The Music Pirate

An old favorite returns with a familiar, nostalgic feel

2011-10-18T10:14:00.000-07:00

Originally published in the October 19, 2011 issue of the Coast Report.
Written by Chris Rashidian, Staff Writer

Blink-182's latest album, “Neighborhoods,” disappoints with an inconsistent mix of pop-punk and adult alternative genres peppered with a little Vans Warped Tour nostalgia.

“What’s my age again?” was the question asked in 1999 by the world-renowned group that now appears middle-aged and confused.

Yes, we remember their wild and crazy energy combined with plenty of poop jokes and juvenile love, but we eventually grow up. It is alright to change your music style. In essence, it is what makes an artist grow.

As their first album released in over eight years, “Neighborhoods” was treading on new territory while still trying to keep it’s youthful appeal. Yes, I do remember listening to them back in elementary and middle school, but music styles change, and change can be a bad thing.

I felt almost as disappointed with this album as I did when Radiohead released “In Rainbows” after their hiatus from “Hail to the Thief.”

Tom DeLonge, guitarist and vocalist for Blink-182, left the band to pursue his own dream with a group called Angels and Airwaves in 2005 just as Blink guitarist Mark Hoppus and drummer Travis Barker formed their group, +44. But in 2009, at the 51st Grammy Awards, they all appeared on stage together for the first time in five years and said that they are back, picking up where they left off.

After listening to “Neighborhoods” many times in its entirety, it did sound like they picked up where they left off. Sure, it may grow on me like “In Rainbows” eventually did, but in the eight years they spent in hiatus I expanded my musical tastes and moved on.

Nostalgia is a very tricky element that artists can employ because it has the ability to be a double-edged sword. The way that Blink-182 utilized that aspect for their album repelled me away from recommending it to friends.

In all, their new album is not going to reach the popularity that their previous ones did, but if they have the courage experiment with different styles, hopefully their next album won't disappoint.

Spin Master

2011-05-11T13:51:00.000-07:00

Originally published in the May 11, 2011 issue of the Coast Report
By Stephanie Mendez, Staff Writer

Frustrated with the music scene in Orange County, one Orange Coast College student took matters into his own hands last year and decided to spin what he loved.

Victor Arellano, a 19-year-old undecided major at OCC, went out and purchased his first set of DJ equipment, adopted the stage name Mr. Smith and started a musical journey that has placed him on the bill at raves including Electro Kandy and the Elevation Festival.

“One of the things that really prompted me to do this was local DJs playing at the clubs and parties I would go to. They all played the same shit and it was so annoying,” Arellano said.

As Arellano became better acquainted with his equipment, he also realized what genres of music interested him the most.

“When I first got my equipment, my main focus was fidget, electro house. But as time went on and I got even more into the music, I started to acquire different tastes. Nowadays I spin minimal and tech house. I have a passion for this music that far surpasses what I did for electro and fidget,” Arellano said.

Tony Olivarez, better known as Dins Rendezvous, is a promoter for Rendezvous Events who was so impressed by Arellano that he decided to hire him as a main act.

“He was extremely passionate about music and he had a great taste for quality music. Furthermore, he sent me a link to one of his tracks one day and after I listened to it I knew I had to book him,” Olivarez said.

Arellano credits a few music classes at OCC for his ability to fully understand and facilitate his skill as a DJ.

“I’ve taken two music classes at OCC -- business in music and music theory. They both have actually helped me in my little musical journey. My business in music teacher went over promoters and what they do and how they work,” Arellano said. “It helped me out because I work with promoters all the time and have actually done a little promotional work, too.

Arellano’s experience with music traces back to his adolescence.

“I used to play bass. It was my main focus before I started this whole DJ thing. I was in a punk band for the longest time but things were off and on so I called it quits,” he said. “I also played trumpet for nine years in school. Did the whole marching band thing and everything.”

Joel De Santiago, a 19-year-old Santa Ana College student and electronic dance music enthusiast, said DJ Mr. Smith’s music selection attracts people to events and performances.

“Mr. Smith's live mixes definitely appeal to a crowd that leans more towards the electronic dance music scene in Orange County,” De Santiago said. “So much that he’s even getting known more in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties for his progressive house, techno sets.”

