Deep Cuts: Girl Garage

La Luz is a Seattle act that performs a melodic range of retro influenced music. They're an all gal group made up of Shana Cleveland on guitar, Marian Li Pino on drums, Alice Sandahl on keyboard and Lena Simon anchoring on bass.

They have a long list of influences from Link Wray and The Ventures to Shannon and The Clams which is really refreshing to see a band claim. Especially, when next to no one seems to champion Shannon And The Clams - but everybody who has heard 'Sleep Talk' is pretty much blown away by it.

La Luz recently performed as part of KEXP's Icelandic expedition to the Iceland Airwaves music festival in Reykjavik.



References:

• Bandcamp, La Luz
• Facebook, La Luz USA

Deep Cuts: Rock

Oakland, California based retro rock Shannon and The Clams are a three piece band that combines elements from garage, punk, classic R&B and Motown into their own brand of rock 'n roll. This group, made up of Shannon Shaw, Cody Blanchard
and Ian Amberson on drums, stand out due to the raw clarity of the band's influences and edgy subject matter.

For example, the first track from 2011 Sleep Talk, Baby Don't Do It, features a character running through the darkness with a machete that "glints by the light of the moon" that is sung with shades of The Ronettes with a sharp set of measured guitar chords ringing out with the tight precision of a rhythm section - or maybe a lovelorn serial killer.

In an interview with the blog Still In Rock from 2014, the group says they met in 2009 while attending the California College of the Arts.

"We had a class together and thought one another was lame until we saw each others videos in class. We realized we were the only cool freaks in the class and have basically been best friends ever since."

The group has three studio albums to date including: I Wanna Go Home (2009), Sleep Talk (2011) and Dreams in the Rat House (2013).

Shannon And The Clams - You Will Always Bring Me Flowers

References:

• Official Site, Shannon And The Clams
• Facebook, Shannon And The Clams
• Still In Rock, Band Interview