Music

Bitch Appeal

Von Iva Kick It Up a Notch

by Hannah Levin

Much of what gave beloved local rock band 7 Year Bitch their aggressive sex appeal in the mid-'90s was the electric, antagonistic stance of über-foxy front woman Selene Vigil. But all of Vigil's panther-like stage prowls wouldn't have been as seductive without the guttural rumblings emanating from the bass of the band's primary songwriter, Elizabeth Davis (now Davis-Simpson). Davis' thundering, commanding style was evocative of such like-minded bassists as Mike Watt, Thin Lizzy's Phil Lynott, or even Iron Maiden's Steve Harris--and she was always perfectly locked in with her drummer, no matter how many White Russians they'd slammed that night.

After 7 Year Bitch's demise in 1997, Davis-Simpson relocated to the Bay Area, hooked up with drummer Lay Lay von Guthier, and formed Clone, a short-lived, dark and twisted disco outfit. Davis-Simpson continued to work with Guthier, a collaborator who shared her drive to fuse Motown soul, vintage disco, and hard rock into the sweaty, catchy, and compulsively danceable sound that would eventually become Von Iva.

"I wanted to play dance music--I didn't want to play music that was angry or where it looked out of place if you smiled onstage," explains Davis-Simpson via phone. The ideal front woman was serendipitously found in Jillian Iva, an iron-throated soul singer she randomly encountered at an open-mic show. "She got up there and was making up lyrics on the spot--and she had this amazing presence, very sexual and very beautiful. I got on the phone right there and said, 'The search is over, we found our singer.' It just clicked right away."

Indeed it did, and Von Iva's fan base was almost as rapidly acquired, thanks to Iva's molten charisma and short, sharp sets that get even the most committed wallflower shaking his or her ass. They also nailed logical opening slots for the Vanishing and the Ravonettes. Their most perfect match is unquestionably this most recent tour, though, with soul punk purveyors the BellRays, a double bill that's sure to burn some calories, break some hearts, and hopefully land them the record deal they deserve. "I've been very lucky in the music world in my life, for sure," laughs Davis-Simpson.

editor@thestranger.com

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