The Monday Show Low Down (Or “Every Night You Fall Asleep With Your Headphones On”)

It’s probably unsurprising that I often gush to friends about how great the music scene is in LA right now. Or that I say all the time that it’s easy to catch a great band pretty much every night of the week here –- and that sometimes good shows even dogpile up to make it hard to decide who to see when.

That’s all pretty much a given for a major city like LA, right? But it feels like there’s something really special is happening here at this exact point in time… I mean, there are so many fantastic acts living and playing regularly here and town -- and they seem to have a near complete lack of rock star mentality to boot.

Sometimes I wonder if the rest of the country will notice what’s going on here and, y’know, I’m cautiously optimistic about it.

I’d seriously like to think that the time is right for it… that people are as tired of over-produced divas and music by and for bullies and thugs as they were with glam metal back in the 90s when anti-rock stars Nirvana arrived upon the scene.

And the recent success of acts like The Silversun Pickups is encouraging, so I guess we’ll see. The larger music industry seems like fertile ground for change -- and a groundswell of talented, unpretentious bands from LA appear well-prepared to swoop in.

And as much as I like seeing all of these bands play for $8 on a regular basis? They’re just too good not to share with everyone.

Anyway, here’s how this week is looking for music in LA -- along with what I’d go to if I went out to see a show every single night.

Monday, April 30
- The Minor Canon, Liam Finn, Bluesky Research, & The Films @ Spaceland (Free)
- The Black Pine, Eagle and Talon, The Pity Party, & Minutes til Midnight @ The Echo (Free)
- Shapes of Race Cars, Van Gunn, City Museum, & Scarlet Rose @ The Silver Lake Lounge (Free)
- Andrew Bird @ Amoeba Music (Free – 7:00)
- Cornelius @ The El Rey
- My Brightest Diamond @ The Troubadour
- Layabout @ The Brainwash Café
- The Clean Prophets, Mere Mortals, Lost and Found, & The Pacific @ Safari Sam’s
- The Distants @ The Viper Room

DECISION:
It’s the final night of the free Monday night May residencies… The line-up at The Echo is looking pretty great, with The Black Pine, Eagle & Talon, and The Pity Party playing together. I’ve seen all three recently -- and they were really great -- but I haven’t caught any of The Minor Canon sets yet, so I’m going to that.

Again, The Minor Canon’s album No Good Deed Goes Unpunished is one of my favorite albums out so far this year. The show will be recorded for a live album (and possible DVD) to be put out by Spaceland Recordings, so expect them to be working pretty damn hard.

Also, Andrew Bird for free an in-store at Amoeba at 7? I know it’s not the most comfortable spot in the world to catch a live set, but motherfucker usually plays either big festivals or $25 shows at Largo, so pick your poison.

Tuesday, May 1
- Pistolero, Gang Violets & Dead Ponies @ The Silver Lake Lounge
- Sea Wolf & Sloan @ The Troubadour
- Birds of Avalon & Not in the House @ Spaceland
- The Black Heart Brigade @ The Palmer Room
- The Living Sisters, The Watson Twins, & The Chapin Sisters @ The EchoPlex
- The Black Pine, The Amateurs, & Never At Night @ The Scene (Glendale)
- Buffalo Killers & The Henry Clay People @ The Echo
- Signal Hill & Beware of Safety @ The Golden Eagle Ballroom at Cal State LA
- Mastodon @ The Wiltern

DECISION:
If you missed The Black Pine at The Echo on Monday, they’re playing The Scene out in Glendale on Tuesday. But I think I might try to make it out to The EchoPlex to hear The Living Sisters, which is an act comprised of Inara George, Becky (Lavender Diamond) Stark, and Eleni Mandell.

Wednesday, May 2
- What Made Milwaukee Famous & Manic @ Spaceland
- Club Moscow w/ Policy & War Tapes @ Boardner's
- I Make This Sound, Castledoor, Ari Eskandrarian, & Sara Lov @ The Silver Lake Lounge
- Dear Nora, Lloyd & Michael, Bobby Birdman, & Devon Williams And The Allen Bleyle 3 @ The Smell
- The Youngs, Muso, & The Switch @ The Scene (Glendale- Free)
- Elvis Costello @ The House of Blues

DECISION:
I don’t know any of the acts playing on Wednesday that well except for The Switch. They’re awesome (and -- PLUG! -- are playing our next Let’s Independent! event at Boardner’s later this month).

Thursday, May 3
- Silver Lake Film Festival Presents: Circle Jerks w/ 400 Blows @ the Explx (Music Fest Pass Required)
- Autolux @ The Glass House (Pomona)
- Lion of Panjshir @ Hyperion Tavern
- The Parson Redheads, Acute, Day Of Lions, & The Lisps @ The Silver Lake Lounge
- Layabout @ Hyperion Tavern
- Caspian, Beware of Safety, & North @ The Mint
- Elf Power & Wonderground @ Spaceland
- Nightfur @ The Prospector (Long Beach)
- Robbers On High Street @ The Echo
- Califone @ The Malibu Performing Arts Center

DECISION:
I’d really love to hear Autolux’s new material, but think I might be too goddamn lazy to drive all the way out to Pomona for it…

Friday, May 4
- Silver Lake Film Festival Presents: Sea Wolf, The Little Ones, The Bird and The Bee, & Dengue Fever @ The Echoplex (Music Fest Pass or Festival Badge Required)
- Silver Lake Shakedown Dance Party w/ Tandemoro & DJs @ The Echo
- First Fridays w/ Imarobot, Fussible & Hiperboreal (Nortec Collective) @ The LA Natural History Museum
- The Autumns & Sugarplastic @ Spaceland
- 8-Bit, 8-Bit Weapon, Bark Bark Bark @ The Scene (Glendale)
- Lemon Sun, Lovelikefire, & Apartment @ El Cid

DECISION:
Here’s a reprint of what we already wrote about this Friday night:

“One of the best shows in LA this year isn’t quite open to the public. It’s on the night of Friday, May 4th at The Echoplex with four bands who are used to headlining events on their own: Sea Wolf, The Little Ones, The Bird and The Bee, and Dengue Fever.

"It's The Silver Lake Music Fest, which is part of The Silver Lake Film Festival (takes place from May 3rd – 12th at theatres in the area) and sponsored by ASCAP, Filter Magazine, and Radio Free Silver Lake.

"How do you get in? There won’t be any tickets at the door, but you can buy a music fest pass or a festival badge, or you might use a movie ticket to get in. (Not sure if the latter will get you in once it starts to fill up ... and it will.) Either way, you should get there early that night.”

Got that? It's really not an event you want to miss.

Saturday, May 5
- Caspian, Signal Hill, North, & Beware of Safety @ The Cocaine at Live Jazz
- HULLABALOO 2007 : Benefit for the Silver Lake Conservatory of Music with Red Hot Chili Peppers, Eddie Vedder, Charlie Haden, Ditty Bops, & Mickey Avalon @ The Henry Fonda
- Los Abandoned, The Audio Club, & Killola @ Safari Sam’s
- Fort King, Helene Renaut, & Ruthann Friedman @ The Echo Curio
- Minus The Bear, The Honorary Title, & Chin Up Chin Up@ The EchoPlex
- Bedtime For Toys, Spider Problem, & The Lisps @ The Scene (Glendale)
- Frog Eyes & Alex Delivery @ Spaceland

DECISION:
If you like post rock, you really ought to head to The Cocaine for Signal Hill, Caspian, and Beware of Safety.

Sunday, May 6
- Ariel Pink, Skeletons And The Kings Of All Cities, & The Mae Shi @ El Cid
- The Digs @ Detroit Bar (Costa Mesa)
- Moving To France @ The Troubadour
- The Henry Clay People & Repeater @ The Eagle Rock Bowling and Drinking Club at All-Star Lanes
- Bright Eyes & Oakley Hall @ Walt Disney Concert Hall

DECISION:
I’ve been meaning to see Ariel Pink play for, like, ever.

That’s it. Did I miss anything? Please lemme know.

Mini-Interview: The Broken West

It's rad when a great local band makes good like The Broken West, who had their first album release on Merge Records earlier this year and have been touring in support of it since.

Still, lead Ross Flournoy took some time to talk to us this week. And not only that, he was a damn good interview on top of it.

Hey, Ross. How's life in the big city today?

Pretty damned good. We got back from seven and a half weeks of touring last Tuesday, and today is just about as beautiful day as I’ve ever seen in Los Angeles. It’s nice to get back to normal life.

When did you guys first start playing together? Were you all friends before?

The initial core of the band was Rob (drums), Dan (guitar, vox) and me, and we got together during the summer of 2004. I’d known Rob for about four years at that point, and we met Dan through a mutual friend that summer.

Brian, who plays bass and sings backup, was someone we spotted playing bass in another band—for a great musician named Eugene Edwards—and we thought he was the bee’s knees, so we kind of poached him; that was about a year and a half ago. So, long story short, we were not all friends before, but we certainly are now.

Sorry to hear about the legal dramas where you had to change your band name. Not to make you relive it all again, but what happened?

When we started in summer ’04 we called ourselves The Brokedowns. We soon learned there was some lame ska/punk band in Illinois with the same name, so we thought if we lopped of the “s” and called ourselves The Brokedown, that we would be in good shape.

All was good until after we signed to Merge and the signing became public last fall—a few days before the record went to the duplication place, we got a “cease and desist” notice from The Brokedowns’ record label, threatening legal action. We could have fought them, but it would have taken a lot of time and a lot of money, so we switched names.

If it had to happen, it happened at the right time, because it would have been a disaster to have to change the name AFTER thousands of CD’s had been printed.

You just got back from a tour. How did it go? What were your favorite nights? When are you back on the road?

All in all, I have to say that it went quite well. It was, for all intents and purposes, our first tour, so that lifestyle took some getting used to. There were off nights, for sure, but by and large I think we all feel like it was a successful little jaunt.

My favorite night was opening for the Long Winters in front of a sold out crowd of a little over a thousand at the Showbox in Seattle (it was their homecoming show—hence it being sold out); that was a special night for them and us and there were good vibes all around.

