California band, Raining Jane, to play in JLSC

This archived article was written by: Cj Jelsma

The California band Raining Jane is coming to Price on April 6 to play for the CEU campus.
Just releasing their second studio album, Diamond Lane, the band is ready to be heard. The all-girl rock/folk band is composed of Mai Bloomfield on guitar, cello, and vocals; Chaska Potter on guitar and vocals; Mona Tavakoli on drums, percussion and vocals; and Becky Gebhardt on bass and the occasional sitar. They are currently touring many colleges and clubs to help get their name out.
Containing music from the guitar, drums, bass and less common cello, sitar as well as various other instruments, Raining Jane is a different sounding genre of music. Their musical stylings are a mix of the socially conscious to the comedic, with a dash of global politics and personal experience.
Many different artists, including Ani Difranco, Fleetwood Mac, Bob Marley and The Fugees, inspire this eclectic group. “We’re four very different people, but we’re all passionate about Ani Difranco. She’s an independent artist like us and our role model,” said Becky Gebhardt.
A mildly political band, Raining Jane has played a lot of different benefits, but Gebhardt said she wouldn’t call it a political band, although it has a fair share of politics in it. Most important to the girls is their role as women in the music industry. “Empowering women is important to us, how could it not be? We’re an all girl band,” said Gebhardt.
They don’t plan on getting signed to a record label for a while, and it’s not really a goal. They say they might seek it out later on, but don’t want to focus on it at the present. “I’ve heard of bad experiences with record companies, and it’s not good to make that a goal. We want to be an independent band right now, like Ani Difranco,” said Gebhardt.
Being together for over five years, they’ve already had a few great gigs, even opening for the awesome guys of Guster at one college show.
So if you’re interested in listening to a eclectic mix of modern day rock music, with a little bit of a folk twist, Raining Jane will be performing April 6 at CEU in the Ballroom of the Jennifer Leavitt building, sponsored by ASCEU.
Come to the show, rock out, have some fun, and maybe even buy their new album, Diamond Lane, which will be on sale at the show.