Next weekend marks the fourth year of the F**k Yeah! Fest in Los Angeles. Curated by Circle Jerks/Black Flag front man Keith Morris and twenty-two year old founder Sean Carlson, the festival features more than fifty bands spread across five all-ages venues for a mere $13 a day, a buck of which will go to support 826LA and FoLAR (Friends of the Los Angeles River). Adding to the madness will be a batch of comedians including Bob Odenkirk of Mr....
That’s right, Jimmy Eat World is still around, and apparently they are rocking just as hard as ever. They just finished up a rapturously received tour of intimate rooms on which old standards, rarely performed favorites, and a few new songs were aired. These new songs of which I speak were taken from the yet to be released Chase This Light, the band's third full length which will hit the stores on October 16. The new album is the follow...
Someone recently told me I should write memoirs on my experiences in the music industry because they “would sell.” To be honest, I don’t think they would. So that’s why I’m writing them here for free. So what can I promise you? Well, a lot less high rolling antics than Pamela des Barres and Vince Neil and a lot more “and then we hosed down behind the venue because we had to sleep on the van that night” sort of...
Elliott Smith fans who have cursed the fact that they never got to be friends with him take note: the troubador is the subject of an upcoming book from Smith's friend, photographer Autumn de Wilde. Titled Elliott Smith, the book features interviews with some of Elliott's closest friends and collaborators, including Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard and Chris Walla, Nada Surf’s Matthew Caws, Quasi’s Sam Coomes, producers Jon Brion and Rob Schanpf, Heatmiser’s Neal Gust, some speaking on record...
As far as GC is concerned, Midlake is allowed to change their name to something more productive like Roscoe or Steve or even King Ferdinand of Spain if they want to. That's because The Trials of Van Occupanther is easily one of our favorite albums of the millennium, so anything they do is fine by us, as long as we get more music. While there's not yet any word of a follow up, we can console ourselves with the news...
Everyone's favorite actual brother sister duo (well, second favorite. Let's face it, the loss of the Carpenters hurt us all) is hitting the road, and hopefully not each other. Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger, along with their assorted compatriots that make up the Fiery Furnaces, will be hiting the road this fall in support of their forthcoming album. The record, Widow City, hits on October 9th courtesy the kids over at Thrill Jockey, and thus far, I haven't heard any of...
Sounding like the result of a fetish party turned filthy orgy between The Beastie Boys, Bitch and Animal, and Luscious Jackson (who carried the baby is anyone’s guess), Northern State’s sophomore effort expands upon the wildly eclectic flow of the trio’s debut and starts throwing in a bunch of new sounds for good measure. On Can I Keep This Pen?, Northern State take elements of 80s girlie pop, a la The Bangles and a little Donnas-esque punk crunch, and mix...
Ground Control Radio listeners were in for a big treat as L.A. band Amateurs visited the Little Radio studios to talk about their new record, Speak Easy, and played a semi-acoustic set featuring reconfigured renditions of songs like "Atlantis" and "Six Days." You can stream the entire album on Amateurs' site, and don't forget to listen to the podcast of the evening here. Check out the Amateurs...
The Echo is a strange little dimension of the Los Angeles nightlife. Certainly unmatched for its people-watching prospects, the tiny venue sits directly on top of an adjoined venue, the Echoplex. On August 4th, the night that I’m about to discuss at length, two shows occurred adjacent to each other in this building. On the bottom floor, the Echoplex, the FerdieFest benefit for 400 Blows’ drummer Ferdinand Cudia whose bout with chicken pox racked up an enormous hospital bill. FerdieFest...
Come on, who honestly out there doesn’t like Shout Out Louds. Even the heaviest of metalheads would have to admit that these Swedish indiepopers know their stuff…well maybe not metalheads… In any case, in honor of their sophomore full length Our Ill Wills, Shout Out Louds will be touring all across North America this fall. The tour will kick off October 6th at the LA Weekly Detour Festival and run through November 3rd in Dallas, with two nights in New...