WMUC FM 88.1

“It honestly feels like a birthday or a wedding - like I get to have a wedding with my music every time... I’ve been very lucky, it’s been very positive.”

Ward’s attitude toward her career, experiences, and life became apparent in our brief conversation. She is inspiringly present in the moment and positive, without letting go of everything that has brought her to where she is.

“I see ex lovers, people I worked with at my first salon, you know, all my hair clients. It’s just fun- it’s a life thing. It’s like ‘oh, you’re doing this now and we still get to wear this other hat and also wear our old hat.’ It’s just life life life life.”

Born and raised between the city and the “boonies” of Maryland, Howard says she owes her openness to experiences to her home state. She “doesn’t know too much about other places,” but she feels like Maryland’s a “really great combination of everything.”

“[Maryland’s] kinda made me like everything. It prepared as much as one could be… It’s made me need and love all kinds of vibes- families, artistic communities...”

Now, LA based, it is clear that Ward still has a place in her heart for the people, arts, and food in the city she calls “grimy, in a beautiful way.” Her local restaurant recommendation: Clavel’s.

Recently, people have been focusing in on her performing under her name as opposed to a stage or band name. “My authenticity is being up-front and wearing my heart on my sleeve. At the same time I’m guarded in the ways I need to be. There are things I don’t tell everybody. I’m actually not baring all. I’m only telling people things I want them to know.”

While remaining protective of herself, her confidence and authenticity has gone a long way with her fans. In 2 short years of being in the music world, Ward has quickly adapted to being a bit of a gay icon, with Out Magazine calling her “the raspy, queer soul singer we deserve.”

“I’m really lucky to have people open up to me after shows, and even if I don’t have time in the moment, I will go and read every comment on everything. It’s always people thanking me for being honest… You know, super personal shit about how something I said or did helped them be okay with just saying it out loud to themselves, and saying it out loud to people. Which is incredible. That’s what this entire thing is all about, right?”

Her favorite song to perform off of Well, Hell: “Staff Only”

“I like it because it’s different. It’s more psychedelic, it doesn’t really have a chorus, and there’s no real structure to it. It has a line and then a ‘jammy jam,’ and then another line, and a drum beat jam. It’s cool! I feel like it’s 1969 when I’m performing it.”

Lauren Ruth Ward is a force to be reckoned with and her fearless spirit is contagious. If you’re in need of a pick-me-up in the form of some Joplin-style showmanship, make it out to Ottobar this Saturday. Her latest album, Well, Hell is out now via Weekday Records.

Written by No Boys Allowed DJ and WMUC Promotions Director Ava Mirzadegan.

The album sounds full and fleshed out, shedding the lo-fi feel of previous efforts, Party Jail (2014) and Jazz Mind (2012). Riddles is almost double the length of both these releases and provides much more variety in both its songwriting and range of sound. 

“Dunce,” and “Dizzy Devil,” provide non-stop energy and show off Devlin Rice’s driving and heavy basslines. Contrastingly, tracks like “Wave to the Water” and the title track provide a much more spacey, almost new-wave background to Schrader’s bombastic vocals. The record even features an instrumental, “Humbucker Blues,” a first for the group.

Older fans of the duo might find themselves a bit disappointed in the face change, with “Rust” being the only track reminiscent of older cuts like, “Gas Station Attendant” or “Televan.”

Nonetheless, Riddles is a massive step in the right direction for the duo, in being a truly complete LP that realizes the potential shown on both their previous releases. They’ve come a long way since the days of the sparse arrangement of a bass and floor tom.

Written by WMUC Operation’s Director, Alex Minassian.

A few songs, though, incorporate new techniques and sounds that give them a new spin and some edge, like “Ancient Names (Part I).” Frontman Ben Schneider and his band really pulled a Bon Iver on this album, and it works.  

See Vide Noir performed live at The Anthem on May 4! The album gives Lord Huron’s discography a pickup and a little something new that is sure to make concerts more dance-y and energetic.

Get tickets here. 

Written by Rigby Philips.

Sasami will be supporting electronic musician, Baths. His sound is bubbly, glitchy, and impossibly infectious.

The show will take place Saturday April 21st at U. Street Music Hall. Don't miss this impeccable lineup. 

