by LE Francis
Hello readers, if we haven’t met before, I’m L. Aside from my gig as Sage Cigarettes’ managing editor & former fiction editor, I’m a pushcart nominated poet that has been publishing since about 2017. My first chapbook was released this year by Bottlecap Press. & this is maybe what I’m most widely known for in the indie lit community, as I publish most of my fiction under a super secret pen name (I write really weird, horny paranormal romance & dark sci-fi). But I’ve also written several concert & album reviews for the magazine over the last year. At the time, we were just launching our pop culture section & I wanted to do my part to help supplement meager submissions in the beginning but the truth is – I like writing music content & feel very strongly about supporting small & independent artists.
Before I started working with Sage Cigarettes, I spent a few years in print journalism, writing features & arts content before being promoted to the arts & entertainment editor position. & before that, I spent most of my early 20’s as the chatty girl in the bar at shows, asking anyone who would talk to me about their creative hobbies & favorite artists. But I’ve been involved in the local music scene since my late teens, transitioning from high school choir dork to playing in a handful of bands, organizing outdoor shows, running sound, taking photos, & designing fliers for local bands.
So, this column is an attempt to pull it all together & get back into writing regularly about music. Going forward, I’m going to publish a column here on Sage Cigarettes every Saturday ranging from reviews to interviews & discussions.
You can get an idea of my taste by looking at the reviews I’ve already published but I listen pretty widely. This year alone, I’ve gone to or have tickets to sixteen shows —
- The Wonder Years & Hot Mulligan at McMenamins Crystal Ballroom in Portland, OR
- Spiritbox & Intervals at The Neptune Theater in Seattle, WA
- The Sound of Animals Fighting & Korine at The Showbox in Seattle, WA
- Wage War & nothing.nowhere at The Showbox Sodo in Seattle, WA
- Matchbox Twenty at White River Amphitheater in Auburn, WA
- Meute at The Showbox Sodo in Seattle, WA
- Thrice & Holy Fawn at The Roseland Theater in Portland, OR
- Between the Buried & Me & Thank You Scientist at The Crocodile in Seattle, WA & at The Roseland Theater in Portland, OR
- Hail the Sun at The Crocodile in Seattle, WA
- Sleep Token
- The Wonder Years’ Greatest Generation fall run
- nothing.nowhere & SeeYouSpaceCowboy
- Protest the Hero & Moontooth
- The Dear Hunter
- Hot Mulligan headlining run
My all-time favorite bands are Protest the Hero & The Mars Volta but some of my other faves — beyond the bands listed above — include Silversun Pickups, Alice in Chains, Bilmuri, Lana Del Ray, The Number 12 Looks Like You, Avantasia & Edguy, Schoolyard Heroes, Fleetwood Mac, Mastodon, Faith No More & Mr. Bungle, The Fall of Troy, Good Tiger, KMFDM, Within Temptation, MC Chris, Heart, RX Bandits, Soundgarden, & Sleater Kinney.
I tend to write my reviews conversationally. With live reviews I give my opinion on the performance, but keep the focus on what the reader can expect from the band in general, the venue, & the parking situation – all the things I get stressed out about as a concert-goer. Where album reviews are concerned, unless I’m approached by an artist, I’m going to select albums I am personally waiting for & wanted to write about.
That said, I am open to pitches for interviews & reviews from bands of all genres. Email inquiries to lefrancis@sagecigarettes.com. I prefer to come into a review or interview project with a well-written bio, at least one nice promotional photo, & at least one song to mull over. If you’re part of an indie project & have questions about putting together a clean bio or a press kit in general, please feel free to reach out for help.
I will be writing up to five short, paragraph-long reviews for songs & EPs on the second Saturday of every month. But if you’re looking for more in-depth coverage or an interview, my schedule is likely to be planned out at least a month in advance so catch me early if you have something with a pressing deadline.
& my columns for the month of August are already being drafted. August 12 I’ll be rounding up some short releases by XXIIIXIX, Dramamine, Soviet Shiksa, L.S. Dunes, & Bilmuri; on August 19th I’ll talk about the Matchbox Twenty & Meute shows I went to in late May; & I’ll share my thoughts on the new Hot Mulligan album on August 25.
So, meet me here next Saturday?
LE Francis (she/her) is the managing editor of Sage Cigarettes Magazine; a columnist & staff artist for Cream Scene Carnival Magazine; co-host & staff editor of A Ghost in the Magazine & The Annegirls Podcast; & the author of THIS SPELL OF SONG & STAR available through Bottlecap Press. She is a writer, musician, & visual artist living in the rainshadow of the Washington Cascades. Find her online at nocturnical.com.
