On Saturday the 6th of October, Nothingmag & The Garden Amp teamed up to put on our first showcase of musical artists at the Downtown Santa Ana Artwalk. The art walk takes place the first Saturday of every month. We were happy to set up our booth alongside talented vendors and even having our pal Amp Cat make an appearance. This first run of musical acts featured: Riza & the Honeybees, Shiro, Teen Models, The Mirror, Mom and the Mailman, and The Gnars.
Riza and the Honeybees were the first musical performers to grace our stage. The duo made up of Riza (Vocals, Guitar) and Emilie (Percussion). I had met Riza before out at Salinbury, a backyard space out in Whittier, where we were talking photography and enjoying the show. I saw her name on the bill but did not make the connection until I made my way to our stage. Vibrato vocals with a summertime easy listening vibe was really what I needed after the drive over. Her stage having a small incense going on as her bandmates were full of laughs and smiles, as the two played on, were definite indicators that they’re still growing but having fun while doing so. I’ll keep an eye out for them or maybe you’ll catch Riza selling you a nice refreshment under her vending brand MamaRizas.
Riza and The Honeybees Instagram
Shiro is a self-described psychiatric Synth Rock band out of Long Beach. I had seen them perform before out at Que Sera and had mentioned how id like to have them play for us some time with being performance. The band is made up of Hannah (vocals, Synth), Steven (guitarist, keyboardist), and Johnnie (drums). The bands sound is right up my alley, darkwave postpunk with a brooding landscape of ambient vocals. It was odd seeing them play during the day though, I could definitely go for having them play under the night sky but those who found their way to our stage were in for a treat with the bands track “Textured Sky” which can be found on their self-titled EP. They have an upcoming show in Long Beach at Dyzzys on Vynyl with Strange Matter on the 13th.
Teen Models was my second addition the lineup. I was out at another show and saw Christopher (guitar, vocals) roaming about when I mentioned the event to him. After speaking with the other two members Kaylee (keyboards, vocals), and Michael (bass, vocals) this LA dream pop outfit made their way out to Santa Ana to grace us with their healing wall of sound. By about the second song in Amp Cat made his way atop my shoulders and lay on my head to enjoy swaying with the rest of us in attendance. There was even one member of the audience who brought their own tambourine and danced in sync with the melodies which delighted Kaylee so much she shared how the woman was “a beautiful soul”. Beautiful souls are what we should all strive to be and Teen Models provide the soundscape to cultivate such a result. Give their Bandcamp a listen and tell me I am wrong.
The Mirror is a four-piece elevator punk band who strive at being disco country when they want to be! Jokes aside this band has character, I seen them roaming about the stage a few times mistaking them for just more people in the crowd but once they started playing those were anything but. Quick to experience sound issues the bands moral sunk and you got the feeling that they did not put their best efforts forward but what did occur before the issues had me looking for recorded material. Though they do not have a SoundCloud or Bandcamp the band did release an EP called Ghost via youtube (link below) and I can see why having no technical difficulties their performance would have been much greater then what it was. My favorites so far are “Let Me Be” and “Birds (I Blame Mother Nature)” which sell the dual sound the band traverses effortlessly.
Mom and The Mailman was a first-time experience for me and this one man noise machine was exactly what we needed to shake people up. Full of power stances, unapologetic lyrics like “Space cowboy fucks your bitch” his stage presence demands that you pay attention. Malcolm did suffer from the same sound issues but as I said before he is a showman and did what he could to keep his charisma on display which made the problems almost bearable. Before the first track was though I knew I had to catch him again at his next show just to see what else he has in his repertoire. Id suggest you give “Neandertals Crawl” a listen on his Bandcamp as it supplies you with the type of dark morbid imagery his material takes on.
Last up but sure to close us out in style The Gnars (half Anahiem half/Santa Ana) brought out their catchy groove laden melodies to end our first Santa Ana art walk showcase. Having originally formed from performing Strokes and Arctic Monkeys covers and growing from there I can see they have beat down their own path. I definitely saw a spike in crowd attendance and I wouldn’t expect anything less from the local band. Funky bass lines and toe-tapping drum beats that are acompanied with synchronized vocals just work so well for them. We were even treated to a brand new song which when announced had someone in the crowd say “everyone get your phones out” as is our current cultural state whenever such events occur. I was impressed with the band’s performance and could see that the time they have invested in the group has paid off and I expect only great things on the road ahead for them. If you want a fun summertime vibe all year long check out the Stuck EP on the bands Spotify, id recommend “Speak My Mind” for a first listen.
For it being our first go at it, I would say the event was a great success and I look forward to showing up each month to bring Santa Ana some familiar faces as well a the new. What acts do you think we should bring to the next event? Comment down below, as we would love to check them out and hopefully have them grace our stage in the future.