Get tickets here.

Anna Burch and her band, an act from Detroit, worked the already packed room with a collection of laid back songs that gave me impressions of Alvvays with their elegant harmonies and vaguely romantic lyrics.

The band’s composure matched their music, as the lead guitarist and bassist held blank expressions for nearly the entire set, giving off a vibe of indifference and yet serious focus.

Anna herself mostly kept the same front, but while she didn’t convey much in stage theatrics, the audience could see the power of her lyrics in the ways her eyes changed as she sang them, and by the time she finished the set with “Tea-Soaked Letter” the growing energy in the room had finally manifested through the rowdy finisher.

If Anna Burch was heading up a slow incline of energy, then Ezra Furman was already at the peak, and he stayed there the entire show. 

With his new backing band The Visions, he hit the crowd with an immediate volley of songs ranging his past three albums. “I Wanna Destroy Myself,” gave way to “Maraschino-Red Dress $8.99 at Goodwill,” and “Haunted Head,” before the audience could even comprehend this wouldn’t just be a showing of his latest album, Transatlantic Exodus.

While Furman stood front and center in a flowery dress, The Visions surrounded him in all-white suits, bearing instruments from wooden bowls to cellos to chimes, giving the impression of a 50s beat rock group corrupted by a punk DIY ethic.

Needless to say, Furman wasn’t the only one worth watching on stage. The man at the keys had the constant expression of one being electrocuted by the music, and the saxophonist commanded his portion of the stage with the showiness of a circus ringleader.

I could go into so much more: the classical house music that lead them on, the incredibly wide age range of the crowd, the raw emotion emanating from Furman in songs like “No Place,” and “Suck the Blood from My Wound,” the killer sax solo in “My Zero,” or even the sheer genuine sentiment of him saying “I’m happy to be alive,” before plunging into the suicide themed “Ordinary Life.”

Sadly, I don’t want this to go too long, so just rest assured that the next time Ezra Furman’s in town, you won’t want to miss it.

The last thing I’ll touch on is the band’s encore: an unplanned rendition of “Teddy I’m Ready,” and “Tell Em All to Go to Hell.” While the half-changed band (it really wasn’t planned) closed out the night, I caught snippets of other audience members praising the show’s “great energy,” its “great message,” and, in one case, it being “the most rock and roll thing [they’d] seen in a while.”

I’d have to agree.

Written by WMUC Recording Studio Director, Crunch Time & Fireside DJ Jay Kinnaman

Diet Cig’s latest release Swear I’m Good At This made up the majority of the set, grabbing the audience immediately with “Sixteen,” then progressing through hits like “Maid of the Mist”, “Barf Day” and “Tummy Ache.” Woven between the new material were classics “Harvard” “Dinner Date” and “Sleep Talk.”

Diet Cig was supported by Seattle-based rock group Great Grandpa and Scottish queer-punk band The Spook School for a night of powerful rock and roll, laughter and occasional intimacy.

WMUC had the privilege of talking to Diet Cig before the set, affirming that the cheerful persona Luciano and Bowman maintain while performing, is a reflection of their authenticity even off stage:

Jordan: This show brings you to the last leg of the tour! How does this compare to tours you’ve had previously?

Alex: It’s been really different because we’re traveling as a four-piece, so playing as a four-piece has been probably the biggest change, which has been super fun. It’s still the same songs and the spirit of Diet Cig is the same, but it’s just more stuff.

How has being a four-piece affected your normal dynamic?

Noah: It’s definitely a fuller sound. It feels like we can actually do a lot more of what the record sounds like—like having the synth lines on the record that we couldn’t do before, having the bass to fill in the low end—it feels really powerful now.

Alex: I have to be more careful on stage to make sure I don’t kick anyone.

Noah: The first couple shows, you and Anna hit headstocks.

Alex: I knocked myself out of tune. But it’s been really fun to have more people on stage to goof around with.

And this isn’t the first time you’ve been to D.C. You just played an NPR Tiny Desk not too long ago. How was that?

Noah: It was wild. It was one of those things where you’ve seen it so many times and then you’re there and you’re just like “whoa.” Kind of an out-of-body experience.

