Author Archives: Mindy Poder

On the prelude to Mia Sable’s self-released album “Propeller,” she asserts that “you’ve every right to your uncertainty, and me to my convictions.” Accompanying the emergence of female artists in the independent music scene is the hasty characterization of these seemingly melancholic females as helpless. Though fifth-year theater student Mia Sable focuses on unhappy circumstances […]

of Montreal “Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?” POLYVINYL RECORDS Yes, this is another album showcasing a 30-something’s bouts with depression. However, of Montreal’s “Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?” is no cliche album. A lover of irony, lead singer and prolific songwriter Kevin Barnes approaches his melancholic subject matter with the makings of infectious […]

Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach. Well, not always. Jennifer Jester, a graduate student studying the euphonium at UCLA, puts this aphorism to shame. At the age of 3, Jester started playing on her mother’s piano. Though the piano dominated her earlier years, she began playing the flute and the euphonium, a type […]

Islands Friday, Nov. 10 Henry Fonda Theater It’s only a matter of time before a giant earthquake separates Los Angeles from the rest of California. Until then, we have Islands. Things began appropriately on Friday night with the smell of marijuana permeating the curtained walls of the Henry Fonda Theater as two underground rap acts […]

While many UCLA students were partying to blow off post-midterm steam last Thursday night, two musicians were representing the lyrically driven anything-goes style of New York’s anti-folk scene at The Avalon in Hollywood. Jack Dishel, former guitarist for the now defunct anti-folk anti-heroes The Moldy Peaches, displayed his serious side and his ability to sing […]