If music be the food of love, rock on.
The Nextdoors are Pasadena’s house band, a married wife-and-hubby pairing as unique and heartfelt as their sound which has become a community mainstay.
They did not meet on “Nextdoor” but chose to name their band after our indispensable, muy chismosa listserv.
She — Mika Larson — is a photographer and videographer with a photo studio in Pasadena and plays cello and bass. He — Russell Mark — is a musician, music producer and music educator who also has a studio in the neighborhood, and is rock-solid on drums, guitar and vocals. They often are the life of the party at the free-spirited goings-on-about town, from Neighbors Day, which, BTW, Russell founded three years ago, at the Wild Parrot Brewing Company, or a pop-up at Meow Meow, to a prime spot struttin’ their stuff in the DooDah Parade.
And right now, along with the rest of us, they’re feeling the pain following the Eaton Fire, as well as the other wildfires that crisped our region to a Cajun-blackened turn last month. Their response is to sing.
Billy Joel wrote, “You’re my castle, you’re my cabin, and my instant pleasure dome, / I need you in my house, ‘cause you’re my home.” Teaming with Melody Chang on violin, The Nextdoors just dropped their cover of this sweetest of tunes from the Piano Man, affirming that true love is the realest shelter from any storm. The Nextdoors produced this special release for the Bandcamp Fire Relief Fundraiser February 7, supporting Musicares.
The pair writes, “The lyrics seem to speak to the time and place we are living here in Los Angeles – a reminder of what makes a home a home.”
They shrug off any notions of being astrologically star-crossed. He’s Cancerian; she’s Gemini, a pairing typically not recommended by the zodiac’s matchmakers. They say, “Truthfully, Mika acts more like a Cancer in that she’s a homebody. And Russell acts more like a Gemini who loves to communicate.”
Their roots are sprawling in true All-American fashion. Russell was born in Livingston, New Jersey, but grew up in Tucson. Mika was born and raised in the Brooklyn Park neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Both come from large families where everyone was encouraged to learn an instrument. Mika selected cello and started learning from the age of six, and carried right through to college at Manhattan School of Music.
Russell was the one of his siblings who wasn’t forced to take lessons, so ironically was drawn to the piano at age 11, and started playing in a band and taking lessons shortly thereafter.
They eschew listing their favorite songs; Mika says hers “…would probably be a song from Neutral Milk Hotel, Benjamin Britten’s First Cello Suite, or the Grosse Fuge by Beethoven for String Quartets. Tomorrow it will be something else.” (Okay, that IS a Gemini statement.) Russell says he’s partial to “Ripple” by The Grateful Dead, which he calls “A perfect, timeless gem.”
Artists in general and musicians in particular have the reputation of struggling with commitment and married life. Perhaps part of the glue that makes their bond work is that they met as grown-ups, each with a bit of romantic history behind them.
Mika and Russell met in Silver Lake in 2014 at a party thrown by Mika’s next-door neighbor, who happened to be Rolfe Kent, a composer whose music will be familiar to fans of the Showtime series “Dexter,” among many other innovative, creative projects.
Kent’s parties raged under the title “The Notorious and Despicable Song Shop,” and guests were emailed random keywords in advance and asked to write songs around them to share and perform as party fare.
Russell often attended, arriving on time and with friends. One evening, he was late, and he was alone. The only empty chair was beside Mika, and it turned out to be the best seat in the house.
The two exchanged numbers and, true to rock-star, ramblin’ boy lore, Russell promptly left town for a month. But all was not lost. They say:
“Then, a mutual friend asked both of us independently to join her band, sensing there could be a romantic connection there. We both accepted, and our musical and romantic bond grew from there.”
They were married on November 11, 2018. Both Mika and Russell say that the Veterans’ Day date is meaningful to both of them because each of their fathers served our country in the military.
And yes, Russell got down on one knee on March 24, 2018. They recount it his way:
“Russell created a fake scenario in which a friend of his (who Mika had never met) wanted to propose to his girlfriend on the beach and asked Mika to photograph it and Russell to serenade them with music. While in the middle of posing them and shooting photos that Mika thought were for the other couple, just as the guy started to do his proposal, Russell all of a sudden swapped places with him and the girl started taking pictures as Russell got on his knee and took out a ring. Mika never saw it coming; definitely a huge shock.”
What she loves about him: “Russell is one of the kindest humans. He’s welcoming to everyone, makes friends instantly, and is very authentic. When I visit him at the kids’ camp he works at over the summers, the kids think of him as a rock star. He’s loved everywhere he goes.”
What he digs about her: “That she is just her same cool, easygoing, humble, honest self no matter who she’s talking to or spending time with. She’s not worried about what’s, hip or not hip, in or out, she’s just comfortably herself.”
The prospect of having children is not currently on the horizon. For now, at least, their nurturing instincts focus on Bailey, a 19-year-old cat who often tours the neighborhood in a baby carriage. Bailey is Russell’s first-ever pet, while in the past, Mika has mommed many critters, including a raccoon.
Young love, first love, may be the stuff of a zillion tragedies and pimply moon-howlings. Still, The Nextdoors seem to think that age and experience may serve as useful guideposts.
“For both of us, past romances usually were filled with extreme highs and lows, which resulted in walking on eggshells. That gets tiring. Finding someone who was more accepting of differences meant there was mutual respect and shared values. We don’t sweat the small stuff, and our relationship has felt easy-breezy.”
Mika and Russell, of course, have their differences. But they say, “The differences can be strengths. Russell, being the more extroverted one, serves more as the ‘Cruise Director’ for our social lives, but Mika is the one who makes sure those activities are as cool and classy as they can be, paying attention to every detail that Russell often misses, from decor to inclusivity of everyone in attendance.”
They are boosters for matrimony as an institution.
“Most of life’s challenges are made easier by marriage because there’s always two of us on the same side helping each other to get through our individual trials.”
As Americans, we often echo maxims from our English counterparts. And curiously, we usually forget the second half of the equation. An example: “Opposites attract.” As Americans, we seem to especially like that part; it seems recklessly sexy. But the more pragmatic Brits end their maxim this way: “Likes endure.”
For Mika and Russell, a core of commonality makes the inevitable bumps in the romantic road easier to navigate.
They say, “The fact that we come from similar musical backgrounds and have been able to find fun, meaning, and soulful connection through our musical partnership in our band, The Nextdoors, has been the true icing on the proverbial wedding cake. Even in our darker moments, we know we can still find comfort, joy, and deeper understanding of each other through musical expression together.”
As the blow-torched world around us begins to creak, squabble and wobble painfully toward repair, Mika and Russell say, “2025 will be all about working on creating easier and more honest communication, even when it’s hard.”
Catch The Nextdoors, LIVE!
DEETS
- Wine and Song Series
- Performing with Shane Alexander
- Wednesday, February 19
- 7:00 – 9:30 PM
- The Daily, 1119 Fair Oaks Avenue, South Pasadena
- Tickets here
- Tom Gramlich Cinema Sunday Series
- Sunday, March 30
- 4:00 – 6:30 PM
- Cinema Bar
- 3967 Sepulveda Boulevard
- Culver City
- No cover