Alex: We were so excited and honored to have a Tiny Desk performance, and so we wanted it to be perfect and so good. I think we were pretty nervous because we love and respect it so much, but it ended up being really fun and cool. We’ve never done anything like it before so it was really special.

—It looked like you were having a lot fun standing on the desk. Has that happened before? Did they say anything?

Alex: I don’t think so…maybe like one time before.

Well that’s an honor then, you should get a plaque for that.

Alex: Yeah haha. And for not breaking the Tiny Desk…

This is random, but I was reading around and learned that Avril Lavigne was one of your favorite artists growing up.

Alex: Yeah, I love Avril! That was my first concert ever.

In what ways do you think she inspired you?

Alex: I think the thing with Avril Lavigne was she was the first rock artist that was not a white-cis male. And I don’t think I necessarily currently take a whole ton of inspiration from her music, but I think as a kid it was really important for me to see a femme person rocking out and doing their thing unapologetically like that, and I think that was like very formative.

Speaking of your music, Swear I’m Good At This got an unusually negative review from Pitchfork. How do you respond and bounce back from opposition like that?

Alex: Honestly, it definitely sucks, but we have such incredible, sweet fans of our music that their support means more to us than anything a publication could write. Even when we get great press and people are like “Oh my gosh you got this write-up in The New York Times you must feel so validated!” Honestly, the press is not the thing that validates us. It’s really cool, but the real stuff that makes us feel good is seeing our fans at shows and interacting with them. 

The Pitchfork thing was a bummer, but we don’t do it for the press because we love our fans and we love making music, and that interaction is the most validating part. So we just brushed it off and were like “Okay, cool, let’s go play a show and be with our fans who are on the same page as us.”

Have you noticed a change in your fanbase from when you started making music to currently?

Noah: I guess it’s just growing. More and more people are coming out and more people know the words. The cool thing is what songs resonate with different cities. Sometimes “Bite Back” will be the song that everyone is yelling, and then “Sixteen” is always the one everyone misses the cue.

Alex: Everyone always beats me to it…it’s really funny. It’s been really cool to watch our fanbase grow. It feels so wild and amazing to return to cities we’ve been to and sell them out, and meet folks who like our music from the very beginning, and meet folks who are like “I found you on Spotify three days ago and I’m obsessed with your band.”

Noah: Or the ones who are just like “I found out about you just now. My friend brought me here, and I had no idea and now I’m a fan.” That’s awesome.

Alex: I feel like the demographic of our fans isn’t necessarily changing, but broadening. It’s interesting to see the newer groups of people who gravitate towards our music. We’ll have moms come and be like “I love your music. I’m going to show it to my kids who can’t come tonight” or really young kids who love it, or bro dudes who are jamming to “Tummy Ache” and I’m just like “How does that even resonate with you?” But they love it, and it’s kind of a funny thing to see how so many different people have been coming to our shows and like having a blast all together.

You guys are from New York, right? How does it feel when you play back home—is it any different from your other tour destinations?

Noah: It’s just kind of a special thing because all of our friends are still there. We don’t live in New York now, we live in Richmond, so going back is a treat.

Alex: And our family comes.

Noah: It’s always a special show every time we go back to New York.

Alex: And most of the people we work with professionally are based in New York, so our whole team is there. It’s almost like when people at their wedding joke that they never get to talk to everybody. It’s almost like that. We have so many friends and people we want to talk to and hang out with, but it’s so hectic. It’s like a tornado of love.

Alex, you mentioned The New York Times earlier, and in their piece they released last fall about women making the best rock music today you mentioned how you feel that there’s a preconceived expectation placed on you as a “small girl” on stage. What are these expectations for non-male musicians, and how do you combat them?

Alex: There are so many expectations put on non-cis-male musicians, especially contradicting ones. Like, you can’t be too bitchy but you have to be tough. It’s like you’re never enough as you are. I think our record especially is super honest and emotional, and it really covers a lot of ground across the spectrum, and I think I wanted to show that every emotion and every nuanced bit of myself and others is important. Even the stuff that is not super powerful. Even the stuff that is gross and annoying and angry.

I think just being honest and vulnerable on stage and in my writing is a really radical way to combat this view that women and non-cis-men have to be some type of way. And it’s bullshit. Rock and roll is for everybody, and your feelings are valid regardless if they aren’t easy to swallow. I think being unapologetically yourself as you make our art is a really radical way to combat that sentiment.

