Save The Date: Let's Independent! on Tuesday, August 19th

We're pleased to announce that our next Let's Independent! event on Tuesday, August 19th at Boardner's of Hollywood and we'll be observing the show's two-year anniversary.

Each month, we try to spotlight some of the best independent acts in Los Angeles and this time, we're bringing back three of our all-time favorites for a unique "celebration of specialness." (Alright, it will probably be more of "an evening in commemoration of rocking your goddamn face off...")

Who's playing? Watch the videos below to find out.








Then read all the details right here.

Photo by Braedon Photography.

Video Free Silver Lake: The Hectors, Castledoor, & The Movies

It's the middle of the week and you don't really want to read anything, you just want to sit back and watch... Indie rock as a spectator sport. Well, here are three videos for you.

The first is a new one for The Hectors' song Carol and Sanford and it's so damn cool, I can barely stand it. They're playing this Thursday at Spaceland. Hopefully all dressed in space jumpsuits.



Next is some footage of Castledoor recently performing at Little Radio Summer Camp from Elaine Layabout. They're also playing on Thursday night, but with The Flying Tourbillon Orchestra at The Scene in Glendale.



And here's some great footage I just stumbled across of a really noteworthy night at Bordello... The Movies' CD Release Event with The Savages and The Happy Hollows.

The Monday/Tuesday Show Down (Or "You Make A Better Dork Than A Window...")

Here's a post two days in the making... Lately, I've been trying to put together a master list of all the music venues -- big and small -- in LA. Take a look at the following and please let me know if I've missed anything.

3 of Clubs

The Airliner

Amoeba Music

The Avalon

Bar 5150

Bordello

Cafe Mariposa

Charlie O’s

The CIA

Cinespace

The Cocaine

Crane's Tavern

Crash Mansion

The Derby

Eagle Rock Bowling & Drinking Club

The Echo

Echo Curio

El Cid

The El Rey

The Greek

The Henry Fonda Music Box

The Hollywood Bowl

The Hotel Cafe

The House of Blues

Key Club

The Knitting Factory

Largo

L'Keg

Little Radio

Mr T’s Bowl

Pehrspace

The Roxy

Safari Sam’s

The Scene

The Silver Lake Lounge

The Smell

Spaceland

Tangier

Temporary Spaces

The Troubadour

The Viper Room

Now here are a few recommendations for good shows going on this week...

Monday, July 28
- Princeton, ((Sounder)), Golden Animals, & His Orchestra @ The Silver Lake Lounge (FREE)
- Jeffrey Davies (of Brian Jonestown Massacre) & Friends @ Cafe Mariposa
- Jail Weddings, Devon Williams, Starlight Desperation, & Arrow Dan @ The Echo (FREE)
- HEALTH, Midwife, Foot Village, & Kyle H. Mabson @ The Smell
- Clevis, Temple, & The Heartstring Symphony @ Echo Curio
- Health, Midwife, Foot Village, & Kyle H. Mabson @ The Smell
- Spacehog @ The Viper Room
- Under The Influence Of Giants, Sabrosa Purr, Beardo, Audra Mae @ Spaceland (FREE)
- Sean Carnage, DJ Nanny Canteloupe, & KXLU-FM/Dublab presents: Voodoo Organist, Everybody, Killsonic, & Skyline Electric @ Pehrspace
- The Danbury Shakes, The Sweet Hurt, Plasticsoul, Brandon Schott, & Hello from Reno @ Mr T's Bowl
- Duke Spirit @ Amoeba Music (7PM)

DECISION:
I missed a month worth of free Princeton shows between being sick and having to work late. For shame...

Tuesday, July 29
- Manhattan Murder Mystery, Mon Marie, Ovideo, & February Fifths @ The Silver Lake Lounge
- Black Kids w LoveLikeFire @ The El Rey
- EXITMUSIC, LPD, Lately Blu Blu, & Dopamine @ L'Keg
- Future War & Ear Pwr @ The Smell
- Carolina Liar, The Shys, Nico Stai, & Emily Wells @ The Troubadour
- Eef Barzelay (of Clem Snide) @ Spaceland
- Jellmunekita, The Leeches, The Mormons, & The Bastidas @ Mr T's Bowl
- Ruby & The Polyamorous Affair @ The Key Club
- The Watson Twins & Tim Fite @ The Echo

DECISION:
The Manhattan Murder Mystery and EXITMUSIC shows sound like good bets. I've been meaning to see The Watson Twins, too. Quite a range there.

Wednesday, July 30
- Not The Government & Low Point Drains @ Cafe Mariposa
- Afghan Raiders, Old Gold, Victim Vision, Addiquit, & Letron @ The Silver Lake Lounge
- White Lies @ The Echo
- Killah Priest @ The El Rey
- Jon McLaughlin @ The Troubadour
- Indie 103 presents CLUB NME w/ The Virgins, Friendly Fires @ Spaceland
- Chromeo @ The Henry Fonda Music Box
- Bastidas, Die Rockers Die, & Family Analog Tree @ Echo Curio
- Dub Club Presents Tappa Zukie @ Echoplex
- Jay Reatard & Cheap Time @ The Echo
- Security Productions, Electric Russia, At The Rate of Fast, & Bad Poetry Minute @ Mr T's Bowl
- The Hold Steady w/ The Loves Ones @ The Avalon

DECISION:
Part of me wants to go see midwest smart rockers The Hold Steady, but the parking at The Avalon is more expensive than I usually spend on the door for shows.

Thursday, July 31
- Castledoor, Flying Tourbillion Orchestra, & O’Pioneers @ The Scene
- The Spires, Voyager One, Polar X, & Lights On @ The Silver Lake Lounge
- Hello Dragon (cd release party), The Hectors, Barrio Tiger, Costa Nova @ Spaceland
- Grand Ole Party, The Parson Redheads, & What's Up @ The Echo
- Club Flotsam w/ Million Kids, Falsetto Teeth, Heart of Gold, & Out of Town @ Mr T's Bowl
- Decay Fest Night 1: Matthew Setzer, Kalish, The Porpose Code, & The Sweat Shop Boys @ Pehrspace
- Vandellas, & The Health Club, & Whisper Kid @ Echo Curio
- Respect @ Echoplex
- Alejandro Escovedo @ The Troubadour
- Imaad Wasif with Two Part Beast, Tweak Bird, & Sasqrotch @ The Smell
- KROQ Locals Only Presents The Weather Underground, The Fling, & End Roulette (formerly Hazelden) @ Safari Sam's
- The International Pop Overthrow! w/ Service Group, The Bentleys, Relax 2 Paris, Evan Hillhouse, Comic Book Heroes, One Silver Astronaut, Susan Hedges, Shannon Hurley @ The Knitting Factory

DECISION:
Lots of good shows on Thursday night... Castledoor and The Flying Tourbillion Orchestra at The Scene, The Spires at The Silver Lake Lounge, The Hectors at Spaceland, Grand Ole Party and The Parson Redheads at The Echo.

