L.A. Witch recently shared their latest album, DOGGOD, the latest chapter in an imperious career from the trio. Blending Americana noir and back-to-basics rock n’ roll, the band have always looked forward, moving into new realms, extending their adventure. Here, we find out where that adventure started.
First Song You Wrote
SADE: If I remember correctly our first song was “Haunting”? We had a different line up then (2011). We had an additional guitarist and a different drummer- our friends Diana and Crystal whom we’re still close with. I remember we also recorded it on garageband with the help of my ex at the time and we put it up on bandcamp with a photo of a cat getting tossed up in the air. I have no idea why we chose that image.
First Live Performance
SADE: Our first show was September 4th, 2011 at Little Joy bar in Echo Park. We had to move the pool table out of the way to play because it wasn’t a proper venue then. I think now they redid the whole place. I remember being shocked that there were a decent amount of people there to see the show.
First Official Concert
SADE: It was at the Satellite in Silverlake? (RIP) We played with our friend’s band called Santoros. They were a pretty wild band.
First Festival
IRITA: Desert Daze was the first real festival we ever played. We played at 2pm in the blazing desert heat, the stage was so hot our feet felt like they were melting into it. We ended up playing almost every year after, the highlight being a sunset set time at the Institute of Mentalphysics in Joshua Tree – it was magical and it felt very full circle from where we started.
First Headline Show
IRITA: Our friends Santoros were getting booked for a few shows in SF and Oakland, and they wanted us to open for them. We didn’t have any money to travel, so we organized a fundraiser show at a dive bar downtown to raise money. We DIYed buttons and t-shirts and merch to sell. We actually did end up making enough money to do the tour, it was the first time we played outside of LA and it was a wild time.
DOGGOD by L.A. Witch is out now and available to stream here.
