An up-and-coming band from Malibu is about to hit the road to go on tour and promote their newest single.
The group Violet Saturn is fronted by Spencer Carr Reed and his sister Lauren. The siblings are only 20 and 17 years old, respectively. Lauren is still a senior at Malibu High School, yet their youth has not stopped these two Malibu teens from following their rock and roll dreams.
The Carr Reeds have been writing music and playing in bands since they were children. After settling on the name Violet Saturn, the band picked up steam playing before an appreciative hometown crowd at the Malibu Chili Cook-Off in 2017 and 2018.
Even the Woolsey Fire that destroyed their home and all of their possessions didn’t stop the pair from pursuing their rock and roll fantasies that are now becoming a reality; neither did the pandemic. In fact, while waiting out the isolation period in a rental home, Spencer, who plays guitar, keyboards, and produces; and Lauren, the vocalist, collaborated on scores of new music.
Lauren describes their music as alternative rock. The band’s new single “All the Cool Kids,” out Sept. 9, is according to Lauren, “about the irony of life and how nothing is as it seems. The first line I wrote in ‘All the Cool Kids’ was the chorus, ‘all the cool kids grow up to be losers and all the beggars they cannot be choosers.’ This inspired more similar lines. The chorus resonates with me and most kids because it’s something we’ve all heard from adults. While we may strive to be that ‘cool kid’ the parent mantra we hear is ‘all the cool kids grow up to be losers.’ When all we want is to be cool, we are told to never worry about being cool or popular because all the cool kids grow up to be losers.”
After appearing on an independent artist show called “Stay or Go” on KLOS-FM in Los Angeles, Violet Saturn got the attention of program director Keith Cunningham.
“When we first heard Violet Saturn music jump out of the speakers in January 2020, we knew something was special about this dynamic sister/brother duo,” Cunningham said. “Their music has an infectious pop-punk angst, and the songs are very melodic, memorable and relatable. All of us at KLOS think Violet Saturn has a very high ceiling and it will be fun to watch them grow with the Big Machine Label Group.”
The duo was invited as guests on the powerhouse station’s morning show in July to release their song, “Who Is She?” The station already had their songs “Young and Dumb” and “Say Goodbye” on rotation.
“KLOS has been our biggest supporter throughout all of this,” Spencer said.
Along with radio play, the band scored an important record deal. After performing a showcase for record executives in Los Angeles right before COVID struck, the pair was invited to Nashville, where they caught the ears of more record industry big wigs. Violet Saturn eventually signed with Big Machine Records.
“It was one of the coolest moments ever,” said Lauren. “They have so many cool artists. They’ve been around a long time,” she added.
Big Machine is the label known for originally signing superstar Taylor Swift when she was a teen.
Perhaps the youth of the two musicians helped them through losing their home in the Woolsey Fire.
“We didn’t lose any songs, thankfully,” Lauren reported.
In typical Gen-Z fashion, the siblings had everything recorded on voice memos on their phones. Spencer lost some guitars, but had a great attitude about their importance.
“They’re just material things,” he said, adding his family was luckily unhurt. “That sounds cheesy, but we have our family.”
The band’s video “The Sweetest Life” was filmed in the burnt-out ruins of their Malibu home. After nearly four years, the Carr Reed family is hoping to be back in a rebuilt home by the end of 2022.
With the band’s record deal and recording to be released, plans are in the works for an upcoming tour, perhaps in support of another band. The duo hopes to be playing “lots of shows” in the near future as post pandemic tours are being planned again by many touring artists.
To hear Violet Saturn’s music or check out Lauren’s latest hand-designed stage outfits she personally makes, you can preview them on YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok@VioletSaturnofficial, where they’ll be “teasing” their new music.
In 2023, Violet Saturn will release an EP song collection. The two can be found every day in their studio working on music, writing songs. “Always making new music, practicing, making new music. That’s all we do,” Lauren explained. “Shows are on the horizon,” Spencer added.
“All the Cool Kids” will be available on iTunes and all streaming platforms including Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, etc.