Friday, August 1
- Echo & Club Underground present: Friendly Fires, & Pop Levi (acoustic) @ The Echo
- The Subways @ The Troubadour
- Z Trip, DJ Diabetic (Shepherd Fairy), Troublemarkers + Special Guests @ Echoplex
- Grandpire, Yukon, & Upsilon Acrux @ Cafe Mariposa
- Lucas Gonze & Friends @ Echo Curio
- Ty Segall & Regina Cherene @ The Smell
- Seasons, Box Violet, Excuses for Skipping, Mister Loveless, & Smile Brigade @ Mr T's Bowl
- George Thorogood @ The Greek
- Decay Fest Night 2 w/ Counters, Aurest, Defrag, KnobGoblin, & deathsauce @ Pehrspace
- Official viewing party for Airborne Toxic Event live on Conan O’Brien @ Spaceland (12:30 back bar)

DECISION:
Anyone have any recommendations for Friday night?

Saturday, August 2nd
- Smog Sessions @ The Echo
- Thao and the Get Down Stay Down @ The Troubadour
- Run Run Run, Voyager One, Bedtime for Toys, The Coral Sea @ Spaceland
- Bootie LA w/ Eclectic Method, Adrian & The Mysterious D, Dj Paul V. @ Echoplex
- Dengue Fever w/ The Frequency & Afternoons @ The El Rey
- One Night with Thibauldt @ Echo Curio
- Ringo Starr @ The Greek
- The French Semester & Ollie Byrd and The Trees @ Pehrspace
- Joe Bisa and Matt Crane & Todd Homer @ Mr T's Bowl
- The Vacation, Oliver Future, & more @ The House of Blues

DECISION:
I've been listening to The French Semester a lot lately... So damn good. Dreamy, even.

Sunday, August 3rd
- Obi Best, The Meemies, Light FM, & Sweet Hurt @ Tangier
- Boris, Torche, & Lair of the Manowar @ Echoplex
- The Honorary Title @ The Troubadour
- Grand Ole Echo pres: Mike Stinson, Dave Gleason w/ Oold Californio, Lisa & Her Kin @ The Echo (early)
- Part Time Punks w/ @ The Echo (late)
- Little Radio Summer Camp w/ tba @ The Little Radio Downtown Warehouse
- Nomo @ Amoeba Music (2PM)
- Nomo & El Ten Eleven @ Spaceland
- Magick Daggers, Blood Red Dancers, Vaginals, & David Scott Stone @ The Smell
- Ollie Byrd and the Trees from Brooklyn, The Health Club, Dirt Dress, & Hello My Name is Red @ Mr T's Bowl
- ElManiquilazer, JuanTheMannequin, LilGayBlackSamboOrphans, Tremellow, & UnSexyNerd @ Cafe Mariposa
- Dolly Parton @ The Greek Theatre

DECISION:
Local legends The Movies are playing Little Radio Summer Camp during the day and at night the show with Obi Best (formerly Colorforms), The Sweet Hurt, and Light FM at Tangier sounds great.

But I made a promise to see Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton next time they came through, so I think the lady friend and I are going to catch her at The Greek.



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

Interview: The Poor Excuses

Sure, LA has its share of loud, jangly rock bands (like local heart-throbs Le Switch, for example), but pound-for- pound, none are quite as loud or as jangly as Andrew Lynch's The Poor Excuses.

We caught up with the singer/keyboardist/trumpeteer earlier this week in the middle of recording the group's second album. He was good enough to send over a demo track off of it (scroll below) and it's pretty brilliant.



