In the overgrown jungle of L.A. garage rock and
testosterone-based performance, a new bird is quietly piping, but
she doesn’t need to yell to be heard.
Like the old saying that the sun’s warmth will get a
jacket off a man before the brute force of the wind, local
singer/songwriter Anita Coats knows the best way to coax an
audience is with a delicate song. On good nights at the Third
Street Promenade, where she sometimes shows up with her
teardrop-shaped acoustic guitar, Coats has been known to make $150
from appreciative pedestrians in only an hour and a half.
Coats, who grew up in Simi Valley, started playing guitar at age
18 and a year later began performing at coffee shops.
“Once I knew three chords, I wrote my first song,”
Coats said. “I kept writing even though I could barely play
the guitar at all.”
Now 26 years old, Coats’ gentle strum and vibrant fluid
voice ““ reminiscent at times of female folk artists such as
Chan Marshall and Ani DiFranco ““ has enchanted listeners
enough to play regularly at laid-back venues such as Genghis Cohen,
Highland Grounds and Hotel Cafe.
But just as it’s hard to compete with the volume of the
electric guitars on the Promenade, it’s hard to find clubs in
Los Angeles that are willing to showcase smaller and less
in-your-face acts. Although initially “terrified” of
sharing creative rights with other musicians, Coats is expanding
her sound with a back-up band at her next performances.
But even with the addition of her more club-friendly band, Coats
did just pick up a new $37 permit to play on the Promenade.
“It’s really a trip playing out there because people
are either afraid to look at you or they’ll just stand and
stare as if you’re a mannequin,” Coats said. “I
try to wear a hat and just look down and play, and that seems to
work out better.”
Anita Coats performs at Highland Grounds on Saturday at 9:45
p.m. Admission is $5.