Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Oh, First Fridays, how lovely to see you again.
So the story goes, we've been trying to get our friends The Monolators on a bill with The Underground Railroad to Candyland and Pizza! for over a year and finally the day has arrived. You see, between constant touring and playing for their beloved hometown of San Pedro, URTC don't come around to L.A. too much. This we can forgive since Mr. Congelliere has long been one of the hardest working nice guys in the scene with his bands Toys That Kill and the forever-loved F.Y.P. With "First Fridays" coming to an end soon* we're lucky to finally have one of L.A.'s best bands along for the ride. Sitting shotgun is Pizza!, a band we've been trying to figure out how to get on a lineup since our last time together. That last show was sadly under-attended despite being one of the best lineups we've ever been apart of. Still, we're excited to see these three bands together finally. Especially since the night will also feature the debut of Shirley Rolls, which is the long-delayed/long-awaited project from The Monolators' guitarist Tom Bogdon. The band also features members of I Make This Sound and The Voyeurs and we cannot tell you how many people have been anticipating their arrival. The opening slot on the lineup goes to some friends The Deadletters who really just wanted to be apart of the night. Who can blame them?
* This will be the second to last "First Fridays" for The Monolators and what was passed on to them over two years ago will be passed on to another great Los Angeles band in June. Posters and maybe some special buttons for the night will be available for free if you ask nicely or if you purchase merchandise from the performing bands.
May 2, 2008
Los Angeles Loves...
THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD TO CANDYLAND
THE MONOLATORS
PIZZA!
SHIRLEY ROLLS
THE DEADLETTERS
Mr. T's Bowl
5621 1/2 Figueroa Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90041 | Map
21+ / FREE / 9:00pm
The Underground Railroad to Candyland - "Suey (Ex-Fat Kid Blues)" (MP3)
The Monolators - "I Was a Captain in the Army" (MP3)
Pizza! - "Griffith Park Fire" (MP3)
Shirley Rolls - "I Got Nothin'" (MP3)
Went to the Vista to see She & Him but didn't feel like waiting in line (that stretched down Hillhurst) so we gave our tickets away to some kids in need of some. Plus, we still don't think this project is half as good as Pretty Babies, but what we think obviously doesn't matter. She & Him appears on the "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" on CBS tomorrow (5/1). So instead of the Vista we went to Ponytail to wait in a bigger line for Erol Alkan and Deacon. We left early because, technically, we're banned from any place where party pix are taken and supposedly redslurpee was in the house...
In other news: F* Yeah Fest returns 8/30 and 8/31 and they're looking for interns of the unpaid variety to help with it. If we were young, awesome, and looking to get experience with big music events this would be the one. And, of course, we qualify for none of those. Email them here for more info... BritWeek launched its 50th year celebration this week. Last year, there were some showcases featuring UK bands that seemed to be largely for industry macho honchos. This year, in conjunction with Musexpo, it's pretty much the same deal with some public performances by Duran Duran and Kate Nash. Events extend through 5/31 -- we don't know why it isn't called BritMonth either so don't bug us about it you piggin' sheepshaggers... How many people want to see how Hendrix got his groove on?... Tickets for Rilo Kiley's show at the Greek go on sale 5/3. Pre-sale here... Everest makes their national television debut on 5/16 on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" (NBC)... Speaking of television debuts, if you didn't see The Airborne Toxic Event last week on Carson Daly check it out below. It's pretty great.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Another year of Coachella in the book. Thanks to all those who reported all the fun they had at the festival and hotel parties. We did catch some of it through some surprisingly high quality webcasts and The Raconteurs, Portishead, Flogging Molly, Gogol Bordello, Manchester Orchestra, and others were all fun to see while not amongst shirtless sweaty dudes. Also very cool to see members of Listing Ship with Spiritualized. Those who didn't get a chance to see Prince this weekend can settle for the next best thing (sort of) as AFI continues their 7th Annual Music Documentary series with a special screening of one of our favorite films of all time "Purple Rain" tonight at the Arclight (Sherman Oaks).
