An Evening Of Music With The Ladies

Featuring Giselle Woo, Bryanna Evaro, Linda Lemke Heinz, Laramie Eve, Vanessa Reddin, Symara Stone, Kaylee Bergin & DJ Tessaphobia.
Presented by Coachella Valley Weekly & Schmidy’s Tavern

By Noe Gutierrez

The evening prior to Thanksgiving or, “Black Wednesday”, has become a phenomenon. It surpasses both New Year’s Eve and St. Patrick’s Day as the biggest drinking night of the year. Most Americans have Thanksgiving off. No one in their right mind wants to cook the night before Thanksgiving. All of your high school friends are home for the holidays. Lastly, there’s really no excuse not to go out. This year in the Coachella Valley we have a new tradition; bring some of the best musicians together and spend an evening with them. With a stroke of luck, they all happen to be female.

On Wednesday November 26, 2014 at Schmidy’s Tavern you will be dumbfounded at the level of musicianship and communion that these ladies represent. The respect and admiration they have for each other is effervescent. I’ll let you guess which one said, “First of all, I would like to say about all these ladies is can I be the president of your fan club?” I challenge anyone to go to any community in the world and find a better group of ANY musicians and vocalists under one roof for one night. This article only provides a glance at what you will behold the night before Thanksgiving. Admission is FREE!

Laramie Eve
First we start with Laramie Eve. She is best known as the bass player for Blasting Echo. Her band Jekkel made a lot of people take notice of her bass playing as well as her sexuality. She is multi-faceted and is distinct in her individuality. She also has a line of handcrafted jewelry termed Leilani Funk. Eve has an extensive musical background. “I’ve been playing the bass since I was 12. I’m 27 years old now, so I feel old, ha ha. I played the guitar for two years before that. I began playing piano when I was about 5 or 6. Music has always been in my life and I don’t remember what I did before I had music. I don’t know where I would be without it either. Whether it be listening to it, playing it or going to concerts, it’s always been my first love and probably always will be.” Eve has always stressed the passion women have for music. “I’m very excited to be a part of this event. As a female musician growing up in the valley there were not very many female musicians and to be a part of an all-female concert is very cool. There are a lot of talented women in this valley and I’m very happy to be a part of it all.” She is more than a part of the crusade, she is a trendsetter. Symara Stone, also participating in the event, recalls Eve. “I remember watching Laramie play bass when I was 17 at La Quinta High School in the band Jekkel. She always held her own and rocked out.” Rock out she will.

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Linda Lemke Heinz
Eve’s fellow female in Blasting Echo is Linda Lemke Heinz. Heinz plays keyboards and provides background vocals for Blasting Echo. Heinz shared that she has special plans for the evening. “I’m looking forward to playing a little duet with the talented and lovely Giselle Woo and being a part of this all-ladies show.” Heinz is a performer, teacher and all around musical authority. She can play virtually every instrument. She is also heavily involved in providing music lessons to children with learning disabilities. Stone shared her experience in meeting Heinz. “Linda and I met through a mutual friend who is also a female artist, Rebecca Connelly, from Scotland. We did a charity show together and Linda played flute. She also is super positive. I haven’t seen Linda in such a long time. It’s a thrill being in a show together.”

Kaylee Bergin
Kaylee Bergin is the lead vocalist and keyboardist for Scarlet Roads. Her voice is remarkable. Her band is as tight as any band you will ever hear. Their rehearsal and live show are one in the same. This explains the kinship Bergin has with music. “Music rewards me in many ways. It inspires and comforts me. It makes me dance through the bad times, and during the good. It is a forever friend. It is at the same time a reminder and release of pain. It can say perfectly that which can’t be put into words.” Bergin did not debate her participation in this event. She takes delight in being a part of it. “The ultimate reward of music is when it is shared. It is an incomparable feeling when you can move someone to feel those same things. That’s how I strive to serve others through music and that is why I am excited to be a part of this musical night with such talented ladies.”

Tessa Briana Suttle (DJ Tessaphobia)
Tessa Briana Suttle, aka DJ Tessaphobia, is an integral part of Desert DJ Entertainment Group. When asked to provide the beats for the show she stated, “Sure! I’m up (or down) for whatever. What time do the festivities begin?” The enthusiasm she shows for music is palpable. Her cohorts in Desert DJ are all male. They all attest to her skills in providing musical entertainment and interpreting a crowd.

