On October 25, 2024, the Ché Café hosted four bands for an event they called “Nonbinary Halloween.” Performing that night were the bands Loitering, Cope, Cime, and Nonbinary Girlfriend.
Loitering (@loitering.sd) is a band made up of Amelia Sarkisian (guitar and vocals) and Christian Bernal (bass). Their music has catchy basslines, enthralling guitar riffs, and fascinating background and foreground vocals. They bring immense energy when they play live, getting the crowd hooked into the performance. The band put out their first single, “CTP,” to Spotify on March 31, 2024. They had an electric onstage presence that excited the crowd.
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The second band to come onstage was Cime (@cimeband). Cime is made up of Monty Cime (vocals, bass guitar, triangle, ocean drum), Rowan Collins (electric guitar, bass guitar, synthesizer, vocals), Sean Hoss (keyboard, upright piano, soprano sax, tenor sax, bass clarinet, vocals), Riley (flute, bass flute, alto sax, tenor sax), Austin Jenkins (electric guitar, drum kit), Jonas Phipps (bass guitar, vocals), Brian Watson, Elijah Parra, Lautaro Akira Martinez-Satoh, and Kaydi Sweet. They describe their music as, “JAGGED JAZZY FAGGY LATIN POST-HARDCORE FROM SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.” Their most recent album, “The Cime Interdisciplinary Music Ensemble,” was released on August 2, 2024. They currently have three full-length albums along with one EP.
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The third band of the night was Cope (@thebandcope), made up of Ellie (songwriter, guitar), Marc (drums), Bill (bass), and Harry (guitar). Their music could be described as indie/alternative. It has driving drum beats and guitar chords/licks, while also having carefully sung lyrics. Their most recent release is their single called, “i could fit all of you in there,” and was released on May 31, 2024. They currently have one full-length album titled “Advanced Coping Mechanism,” which was released on June 29, 2021. The band’s live performance hyped up the crowd with their enticing music and crowd interactions.
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The penultimate band of the night was supposed to be Echinacea (@we.are.echinacea) but unfortunately, they couldn’t make it. The band’s current members are Daisy Lang (vocals and guitar) and Alexis Laparra (bass). They describe their band as making “Transgender emogaze” music. Their latest release was an EP called Metamorphosis which was released on August 9, 2024. They also have one album called “Is It Too Much To Ask,” that was released on February 9, 2024.
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The final set of the night was Nonbinary Girlfriend (@nonbinarygirlfriend). The group consists of Anaïs (vocals), Kyle Indigo (Kyle Indigo), Eric Ambrosius (drums), and Sei Harris (bass). Their music could fall under the genre of indie pop. They have forceful bass lines that carry the songs to completion. Their most recent release was their first full-length album titled BIG AND KIND, which was released on February 14, 2023.
Amitai Wahrhaftig Contributing Staff Writer for Arts and Culture