Alt-rocker The Howling Faith perform at the Cinema Bar at the weekend, so guitarist/vocalist Danny Rodarte told the News about what they have in store for Culver City…
When did you start playing and performing?
We met through ads in Music Connection magazine over 15 years ago under a different band name, and after a few iterations our music and lineup has evolved to where it is now: Laura Ishida on lead vocals and bass, Danny Rodarte on guitar and vocals, and drummer Tom King (who just recently joined). We’ve been writing original songs and playing shows since we first formed, so we’ve been around the musical block a few times!
Describe your sound…
Our sound is a meshing of a number of personal influences while growing up in LA. Our music is Western rock with tinges of ‘90s alt rock…jangly/surf/garagey guitars, bass driven hooks, sultry vocals, with a bit of overall twang. Laura and Danny do a lot of harmonizing as well on a number of songs (a la John Doe and Exene of the band X).
What are your career highlights so far?
One of our career highlights was collaborating with Willie Herron III and Xiuy Velo of legendary East L.A. punk band Los Illegals on a self-released single a few years back called “A Thing or Two About You.” The experience pushed and challenged us in ways that continue to manifest in how we approach song writing and pre-production to this day, and we’re the better off for it thanks to their guidance and creative feedback. More recently, we recorded 4 singles with producer/engineer Manny Nieto (Manny’s Mic Locker) who really did so much justice to our sound on the recordings and we couldn’t be prouder of these new singles and those yet to be released.
What recorded music do you have available?
We released two singles in 2024 from our four-song EP L.A. River Sessions. The singles out now are Days And Days and Out Of Time. The third single “25 Miles” is coming out on Aug 27. All songs are available on Spotify and various streaming platforms, plus on our website for download. We also have a couple of videos on YouTube for the singles. In addition we have a self-titled album from way back on the streaming platforms.
Have you performed at the Cinema Bar before? Any memories?
Yes, we have performed at Cinema Bar a couple times. A few years ago, and recently this past May. We like it there. It’s a cozy, friendly room. The crowd is supportive of the bands, pays attention, is open-minded, and laid back. Laura is a Culver City native, born and raised, so it’s especially cool to get to play in her backyard.
What can the audience expect from the set this time?
We’ve been writing new songs and are excited to play them live. We like to throw in some covers too to mix things up. We’ll be sharing the stage with The Blue Shadows, a very cool lineup of veteran musicians who’ve been active in the scene for years (former members of The Blasters, The Red Devils, The Knitters). You can expect a lot of head bobbing, toe-tapping, groove-laden jams that’ll infuse the room with lots of positive energy. It’ll be a night of tight musicianship that won’t disappoint.
What else do you have coming up?
Looking ahead, we want to get back into the recording studio and start on pre-production. In the meantime, we’re gearing up for the release of our next single “25 Miles” which will be out on August 27. We’re working on some more live shows around town through the end of the year, and putting together a tour the first part of next year.
The Howling Faith perform at 9 p.m. on Friday, August 16 at the Cinema Bar. Go to thecinemabar.com for more information about the show.
Elsewhere this week
The Culver Hotel will be hosting the likes of Sylvia & the Rhythm Boys, and Scotty Bramer. Go to culverhotel.com for more info.
The next show at Boulevard Music is Teresa James and Bruce Forman on Saturday, August 24. Go to boulevardmusic.com for more info.
