boxViolet (Viola narthecium) is native to Los Angeles, a hybrid of boy and girl. Within a few days of meeting Margot, Luke shared the text of a song he'd written about her, which included the lines: "black hair, dark green eyes/they show." Discovering in Luke a musical accomplice, she convinced him to leave his band for the one he would start with her. Thus boxViolet was born, the sole seedling of their late union. At times a 3-piece and even a 4-piece, this project turned duo, embracing its Madonna-esque tradition of constant reinvention.

Prepared with tracks cut at their own live-w... (+) expand

boxViolet (Viola narthecium) is native to Los Angeles, a hybrid of boy and girl. Within a few days of meeting Margot, Luke shared the text of a song he'd written about her, which included the lines: "black hair, dark green eyes/they show." Discovering in Luke a musical accomplice, she convinced him to leave his band for the one he would start with her. Thus boxViolet was born, the sole seedling of their late union. At times a 3-piece and even a 4-piece, this project turned duo, embracing its Madonna-esque tradition of constant reinvention.

Prepared with tracks cut at their own live-work space and mixed, this cultivar spent some time on Leftwing Recordings/Retone Records at a time when the ownership was more focused on girl-fronted rock bands like Giant Drag and Midnight Movies but followed suit when these groups left disenchanted with the label and its changing priorities. These profusely flowering Violets are now on a rigorous rehearsal schedule of their own making, the moody stamen perfecting his rhythmic transfers for deposit into the nearby pistil, who responds with a voice that one listener dubbed "honey-covered sex dripping through the microphone."

They have performed at nearly every venue this town has to offer, including Silverlake Lounge, Spaceland, Mr. T's, Club Moscow @ Boardner's, and even a sold-out performance with Mellowdrone and Monsters Are Waiting….. at the Troubadour. boxViolet has been heard on TV shows including Without a Trace, Psych, Charmed, and Dawson's Creek. Their track "Had I Known" was included in an episode of the Undiscovered Radio Network, showcasing LA's best underground music, and Mr. Shovel of Indie 103.1 FM played "Pop Quiz!" as well as their latest single, "Sad, sad girl," on his local music show Check One…Two. In fact, their riveting claymation video for "Punding" was a finalist for that station's first YouTube contest. Their increasing local presence recently resulted in an article devoted solely to them in the Arroyo Seco Journal, which declared them "a must-see."

The newest seed of this specimen is the EP "Sad, sad girl." It is the follow-up to the EP released just over a year ago on So Sweet Records in the UK, and, while the writing still centers on relationships, it is doing so in a broader manner, in the spirit of the personal being political. Moreover, in a gesture toward the global, the music has become more danceable than ever. Ultimately, the future rests in song, in these boxes of lyricism that do what violets are known for—checking the melancholy of those oppressed with a sad mind, making them happy and making their breathing healthy. This is the intention of boxViolet. (-) collapse