The World Famous Whisky A Go Go in The City of West Hollywood, CA was on fire on Wednesday night, March 18, 2026. By fire, I mean two things:
- Los Angeles has been experiencing a mad case of heatwave in the month of March.
- The bands I got to see and cover brought in the heat with their fiery performance.
There were three bands I got to cover on this night, DEMON SLOTH, LYLVC (pronounced as “lilac”), and BUTCHER BABIES. DEMON SLOTH was the 2nd opening act since I missed the 1st opening act. LYLVC and BUTCHER BABIES were part of the support acts for Jeris Johnson’s Tour on this day at The Whisky A Go Go.
Written and Photo Gallery by © Don Marcelo Photography 2026
DEMON SLOTH
https://www.facebook.com/demonslothband
Not only was LA experiencing a heatwave in the month of March, there’s this thing called LA traffic. What should’ve been a 20 minute commute for me to The Whisky A Go Go became an hour and a half of miserable trek. Gotta love LA Traffic. Because of this I missed the 1st band which was fine for me. Fortunately, I was able to see DEMON SLOTH, the 2nd opening act. Though the band was not part of my assignment for S.L.R. MAGAZINE, I wanted to add them to my report because of its unique line up.
DEMON SLOTH is based out of Las Vegas, NV. They are known for their hard hitting Rock and Heavy Metal sounds with killer vocals that consists of a lead vocalist and guitarist named Chris Iorio as the main singer, and his young partner, 9 year old co-vocalist named Rock Gates as the energized growler, screamer, and background vocals of the band. DEMON SLOTH also has another young and talented musician named Brock Gates, the 13 year old brother of Rock and plays the role of Lead Guitarist. Along with Chris, Rock, (remember there’s a comma between Chris and Rock) and Brock, they are also joined by seasoned touring drummer named Chas Cantrell and accomplished Bass player and musical educator Dr. Will Daines. Together they are DEMON SLOTH.
Although in the beginning they had some technical difficulties with equipment, they handled things with great composure like the seasoned pros they are. Once they figured out what happened, the music started and they rocked hard and loud and put on a great performance. Brock, the 13 year old guitarist, delivered a performance that woke up the audience with his axe shredding skills. Rock, the 9 year old co-vocalist, was so much fun to watch on stage which put a lot of smiles on the faces of the audience because of his growls. Just imagine being 13 and 9 years old performing LIVE at The Whisky A Go Go where the legends such as Van Halen, Motley Crue, and Guns N Roses once stood on the same stage they were on before they got big and famous. How cool is that! Of course let’s not forget the adults Chris, Will, and Chas who played brilliantly as seasoned pros. Together they put on one great thunderous show. But the most memorable moment on this night from their set was after the last song was played, 9 year old Rock shouted his final words before dropping his mic, “I’ll be taking pictures upstairs!” Now that’s a true rockstar in the making!



































LYLVC (pronounced “lilac”)
There’s a saying that goes, “Two Heads are better than one.” Whether this saying is true or not we don’t really know, but in LYLVC’s case, TWO VOICES are definitely better than one. Based out of North Carolina, LYLVC the band is fronted by two dynamic vocalists with two different distinct styles: a female singer with clean melodies and a versatile male rapper full of intense passion and ferocity, and both vocalists having high-voltage guttural screams added in the mix of their vocals. They are often compared to LINKIN PARK with a mix of high energy modern melodic metal sounds. Along with a full band that consists of powerful musicians (two guitarists, a bassist, a drummer, and electronic background sounds), LYLVC’s unique style of modern rock/metal and rap was loud, raw, and aggressive, delivering a strong showmanship of pure adrenaline non-stop action from start to finish. Their performance and music left an indelible mark to new and old fans of the band. Even a fairly new fan named Belenda of Bakersfield, CA (about an hour and a half drive North East of Hollywood without traffic), came back again for her 2nd time just to see LYLVC on this tour. I can only imagine the traffic she went through since it took me an hour and a half to get to The Whisky on this night and I live 13 miles away from the venue. Needless to say, this is how powerful their music and performance are whether you are watching them LIVE on stage or watching and listening to their music videos on YouTube. Every song has a story and meaning behind it, often touching issues about mental health, trauma, personal struggles and growth, humanity, and resilience. All the lyrics are well written. The music is intense. The performance is powerful. The humans behind LYLVC are authentic. LYLVC of North Carolina is a band that one must experience to see and hear perform LIVE on stage. Check out all their music videos on YouTube to see what I mean. And if there is one word to describe their set, it is EPIC. I can’t wait to see this band LIVE on stage again.
On this evening, the members on this tour on stage were the following talented artists:
Alyse Zavala (Clean Vocals)
Oscar Romero (Rap Vocals)
Rachel Pappalardo (Bass)
Seth Morgan (Lead Guitar)
Lee Hutt (Drums)
Jordan Haven (Rhythm Guitar)
*Cameron Gillette (keys/synth/rhythm guitar) NOT on this tour
Their setlist consisted of the following songs:
- Barely Human
- XXX
- Undertow
- Crawl Space
- Starless
- Dangerous
- Perfect Drug
- Into Nothing
After their show, I got the chance to meet their two powerhouse vocalists, Alyse and Oscar and got to talk to Oscar for a minute. I told him that I love the message that he said about one of the songs, “Starless.” I asked him if he can share and elaborate more about this and this is what he said to me:
“Starless is a song about my biggest failure that I’m the most grateful for. 7 years ago I went through my attempt at suicide at motel in Wilmington NC with a 1/5 a jack and a pill bottle full of Xanax. I remember the incredible loneliness I felt at the time and how it felt thinking absolutely no one could understand what I was going through.I remember the false sense of hope when the end was right there and the weight of life was finally off my shoulders. Now I want to share my story to anyone else who has felt that gross false sense of hope that ending things is the solution. I hope I continue to have the opportunity to reach others that might feel alone and let them know that they aren’t”
Like I said earlier, all the lyrics are well written, intense, and have meaning behind them. Truly powerful.



























































