Geneva Jacuzzi: Bizarre Meets Beautiful at Psycho Las Vegas, 2022
So, what was the most unusual act I saw at last month’s Psycho Las Vegas music festival, you ask? (And no, I didn’t see Cancer Christ which I was told was a whole other level of bonkers!). Hands down, there was nothing quite like the high-energy and spectacularly bizarre performance of synth-pop connoisseur Geneva Jacuzzi. Truly, a one time only spectacle.
“Are you not entertained?!” Yes. Yes I was.
Geneva Jacuzzi: Psycho Las Vegas
The DIY performance artist is also a music video director, producer, and makeup artist. “I never set out to be a musician, I was just looking for my reflection and that led to inspiration and that led to experimentation and having fun with it,” said the LA-based artist in an interview with Synth History. “I’ve never been ambitious or pursued anything other than my own creative fulfillment and as a result, the career stuff came to me.”
Geneva Jacuzzi’s debut album is 2010’s cult phenomenon “Lamaze”, itself an assemblage of 4-track and 8-track recordings and “demos,” spanning from 2004 to 2009. The album ranges from lo-fi bedroom pop to funky new wave takes (think Devo mixed with Yellow Magic Orchestra with Nina Hagen on vocals). “Lamaze” was reissued by Mexican Summer Records in 2021.
My shows are pretty chaotic and involve lots of props, dancers, costumes, audio, and visual setup. I’m usually running around like a madwoman making sure everything is ready,” said Jacuzzi in an interview with The Genius List. “Everything is go go go go, and the second I get on stage is the first moment I can truly relax.”
Geneva Jazuzzi via lolawho.com: “I feel like it’s truer, for the music that I make, when I am present and interact with the audience instead of being stuck behind a keyboard. And even if I played the keyboard live, I would still need to have pre-recorded music, so I thought, ‘Fuck it, get rid of the keyboard and just perform.’ Because for me it’s all about connecting with the people.”
Enjoy the photographs…