On the flip side, Noah, what kind of things have you experienced on this topic from your perspective?

Noah: I feel like I’ve become more aware of what is going on now, having Alex be the front person and dealing with everyone around. I kind of hate dudes sometimes. I get really almost defensive and protective. The other night this guy came on stage while we were playing. I immediately stopped, and it wasn’t a malicious thing at first, but I was just like “I don’t know what’s going to happen because when a guy comes on stage, we’ve all seen the worst that’s happened.”

Alex: I feel like you totally have our backs in a really important way.

Noah: I hate too when people come to me to ask questions about what Alex is doing, about the guitars. I’m just like “I play drums. I don’t know the answer to that question. Maybe you should ask the person who’s playing guitar.” It’s a lot of going to the guitar store and the guy’s talking to me and I’m like “I’m with her. You should ask her.” I hate that most men just go straight to the other dude. I don’t even play guitar, I can’t even have a conversation with why are you coming to me? Alex could talk you out the freakin door about guitars. I can’t. That’s what I’ve noticed.

What can you say about the community of female artists right now? Is it tight knit?

Alex: I think it’s tight knit, but not in a way that feels cliquey or anything. It’s super supportive, and the internet is really cool because we can all have each other’s backs even if we don’t live in the same place. Like Karli who plays keys with us plays in a band called Plush, who we’ve met through playing shows in San Francisco where they’re based out of. It’s really cool how connections like that have been forged by playing together and collaborating now because we’ve always supported each other’s projects.

What does the future look like for gender diversity and femme presentation in the music scene?

Alex: I think the future is looking so hopeful and amazing, and I think there has always been incredible femme musicians. I mean, women created rock and roll, and the presentation in the media and in major outlets will keep increasing. Women and femme folks will get more coverage in a way they’ve always deserved.

I feel super privileged to be making music in this time because of that, and am thankful for everyone who has come before me. I feel like it’s coming to a time where women are even more recognized for their achievements, not only as artists, but as team members: management, booking agencies, and the parts of the industry that you don’t hear a lot about. The ones that have been traditionally run by men at the top for a very long time, and I think changes are being made in big ways right now in the industry, and more women are running shit and more femme folks are taking over management and giving artists an experience that is inclusive and safe and I think that more than anything is going to change the face of music in general.

And just wrapping up, what are your plans for after tour?

Noah: We go home, and sleep in our own beds for a second, have a couple shows at some colleges, and then we’re pretty much writing our next record. So, that’s the next big thing we’re thinking about.

Written by WMUC Music Director and Socks And Sandals DJ, Jordan Stovka.

If such a dynamic headliner isn’t enough, Furman will be joined by Anna Burch as she makes her pop debut with equally new album Quit the Curse.

Ezra Furman will be performing at Rock And Roll Hotel DC this Saturday supported by Anna Burch.

Ticket information can be found here.

Written by Recording Studio Director, Crunch Time and Crowdsourced DJ Jay Kinnaman.

From the Catalonian seaside town of Vilassar de Mar, Bad Gyal, born Alba Forelo fell in love at a young age with the Dancehall sounds of Sean Paul and Popcaan. Giving her own take on this genre has paid off, with her Catalan cover of Rihanna’s “Work” becoming her breakout hit. Her music has subtle elements of Dancehall, and Reggaeton, a mainstream genre for Spanish audiences  Forelo adds her own style by singing and rapping in English, Spanish and Catalan, the native dialect of Catalonia, a place that has recently been in the news more for political controversy than its art scene. 

Bad Gyal is an entire character- with a distinctive 90’s, “Instagram baddie” aesthetic that is curated from head to toe, and displays Forelo’s sharp eye for coordinating music, fashion and her personality in a way that is clearly alluring to the rest of the world. 

Her latest album World Wide Angel is an example of this, with the same intricate mix of inspirations and some brutally honest lyrics about dealing with the difficulties of life in unhealthy ways. 

Bad Gyal brings that entire package to the DC area tonight at Union Stage.

Tickets are still available, and the lineup includes Mathias, a Washington DC based DJ as the opener. More info here.