Other highlights include two nights at the Mercury Lounge in NYC and St. Louis! We’ll be back on the road starting May 20, doing a combination of dates with The Comas, Fountains of Wayne, and The National. We’ll be back in LA at the El Rey on June 26, I believe, opening for The National.

And before your tour, you did a residency at Spaceland right around the time of your album's release on Merge. How did that go?

That was a blast—doing a Monday night Spaceland residency had been a dream of ours since we started the band. The crowds were great and it was just a lot of fun to get to play there every week. It was the perfect way to get ourselves in shape for the tour.

Who did you record the album with? What was the process like?

We recorded the album at a studio in Rancho Park called Red Rockets Glare, which is owned by a really great guy named Raymond Richards, who has a band called The Idaho Falls and has played pedal steel with Mojave 3 and Brian Jonestown Massacre; Raymond engineered the record.

The process was definitely one of “stop and go”; we all had day jobs at the time so we basically recorded when schedules permitted. It took us about a year to make the record due to the nature of the schedule. I think we learned a lot and grew a lot during the process. Near the end, we were completely scrapping and re-recording songs we’d tracked at the beginning.

I think for the next record, we’d like to do it in a more concentrated setting; that is, instead of doing it piecemeal over the course of a year, we’d like to work hard for a month or so to knock it out.

How's life on a label treating you?

Life on Merge is absolutely tremendous. You couldn’t ask for a more genuinely nice, down-to-earth, hard-working and passionate group of people.

We’ve been really blessed in the sense that we haven’t had to deal with your stereotypical record company assholes…we consider everyone at Merge to be a genuine friend, which is a pretty nice situation.

What do you like the most and least about being a band in LA?

That’s a good question…I guess the thing we like most are the friends we’ve made, from Raymond at Red Rockets Glare to Todd at Sea Level to Andy Creighton, who’s in a fantastic band called The World Record. The thing we like least? LA crowds tend to be a bit jaded, I guess.

Also, when you go to other parts of the country and people there know you’re an LA band, they expect you to be wearing leather pants and carrying a handle of Jack Daniel’s, which can be disconcerting, especially since none of us owns leather pants.

What sort of music do all of you guys agree on?

Rolling Stones, Kinks, Beatles, solo George Harrison and John Lennon, Gram Parson/Flying Burrito Brothers, and the new Arcade Fire record, which we listened to A LOT on the last tour.

And what are you listening to these days?

The new Clientele and Wilco records, Midlake’s The Trials of Van Occupanther, and Fujiya & Miyagi’s Transparent Things.

What's next for you?

Recuperating this month, and trying very hard (against my strong impulse to procrastination) to write some songs for the next record. Then, just touring for the rest of the year as much as we can stand!

That's it! Thanks for your time.

Thank you!

DOWNLOAD: On The Bubble MP3

Just Announced: Radars to the Sky & Signal Hill

Spaceland has just announced that Radars to the Sky, Signal Hill, Castledoor, and You, Me, & Iowa will be playing there this Sunday night for FREE.

Since Radars to the Sky are easily among the best new live indie rock acts in LA and post rockers Signal Hill were responsible for one of my favorite live performances this year (at the tiny, but wonderfully punk rock Pehrspace), I'd really recommend you consider taping whatever it is you watch regularly on Sunday nights and, y'know, go.

And don't forget The Hectors at Pehrspace tonight!

RELATED LINKS:
- Download: Radars to the Sky’s Long Walk Home MP3
- Download: Signal Hill's Celadon MP3
- Download: The Hectors' I Drove All The Way From Bridgeport Just To Make It With You MP3
- Mini-Interview: Signal Hill
- Mini-Interview: The Hectors

The Midweek Show Update: The Little Ones, Sea Wolf, Great Northern, & Much, Much More

One of the best shows in LA this year isn’t quite open to the public. It’s on the night of Friday, May 4th at The Echoplex with four bands who are used to headlining events on their own: Sea Wolf, The Little Ones, The Bird and The Bee, and Dengue Fever.

It's The Silver Lake Music Fest, which is part of The Silver Lake Film Festival (takes place from May 3rd – 12th at theatres in the area) and sponsored by ASCAP, Filter Magazine, and Radio Free Silver Lake.

How do you get in? There won’t be any tickets at the door, but you can buy a music fest pass or a festival badge, or you might use a movie ticket to get in. (Not sure if the latter will get you in once it starts to fill up ... and it will.) Either way, you should get there early that night.

Radio Free Silver Lake is also teaming up with internet music site powerhouse Rock Insider to present the Great Northern record release party at The Echo on Tuesday, May 15th with The Movies and Twilight Sleep. Come celebrate the debut album by one of LA’s best and brightest independent rock acts. There’s no cover, so there’s no excuse to miss it.



MORE:
- Here are the Monday night free residency acts for May: Bodies of Water at The Echo, Gliss at Spaceland, and The High Society at The Silver Lake Lounge.
- The Living Sisters, which is an LA female vocalist supergroup comprised of Inara George, Becky Stark from Lavender Diamond, and Eleni Mandell, are playing next Tuesday with The Watson Twins and The Chapin Sisters.
- The show with The Airborne Toxic Event, The Happy Hollows, and Radars to the Sky at The Troubadour planned for Thursday, June 7th has been changed to Saturday June 9th, so that The Airborne Toxic Event can open up for The Kaiser Chiefs at The Henry Fonda on the 7th.
- The Front will be playing a cd release event at The Troubadour on Wednesday, June 6th with The Deadly Syndrome, The Grand Marquee, and Coco Bs.

Also, check the concert calendar (the right-hand column) for dates and venues for all of the following bands: Tortoise, The Airborne Toxic Event, The Kaiser Chiefs, The Fratellis, The High Society, Magic and Rattles, The Blessing, Neimo, Bodfire Madigan, Ht Heartache, Ralph Covert and The Bad Examples, Dave Gleason, The Twains, Victor Pedrosa, Hello Stranger, Non Non Plus, The Pity, Lovelikefire, Overnight Lows, The Idyllists, High Society, Savior Faire, Celeste Moreno, Pink Mochi, Elf Power, The Autumns, Sugarplastic, Division Day, Gliss, Oakley Hall, McCarthy Trenching, Augie March, The Melismatics, The Living Sisters, The Watson Twins, The Chapin Sisters, Imarobot, Fussible & Hiperboreal (Nortec Collective), The Vacation, Eagle & Talon, Radars to the Sky, Death to Anders!, Rademacher, The Switch, Kind Hearts & Coronets, Nico Vega, Moving to France, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Eddie Vedder, Charlie Haden, Ditty Bops, Mickey Avalon, The Poor Excuses, The Section Quartet, Caspian, and Beware of Safety.

Let's Independent!: The Aftermath

Hey, there. We'll run a full concert update tomorrow -- there are a bunch of solid shows that have just been announced -- but I just wanted to really quickly say thanks to everyone who played and came to our Let's Independent! event at Boardner's last night. I couldn't be happier about how well it turned out...

In short? It defined fun. It was a full crowd PACKED with great people and Eagle & Talon, Radars to the Sky, and The Prix all played excellent sets. Here are a few pics.






And you can find more here.

Let’s Independent! w/ The Prix, Radars to the Sky, and Eagle & Talon

Tonight's the night of our latest Let’s Independent! event at Boardner’s in Hollywood, and we have Eagle & Talon, Radars to the Sky, and The Prix playing. It’s starts at 9:00 PM (for folks who are 21+), it’s FREE this time, and if you’ve been out before, you know it’s kinda a bit more of a party than just a regular show.

If you haven’t heard about some or one or all of the three bands, here’s what people have been saying about them -- along with some downloadable MP3s.

RADARS TO THE SKY
- "Radars To The Sky ... have a 5-song ep out, but I never get past the first song Long Walk Home cause I keep pressing repeat." -- Inflight at Night

- "Radars to the Sky aren't afraid to take chances with their music, which is true indie rock.... Go see Radars to the Sky for yourself. You'll be glad you did." --Epitunes

- "Radars displayed a strong interplay together, delivering some fierce guitar riffs and rubbery propulsive bass lines that got the hipsters up and moving." -- The Passion of the Weiss

DOWNLOAD: The Long Walk Home MP3

EAGLE & TALON
- "The music of Eagle and Talon is wonderfully underproduced. The hollow, tinny notes of a child's Casio keyboard swirl around choppy guitar licks and no-nonsense drumbeats. Kim's voice, sweet and strong, braves the rapids of this melodic current with powerful self-assurance." - The LA Times

- "Artlessly jagged post-punk that's got fun in it even when it's being serious." - The Village Voice

- "Taut beats and oddly-tuned guitars spar in decidedly un-ladylike fashion, with retro casios joining the fray. Kim Talon dances an entrancing tightrope between cool-eyed detachment and exploding mine field, always with sharply observed lyrics in tow. It's smart indie rock with balls... by girls." - Upcoming

DOWNLOAD: They’re So Sharp MP3

THE PRIX
- "It's All In the Way That You Trip is the most joyfully danceable rock & roll song we've heard in ages" - Kate Sullivan, L.A. Weekly

- "Lovingly-tousled pop that could have crackled out of transistor radios during the Johnson administration" -Kevin Bronson, Los Angeles Times

- "Fired up.....lithe, literate garage rock" -Ron Garmon, City Beat LA

DOWNLOAD: St Domino MP3


Again, you can find all the details right here. Hope you can make it!

The Monday Show Lowdown (Or “I Wish You’d Lock Your Door And Never Let Me In”)

This is officially The Week of Tough Choices. I know I always say shit like that on Mondays, but it’s like, as The Magic Eightball says, decidedly so.

MONDAY, APRIL 23
- The Minor Canon, Everest, Liam Finn, & Conner @ Spaceland (Free)
- Wires on Fire, Dead Ponies, Qui, Black Fur, & DJ Travis Keller @ The Silver Lake Lounge (Free)
- The Black Pine, Luna is Honey, Winter Flowers, & The Happy Hollows @ The Echo (Free)
- Manic @ The Viper Room
- The Soft Hands, The Henry Clay People, & The Clark 8 @ Mr. T's Bowl
- Iggy & The Stooges @ The Wiltern

DECISION
The Monday free residency night has rarely been more difficult. For those who like the rock, there’s Wires on Fire and Dead Ponies at The Silver Lake Lounge … since you didn’t get tickets for Iggy & The Stooges.

