Audrey Johnson of La Luz: Drummer shares her musical inspirations

When the members of Seattle-based all-female band La Luz declare themselves to be a surf rock band, you better believe them. Between the Beach Boys-esque harmonies, the Shana Cleveland’s Dick Dale-inspired guitar work, and Audrey Johnson’s beach blanket beats on the drums, you’ll be wanting to hang ten on the next perfect wave.

Johnson, who identifies as a member of the LGBTQ community, joined the band in time for the recording of 2024’s “News of the Universe” (Sub Pop). On July 20, La Luz, with Johnson on drums, will perform at the Mosswood Meltdown in Oakland’s Mosswood Park. Audrey was kind enough to make time for an interview in advance of the show.

Gregg Shapiro: Audrey, at what age did you start drumming?
Audrey Johnson: I started drumming around 14. But I started playing drum kit, because I was doing percussion and things like that in (school) band when I was around 16.

You were in your school band?
Yeah, I was a big nerd. I was in marching band and jazz band [laughs].

When did you know the drums were the right instrument for you?
Actually, I originally started on saxophone as an 11-year-old. I come from a musical family, and one of my uncles plays saxophone, so I always wanted to play. Once I started playing it, I was like, “This is cool, but it isn’t giving me the thing that I need.” So, I switched to drums after I watched some interview with No Doubt. I really liked the drummer (Adrian Young) in his Speedo. I was like, “This is the energy I’m feeling [laughs].”

Do you have other favorite drummers? Maybe Karen Carpenter or Gina Schock?
Yes. That was always my secret, especially when I got into punk. My guilty pleasure was that I loved the Carpenters. I loved Karen Carpenter. I grew up with my family listening to Sheila E; I really love her! And Cindy Blackman, she used to play for Lenny Kravitz and plays with Santana. Those were big influences of mine.

Were you in other bands before joining La Luz?
Oh, yes, lots [laughs]! One of the main ones –I’m from Fresno, California– and I played with a band called Fatty Cakes and the Puff Pastries.

Great name!
[Laughs] Yeah, it’s a lot of food-related things, but also kind of an activism band, so it’s something that I feel like Fresno really needed and I’m glad that they let me join their band. I used to play for a group called Needy Evie, which is an all-girl band. I played for a woman named Teri Gender Bender. She’s incredible. I was a big fan of hers before I was ever asked to join her band. It’s just like dreams coming true playing with Teri Gender Bender and La Luz.

How did you come to be in La Luz?
I was playing a show with Fatty Cakes and the Puff Pastries in Visalia, California, and the band Shannon and The Clams was the headliner. We were opening for them. That was the first time that I met Shannon and The Clams. Will, their keyboardist, came up to me after the show, and he said, “My partner Shana (Cleveland)’s band is looking for a drummer. Would you be interested in auditioning?” Then I found out the band was La Luz, and I was like, “Well, hell yeah I would [laughs]!” It pretty much went from there.

2024’s “News of the Universe” is the first album you recorded as a member of La Luz. What was that experience like for you?
It was a lot of fun. I guess the way that they would usually record was even different from this experience. We all hung out with each other for a week at Shana, the singer’s, house. We started jamming together and decided we were going to start these songs from scratch, which they had not written like that previously.
It was interesting; a lot of different energies going into it. Different visions from the get-go. There were some songs that were a little bit pre-written, but a lot of them we developed together. It was really quick, actually. We went in with the intention of making an EP, and we ended up coming up with all these cool songs and sent them to the label.

They were like, “Cool, you guys can make more songs, and we can make it a full-length (album). We got back in the studio another time and basically did the same thing; we just hung out with each other for a few days and wrote and recorded the songs pretty quickly.

In addition to Mosswood Meltdown, the band is doing some U.S. dates in July and then dates overseas in October. What are you most looking forward to about that?
The overseas stuff is going to be awesome because there are some places that I’ve never been before. There are always places I’ve never been [laughs], so it’s really exciting. I love that we’re starting off in Amsterdam, that’ll be really fun [laughs]. We’ll have all the things we need.

One of La Luz’s July dates is at Mosswood Meltdown in Oakland, hosted by John Waters and headlined by Devo. Will you be there for both days, and what are you most looking forward to about that event?
I’m hoping to be there for both days. I’m really looking forward to Devo and Bratmobile. That’s going to be super fun. I love Shannon and The Clams. When we were on tour not that long ago, we were in Baltimore, and we went to this amazing museum.

Did you go to the Visionary Art Museum?
Yes.

That’s one of my favorite places in the world.
That was one of the highlights of the trip. I ended up picking up a John Waters book, and I read that on tour. It was great!

Did you see the giant Divine sculpture?
Yes, it was amazing! I didn’t know what to expect because I had never been to the museum, and I was just so happy the entire time.

Finally, would you mind saying a few words about your experiences as a queer musician?
Being a queer musician and being a woman musician is always wonderful to me, but people will say weird things sometimes; trying to give compliments, but it comes out in strange ways. It’s all good and fun.

But honestly, even growing up in Fresno, which is kind of a conservative place for California, I feel very lucky to have been surrounded by other queers and other people that are freaks also, like my wife (Janell Bowen, with whom Audrey celebrated her 16th anniversary), and being a weirdo also. I’ve grown up loving places like Oakland and the Bay Area. As a child, my parents would take my siblings and me on day trips to San Francisco. I knew, as a little kid, “Okay, this is cool! There are some weirdos here, and I feel like I would fit in perfectly [laughs].”

https://laluzband.com/
https://mosswoodmeltdown.com/