Raining Jane Raining Jane’s sound reflects the diversity
of its members. The group features three UCLA alumnae and has just
released a CD.
By Sara Bamossy
Daily Bruin Contributor
Although she aspires to one day become the first female Persian
rapper/whistler, Mona Tavakoli will have to settle for being the
drummer of the up and coming band Raining Jane.
The music of Mai Bloomfield, Chaska Potter, Becky Gebhardt and
Tavakoli spans from folk to funk and rap to rock. This dynamic
sound reflects the diverse personalities of the members of Raining
Jane.
The band, which features three UCLA alumnae, recently released a
new album and has a number of local concerts coming up ““ a
testament to the success of Spring Sing’s 1999 “Best
Band.”
As opposed to most of today’s female pop artists, Raining
Jane’s members are real women who sing about real issues. The
band’s music is a far cry from the manufactured lyrics
recently infesting the airwaves.
During a phone interview from Santa Monica, it was practically
impossible for the members to categorize their sound. They could
not agree on a common description of their music.
“We are so different, that’s a big reason why we
cannot come up with a category for our music, because we are all
such different individuals and have such different styles of
music,” Tavakoli said. “I think we all bring our own
flavor to the band, all specializing in different things, but each
bringing a unique sound.”
Despite their different musical tastes, all of the band members
cite one female artist as the biggest influence on their music
““ Ani Difranco.
“The one artist that we agree on is Ani,” Tavakoli
said. “I think we all like different people, but that’s
the most passionate association we can make.”
Raining Jane makes appearances at many charity events such as
Take Back the Night, a program put on to prevent the sexual abuse
of women. The band agrees that they want their music to send a
message of progress and empowerment to their fans.
“Empowering, inspiring and entertaining, I thought those
words summed it up in a great way. I know when I write music, I
want the message coming across that there is growth that happens
““ learning and getting stronger,” Bloomfield said.
Raining Jane’s sound is continually evolving and the band
feels that its music has become more mature.
“I think that musically we have gotten a little more
interesting,” Potter said. “We have added a different
funky “˜tango-y’ twist to our music and it’s a
little more rocky. I feel like our music used to be more folk-pop
and it has moved more toward rock-pop.”
“We have crossed the level of ability and are just getting
tighter and finding our sound as a band,” Bloofield added.
“Something really shifted over the last year as far as
evolving and maturing, the quality of music is much more
mature.”
Raining Jane cites the huge response it has received from fans
and the unfailing support of family members for its success as a
band. The encouragement the band has received from its supporters
has pushed its members to pursue their passion for creating
music.
“I think from the very first day we ever performed live I
have been blown away by the response,” Bloomfield said.
“The response we got from our live shows was really the big
motivation to form the band.”
In fact, the band’s hallmark is a packed house. Over 175
people showed up for a recent Raining Jane show at Genghis Cohen.
The bar has a capacity of 80. Over 20 people were turned away from
the CD release party.
Raining Jane’s self-titled CD was released on Jan. 19 and
has already sold over 300 copies despite the fact that it is not
sold in stores.
“We released a CD, that sounds so cool and official; it
was released from the trunks of our cars,” said Gebhardt,
laughing. “You can find it in our trunks and in our
backpacks.”
Unlike some bands, Raining Jane encourages fans to download
songs from file sharing programs like Napster as well as Web sites
like MP3.com. Bloomfield said that
the band enjoys hearing from fans who discover its music on the
Internet in dorms across the nation.
MUSIC: Raining Jane has concerts on March 18 at
Molly Mallone’s and March 17 at The Gig in Hollywood.
Information about the band can be found on its Web site at www.rainingjane.com.