Monday residencies end with some pretty stellar lineups tonight. She & Him begins two nights at the Vista with Lavender Diamond. Gabbertree, Fleshtone, Birth!, and Red Hot Silly Peppers (with special guest Dan Deacon) at pehrspace. My Pet Saddle and Mother's Sons at Crane's. Surkin and others at Beauty Bar... Tuesday, The Breeders play the El Rey. I Heart Comix and Dim Mak go head to head again one last time as "Check Yo' Ponytail" ends its run at the Echoplex with Erol Alkan, Dean Deacon, Le Castle Vania, Acid Girls, Wallpaper and others while Cinespace Tuesdays counters with an Ed Banger party with Mehdi, Busy P, So Me, and others. Rocco Deluca's residency at Spaceland ends... On Wednesday, The Entrance Band comes out of the studio to play The Echo. David Garza and Tom Brosseau together one last time at the current Largo locale. Colorforms and The Breakups at 3 of Clubs. Kenan Bell and El Ten Eleven at Spaceland. Sara Lov's Tangier residency ends and Dogweed's residency at Taix ends... Thursday, head down to the Prospector for The Henry Clay People, Summer Darling, Codpiece and others. Daniel Brummel and Service Group at Mr. T's Bowl. The Lady Tigra and Wallpaper at Viper. And The Watkins Family Hour ends their final run at Largo... And hope you can make First Fridays at T's. Posting to follow...
Musexpo is also back this week as the industry featuring performances by buzzmaking locals mixed in with buzzmaking non-locals. It's a pretty noteworthy conference as artists like Keane, Amy Winehouse, and others all got career boosts from it over the years.
Friday, April 25, 2008
So the chaos of Coachella weekend has arrived again. After attending a few times, we're more reluctant to watch big shows like these via YouTube than make an effort to drive out to the desert. And we wouldn't dare go into all that chutzpah about how Coachella was "so much better in 1999" although we will say there sure was a lot more room to do the centipede back then.
For us folks not Coachellin'it this weekend, chin'up...
J-Rocc celebrates the release of his James Brown Tribute pt. 2 mix CD with a special night on Saturday at the Echoplex featuring performances by THE James Gadson with The Breakestra. The last time we saw Gadson jam with the kids was at the KeepinTime concert at the El Rey a few years back, truly one of the most memorable shows in our lifetime. Don't miss this one. More info here.
Tom Petty revisits his Mudcrutch days with a series of sold-out nights at the Troubadour beginning tonight. No Age, Yeasayer, The Death Set, and Free Blood at UCC. Jon Brion has a few nights at Largo. Daniel Brummel, The French Semester and others at Spaceland. Flashback to old school 70's punk with The Gears, The Deadbeats, The Crowd, The Outsiders, and The Controllers at The Scene. And Avi Buffalo opens for The Ziggens down at DiPiazza's... On Saturday, One Trick Pony, Mad Gregs, and others at pehrspace. Peter Case and Paul Curreri at McCabe's. Human Ear Music presents a night at Eighteen-Thirty featuring the legend that is Gary Wilson along with Ariel Pink and others. And Mike Watt and the Missingmen, The Underground Railroad to Candyland, and others play down at La Conga... Sunday, the 2nd Annual Sights and Sounds of DJ Dusk takes place at Mar Vista Family Center. Dusk (aka Tarek Captan) was killed by a drunk driver in 2006 and the L.A. hip-hop/world funk scene hasn't been the same since. The center where he worked for ten years honors his memory with this fundraiser event featuring youth leadership programs with local artists and DJs. For more info click here. The Health Club, Joshua Lanes, and others at Mr. T's Bowl. Neil Hamburger back on his residency Sunday night at Spaceland. Captain Ahab, I.E., Kyle H. Mabson and others at The Smell. And Dead Rock West headlines Grand Ole Echo afternoon show at The Echo.
Thanks to all those who came out to The Bordello on Wednesday. We helped with five shows in April, which we know was really asking a lot from you to make time out of your busy schedules to attend. Please know that we appreciate it and if there's anything you need from us just let know. Now let's go kick some balls this weekend.