Clips of the Week May 11: The Art of Turntablism

2011-05-10T21:56:00.000-07:00

On the front page of this week's Coast Report, we have a profile of DJ Mr. Smith, a 19-year-old student at OCC, who was fed up with what local DJs were playing.

Even the current trends in electronic music are stale, but here are some clips of two of the greatest and most influential turntablists ever.

Chinese-Canadian, Eric San, better known as Kid Koala, has worked with the likes of Gorillaz and Deltron 3030. In the art of turntablism, there are so many techniques and nuances, that the genre can sometimes be hard to appreciate to the casual music fan. That is what makes Koala special - his ability to bring in the entertainment value (check out 2000's Carpal Tunnel Syndrome)

Watch him scratch out a trumpet solo with his scratching techniques above.

There is no turntablist album more important than DJ Shadow's Entroducing.... Using cut and paste techniques, Josh Davis, who was raised in suburban California, pieced together samples, and pulled from lost and forgotten vinyl, creating a dreamy haze that not only serves as a history lesson, but an innovation for popular music.

This is a live performance of one of his more popular tracks, "Organ Donor."

Special Clip of the Week April 28: Coast Report fighting for funds

2011-04-28T19:56:00.000-07:00

The Associated Students of Orange Coast College Fiscal Affairs Committee has proposed that the Coast Report will receive eight percent of what was requested for next year's budget at $750.

This budget covers three conferences that the Coast Report attends every year.

As the features editor of the Coast Report, I attended my first JACC in Sacramento this year, and the experience was invaluable. It would be a robbery and disservice to students if the conferences are taken away.

So, theres only one thing to do.

Clip of the Week Apr. 27: Kanye West at Coachella

2011-04-26T23:05:00.001-07:00

For those of us unlucky enough not to go to Coachella, we are lucky enough to have Kanye West's whole performance on YouTube.

I am not a huge fan of West, but he killed it, and from what I've seen, he is the best rap and hip-hop performer on Earth if not one of the best in the world. The theatrics, the showmanship, the energy - it's unmatched.

Clip of the Week

2011-04-19T10:37:00.000-07:00

This week we get to see Kings of Leon's true colors. They really nail it on stage in this live clip from Reading Festival 2009 of their song "Sex on fire."

(Protip: This video is not actually them playing. It's edited heavily to create a terrible performance. Also, it's hilarious.)

Clip of the Week April 6: Yuck

2011-04-06T10:45:00.000-07:00

New indie band, Yuck, isn't doing anything new, but with their self-titled debut, they give a noisy reminder of what made acts like Yo La Tengo, My Bloody Valentine, and Dinosaur Jr. so great.

This is their music video for the last track on the album, "Rubber." This song recalls the My Bloody Valentine ballad, "Sometimes," and the slow-burning distortion and droning textures in this case, create quite an exquisite experience.

This video might be just as exquisite, depending on taste.

VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED (contains images not suitable for viewers under the age of 18).

"Rubber" - Yuck (Yuck 2010)

Clip(s) of the Week Mar. 23: A Tribute to Japan

2011-03-22T05:22:00.000-07:00

In respect to Japan, here are a couple of clips of three different Japanese artists from different types of genres.

Boadrum 77 - The Boredoms

On July 7, 2007, Japanese noise-rockers, the Boredoms, held 77 Boadrum, performing with 77 drummers at Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park in Brooklyn, NY. This the sort of performance that demonstrates the band's exuberance, and although their music isn't exactly accessible, it's one hell of a ride. The Boredoms would perform 88 Boadrum the next year on August 8, 2008.

Farewell - Boris (Pink 2006)

Metal cult-favorites, Boris, are one of the loudest bands on Earth, as seen and heard in this clip. Farewell was the introduction track on 2006's Pink, an album worthy of a comparison to My Bloody Valentine's Loveless in terms of layering sounds and textures. But this is Boris's version, loud with downtuned basses, pounding war-like drums, and heavy guitar riffing from the one and only, Wata.

Chapter 8- Seashore and Horizon - Cornelius (Fantasma 1998)

One of the best artists of Shibuya-kei, a Japanese pop phenomenon, Cornelius is often compared to Beck. Although this isn't really a clip, this song (which features back vocal harmonies from American indie band, Apples in Stereo) is one of the best of his catalog and the centerpiece of this classic album, Fantasma. Shibuya is one of the most popular and trendy shopping districts in Tokyo, and the artists incorporated pop from the West, and eclectic fashion.

