A local musician has joined the backing band for an internationally beloved indie-folk act.
A few years ago, desert favorites Giselle Woo and the Night Owls shared a bill with Y La Bamba, performing on different nights of the Oasis Music Festival at the Plaza Theatre. Giselle Woo and Janine Rivera, both of Giselle Woo and the Night Owls, went to say hello to Y La Bamba leader Luz Elena Mendoza after the show—and discovered that Rivera and Mendoza’s families are from the same place: Coalcomán, Michoacán.
Rivera and Mendoza started chatting and following each other on social media. One day, Mendoza asked Rivera to FaceTime. During the call, Mendoza said a band member was leaving, and asked Rivera to join Y La Bamba. She said yes.
You can catch Rivera, on percussion and backing vocals, performing with Y La Bamba on Wednesday, Nov. 5, at Pappy and Harriet’s.
During a recent phone interview, Rivera talked about the latest tour with Y La Bamba, opening for Alabama Shakes at four shows at multi-thousand-seat venues.
“The biggest thing we’ve done with the Night Owls is Coachella, which is huge, but getting to do this (tour) was … I can’t explain it,” Rivera said. “There were so many elements to it, from the sound check to the stage, and even the way that they decorate the stage. (Alabama Shakes) travel with more than 40 people on their team, so they have someone who does wardrobe, sound techs, roadies, audio techs, production managers and stage managers. Just seeing all the tour buses and getting to experience their sound check and how dialed in everything is really lights a fire under your ass, like, ‘OK, I’ve got to be extra on it.’”
The tour may have been brief, but performing for thousands of people across several states was an incredible experience for Rivera.
“We did two in Montana. The first night was sold out, and then we did Utah after that, and then we did Kansas City,” she said. “… Montana was at the KettleHouse Amphitheater, and literally behind the amphitheater, you have a river that’s running, and it’s just mountains and green grass and trees.”
Y La Bamba’s first show on the tour faced intense weather delays.
“We had to push the show up a little bit, because there was lightning nearby,” Rivera said. “A huge storm was coming, so they said if there’s lightning (within) five miles near the theater, they have to evacuate everything. They had to evacuate three times, but people stuck around, which was amazing. I think out of all the shows I got to watch Alabama Shakes perform, that one was the best one, maybe because (Brittany Howard, guitarist/vocalist for Alabama Shakes) was extra-grateful that people stuck around.”
Rivera admitted that her nerves ran high ahead of these shows.
“As soon as it started, I just remember my adrenaline being 150%,” she said. “I play congas and do backing vocals, and luckily, we did a song that is super-percussion-forward early in the set—like, I was the one driving it to start the show. A lot of my nervous energy was being released through playing the congas, and I was very grateful.”
Both Y La Bamba and Giselle Woo and the Night Owls’ music is filled with Latin grooves and Spanish-language lyrics. Rivera and Mendoza’s connection, through music and family origin, has enriched Rivera’s Y La Bamba experience.
“On the first tour that I did with her a year ago, we did a cover, the lead singer and I, and she said right before we started singing, ‘This is Coalcomán, Michoacán,’” Rivera said. “I remember just getting chills, because I’m like, ‘Yeah, this is us.’ Our blood and our roots come from the exact same place, and it does make me feel closer to her, and even more proud. I’ve always been proud that my parents are from there, and that my blood or my roots are from there, but now getting to experience that with another musician who is also Mexican American—it does make me feel closer to her.”
While Giselle Woo and the Night Owls hold multi-hour practices multiple times a week, Y La Bamba’s practice schedule is quite different. Since the band members are spread around the world, all-day practices take place in the days before a tour, leaving a majority of rehearsing to be done at home.
“It’s so challenging, because you’re practicing by yourself,” Rivera said. “I’m like, ‘Oh man, I hope it sounds good when we’re all finally together.’ I did feel like this last time that we got together, it was easier. … The first day, we did a seven-hour rehearsal, and my hands were just so tender. I had never played congas for that long.”
Rivera has been able to share the stage with Giselle Woo during a few Y La Bamba shows.
“It definitely makes me feel a lot safer, when you’re with someone who you’re making music with all the time,” Rivera said. “She’s always really encouraging, so having her there is really nice. We just got to do an acoustic show at The Ford theater in L.A. I played a little percussion for a couple of songs, and Giselle played guitar, and it was nice. For this one, it wasn’t the whole band. It was Beau (Isabeau Keonaona Waia’u Walker), the other singer, Giselle, Luz and myself, and then she had different singers who are from L.A. and Mexico City. We had about seven singers, and we all did a choir.”
“Traveling with an all-female lineup, you’ve just got to be tough, because you’ve got your sound guys who are like, ‘I’ve been doing sound for over 30 years, and I know everything, and these girls are coming, and they know nothing.’”
Janine Rivera
Touring with Y La Bamba has exposed Rivera to some harsh realities of the music world.
“Traveling with an all-female lineup, you’ve just got to be tough, because you’ve got your sound guys who are like, ‘I’ve been doing sound for over 30 years, and I know everything, and these girls are coming, and they know nothing.’ … With the Night Owls, I don’t think we’ve ever had a bad experience with the sound person, but I have traveling with an all-female lineup,” she said. “It’s interesting to see in the industry how some people are super-jaded, and they’re just doing it because they’re getting paid, but then you have your people who are super-stoked to work with anyone, and still passionate about what they’ve been doing. I’ve learned how to talk to everyone, to network, and really be firm about what you need when you’re onstage.”
Rivera also learned that success, for some local artists, requires trips outside of the Coachella Valley.
“Sometimes it’s not really how good a group is; it’s really where you’re from,” she said. “Sometimes you get the opportunity when the right person catches your show, and they have connections in the industry, and that’s what will help out. … From what I’ve learned and what I’ve seen, you’ve just got to play out of the desert.”
Rivera pointed out one way in which the Coachella Valley can provide more opportunities for desert bands. Giselle Woo and the Night Owls are one of the local bands who have had the opportunity to perform at Acrisure Arena, outside in the pavilion, before big events.
“Instead of people playing outside while people are getting drinks and just walking … it would be amazing to have bands opening up inside the arena,” Rivera said. “When you go to catch shows anywhere else, you’ll discover the opening band, because you’re already in your seat. You’re waiting for the next person to perform. I think that it would really highlight local talent, to have them inside the arena.”
Y La Bamba will perform at 9 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 5, at Pappy and Harriet’s, at 53688 Pioneertown Road, in Pioneertown. Tickets are $31.86. For tickets or more information, visit pappyandharriets.com.