James Brown - "I Don't Want Nobody To Give Me Nothing (Open The Door, I'll Get It Myself)" from J-Rocc - James Brown & Friends (Beat Junkie Sound)
No Age - "My Life's Alright Without You" (MP3)
The Gears - "Baby Runaround" (MP3)
Gary Wilson - "6.4 = Make Out" (MP3)
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
This is our most link-friendly post of the year. Enjoy.
The Airborne Toxic Event played a surprise show on Monday opening for their friends Radars to the Sky at The Echo. Their appearance on "Last Call with Carson Daly" (taped Tuesday) is set to air tomorrow 4/24... Earlier on Monday we caught Blondfire's first show in Los Angeles in a few years for the CD release show for their debut album My Someday. Lots of industry peeps in the audience including Wally Gagel who's produced/engineered some of our favorite locals (Eels, The Mormons, Gus Black) and not-so locals (Muse, Belly, Old 97's) and who also assisted on Someday... Later on Monday, we stopped by pehrspace to celebrate Eli Monolator's 18th birthday and 102° fever temperature. Very nice to see members of Le Switch, Laco$te, Les Blanks, Los Breakups, El Terrapin, La Manhattan Murder Mystery, Le Rock Insider, La Classical Geek Theatre, L'Koga, host L'Carnage and badass soundguy L'Kyle in the house along with Joey from Les Henry Clay and Ms. Ash'lé on stage having fun. It's honestly really a pleasure to see familiar faces everywhere we go (most everyone who was at the pehrspace show was also at The Echo to see Rademacher and Airborne)... Even later on Monday we stopped by Spaceland for Amnion just to give them the heat check -- yup, they're still on fire. Speaking of Amnion, Aquarium Drunkard has some great things to say about them and they will be performing on Le Switch's residency in May. Additionally, we've been fairly quiet about this, but in the past few months Amnion has been having get-togethers at their house that we've been very lucky to attend. These gatherings have been some of the most amazing musical experiences we've ever witnessed and very soon they hope to perhaps let more people in on these special nights. We shouldn't say too much but if we told you that members of Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, Amnion, Castledoor, Warpaint, The Flying Tourbillon Orchestra, Avi Buffalo, Layer, Fol Chen, Cobra Lilies, Meredith Meyer, and many others showed up to play a house party you'd think we were crazy. And crazy was what that night was. So very soon, we will be presenting shows at the House of Amnion -- if you're savvy you should go befriend them on any one of their two thousand social networking profiles to get details on things to come...
Photos from some of Monday's shows are up.
In other news, Kail celebrates the release of his phenomenal new album True Hollywood Squares tonight at The Airliner. If you can't come to our show tonight at The Bordello you definitely need to be at the Airliner to see one of L.A.'s new rising stars on the mic, especially for you/us fans of Pharcyde, Del, Freestyle Fellowship, etc. OkayPlayer's got the scoop.
Kail - "Wendy" (MP3)
Monday, April 21, 2008
Fun weekend. Sorry we missed a few things but we had some serious issues to tend to. However, some photos have been posted of the stuff we did see including the Los Angeles debut of PRE which we've been waiting for a few years. Very much worth the wait.
Great week of shows ahead of us... Blondfire celebrates the release of their debut album My Someday with a rare show at the Hotel Cafe tonight. Moonrats and Warpaint join forces at Viper. The Monolators celebrate a band member birthday on Sean Carnage's "clothing optional" Mondays at pehrspace. PRE and HEALTH sing folk songs at UCLA's Kerckhoff Hall. And, of course, all the great Monday residencies with all the great special guests you can imagine... On Tuesday, The Airborne Toxic Event (new Majordomo Records signees) tape their appearance on "Last Call with Carson Daly" to be aired at a later date. ASCAP presents a great all-local lineup at the Troubadour with Oliver Future, Aushua, The Weather Underground, and Kárin Tatoyan. Indian Jewelry and Imaad Wasif and the Two Part Beast at The Echo. And Mark Mallman, Dorian Wood, and Fascinoma play at the Silverlake Lounge... Wednesday, The Happy Hollows open for The Ruby Suns and special guests at The Echo. NME Music Awards USA at the El Rey with Jane's Addiction and others. A special tribute to Bob Dylan with performances by Zack de la Rocha, John Doe, Michael Franti, Maria McKee, and Meiko at the Skirball. Sara Lov residency at Tangier. Sean Hayes' show has been moved to El Cid. Abe Vigoda plays a Fader party at 6th St. Warehouse. And then there's our little show at The Bordello... On Thursday, Rilo Kiley plays a pre-Coachella show at the Glass House. The Parson Red Heads and Everest head down to The Prospector. Afternoons open for Throw Me the Statue. HellYa! night at The Echo with Birds of Avalon, Twilight Sleep, and Venus Infers. And Sia plays the Malibu Performing Arts Center.
