Zombie Bella Novela Emerging from Their Van, photo by Rie Castro
We recently reviewed Bella Novela’s 2nd album the Archeress, and frankly, it’s pretty amazing. On October 29th, they played at the 4th Annual Long Beach Zombie Walk, and I had an opportunity to speak to them after their show in their renovated prison transport van they won at a police auction. Seriously.
If you ever wondered where their name comes from, it’s not because of their fascination of other languages (though their group is very multicultural). “It’s a play on telanovela,” replied Jackie. “We enjoy the dramatic and pulled influence from bands like Queen, Abba, and Iron Maiden. We thought ‘what’s the most dramatic things we know? Oh! Mexican soap operas.’”
But their flavor for the dramatic should never be confused with a love of drama. They’re down to earth, fun, clever, and “highly recommend pink wine.” You heard me. “The night we wrote the Archeress, we started off with cheap wine and wanted to write the most ridiculous story ever. So we put in all the things we love: zombies, vampires, spaceships, and archery!” laughed Jannea. Turns out, they all learned something that night too. Jackie actually took archery during her student years at Chapman, and now, she wants to get back into it.
The band has a long history of music. “Since high school, Jannea and I have been playing together,” stated Jacob. “We knew Jackie because our bands played together and would open for each other sometimes. Then one day, we all worked together at a music camp.”
And while they were at band camp, they found out how much they had in common. “We all love Six Feet Under!” Jackie laughed.
“And crying at Six Feet Under,” added Jannea.
Bella Novela
The Archeress is a downer. It’s a concept story album about the eponymous archeress who survives in a post-apocalyptic world with zombies, vampires, and other creatures-of-the-night. By the end of it, she believes she is the only human alive as she blasts off into the unknown of space.
But despite their downer music, they’re very happy with a positive message.
“I want girls to play more rock music. I want more women to be unafraid to get sweaty while rocking out,” smiled Jannea. “Girls should play instruments and be musicians. When we set up to play, some people leave because they think ‘oh, chick band.’ It’s my goal to persuade them to return with my drumming. Girls don’t have to just be singers.”
“Or bassists. There’s a lot of female bassists,” adds Jackie.
So if you want to see a band that’s fun, smart, participates in costumes (they dressed up as zombies for the zombie walk and dressed up for their CD release party), be sure to check them out at Sam Ash in Cerritos on Saturday the 5th.
