My most vivid Warped memory was from the Los Angeles Warped Tour in 2002. This was our first year on the tour and our first run that we've ever done in a bus. So for these shows I was well-rested and excited as hell to be a part of the festival. We were on the Drive-Thru stage that year, which was the size of a larger side stage. I remember the stage being set up in between the main entrance...
After an EP, In the Remote Woods (StarTime International), L.A.’s Foreign Born found themselves prancing on stage with the likes of the Walkmen and Cold War Kids, trekking coast to coast in a grease-driven van and self-releasing a limited run (500) of their debut full length, On The Wing Now. Now sold out and freshly inked to Dim Mak to give the album a proper release, the boys are ready for the next step, or so it seems. Opening with...
After a few minutes, it gets hot. Really hot. With all of us wedged in the space, one can see the skid row charm of the Little Radio Warehouse is equal part ghetto and fabulous: the wooden rafters and exposed brick are great but there's no ventilation. The difficulties of the venue aren't all too unusual: it seems that the majority of concert-goers over the history of time have suffered a variety of physical ills. We stand for long periods...
Taking to the to the airwaves once again, Ground Control Radio (tonight with Aaron and Jane) decided to swing both ways, with the first hour comprised almost totally of new and almost new music, and the second half spinning classics, the forefathers of today's genre stretchers. Be sure to listen in every week at www.littleradio.com to hear two hours of the best music you can find from any era. Missed it? Then be sure to check out the podcast! 1....
1. Pretty in Pink – The National2. Electioneering – Cold War Kids3. Everything In It's Right Place – Radiohead4. D.A.N.C.E. – Justice5. Littleblood – Division Day6. Socks And Shoes – Four Fifty One7. Marquee ft. OC – Marco Polo8. Wrecking Ball – Interpol9. Old Flame – Immaculate Machine10. Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors – Editors11. Time To Send Someone Away – José González12. Melody Day – Caribou13. futures (feat. Jose Gonzalez) – Zero...
Although they had to cancel the end of their European jaunt, Ted Leo & Pharmacists have announced that they will be embarking on an extensive North American tour, with three, count ‘em, three shows in the Greater Los Angeles area. The tour begins, appropriately, in Cleveland (a locale that, if you remember correctly, rocks) and winds of in every direction (yeah Canada, we're talking to you too) before the Halloween closing night show in Los Angeles. Spooky. The band is...
Glenn Danzig is no stranger to being an outcast. He’s been scaring the hell out of parents for three decades now and he has no intentions of stopping anytime soon. Satan’s favorite renaissance man is into much more than just music. Danzig is an accomplished graphic designer, photographer, comic book publisher, screenwriter and composer. In fact, Danzig is finishing up a script for a movie about road rage. It involves angry stoner kids who get really fucked up and drive...
Bumps is what happens when Tortoise members John McEntire, John Herndon and Dan Bitney ditch the dueling vibraphones and get down to the business of rhythm—beats—and, well…bumps. This is exactly the sort of record that these guys needed to make in order to start reminding people of how completely on point Tortoise were with regards to percussion. That's generally been the whole driving point behind the band. With the last two Tortoise records, they have drifted off of the "essential...
I think I’m in love with Rocky Votolato. This is embarrassing, mostly because I’m not 14 and he’s not Pete Wentz, but it’s not really a hot-rock-star sort of crush anyway. It’s more like that scene in Wayne’s World where Cassandra’s playing the metal club, and when Wayne sees her things get all fuzzy and “Dream Weaver” plays overhead. It might be the forearm tattoo. It might be the rugged, all-American boy good looks. But it definitely has something to...
Since Ground Control has given me this space to rant/ramble about popular music on a regular basis, I should probably introduce myself and my musical taste. I’m calling myself The Aging Punk not because I plan to write about punk rock every month. Far from it. But the punk rock explosion of the late 70s was one of my formative musical experiences. It still colors—in various ways—my feelings about music. I was 20 years old in 1977. Rock music had...