The Vespertines

The Vespertines and The Black Noise, two veteran Long Beach-bred indie bands, are collaborating on a new monthly showcase at OSSO in LA’s art district.

Called Club Catapult, each month pairs an act from Orange County with a band from Long Beach. The idea, explained Black Noise frontman Donovan Brown, is to provide a fresh platform for the best acts from both scenes.

The Black Noise, an R&B-soul-rock project founded by Brown and guitarist/producer Victor Ujadughele, has been active for six years, performing around both Long Beach and Orange County. Their experience jumping back and forth between the two areas indicated a need for an event like this, he said.

“There’s no cross-pollination of any kind,” Brown said. “They’re all kind of staying in each city. So we tried to figure out a way to get different people interested in different music so they can know what’s happening.”

The idea for Club Catapult was conceived last year when The Vespertines, The Black Noise and Orange County-based indie soul/rock group Asleep At The Gate discussed starting a monthly residency together. The discussion eventually developed into creating a new middle-ground scene that bridges together the various segmented music scenes in the area.

Last month’s kickoff show was a giant success, Brown said, with performances from Anaheim-based R&B singer Cameo Adele, The Black Noise and DJ Bryan Woods. OSSO was at full capacity with strong representation from both Long Beach and the O.C. That night, Club Catapult was officially green-lit by OSSO for a monthly residency.

This month’s show, which takes place Saturday, will feature The Vespertines and Charles Fullwood, a one-man soul-electronic act from the O.C. The Vespertines, a jazz-influenced prog-rock group founded in 2009 and fronted by vocalist/trumpeter Vanessa Acosta, will be performing their first set in months, fresh out of their studio hibernation, putting the final touches on a new EP.

“I cosign on all the music that we bring,” Brown said. “Everything that we bring for Club Catapult is like objectively good, and I’m a fan. The idea is to build a scene where only objectively good music of different styles is there. That’s probably the one thing I want to see out of Club Catapult — just cultivating a scene of dopeness."

The next Club Catapult takes place Saturday night at OSSO DTLA with performances from The Vespertines, Charles Fullwood and DJ Bryan Woods. The event is 21+ and free. For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/events/1089851954410893/. - LB Post

After years of refining their artfully bombastic sound on stages all over Long Beach and OC, The Vespertines continue to be a major force on the local live music scene. Featuring vocalist/ trumpet player Vanessa Acosta, drummer Chris Walker (with current fill in drummer Dan Birker), guitarist Alex Kater and bassist Kyle Cavness, the group have been making music and playing shows since 2009. With an extremely eclectic sound, listeners can hear everything from jazz, funk, folk, soul, ska, dub reggae, post rock, prog rock, psychedelic all in one song. The Vespertines have built up a local following of dedicated fans who cant get enough of the groups slick, spacey, passionate brand of rock fusion.


Kater and Cavaness recently took time to speak with the Weekly about the band's many musical influences, favorite local venues, and what it's like to be part of such a vibrant, bustling local music scene in Long Beach. The band is currently promoting a new album, Areté, which was produced and recorded in the Joshua tree desert, at a studio also used by Queens of the Stone Age and Arctic Monkeys.

The OC Weekly (Alex Distefano): Tell us some of the music that has influenced The Vespertines' sound.

Alex Kater: We listen to a lot of different music and have a ton of influences. Jimi Hendrix Led Zeppelin, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Mars Volta, just to name a few. I'm sure if Vanessa were here she would definitely say Miles Davis among other great jazz musicians.

Kyle Cavaness: We all like to listen to all sorts of stuff. Dub Reggae, post rock, anything that sounds good and turns us on, really. We're instrumentalists first. Our singer writes most of the lyrics and melodies, but as musicians we're focused on what we're playing. We want to keep the music that we play interesting to people; a lot of people focus on the singing.

Tell us what's it like being a part of the Long Beach/OC music scene

Kater: We're exposed to a lot of great artists out there. It makes it more difficult for us to stand out, but it still improves us as musicians because we're constantly surrounded by some of the best musicians and bands here in LA.

Cavaness: We're friends with some great bands who take their music as serious as we do; bands like Bella Novela, and Mr. Elevator and the Brain Hotel. You get to see, and hear bands like this and it makes you want to push yourself.

What are some of your favorite local venues?

Cavaness: We had a residency for six months at Harvelles, which ended like a year and a half ago. It was cool we got close to the people there and made lots of fans and friends. We also liked playing at Detroit Bar as well, but it's not called Detroit Bar anymore.

Kater: The sound at Harvelles in Long Beach is really good, and they are all professional and on top of their game. We like playing Alex's Bar as well, but we'll play anywhere.

Do you have plans to tour with The Vespertines?

Cavaness: It's more of a goal than anything. We would love to get out there and share what we're doing with our music. We just have to find like-minded weirdoes into what we're putting out there. We all definitely have to have day jobs. I am a writer, Alex does Web design, and everyone else in our band works in retail.

Kater: It's kind of hard to grow our audience without getting more press and getting our name out there. I would say that of the fan base we've built, they are fans that are really into our music. We don't really attract casual listeners we attract real music fans, we're not drawing in the average Justin Beiber fans.