Other news: The Deadly Syndrome are in the running for that Radiohead remix contest thing. Vote for them here. Also, if you watch "Gossip Girls" listen up for their song "Eucalyptus" tonight... "Audience No. 2", the first single from Autolux's forthcoming album Transit Transit will be available through iTunes in the coming weeks ... New local music zine Web in Front launches today.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
As we all know, The Bordello used to be Little Pedro's, but not much has been said about its scandalous past as a real brothel and a one-time meeting place for bad cops and mobsters to cut deals (according to one old-timer we once chatted up at the bar). A quick search on Wikipedia and Yahoo! Answers didn't turn up much about the club but, no matter, The Bordello still makes for a perfect site for an evening of debaucherous indie folk and villainous vaudevillian folk/pop.
On Wednesday (4/23), we our proud and extremely excited to present Cobra Lilies, The Idaho Falls, Blair, and Ema and the Ghosts at The Bordello. Chances are that our four readers already know these bands but here's a refresher. Blair moved to Los Angeles last year from New Orleans and we've been anxious to do a show with her since picking up a copy of her EP Pluto then seeing her a few times around town and subsequently falling madly in love with her. The Idaho Falls had been on a hiatus for what seemed like an eternity before returning to the club scene this year. But it's not like frontman Raymond Richards was taking it easy all this time. He's only been producing records and/or performing with the likes of Ferraby Lionheart, Correatown, The Sweet Hurt, The Monolators, Frankel, The Broken West, and The Parson Red Heads. Ema and the Ghosts is the silliest girl with the sweetest voice you'll ever meet. When she plays "Little Pink River" on Wednesday (and she'd better play "Little Pink River" on Wednesday), we fully expect everyone in the room to be sobbing with utter joy at the lovely perfection that is that song. Finally, how can one possibly explain the sheer madness of this folk duo-turned-euphonic titanica called Cobra Lilies? What began as a casual diversion of Mary and Eli Monolator has now become an epic musical journey that includes tap dancing, clog dancing, strings, brass, percussion, and covers of obscure Dutch pop bands (of course). And we hear they've got even more surprises up their ruffled, white sleeves for this show.
Flyer by Arial and Eli Lily.
April 23, 2008
Los Angeles Loves...
COBRA LILIES
THE IDAHO FALLS
BLAIR
EMA AND THE GHOSTS
The Bordello
901 E. 1st St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012 | Map
21+ / $8 / 9pm
Blair - "Mona Lisa" (MP3)
Ema and the Ghosts - "Whirly Kid" (MP3)
The Idaho Falls - "Hard Weather" (MP3)
Cobra Lilies - "She Won't Come Back" (MP3)
Friday, April 18, 2008
What a fun time we all had at "Rock with a Twist" last night. Raves to Mary Monolator for making such a wonderfully large assortment of yummy pretzels and to CGT for promoting the heck out of the show and making such a great PSA. Thanks to Going.com, LA Weekly, Rock Insider, RFSL, YSTS, and Pasadena Star News for mentioning the show. Also, thanks to all those who took the time out of their busy lives to come out to the show. Some photos are up with a few more club shots than usual as it may be the last show we do there. The next "Rock with a Twist" is 6/19 at Charlie O's.
It's a very busy weekend and we'll be making an effort to stop by everything...
