Our second installment of Down The Street at El Indio!
Our second installment of Down The Street at El Indio in Downtown Santa Ana featured two bands we had the pleasure of meeting last year, Lxs Cochinxs and Flesh For Fantasy. We knew it would be an interesting combination of genres with Lxs Cochinxs’ infectious electronic cumbia and Flesh For Fantasy’s hard-driving rock anthems and we were excited to showcase their stand-out talents. These two bands also carry a connective tissue for us by way of community, as we were introduced to them by other musicians. Community is a word that comes up often in the work we do and it is a word we hold in high regard, for as many times as we hear it, it never loses it’s significance and impact as a driving factor for our purpose.
When Santa Ana’s No Wave, Western, Punk Noise, Experimental transgender Xicana Post Punk reina, Josie Wreck, began brainstorming her dream line-up for Displeasure Fest 2023, Lxs Cochinxs was one the of very first bands she added to the list. A band new to us, we had full confidence in Josie Wreck’s perspective, we knew she would build a strong line-up of talent, and she delivered ten-fold. Hailing from Los Angeles, the trans lesbian two-piece band that blends genres and genders gave a memorable performance at The Blue Lot Gallery in Downtown Santa Ana and we were excited for the opportunity to invite them back to Santa Ana as soon as possible.
Back in 2022, we were approached by Logan Crow of The Frida Cinema with an opportunity to bring some creative arts centered programing to the parklet in front of the art house. Funded by REVIVE Santa Ana, a grant provided by the City, we’d roll out The Frida’s up-right piano twice a month, set up a PA system, and offer Open Piano to anyone who wished to tickle the ivories no matter their skill level. Local artist, Roger Reyes, collaborated with us in hosting a different art project at each event, we invited musicians to perform a featured set on the piano for pay, and Tuesdays at the Parklet was born! One of our favorite things about Tuesdays at the Parklet was the amount of people we were fortunate to meet as they were simply passing by the parklet on 4th Street in Downtown Santa Ana.
David Nardi, was once such person. He stopped by on his bicycle one day, introduced himself, played a couple songs on the piano, and blew us away! Within a month, he was back at Tuesdays at the Parklet as our featured performer. Along with his mix of beautiful originals and covers on the piano and guitar, David invited a young lady, Ashley Femat, to join him for a few duets. We learned she had a band of her own, Flesh For Fantasy, so we made sure to take down her social media info in case we had an opportunity to book them in the future. While a seemingly small gesture, it speaks volumes that David Nardi used his featured time to spotlight and share the stage with another musician without being expected to. That’s growing together in community and we are all the better for it.
We’re having a blast with our friends Resident Vinyl joining us at Down The Street with their Pop-Up Record Shop! Owen curates each night’s playlist to compliment the artists performing and it never fails to please our attendees. So much so, we now print a QR code that you can scan during Down The Street and have Resident Vinyl’s playlist to enjoy at your leisure.
No easy decision, Owen has chosen to shout out “Too Much Money” by Automatic from February’s Down The Street playlist. We’ve added Resident Vinyl’s online shop link for this record, which is currently marked as Sold Out BUT we thought this would be a good time to encourage you to chat with Owen! Located at the bottom level of their live/work loft at 222 N. Bush St. DTSA, Resident Vinyl is open Tuesday-Saturday Noon-6PM. If there’s a record you’re looking for and don’t see it available, Owen just might be able to help get it for you so it’s definitely worth having a conservation with him. He’s nice!
Thank you for joining us at February’s Down The Street. A special thanks to Josie Wreck and David Nardi who both showed up to support the bands they were kind enough to put us on to. A full circle moment of community is what it’s all about.
We’re looking forward to the next Down The Street at El Indio on Thursday March 28th. Keep an eye out to see which bands are stopping by!
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