PoorExcuses (5:56:16 PM): Hi, man.
RFSL (5:57:20 PM): Hey, Andrew. How are you doing today?
PoorExcuses (5:57:29 PM): Pretty fine. And yourself?
RFSL (5:57:39 PM): Doing pretty well.
RFSL (5:57:46 PM): Busy at work these days.
RFSL (5:57:58 PM): These post-apocalyptic futures don't make themselves and all.
PoorExcuses (5:58:03 PM): haha
RFSL (5:58:09 PM): So, you're working on a new album?
PoorExcuses (5:59:19 PM): Yeah, we figure that the first record has been out for about four months... Time to stop sitting around and get busy.
RFSL (6:00:18 PM): I take it you're constantly writing songs.
PoorExcuses (6:00:49 PM): That's the way we want it to be.
PoorExcuses (6:01:33 PM): It's not easy when there are always a million parties, but we gotta keep doing it.
RFSL (6:02:04 PM): When did you start it all up?
PoorExcuses (6:02:51 PM): Mike and I started writing together about two years ago
RFSL (6:03:20 PM): Then what happened?
PoorExcuses (6:03:21 PM): We played our first show in the fall of 2006.
PoorExcuses (6:03:46 PM): And just kind of kept rolling from there.
RFSL (6:04:11 PM): Where was your first show?
PoorExcuses (6:04:26 PM): On the much-feared west side of town.
RFSL (6:04:30 PM): Good Hurt!
PoorExcuses (6:04:31 PM): The Good Hurt.
PoorExcuses (6:04:39 PM): Haha. You guessed it.
RFSL (6:05:09 PM): I've been there. I wish there were more venues on the west side.
PoorExcuses (6:07:55 PM): Our second show was at Spaceland though... And that one was fun.
RFSL (6:08:23 PM): What made you want to do The Poor Excuses?
PoorExcuses (6:09:25 PM): I had been writing and performing around town for a while, being a singer-songwriter and it was so hard.
PoorExcuses (6:09:57 PM): Doing solo sets on piano and not sharing the stage with anyone, it felt like there was no energy.
PoorExcuses (6:10:02 PM): There probably wasn't. haha.
PoorExcuses (6:10:05 PM): but
PoorExcuses (6:10:39 PM): also, I felt like one of a million people trying to do that thing, and I felt like there were other people doing it better.
PoorExcuses (6:11:31 PM): Around that time I met Mike Whiteside who is a great rock guitarist and drinking buddy.
PoorExcuses (6:11:59 PM): And we talked about writing some high-energy material... trying to shake things up.
PoorExcuses (6:12:24 PM): So we just started trying it and it led to The Poor Excuses.
PoorExcuses (6:12:46 PM): Mike's brother Tyler moved to L.A. and luckily he is a high-energy drummer.
PoorExcuses (6:12:56 PM): So it all just sort of clicked.
RFSL (6:42:44 PM): Who did you record your first album with? Where?
PoorExcuses (6:43:05 PM): There are three engineers in the band, so we recorded it all ourselves.
RFSL (6:43:18 PM): Yeah, you do work over at The Ship, right?
PoorExcuses (6:43:42 PM): Yes, The Ship is so cool.
PoorExcuses (6:43:53 PM): We actually did three songs at King Size Sound Labs, though.
RFSL (6:44:06 PM): Ahh. That's next door, right?
PoorExcuses (6:44:11 PM): Yes.
PoorExcuses (6:44:43 PM): I would love to make the next record at The Ship. Just have to work it out with Mr. Espinoza.
PoorExcuses (6:44:45 PM): Haha
RFSL (6:45:19 PM): And of course, you moonlight in his band Earlimart.
PoorExcuses (6:46:19 PM): You call it moonlight, I call it friendship.
PoorExcuses (6:46:55 PM): Aaron is one of my favorite people, so when he wants something how can I say no.
RFSL (6:47:14 PM): He's a good guy.
RFSL (6:48:01 PM): So how far along is the new album?
PoorExcuses (6:48:39 PM): We have three or four songs that are totally finished.
RFSL (6:49:24 PM): I really like that track you sent over.
RFSL (6:49:27 PM): What was it called?
PoorExcuses (6:49:37 PM): Haha, thanks. That one's called Die For.
RFSL (6:50:15 PM): That's a little poppier than you guys normally have been.
PoorExcuses (6:50:30 PM): Yes, we're guilty.
PoorExcuses (6:51:23 PM): Truthfully, it feels good to write about some other things once in a while... I'm going to be doing more singing on this record, not so much of the shouting type stuff.
PoorExcuses (6:51:41 PM): The other guys will be doing more singing, too.
RFSL (6:51:48 PM): Is this a kinder, gentler The Poor Excuses?
PoorExcuses (6:52:01 PM): Haha!
RFSL (6:52:08 PM): Sorry. Couldn't help it.
PoorExcuses (6:53:09 PM): It's okay. My mother will be happier, too. She likes the melodic stuff. So this next one is all for mom.
RFSL (6:53:48 PM): That reminds me... You said you thought I didn't like you guys cause I called you "loudies" a few times on the site.
RFSL (6:55:03 PM): I swear that was a term of endearment…
PoorExcuses (6:55:51 PM): Aw, thanks, Joe. I struggle with the artistic paranoia sometimes...
PoorExcuses (6:56:05 PM): Wanting people to like what I'm doing.
RFSL (6:56:33 PM): It could be me, too. I have “communication issues”...
PoorExcuses (6:57:02 PM): Which is why you use iChat??
PoorExcuses (6:57:03 PM): haha
RFSL (6:57:34 PM): Heh. Nah, that's mostly because it takes me weeks to find time to transcribe.
RFSL (6:58:14 PM): So, what's next for you guys? Any shows coming up? Residencies? Getting out of town?
PoorExcuses (6:59:13 PM): We just played like fourteen shows in the last three months... all over L.A..
PoorExcuses (6:59:38 PM): So I think the rest of the summer is mostly going to be about developing new material
RFSL (7:00:59 PM): Cool. Well, I'm looking forward to the new album.
PoorExcuses (7:01:17 PM): Thanks, man... I'll send you some stuff for sure.
RFSL (7:03:54 PM): Cool. So one last question for you:
RFSL (7:04:02 PM): What are you listening to these days?
PoorExcuses (7:04:36 PM): I got an advance of the new Obi Best (formerly Colorforms) record... and can't put it away.
RFSL (7:05:02 PM): Oh, cool. I've been meaning to check them out more.
PoorExcuses (7:05:13 PM): And that Amateurs record never gets old... I love their new songs too... Only seen them live.
PoorExcuses (7:05:52 PM): We've done a show with Obi Best... It was like PB&J.
PoorExcuses (7:06:10 PM): Alex is great. The whole band is great.
RFSL (7:06:44 PM): Are you guys talking to Orphan Records about putting out your next album?
PoorExcuses (7:06:57 PM): That would be great.
PoorExcuses (7:07:11 PM): We haven't spoken to anyone yet though
RFSL (7:07:26 PM): They've got some good stuff. I just heard a track off the new Eagle & Talon and it's fucking great.
RFSL (7:07:29 PM): Cool.
PoorExcuses (7:07:50 PM): Eagle & Talon... Always great, too.
PoorExcuses (7:08:45 PM): When you put this interview on your site, you have to give it the title "Birdie Num Num."
PoorExcuses (7:09:03 PM): That's karim's (our bass player) favorite phrase.
PoorExcuses (7:09:12 PM): It's from The Party with Peter Sellers.
RFSL (7:09:20 PM): Oh, holy shit. I just saw that.
PoorExcuses (7:09:23 PM): haha
PoorExcuses (7:09:26 PM): birdie num num

RFSL (7:09:33 PM): That was at Hollywood Forever a few weeks ago.
RFSL (7:09:47 PM): Fucking great film.
PoorExcuses (7:09:48 PM): Oh, nice... You saw it on the big screen.
RFSL (7:11:22 PM): So anything else you're listening to?
PoorExcuses (7:12:56 PM): I've heard bits and pieces of the new Wolf Parade record... I love them.
PoorExcuses (7:13:15 PM): The new Beck record is tripping me out
RFSL (7:15:28 PM): Cool. Good stuff. Well, that's all I've got for you.
PoorExcuses (7:15:38 PM): Awesome, man. Thanks so much for the fun.
RFSL (7:15:46 PM): Thanks a lot for your time.

DOWNLOAD:
- To Die For (Demo) MP3

Interviews You May Have Missed... '06 Edition

Didn't have much to post today, so thought to dredge up links to some old interviews you may not have seen -- back when RFSL covered bands from out of town more (and often did them via email).