Jaxart presents Bad Dudes, We vs. the Shark, The Valley Arena, and Guppies at pehrspace. The Quarter After celebrates the release of their new album Changes Near at The Echo. Halloween Swim Team and XYXX celebrate the release of their new split 7" Cardio Pulmonary at The Derby tonight. Tweak Bird celebrates the release of their new 7" Whorses at El Cid. Los Angeles Murderfest 4.0 begins its three-day takeover of the Knitting Factory with Converge, Genghis Tron, and others. Pete Rock and DJ Premier at Crash Mansion. PRE makes their L.A. debut at Spaceland. Anavan and She Fallacy at Show Cave. Don Cavalli, Team Scrub, Over the Atlantic, and others at Echo Curio. MGFKRS and Silver Daggers at The Smell. MGMT and Shwayze do a frat party at USC. Jon Brion begins two nights at Largo. Also of note, "White Lion" is opening for RATT tonight at the House of Blues although we all know it's not really White Lion unless Vito Bratta is in the band. The solo on "Little Fighter" is still one of our favorite pieces of music ever. And be sure to listen to the amazing Dorian Wood on "Demolisten" tonight.
Saturday is Record Store Day around town so get out there and buy something. Most notably, Amoeba and Fingerprints (Long Beach) are doing special in-store events. Amoeba hosts DJ sets by Peanut Butter Wolf, The Donnas, and Daniel Ash with David J. while Fingerprints presents acoustic performances by Silversun Pickups, Limbeck, and Rob Halford. Bodies of Water headlines at Spaceland. Detroit Bar hosts a benefit show for Alex, a Ugandan teenage boy in need of surgery, featuring performances by Delta Spirit, We Barbarians, and another great Orange County band that everyone loves...
On Sunday, No Age and Mika Miko play an daytime show at the Central Library, which is a nice coincidence since that's where we spend most every Sunday. Later, go to All Star for another round of great bands with The Hectors, Wait Think Fast, El-Haru Kuroi, and Sister Grizzly. Also, PRE and HEALTH headline The Smell.
Other news of the week: Check out Videothing's post on last week's show with The Movies, The Happy Hollows, and The Savages... Twilight Sleep are looking for playas... Airborne Toxic Event signed to Majordomo... The original Jane's Addiction lineup will reunite for "one show" for the NME Music U.S. Awards at the El Rey on 4/23 joining already announced Kate Nash, Carbon/Silicon, Evan Dando, and Does It Offend You, Yeah?
Bad Dudes - "Animatronic Tito Puente" (MP3)
MGFKRS - "Drugs" (MP3)
MGMT - "Destrokk" (MP3)
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
As everyone knows, April 26th is National Pretzel Day so we're celebrating the occasion early with a night dedicated to devouring that saltilicious snack on 4/17 at The Scene with The Breakups, The National Disasters, Sister Grizzly (from the Bay Area), and our lovely hosts The Monolators, co-presented with the almighty Classical Geek Theatre. As always, the billiards/Galaga tournaments are an added bonus to a night of good music, wine tasting, and making out in the photo booth.
Early arrival is suggested (pretzels go fast) and staying late is mandatory (all the bands are fantastic). The night also likely marks our last show at The Scene as it is being sold and its future as a live music venue is unknown. The next Twist will be held 6/19 at Charlie O's.
April 17, 2008
Los Angeles Loves... Rock with a Twist
presented by Classical Geek Theatre
featuring:
THE BREAKUPS
THE NATURAL DISASTERS
SISTER GRIZZLY
and THE MONOLATORS
DJ BOY WITHOUT ORINGE
The Scene
806 E. Colorado St.
Glendale, CA 91205 | Map
21+ / FREE / 9pm
The Breakups - "After The Fact" (MP3)
The Natural Disasters - "Ghost Dance" (MP3)
Sister Grizzly - "Take Me Away" (MP3)
The Monolators - "Medium High" (MP3)
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Congrats to The Movies on their pre-release show on Friday at Bordello. So good to finally have "Monumental Life" on full blast. And what a star-studded crowd...
