Although most of my friends would trade the California sun for the seasons of the east coast or the culture of foreign lands, I never could. California has been and always will be home. That is unless Nick Carter finally realizes he’s in love with me and wants me to move to Florida. Then I’d be like, see ya Cali! Alas, I am sitting in the valley of LA under a ceiling fan listening to a fellow California girl, Val Ventura. Her EP Sun Down California has a pop punk vigor that made me think of summer months as a kid deep in movie marathons.
“Sun Down California” was the most upfront about the punk influence. It wasn’t coarse, but it was hard to really grasp the lyrics. Not knowing what was really going on, I moved along to “Forgotten.” This was the one that made me think of summer nights in the early 90’s. It sounded like it could’ve been thrown somewhere between a scene of The Baby-sitters Club involving tomboy Kristy, and the dance scene in Wish Upon A Star. Basically because Kristy was my badass muse and if you remember the music in Wish Upon A Star, it could’ve easily been Val Ventura; both favorites of mine by the way. Lastly on the EP is “Just Me” and instead of cinema, this one created images of a gritty looking girl with a guitar singing an acoustic set on a grassy knoll at Venice Beach. You’re a little iffy on if you’d like it, then you hear what she’s saying and realize she’s got some skills, toss her a buck and continue enjoying the ocean breeze.
As the sun sets outside and this record comes to an end, I am still convinced there’s no other place in the world for me except California. Val Ventura would probably agree since her music is a mix of the energy found on Sunset Boulevard, the art of Venice and the mind of a girl just trying to make it with music. If you’re into artists like The Donnas and Go Betty Go, then take a second and check out Val Ventura’s Sun Down California, out now on Ventura Street Records.
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