Here's all of the interview's from the site's first year:

12/16/06 - Califone
12/06/06 - The Hectors
12/01/06 - The Ettes
11/24/06 - The Deadly Syndrome
11/17/06 - The Octopus Project
11/03/06 - Citizens Here & Abroad
10/27/06 - The Airborne Toxic Event
10/20/06 - The Panda Band
10/11/06 - Two Sheds
10/06/06 - Bedroom Walls
09/29/06 - Say Hi To Your Mom
09/22/06 - The Blow
09/15/06 - Dirty On Purpose
09/01/06 - Rademacher
08/25/06 - Central Second Pt 2: The Happy Hollows, One Trick Pony, & Die Rockers Die!
08/18/06 - Central Second Pt 1: Death to Anders! & The Transmissions
08/11/06 - Earlimart
08/04/06 - TV on the Radio
07/29/06 - Helio Sequence
07/21/06 - Cold War Kids
07/14/06 - Fred Thomas
07/07/06 - The Western States Motel
06/30/06 - Eagle & Talon
06/23/06 - The Silversun Pickups
06/16/06 - Doveman
06/09/06 - Let's Go Sailing
06/02/06 - Pinback
05/12/06 - The Movies
05/05/06 - Foreign Born
04/28/06 - The Little Ones
04/21/06 - Army Navy
04/14/06 - Great Northern
04/07/06 - Irving
03/31/06 - Film School
03/24/06 - The Lights From Here
03/17/06 - Division Day
03/13/06 - Magnet
03/10/06 - The Green and Yellow TV
03/03/06 - Sea Wolf

Video Free Silver Lake: Tigers Can Bite You, The Spires, & Marvelous Toy

Quick post! Here are some videos from three of my favorite local indie rock/pop acts... Tigers Can Bite You, The Spires (okay, Ventura county is almost local), and Marvelous Toy.

Benefit Shows: The Prids & Spencer Rollins

It shouldn't surprise you that most musicians don't have health insurance and don't have huge reserves to dip into for outstanding legal expenses. With that in mind, there are two shows this week you ought to might want to attend to help some local artists out.

The first is this evening at Spaceland... It's a benefit for The Prids, who were supposed to play the night but were unfortunately in a car accident on Sunday causing some broken bones and considerable hospital expenses. Shiloe, Babyland, and Sleepmask are putting on the show to raise money for them.



The second is the Spencer Rollins Benefit show this Thursday at All Star Lanes. Young Animals, Avi Buffalo, Dorian Wood, The Cobra Lillies, and EXITMUSIC are performing to help Spencer cover his legal expenses stemming from an arrest on the way back from The Autonomous Music Festival in Victorville. (Read more here.)

The Monday Show Low Down (Or "These Post- Apocalyptic Futures Don't Make Themselves...")

Not run a topic completely into the ground, but doing the Demo Listen show on KXLU last Friday was a lot of fun.

There were a pile of songs that we unfortunately were not able to get to, like a great track off The Poor Excuses' next album, a live performance from The Deadly Syndrome, some music from The Savages that are as yet unheard by human ears, one from Le Switch's upcoming album, and more. (I hope to sneak on the show soon to play those.)

But we did get to a lot of what folks sent over... Some favorites include a galloping number from Super Karma, an unreleased track from The French Semester (who I accidentally omitted on the list), a jangly Marvelous Toy song, my new favorites from One Trick Pony and Eagle & Talon, and yet another heartburster from Amnion. If you missed it all, you can find a download right here.

Now let's take a look at what's going on this week live in LA:

Monday, July 21
- Radio Free Silver Lake & KXLU Present Princeton w/ Army Navy, You Me and Iowa, & Whitman @ The Silver Lake Lounge (FREE)
- Letting Up Despite Great Faults, The Rhone Occupation, Whalebone, & I'm A Gun @ Echo Curio
- Under The Influence Of Giants, The Snow, & Hello Vegas @ Spaceland
- Two Sheds & Leslie and The Badgers @ The Hotel Cafe
- Jail Weddings, The Moon Upstairs, The Make Out Party, & Weave @ The Echo (FREE)
- Tori Amos Book Signing @ Amoeba Music (6pm)
- Murphy's Law @ The Scene
- The Zac Brown Band @ The Troubadour
- Sean Carnage Presents Zechs Marquise, Neckhold, Whitman, Stellaluna, & Destroy Tokyo @ Pehrspace
- Plasticsoul, The Karabal Nightlife, Brady harris, The Breakups, & Brandon Schott @ Mr T's Bowl
- Under The Influence of Giants @ Spaceland (FREE)

DECISION:
RFSL and KXLU are helping promote Princeton's free residency night tonight at The Silver Lake Lounge, which includes the also-easy-to-endorse Army Navy and You Me & Iowa.



And also well worth checking out tonight = Letting Up Despite Great Faults and The Rhone Occupation over Echo Curio. If only you could be in two places at once.

Tuesday, July 22
- Happy Stars & The Meadows @ The Silver Lake Lounge
- Jay Brannan w/ Annie Stela @ The El Rey
- Babyland, The Prids, & Shiloe @ Spaceland
- James McMurty @ The Troubadour
- The Polyamorous Affair & Say No More @ The Key Club
- Sunken Landscapes, Father of the Flood, Alien Soundtrack, & Fantastic Sleep @ Echo Curio
- Summer Darling, Amateurs, Writer, & Chikita Violenta @ The Echo

DECISION:
I quite like what I've heard off of Shiloe's upcoming album and Amateurs put on a real good show.

Wednesday, July 23
- LA Underground Presents Tenlons Fort, Avi Buffalo, & Ema and The Ghosts @ Mr T's Bowl
- Queen Kwong & Ballerina Black @ Dragonfly
- Learning Music, Golden Dogs, & From Leaf to Feather @ Tangier
- Cute Is What We Aim For @ The Troubadour
- Dub Club @ Echoplex
- Randy Newman @ Largo
- Indie 103 presents CLUB NME w/ Lucero, Jessica Lea Mayfield, & Glossary @ Spaceland
- Active Set, The Hard To Get, The Meemies, & Old Believers @ The Silver Lake Lounge
- Inara George & Van Dyke Parks @ Tangier (sold-out)

DECISION:
LA Underground has nailed the quintessential Mr T's Bowl line-up on Wednesday with Tenlons Fort, Avi Buffalo, and Ema and The Ghosts. All worth seeing separately, but a giant robot of indie pop/rock when put together.