This sounds like a Japanese anime version of the Beatles, and as playful as Cornelius and the rest of the Shibuya artists are, there is a sweet innocence and youth to the music that makes it so attractive and endearing.

Clip of the Week Mar 16: Deltron 3030

2011-03-18T12:36:00.000-07:00

Virus - Deltron 3030 (Deltron 3030 2000)

Deltron 3030 is comprised of turntablist Kid Koala, producer Dan "the Automator," Nakamura, and rapper Del the Funkee Homosapien, an underground hip hop supergroup. The concept album is set in the year 3030, a post-apocalyptic world ruled by large corporations, and Deltron Zero's fight against them.

I recently bought a reissue of the album on vinyl, and it inspired me to post this cool music video from the group. The Automator production is brilliant, Koala's work on the turn tables are top notch, and Del's lyrical imagery and flow are out of this world, demonstrated on "Virus."

The three would go on to work on the Gorillaz's first album in 2001.

My bloody St. Patty's Day

2011-03-16T00:00:00.000-07:00

From the Irish folk-punk fusion of The Pogues' “Rum Sodomy and the Lash” to the political protest of U2's “War,” Ireland has produced a variety of great records.

While many St. Patrick's Day celebrators may be caught in the local pubs butchering “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” others may rejoice with the band from the other side of Dublin, My Bloody Valentine.

“Loveless,” released in 1991, is the best example of the shoegaze movement, where bands stood motionless during performances, staring at their feet, similar to what the many St. Patrick's Day celebrators will be doing on the latter part of their fun night.

The luscious and textured arrangements meshed with airy melodies and sonic experimentation manifested a soundscape that almost feels tangible. The boy-girl vocals of Kevin Shields and Bilinda Butcher only add to the sensual experience that oozes provocativeness, something that may be hard to find in a local bar.

“Only Shallow” kicks off the record with whipping guitars contrasting with Butcher's sleepy vocals. It’s a good rocker to play while pre-gaming back at the dormitory or pounding those Irish Car Bombs at a party with your buddies.

The lush “To Here Knows When” serves as a St. Patrick's Day celebrator's motto for the night, and shows off the talents of the band, meshing Butcher's vocals with layers of feedback and guitar distortion that still feels ventilated and beautiful.

At the end of the night or the morning after, self-reflect with the distorted and piercing ballad of “Sometimes.”

Shields sings, “I don't know, when I lay down on the ground, you will find the way it hurts to love,” with imagery of post-party activities and exploration of reasons that might have impacted a crazy St. Patrick's Day night.

The hangover of “Loveless” proved to be difficult for Shields, and his collaborations with other acts like Yo La Tengo were good, but never lived up to the grand expectations left by My Bloody Valentine's last work. Then again, there are few records that do.

“Loveless” is a hazy masterpiece that plays like a forgotten dream or a St. Patrick's Day celebration that was good enough to not be remembered.

- James Vu

A record label Fiasco

2011-03-15T03:12:00.000-07:00

After a series of delays and disputes with the Atlantic Records, on March 8 Lupe Fiasco released “Lasers,” a collection of overwrought tracks that plays on rap's worst musical trends.

Fiasco, who has been an industry rebel from the beginning, was apparently forced to compromise some of his artistic vision on “Lasers,” and it really shows on tracks like “The Show Goes On.”

Not only does it have a bad, sped up sample of an indie rock staple, Modest Mouse's “Float On,” Fiasco raps like a T.I. impersonator. This sounds like a record label's step-by-step process of how to make a rapper sound credible while appealing to the masses.

On “Words I Never Said,” Fiasco criticizes both sides of the political spectrum, calling Glenn Beck a racist, and trumpeting not voting for Barack Obama, while taking shots at the media, “If you turn on TV all you see's a bunch of what the fucks, dude is dating so and so blabbering about such and such, and that ain't Jersey Shore homie, that's the news.”

Although Fiasco displays some of his lyrical wizardry on the song, the music itself is muddled down by heavy synthesizers and a chorus sung by Skylar Grey, who sounds like Rihanna without an accent.

The dance-poppy “I Don't Want to Care Right Now” recalls a bad Timbaland production, with another vocal guest, MDMA.

If ecstasy were a singer, it would not be MDMA, and his singing with the cheesy synthesizers during the chorus create a bad European club atmosphere.