Indy pop fans are further divided however, with The Minor Canon, Liam Finn (son of Neil Finn from Crowded House & Split Enz), and Everest (alaska!, Earlimart, Slydell, Folk Implosion/Sebadoh, and Great Northern) at Spaceland and rad sad pop act The Black Pine and super upbeat pop act The Happy Hollows at The Echo, while The Soft Hands and The Henry Clay People take Mr. T’s Bowl.

Me? I’m definitely catching The Minor Canon when they play with Frankel at Spaceland next week… and I love going to The Black Pine and The Happy Hollows, but I’ve saw them both recently… so, I might try Wires on Fire and Dead Ponies, since I’ve never seen either before.

TUESDAY, APRIL 24
- Let’s Independent! w/ The Prix, Eagle & Talon, & Radars to the Sky @ Boardner’s of Hollywood (Free)
- Sean Lennon @ The Roxy
- Adult, Erase Errata, & Parts & Labor @ Safari Sam’s
- Jonah The Band & Salon K @ The Echo
- The Grand Marquee, Pop Noir, Black Palms, and Io Echo! @ The Key Club
- Blood Brothers @ The El Rey
- Sasquatch, Smash Fashion, Sweet Evil, & Dark Ages @ The Silver Lake Lounge
- Rizorkestra @ The Knitting Factory
- 8mm, Ezra Reich, & Wait Think Fast @ Spaceland
- Sunset Rubdown and Xiu Xiu @ The Troubadour

DECISION
I’m completely biased about Tuesday night, since we’re putting on the Let’s Independent! show at Boardner’s with Eagle & Talon, Radars to the Sky, and The Prix -- PLUG: It’s free and you can download tracks from all three acts here -- but there’s some great stuff going on elsewhere, too.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25
- Jet @ The Troubadour
- Illinois, Attack Formation, DJs Har Mar Superstar & Fab Moretti @ Spaceland
- The Lemonheads, Giant Drag, & The Icarus Line @ The El Rey
- St. James, Glossary, & Emily Wells @ The Silver Lake Lounge
- Blonde Redhead @ The Glass House (Pomona)
- Wild West Dub Tour w/ Big Youth, Hawaiian Lyon & Turtleman @ The Echo

DECISION
I keep hearing great things about the new Blonde Redhead album, but have yet to pick it up yet. I know a few folks who are talking about driving out to Pomona for it.

THURSDAY, APRIL 26
- Jet @ The Troubadour
- Jesus & Mary Chain @ The Glass House (Pomona)
- Shiny Toy Guns @ The Avalon
- HellYa! w/ Nico Vega, Billionaires, & Lady Tigra @ The Echo (Free)
- Xu Xu Fang, Stephenson Ranch Davidians, & Ludger @ The Silver Lake Lounge
- Tapes n Tapes, Harlem Shakes, & Delta Spirit @ Spaceland
- !!! @ Amoeba Music (Free – 6:30)
- Earlimart, Sea Wolf, The Parson Red Heads, & The Watson Twins @ ExPlex

DECISION
Okay, if you haven’t already seen Tapes n Tapes before and you’re not a ginormous Jesus & Mary Chain fan, that leaves the question of whether you want to catch the final Xu Xu Fang night at The Silver Lake Lounge or see the phenomenal line-up of Earlimart, Sea Wolf, The Parson Red Heads, and The Watson Twins at The Echoplex kick-off (below The Echo).

Me? I love Earlimart and Sea Wolf, but I've seen them a few times, so I'm going to try Xu Xu Fang.

FRIDAY, APRIL 27
- The Hectors & The Northern Two @ Pehrspace
- Lots of Love @ The Derby
- The Renders @ The Airliner
- The Sheers & Cyndi Robinson @ El Cid
- Chocolate Bar Party @ The Echo
- Wallpaper Airplanes @ The Viper Room
- The Cinematics, The Heavenly States, & Le Meu Le Purr @ Spaceland
- Homesick Elephant @ Tangier
- Coachella Valley Festival featuring The Silversun Pickups, Interpol, & more (Palm Desert)

DECISION
I might be sneaking out to the desert on Sunday for Explosions in the Sky, but on Friday night? The Hectors at the hidden wonder that is Pehrspace.

SATURDAY, APRIL 28
- The Walkmen, Foreign Born, & Magic Bullets @ The Echoplex (below The Echo)
- Mono @ The Troubadour
- Meho Plaza & Lovely Public @ The Scene (Glendale)
- Apostle of Hustle & Tiny Dancers @ Spaceland
- Radiant @ The Silver Lake Lounge (early)
- The Oh Sees & The Botticellis @ The Echo
- Timonium @ Pehrspace
- Coachella Valley Festival featuring The Arcade Fire, The Decemberists, The Black Keys, Peter, Bjorn, and John, & more (Palm Desert)

DECISION
Gotta say that the fact that Foreign Born is opening up for The Walkmen at The Echoplex makes that show pretty solid.

SUNDAY, APRIL 29
- Service Group, The Davin Givhan Band, Death to Anders, & Lucinda and the Lost Dogs @ The Eagle Rock Bowling and Drinking Club at All-Star Lanes
- Hearts of Palm UK, Io Perry, & Luke Paquin @ Mr T’s Bowl
- Travis @ The Henry Fonda
- Morris Tepper & Dustin Boyer @ Tangier
- CocoRosie & Busdriver @ The El Rey
- Grand Ole Echo w/ Dead Rock West, The Dark Horses, Jeremiah & the Red Eyes, & US Mail Band @ The Echo (Early)
- Part Time Punks: The Old Haunts & Codpiece @ The Echo
- Coachella Valley Festival featuring Explosions in the Sky, Tapes N Tapes, Air, Grizzly Bear, Jose Gonzalez, & more (Palm Desert)

DECISION
If it weren’t for Explosions in the Sky at Coachella, I’d be heading to catch either the madwomen of CocoRosie at The El Rey or see all the gang at The Eagle Rock Bowling & Drinking Club.

That’s it. Did I miss anything? Please let me know.

First Show Stories: The Hectors, Tandemoro, Radars To The Sky, & More

Technically, my first show ever was going to The Grand Ole Opry with my parents on summer vacation. I think I was in fifth grade then. It was the year of the World Fair in Knoxville and we went to, no shit, Dollywood, too. I guess that was '82?

But the one I count for reals is seeing Fugazi play at the now-defunct Club Dreamers in Chicago years later when I was a junior in high school. It was before their EP came out and I remember being kind of disappointed that they didn't sound like Minor Threat, even though Ian MacKaye had already done both Embrace and Pailhead. (I mean, c'mon, I was fifteen...)

There was a point halfway through the show when Ian and Guy stopped playing because a bunch of skinheads were lining up in a row in the front and running over everyone in their path. They asked the skins what they were doing and someone yellied out, "It's a wall of death!" Like that, you know, explained everything.

The two singers made fun of them for awhile, before saying they were going to play a slow song after that so no one could do any shenanigans. And I think launched into Suggestion.

A week after that, I saw Naked Raygun for the first time... Chicago's a good town for live music, both then and now.

Anyway, I asked a number of people here in town about their own first shows. You know, the sort of stories you normally trade around after a few beers at a party.

Here are a few:

Corinne Dinner – The Hectors

When I was 11, I'd wanted my first show to be the Guns 'N' Roses/Metallica uber-tour, but my dad had heard that GnR fans tore seats out of arenas, lit them on fire, and threw them at the stage. So that didn't happen.

The first concert that was safe enough was a "blues festival" in San Francisco when I was 13. I had just begun listening to Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker, and felt that I too had the blues.

My friend and I took a BART train over from the East bay. The first thing we saw when we walk through the turnstile are security guards escorting out these two fat, drunk 40-year-old guys with no shirts. They were screaming obscenities while throwing their cheese steak sandwiches at each other.

We then endured a day of watered down white guy blues bands, with names like "Billy Boy and the Blues Survivors." And we were offered weed by three different dead heads.

The day wasn't a total loss: I learned the valuable lesson of sneaking out to punk shows and telling my dad I was going to see blues and jazz.

Mike Griffin – Tandemoro & The Western States Motel

My first show is a little hazy. Not because I was shrooming or f'ed up in any way, but because I was in the second grade. I was living in Hawaii and my parents took me to see this Hawaiian brother duo called The Brothers Cazimero. I loved their music and we always listened to them, I still love their album Hawaiian Paradise.

So, we went to this big park on Maui at night and sat on the grass in front of the stage. They passed out these sushi plates to everyone and I had never had it and I thought it was really weird. I remember thinking the same thing about the concert because seeing them in person was very different than how I imagined them. I thought they looked weird, one had a beard and was sitting cross-legged on a stool while playing guitar, which looks weirder than it sounds.

I'm sure they were awesome because I've seen them again and they really know their stuff, but I think at that age (or maybe because it was my first show), I wasn't ready to accept them as people.

Andrew Spitser – Radars to the Sky

Depeche Mode. Violator tour. Must have been 1989 or summer 1990. Nitzer Ebb opened up-- I think my brother, who had let me and a couple of friends tag along (and steal sips from the flask they smuggled in) were more into those guys than Depeche Mode.

But Join in the Chant didn't exactly have the same appeal in cavernous Dodger Stadium before the sun even went down. I wasn't won over (never really fully bought into the whole Industrial scene, really).

But "DeMode" were a revelation. After having been confined to Hollywood Bowl symphony concerts and a John Denver show or two up to that point, to see one of my favorite bands on the big stage with the lights and the big video screens was amazing. Couldn't believe how big and loud and epic and theatrical and dark and brooding and intense the whole thing was. Say what you will-- those guys had the arena rock pop star thing down.

Of course, if you want to talk about first indie rock show: Archers of Loaf, basement at Rick's in Ann Arbor. 1994. Like being born again.... But that's another chapter.

Chuck P. - Dead Air/Indie 103.1

Ah yes, it’s 1981 all over again…

When I was 11, I went to the Fresno Convention Center with my sister to see The Gap Band. I didn’t have a favorite band at the time, I just listened to what my Mom and sister listened to. I believe Confunktion was opening the show… a stellar lineup, to be sure.

