Née: Giselle Woo
Raíces: Cathedral City, California
Sounds like: Rock en español from the scorching desert.
You should listen to Giselle Woo and the Night Owls because…they’re turning Coachella Valley inside out with their live show.
Giselle Woo’s relationship to music has been evolving ever since she was a young girl developing her musical style in church. Her parents are both musicians, and they ushered her into performance early at their parish. Reminiscing about that period in her life, she tells Remezcla, ”That’s where I lost my fear of performing and gained the confidence it took for me to pursue music professionally.” She describes herself as timid, and in the past, has considered music to be hobby, but her undeniable charisma and talent have made it clear that the art form is central to her life. With only one single, “Coachella Gold,” she won over the judges at Tachevah, a local battle of the bands and positioned herself as one of the Palm Springs desert’s brightest new acts.
For the most part, Woo spends time managing the radio station at College of Desert she attends. She’s working towards a degree in music, and formalizing a lot of the knowledge that she learned from being a self-taught musician. ”I decided to take music classes at College of the Desert,” she tells Remezcla over email. “That’s where I learned more about music theory, voice and piano.” With the addition of a backing band, The Night Owls, she has begun working on an EP which will include the new track “Novedad.”
Giselle infuses heavy blues rock with a touch of desert psychedelia. She developed a strong stage presence in her youth, when she started vocalizing harmonies for her parents during church service. “They play music at our parish in Cathedral City, St. Louis Church,” she says. Currently joined by The Night Owls (aka Christian Colín, Jose Ceja, Marco Murrieta, and Cesar Flores), the project is gaining momentum and she is ready to take her career to the next stage. You can tell she’s been focusing on the one thing that has brought her to where she is: the music itself.
Because she’s surrounded herself with music – be it as a radio station manager, a solo performer playing gigs around town, or a songwriter – her skills are sharpening and so is her resolve. As a resident of Coachella Valley, the massive Indio festival once seemed out of reach to her. “I’ve been to the festival for work with the station and it takes over the town, but never really like I could play it,” she says. But now the panorama seems different; she feels a momentum that requires her attention.
For now, you’d have to visit her hometown to get a sense of how central she has become to the scene. The industry never provides guarantees, but it’s definitely clear when someone has a good thing on their hands. For Giselle Woo + the Night Owls, it seems like that moment is closer than expected.
Giselle Woo and the Night Owls play Chella on Wednesday, April 17. To find out more info and purchase tickets, click here.