Thursday, July 24
- LA-Underground, Web In Front, Classical Geek Theatre, & Rock Insider Present A Benefit Show for Spencer Rollins w/ Dorian Wood, Young Animals, Cobra Lillies, EXITMUSIC, & Avi Buffalo @ All Star Lanes
- Evil Maria & Castano @ The Derby
- The Warlocks @ The Troubadour
- The Life and Times, Nueva Volcano, & Solare @ Spaceland
- Ron Sexsmith @ Largo
- Burning Brides @ Safari Sam's
- Sirhan, Sirhan @ The Scene
- Lucero, Jessica Lea Mayfield, & Glossary @ The Echo
- The Health Club, Sleepingboy, The Crash Holiday, & Ghost Machinists @ Mr T's Bowl
- The English Beat, The Fixx, & The Alarm @ The Henry Fonda Music Box
- The White Noise Supremacists, Happyfunsmile, Warm Kaiser, & Nightflight Jesus @ Echo Curio
- Echo & Respect present: Dizzee Rascal, Hollywood Holt, 87 Sticke Up Kids, & Kenan Bell @ Echoplex
- Archways, Meeting Places, Antiques, & The Eye The Ear and The Arm @ The Silver Lake Lounge
- Anavan, The Late Severa Wires, TV Ghost, tik///tik, & Bipolar Bear @ The Smell
- Tokyo Police Club & Afternoons @ UCLA Hammer Museum

DECISION:
Tough call between psych rock monsters The Warlocks at The Troubadour and an indie pop that will make you want to sing along and dance... Afternoons at UCLA's Hammer Museum. (The latter sent over three tracks for the KXLU show that were so good that it was really goddamn hard to pick one to play.)

And don't forget that LA-Underground, Web In Front, Classical Geek Theatre, & Rock Insider are presenting a Benefit Show for Spencer Rollins w/ Dorian Wood, Young Animals, Cobra Lillies, EXITMUSIC, and Avi Buffalo at All Star Lanes.

Friday, July 25
- Jon Brion @ Largo (two sets)
- Rocky Votolato @ The Troubadour
- Bi Polar Bear @ The Scene
- The Republic Tigers, Radars to the Sky, & The Fieros @ Spaceland
- We You, The Youngs, David Scott Stone, Tales of Banyan, & Voice on Tape @ Mr T's Bowl
- That Noise, Ninja Academy, Surrender The Pink, Beatnik Jr. & Black Party Politics @ Pehrspace
- Echo & Club Underground pres: Darker My Love, Fool’s Gold @ The Echo
- Young Animals, Hot Bodies, & Cries and Whispers @ Echo Curio
- John Webster Johns & Residual Echoes @ El Cid

DECISION:
Echo Curio features Young Animals on Friday night, while the always-good Radars to the Sky open it up at Spaceland.

Saturday, July 26
- The Eastern Conference Champions, Lemon Sun, & Rumspringa @ The Troubadour
- Blue Mask @ Mr T's Bowl
- Seasons, Odd Modern, & Downtown Union @ Pehrspace
- Greg Proops Chat w/ Flight of the Conchords @ Largo
- Howlin Rain @ Spaceland
- Gary War, Super Vacations, Teeth Mountain, & Sbass @ The Smell
- Dusty Rhodes & The River Band with The Outline & Whispertown 2000 @ The Key Club
- Does It Offend You, Yeah?, The Black Ghosts, DJ Paul V @ The Echo

DECISION:
The line-up at The Troubadour represents three of the more upbeat, likely-to-make-it acts in town. Not a criticism...

Sunday, July 27
- Little Radio Summer Camp w/ TBA @ The Little Radio Downtown Warehouse
- Disaster US, GFI, Sons of the Soil, Fozzy's Hero, & Dead Lazlo's Place @ Bar 5150
- Gnarls Barkley, Deerhoof, & Fallou Dieng @ The Hollywood Bowl
- Holy Holy Holy & Redmaids @ Mr T's Bowl
- Neil Hamburger, American Sheriff, Abe Lincoln Story, & Art Hinty @ Spaceland
- KCRW Presents The Secret Machines @ The Viper Room
- Grand Ole Echo with Psychadelic Cowboys, The Bowmans, Paul Inman’s Delivery, & Sausage Grinder @ The Echo (5pm)
- Part Time Punks @ @ The Echo (10pm)
- Bart Davenport, Michael Berg, & Wonderground @ Tangier
- Andy Votel @ Amoeba Music (12PM)

DECISION:
Little Radio Summer Camp is always recommendable, even without knowing what bands are playing... and this Sunday is the Castledoor EP release party, plus Matt Ellis and The Weather Underground are playing.

So... go!

That's it for the week. Did I miss anything? Please let me know.

Reminder: KXLU Demo Listen Tonight!

I’m filling in for Octavius and Fred on their much-esteemed Demo Listen show on KXLU 88.9 FM tonight from 6 – 8 PM PST. If you’re out of range of the LMU-based station, you can tune in via their web-site and I believe that a recording of the show will be posted on the Demo Listen site shortly afterwards.

And the reason why you really ought to listen certainly isn't because of my scintillating personality... It's because I emailed around a bunch of great local acts to see if they'd share any songs off of upcoming releases or demo tracks they're currently working on and ... jesus, please us ... ended up with nearly four hours of music to fit into a two-hour show (w/ live guest).

We’ve got new recordings from Afternoons, The Deadly Syndrome, Amnion, The Parson Red Heads, Super Karma, Death to Anders, Shiloe, The Poor Excuses, The Savages, Nightfur, The Rhone Occupation, The French Semester, Fol Chen, Light FM, The Hidden Hooks, The Transmissions, Dirt Bird, Rademacher, Marvelous Toy, Exit Music, The Black Pine, The Spires, One Trick Pony, Eagle Winged Palace, The Hectors, Eagle & Talon, The Sweet Hurt, Angela Correa, The Soft Hands, Signal Hill, Hearts of Palm UK, Fool's Gold, The Karabal Nightlife, Tigers Can Bite You, Molecules, and more.

My raconteur friend Lawyer Jed will be on-hand to help out with the talking parts, but we'll try to shut up so we can play as many of these bands as possible. Check it out if you can.

UPDATE: The link to the recording of the show is live and right here. Many thanks again to everyone who sent over music.

There's No Moral To The Story. It's Just A Bunch Of Stuff That Happenend...

It's early Thursday afternoon and if you partook of spiced Chinese whiskey (pictured right) last night, you're probably asking yourself where your goddamn pants are now.

Regardless, here are a few things worth covering real quick like before the weekend hits...

THE RETURN OF TANDEMORO
Excellent local indie pop act Tandemoro have posted their new Mexican Motown EP on their site. It's free for the weekend with some sort of payment option after that. Haven't heard the four-song EP yet, but I've been really looking forward to it.

BUZZ BANDS RIP
The LA Times won't be the same without music writer Kevin Bronson... To paraphrase Pressed For Sound's Scott MacDonald, in most towns you look at the weeklies for local music coverage and ignore the newspaper, but here, you looked at The LA Times for his Buzz Bands column.

I hope we all get to read more from him soon at a place more deserving of his many talents and great taste.