One of the better tracks, “Till I Get There,” sounds like the Fiasco of 2006's “Lupe Fiasco's Food and Liquor” with ideas of staying positive and working through difficult times.

“Doctor, doctor please, the fame ain't painless enough, that's 'cause you ain't famous enough, you got a little name, but your name ain't ringing enough,” Fiasco raps about what seems to be his frustrations throughout the whole process of “Lasers.”

In 2007, “The Cool” received four Grammy nominations and a Billboard Top 40 hit in “Superstar,” one of Fiasco's best songs.

What more does an artist have to do to have more creative reins over their music? Atlantic Records should take a tip from Sean “Diddy” Combs who allowed Janelle Monáe complete control over her genius debut last year, released under Bad Boy Entertainment.

Not only was her album completely original, it was refreshing, and Fiasco who has been a breath of fresh air in mainstream rap with his clever rhymes and unique outlook, should not have to sacrifice his imagination to sell records.

- James Vu

Clip(s) of the week Mar 9: Flying Lotus

2011-03-08T22:55:00.000-08:00

Zodiac Shit - Flying Lotus (Cosmogramma 2010)

MmmHmm - Flying Lotus feat. Thundercat (Cosmogramma 2010)

Some interesting videos from my boy Flylo. "Cosmogramma" was probably my favorite album last year along with Janelle Monae's "The ArchAndroid." It was just a great release out of left-field that mixes a variety of musical styles like jazz and techno. The album flows and evolves, creating a soundscape you just want to bathe in.

No alarms but no surprises on new Radiohead

2011-03-04T11:56:00.000-08:00

It should come to no surprise that “The King of Limbs,” Radiohead's eighth studio album released on Feb. 18 through their website, sounds nothing like their last record.

With 2007's “In Rainbows,” Radiohead had seemingly perfected their sound, combining brilliant song writing with their developed studio tricks, creating their strongest set of melodic songs since “OK Computer.”

Fans may get the wrong impression with rushed reviews from critics and websites racing to see who can review the new album first, but this, like most Radiohead albums demands multiple listens to sink in.

“The King of Limbs” sounds more constructed than written, electronic heavy with loops of digital sounds, drums and other instruments. These songs are really like limbs, but those of a model dressed and draped by a designer who has mastered their craft.

There is no denying that Radiohead are true savants of mood and atmosphere, and the first two drum and rhythm heavy tracks, “Bloom” and “Morning Mr Magpie,” kick off the album with momentum, and demonstrate why Phil Selway is one of the best drummers in rock.

“Feral” continues with Thom Yorke's obsession with electronic music, sounding like something off of Burial's “Untrue.”

The appropriately named single “Lotus Flower” serves as the centerpiece of the album. Not only is it the most accessible song on the record, it might be the best.

Yorke's sweet falsetto and lyrics retain human expression, and “Lotus Flower” provides some sexy and romantic lines like “slowly we unfurl as lotus flowers, 'cause all I want is the moon upon a stick, just to see what if, just to see what it is.”

The closest thing to classic Radiohead, “Codex” is another standout, an ethereal piano ballad, that seems to be about letting go and delving into the unknown.

Radiohead did exactly that in 2000 with the masterpiece “Kid A,” an album that concentrated on electronic experimentation and less on guitar driven rock.

There lies the problem in “The King of Limbs,” there just isn't enough of the unknown and wonder in the textures and details anymore. The well-oiled machine has efficiently etched out a sound that has already been perfected.

Whatever the case, it’s still an intriguing listen and a good release from the enigma that is Radiohead, arguably the best band in the world.

- James Vu

Go yonkers for OFWGKTA

2011-02-18T01:25:00.000-08:00

This is grimy, dark, abrasive, offensive, unpleasant, aggressive, violent and funny. His new album, "Goblin," comes out in April.

Clip of the Week Feb. 16: Freedom of '76 by Ween

2011-02-16T18:36:00.000-08:00

Not only does YouTube offer a world of biting Charlie's and double rainbows, it serves as a giant library of music videos, clips, and performances. Every Wednesday, the day the Coast Report publishes, The Music Pirate will post a Clip of the Week.

