After 30 years as a music fan and musician in Reno, I’ve come to believe that a distinctive sound is essential to success as a band in this town. If there are too many groups that sound just like each other, usually only one will be left standing after a few years.
This is one reason why I’m intrigued by Anabelle and the Desert Scrubs. This band shares members between Reno and Fallon and has a sound that stands out among the trendy shoegaze guitars and flat-out screaming at all-ages venues such as the Holland Project and Midnight Coffee Roasting.
It’s not that I hate heavy guitar effects or piercing yells—I love them, in fact. But it’s refreshing to hear a band embrace something different.
“All of our influences vary so much,” said Anabelle Forshee, the group’s lead guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. “We tend to put ourselves in the indie or indie rock ’n’ roll category, but we have a lot of folk and pop elements at times. To be honest, we don’t think too much about it when writing. We want to focus on emitting the right feeling through what we play before we think of checking the indie-rock boxes.”
The Scrubs also feature Milo Henning on bass guitar and Anabelle’s father, Clay Forshee, on drums. The rhythm section sings backups sometimes, and all these elements come together on the group’s second album, The Bella Empire, released in early May.
Anabelle said the record was recorded at Dogwater Studios, and for her, it went by in a blur.
“All of our time spent actually recording in the studio was a whopping four days,” she said. “We would wake up, eat, go record for 10 hours, go to In-N-Out, and go to bed at some ungodly hour.”
The album reflects that rush, with mostly upbeat songs that bring both acoustic and electric guitars to the fore. Yet it’s not a dour indie-folk record at all, and you can see how the drive of the songs fits in well with louder indie-rockers currently ruling the Reno scene right now. It’s also close in sound to a national trend—as groups like Wednesday and Ratboys combine twangy Americana elements with the louder kick of the best alternative or indie music.
That’s definitely true of the album closer, “Whispers,” an ironic title for sure. Part way through this louder track, Anabelle lets out a riot-grrrl-esque shriek that fits in perfectly, adding a wonderfully startling exclamation point to the album as a whole.
“It was done in one take, and we had only decided it would go on the album a few days before we hit the studio,” Anabelle said of “Whispers.” “So none of us even knew the song very well, and we just hit the studio with a bang for that one.”
Formed in July 2023, the Desert Scrubs are adaptable enough to play events such as Jim Butler Days in Tonopah or the Fallon Cantaloupe Festival; more acoustic/quiet venues for the mellow bar crowd such as Black Rabbit Mead or Pignic; or rowdy gigs at those all-ages venues I mentioned above.
Upcoming shows include an opening slot for the national indie rock band Slow Coast on Friday, July 17, at Club Underground and a set at the America 250 Jubilee on Saturday, July 4, in Fallon. The band is also one of a handful of locals picked for this year’s OffBeat Music Festival, taking place Oct. 2 and 3 at venues on East Fourth Street.
Anabelle said that some new songs will make their debuts at these shows.
“As nice as having our album out has been, we’re already writing new stuff,” she said, “We’ve been super-inspired and honestly encouraged by the response to this album, so we know we just have more to give.”
To find out more about the band, go to Anabelle and the Desert Scrubs’ Instagram page.
Two under-the-radar events
Reno loves its festivals during the summer months. It’s a crowded calendar, so it’s possible that some events get overlooked. There are two in particular within the next week that shouldn’t get slept on.
The first is the Keep It Burning Glass and Art Festival. It takes place on this Saturday and Sunday, June 27 and 28, from noon to 6 p.m. at Artech, 130 Woodland Ave.
The free-admission festival will feature musical acts including Full Moon Rizin’, Dirt City and Wabuska Yachting Club. There will also be two solo acts, Tyler Kremers and Michael Tegio, as well as some DJs to be announced. The event also includes glass-blowing and neon demonstrations, artists and other vendors, and food and drink on site.
“The purpose of this event is to ‘keep it burning,’ meaning keep the spark going and keep creating and help bring awareness to all the beautiful art we all offer in this city,” said Krystal Anson, one of the event organizers and a glass artist.
To learn more about the event, go to @keepitburning_reno on Instagram.
There’s also Trans Angels: Vengeance Rising, a music festival with trans artists. It takes place from 6:30 to 11 p.m., Wednesday, July 1, at The Holland Project, 140 Vesta St. Admission is $10 in advance and $15 at the door.
Organized by local electronic musician K-Truck, it includes other Reno artists Sharps Container, pupp4trickz and AwesomefaceXD. There are also two traveling musicians, Suroor from Memphis, Tenn., and exciting!!excellent!! from Portland, Ore. Tickets and more details can be found at the Holland Project website.
Send your music news to me
If you have an album coming out, an interesting show that’s beyond the usual gig, some news about new or departing bandmates, or any music news, really, contact me. You can email me at markearnestwriter@gmail.com or follow me at Instagram.