When we got there, a band was already playing. Having not paid for the ticket myself, I was too worried that I was missing anything important, because I knew them not to be Confunktion. I was really getting into the tunes, and felt cool enough to lean over to one of my sisters friends and let her know how much I was enjoying the band.

“Goody” she replied flatly.

The embarrassment must have been obvious on my face, as I slinked back into my chair, because she leaned over to me and said, “Did you hear me?” I said “Yeah, I got it, goody, like big deal.” She laughed a hearty laugh, and said “No, the band is called Goody!”

Not sure how I could have felt any dumber, but I did.

Rob Danson – Death to Anders!

In 1994, my father was offered an investments job in Mexico City. We lived there for a year and a half, where I began listening to nothing but heavy metal. I was fourteen when Sepultura came into town.

They played a three-hour set in a huge, sold-out ice arena. I was sitting far away on the balcony, looking down at the massive sea of people moshing and head-banging and I thought that this was the coolest thing ever......until the last song.

For some reason, some idiot thought that it would be a great idea if, before the show, they put folding chairs down on the main floor so that the standing crowd could sit if they wanted to.

Well, no one actually used these chairs in the traditional sense, but during Sepultura's encore, hundreds of people began throwing the chairs wildly into the air. Soon, all hell broke loose and people were getting smashed in the head with these metal folding chairs.

The whole place looked like a chaotic riot scene, and I was safely watching this unfold before me up high on a balcony. I heard that a lot of people got really hurt. There were a bunch of broken arms, legs, and other fucked up shit. I hope that no one got killed.

Photo by Braedon Flynn

Now Blog This!: The Aftermath

Here are some quick pics and videos from last night's Now Blog This! event. Thanks to everyone who played, DJed, promoted, and attended -- especially to Allen from The Scene, who put the whole damn thing together in the first place.

It was super damn fun and The Pity Party, The Western States Motel, The Clean Prophets, and The Valley Arena all sounded great. Definitely keep an ear out for 'em, if you haven't seen one or some or all of the acts play yet.











And if you get a chance, come back and visit the site tomorrow for a special weekend feature...

Video Free Silver Lake: The Clean Prophets, Western States Motel, Pity Party, & Valley Arena

Yup, the Now Blog This! event is tonight at The Scene in Glendale. Spend $5 and a few hours of your time to help support local music -- and it should be damn fun, too. You can find all the details here.

Haven't heard all the bands? Here's video footage of each of them. (Note: The first contains enough John Tesh to kill an elephant...)









Hope to see you there.

The Mid-Week Show Update: The Arcade Fire, Modest Mouse, Deerhoof, & Much More

We've updated our show calendar with a ton of new shows for all the bands listed below. Check out the right-hand column for dates and venues. Oh, and tickets go on sale this Saturday for your favorite fish-belly white Canadians The Arcade Fire at The Greek on Tuesday, May 29th and Wednesday, May 30th.


Here are all the rest: Modest Mouse, Snow Patrol, Deerhoof, The Bird & The Bee, The Circle Jerks, Jamie Stewart (Xiu Xiu), Illinois, Man Man, Dead Ponies, Homesick Elephant, Love As Laughter, Eskimo Hunter, Mezzanine Owls, Lovelikefire, The Mae Shi, Tik///Tik, Anavan, Kevin Shields, Ex-Oblivione, Totally Radd!!, Captain Ahab, Juiceboxxx, The Bushes, Buffalo Roam, Bedtime For Toys, Von Iva, The Empire, Starlite Desperation, Pistols Will Air, Icebird, The Digs, The Finches, Big Search, The Bushes, Ariel Pink, Skeletons And The Kings Of All Cities, The Mae Shi, Bedtime For Toys, Spider Problem, Castledoor, Ari Eskandrarian, The Parson Redheads, Acute, Day Of Lions, The Lisps, Lemon Sun, Lovelikefire, Apartment, Xu Xu Fang, Stephenson Ranch Davidians, Ludger, The Films, Frankel, Electric Soft Parade, BrakesBrakesBrakes, Pedal, Unsane, 400 Blows, The Mouth of the Architect, Bodies of Water, The Western States Motel, No Little Kindness, Seasons, Fujiaya and Miyagi, The Section Quartet, Great Northern (Record Release Party), The Movies, Twilight Sleep, DJ David Michael Latter, The Monolators, Summer Darling, 8 Bit, Shearwater, Lonely Dear, The Henry Clay People, Repeater, Jet, Mono, Caspian, Signal Hill, North, Beware of Safety, and Good Luck Bear.

By the way, did anyone see The Silversun Pickups play at The Silver Lake Lounge last night?

Bzzt! Radio Appearances By Radars To The Sky and Eagle & Talon

This Wednesday, your new favorite live band Radars To The Sky will be performing on KXLU 88.9 FM -- which you can listen to via teh radio or their online simulcast -- at 5:00 PST. And next Monday (the 23rd) at 5:00 PST, leotard rockers Eagle & Talon will appear on KXLU, as well.

What do both of these bands have in common? Besides our deep abiding like, the fact that they're playing our next Let's Independent! event at Boardners in Hollywood on Tuesday, the 24th.

Go here to read all the details about the show (which is FREE!), hear tracks from both bands and headliner The Prix, who might also have a radio appearance coming up soon, too.

Album of the Week: Mark Ronson - Version

So first, I've got to come clean and admit that I too could've sworn that Mark Ronson was the son of guitar god Mick Ronson of Ziggy Stardust fame. However, it turns out that Mark is actually the stepson of guitarist Mick Jones of Foreigner fame. Granted the Foreigner pedigree is decidedly less hip than the Ziggy pedigree, but it seems that Mark has built up enough cred to withstand any sort of "Dirty White Boy" taunts.

Case in point, his latest record Version. A covers record with a sort of DJ/producer remix twist, Ronson not only compiled an uber hip mix of source material, but he also managed to snag some of the hottest acts out right now to lay down the vocal tracks. One of the most compelling tracks is arguably The Smiths cover "Stop Me" which features a young Aussie superstar unknown on these shores named Daniel Merriweather. It starts off a bit slow and sounds like it's going end up sucking royally, but then it kicks in and completely knocks you on your ass. Also, while I never would've associated Phantom Planet with Radiohead in a million years, Ronson's spin on "Just" from The Bends with the Socal boys on vocals works amazingly well. Oh, and then there's that brilliant mashed-up appearance by Dirt McGirt on the "Toxic" cover...but I could go on and on.

Check it out for yourself on MySpace, as of Monday night the whole album was still available being streaming audio on Ronson's page, but it probably won't be up there in its entirety for long. And, one last important note, Version only hit UK store shelves this week so you're going to have to shell out a bucks for this one right now (and making matters worse, the exchange rate actually hit $2 per quid yesterday!!).

Download: Mark Ronson - "Toxic"

The Monday Show Low Down (Or “I Know Why The Insomniac Bird Sings”)

Damn. Some good music happened here last week…

Por ejemplo, pop merchants Tandemoro played an amazing set at Spaceland before the always-great Happy Hollows and Deadly Syndrome on Saturday night. And sad, spooky pop act The Black Pine last Monday at The Echo? Let’s just say you really should make sure to catch one of their remaining free residency shows this month.

This week looks quality, too. Like our Now Blog This! event at The Scene in Glendale on Thursday night. Each of four LA-based music sites picked one local artist to play the night, so we’ve got The Pity Party (Little Radio), The Valley Arena (Rock Insider), The Clean Prophets (You Set The Scene), and The Western States Motel (um, Radio Free Silver Lake). Full details here, but it’s only $5.

Here’s a look at the full week. You’ll probably want to clear your schedule.

Monday, April 16
- Shapes of Race Cars, Carina Round, & Nico Stai @ The Viper Room
- Wires On Fire, Nudity, Moonrats, & Gengis Kahn @ The Silver Lake Lounge (Free)
- The Youngs @ Mr T’s Bowl
- Divisible @ The Troubadour
- The Minor Canon, The Volts, & The Pity Party @ Spaceland (Free)
- The Black Pine, Luther Russell, I Make This Sound, & The Moon Upstairs @ The Echo (Free)

DECISION:
Again, you can’t go wrong with any of the three residency shows, but The Minor Canon and The Pity Party together? Good call.

Tuesday, April 17
- THE FOLD 10 Year Anniversary Show Special Guests + Castledoor + Pity Party @ The Silver Lake Lounge
- Hearts of Palm UK, The Switch, Troika, & Coco B's @ The Scene (Glendale)
- Kinds Hearts & Coronets @ Amoeba Records
- Anders & Woods @ The Echo
- Rocky Votolato @ The Troubadour
- The Broken West, Mezzanine Owls, & Silverface Champs @ Spaceland
- Rizorkestra @ The Knitting Factory

DECISION:
Okay, so this is a big goddamn night. The mystery “special guests” at The Silver Lake Lounge are worth trying to shelling out $20 for one of the tickets at the door, if you can get one.

If you can’t, there’s The Switch at The Scene, The Broken West and Mez Owls at Spaceland, and Kind Hearts & Coronets at Amoeba for free. Either way, if you go out on Tuesday, you’re going to catch a great show.

Wednesday, April 18
- Eleni Mandell, Fishtank Ensemble, & Charlie Wadhams @ Bordello
- Casxio, Strength, & United By Sound @ The Silver Lake Lounge
- Kinds Hearts & Coronets @ The Standard – Downtown
- Dub Club @ The Echo
- Sara Overall @ The Troubadour
- Lo-Fi Sugar & Black Heart Brigade @ Molly Malone’s

DECISION:
I’ve been wanting to see Lo-Fi Sugar for, like, ever now.