Vanessa Reddin
It is evident that Vanessa Reddin is a tether between many female musicians in the valley. Stone shares some insight into Reddin. “Are you ‘Reddin’ for this? Ha! She’s all about getting her biz done and she’s well versed in this industry. She not only knows how to be in front of the microphone but behind the stage as part of the crew. Do I have to mention Vanessa’s voice or are you going to come to the show to see for yourself? I’m really glad I met Vanessa. Vanessa’s my butterfly always striving for more and carrying a tune in her heart wherever she goes. I’m excited for you all out there to hear us together because it feels like sparkly fireworks.” Reddin herself is worked up at the prospect of an all- female show. “I’m really stoked about this show! We’ve been rehearsing together and I think it’s gonna be an amazing musical experience for us and for everyone in the room. An all-female show brings a very unusual energy in a really great way. Our music is very genuine, it feels good. We are all so unique in our solo performance that when we bring it all together, it’s a really interesting sound. I’m looking forward to sharing it with everyone.”

Giselle Woo
Giselle Woo performs both as a solo artist as well as in her band Giselle Woo and the Night Owls. She is another performer who has made the rounds of the valley circuit of music venues. Her music stops time and her heart is true. “This show is going to be amazing. Sometimes being a woman musician in a pretty male dominant music scene is intimidating, but something happens when the girls and I get together; we go at our own pace, we take baby steps, we use our strengths and by doing that we create music that is simple, sexy, and very deep. I look forward to performing with my girlfriends. We always make time for each other and we unite our powers to bring to you the best we can be. It’s fun and challenging but it’s motivating and inspiring more than anything. We push each other to become better musicians and songwriters, we help each other out, we don’t puff our chest out and see who can do it best, we encourage each other and we believe in each and every one of our talents. At least we have that going for us, women empowering women. We look forward to working with many more female artists because I know this desert is full of hidden little gems. Come out and get inspired! So many songbirds under one roof should not be missed.” Stone recollects her association with Woo. “First time meeting The WOO was at the JDees Landing “Chicks that Rock” show. I had seen her play with David Macias in Sol Delta at the time and it was so rad! Two classical guitars together! They pack this vibrant zing of energy when they play together and apart. I feel like many others the rhythm and this exotic language, swirls you into a vortex. I grew up speaking English and briefly hearing Spanish picking up on only a few sentences so singing the language opened up a whole new world to me. Giselle’s physically making the music universal. Although, the sound is there, the lyrics proceed in uniting consciousness one step closer.”

Bryanna Evaro
“The first time I met Bryanna was at Ignition Coffee Shop on Palm Canyon when I hosted an open mic there in 2007-08. Bryanna is a quick learner and knows how to finesse every instrumental movement. It’s so fun to play with her,” Stone recalls. Evaro plays bass and sings with the Mikey Reyes Acoustic Movement. She also is a multi-instrumentalist and, like Eve, has her own line of jewelry. Evaro and her family have a successful musical lineage of members who have laid the foundation for the Coachella Valley and High Desert to be a stomping ground for all musicians.

Symara Stone
Stone is wonderfully extroverted. She shares the love for music and the ability to express it. “I love to write songs. If you’ve got a feeling let it out, I say! Life is a song you just gotta sing it. I’ve suffered, I’ve laughed, I’ve been pissed off, I’ve been in physical pain…..it all translates the minute I step into a vulnerable moment and pick up my guitar. I get inspired to write when I feel a multitude and range of emotions. I want to connect. I think we all do. Music is connection. Its vibration and we all can FEEL that. My songs contain a lot of shitty memories, a lot of pain, a lot of moments living in a waking dream. I recently have been activating my awareness about cosmic chanting, and notice different body energy level effects. Affirmations being sung are awesome as well. I am currently working towards merging my music and yoga career together, and invite you all out to the Coachella Valley Art Scene one random Monday night at 8 p.m.! You never know you may just end up liking practicing yoga amongst art!

In the desert, there is room to move to spread your independent wings, and there is also the ability to come together with multiple combinations of musicians. This show is a true example of a mash up of tracks with live musical maestros.”

Stone puts it best, “On Wednesday, November 26th, a gathering of the divine feminine desert dwelling beings will be performing at Schmidy’s before the day of Thanks.”
Noe Gutierrez
(760) 485-0948 | desertmusic1@gmail.com
Facebook: facebook.com/noerocks | Twitter: twitter.com/NoeDesertmusic1