Recently, the music scene has been providing more welcoming spaces for neurodiverse artists and fans. The upcoming Neuronite concert is a prime example – it’s a concert event crafted as a safe, inclusive place for neurodivergent people to connect over their shared love of music (and get paid fairly). No judgments, no stigma; just a celebration of who they are. And it’s coming to East Los Angeles on July 26. Songwriter/producer Alexander Millar of VATTICA will be spearheading the event along with artists Élishia Sharie and Frankie Simone. 

VATTICA is Alex Millar’s (they/them) solo project representing part of the new wave of alternative rock inspired by guitar-heavy bands of the 90’s and “reimagined through the pop sensibilities and polarizing socio political landscape of today”, as stated on their website. Dubbed “Queerternative”, the music is loud, infectious and touched by a medley of sounds like Green Day, NIN, Linkin Park and Our Lady Peace. They’re currently preparing for the release of the upcoming single, WEALTH. 

VATTICA quickly built up a following in Southern California, signing with Another Century / Sony Music records in 2015. (Another Century is now RED Records.) I got the chance to talk with Alex about their music and the upcoming show.

I’d like to start by talking a little bit about Neuronite. Can you give your perception of what exactly this event is going to be about- and what your role is going to be there?

Thanks for having me! I’d be happy to. NEURONITE is a part of the CA Creative Corps, which is generously supported by the California Arts Council and administered by Community Partners. This wouldn’t be happening without them. 

Basically what happened is I’ve been a professional musician playing in bands my whole life and never was taught or understood that things like academic grants and Rock ‘n Roll could mix until my loving partner Kai Hazelwood was like, “Hey doofus, you could apply for this”. By the way, Kai is an amazing artist-agitator, you should check her out. Anyway, I applied, and my proposal was one of the 33 selected (out of like, over 1k). To answer your actual question, I was inspired to create NEURONITE because every single show or concert I’ve ever played or attended catered solely to the needs of neurotypical folks.

You’ve been described as a “neurodivergent artist-agitator”. What does that mean?

Neurodivergent is the opposite of Neurotypical. Here’s how Wikipedia defines it:

“Neurodiversity is a framework for understanding human brain function that recognizes the diversity of human cognition as a biological fact. The neurodiversity paradigm argues that diversity in human cognition is normal and that some conditions classified as mental disorders are differences and disabilities that are not necessarily pathological“.

The term “pathological” as it applies to Neurodivergence is outdated and misleading. Neurodivergence takes many forms; Dyslexia, ADHD, ADD, Anxiety, Depression—these are all manifestations of Neurodivergence. I personally have OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), and Anxiety mixed with Depression (which is a fun combo). An important distinction to remember is that a Neurodivergent person isn’t broken; their brain simply works differently than a Neurotypical person. While some forms of Neurodivergence can, and do cause suffering, one of the main factors of that suffering is that the systems of our world are built for white cishet-abled neurotypical folks, and the more a person deviates from that description, the more they have a much harder time navigating and accessing these systems, including but not limited to concerts.

As for the term “artist-agitator”, I use it because nothing is neutral, including music, art and social media. I use my modest talents to address and confront issues that I think are important, from anti-capitalism, to mental health, to dismantling white supremacy, to the ongoing genocides in Congo, Palestine, Sudan, Tigray, Uyghur, Zakat and more, to debunking the myth of the “self made” artist, to proving that Lars from Metallica sucks at drums.

Ha! Okay… tell me what making music has been like for you, and please share how you are thinking about helping other artists at the Neuronite event.

Gosh, I’ve been doing music professionally for longer than I haven’t been, so that’s a complex question. Let me think. I love the process of creating and performing music, while simultaneously hating the music industry itself. As someone who worked really hard to get signed, did so, and then had to work really hard to get un-signed due to a variety of factors, I am very sad that the music industry, like all other industries, is collapsing in on itself like a dying star due to unrestricted capitalism. 

Being a truly independent artist in our current timeline is more challenging than ever, and none of the systems that, while never perfect, at least had a chance of benefiting artists no longer do so. I think it’s a very complex topic that I could write a whole essay about, but the short version is I love music, but not the commodification of it. The way that I am helping the other artists that are performing at NEURONITE is by paying them a fair rate for their performance (doesn’t sound radical but it is), and including them in all the press I’m doing for the event which is a great time to mention our lineup:

FRANKIE SIMONE, a queer trans afro indigenous polyamorous neurospicy artist, musician and content creator.

VATTICA (that’s me!) an award-winning independent alternative rock project from Los Angeles with over 12M streams/views/likes fronted by singer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer Alexander Millar (they/them), a white queer nonbinary neurodivergent artist-agitator.

ÉLISHIA SHARIE, a Neo Alternative Rock artist hailing from Los Angeles, CA, is a magnetic and electric force in the music scene. Her music embarks on a mesmerizing voyage across the dimensions of time and emotion, gracefully fusing the elements of classic 80’s rock, the edgy spirit of 90’s alternative, and the unfiltered vigor of punk rock, creating a harmonious blend of sounds that defy generational boundaries. Contrasting this sonic energy is her unapologetically soulful vocal, channeling the spirits of legends like Tina Turner and Betty Davis, making her artistry distinct and unforgettable.

CINNAMON BABE, a Nu Metal band created by actress and popular influencer Stormi Maya. Cinnamon Babe is based in Los Angeles, CA and their biggest musical influences are RATM, Linkin Park and Nine Inch Nails. CB has a very late 90s/early 2000s sound. CB covers dark and serious matters from child abuse, neglect, social injustice and mental health. As a black woman, Stormi Maya of Cinnamon Babe represents POC that feel they don’t belong in the alternative community.

Can you tell us anymore about your upcoming single release, and what inspired it?

Absolutely. My new single is called WEALTH and it is inspired by what I see happening in around me, which is the ever-escalating fall of the American Empire. Currently I am in Los Angeles as I write this to you, and LA was the setting for the original Blade Runner film which came out in 1982, the year I was born, and since then Los Angeles has become exactly what the world of Blade Runner depicted—just without the flying cars and a cool aesthetic. Giant Megacorp towers where the rich look down upon the working poor and unhoused folx below? Check. Drones in the sky and droids on the streets? Check. A militarized police force with unchecked power? Check. Pollution so thick that it regularly blots out the sun? Check. An upper class obsessed with creating an artificial workforce that they own and control? Check. I could go on.

It’s like the powers that be watched that and other classic sci-fi films but, rather than understanding that they were cautionary tales, became obsessed with making them a reality. Smash-cut to now, and the current dystopian hellscape in which we are all suffering in.

So WEALTH is about the root causes of all of that; unchecked capitalism, toxic individuality and white supremacy. The verses talk about that, the chorus is a warning, and there is a breakdown with a call to destroy it all with the implication to build something better in its place. Of course, I package all of that heavy shit in pop metal industrial song with an anthemic chorus and fun riffs, because it’s collectively cathartic for us all to sing and scream our hearts out.

I want to send out a big thank you to Alex for taking the time to do a deep dive into all this and explain what’s happening with Neuronite. You can get more information about Neuronite and tickets for the event at the website.

Take a listen to the music of VATTICA; it’s heavy, incredibly well produced and embraces all the edgy and melodic goodness of emotional, cinematic rock. Keep an eye out for the upcoming single, WEALTH and follow VATTICA on Spotify: