So it’s happened again. I super-fanned out this past Monday night at The Witzend in Venice. It was a lovely evening of acoustic music. Candles were lit, friends and lovers were piled up on cushions and others were dining but still attentive. It was a mellow night of quiet guitars and sweet melodies. But come the end of the night, a man jumped onstage to shake up the room…he was a last minute special guest and within 30 seconds I was waving my arms and hollering like I was in church. I couldn't help but think , “oh this is what I needed to hear tonight.” I love watching a performer that pulls your sense memory to that moment you were inspired by music for the first time. This was and is the captivating, Ultralove (“Mike Ultralove Wagner).

It has been my observation that LA is saturated with girl singer-songwriters singing about the pains and joys of love. They’ve got stickers on their guitars, they know 3 chords and they sing about how a guy doesn’t know what he’s missing. Some are lucky enough to place their music in toothpaste and cotton ads. Oh and there’s a lot of ukelele…I go nuts in trying to showcase local artists and only come up with some 2 dimensional unicorn forgettables.

Let it be known that I’m beyond obsessed with the Black Keys. Yeah, and so is everyone else…Why am I writing about them?

Girl bands. You know 'em. Mostly, girl bands are hot. Girl bands represent women empowerment. These are the girls who said eff it to the norm and did it themselves. They inspire girls and boys fall in love with them. I’ve never had a close clique of girlfriends until I met women that make their own music and play it well. Some of my best friends are apart of LA’s favorite girl band, Raining Jane. These women are smart, accomplished and musically diverse. Collectively, they make you laugh and they will make you cry. Raining Jane makes music inspired by the journey of life, love, friendship and the experiences they have created in their years together.