Doolittle Ladybug Takes the Stage: A 'Funcore' Fusion of Sound
- Lauren Juillerat
- Apr 17
- 6 min read
By Malory Shaw
A future biochemist, a sixth grade English teacher, a sociology major, Buddhist and insurance associate account manager, and a jazz musician studying mathematics walk into a music venue. This is not a set-up for a cliche joke, but the electric lineup for the band Doolittle Ladybug, a local band that blends their different musical backgrounds into a sound they call “funcore.”
From jazz-inspired drums to emo-influenced sounds to dream-like, emotional lyricism, Doolittle Ladybug makes an unexpected splash in the local music scene. Songs like "toadpiss”, “paradolia”, and “the coyote song” weave their varying musical influences, creating a sound unique to this band. An exploration into their first songs unveil their inspirations and writing process.
Written primarily by Alyssa Lazaro, “the coyote song” demonstrates the strong emotions that go into writing the band’s lyrics.
“Encapsulate me in those oceans you call your eyes/drown me in the sounds of my own demise/who the hell was I to you?/you said I was cool, but was it only cause I was in a band?”
“That was like a really bad breakup,” said Lazaro, “I was like very early into my college and it was probably like my first very sad moment where I was like ‘Okay, I can like write about this and probably make something pretty good out of it.’”
The lyrics are raw and vulnerable, with soft, dulcet vocals complementing the poignant lyrics.
Other people getting to see and listen to these lyrics felt different, says Lazaro. “Obviously it's kind of vulnerable, you know, because it’s like a personal diary that I’m showing to other people, but in a different form.”
Lazaro, the lead singer of Doolittle Ladybug, has been performing live since she was 15 at the Holland Project in Reno, also playing other venues. Now 21, her background in musical theater during high school helps her vocals stand out as a defining feature of the band’s sound. She also played in a grunge band called RadioMetric, which opened for Destroy Boys in 2021. Outside of music, Lazaro is a dancer, elementary school teacher, and actress studying sociology at UNR with a wealth of creative experience under her belt.
Lukas Farias notes that since the band started as a project between Nady and Lazaro, a lot of the first songs that they played were from them.
Farias, a trained jazz performer double majoring in music and mathematics, brings his jazz drumming expertise to the band. He says that transitioning from jazz to the band’s style has required some adjustment, but the band is fun to play with.
The band mentioned that “toadpiss” was the first recorded song they all fully collaborated and wrote their own parts for.
In regard to their musical collaboration, Jack Nady said that they all build together. He’ll bring cords to share with the band, and then from there the collaboration starts.
Nady, the rhythm guitarist for the band, is studying biochemistry at the University of Nevada, Reno and also in a post-hardcore band called Super Low. Nady wrote lyrics for their song “paradolia”, which he says is about a friend group splitting apart and his nod to the group.
Nic Graver chimed in and said that, “I’ll figure out what the actual chords are”, referring to the cords Nady will present to the band, “and then we all write our own parts. And any lyrics we sing we wrote ourselves.”
Graver, lead guitarist for Doolittle Ladybug, also is a part of bands like Night Rooms, Blackstallion, and Glorious High Definition; with each band he might be seen as a drummer, singer, or lyricist. By day, he is a sixth-grade English teacher. By night, he reveals his musical side on stage.
Some of the emo influences in Doolittle Ladybug’s music can be attributed to the bassist of the band Kyle Hutchings, who was previously in an emo pop band called Olivias. By day, Hutchings works as an associate account manager working on insurance policies, but also lives an “introspective life outside of Doolittle Ladybug” when he goes to retreats. By night, they play with Doolittle Ladybug in different venues with excited crowds.
The group holds musical influences from many different genres, and it all started with another artist.
The origins of Doolittle Ladybug go back to when Jesus, or artist name Squib, began working with Nady who produced music for him.
Nady recalls that Squib was able to get “Nic from Night Rooms” to play in the band. Nady said, “I hit up Lukas cause Squib was looking for a drummer, and I knew Lukas was a badass drummer.”
After Farias was introduced to the mix, Lazaro joined in with her musical expertise. She had known some of the group from highschool.
“Eventually [Squib] left for New York City and I think we just kind of wanted to keep something going but Lukas was super busy with some jazz stuff at the time.”
With Farias taking indefinite time off, Nady searched for another talented drummer who could play alongside them.
“I had to find a drummer and my girlfriend knew Kyle. So I hit up Kyle and they were our drummer for a little bit. We were playing a few shows and eventually,” Nady points to Kyle, “you went to Costa Rica. We were trying to find someone to fill in so we just hit up Lukas again and it was like a good vibe.”
They asked Farias if they wanted to be the drummer, and he agreed.
With that, all the band members were connected, but fully forming the band was right around the corner with Hutchings’ return.
“Kyle was also just ripping on bass. I didn’t know Kyle could do that. So that’s kind of the formation of our current band lineup.”
The band name truly formed however when Lazaro and Nady saw each other at a party and they on the spot came up with the band name. Nady spontaneously said the word “Doolittle” with Lazaro finishing his sentence with “Ladybug”. The band was ready to get their start.
More recently, the band has been working on a new album release, self-titled Doolittle Ladybug set to release in Spring 2025. Each member had a part in either lyrical or musical composition with this project. Hutchings is credited for writing the tracks for “City Beneath the Lake” and “Leaving Someday”.
“City Beneath the Lake” is, “about how Reno is a city that by virtue of its size being the biggest little city you can have a lot of big problems that are contained and you feel like you can't turn anywhere without seeing them.”
Writing the songs on the track Hutchings said they incorporated dream-like style by writing based off of untethered thoughts and spinning them off into fantasy sequences.
“For a lot of songs, I've taken like anxious, intrusive thoughts and you can write a whole story because your brain is already building whole stories on these thoughts.”
“To me, writing lyrics is all about the first step, you just have to convince yourself that nobody will ever hear it or ever read it so you can be your fullest, truest voice," said Graver as he discussed writing “Losing Dog”, “and then you have to decide if it's actually something cool enough that you want to share.”
This shared sentiment of just going for it and living “cringe-free” is something the band advises other bands to do. Nady emphasizes a stress-free style of collaboration to new bands.
“I think my big piece of advice is to have fun with it. If you start quarreling and it becomes stressful to be in a band you're doing something wrong.”
Agreeing with advice on group dynamics, Graver said, “I think it's important to also have relationships with your band members beyond just going to practice. And it is like you're dating four people or five people. Don't be afraid to take the time to find the people that you really want to work with.”
Shmab, also known as Adelina Grifsha, the manager of the group, advises that “to be cringe is to be free”. Shmab has also filled in as a lead singer for the band when Lazaro is unable to attend. Although Shmab has mentioned the terrifying nature of playing live, the band emphasizes that just starting, having fun with it, and not caring about pleasing everyone for bands wanting to start out in the local scene.
Shmab also comments on the future of the band, “Probably a tour or multiple after this album that’s coming out. Album release spring 2025. Hopefully another album, EP, more songs, new merch.” Shmab emphasizes how much they love the band’s songs and wish to hear more from them in the future as their manager, but also as a fan.
Doolittle Ladybug is excited to share their new album with Reno, as most of the band cites recording the album as a rewarding experience. You can find their music on Spotify and Apple Music and also follow them on Instagram @doolittleladybug to keep up to date on future updates and shows.
Comments