Tell us about your new album Areté.

Cavaness: It feels good to get this new album out; finally we want to get back to writing more music and playing more shows. Arete was recorded by a guy named Eric Ryan, in a studio in Joshua tree where bands like Queens of the Stone Age and Arctic Monkeys recorded. It was a really fun, interesting process. With this album we took Long Beach to the desert and got a little but out of our comfort zone. We recorded it last year but we're releasing it now, and are very excited, because we can't want to get back to playing more shows, then eventually writing more music.

The Vespertines perform at Federal Underground in Long Beach, Wed. Sept. 3, 2014. Located at 102 Pine Ave, Long Beach, (562) 435-2000. - OC Weekly

Long Beach’s the Vespertines are that rare act capable of combining jazzy atmospherics with explosive rock power without wandering into wankery. Although their talents are sharp enough to construct complicated swirls of dub, prog rock and funk, their songs remain delectably coherent and digestible to the last note. Formed in May 2009, the jam-leaning band unites vocalist Vanessa Acosta (who also plays trumpet), bassist Kyle Cavaness, guitarist Alex Kater and drummer Chris Walker. They’re finishing up their debut EP, Gravity Optional, which they tracked at Compound Studio in Signal Hill, where Cold War Kids, Dusty Rhodes and the River Band, as well as the Mars Volta have also made memorable music.


OC Weekly: Have the band always subscribed to a more experimental, jam-band sound?

Kyle Cavaness: Chris and I started out in a different version of the Vespertines. It was more blues-rock-based a couple of years ago. We kinda kicked around with a few other bands, and then we met [Kater and Acosta] last year. We’ve been doing this as a four-piece since last May. Before we met Vanessa, it was just [Walker, Kater and me] working on musical ideas, and a lot of it just became the foundation for the songs we’re playing now.

Vanessa, how’d you come into the band?

Vanessa Acosta: Actually, I played in another band called Feed the Feeble with [Walker], and he knew that I sang and played trumpet, so he approached [the Vespertines] and said, “Hey, I know a singer.” [Laughs.] We did a gig together at Viento y Agua Coffee House in Long Beach, and we’ve been together ever since.

How’s work on the debut EP going?

Cavaness: We’re in the midst of getting the packaging together and getting it printed and put online.

Chris Walker: We might also record another song and put it on the EP.

What are some things you’re enjoying about the process of putting the record together?

Walker: The title of the EP is Gravity Optional, and we were just hanging out one day at the studio and I was like, “Damn, wouldn’t it be cool if you could just put your cup in the air at a party and be like, ‘Gravity is optional, I can choose, whatever.’” So we’re also doing a photography book inspired by the whole theme of “gravity optional” that’s gonna be for sale later this year.

So it’s like Vespertines: The Book?

Walker: We’re all gonna be in it, but it’s also gonna include some Long Beach locals.

Do you guys think the city has been a good launching point for your sound?

Acosta: It’s definitely been a growing scene. There’s always been a lot of good groups popping out of Long Beach.

Crater: In Long Beach, it feels like all the musicians know one another, and they all play in one another’s bands, and they’re all multi-instrumentalists.

Are you guys trying to reach a specific fan base?

Cavaness: We’re definitely trying to develop this into something in which we can put on a show and have a lot of people come. That’s what everybody wants. We’ve been doing some promoting, and hopefully, we’ll be going on tour in the next month or two. It’s still in the works, mostly all in our heads. But we’re planning on it once the EP is finished.

What’s the most random gig you’ve played so far?

Cavaness: One of our bigger shows [called Acostock] was actually at Vanessa’s house with On Blast. It was random because there were actually a lot of people there. [Laughs.]

The Vespertines perform at Carnival del Corazon Haiti Benefit at the Cellar, 201 E. Broadway, Long Beach, (562) 495-9000; thecellarlbc.com. Sun., 9 p.m. Suggested donation, $5-$20. Downstairs, 21+; upstairs, all ages.


This column appeared in print as "Floating Ideas." - OC Weekly

“Not every band has the musical aptitude to span more than one genre without turning it into a clumsy juggling act. Not only do The Vespertines successfully combine prog rock, funk, jazz, and more - they make it look easy.” -- OrangeCounty.com - OrangeCounty.com

"The Vespertines seem to float effortlessly from jazz to rock to reggae to dub. Vocalist Vanessa Acosta’s voice is powerful and soulful, with a bit of Gwen Stefani thrown in. Not the crappy 2006 version, more like the Tragic Kingdom Stefani, but more pensive. Plus she also plays the trumpet … It’s hard to imagine how a group could feel raw and sound refined at the same time, but the Vespertines manage that duality. "
-Sacramento News & Review - Sacramento News & Review

“Long Beach’s the Vespertines are that rare act capable of combining jazzy atmospherics with explosive rock power, without wandering into wankery. Although their talents are sharp enough to construct complicated swirls of dub, prog rock and funk, their songs remain delectably coherent and digestible to the last note.” -- Nate Jackson, OC Weekly - OC Weekly