Velour Academy is a pop-punk band founded in 2005 by songwriter/bassist Jamil Kassimali and songwriter/vocalist Shannon Martinez, who traded demos while going to school across the country from each other. After releasing demos with just these two members, the band expanded its lineup, adding drummer Matt Calderon and backup vocalist/keyboard player Itzel Palacios. Under this formation, they recorded their first formal album, Ooze, in October 2017. Since, the band has performed in the Los Angeles area as well as festivals around the country. The band describes their aesthetic as ’80s girl pop like Bananarama and early Madonna, “if that music were written and played by a punk band.”
Their forthcoming effort, CHISME, was recorded/mixed/mastered by Jack Shirley, who has worked on projects for bands like Joyce Manor and Gouge Away, in October 2020 at the Atomic Garden in Oakland, California. The album will be released digitally as well as on pink 10” vinyl and pink cassette on June 4th, 2021. Preorder here.
Today, Ghettoblaster has the pleasure of premiering the video for “Something About Your Eyes,” which was directed by Shannon Martinez, shot and edited by Cory Martinez (sister of band member Shannon), and features Adrianne Hanson.
Of the track Martinez says, “This song title was inspired by watching home videos from the 1980s. My husband was a child in the videos and his innocent little eyes did something to me. In life there are special people who make us feel at peace, make us feel safe. This song is about those people.”
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