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Timmy’s Organism at The Satellite- Fuzz, Fireworks and Fun
Alfonso Contreras
November 10, 2015
So I end up in the land of the hipster, the trickster, and the club going fiend Friday Nov the 6th – Where did this adventure take me do you ask? The good old Satellite, a longtime LA hotspot that has been hosting killer acts across many genres for many years now. On this fine evening, my next assignment was to be a band by the name of Timmy’s Organism– A three piece hard rocking machine, full of earth shattering fuzz guitars, growling bass tones, and superb, technically heavy drums. If you dig on explosive bands that deliver with authority then Timmy’s Organism would’ve been the perfect stop for an exciting start to a weekend. If not, then I don’t know what to prescribe to you, my friends. I arrive ready to take on the night armed with a camera, a set of hungry ears, and a close friend to help me battle the evening with an endless and unstoppable tank of energy (thanks Katie). I stepped into the Satellite right at the beginning of the Timmy’s Organism set and prepared myself for the gorgeous noise that was to come. The vibe reminded me of the old punk shows from my
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Joey Badass Rips the Mic At The Belasco On Classic LA Night
Danny Baraz
November 6, 2015
On Wednesday night, Joey Badass headlined The Belasco Theater in Downtown Los Angeles as a part of Red Bull Sound Select’s, 30 Days in L.A. Joey Badass showed why he is the illest M.C. in Hip Hop right now. The preeminent Pro Era MC was joined on the bill by Chicago’s Lil Herb and local, L.A. crew Warm Brew. There is nothing like Fall in Los Angeles. Last week, the Santa Ana winds moved in to blow away the built up smog of a long, hot and punishing summer. Just a few hours of rain on Monday served to wash away the impurities in the air to reveal the true palette of colors in the City of Angels. It felt like it would be a classic type of night in L.A. One of the photos you see in your mind when you think about the good times. One of those nights that makes you proud of your city. With the transient nature of industry in L.A., sometimes it’s easy to forget there are millions of real people born, raised, schooled and molded by the teachers, artists and streets of Los Angeles. People who have nothing to do with Hollywood movie
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FIDLAR Put Razor Blades In My Candy At The Regent
Paige Vreede
November 5, 2015
If you didn’t celebrate your Halloween at The Regent Theater, you pretty much fucked up. Big time. FIDLAR, Dune Rats, and Mind Meld satisfied our ears and exorcised our afflictions with their garage-punk and party sound. It being the last show of their US tour, one could expect nothing less than chaos. Upon entering the venue dressed as a ghost, it was to my surprise that nobody else was dressed up. I figured “fuck it dog life’s a risk” and rocked that shit anyway. Halloween décor adorned the walls and the vibe of the room was that of a wild house party. The sold out audience mostly consisted of crowd-surfing and head-banging youths who were drenched in sweat and beer. To begin the evening, psychedelic surf rockers, and LA natives, Mind Meld took the stage. Due to some Uber complications, I was unable to see them and was highly disappointed as they are most definitely up-and-coming in LA’s music scene. There is no doubt that they will be headlining their own shows soon, and I look forward to seeing the talented quartet then. Hailing from Brisbane, Australia, quintessential stoner dudes, Dune Rats took the stage next. As someone who used to
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Sylvan Esso Moves The Fonda for Day 3 of 30 Days in L.A.
