In this episode, we discuss our personal top 5 essentials and we also reached out to our audience for their opinions. We also go into detail about our wonderful experience on how we indulged on our last festival on a budget.
A dive into the challenges, positives, and everything in between that come with being a full time student and an artist simultaneously, specifically in the lanes of music and fashion. Topics covered include time management, accomplishments and more. Special Guest appearance by TyeDye!
As college students, we tend to get ahead of ourselves when it comes to having stress while trying to deal with anything college-related, but from experience and many friends/peers of mine, music is the number one way to destress, focus, or even just to walk around campus. I wanted to get different people’s opinions and find out their way of thinking when it comes to using music to help, so I interviewed three students to understand why they listen to the music that they do. I asked them the same five questions and got very different but interesting answers.
Interview 1: Leslie
1. Is there a certain artist that you like to listen to when you want to destress?
– Tame Impala
2. How does that artist help you focus?
– The message in their songs, along with the beats, keeps me in the zone. The lyrics aren’t too distracting.
3. What genre of music helps you get into the focusing zone and why?
– Techno or house music. The beats keep me in a constant though instead of having lyrics steering me away from my assignments.
4. What song would you describe your college life right now and why?
– Passionfruit by Drake. It’s good vibes and I feel like I’m flowing through the school work taking it day by day.
5. What song plays in your head when you submit an assignment at 11:59?
– Only Angel by Harry Styles. It had a good mix of buildup and intensity then relief when submitting the assignment.
Interview 2: Alyssa
1. Is there a certain artist that you like to listen to when you want to destress?
– Ariana Grande and Billie Eilish
2. How does that artist help you focus?
– Ariana Grande tends to make songs that hit emotionally, Billie Eilish makes melodies that ease my stress and calms me down.
3. What genre of music helps you get into the focusing zone and why?
– Usually girl pop, but if I really want to get into my zone, I usually put on a lo-fi radio station, and I usually tend to put that on for when I study or do my assignments/homework.
4. What song would you describe your college life right now and why?
– My Future by Billie Eilish because It really has you thinking about not only school but life.
5. What song plays in your head when you submit an assignment at 11:59?
– Count Contessa by Azealia Banks. It has good vibes all around and makes me feel like I’m that girl because I got it done before the deadline.
Interview 3: Ashley
1. Is there a certain artist that you like to listen to when you want to destress?
– Taylor Swift because she has a song for every feeling. If I’m feeling stressed, I usually put on Evermore or Folklore. If I want an album to hype me up, I’ll put on Fearless because that is just such a good pop album.
2. How does that artist help you focus?
– Her music helps me focus because it creates a certain mood.
3. What genre of music helps you get into the focusing zone and why?
– Pop music for sure because it’s upbeat and motivating.
4. What song would you describe your college life right now and why?
– This Is Me Trying by Taylor Swift because I feel as though anybody can relate no matter what stage of life you’re in.
5. What song plays in your head when you submit an assignment at 11:59?
– Time Of Our Lives by Pitbull feat Ne-Yo because it’s such an uplifting song.
Quote from my interview with Leslie
“The way music has the power to transport you back to a certain feeling or time is beautiful.”
For context, this playlist is one of my favorite playlists to listen to because it’s calming music to help you focus.
Final Thoughts
After taking the time to interview these students, I reviewed everyone’s answers, played all the requested songs, and sat down with them as I listened to everyone’s choices. Even to understand the way a song can mean so much to a person. It’s crazy to think how different each person answered and the type of music each one uses to focus.
This is Mothcage. The first notes cut through the noise, and the energy immediately shifts. For the audience, it looks effortless. But for the members of Mothcage, especially one VC student who dreamed of this for years, the journey to that stage was anything but easy.
Itzel Vocalist/Guitarist
Itzel, a student at Ventura College, was surrounded by music growing up, fueling her desire to start a band. “I always had the dream of having a band when I was older ever since I was a kid,” she said. Growing up surrounded by music made that dream feel possible. Her dad had been in a band in his twenties and would tell her stories about his experiences as a musician. “Naturally, I was inspired.”
She faced many challenges. One of the hardest was trying to find people who had the same passion. “I hadn’t come across musicians that were motivated enough.” This made it hard to start the band she hoped to build. But it wouldn’t stop her from making it happen. Itzel kept trying until she finally found her bandmates. The people she connected with, people who shared that same passion.
Mothcage has taught the members to stay emotionally connected with each other, which Itzel says is “the most important thing of all.” Even with challenges like losing two of their guitarists, they stayed connected with each other. It showed their strength as a band because they kept moving forward no matter what happened. As Itzel said, “Music is always worth fighting for.”
Balancing personal life, school, and being in a band can be hard to manage, but they make time to balance it all. Getting through assignments throughout the week, using the weekends for writing music, personal practice, and rehearsals. This makes it easier to balance everything by setting aside time for each responsibility.
The band is devoted to continuing to push forward and sticking together. The moment it finally felt real is something she still remembers clearly. “It was when me and my other bandmates finished running through our first original song. We all looked at each other with pure excitement and accomplishment after hearing our first song together.” That shared excitement marked the true beginning of Mothcage. And they aren’t slowing down. They are already planning shows outside of the local scene, including venues in Los Angeles. Their goal is simple but meaningful: “to share a piece of our soul and passion through our music.”
