Killola & Von Iva
The Key Club
Ruby Tuesday Two Year Anniversary
Sunset Strip, West Hollywood
April 18, 2006
By Victoria Joyce
Photos by Thaddeus Bridwell
A rock and roll legend continues….. the last time we went out to review Killola, we got a Double Dutch Treat and fell in L-U-V with the opening band. It was so nice, it happened twice. The first time, last Summer at the Roxy, Poets and Pornstars was the opener! (Love them!) And here they are back again on the Sunset Strip - Killola is headlining Indie 103’s Ruby Tuesday’s All Ages Second Anniversary at the cool Key Club. We walk in and BAM! The band on stage is fab-amazing-great!!
Wait?! Is it Killola?! They got a cute girl lead singer? But no, on closer inspection it’s Von Iva outta San Francisco. And dig this, lead singer Gillian Iva is a cross between Liza Minelli and Iggy Pop singing like Janis Joplin. Swear to God!
Which is to say, she’s a vamping, raging rocker with soulful voice that shoots up from her stillettos to the tippy top of her spiky haircut. The rest of the all female foursome; Elizabeth Davis on bass, Bex on keys and lady Lay Lay on drums are outstanding musicians. We enjoyed an extreme set while we waited for Killola.
Which wasn’t long at all. Front lady, Lovely Lisa Rieffel with her belly dancer bod and Betty Boop, squeaky-cute voice that rolls into Mick Jagger-swagger and the strike of a drum hit went barefoot tonight. Always adorable with her signature pigtails and shorty short skirt, she hit the stage and lost no time high-fivin’ the devoted at the foot of the stage.
Killola has been playin’ their brains out with some mighty fine shows all over LA, Hollywood and Silverlake. Winning a competish on Dave Navarro’s Spread Radio Live, radio play on the coolest station in the USA - Indie 103 (it’s official), getting on Music Plus TV (woo hoo), and a very classy video release party at the Viper for “I Don’t Know Who.” So Cal has been Killola-ized!! No, we get it, really. Ya didn’t have to hold up a sign that says “Huge Buzz” but they did. That was guitar god, Mike Ball under that ‘fro wasn’t it?
Back to the show. Claiming their classic rock roots as Blues, Beatles and Edvard Munch (The Scream? Yeah, the crowd screamed!!) Big opener, “Barrel of Donkeys” has a Jungle Boogie beat going on and there was a lot of jumping and stomping to go with it. By the end of the song Little Lisa gave up her wardrobe malfunction and tossed her double looped belt. Hey, we’ve been there. Good choice.
We loved “Get Around” with it’s ZZ Top-ish Texas Funk which was followed by the silly and slammin’ “Dr. Rock.” (Did they write this one about Alice Cooper? They coulda.)
A new one was next, called “Heart Rate 160” Taking our pulse? We really like the writing here. Good old fashioned story telling as the rate rises. Naturally! The jacket came off for “I Don’t Know” a sweet, slow, sentimental, almost-a-power-ballad and Lisa was all over the stage. Oh, yeah, Dan Grody and Johnny Dunn are the other musicians in this quartet on drums and bass respectively. They could be described as the strong silent types but they are screamin’ loud and proud.
And extra special for tonight a little bird named Johnny D sez: “You might've noticed an extra head in our line-up. We asked our good friend Carlton (who plays in the bands "Berlin" as well as "Deadsy") to join us with his keyboards. He stepped up, without a single rehearsal since our last show with him in late January. Very proud of the impromptu tightness there.” Like we said “LOUD AND PROUD.”
Did you like “Appetite?” You can download that song off of www.sugarbuzzmagazine.com (plug-plug!) Winding it up with “Rip Off Artist” and stand out song – “Me & the Boys” closed the best show yet from these Burbank Babies. Was it Koko Taylor or Muddy Waters who wrote “it must be jelly ‘cause jam don’t shake like that?” Doesn’t matter. Killola and Lisa are the manifestation of that line.
p>