EARLIMART TICKETS
Still have a few pairs of tickets for the show at Spaceland on Friday night with Earlimart (whose new album is, like, ossum or something), The Movies (who really need another fucking Monday night residency... I mean, WTF?!), and Hocus Pocus (who are comprised of members of Dios Malos).

Write here with "EARLIMART" in the title and your full name in the subject to be entered for the drawing. Must be 21+ and have not won anything from us in the last sixty days.

GUEST SPOT ON KXLU DEMO LISTEN
More on this tomorrow, but I'm filling in for Octavius and Fred on Demo Listen on KXLU 88.9 FM on Friday from 6 - 8... I've been hitting up a lot of folks for demo tracks and have received a flood of them. Should have lots of new stuff to play from your favorite local bands.

THE DARK SIDE OF THE BOOM
The head of Electronic Arts just compared the last game I worked on -- which had a soundtrack from Devo's Mark Mothersbaugh -- to Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. (Perhaps sans laser light show.) See here.

SIGNAL HILL TONIGHT!
Go see post rock act Signal Hill play at Pehrspace this evening and you'll walk away from the experience a very, very happy man... (Even if you're a woman.)

Reminder: The Monolators at The Echo Tonight!

Last night's Let's Independent! event was all kinds of rad. Great sets by The Black Pine, The Black Kites, and EXITMUSIC and a nice, big crowd. Hopefully Classical Geek Theatre or Web In Front will review it because I am completely teh bias about how much fun it was. Thanks to everyone who performed, came, and helped get the word out about the event. Whew!

Your best bet for shows tonight is definitely The Monolators at The Echo w/ Spider Problem, The Blackouts, and The Growlers.

Again, pardon my French, but I fucking love seeing The Monolators play. Here are a few examples of why....







RELATED LINKS:
- Interview: The Monolators

Let's Independent w/ The Black Pine, EXITMUSIC, & The Black Kites

Just one last reminder: Tonight is our latest Let's Independent! event at Boardner's of Hollywood and we've got the sad/happy/smart pop trifecta of The Black Pine, The Black Kites, and EXITMUSIC playing it.

Again, it's The Black Pine's first show in more than year -- since their particularly great residency at The Echo. They've just wrapped up a new LP and while it's not pressed yet, they'll be playing a lot of new material off of it.

And if you haven't seen the shoegazey The Black Kites and EXITMUSIC play live before, well, you just really fucking ought to... All three of these acts together makes a strong contender for the best show in town tonight.

It's $6 (w/ all of the door proceeds going directly to the bands) and there are $3 Dewar's drink specials all evening. Read all the details and hear exclusive MP3s right here.













Related Links:
- Interview: The Black Pine
- MP3: The Black Pine's Goodbye Hollywood Forever
- Interview: EXITMUSIC
- MP3: EXITMUSIC's The Following Winds
- Interview: The Black Kites
- MP3: The Black Kites' Paper Heart

Rad poster by the ever-talented Christine Hale.

The Monday Show Low Down (or "When You're E of E St. Louis and The Wind is Making Faces...")

A week ago, I went to San Francisco to catch up with old friends over the long fourth weekend and I was really inordinately impressed by just how weird everyone was...

Por ejemplo, I stopped by a grocery store for some fixings for the grill and I swear half the people there were talking to themselves. It was fantastic-- So nice to feel like the least strange guy in the room for a change.

Anyway, here's what the week is looking like in local shows:

Monday, July 14
- Aquarium Drunkard Presents Princeton, Willoughby, I Make This Sound, Fol Chen, & JP Houston @ The Silver Lake Lounge (FREE)
- Falcon Buddies, Scarlet Symphony, & Pete Radcliffe @ Echo Curio
- Nick Oliveri @ The Hotel Cafe
- Under The Influence Of Giants, Lukas Haas, Paul Dillon (of Mercury Rev) @ Spaceland (FREE)
- Plasticsoul, Liz Pappademas, Moving Picture Show, & Brandon Schott @ Mr T's Bowl
- Sean Carnage Presents Here Comes A Big Black Cloud!, Eco Morti, E & E, & Lucky Dragons @ Pehrspace
- Moving Picture Show & Brandon Schott @ Mr T's Bowl
- Jail Weddings, Moris Tepper, Some Days, & Listing Ship @ The Echo (FREE)

DECISION:
You really can't go wrong with the show at The Silver Lake Lounge with Princeton, Fol Chen, Willoughby, and I Make This Sound. That line-up is all killer, no filler.

Tuesday, July 15
- Radio Free Silver Lake Presents Let's Independent! w/ The Black Pine, EXITMUSIC, & The Black Kites @ Boardner's of Hollywood
- Molion, Dietra Kruschev, & So Many Wizards @ The Silver Lake Lounge
- My Feral Kin, Blackblack, & Zombelle @ Echo Curio
- Brandi Shearer @ Largo
- Shwayze @ The Roxy
- Darth Vato @ Spaceland
- Here Comes A Big Black Cloud, Long Legged Woman, Halloween Swim Team, & Duhkha @ The Smell
- Mucca Pazza, The Holloys, & Slang Chickens @ The Echo
- The Melvins @ Amoeba Music (6PM)

DECISION:
Our Tuesday night event at Boardner's of Hollywood with The Black Pine, The Black Kites, and EXITMUSIC is going to be all kinds of damn fun. More on this tomorrow, but clear your schedule now. (Details and MP3s right here.)



Wednesday, July 16
- Hell Ya! w/ The Monolators, The Growlers, Rolling Blackouts, Spider Problem @ The Echo
- Inara George & Van Dyke Parks @ Tangier (restaurant)
- Indie 103 presents CLUB NME w/ Army Navy, Alberta Cross, & Revisionists @ Spaceland
- David Lynch Foundation Benefit with Nico Vega, Gods & Monsters, & Bangkok 5 @ The Key Club
- Ceci Bastida, The Crimea, & Learning Music @ Tangier
- Glen Phillips @ Largo
- Boat Music, The Grid, Pizza, & The Tartans @ Mr T's Bowl
- The Spazzmatics @ The Scene
- Hippiefest 2008 featuring Eric Burdon & The Animals, Jack Bruce (of Cream), The Turtles, Melanie, Badfinger featuring Joey Molland, & Jonathan Edwards @ The Greek
- The Pink Snowflakes, Chief Nowhere, Rocking Horse People, & Flesh Unitard @ The Silver Lake Lounge

DECISION:
Have I ever told you how much I fucking love The Monolators? Let's not be subtle or coy: They're one of my favorite live acts in town. They play sets energy-filled sets that make you realize what a great idea it is to combine punk rock and Buddy Holly. And The Echo is the perfect place to see them perform.