BUTCHER BABIES
The first time I heard of the name BUTCHER BABIES was several years ago (around 2022) when I saw their former bass player jamming with other rock stars on the same stage of The Whisky A Go Go for ULTIMATE JAM NIGHT. I thought to myself, “What a cool name for a band.” I liked what I saw and heard from their former bass player so afterwards, I did my research on BUTCHER BABIES. After reading and learning a little bit about them and listening to a few of their songs, I said to myself, this is a great band to watch and hopefully cover and photograph someday.
Fast forward to March 18, 2026, I finally got the chance to see and watch and cover BUTCHER BABIES. Known for their aggressive metal and thrash groove, BUTCHER BABIES recently had their line up changed. BUTCHER BABIES once had two vocalists, a clean vocals and a growler. With the other vocalist moving on to pursue other ventures in music, the task of clean vocals and growler was left to Heidi Shepherd to handle alone. Despite the changes, the strong presence and powerful performance of Heidi was felt by everyone. This dual role did not hinder Heidi’s pursuit of greatness and probably even elevated her to the next level. On this night seeing her performance, singing, growling, dancing, jumping, head banging, hair twirling, interacting with the crowd, were all sight and sounds to remember. Every note sung was on point. Every growl and scream were intense. Every motion of her body, moving from one stage to another, was emotionally charged and driven. It was like watching an athlete train non-stop for weeks before the big game. And on the day of the Big Game, everything was perfect. All in one night. Her energy and intensity were most likely fueled by pure passion and fire and love of her music, her fans, and her craft. So in the case of BUTCHER BABIES, one voice and one head is all that’s needed after all. Heidi Shepherd proved it on this night and I’m sure on all the other nights of this tour. What a great show.
On this night at The Whisky A Go Go, Heidi shared the stage with guitarist Henry Flury. His cool vibes of shredding his axe was also complemented by their bass player, Sean Campbell who did not play bass, but rather filled in as the drummer on this night because their drummer, Devin Nickles, needed to attend some personal business. Despite that fact, Sean did an amazing job filling in as the drummer on this night.
Their setlist on this night consisted of the following songs:
- BACKSTREETS OF TENNESSEE
- RED THUNDER
- MONSTERS BALL
- SINCERITY
- BEAVER CAGE
- SPITTIN’ TEETH
- LOST IN YOUR TOUCH
- MAGNOLIA BLVD
Just like LYLVC, BUTCHER BABIES was on fire with non-stop adrenaline action from the beginning to the end. Even Rock and Brock of DEMON SLOTH were rocking out next to me on the floor raising their horns up high. Heidi’s charm was felt by everyone. Her constant interaction with her fans made things memorable. At one point, probably the highlight of the night for me, was when Heidi needed to jump down from the stage and shouted to one of the photographers, Mr. Jack Lue, the original Guns N Roses Photographer, “Sorry Jack,” as she motions her hands to him to move out of the way so she can jump down directly where Jack was standing. Did she really say that to the famous Jack Lue? Yes she did. Jack and I laughed out so hard. That was a great moment.
Overall BUTCHER BABIES stayed true to their music and most likely elevated to a new level of greatness, although I can’t really compare since I never saw BUTCHER BABIES LIVE on stage before when there were two vocalists. I’m only comparing with what I saw from YouTube and on this night. But from what I saw and heard, that level of aggressive, high-energy, thrash groove metal was more likely even better than before. Afterwards, I had the chance to meet Heidi when Shauna, her PR Manager introduced me to her. I said to Heidi. “What a great show. I wanted to let you know that my neck hurts just from watching you head bang and hair twirl.” We both laughed out loud. Truly a great show.









































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