Justin Cornwall
November 4, 2015
Day 3 of Red Bull Sound Select’s, #30DaysInLA featured performances by Sylvan Esso, Race Banyon and Akua at The Fonda. The evening was sold out, but Red Bull kept the crowd light rather than packing the room to capacity – which was a nice relief. I’ve experienced many sardine-packed nights at the Fonda, it was good to see the promoters give back in a conscious way to the fans. This Year’s Complete Calendar and A Look Back At Last Year’s 30 Days. This year the #30DaysInLA lineup is a bit lighter (headliner-wise) and even lighter on the support acts, most of who are relatively unknown in the Los Angeles market, but as the neon signs in the venue declare – Red Bull is here to BREAK MUSIC. The atmosphere during the opening acts has a battle of the bands like vibe to it, you can feel them fighting to make an impact on the crowd (who the majority of is there for the headliner). Sometimes they hit the mark and stick, sometimes they’re local and draw on their own, but sometimes they become a complete afterthought. Akua is a Montreal based one-woman band, gently crooning to the audience with even
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No Rest ‘Till Knotfest
Alfonso Contreras
November 3, 2015
It came, it went, and it fucking rocked socks off of every color. The festival brought along a roster of respectable new and old school heavy metal, rock, and hardcore bands that entertained the masses from noon into the dark hours of nightfall – and having a couple of highly popular hip hop acts thrown into the mix not only made the entire experience that much better but brought the entire festival in a direction not expected. For an old school metal/hip hop head like myself this was the absolute perfect Pre-Halloween treat! Day:1 The entrance line like at any other festival of this magnitude was as one would expect – long, dirty, drunk, and a show in it’s own right. Luckily for me, I got to stroll in right past the mob of overly excited fans and rolled on in on the Janky Smooth wagon and straight into the VIP/Press check-in area. Quick props to bossman Danny B. for the ultimate hookup. The entry gate was packed with an array of black tees, strange hairdos, and multi-oddball shave jobs. The age range stretched from youngsters and their parents to teens and seasoned heshers. The first day offered up the
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Beach Goth 4: The Party of The Year
Danny Baraz
October 28, 2015
The freaks, stoners, hipsters, bloggers, vegans, photographers, rockers, punkers, pukers, trippers, hippies and seemingly every beautiful woman from Southern California to Vancouver attended The Growlers annual trademark event, Beach Goth 4 this past weekend. They came to celebrate the best thing in their lives- music. I talked to a unicorn from Australia, I smoked a joint with a fairy from Mexico City and got my nipple twisted by a witch from Westminster. It seemed as if all inhibition was lost as everyone’s freak flag flew sky high and more spit was swapped than at a mouth swabbing clinic. And there was music. Oh lord was there music. With little touches and surprises like The 5678’s serving as the house band on a small stage on day 1, The Selena Impersonators and G-Funk pioneer, Warren G randomly performing a song near the end of Day 2, Beach Goth 4 had one of the most exciting lineups since Woodstock (if you love independent music). The scheduling issues which plagued the festival last year were a distant memory. Then again, after riding the snake all weekend, this past yesterday seems like an eon of a couple lifetimes ago. Sure, the ticket price has
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Ho99o9, Cerebral Ballzy and Fat Tony in Venice for Red Bull Sound Select
Danny Baraz
October 23, 2015
What more can I say about punk rock, hip hop mongrels, Ho99o9 that I haven’t already said? Are there truly any words that can describe the sheer chaos, danger and magick that ensues at one of their live shows? Last night in Venice Beach, Red Bull Sound Select put together one of their most interesting and diverse lineups to date and all you needed was an RSVP link and $3 to be initiated into the Ho99o9 Death Kult. Along with Brooklyn punkers Cerebral Ballzy and Houston M.C. Fat Tony, I witnessed a somewhat sleepy crowd transform into a swirling cauldron of aggression and questionable intentions. The Del Monte Speakeasy in Venice is like a stone mausoleum with a bar. It’s concrete floors and low ceilings, along with dim lighting and the ghosts of Venice OG’s fighting has a gothic, absinthe drinking vibe to it. I arrived early, half expecting a line of mutants wrapping down Windward Blvd and around the alley on Speedway, much like the scene outside of the Mystery Box in Downtown Los Angeles when Ho99o9 played there for the Horrors of 1999 EP release party a few months ago. As the clock ticked closer to Fat Tony
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The Garden “Haha” Record Release Party at The Teragram Ballroom
Danny Baraz
October 20, 2015
On Thursday, October 15th, nouveau punks, The Garden held their record release party for “Haha” at The Teragram Ballroom in Los Angeles. The VadaVada Vaudevillians, Wyatt and Fletcher Shears opted for a setting that reflected their art- fresh, bombastic, chemically imbalanced and extremely vivid, rather than the sterilized and homogenized stronghold that spawned it- Orange County. But even with such guests as Tyler, the Creator in attendance, The Teragram Ballroom still only reached 2/3rds capacity by the time The Garden took the stage, thus critically challenging my proclamations of L.A. being the epicenter of music in America. Afterall, if Angeleno’s aren’t swarming to see The Garden then my braggadocios proclamations about L.A. being the center of the music universe are somewhat unfounded. Joining The Garden at The Teragram Ballroom and setting the tone for the evening was ex Murder City Devils frontman, Spencer Moody and young rockers, Slow Hollows. We walked into the Teragram and Spencer Moody was already on stage. Toward the beginning of his set, Moody reminded me of a mix between Tom Waits and Lemmy Kilmister. He was quite intriguing. Moody was joined on stage by a Fender Telecaster and the most bored drummer in the world. He
