Tag: Haunted Summer

Gearing Up for a Haunted Summer

On May 17, 2015

Haunted Summer are old friends of ours here at musings from boston, having covered them several times in the past few years. Based in Highland Park, California, the band was born under rather odd circumstances, having first come together in 2012 for a Halloween show at The Echo in Los Angeles, where they performed Animal Collective covers. From those curious beginnings, a new band was born. They went on to record a 5-track debut EP called Something In The Water in 2013, and then their debut album, appropriately titled Birth, in July of last year. I should say it was a rather quiet release (or I was really out of the loop at that time) as I’m only just listening to it now. It’s quite lovely — dreamy and ethereal, spacy and mysterious, like a pleasant swim through magical waters in some underground cavern. If that sounds like an enjoyable time, you’ll be interested to know that they’ll be making their way East very shortly, stopping in at T.T. the Bear’s Place (which will sadly be closing this summer, so get there while you still can!).

<a href="http://hauntedsummer.bandcamp.com/album/birth">Birth by Haunted Summer</a>

Haunted Summer, led by the husband and wife duo of John Seasons and Bridgette Eliza Moody, have performed with bands such as The Polyphonic Spree, Olafur Arnalds, Laura Stevenson and The Radar Brothers. More recently, they’ve toured with Islands, David J. (Bauhaus), Jacco Gardner, Deafheaven and Geographer, in addition to performing at Los Angeles music festival Culture Collide.

East Coast Shows

May 26 – The Empty Bottle – Chicago, IL
May 27 – Cake Shop – New York, NY
May 28 – Baby’s All Right – Brooklyn, NY
May 29 – Elvis Guesthouse – New York, NY
May 30 – North Star Bar – Philadelphia, PA
May 31 – T.T. the Bear’s Place – Cambridge, MA
Jun 01 – Beachland Ballroom and Tavern – Cleveland, OH
Jun 02 – Musica – Akron, OH

From there, the band will be performing in California, Oregon, Idaho, Oregon and Washington (June 20-August 8). Check their Facebook for more info. A new album is apparently in the works, which is said to more closely approximate their live sound. We’ll be on the lookout for it!

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Lost and Found (IV of XII)

By julie

On September 23, 2013

In Indie Music, Musings, Road Trips, Ruminations

A Los Angeles story of madness and awakening, in twelve parts

Manhattan Murder Mystery, at the Echoplex

Part IV: Echo Part Rising, Saturday Afternoon

I woke up on a floor in Echo Park to discover it was Charles Bukowski’s birthday. The public radio station KCRW, broadcasting from Santa Monica, was airing a special in honor of the legendary author, short story writer, novelist and poet. As I listened to his friend Harry Dean Stanton’s beautiful reading of the stark and gorgeous Bluebird, I couldn’t think of a more perfect way to prepare for the Echo Park Rising Festival than with streetwise and poignant words from this prolific Angeleno.

In the aftermath of the reading, I thought of my first few days in Los Angeles. There was the massive decompression at Echo Park Lake from so many layers of stress, and just wandering around the streets of Echo Park and Silver Lake in contemplation and what I’ll call “life evaluation.” My friend’s barrage of stories of his current state of mind and recent miseries, his supporting characters of the kind that Bukowski might like to write about, if he were still here. There was the young and naive female sub-letter he found on Craigslist, who put his belongings in bags and tossed them out into the yard, crashed his car and ran back to Pennsylvania after just a few days in the big city. The crack addict and “crack whore” hooker, who stole the car and took it on a joyride. The police. The disorientation. The restless days, locked out and temporarily among the lost and the homeless, out on the streets. The crack addict’s ex-wife and her ominous warnings, and other sordid and sundry characters who had come in and out of his life, wearing him down, taking, not giving, and leaving just a hollow shell in their wake. And through his and my sleepless nights, mysterious packs of barking dogs, like roving canine gangs. Interwoven with the dogs were the ubiquitous ghetto birds. It was horrible and yet gloriously romantic grit.