Monday residencies continue tonight. We stopped by most of them last week and loved the lineups bands put together... Eels perform on "Morning Becomes Eclectic" on Tuesday followed by shows at the El Rey (4/15 & 4/16). Also celebrate tax day by checking out April's "Let's Independent" lineup with The Minor Canon, Luke Top, and Eagle Winged Palace. Or I Make This Sound and The Breakups at the Silverlake Lounge. Red Maids, Matt Eckel, El-Haru Kuroi, The Sweet Hurt, and others at Echo Curio. Dave Palmer at Largo. The Nightwatchman (and a bevy surprise guests) at the Troubadour. Meiko opening for David Ford at the Hotel Cafe. And D.C. power poppers Georgie James at pehrspace (also Wednesday at the Hotel Cafe)... Division Day make their way to to MBE on Wednesday. Sweet Relief benefit with Afternoons, The Pity Party, Kárin Tatoyan, and The Franks at the Echo. Army Navy and Two Guns at SLL. Zach Galifianakis at Largo. And Darker My Love, Crystal Antlers, and Imaad Wasif & Two Part Beast at Charlie O's... On Thursday, we're helping with another "Rock with a Twist" at The Scene. But there's also Oliver Future, Repeater, Scissors For Lefty and others at Safari Sam's. Venus Infers and Agent Ribbons at Que Sera. Western States Motel, Hello Dragon and others at Spaceland. And Cat Hair Ensemble, Ema and the Ghosts and others at Mr. T's Bowl.
Nice to hear a familiar tune while watching the Lakers toy with the Spurs yesterday... Portishead is doing a secret show on 4/24 at an undisclosed location. Filter and Buzznet are having contests to get in. The band will also be teaming up with Last.fm for fans to preview the album on 4/21. Speaking of Buzznet, it announced today the purchase of world-famous music blog Idolator, increasing its hipster status tenfold. Incidentally, current bid for la-underground is -$0.02...
Friday, April 11, 2008
What a wonderful week in Los Angeles.
The two shows we helped with went so well. Thanks to all those who came out to The Scene to see four pairs of girl/boy bands play some songs. Congratulations to boxViolet on their new EP Sad Sad Girl and for playing the best show we've ever seen them do. Ask anybody who was there and they'd probably say the same thing. And our warm thanks to Looner, Odd Modern, and weyou. for playing all the hit tracks and generally just being beautiful people. But the best part of the night was that all the bands loved each other and we hope a few of them will be playing together again soon...
The Origami Records showcase with Army Navy, Summer Darling, Wait Think Fast, and Kissing Tigers was really quite amazing. Firstly, we all should be put in jail for not having to pay to get into that show. Secondly, Summer Darling continues to be one of the most unacknowledgedly superb bands in the universe. Thirdly, Wait Think Fast undoubtedly performed the best set of music they have ever done and if you have not heard their new, lusher than lush sound, your life would be incomplete without it. And, fourthly, what an honor to do a show with Army Navy and Kissing Tigers, both of whom could probably out retro rock any band you had posters of when you were growing up in the 80s and 90s. Thanks to members of I Make This Sound, The Breakups, The Monolators, Seasons, The Hectors, The Sweet Hurt, Shiloe, The Voyeurs, Nico Stai, Rock Insider, and Jeff Koga for making it out to the various shows. And to Kevin Bronson, Marion, and BWO for spinning at the shows. Photos up.
Speaking of Koga, as if he needed to prove he's the best photoblogger in town, he had the courage to slum it at a few of our shows recently and then had the chutzpah to leave evidence he was actually there by posting about it. Check out his amazing photo sets here and here.
