DJ Penny Royal has hosting duties for KALX Live! on Saturday, February 15th. And your entertainment for the evening? The aburdist dance music of Oakland’s Naked Roommate. Preview the night with their 2024 release through Trouble In Mind; Pass the Loofah. And mark your calendar for the next chance to catch them in person as they play The Crepe Place in Santa Cruz on February 22nd.
Absurdist dance musik from Oakland — Naked Roommate’s been slinking around the Bay Area, lighting up stages, shaking asses & confounding listeners since 2018. Starting life as the duo of real-life partners Andy Jordan & Amber Sermeno (both formerly of The World) with a self-released a cassette of demos (2018’s “Naked Roommate”), members Michael “Mig” Zamora (Non Plus Temps, W0RK) & Alejandra Alcala (Blues Lawyer) joined soon after to augment the sound & live band with their proper full-length album “Do The Duvet”, co-released in September of 2020 via UK label Upset! The Rhythm & Trouble In Mind. 2024 found the lineup expanded even further to incorporate the horn section of Geoff Saba & Jeanne Oss on tenor & alto saxophones as well as percussion & marimba with the group’s sophomore effort, the dizzyingly ecstatic ”Pass The Loofah”. They’ve been blessed to share stages with heroes like ESG, Deerhoof, Jack White, and Egyptian Lover as well as countless local favorites like Fake Fruit, Brontez Purnell, Juicebumps, and Mayya. The band freely incorporates elements of the dancier side of post-punk (think A Certain Ratio, or Liquid Liquid) as well as disco, funk, & house music. However, the group’s uplifting melodicism belies a deeper subtext, understanding the importance of the sense of community of dance music & the culture surrounding it and leaning into a Neo-socialist lyrical context.