Thursday, April 19
- Now Blog This! w/ The Western States Motel, The Pity Party, The Clean Prophets, & The Valley Arena @ The Scene (Glendale)
- The Morning Benders & Strength @ Spaceland
- Hot Rod Circuit & Limbeck @ The Troubadour
- Syd Barrett Night w/ Bedroom Walls, Big Search, Biirdie, Eleni Mandell, Good Listeners, Gwendolyn, Irving, Nora Keyes, Marjorie Faire, Pity Party, Priscilla Ahn, Thundersnail (Amps for Christ), Mezzanine Owls, Ina James, Leviathan Brothers, Douglas Lee. Kennedy, Yes Me To Death @ Bordello
- The Soft Hands, The Henry Clay People, & The Clark 8 @ Mr T’s Bowl
- The Bird and The Bee, Pedestrian, & The Fishtank Ensemble @ The Derby
- Xu Xu Fang & Starving Daughters @ The Silver Lake Lounge
- The Sky Drops, Spindrift, & Stevenson Ranch Davidians @ The Echo
- Lavender Diamond & Indian Jewelry @ Redcat

DECISION:
Some good stuff this Thursday night. You know I’ll be at Now Blog This! (see above), but the Syd Barrett Night at Bordello, Xu Xu Fang at The Echo, and Lavender Diamond at Redcat are also strong contenders for your time. (But come to our show. Ha.)

Friday, April 20
- Benji Hughes @ The Getty
- The Youngs & Names in Vain @ Pehrspace
- Saint Motel @ The Echo
- Ivy Walls, The May Fire, & Skates @ El Cid
- Corb Lund @ The Silver Lake Lounge
- Steel Train, Oliver Future, City Museum, & Wounded Cougar @ The Echo
- Trans Am, Zombi, & Black Taj @ The Troubadour

DECISION:
I haven’t seen (mostly) instrumental rock act Trans Am play in years, but used to heart them. Benji Hughes is one of those “musician’s musicians” or so I’ve heard him described elsewhere.

Saturday, April 21
- The Deadly Syndrome & The Klaxons @ Ex Plex
- Saint Motel @ The Smell
- The Front, Moonrats, Killsonic, and Tennis Club @ Il Corral (Killradio.org benefit)
- 5th Annual Iggy Pop B-Day Bash @ Spaceland
- Fluff & Jesus Makes A Shotgun Sound @ The Scene
- The Sky Drops, Evervess, & The High Violets @ Club Violaine
- Gravy Train & Sugar and Spice @ The Echo
- Art Brut @ The Troubadour

DECISION:
If you didn’t catch The Deadly Syndrome at Spaceland last Saturday night, here’s another chance to see them before they start only playing venues this small as unannounced mystery guests.

Sunday, April 22
- Service Group, Quazar and the Bamboozled, & The Electrolytes @ The Eagle Rock Bowling and Drinking Club at All-Star Lanes
- Benji Hughes @ Tangier
- The Karabal Nightlife, The Breakups, Ema & the Ghosts, and Yes Means Yes @ The Verity Room (SFV)
- Shiloe @ The Knitting Factory
- The Books @ The Malibu Performing Arts Center

DECISION:
Here’s another opportunity to see Benji Hughes and this time you won’t have to contend with the 405… You’ll have to listen to him play over the clang of silverware and plates while people eat their dinner in Tangier’s sulky back room.

That’s all. Did I miss anything? Please lemme know.

RELATED LINKS:
- Rock Insider Interview w/ The Valley Arena
- Mini-Interview: Tandemoro
- Mini-Interview: The Deadly Syndrome
- Band of the Week: The Black Pine

Mini-Interview: The Henry Clay People

If you haven’t seen The Henry Clay People play out here in LA yet, it’s probably just a matter of time. They’re basically the hardest working men in indie rock show business… performing week after week at places ranging from The Silver Lake Lounge to The Cocaine at Live Jazz, The Scene in Glendale to The Eagle Rock Bowling and Drinking Club, and every place seemingly in-between.

We recently spoke with lead Joey Siara shortly after the release of the band’s new album, The Kid With The Red Moustache.

Hi, Joey. How are you doing today?

Hi there, Mr. Joe. I'm doing just fine. A bit tired I suppose. We played with The Happy Hollows in Long Beach last night and those kids stay up late. It's tough to keep up with such born rock and rollers.

Your new album just came out. Congrats! How was your release party at The Scene?

Why, thanks. It's actually our third full length but first since moving to the greater LA area. It's the first one that we're really trying to play in support of. The Scene show was tons-o-fun. A lot of very wonderful people came out.

There's a great little "scene" (though I hate to use such a loaded word) of people/bands that are blossoming thanks to eastside venues like The Scene, Mr. T's, The Cocaine (though not exactly east side), and The Eagle Rock Bowling and Drinking Club.

I cannot possibly stress enough how important these venues are to preserving the goodness of rock and roll music in Los Angeles. They operate on the periphery of the Echo Park/Silver Lake scene and therefore don't get as much attention -- but they will soon enough, I'm convinced.

These venues don't have the latest sound systems and whatnot but that's the charm of the whole thing--the music is very real sounding and down to earth and has that great DIY punk spirit to it. There's no distance between band and audience. The people/bands that hang out at these places are among the friendliest and most sincere that I have ever met.

I was at The Cocaine on Sunday night to see Downtown/Union, One Trick Pony, and The Transmissions and it was such a great collection of interesting people, very positive vibes and stuff, kinda felt like an old episode of Cheers or something.

How long have you been together? You had another band with many of the same members before, right?

In my mind, The Henry Clay People have been together roughly five years, though we were called Vallejo By Knife for part of it and have undergone a few line-up changes. I've been playing in bands with Eric (our drummer) for about twelve years now--which is crazy to me. I can't imagine playing with anyone else.

How did your music change with the new act?

Initially, we were doing more of a gritty Hot Snakes bar rock thing. We'd wear leisure suits and moustaches and what not and go nuts on stage. When we recorded our first full length we realized that the songs weren't transferring as well as hoped. So we just kept writing and recording (at least fifty songs in the last four years) and natural selection takes place and certain traits develop and certain appendages become obsolete and so on.

And your brother has been playing with you for five years?

Yep. It helps to be genetically linked to the lead guitar player.

Now, you recorded the album with Howard Bilerman (Arcade Fire, Godspeed, You Black Emperor!) and Colin Stewart (Frog Eyes, Destroyer). How did that come together?

We used to have a manager/over-zealous friend that would go to great lengths to contact people that I would never in a million years contact (our manager has since gone MIA, Jeff come back). Anyhow, he managed (as managers do) to get our demo in the hands of Colin and Howard. They responded with enthusiasm to the demos. I was shocked. From there we had the logistical nightmare of planning a recording session.

And what was your experience recording? It was up in Montreal, right?

Initially, the plan was to record at Jackpot! in Portland which I was really excited about because some of my favorite bands recorded there... but we had a last minute scheduling conflict. Long story short-we recorded in both Portland and Montreal.

The experience was amazing and terrifying. We'd be recording and Efrem from Godspeed would just show up to hang out with Howard. In Portland, Larry Crane (who edits Tape-Op magazine and has worked with Elliott Smith and Sleater Kinney) would constantly be stopping in to check his email. Needless to say we were all intimidated and a bit indie rock starstruck.

Howard and Colin made us feel comfortable, though. They're both Canadian and so everybody shared a mutual love for Neil Young and hockey. What more could you want?

They're also analog recording purist types so we didn't use any digital stuff (except my brother's delay pedal) and we tracked it mostly live in a room together. So that was interesting. It forced us to be more of a live band rather than studio wizards.

You guys seem to play live as much as humanly possible. Why?

Why not? Rock and roll music is best heard live. So much manipulation takes place in recording so it's generally refreshing to see through all the smoke and mirrors. I think you get a way better sense of what the band is about... for better or worse.

Plus, playing live is a lot of fun for us and the only way to get better is to play more. So yeah--why not. It's easier to swallow a bad show if you know that you have a chance to redeem yourself the following week.

What's next for you?

We're doing the May residency at The Eagle Rock Bowling and Drinking Club. It should be a blast. A lot of great bands. Then, we're planning a tour this summer with our ever so radical friends Divisadero.

Last question: Who are you listening to these days?

I usually just Ipod shuffle these days although my brother broke my Ipod so I'm stuck to what I have on disc. In my car right now I have: The Thermals, Service Group, The Monolators, Swim Party, The Arcade Fire, The Animals, The Replacements (always have a Replacements album whenever you're in a car), and The Best of Sam Cooke. All are fantastic and highly recommended.

Thanks for your time, Joey.

RELATED LINKS:
- MP3: Children of Chin (YouSendIt Link – Expires in one week)

Mid-Week Show Update: Let's Independent!, Peter And The Wolf, Earlimart, & More

So, our next Let's Independent! event at Boardner’s in Hollywood is going to be FREE and feature experimental pop act Eagle & Talon, your new favorite live act Radars to the Sky, and dancey garage rock enthusiasts The Prix.

Hope you can make it cause these shows always = fun. (Click here for more info.)

We’ve also added a number of newly announced shows to our concert calendar, most notable among them probably being:
- This Friday night, Rock Insider presents Peter And The Wolf at Pehrspace w/ The Monolators, Luke Paquin (of Hot Hot Heat), Divisadero, and Fawnhawk. This show just got announced, is a $5 donation, and should be tres entertaining.
- Tuesday, April 17 – The Fold 10 Year Anniversary Show with The Pity Party, Castledoor, and “special guests” at The Silver Lake Lounge. It’s the “special guests” part that should intrigue you. I mean, remember that acts like Cold War Kids, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and more got their start playing there, so you never know who'll show up on-stage.
- Saturday, April 28th - The Walkmen at The Echoplex (below The Echo). Not my thing, but great for people who like stuff...
- And did you hear that when Earlimart play at The Echoplex on Tuesday, April 26th that they’ll have string accompaniment again? Definitely worth checking out. Rad openers include Sea Wolf, The Parson Red Heads, and The Watson Twins.
- Update: Looks like Tapes n Tapes are now playing at Spaceland on the same night...

