By chance, they were seen a year later playing at a rock club in Guadalajara by Mars Volta guitarist Omar Alfredo Rodríguez-López, who eventually signed Le Butcherettes to his indie label, Rodríguez-López Productions. He later produced Sin Sin Sin.
Before Suarez moved the band to Los Angeles, Jolene quit over what the singer describes as issues of direction, and Suarez's need to be the center of attention.
PHOTO © 2011 SARGENT HOUSE
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This year, Le Butcherettes settled into a hard-hitting trio; onstage with her at the Troubadour was drummer Gabe Serbian and bassist Jonathan Hischke. But in the few months since then the band has changed again, as Serbian and Hischke were replaced on tour by drummer Lia Braswell and, for now, Rodríguez-López on bass. Things are still unsettled, and Suarez still isn't sure who will be on bass at the Stooges show.
The band with veterans Serbian and Hischke sounded great, she admits, but never felt quite right, and she says she craved someone her own age beside her in the van as she toured for the first time. (Braswell is 20.) "It might seem like I'm really coldhearted, but it hurts, believe me. I've gone through so many ups and downs."
In the meantime, the act has built an audience of hipsters, teens and Spanish-language fans. At Lollapalooza, she noticed a mother breast-feeding her child while singing along. "That was weird, right? Who breast-feeds their kid at a festival and knows Butcherettes lyrics? That was beautiful. I feel lucky. What the hell do they see in me?"
The group, whatever its composition, remains scheduled to begin recording a new album at the end of this month in Mexico, with Rodríguez-López producing again. They are playing new songs on the road, including "The Devil Lived" and "The Gold Notebook," but whether those will end up on the new record remains uncertain. But when it comes to Suarez, nothing is, and that's makes her seem so alive.