Written by “Wait where are you *really* from?” DJ, Manuela Lopez Restrepo

Next Week’s Sneak Peak...

Gus Dapperton @ Songbyrd (3/5)

Injury Reserve @ DC9 (3/5)

Public Access TV @ DC9 (3/6)

Vundabar @ DC9 (3/7)

Adrianne Lenker + Nick Hakim @ Miracle Theatre (3/8)

Photo courtesy of Diet Cig’s Facebook.

The powerful lights and enormous speakers created a fully immersive experience. Sometimes colorful lasers pulsed to the beat and other times a bright white light illuminated the entire venue as if it was midday. Don Diablo was center stage with a hoodie sweatshirt that featured a lit up hexagon on the chest and lines down the sleeves which flashed in sync with the music. His face was always visible thanks to red and blue lights pointed to him, which helped the audience connect with the man behind the booth. There were even a couple confetti bursts if the drop was *that* good.

Don Diablo uses many positive messages in his songs, and overall his music just makes you feel good. One track off his new album reminds us that “everybody’s somebody and nobody’s nobody.”

Later on in the set, the DJ got up to stand on his booth, trying not to step on anything too important. Mic in hand, he began a call and response of “Right Here / Right Now” to introduce his song Momentum.

Don Diablo waited until near the end to play his 2016 hit Cutting Shapes, which received positive reactions from the crowd, especially because he brought out the dancer from the multimillion view music videos, Gabby David.

By the time it hit about 2:00 am, Don Diablo told us this was his longest live set ever and that all of his shows on tour, including that one, have been sold out.

After the incredibly long set was finished, the audience began to chant “one more song.” Soon after, Don Diablo came back out with his signature skeleton sweatshirt zipped all the way up, almost covering his face. He played a remix of Post Malone’s “Rockstar” to round out the night.

Don Diablo at Echostage is the optimal show if you want to dance for hours on end around people that appreciate feel-good EDM.

Taking place in a smaller, more intimate venue, everyone in the crowd was there to have a good time. Prince Fox facilitated this by spinning a variety of different genres back to back. For example, Skrillex and Poo Bear’s Would You Ever melted into a bass heavy remix of Post Malone’s Congratulations.

In addition to EDM favorites and current hip hop songs, he also mixed in alt rock throwbacks such as Fall Out Boy’s Sugar, We’re Goin Down and Mr. Brightside by The Killers. This blend of genres also was displayed via an intriguing overlap of Coco by O.T. Genasis and Welcome to the Black Parade by My Chemical Romance.

Every time the first few beats of a crowd favorite song were heard, the audience reacted in cheers and Prince Fox smiled back in return. He also received a positive reaction to his most recent single, released just three days earlier, “Open Invite.” This is a song that’s completely written, sung, and produced by Prince Fox himself. (Though he does credit his friend Evan for helping cut the vocals.) When asked how it felt to release a track that’s completely his own, Prince Fox responded “It feels great… I felt that recently, especially in the album process, that I want to become more confident in myself so I just started writing all these songs.”

Regarding his upcoming album, Prince Fox says that “all the songs are going to be pop songs but the production is definitely going to be both reminiscent and fresh at the same time, at least I hope that people receive it that way”.

At Soundcheck DC he also debuted a new cover of The Middle, by Jimmy Eat World, thanks to a quota of likes on his Facebook page:

Prince Fox stays active on his Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat. He says Twitter is his favorite social media platform because fan engagement is pretty consistent and he can post a lot different types of content.

If you find Prince Fox on any of these platforms, you’re sure to stumble across pictures of his mini Australian shepherd puppy named Nash. I asked him what it’s like to be a dog parent, and if it’s hard to be on the road while trying to raise this puppy. 

“My girlfriend takes care of the dog when I’m on the road”, which he says makes it easier. But, at first, little Nash was not a fan of Prince Fox producing music in the house. Prince Fox says the puppy would cry when he heard sawtooth waves, but has since adjusted to the life as a musician’s dog. What a lucky pup!

We’re looking forward to seeing what else Prince Fox puts out as he heads towards this new album, and can’t wait to party again with him next time he’s in DC!

Written by WMUC Social Media Director and Co-DJ for Kath and Colin Argue, Katherine Zmoda.