Here are all the bands who have new dates on the calendar (to the right): Tapes n Tapes, Castledoor, The Pity Party, Shapes of Race Cars, Carina Round, Nico Stai, Sky Parade, The Ebbs, Iggy & The Stooges, Sage Francis, Arhitecture In Helsinki, Les Claypool, Ditty Bops, CocoRosie, Busdriver, Cornelius, Sound Team, Au Revoir Simone, The Horrors, Bloodcat Love, Maximo Park, The Walkmen, Wait Think Fast, Sara Lov, Hecuba, The Airborne Toxic Event, The Happy Hollows, Radars to the Sky, The Prix, Eagle & Talon, The Renders, Kind Hearts & Coronets, The Amaturs, Secretary Bird, Robbers On High Street, Wallpaper Airplanes, Joe Kennedy, Wake Up Incinerate, The Karabal Nightlife, The Soft Hands, Death to Anders, The Breakups, Ema & the Ghosts, Yes Means Yes, Manic, Fort King , Helene Renaut, Ruthann Friedman, The Soft Hands, The Henry Clay People, The Clark 8, Evervess, The High Violets, The Sky Drops, Spindrift, and Stevenson Ranch Davidians.

Have any shows for me to add to the calendar? Pop me a line.

RELATED LINKS:
- MP3: Peter and The Wolf - The Ivy
- MP3: Peter and The Wolf - Safe Travels
- Mini-Interview: Earlimart
- Mini-Interview: Sea Wolf
- Mini-Interview: Cold War Kids

Lollapalooza 2007 Line-Up Revealed

Where were you when you heard that Intonation was cancelled? Well, Radio Free Chicago reports the start of the official lineup for Lollapalooza 2007 (leaked a day early) thanks to a full page ad in Timeout Chicago. Does this make it smart a little less? Did you favorite band make the list? Is your mind blown as they promised?

The Headliners are:
Pearl Jam, Daft Punk, Ben Harper, Muse, Iggy & The Stooges, Modest Mouse, Interpol, My Morning Jacket, Satellite Party, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Snow Patrol

And there's also:
The Roots, Patti Smith, Kings Of Leon, The Black Keys, Regina Spektor, Spoon, Lupe Fiasco, TV On The Radio, Pete Yorn, G. Love, Paolo Nutini, Amy Winehouse, LCD Soundsystem, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Silverchair, Femi Kuti, Yo La Tengo, Hold Steady

Jack's Mannequin, Stephen Marley, STS9, MIA, Slightly Stoopid, Blonde Redhead, Sparklehorse, Sean Lennon, !!!, Blue October, Son Volt, Motion City Soundtrack, Polyphonic Spree, Peter Bjorn & John, Silversun Pickups, CSS, The Rapture, The Wailers, Roky Erickson, Tapes N Tapes, Heartless Bastards, The View, The Cribs, The Fratellis, Ghostland Observatory, Tokyo Police Club, Rhymefest, Soulive, Cold War Kids

Annuals, Fields, Electric Six, Jim Noir, Elvis Perkins, Sam Roberts, Black Angels, Charlie Musselwhite, Aqueduct, Juliette & The Licks, Dios, Viva Voce, David Vandervelde, Los Campesinos!, Chin Up Chin Up, Ryan Shaw, Colour Revolt, Satin Peaches, Illinois, Arckid, Mickey Avalon, The 1900s, Bang Bang Bang, Bound Stems, High Class Elite Carey Ott, Matt Roan

Ready to travel to Chicago from August 3 - 5th now? I've gotta say I'm more impressed by this line-up than I am for Coachella's.

Granted, it's a bit longer of a drive.

Video Free Silver Lake: Blonde Redhead, Carina Round, & The Besnard Lakes

I've decided that either there needs to be an extra four hours added onto each day or that the human body needs to learn to get by adequately on only four hours sleep, because I don't know how anyone can possibly fit work, life, and fun into a normal twenty-four hour schedule.

Maybe I need to move somewhere farther away from the sun...

Anyway, here are a few videos I've come across in the last week. This first one's for the title track of Blonde Redhead's recent album 23. It's pretty goddamn dreamy.

And here's a video from UK chanteuse Carina Round for the song Down Slow, which makes her look pretty lazy b/c she spends its entirety in bed. She's playing The Viper Room next Monday.

And I tried to find a video by The Besnard Lakes after everyone's kept talking about them after they played in town recently, but all I came across was this clip of their track Disaster set to, no joke, pictures of Keira Knightley. Both funny and sad, but I fucking love the song...

Album of the Week: Grinderman

This isn't necessarily the best album of the week, but it certainly is the most intriguing story of the week...

Depending how you look at it, Nick Cave has either completely snapped (what's up the stache???) or he's taken a refreshing break from the macabre to rock your ass. If you haven't heard about it yet, Grinderman is a new band project lead by Cave featuring many of his Bad Seed cohorts that doesn't sound anything like Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. Instead of the usual morose ballads you've come to expect from Cave & Co., Grinderman spits out a heavy dose of gritty, angst-ridden rawk.

As amusing as it is to hear them in a different context, unfortunately in the end it just doesn't really seem to work and Cave ends up sounding surprisingly corny in a majority of the songs. There are some good songs (like the title track), but there seems to be more bad ones and even a couple that are just plain ugly ("No Pussy Blues"?? seriously Nick, WTF?). Grinderman is not a complete loss as I'm sure die hard Cave fans will get a kick out of it, but to everyone else it may be the most baffling album released so far this year.

Download: Grinderman - "Grinderman"

The Monday Show Low Down (Or “Easy Like Monday Goddamn Morning…”)

Since the Monday show post was taking hours to research and write every week … and I’d occasionally get sloppy and get a few dates wrong … I decided to start splitting it up so that Monday is about this week and Tuesday is about recently announced shows.

I began to guess that there was a problem after going to The Scene on a recent Saturday night to catch Xu Xu Fang and seeing a few country western acts play instead. Because that little boy who went to the wrong show because of bad info on the Interweb? That little boy (sniff!) was me…

Wow, this is all painfully boring. Can I tell you what I ate for breakfast now?

Anyway, here’s what this week is looking like:

Monday, April 9
- Wires On Fire, Die Die Die, Tsk Tsk, & Maps and Atlases @ The Silver Lake Lounge (Free)
- The Minor Canon @ Spaceland (Free)
- The Black Pine, Hearts of Palm UK, Stevenson Ranch Davidians, & Veer Right Young Pastor @ The Echo (Free)
- Cass McCombs & Arboretum @ The Knitting Factory
- Eskimo Hunter, Sonic Boom (Spacemen 3 + Spectrum), & LSD and The Search For God @ Safari Sam’s
- The Front, The Shakes, & Saint Motel @ The Viper Room

DECISION?
Again, Monday night in LA presents you with a bevy of great music options, many of them free. I have no idea who else is on the line-up with (RFSL favorite) The Minor Canon at Spaceland tonight since there are no listings online. The Black Pine and Eskimo Hunter are solid choices, too.

Tuesday, April 10
- Sabrosa Purr & Dead Ponies @ The Echo
- The Happy Hollows & The Henry Clay People @ The Prospector (Long Beach)
- Wovenhand, The Dodos, Fortune’s Flesh, & Sounds Familyre @ The Silver Lake Lounge
- Rizorkestra @ The Knitting Factory

DECISION?
I’ve been meaning to check out rock rock rock band Dead Ponies for awhile now.

Wednesday, April 11
- The Prix @ Safari Sam's
- Nightfur, Rocking Horse People, & No Little Kindness @ The Scene (Free)
- Casxio & The Wylde Bunch @ The Gig
- The Youngs @ The Derby
- The Cowboy Junkies @ The El Rey
- Wovenhand, Sounds Familyre, Lamps, & The Dodos @ The Silver Lake Lounge

DECISION?
I don’t know any of the bands playing on Wednesday night that well. Might be a good chance to try something new.

Wait! How did I miss indie pop The Prix at Safari Sam's?! Gah! Definitely going to that...

Thursday, April 12
- Ted Leo & The Pharmacists w/ Division Day & Love of Diagrams @ The El Rey
- Say Hi To Your Mom @ The Knitting Factory
- Kind Hearts and Coronets & Parson Redheads @ The Knitting Factory
- Very Be Careful & Yo Majesty @ The Echo
- Xu Xu Fang, Aaron Griffin, & Green Heat @ The Silver Lake Lounge
- Nevenka, Vermouth, Hecuba, & The Cairo Gang @ Tangier
- Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3 @ Spaceland

DECISION?
Man, it’d be great to see Division Day playing at a venue as big as The El Rey. I’d also really like to catch both Kind Hearts & Coronets and Xu Xu Fang, but will likely try to brave The Knitting Factory to see former NYC act Say Hi To Your Mom, who made one of my most-listened-to albums of last year.

Friday, April 13
- Hella, Who’s your favorite son, God?, & Veer Right Young Pastor @ The Echo
- The Aggrolites @ The Ex-Plex
- The One AM Radio, Ola Podirda, Joel Virgil, & Sara Lov @ Tangier
- Kelley Stoltz & Essex Green @ Spaceland
- Lucinda and the Lost Dogs & The Karabal Nightlife @ Echo Curio
- Mia Doi Todd, From Leaf To Feather, Fishtank Ensemble, & Lots of Love @ El Cid
- Ted Leo & The Pharmacists w/ Love of Diagrams @ The El Rey

DECISION?
The pop stylings of Essex Green and Kelley Stoltz stand out the most to me for Friday night…

Saturday, April 14
- The Shins, Lily Allen, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Cold War Kids, & Bitter:Sweet @ KCRW’s Sounds Eclectic Evening @ The Gibson Ampitheatre
- The Deadly Syndrome, The Happy Hollows, Tandemoro, & Parson Red Heads @ Spaceland
- Thailand @ Pehrspace
- The Ponys, Deerhunter, & Jenna Malone @ The Echo

DECISION?
Fuck!! Why do The Ponys and Deerhunter, Thailand at Pehrspace, AND the amazing grouping of The Deadly Syndrome, The Happy Hollows, Tandemoro, and The Parson Redheads have to happen on the same night?