Ok, on to the weekend... The event of the evening is the looong-awaited, much-anticipated CD release show for The Movies' Based on a True Story at The Bordello. The anxiety this band creates in between records and shows is the stuff of legend. Not being at this show could be hazardous to your indie rock lovin' health. Elsewhere, X finishes off their two-night celebration of 31 years being one of the best bands of all time at the Music Box. Special benefit show for "Keep a Child Alive" at the Roxy featuring performances by Glen Frey, Don Was, Daniel Powter, Inara George, Hello Stranger, and many others. Mellowdrone opens for Enon. Warped Tour launch at the Key Club with Katy Perry and others. Bloody Robots at the Cocaine. And 60 Watt Kid at The Smell... On Saturday, Springfest 2008 returns to USC with a hip-hop heavy lineup. The Hotel Cafe wraps up their tour at the Music Box and the El Rey (Sat/Sun). Mellowdrone and Repeater rock The Prospector. And The Health Club and Panic Movement cram into Echo Curio... Safari Sam's celebrates 2 years on Sunday. Fol Chen and Pizza! play Mr. T's Bowl. And there's a poker tournament fundraiser at Echoplex benefiting the Bridge Program featuring performances by Ceci Bastida and Killsonic.
It's warm outside. Go and kick some balls around or something.
60 Watt Kid - "Everyday There's Something Special (Hold on, I Gotta Take This Call)" (MP3)
Fol Chen - "Th Blvrs" (MP3)
The Health Club - "Fragile" (MP3)
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
The changing tides of the music industry have washed ashore a new record label to town. A new, forward-thinking start-up that hopes to spark artistic freedom while still trying to earn a buck, something that we all know ain't easy. We're all for bold progressive ideas in the business and so we're very honored to be presenting Origami Records' showcase at the Echo tonight featuring performances by Army Navy, Summer Darling, Wait Think Fast, and Kissing Tigers with DJs Kevin Bronson (Buzz Bands) and Marion (Square Girls) on deck. The show is free and complimentary food (empanadas) and beverage (beer) will be provided -- if these brilliant marketing ideas are any indication of Origami's direction, where do we sign up?
Army Navy's new EP "Saints" now available through iTunes. Summer Darling's new EP "The Health of Others" now available through iTunes.
April 9, 2008
Los Angeles Loves...
ARMY NAVY
SUMMER DARLING
WAIT THINK FAST
KISSING TIGERS
with DJs KEVIN BRONSON and MARION
The Echo
1822 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90026 | Map
21+ / FREE / 9pm
Army Navy - "Saints" (MP3) Limited time download
Summer Darling - "Barren Womb" (MP3)
Wait Think Fast - "Lightning" (MP3)
Kissing Tigers - "So Stay in Love" (MP3)
Monday, April 07, 2008
We're so pleased with this night. Coming up with one boy/girl duo in Los Angeles might be easy, but finding four of them and putting them on one lineup is another. So on Tuesday we've gathered a showcase of newish bands, each consisting of girl/boy disco/electro-pop duos.
boxViolet (Margot + Luke) will be celebrating the release of their new EP Sad Sad Girl as well a return to their duo roots. Looner (Zoë + Angel) who we once wrote up long ago has a new album coming out soon, produced by Ziggy Marley. Odd Modern (Vanina + Girardeau) are a well-kept secret in Los Angeles despite having three fantastic releases under their belt ("Running the Mile" off their new EP is superb). And weyou. whose two members (Jesske + Nate) have each separately done work with the likes of Nels Cline and Kneebody, leans more into the experimental electronic pop territory, which will be the perfect way to start the evening.
We hope you can come by and check out some new bands. It's our favorite thing to do.
April 8, 2008
Los Angeles Loves...
featuring:
BOXVIOLET EP release
LOONER
ODD MODERN
WEYOU.
DJ BOY WITHOUT ORINGE
The Scene
806 E. Colorado St.
Glendale, CA 91205 | Map
21+ / $5 / 9pm
boxViolet - "Punding" (MP3)
Looner - "Rules" (MP3)
Odd Modern - "Tipsy Dancer" (MP3)
Friday was great. Thanks to those who made it out to see Rademacher, El Olio Wolof, and Shiloe join The Monolators. Photos up. Next month is going to be just as good (too excited for that lineup). Also, Saturday was absurdly fun (kicking balls and whatnot) and for those who left the party early (or didn't go at all) you'll probably hear about the musical escapades that happened later in the evening soon enough. Pictures and video will be posted as soon as we're done wiping the tears from our eyes...
