The Seattle-based surf rock band La Luz launched onto the live music scene after a mere three months of practicing in 2012, and swiftly, the all-female group began drawing sold-out audiences. Not long after, La Luz recorded their first EP Damp Face, which features favorites like “Call Me in the Day” and “Sure as Spring.”
The group, made up of talented Seattle-ites Shana Cleveland and Marian Li-Pino (former bandmates in the Curious Mystery), along with Lena Simon and Alice Sandahl, heads to the Bay Area after their SXSW performances for two shows; March 30 in Santa Rosa and March 31 in San Francisco.
Drawing inspiration from the all-girl harmonized bands and surf-rock groups of the 1960s like the Chiffons, the Marvelettes and the Ventures, La Luz recorded the lively, surf-jammy It’s Alive (Hardly Art) in 2013. Though reminiscent of beachside tunes from Dick Dale & The Del Tones or Link Wray, La Luz brings a tinge of the Pacific Northwest’s cloudiness to their songs, hinting just slightly at darkness with their harmonies, a fusion that has deemed them Seattle’s favorite band to dance and cry to.
At this point, it seems nothing can stop the ladies of La Luz. In late 2013, the group was injured in a freeway accident that totaled their van, band equipment and more during a tour with Athens-based indie band Of Montreal. The accident forced La Luz to cancel the remaining tour dates; soon after, fans donated the cash to purchase another touring van and instruments and they got back on their feet.