Sunday, April 15
- The Shins w/ Viva Voce @ The Orpheum Theatre
- Yes Me To Death, Lyra, & Forget Cassettes @ The Scene (Glendale)
- Obsolete Heart @ Killradio Acoustic Benefit at Lost Souls Café
- Grand Ole Echo w/ Mike Stinson, Mojo Monkeys (Dave Ravens Band), 5 O'clock Somewhere @ The Echo (Early)
- Part Time Punks: Lemonade & Bronze (with members of The Vanishing & Fuckwolf) @ The Echo
- Ferraby Lionheart, Erin Armstrong, & Rides On Rides @ Tangier
- Service Group, The Spires, The Henry Clay People, & Teaneck @ The Eagle Rock Bowling and Drinking Club at All-Star Lanes

DECISION?
I just picked up Ferraby Lionheart’s cd and would love to see him live, but The Eagle Rock Bowling and Drinking Club is once again calling my name. The Spires and The Henry Clay People equal fun.

That’s the week. Did I miss anything good? Please lemme know. More tomorrow… Oh, and before I forget? Yesterday, I learned the true meaning of Easter. Here are some pics.

RELATED LINKS:
- Mini-Interview: The Minor Canon
- Mini-Interview: Say Hi To Your Mom
- Video Free Silver Lake: The Happy Hollows
- Mini-Interview: The Deadly Syndrome
- Mini-Interview: The One AM Radio
- Mini-Interview: The Spires

Mini-Interview: Tandemoro

You know, I just realized I really don't know what the hell the word "Tandemoro" means at all...

I mean, I've seen the upbeat LA indie pop act perform live, listened to their albums, watched their videos, and seen the two Mikes (Griffin -- guitar and vocals, Schanzlin -- vocals and keys) at countless shows here in Silver Lake, but never once wondered where their name came from before.

But since my quick search online on Google and Dictionary.com turned up nothing and it didn't come up at all during our recent interview with the guys, I guess it remains a mystery for now.

(For the record, I think they made it up...)

Hey, it's the two Mikes! How are you guys doing? What's new?

Mike S: We're doing really well - just catching up with Los Angeles after being on the road for the past couple weeks.

Mike G: Lot's of music going on. Might have a new video coming, looks like we're doing a few soundtracks to some cool short films, which is something we love to do.

How did you start playing together as Tandemoro?

Mike G: We met in a band back in '98. That was all instrumentals, then we did a few other bands together sort of by chance. After that we started just working together deliberately.

Before we crossed paths, Mike S. was into jazz and hip hop and I was into The Beatles. Somehow we started recording and writing together and things took off.

I think we were doing things that surprised each other. I wasn't used to that level of musicianship and he wasn't used to my level of badass s#*@. (laughs)

What's been the story since then? You have two albums and an EP out, correct?

Mike S: Yeah, more or less two albums and an EP, although the first album we did is now only available to people who know how to hack our web site.

When we started recording together, we'd throw everything we had done on this super ghetto website I had put together and on mix CDs for our friends. Back then we were doing all sorts of different stuff - I was making mash-ups on the side and we were recording some covers as well - so we ended up giving out these mix CDs to our friends with some original stuff, and some not-so-original stuff.

One weekend we decided to do an album and pretty much wrote everything as we recorded it. Friends passed it along, and we started getting emails from all over - New York, Australia, Sweden, etc - asking what our deal was, which at that point (our pre-myspace days) completely freaked us out.

Mike G: It was the most exciting thing, probably because we had no expectations. We were still in other bands then, it took a good 2 years to take the time to record the Lock Your Doors EP after that. We were in a few bands kind of building up to being singers. We did mess-around party bands singing songs everyone knows, then we were in a good hip hop band, doing the music stuff and the hooks.

After the EP was out there, we decided to stop treating Tandemoro like a side-project and dedicate time to it, and put a band together.

Your new album The Movers & The Shakers just came out. Who produced it? What was your experience recording it?

Mike S: Mike and I had been listening to stuff like Midnite Vultures and decided we wanted to record songs that were really dance-ish. We ended up moving into this apartment in the valley for a year and let our instruments take over the place. We recorded and mixed the album ourselves in my bedroom (studio A) and the kitchen (studio B).

Mike G: Yeah, we recorded and wrote our asses off and went through two separate computer meltdowns, so we re-re-recorded stuff a lot. It enabled us to really think about what we wanted for every song. We ended up with completely different songs than the demos we started the sessions with. The songs that ended up on the album were almost all written during recording.

You have your EP available free for download on your site. I think that's very cool, but what's the reason for it?

Mike G: That was our philosophy for a long time, just get it out there for people. The Movers & The Shakers is the first album we really made to be sold.

I think the reason we're selling it is just for legitimacy. The good bands you know sell CD's, so we do too. It's funny because we had everything available for free on the web-site and people would still email saying, "I want to buy your cd, where can I find it in stores?"

Yeah, I think I did that once. What's the story of your pending legal battle? Or can you not talk about that?

Mike G: I don't think we're at liberty to talk about it.

Mike S: (laughs) Yeah, we can only talk about it on myspace.

Mike G: True. (laughs)

So, what's Dane Cook really like? (I still can't get The Onion's "Dane Cook Parlays New Burger King Menu Item Into Hour-Long HBO Special" out of my head.)

Mike G: Our limited experience with Dane Cook was nothing but great stuff. We were super-excited when we got songs on the show. I did get the impression that he hand-picked, well, hand-approved of those songs so we really have a lot to thank him for. The times that we've attempted to thank him, he was very sincere and cool. Now we're on the soundtrack album for that show, so it's really cool. He's awesome.

Who are your influences?

Mike S: That’s always tough to say – it’s a really long/continuous list. From a production standpoint, I think most of our stuff up to now has been influenced by stuff like Gorillaz, RJD2 (Deadringer), Daft Punk, crazy Beck, Flaming Lips, The Bees (UK)… Mostly pretty straightforward beat-driven stuff. I think the next batch of songs we record will be in a similar vain, but a little bit weirder.

Your video for the song Stars is one of my favorites, partially because it's shot in all these iconic, though off the beaten path spots here in LA, but mainly because you have someone in it doing the funky worm while wearing a space suit. How did that come together?

Mike G: Well, me doing the funky worm came together very methodically. The rest of it was organic and completely the brain-child of Winch and Pulley. Well, we're adoptive parents of it. I love it too.

I remember sitting with Josh Forbes and just brainstorming places in LA we should hit. At each one we were like "Hmm, it'll be hard to shoot there." and then "...whatever, we'll shoot there and see what happens."

Most places were pretty nice. People couldn't always see the cameras, so they would walk by and see us in these dream-like spaceman/alien suits thinking we're just some bizarre performance artists so they walked by all fast and nervous, which was the exact opposite of what we were going for, we wanted to get people going and lead big groups around downtown, but everyone basically ran away when they say us coming and security would come out. It ended being something new, which I like.



OH, and the Asian tourists LOVED us. They were down as hell the whole way through. We were right up their alley (laughs). In one shot outside of the Disney Hall, you can see us taking pictures with a group of Asian tourists, it was fun.

Are you working on any videos for tracks off your latest album?

Mike S: There’s actually already one for the song Patch of Luck. It was done by our buddy Nathan Punwar, who makes all sorts of cool stop-motion animation and shorts. It’s a cool little story about a day in the life of a record and ends with Tandemoro performing on a stage made out of egg cartons.



Mike G: Nathan also did this little promo video for us for the new album. He used some of the extra pictures we gave him for the Patch of Luck video and made this sort of kaleidescope commercial for Tandemoro. He's awesome. That stuff is out on youtube and our myspace.

Three of you are also in the band The Western States Motel. How does that work out?

Mike G: It works out very well, we all share our practice space and it's great. We met Carl (The Western States Motel) through Tandemoro, he used to be our lead guitarist and we had a great time, we all collaborated.

He came in and recorded sweet riffs on The Movers & The Shakers, he had a big affect on that album. He invited us over to his place to check out this album he was working on and we loved it.

He had us play and sing a little on his song I Won't Be Going Back to San Diego and we ended up in that band with him and now it's doing really well… minus the horrible giant rivalry that shall not be mentioned here.

You guys recently had an interview plus performance on Aquarium Drunkard's show on Little Radio. How did that go?

Mike G: Little Radio is awesome. Aquarium Drunkard was one of our first blog supporters and he's a friend now. The setup he's got there at Little Radio kicks ass. You feel cool being there.

We've been lucky with radio, we got to do spots on other radio stations in the past and it's great. ...is good on killradio was awesome, live365 back in the day was scary and fun. We even got something on BBC Radio One, which is weird. Little Radio made us feel the coolest though.

What's next for you guys?

Mike S: We just put up another free EP on our site. It’s four songs we recorded and mixed in our rehearsal space over a period of about three days.

We're kind of always writing and recording but this group of songs was a focused session in mid-December to give to our close friends and family because we didn't have money for Christmas gifts.

It turned out well and so we just recently decided to put it up with a few extra tracks on our site so everyone can get at it.

Mike G: We're also going to be playing a bunch of shows. On April 14th, we’ll be at Spaceland with The Parson Redheads, The Deadly Syndrome, and The Happy Hollows.

Nice. That's a great line-up. Okay, so last question... What are you listening to these days?

Mike S: I've totally been swooning over The Happy Hollows EP.

Also the new Dr. Dog record, The Switch EP 'Hello Today', Big Search's 'Mysticism vs. Classicism', some late 60s garage-rock mixes from friends, and White Album acoustic bootlegs.

Mike G: The Bees' new album Octopus, which makes me listen to their old stuff, I have this compilation of Romantic Piano stuff from Debussy and Chopin that I listen to in the car... It centers my head, it feels great. Danny "The Blazin" Hazen. Whatever isn't scratched to s#*t in my cd case.

That's it! Thanks for your time, guys.

Mike S: Our pleasure.

Mike G: Thank you, Joe. You're awesome. See you soon at random shows in Silver Lake, I'm sure.

RELATED LINKS:
- MP3: Coloring Dreams (YouSendIt Link - expires in one week)
- MP3: Keep Em Waiting (YouSendIt Link - expires in one week)
- Mini-Interview: The Western States Motel

Three Self-Released Albums That Someone Needs To Pick Up Like Right Fucking Now

There's never an A & R guy around when you really need one, eh? That's what it seems like after hearing these three self-released albums... With all the junk that comes out every day between both the major and indie labels, it's a crime that no one has snagged these ones yet.