We're helping with two shows this week. Tomorrow (4/8) at The Scene features boxViolet, Looner, Odd Modern, and weyou. It will be refreshing to do a show with bands that most people haven't heard of. Unfortunately that sometimes means a show that might be overlooked. We hope not. And on Wednesday (4/9), we're honored to be helping out with an Origami Records showcase at The Echo featuring Army Navy, Summer Darling, Wait Think Fast, and Kissing Tigers. It's a bit last-minute for this one so please come on by if you're in the area. It's free. Postings to follow...
Residencies for the month of April include Sara Lov, Jonathan Rice, Rocco DeLuca, Seasons, Jon Brion, Radars to the Sky, The Shys, The Watkins Family Hour, Abe Lincoln Story, Moving Picture Show, Tyrone Wells, Johnnie Newman, and those 15-year-old kid rockers Drive A. Highlights this month include the Hotel Cafe tour wrap-ups... Release shows for The Movies, One Trick Pony, boxViolet, Arrica Rose, The Grouch, The Quarter After, and Guilty Simpson... Festivals: Murderfest, Green Apple Festival, USC Springfest, and of course Coachella.
Other news: Daniel Lanois' appearance on Craig Ferguson last week has been rescheduled to air for 4/14... LiveDaily recently launched its live interview podcast and video section called "Sessions". The first installment is with our ex-girlfriend Priscilla Ahn.
Friday, April 04, 2008
Very busy. Let just do this...
L.A. roots rock vets The Meadows celebrate the release of their new album First Nervous Breakdown at the Hotel Cafe tonight. The Watson Twins and Castledoor at the Natural History Museum. Sweden's Little Dragon makes their debut at the Roxy. Ovrcast presents Earthless at the Mountain Bar. Light FM leads the way at Spaceland. And if you can't make Mr. T's Bowl tonight be sure to see Rademacher and El Olio Wolof on Sunday with Le Switch and Tigers Can Bite You for CGT's show at Spaceland. Also, keep in mind for tonight's show, all four bands have tons of great merch to buy so bring a few Benjamins... Gwendolyn and The Good Time Gang headline a children's variety show at The Echo benefiting the Garden Co-Op Nursery School on Saturday morning. Pizza! and The Studiofix together again at The Smell. Santa Barbara's wonderful Springtime is Wartime (who incidentally do their own cover of "Psycho Killer" that might interest some people) returns to L.A. with a show with Signal Hill and others at pehrspace. boxViolet and Franco Near Death at the Cocaine. And the L.A. leg of Ministry's "final" world tour is Saturday/Sunday at the House of Blues... Anavan does Part Time Punks at the Echo on Sunday. While Imaad Wasif with Two Part Beast wraps up his week-long West Coaster at Alex's Bar. And, of course, the big Spaceland show.
Yay.
Gwendolyn and The Good Time Gang - "Farm Animal Friends" (MP3)
Springtime is Wartime - "Psycho Killer" (Harriet Bird Edition) (MP3)
Ministry - "Palestina" (72nd Virgin Mix) (MP3)
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
For April's edition of First Friday, we're extremely excited to welcome Rademacher, El Olio Wolof, and Shiloe to the Bowl. The last time we saw Rademacher and El Olio Wolof together was their guest appearance on Light FM's residency at the Silverlake Lounge last year. A show so good we used all of our bought handfuls of CDs from every band on the bill. And, incidentally, Friday's show is also the official Los Angeles release party for El Olio Wolof's new album A Tedious Task so bring your life's savings with you to buy a CD. Shiloe rounds off the bill, which surprisingly enough is the first time we've done a show with them after all these years. It's about time...
April 4, 2008
Los Angeles Loves...
RADEMACHER
EL OLIO WOLOF CD release
SHILOE
THE MONOLATORS
Mr. T's Bowl
5621 1/2 Figueroa Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90041 | Map
21+ / FREE / 9:00pm
Rademacher - "If You Got Some Magic" (MP3)
Shiloe - "Please Remove Your Teeth From My Neck" (MP3)
The Monolators - "14 Degrees" (MP3)
El Olio Wolof - "All That I Have Of My Own"
