Photos and review by NOTES FROM VIVACE
LOS ANGELES – Laveda from New York, is in the midst of a month-long tour across the United States to promote their third studio album Love, Darla. The album has taken them into the realm of the experimental, perhaps mimicking their recent move from Albany to Queens and the cultural shift from a small-ish state capital to a global hub. The tour recently took them through Permanent Records Roadhouse, which has to be their favorite Los Angeles venue as they’ve played there multiple times throughout the years.
The night opened up with Jake Brooks (vocals / guitar) asking Ali Genevich (lead vocals / guitar) the time. The response was that it was “11:20 p.m.” It was an important marker as the venue had a midnight hard cut-off and they were attempting to play the album in full (less one song). To jump to the conclusion, did they make it? They fell two songs short, but as a make-up, Genevich promised the crowd, “We’ll be back soon.”
While the duo were discussing the time, their passionate fan base was pressed at the front of the stage (there were no Los Angeles music fans in attendance who were too cool to show the band their love). Genevich’s vocals snarled even during quieter moments of “Cellphone” where one could hear the rage against technology, “I don’t wanna blame a cellphone anymore. I don’t wanna beat myself up anymore.” Throughout the set, Brooks stretched his guitar strings to the breaking point. One must wonder how many strings have broken during their tour. When it came to their concluding song “Highway Meditation,” a trio of friends engaged in a midnight mosh pit while Brooks ended the set with a few hard (but no doubt controlled) kicks of his guitar.
The band was kind enough to participate in a Q&A with US Rocker.
Question: I read that the band moved from Albany to Queens in 2023. What led to that decision to move to Queens? Did you consider moving out of New York State and to another music hub in the US?
Answer: Jake Brooks. There was a time when Ali [Genevich] and I were considering leaving Albany for LA but we ultimately decided we wanted to stay close to our drummer and bassist, Joe and Dan. A room opened up for us at a friend’s and we decided to jump on it. We’ve wanted to live in NYC for a long time but never had an opportunity like this. Super thankful it has worked out.
Question: Is there a story behind one of the songs from your Love, Darla album that you’d be willing to share?
Answer: Jake. I think the most impactful song for me while demoing was “Dig Me Out.” I had just gotten back from work and Ali had this single note guitar line and vocal that just hit me like a bag of bricks. I did my guitar in one take and we pretty much had the song. The demo made the final version of the song minus the outro. When we tried to re-track it, I felt like we lost some of the magical energy it originally had. So we put both versions together and they fit like a puzzle piece.
Answer: Ali. “I Wish” is actually about one of my best friend’s exs’. In the verses I’m singing from my own perspective as her friend and the choruses are from her perspective. She’s the girl on the album cover and she also stars in our music video for “Strawberry”. We grew up down the street from one another and she’s always been someone I’ve loved and deeply admire.
Question: If you weren’t pursuing music, what do you think you might be doing in its place?
Answer: Jake. I’d probably just be solving math problems or something.
Answer: Ali. Traveling a shit ton, hiking, skiing, doing shit that’s actually good for your health maybe haha.
Question: I know that your Oct 1st set at Permanent Records Roadhouse will represent at least your third time swinging through Los Angeles. Do you have any favorite parts of Los Angeles that you’d like to share?
Answer: Jake. I love hanging out in Echo Park. We’ve done some recording and demoing with our friend Dylan Sky in that area. Being there ignites a creative spark for me.
Answer: Ali. Altadena is a really special place. Not LA, I know, but pretty close. We recorded most of our second record, “A Place You Grew Up In” at the Zorthian Ranch. Everything about that place was incredibly magical.
Question: Is there a Q&A you’ve always wanted to or love to answer (or just something that is unique about the band)?
Answer: Jake. One of my favorite questions is what cartoon world would I live in. My gut answer was Adventure Time but the more I think about it, it could be Pokemon instead. Or even Digimon.
Playing alongside Laveda were No Swoon and Donna. No Swoon had dreamy sounds that had lead singer Tasha Abbott gently cuddling her guitar. Their sound was captured wonderfully in the song “For The Show” that is their first release in three years. Donna’s whispered vocals had the audience following them on their wanderings through the countryside as they explored whatever interested them on their walk: be it that creek of jazz, that tree of experimental rock, or that rock wall of rumba.
Laveda setlist: Care, Cellphone, I Wish, breathing, Surprise, Heaven, Dream. Sleep, Strawberry, Tim Burton’s Tower, Sprat, Bonehead, Dig Me Out, Highway Meditation.
Donna setlist: after/Feb 23, burn part 1 and part 2, the new you, stop, untitled song, samba.
No Swoon setlist: On and On, Don’t Wake Up, Again, Beside, For The Show, Faces, Wait To See.