsessed with this world why did I ever leave? The truth is nothing is ever as beautiful as it seems, especially not the nightlife. I'm writing this today to clear up my name from the scene I was constantly being seen around, to make you understand that although I did see a beauty in being so youthful dancing around with strangers, it is something I do not consider life in the long run. It is beautiful to reminisce in things, I completely fall into that state more than I should now that I'm in a different era in my life, but that is completely fine, right? I've come to realize that Isla Vista and LA have different scenes, some may even say I'm currently having the best of both worlds, but when it ends what is next? That to me is more important than the rest. For now, I at least have the similar universal experience of admitting that Heads will Roll is a classified Halloween hit, even if it has nothing to do with Halloween.

The Brand New Age of Rock and Roll

I know what you might be thinking, it is true I take too long to post a new blog and every time I excite the crowd I burn the spark down by letting you all down. Horrible of me I understand, but it’s rough to be a girl who processes thoughts rather melancholically than others. So let me tell you about this (rather not so melancholic) thought of mine that I created today when meeting with an old friend of mine who happens to also be in the music industry. While grabbing coffee with my two friends Elisia and Jenn, not only did we catch up in each others lives but we also dove into a similar thought process that the music industry is missing icons with real care for the world. What we mean by this and came into terms about is that the mainstream music is not what it used to be, and again rather than finding new fresh talent to fill in the void of what once was, we are selling out shows for artists who not only come from nepotism but also have a copy and paste creativity to singing about shitty men and break ups. I seek for ruckus in the music that is being created, bring in music about issues in the world that truly matter because being passionate about topics like that create a new art in what an artist can put out. And I know what you are thinking about, some nepotism have potential talent and I do agree, but what I am discussing in this blog has nothing to do with how much accessibility one can have in the industry through their parents, but more about what distinction these incoming artists can provide for the world besides bashing on an ex boyfriend or branching out of a TikTok career. I am giving credit when it is due, and while mainstream may not have its next big thing, the undiscovered scene of punk rock is constructing the new age of rock and roll.

A year ago I was not the girl I am today because this passion in me that I do currently possess was being created from show to show that I attended. I was surrounding myself a lot in the San Diego punk scene, not really knowing why or how but friends and my availability always led me to these shows. The first band I felt this feeling with was a band named Benches, whom now are anticipating a tour with Irish rock band Inhaler. From mutual friends I got to meet the band and throughout those late night shows I began to pick up the work ethic that they put into their music. Not only are these boys all just friends who jam together but they understand what it means to work individually and as a whole to form these performances and songs. Their exceptional work can be seen through their live sets and I not only mean through the way they play but also from the way the crowd reacts to their act, naturally given and talented. 

Later that summer, I came across a band called Foxtide, who similarly shaped the same beauty in art through their music. When I saw Foxtide I was lucky enough to be in the presence of a set with Orion, their bassist who shortly passed away that same year. Being in the same room with this band’s energy, I came to realize how fucking cool San Diego kids are. Elijah the frontman and Orion had a beautiful connection on stage and from a viewer in the crowd’s perspective it really seemed like they understood each other at a deeper level when playing music together. You aren’t so lucky to see that beauty in performances so often, especially not when you stumble upon a new band and yet after seeing Foxtide that night I came into realization that art is not within music itself, it comes from the purest love and the connection you do have with the people who share that passion and talent with you. I might have not gotten the chance to get to know Orion as a person, but with a single time of seeing him on stage that boy left an impact on my life forever. 

After all this exposure to a San Diego rock scene that is closer than ever, I gained a new perspective on how young artists form their own image through their music. The thing is that while I may sound bias myself by saying that I do not romanticize a musician and their talents, society has turned this image of a rockstar into a sex symbol whether male or female. The truth is that none of these boys in bands I just mentioned ever appeared as sex symbols to me, and it’s not that I did not find them attractive but it is because they showed their passion through their music so much it was over powering anything else. These bands are the reason why music is still as raw as we yearn mainstream to be, they are the backbone to an industry that today is lacking quality in what is being created to stream and they deserve more representation beyond what San Diego has provided for them. The world is itching for art that is rather expressive than money chasing, these bands and others similar to them can change that. 

Freakquencies

In LA, Thursday nights are basically the start of a weekend especially when it comes to the nightlife. I've recently found myself in Silverlake either getting snapped by Carlos Ramos at Tenants of The Trees or dancing to cumbias at Bar Flores during their Margarita special, but this past Thursday I re-encountered myself with Los Globos, a place I did not expect to step foot again after turning over the age of twenty one. What brought me there was not specifically the place itself, but the one and only IT boy of the summer, Harrison Smith, famously known as The Dare.

In collaboration with A Club Called Rhonda, The Dare brought back to LA his DJ set special best known as Freakquencies, a series of events that Smith would create pre-Brat album fame in which he would bring the night to life with well-known DJs along with his own set that happens to begin at midnight. Before Harrison's fame sky rocketed to what we know him as now, I actually had the pleasure to experience a Freakquencies event that I can still call the best night of my life. The whole entire experience that night felt euphoric, with room to dance and little to no phones in sight, it is a night I truly wish everyone can experience, but of course once you become the golden boy that no girl seems to be able to get to, the whole experience of Freakquencies has a major shift as well.

Admitting that I am still in bedrest from Thursday night can tell you a lot with how it went for me....the party girl life in me is barely starting and I seem to already be somewhat over it. My group of friends and I began our night on the dance floor, going crazy over Ky Newman and Atlgrandma's DJ set. Hearing tracks from the 2014 tumblr era reassured me that we are going through the transit of bringing back the Indie Sleaze genre, which is everything to this generation of girls who just want to have fun. After the three sets that got the crowd more than warmed up, Harrison took the booth and made the whole room feel hotter than a curling iron burn. In my own experience, the crowd got too overwhelmingly packed that I had to take a step back and get out (crowd etiquette was LOW).

While sitting down and just seeing how insane the crowd was going I had a moment to realize how much of an overnight sensation The Dare is. I remembered the night I had my first encounter with Harrison, how sweet and appreciative he appeared towards my friend who initially started the conversation and how although I didn't have much to say to him he did the best to show his true remarks as the gentleman he is. Thursday night when I saw him on stage I knew that it was still the same guy who casually spoke to me as if we had known each other and charmed me that night with a simple kiss on my hand. So why is everyone attracted to him you may ask? I believe it's the way he remains to be such a genuine guy with no ego at all, topping it off with a suit on a DJ set.

I might have tried to get to the back of the booth myself with my own verified account (WHICH FAILED) but with the help of other friendly faces made myself to the highest point of the room, seeing this set's magic was the golden seal of the night. I left Los Globos high off dopamine and the fact that the Cobra Snake himself captured me in my true element.....overall a night to remember so if you ever find yourself texting (323) 241-5071 just know you're in for the time of your life.