Besides just the joy of being there (and not being on the East Coast), there was that which strengthened and sustained me: a neighborhood that was relaxed, easy-going and filled with working-class Latino families. Bright, never-ending sunshine. The Tribal Cafe a short walk down the street, with their vegetarian Mexican dishes, amazing kale salads and powerful energy drinks. All of it dirt cheap and in a casual, bohemian setting. Tired as hell but strangely energized, I grabbed my things and headed out for an afternoon and evening of fine music with some old and new friends. It was time for Echo Park Rising.

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The (Infamous) Eastside L.A. 2013 Midyear Round-up! (part II)

By julie

On July 26, 2013

In Indie Music

Haunted Summer ~ Photo By: Sarah Sitkin

Here is the second installment in my four-part Eastside L.A. midyear band round-up. I’ve decided this will be my “last hurrah,” so let’s make it a good one. These are all fine bands and are highly recommended. Have a listen and see them live if you can. This time I feature Fort King, George Glass, Halfbluud, Haunted Summer, Ima Robot, Leslie Stevens, Local Natives, Many Embers, Marvelous Toy, Nightmare Air, Northern Youth and One Trick Pony (or rather, Randolph Williams’s solo projects). Here we go then, marching bravely on.

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More from Haunted Summer (& today in Pasadena)

By julie

On June 1, 2013

In Gigs, Indie Music

Continuing on the Eastside L.A. theme, Haunted Summer is a band I talked briefly about back in February. At the time there were just demos; now there’s a proper single which you can listen to below. The tracks feature Sheridan Riley (of Avi Buffalo) on drums, Scott Bassman (Kind Hearts and Coronets) on bass and a live string trio. The single was produced by Raymond Richards (Local Natives) and mastered by Mark Chalecki (Karen O and The Kids).

If you’re in or around Los Angeles, they’re performing TODAY in Pasadena with Taken by Trees at Levitt Pavilion, Memorial Park. It’s part of a big (andFREE) shindig that features a lot of bands, including We Are Scientists, YACHT, Tanlines, Youngblood Hawke, Radar Brothers, Fort King and Downtown/Union. Full line-up here. Bejeebers! Other shows are June 6 at Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa and the KCRW & Buzzbands LA Present Chinatown Summer Nights Festival on July 20 in Los Angeles.

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Introducing…. Many Embers

By julie

On February 17, 2013

In Band Profiles, Indie Music

Two days ago, I wrote about Haunted Summer. It was about something beautiful coming out of a painful break-up. Two break-ups, in fact. Out of endings come new beginnings, and the results can be quite lovely. Today, I’ve been completely captivated by a new project called Many Embers. As with Haunted Summer, Many Embers was born out of sadness. After about 6 years of recording and performing, Eastside L.A. band Death To Anders called it a day. But instead of finding a a sensible day job, lead singer and guitarist Rob Danson, along with George Glass guitarist Nick Ceglio, embarked on an experiment. With no particular goal in mind, they started recording together.

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Introducing… Haunted Summer

By julie

On February 15, 2013

In Indie Music

Out of two highly respected Eastside L.A. bands, Torches and Seasons has come something very dreamy and quite different. Haunted Summer features Bridgette Moody and John Seasons, who share songwriting and performing duties in a true collaboration. Despite the growing success of both their former bands, creatively neither was completely happy. In a moment of serendipity, things began to fall apart simultaneously, and the two found each other at just the right time. The result is a very pretty, psychedelic sound with ethereal vocals from Bridgette, who comes into her own as a lead vocalist. They’ve recorded six demos which are up on soundcloud. Though the core band are just those two, they’re recruiting friends for their live band, which will have a harp player and string quartet (strings to be composed by Kaitlin Wolfberg of Seasons). They’re recording this month, joined by Sheridan Riley (Avi Buffalo) on drums and (possibly) Scott Bassman (Kind Hearts and Coronets – if I’ve got that right) on bass. No live shows planned for now. Have a listen below, and stay tuned.

For all the gruesome details and the story of the phoenix risen from the ashes, read this excellent interview from Radio Free Silver Lake. I am completely indebted to this esteemed publication for all their great info, and to Kathryn Pinto for her exceptional interviewing skills.

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Torches | Seasons

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