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Eagles of Death Metal Resurrect Tower Records for “All Things Must Pass” After Party
Vanessa Burgundy
October 19, 2015
This past Thursday night, there was a screening for All Things Must Pass, a film that documents the rise and fall of the retail music business and the legacy of Tower Records. It only makes sense that I got into this invite only afterparty, for one of the Sunset Strip’s most iconic rock n roll institution’s, with the line…”I’m with the band.” Not so surprisingly, it worked like a charm and I stepped through the security gates at 8801 W Sunset Blvd, with a privileged rock n roll swagger. The after party was being held at the former Tower Records location (1972-‐‑ 2006), with the All Things Must Pass movie screening taking place down the street at Harmony Gold Theater, just prior to the show. There were sightings of Tower Records founder Russell Solomon, director Colin Hanks, and musician Moby, to name a few but our favorite sighting was, of course, The Mayor of Sunset Strip, Rodney Bingenheimer (20 year old waitress/girlfriend Kansas Bowling in tow). A Rodney sighting will forever legitimize the level of rock n roll street cred at any event. The crowd looked a bit sparse as the stage was being set for guest performers Eagles of
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Albert Hammond Jr Strokes The Teragram Ballroom
Johann A. Ramos
October 16, 2015
Albert Hammond Jr. headlined The Teragram Ballroom in Los Angeles Wednesday night in support of his third solo album “Momentary Masters”. Who could have predicted that one of the most anticipated shows of 2015 would have landed on a hump day? The record, according to Albert himself, was inspired by astronomer Carl Sagan’s book “Pale Blue Dot”, a book about space and the future of mankind. I can’t claim that I have been able to make the connection, but I can tell you that Strokes rhythm guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. definitely composed and produced this album with an out of this world mentality. Momentary Masters is great, sonically, and the instrumentation is nothing short of spectacular, but it doesn’t do their face melting live sound justice. Directly supporting Albert were Day Wave and they played a tight set. I could tell that a lot of the audience members weren’t too familiar with the band (The chick next to me kept referring to them as Date Wave to her other friend. The band even repeated their name towards the end of their set and she still kept calling them Date Wave), the crowd seemed pleased with their set as they swayed their
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The Frights Frenzy At The Echo
Janky Smooth Central Command
October 16, 2015
I first saw The Frights almost two years ago in a dingy Pomona basement where I dodged flying beer cans and flailing limbs to watch their high-octane set of surfy pop-punk anthems. When The Frights lead-singer/guitarist/principal songwriter Mikey Carnevale’s guitar cut-out during the intro of their live staple “Melissa,” rather than stopping and fiddling with his cable or the power supply, Carnevale dropped his guitar altogether to deliver the song’s “fuck you, fuck you” refrain while letting the small but enthusiastic house-show crowd envelop him until he briefly disappeared into the sea of bodies. Despite line-up changes (a different drummer and a second-guitarist) and spots on huge lineups (opening for FIDLAR) The Fright’s party-boy, escapist ethos and aesthetic still seemed perfectly intact, with an appropriate amount of polish to justify a packed, headlining set at The Echo. After a raucous and dynamic set from The Buttertones, The Frights walked onto the stage to be greeted by a very warmed-up and excitable audience, launching into a one-two-punch of a set featuring standout tracks from their debut album with a few new songs seamlessly mixed in. Carnevale and and bassist Richard Dotson have their frat-boy live personas down to a science, expanding
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Kim and The Created Kick Off October Residency at The Echo
Brent Smith
October 8, 2015
It’s October, the harvest blood moon has arrived, and it’s time to get weird! The first night of the Kim and The Created residency at the Echo was a vibrant, cosmological event, and things couldn’t have gotten weirder for a Monday night. Dancing to the always eclectic Kim House, Deap Vally, Regrettes, and even some midnight thrashing to Melted, there was no better way to usher in the new season. Everybody was floored by Regrettes—the new poster children for local teen garage rock. Formerly known as Pretty Little Demons, and comprised of Marlhy Murphy (drums/vocals) and Lydia Night (guitar/vocals), the power pop two-piece had such a rounded and self-possessed sound that I didn’t even miss the bass. Their clean 3 or 4 chord doo-wop ditties gave a genuine expression of young ennui that you can dance to. They had a magnetism that brought the bar to life. Nobody in that room was expecting anything out of that first act. It was a lethargic Monday, even among artsy burnouts with no 9-to-5 gigs, and on a school night these girls rocked an L.A. staple. Think Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains but not as agro. And to give an idea of
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