Thursday, July 17
- Steel, The Mo-Odds, & The Foundation @ Three of Clubs
- Detour @ The Airliner
- Bodies of Water & The Henry Clay People @ The Echo
- The Watkins Family Hour w/ Fiona Apple @ Largo
- Jason Falkner, What Cheer? Brigade, The Breakups @ Spaceland
- John Coltrane Memorial Show w/ Battlehooch, Extra Life, Upsilon Acrux, Howl, & Nat Baldwin @ The Smell
- Burlesque-A-Go-Go w/ Fish Circus & Pride of Kenya @ Mr T's Bowl
- Respect with Insiders, Roxanne, Machete, & MC XYZ @ Echoplex
- El Sinore, The Crimea, The Future, & Douglas Armour @ The Silver Lake Lounge
- The Duke Spirit & IO Echo @ UCLA Hammer Museum
- MISS DERRINGER, Pedestrian,The Morgansterns,Sharon Temple @ Safari Sam's
- Signal Hill, Timonium, & Unrecognizable Now @ Pehrspace

DECISION:
Signal Hill are another one of my favorite live acts in town. They make pretty post rock (think left off-center from Explosions in the Sky) that just destroys me. I try my best to see them every time they play out.

Friday, July 18
- RFSL Guest DJ Spot on KXLU Demo Listen (6 - 8) on KXLU 88.9 FM
- Earlimart, The Movies, & Hocus Pocus (members of Dios Malos) @ Spaceland
- Light FM, Tigers Can Bite You, & Siggy Fox, Craft Club @ The Scene
- Wolf Parade @ The Henry Fonda
- Todd C, Nate Denver, Daniel Ahern, & Novi Split @ Pehrspace
- Very Be Careful @ Tangier
- Jon Brion @ Largo
- Captain Ahab, Whitman, Treasure Mammal, No Paws (No Lions), I.E., The Fertile Crescent @ The Smell
- Eric Bachman @ Tangier (early)
- Discount Cruise To Hell, Gangsta Queen, Macka, & Quazar and The Bamboozled @ Mr T's Bowl
- White Rainbow, White Fang, Lateral Hyetography, Tom Watson, DSS, & Rob Walmart @ Echo Curio
- Echo & Club Underground Pres: Darker My Love & Crystal Antlers @ The Echo
- Johnny Cash Tribute w/ The Palominos, Hard Fall Hearts & 29 Mules @ Crash Mansion
- Paris Loves LA & The Tommy Davy Trio @ Tangier (restaurant)
- Wolf Parade @ The Henry Fonda

DECISION:
So many good choices on Friday night... Light FM and Tigers Can Bite You at The Scene and Earlimart with The Movies at Spaceland. Tough call. (We have a few pairs of tickets for the latter. Just message us here with "EARLIMART" in the title and your full name in the subject to be entered to win.)

I'm also guest-djing on KXLU Demo Listen on Friday night, so if you have any demos, please send them to radiofreesilverlake at yahoo.com.

Saturday, July 19
- Wolf Parade @ The Henry Fonda
- The Long Winters & Say Hi @ Spaceland
- Janeane Garofalo & friends @ Largo
- tik///tik @ The Cocaine at Live Jazz
- 400 Blows, Black Elk, & Bob Log III @ The Scene
- The Evangenitals, The Eternal Triangle, Artichoke, & more @ Mr T's Bowl
- Albino Cow Presents Flowers and Bulls, S. Pindeda, & Dalmacio Von Diamond @ Pehrspace
- 70’s Soul Jam featuring The Stylistics, The Chi-Lites, Bloodstone, The Main Ingredient featuring Cuba Gooding Sr., Billy Paul, & Carl Carlton @ The Greek
- Cinderella Motel, Bizzart, & Pic Vicious @ Echo Curio
- Sissy Spacek, 0th, Schwule, & Allen Pyle @ The Smell
- Yo Majesty @ The Troubadour
- Lili Haydn, Shane Alexander, & Olin and the Moon @ The Roxy
- Devon Williams, Residual Echoes, Silver Daggers, The Mona Reels, & Of Aires @ The Echo
- Hang The DJ's @ The Echo
- Jimmy Eat World @ The Avalon

DECISION:
If you skip Wolf Parade on Friday night for the other great shows going on, you can go see them on Saturday.

Sunday, July 20
- Jimmy Eat World @ The Avalon
- Red Velvet Cupcakes @ Bar 5150
- Little Radio Summer Camp w/ Le Switch & tba @ Little Radio Downtown Warehouse
- The Prostitutes, The Scarred, Dead Ringers, & Disaster Channel @ Mr T's Bowl
- 0th @ Echo Curio (afternoon)
- Pierced Arrows @ Spaceland
- Pick-Up Sticks & Azalia Snail @ Echo Curio (evening)
- Grand Ole Echo @ The Echo (early)
- Part Time Punks @ The Echo (late)
- Lucky Dragons, White Fang, White Rainbow, & Rob Walmart @ The Smell
- A Hawk and a Hacksaw @ Echoplex
- Olin and The Moon, Miniature Tigers, Eleni Mandell, & The Damn Sons @ Tangier
- Jesus and Mary Chain, Gang of Four, Yeasayer, Caribou, Tapes 'n Tapes, Blitzen Trapper, M83, Ghostland Observatory, The Duke Spirit, & more @ The Download Festival

DECISION:
Who's playing Little Radio Summer Camp this week? Le Switch? Ossum. I'm there. Who else?

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

Interview: The Black Pine

To reuse a description, The Black Pine make dark, stormy pop music that's at times reminiscent of some improbable pairing of The Cranes and The Kinks. Shoegaze on the road to classic 60s rock favorites.

They’ve been in hiding out since their residency at The Echo to record a new album, but they’re breaking their year-long moratorium on playing out to perform at our Let’s Independent! event next Tuesday night at Boardner’s of Hollywood with The Black Kites and EXITMUSIC.

We spoke to husband-and-wife bandmates Mitch and Emma Ka Cichocki via the magic of The Interweb earlier this week.

