Ballerinas don’t crowd-surf. Or do they?
Gabbi Fisher, former ballet dancer and lead singer of fast-rising Las Vegas alt-rock outfit Elevated Undergrounds, delights in subverting expectations. “It was on my bucket list,” she says of her recent stage dive at Henderson’s Eagles Aerie Hall. “I was happy to get it off, and I’ll do it again. It was surprisingly a meditative thing.”
For the past eight months, Fisher and her bandmates—Fez Reyes (guitar and backing vocals), June Tindall (bass) and Joe Kennedy (drums)—have gigged more than 20 times around town, released four singles and begun work on a debut album set to release in spring.
On paper, it’s a lot. For Fisher, it’s a welcome change of pace.
“I used to study ballet in Russia, so I’ve experienced the most strict circumstances and had to do well under them,” she says. “With music, I’m very free and I just do what I want.”
Onstage, the beguiling frontwoman is a natural, slinking through the soft/loud/soft structure of early-’90s rock with a growl that recalls PJ Harvey’s at times.
“Instrumentally, they line up with bands like Soundgarden, Nirvana, the whole ’90s grunge era,” says producer Knicc Limbs, who runs local recording studio MXA Productions. “But Gabbi’s vocals are so new and fresh, they give a whole new taste to that sound.”
Fisher, who regards Harvey, Violent Femmes and Kurt Cobain as key inspirations, only began singing a couple of years ago, driven by a desire to translate her journals and poems into something she could share on a grander scale.
The members of Elevated Undergrounds bring diverse talents to the table. Kennedy holds a BA in music composition. Tindall has released several solo experimental projects this year. And Reyes fronts local rock band Elephant King (for which Limbs drums), when Reyes isn’t backing Fisher on EU songs like “Medicine,” a grimy cut with Nirvana-like flair.
Fisher says that while Elevated Underground’s singles showcase a higher energy for the band, upcoming album Drowning Spree will burrow a bit deeper. “Some songs might be a reflection of what I’ve thought about myself in the past, or a situation where I felt like I was harmed,” she says. “It’s a lot of sad songs, but I don’t feel like sad songs are always bad.”
Fisher, who’s including some of her earliest music on Drowning Spree, says the LP is very personal for her. “It’s pretty impressive to look at it now, because two years ago, I had literally my first guitar,” she says.
And, Limbs says, the record should sound closer to EU’s live sets. “There’s a lot of very unorthodox guitar playing, some songs that are a little bit more progressive, where [Fez isn’t] even playing notes. He’s just making sounds and sound effects in the background,” Limbs says. “That puts me in a very unique position, because I’m such close friends with them. … I’m able to get that and understand where they’re coming from as musicians.”
Elevated Undergrounds linktr.ee/elevatedundergrounds. Upcoming Show: December 16, 11th Street Records.
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