“Beep beep let’s ride”, (Vroom Vroom, Charli xcx) come with me to weekend 2 of Coachella 2025. I had so much fun and I want to share it with everyone! That way you can get a little taste of what Coachella has to offer and see why you need to make sure you’re going next year. This was my first year going and I guarantee you I’ll be returning next year because of how amazing this experience was. Myself personally prioritized the music and concerts, and not as much the pop up stuff. So, if you’re a music lover you’re definitely going to want to see what you’re future experience could look like! Please enjoy ❤
On April 25th, 2025 family, friends, and music lovers gathered at Gibson’s Neighborhood Bar in Downtown Ventura to celebrate VVicked’s album release party. The supporting acts included 4mor and Girldad. Comatose Treats also had a table to sell some delicious cookies. Read until the end to see some awesome pics and watch the concert coverage!
The first performer was 4mor, also known as Cris. Not only was he the opener, he also helped put the show together. Cristian performed songs from his first EP that just dropped April 15th! Cris describes his music as alternative indie. During his set, he brought out another local artist, Ahmod, and they performed their song together. Not only was Cristian celebrating his first ever live performance, he was also celebrating his birthday!
Next up was Girldad, a larger band made up of six members: Ava, Elizabeth (Lizzy), Vanessa, Crystal, Javier, and Jasmine. While at first they seem like a typical local band, there is a sweet twist to them. The band consists of three sisters, their father, and two friends!
Each member of Girldad had their own distinct style and embodied the look and feel of a 2000s punk band from a movie. Their set consisted of mostly covers, reimagined to fit their own unique style. The songs they covered ranged from a variety of artists and genres, such as Hombres G and Letters to Cleo, showing how versatile they are.
Gum Tree was their original EP that was released two years ago and included six songs. After realizing they wanted to improve the quality of the original songs, they decided to redo the recordings and add eight songs in total to create their album!
Elijah, Rya, and Sam (aka VVicked) record, produce, and master all their own music themselves right from their garage! While the band’s genre typically falls into the larger genre of alternative garage rock, they also explore genres such as psychedelic, surf rock, and punk.
As for vendors, were happy to have Comatose Treats set up a table and sell some delicious Cinnamon Sugar Smackdown cookies. Comatose Treats is a local cookie brand owned and created by Devonte Stepter. These are not your grandma’s plain cookies, Stepter has added his own flavor to the otherwise traditional recipes.
Although Chiques FC was unfortunately unable to vend at the event after all, you should still check them out! Chiques FC is a clothing brand that is run by Ian Hernandez, who also creates his own designs.
Overall, the event was filled with a lively energy and went smoothly. Bar goers were able to enjoy good live music and have a drink and a tasty treat before their nights out on town!
If you missed out on this awesome night, here’s a recap video Marilyn Huitron!
Here’s some more pics of the show and playlist featuring some songs from the artists who performed! As of now Girldad has not released any music. Keep an eye out for their releases by following them! Make sure you show some support to these local artists by giving their music a listen checking out their Instagrams!
Although I was in the first few years of my adolescence when Indie Sleaze was on the rise, I can still remember some distinct sounds of the music from that era. My little iPod nano was my saving grace during the bus rides home from school, it carried a whole world of artists with whom I spent myself creating fantasies of me being cool, older, and reminiscent of the people I would find myself reposting on my Tumblr. These people and this world were drenched in smeared mascara eye makeup, glitter, American Apparel and parties.
The thing, however, that really tied these components of the era together was the music. There were so many versions and approaches to pop, punk and electronic music with artists like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Crystal Castles and Justice being among the many to mention. There was a dirtiness, messiness, and grittiness that captured this sound. It was an overall attitude. To be an influence or a titan in this scene was to not care but have party energy and at 13 years old these were the people who I wanted to hang out with.
I grew older. The era had passed, and many new trends came and went throughout the years. My Tumblr had long been retired, American Apparel had shut down its business, and music had gone through its many evolutions as it always does.
It wasn’t until these past 2 years that I began noticing some very familiar sounds emerging from music and in the normal fashion of trends, it started to rub off on pop culture through the outlets of fashion and makeup. It was crazy to think about how the early post pandemic world brought us trends such as the clean girl aesthetic and music reflecting that cleanliness in the world of overly produced almost too perfect pop hits. The shift started to happen and interestingly enough it was an indie sleaze icon who was helping to lead this and scuff up the pop music scene and make it sleazy again. Charli XCX.
I had listened to her music since I was 14 and was always a fan. She captured this sort of MySpace era of aesthetics, performed her music in small, grimy venues and raves, had the cool, effortlessly messy hair, and party girl energy. She was a party girl and I wanted to party with her, so did her small following at the time. With her new album last year entitled BRAT, the shift started to become more clear to me. She wasn’t the only artist that delivering the sleaziness. Artist such as The Dare, Coco and Clair Clair and Snow Strippers have brought forth a modern iteration of this sound that has shifted the pop culture landscape.
So, where is Indie sleaze now, and how does it show up today? It is evident in the music in we listen to today, but how else? Well we can see it in our fashion trends as well. Throughout the original timeline of the era. There were different approaches to what Indie Sleaze fashion was but there was one thing for sure that it had to have which is that effortlessness and grime. There is a DIY element where there is a a lot of intention but also careless.
It’s always fun when old trends reemerge and have a chance at a second life. Although it could be replicated through music and fashion, there will always be something fresh about it. It is a direct reflection on the current time we all live in. Trends mirror what is happening all around us. Indie Sleaze has come to party once more and for those of us like me who were too young to attend, the time is finally here.
I wanted to share a little playlist of songs I used to listen to during the first wave of Indie Sleaze along with some of the newer stuff that’s coming out right now!
VC Social 