Mitch: Hi.
RFSL: Hey, there. Sorry. I was on AOL Instant Messenger.
RFSL: So I dled Yahoo.
Ema: OK, yeah I don't have AOL installed on this computer and the internet hasn't been so good this morn.
RFSL: How are you two doing today?
Mitch: Good. Some connection problems this morning, but workin now. Hope it holds out.
Ema: Good! How are you?
RFSL: I'm doing well. Had a great time at Bordello last night. There was a show w/ the singers from The Movies, The Happy Hollows, Parson Redheads, Radars to the Sky, and The Airborne Toxic Event.
RFSL: Great music. Good crowd. Alcohol.
RFSL: Rinse and repeat.
Ema: Ha, that sounds fun.
Mitch: Cool. Big show.
RFSL: So, you guys have been hiding out recording a new EP. Is that all done?
Ema: It is a full length album now, 15 songs. We have been recording and mixing for about a year on it and haven't played live since then. The album is mixed and mastered and now we are doing the artwork for it and then it will be pressed and we are expecting to have it by late Summer / early Fall.
Mitch: The single for Goodbye Hollywood Forever from the new album just came out on iTunes
RFSL: Excellent.
RFSL: You recorded the album at The Ship?
RFSL: Or mixed?
Ema: We recorded it all ourselves at our own studio and we had one song, Goodbye Hollywood Forever mixed by Dave Trumfio at his studio. Dave Trumfio owns Kingsize which is next door to The Ship. We mixed some of the songs ourselves and then also mixed with Raymond Richards at his studio, Red Rockets Glare.
Ema: Though we did play on an album by our friend Adam Goldberg and he just finished mixing it at The Ship with Aaron Espinoza.
RFSL: Ah. Thus my confusion.
Ema: Yeah, that is a bit confusing.
RFSL: How did it all go?
Ema: Good, we have always recorded and mixed our own albums so it was a little hard to have others involved but also it's good to have outside opinions. I think it came out very nice.
Mitch: I'm looking forward to playing out again!
Ema: Me, too.
RFSL: Yeah, how long has it been?
Ema: It has been about a year. The last time we played was when we had that resdiency at The Echo which was April 2007.
Ema: So, over a year.
RFSL: I really enjoyed the hell out of your shows there.
Ema: Ahh thanks! We enjoyed it too.
RFSL: Are you planning on playing all new songs or a mix?
Mitch: It'll be a mix. Four or five new songs and also some from the last album. Emma sang a lot on the new album but doesn't like singing live, so we've kind of arranged the set around that.
Mitch: We didn't really consider how we would play the new songs live while we were recording them.
Ema: Yeah, I don't mind doing backup vocals live but I like to just concentrate on the drums when playing live.
RFSL: Too bad! I really like those songs you sing on.
RFSL: Makes sense though.
Mitch: Adeline Fargier is playing with us again. She was on our first two albums but as she's a French citizen she could only stay for three months at a time because of her visa, but now she has legal residency and will be a permanent member of the band. She plays guitar and sings. She toured France with a friend of ours Troy Von Balthazar. We were the band for his new album, not yet released. We may tour Europe with him once that album comes out.
RFSL: I remember you two were planning on moving, but stuck around because she moved out here?
RFSL: She's the pretty faun-like girl who came out to our last show?
Mitch: Yep that's her. That was a big part of us staying. We ended up moving to a nicer place outside of L.A. which made a big difference.
RFSL: So what are some of the new songs about? Like Goodbye Hollywood Forever?
Ema: Goodbye Hollywood Forever is about doing a lot of drugs, being around and with people that you wouldn't be around normally or soberly. Doing things for money, selling yourself for money. Then it's about taking a really nice happy vacation!
Ema: Ha.
Ema: I have a real knack for writing happy pop songs.
RFSL: And that's the song you did the video for.

RFSL: Who did you film that with?
Ema: Yeah, that's why it's kind of dark and takes place in a strip club in Hollywood, to capture that feeling. It was filmed by Seth and Bobby, who are amazing. They also did a video for us for Some Will Come With Flowers off our last album.
Ema: They have done videos for lots of groovy bands.
RFSL: Cool.
Mitch: Near, another song on the album, is about feeling like you've known someone before that you've just met, and missing that person so much, when they're gone, that you feel like they are there with you.
Ema: Diamond is another song about leaving L.A.. Noticing a trend?
RFSL: So you're happier living out of town now, I take it.
RFSL: You two shared the songwriting duties? How did that work out?
Ema: Mitch writes his own songs lyrically and I write my own lyrically. We sometimes write on our own alone with piano or guitar and then bring them to the next band practice. Or we write them all together , starting off as a kind of jam that turns into something.
Ema: Ha, yeah. It was also just a lot of negative things I was doing that weren't completely related to the environment. But leaving the environment helped.
RFSL: What's it like being in a band w/ a significant other?
Ema: It's horrible!
Ema: Just kidding.
RFSL: Ha ha.
Ema: It's great to be in love and be creative together. Some people have children, we have songs.
RFSL: Songs > children.
Mitch: You really have to have a yard to have children, and we're in an apartment.
RFSL: Yeah, a child can really make short work out of an apartment. It's good to put them outside during the day.
Ema: Ha. Yeah, we are both very creative and accepting of each other. The whole band is like that though too. We all have to encourage each other and respect each other and admire each other.
RFSL: What's next for you guys?
Ema: We want to tour the Americas and Europe and beyond.
Ema: I'm writing a book.
RFSL: A book?
Ema: Yeah, I'm writing two different stories actually at the same time.
Mitch: I'm making a video game.
RFSL: What are they about?
Ema: When they are done, I'll bring them to shows to sell. They are kind of loose poetry within a story. It's similar to writing lyrics but the stories can be more detailed of course than a 3 or 4 minute song.
Ema: We keep busy with lots of projects.
RFSL: It sounds like it.
Mitch: The game is about a witch's granddaughter in ancient Europe...
Mitch: That's all I can tell you at this time
Ema: We have two more videos in planning for the new album also, Diamond and Every Night. Diamond involves choreographed dance and Every Night is filmed at many different parties.
RFSL: Cool. Well, I don't want to keep you guys for too long.
RFSL: One last question:
RFSL: What are you listening to these days?
Ema: I am looking at my I-Pod to see what I have played recently: Creator by Santogold, Jigsaw Falling Into Place by Radiohead, Tomorrow by Ladytron, Audience No.2 by Autolux, Gila by Beach House....
Mitch: I've been listening to a lot of 60's psychedelic music lately, the Hollies, the Koobas, I found a really cool song by Pugh Rogefeldt called "love, love, love" great drum sound. Also ran into a strange French fuzz band called Les Goths.
Mitch: Oh. also just found the band Magma last night... Very interesting.
RFSL: Excellent. Well, that's all I've got for you.
RFSL: Thanks so much for your time.
Ema: Thank you. We are looking forward to playing Boardner’s again!
RFSL: Yeah, really looking forward to next Tuesday night.
Mitch: Yeah! Same here.

DOWNLOAD:
- Goodbye Hollywood Forever MP3