Division Day - Beartrap Island
This is one of those cds where your favorite song shifts over time and the ones you didn't pay as much attention to at first become the ones you listen to the most later. It's smart indie pop with a literal fuckload of variety within its thirteen tracks.

MP3: Tap-Tap-Click-Click (YouSendIt Link - Expires in one week)

The Minor Canon - No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
Duke at You Set The Scene and I both keep talking about how this is one of our favorite albums out so far this year. And to re-use an earlier quote, "It's solid stuff, songs made by a guy who comes across like his heart is literally on the line, and there's not a single bad or mediocre track to be found on the whole cd."

MP3: Bend Like Trees (YouSendIt Link - expires in one week)

Thailand - Motorcade
Like I've said before, Thailand have somehow single-handedly made it okay to like electro pop again. There are so many great tracks on this album... It's like everything you wanted out of the second Interpol cd and so much more. Both the music and its smarty pants lyrics stuck in your head for months.

MP3: The Magic Art demo (YouSendIt Link - expires in one week)

RELATED LINKS:
- Mini-Interview: Division Day
- Mini-Interview: The Minor Canon
- Mini-Interview: Thailand

Video Free Silver Lake: Citizens Here & Abroad, Jenny Lewis & The Watson Twins, & Trans Am

My friend Mary and I are filling for Kevin Bronson on his Buzz Bands radio show on Little Radio tonight from 6 - 8 pm PST. Tune in here on teh Interweb, if you get a chance.

In the meantime, here are a few videos I've come across lately... Two off of Little Radio's web-site... The first is by my current favorite pop band from San Francisco, Citizens Here and Abroad. (I guess the gratuitous crotch shot in the middle helps break up all the spinning.)

The second is from Jenny Lewis & The Watson Twins and is one big take-off of Hee-Haw. It's even better to watch high than anything on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. Two people jumping up out of a cornfield is somehow immediately funny...

And the third is for the song Conspiracy of the Gods off of the new Trans Am album and completely threatens to rock your face off.

Album of the Week (or the post formerly known as New Releases Tuesday)

"Simply put, this album is a masterpiece..."

Coming from anyone else, I would instantly roll my eyes after reading that statement, but when that statement comes from Kranky, you've got to take notice:

Painstakingly recorded, processed and assembled over the last five years, Stars of the Lid once again deliver a massive work filling two compact discs and three vinyl albums, clocking in at over two hours(!). While most albums of this length would be considered tedious at best, SOTL are arguably the only contemporary composers who can seemingly alter the time-space continuum simply through the playback of their organized sound. They take time itself and stretch, compress and turn it inside out, altering what would otherwise be an arduous test of nerves into an interlude of half awake dreams that ends too soon.

Download: Stars of the Lid - "Apreludes in C Sharp Major"

The Monday Show Low Down (“What’s The Medical Term For When You, Y’Know, Accidentally Get Turned Inside Out?”)

It’s my first day back to work today after a month spent wallowing in my own crapulence, so I’ll keep this pretty quick… Did you see that Sonic Youth are going on tour playing Daydream Nation? You know, the album that Pitchfork rightly called the best album from the 80s? Tickets are on sale for their Friday, July 20th performance at The Greek.

And did you also hear that local music sites Rock Insider, Little Radio, You Set The Scene, and Radio Free Silver Lake are teaming up for a show called Now Blog This! on Thursday, April 14th at The Scene in Glendale?

We’ve got The Western States Motel, The Pity Party, The Clean Prophets, and The Valley Arena playing and The LA Times’ Kevin Bronson and Sea Level’s Sylvia will be djing. Expect more shameless plugs about this again soon…

Anyway, here’s how this week is looking like, show-wise.

MONDAY
- The Minor Canon, Nico Stai, Repeater, & The By and By @ Spaceland (Free)
- The Black Pine, The Poor Excuses, & Lion of Panjshir @ The Echo (Free)
- Wires on Fire, The Antarcticans, Sabertooth Tiger, & DJ Godzilla @ The Silver Lake Lounge (Free)
- Eastern Conference Champions @ Viper Room
- Ratatat @ The Henry Fonda

DECISION:
It’s the first free residency night of the month, so the choices are plentiful. It’s more about do you go to see X band this Monday or one of the four other chances we’ve got in April.

Por ejemplo, I really like The Black Pine, who are playing with Lion of Panjshir, who I’m curious about because they’ve got some good tracks on their myspace page … but both acts are playing with Xu Xu Fang on Thursday at The Silver Lake Lounge.

I’ve wanted to check out Wires on Fire’s loudness and they’re also playing with The Antarcticans, an instrumental rock band who I’ve wanted to see awhile because they started the label that The Lights From Here are on.

And I definitely want to see melancholy pop act The Minor Canon at Spaceland. Their album No Good Deed Goes Unpunished is one of my favorites so far this year… but they haven’t announced the line-ups for their other shows this month, so I don’t know if I’ll want to catch next week more. But I know I’ll probably see them a few times in April.

That’s as far as I’ve gotten in the decision making process at 7:47 AM in the morning.

TUESDAY
- The Deadly Syndrome & Scanners @ Cinespace
- Rizorkestra @ The Knitting Factory

DECISION:
I really can’t say enough good things about The Deadly Syndrome’s live performance, but I’d recommend seeing them at Spaceland later this month more when they play with The Happy Hollows again. Here are reviews of last week’s show with them on music sites The Passion of the Weiss and Rewritable Content.

WEDNESDAY
- The Henry Clay People CD Release Party w/ The Natural Disasters, Kissing Tigers, & Writer @ The Scene(Glendale)
- Jason Lytle and Aaron Espinoza, Light FM, Human Value, & Blood on the Tracks @ The Silver Lake Lounge
- The Youngs @ The Mint
- The Little Ones & Sea Wolf @ The Troubadour
- Wake Up Incinerate, Enid the Dowl, the Atomic Music Explosion, and the Randies @ Safari Sam’s
- Persephone’s Bees @ Spaceland

DECISION:
Another tough night for the even relatively indecisive… The Little Ones and Sea Wolf are easily two of the best live acts in LA right now, but there’s going to be a rare performance with Earlimart’s Aaron Espinoza and Grandaddy’s Jason Lytle over at The Silver Lake Lounge and The Henry Clay People are having a cd release party over at The Scene in Glendale.

THURSDAY
- Man Man & Simon Dawes @ The Roxy
- Kind Hearts & Coronets @ Safari Sam’s
- Xu Xu Fang, The Black Pine, & Lion of Panjshir @ The Silver Lake Lounge

DECISION:
Rock Insider is putting on a surprisingly reasonably-priced show at The Roxy with Man Man and Simon Dawes and I’ve really wanted to see psych pop act Kind Hearts & Coronets play out, but the allure of seeing Xu Xu Fang, The Black Pine, and Lion of Panjshir all play together at The Silver Lake Lounge is pretty strong.

FRIDAY
- Richard Swift & Sons of National Freedom, David Vandervelde & Moonstation House Band, & Peter Walker @ Spaceland
- She’s Your Sister cd release party w/ Casxio @ Safari Sam’s
- Dean & Britta @ The Getty
- First Fridays w/ Plaid, The Submarines, & DJs Dntel & Hoseh @ The Natural History Museum of LA County
- Evil Maria, The Switch, & One Trick Pony @ M Bar

DECISION:
There are some great acts playing on Friday, but The Switch make great “bedraggled, fall-down-the-stairs pop” and One Trick Pony’s Box Song is constantly stuck in my head, so I’m probably heading to M Bar in Hollywood.

SATURDAY
- Dean & Britta @ The Silent Movie Theater
- Corazon County @ Tangier
- The Weather Underground @ Lolopop! USC Ground Zero Coffee House
- The Thermals, Them Hills, & Wet Confetti @ The Echo

DECISION:
Not sure if anything is pulling me out that night, but fans of Luna will probably want to catch Dean & Britta at The Silent Movie Theater on Saturday. (If they haven't already taken the tram up to the frigging gorgeous grounds of The Getty to see them on Friday evening.)

SUNDAY
- All India Radio, Signal Hill, & Amestor @ The Knitting Factory
- Hearts of Palm UK @ The Hive Gallery

DECISION:
Like I've mentioned before, I'm a huge fan of post rock act Signal Hill's live show. It'd be well worth braving The Knitting Factory to see them play.

That’s it. Did I miss anything? Please let me know.

I’ve added shows for the following bands to our concert calendar: Sabrosa Purr, The Northern Two, Wires On Fire, Die Die Die, Tsk Tsk, Maps and Atlases, Nudity, Moonrats, Gengis Kahn, Qui, Free Moral Agents, Black Fur, DJ Travis Keller, She’s Your Sister, Casxio, Shiloe, Sounds Familyre, The Western States Motel, The Pity Party, The Clean Prophets, The Valley Arena, Kind Hearts & Coronets, Sonic Youth, The Hold Steady, Lily Allen, Dinosaur Jr., Wake Up Incinerate, Enid the Dowl, The Atomic Music Explosion, The Randies, Eastern Conference Champions, The Zincs, The Parson Red Heads, The Raveonettes, The Deadly Syndrome, Scanners, The Klaxons, The Happy Hollows, Pistolero, Gang Violets, Dead Ponies, Lyra, Viva Voce, Forget Cassettes, The Black Pine, The Amateurs, Never At Night, The Monolators, Thailand, LoveLifeFire, Nico Stai, The By and By, Repeater, Richard Swift & Sons of National Freedom, David Vandervelde & Moonstation House Band, Peter Walker, The Poor Excuses, Lions of Panjshir, Plaid, The Submarines, DJs Dntel & Hoseh, and Midnight Movies. (See the right-hand column for dates and venues.)

Oh, and we’ve added some great pics by Sterling "Shutterface" Andrews and Simon Cardoza to our collection of shots from last week’s Let’s Independent! show. See them all here.

RELATED LINKS:
- Band of the Week: The Switch
- Mini-Interview: One Trick Pony
- Video Free Silver Lake: The Happy Hollows
- Mini-Interview: The Little Ones
- Mini-Interview: Earlimart
- Mini-Interview: Sea Wolf
- Mini-Interview: The Minor Canon
- Mini-Interview: The Deadly Syndrome