Friday, January 30, 1998
Band in motion
MUSIC: The forces of (local)
stardom are acting upon members of Bruin-alumni band Inertia,
who have yet to quit their day jobs
By Jeremy Engel
Daily Bruin Contributor
All great bands eat cookies shaped like cats. In keeping with
this tradition, Inertia, a talented and highly motivated young band
from West L.A., stocks its rehearsal studio with a tub of
feline-shaped munchies.
"Want one?" offers singer Jami Brenman, a 1997 graduate of
UCLA’s theater department. Takers include guitarist Sonny Koliway,
who also graduated from UCLA last year, bassist Gabriel Moreno and
drummer Mike Brillantes. Posters of old jukeboxes, Jimi Hendrix and
the Beatles adorn the walls, and the band feels right at home.
"We used to practice at our old drummer’s house in the tiniest
little room," Brenman says before crunching a kitty cookie, "but
then we decided we had to find a studio."
"I didn’t have much time to play in a band while at UCLA,"
Koliway says. "As an engineering major, I was pretty busy. Right
before graduation, I hooked up with these guys, and we’ve just been
moving forward since then."
Moving forward for Inertia means gigs at almost every local
music hot spot, band practice five nights a week and an upcoming
album. Playing at such locales as Rusty’s Surf Ranch, 7969, the
Martini Lounge and Westwood Brewing Company has brought the band an
impressive array of fans.
With classes and exams a thing of the past for Brenman and
Koliway, one might expect them to indulge in a rock-and-roll
lifestyle of chugging 24-packs each night and sleeping all day.
Don’t bet on it.
Brenman fills her days by working at MGM in Santa Monica, and
Koliway is employed by the UCLA Engineering Department. Moreno
works for Winston West Photography. After a full day of bringing
home the bacon, Inertia’s members either hit the studio for
practice or ship off to a club to perform.
"My fear is that someone from work will pop up at a show and see
me singing," Brenman jokes. "Then my cover will be blown."
Inertia approaches its music with creativity, professionalism
and a serious work ethic. "Constancy and emotion, we have to keep
going," Brenman says.
"I’m having a lot of fun," Brillantes affirms.
Each band member draws from diverse influences to give Inertia a
flavorful sound. Brenman finds inspiration in "groovy and sexy
female vocalists" such as Ricki Lee Jones, Ella Fitzgerald, Ani
Difranco and Sara McLachlan. Koliway turns to guitar lords Eric
Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and Van Halen. Moreno digs alternative,
hip-hop, punk, blues and jazz. And Brillantes favors progressive
music in the vein of Frank Zappa.
"Everyone in Inertia writes," Moreno says. "We all contribute,
and that makes us different from a lot of bands. Also, our sound
gets a powerful, sexy, melodic contrast with a female
vocalist."
Koliway agrees. "Jami comes up with these melodies that I could
never come up with."
At Rusty’s Surf Ranch last Saturday, Inertia’s crowd-pleasing
show motivated grown men and women to actually set down their beers
and kneel in front of the stage. During Inertia’s upcoming shows,
look for bassist Moreno to give fans a new reason to part with
their swill and fall to their knees.
"If things get funky enough, I might have to bust out with a
little break dancing session on stage," Moreno says. "That movie
‘Beat Street’ got me into it, and I’ve never really recovered."
Inertia’s catchy and groovy songs, with titles such as "I’m At A
Loss," "Beyond Blue" and "Down to Nothing," clearly draw from other
bands, but undeniably retain their own sound. Some of Koliway’s
guitaring sounds Ramones-esque, Brillantes often gets jazzy on the
drums and Moreno finds inspiration for his bass riffs in
hip-hop.
"Some people have said we sound like No Doubt, some people have
said we sound like the Cranberries and some people have said we
sound like Fiona Apple, but they’re really looking hard to compare
us to something they already know. We do our own thing," Brenman
says.
And their own thing seems to be working fine. Although Inertia
has been slipped a few business cards from studio honchos, they
insist that they’re waiting for the right situation before
committing to a deal. For Bruins looking forward to graduation,
Brenman and Koliway prove that outside of UCLA, former students can
reach a balance between creative pursuits and demands of the work
force. Who needs instant fame and fortune anyway, when passion for
music and a sweet tooth for cat cookies keeps the band in good
spirits?
MUSIC: Catch Inertia’s next performances at the Westwood Brewing
Company (1097 Glendon) , 10 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 3 and at Coconut
Teasers (on Sunset Blvd.), at 8 p.m. on Feb. 9.