Artist: Ween
Song: "Freedom of '76"
Album: Chocolate and Cheese (1994)

Who better to perform on Jane Pratt, a Lifetime talk show aimed at young women, than the Gener and Deaner. Ween was one of most talented acts that emerged from the alternative era. Despite their bizarre humor, Ween crafted songs in a variety of spectrum's, even if it sounded like a a history of music, on mushrooms, through a circus house of mirrors.

This is an early, and very surreal live performance of "Freedom of '76," their twist on Philly soul, and a good introduction for first time listeners.

Upcoming Events 12/01 to 12/08

2010-12-01T19:00:00.000-08:00

PASSION PIT AT THE FOX POMONA 12/4- photo courtesy of passionpit.com

12/01 - Helen Earth Band with SpankShaft, High Altitude, Capsolin, The Kats Pajamas at Chain Reaction. 7 p.m. $10.

12/2- Parker Macy Blues with We are the Pilots, Bobby Mena, and The Stowaways at La Cave. 10 p.m.

12/02 - Christopher Lawrence at Sutra Lounge. 9:30 p.m. $15.

12/02 - Dark Star Orchestra (Grateful Dead tribute) at Grove of Anaheim. 8 p.m. $32.70.

12/02 - Vanna with Tides of Man, A Bullet for Pretty Boy, In an Emergency, A Thousand City Lights at Chain Reaction. 7 p.m. $10 adv. $12 DOS.

12/02 - The Expendables with John Brown's Body and C Money, The Player's Inc at House of Blues Anaheim. 8 p.m. $17.50 adv. $20.00 DOS.

12/02 - Tomorrow's Bad Seeds with KAT, Josh Fishel at The Coach House. 8 p.m. $13 adv. $15 DOS.

12/03 - Fear East Movement with DJ Reflex, DJ Eman at Sutra Lounge. 9 p.m. $15.

12/03 - Millionares with Kill Paradise, The Hit, L. Mo & Chris at Chain Reaction. 6:30 p.m. $12 adv. $14 DOS.

12/03 - Walter Trout with Instigator, Road Kill Kings at The Galaxy. 8 p.m. $13 adv. $15 DOS.

12/03 - Josh Gracin with Fallen Stars, Peter Brandon at The Coach House. 8 p.m. $18 adv. $20 DOS.

12/04 - Assemble the Skyline with The Young Modern, Grieve for Tomorrow at Chain Reaction. 7:30 p.m. $10 DOS.

12/04 - Alter Ego with Gin Piston at The Galaxy. 8 p.m. $10.

12/04 - Passion Pit with Mister Heavenly, We Batbarians, Pepper Rabbit at The Fox Theater Pomona. 8 p.m. $29.50 adv. $32 DOS.

12/05 - Anaheim Ballet Presents: The Nutcracker at Grove of Anaheim. 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. $27.60 to $49.45 (prices vary due to level seating).

12/05 - Becoming the Archetype with To Speak of Wolves, As They Sleep at Chain Reaction. 7 p.m. $12 DOS.

12/7 - Jeramiah Red at the Continental Room. 10 p.m. No Cover. 21+

12/08 - Clint Black with Peter Brandon at Grove of Anaheim. 8:30 p.m. $55 to $60 (prices vary due to seating arrangements).

12/08 - Keiko Matsui Celebrates the Holidays at House of Blues Anaheim. 8:00 p.m. $25.00 adv. $27.50 DOS.

Upcoming Events 11/24 - 12/01

2010-11-24T12:27:00.000-08:00

JERAMIAH RED AT THE GYPSY LOUNGE 11/26 photo by Austin Ruiz

11/24 - DJ Chris Lake at Sutra Lounge. 9:30 p.m. $15.

11/26 - DJ Metric at Sutra Lounge. 9 p.m. $15

11/26 - Dick Dale with Jimmy Dale, Ken Garcia at The Coach House. 8 p.m. $25.

11/26 - Jeramiah Red at The Gypsy Lounge. 10:30 p.m. $6-$8.

11/26 - Static Fridays at Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa. 9 p.m. Free admission before 10:30 p.m. $10 after.

11/26 - Attack Attack! with Emmure, Pierce the Veil, Of Mice and Men, In Fear and Faith at The Fox Theater Pomona. 7 p.m. $17.50 adv. // $20 dos.

11/26 - The Fab Four (Beatles tribute) at Grove of Anaheim. 8 p.m. $30-$35 (prices vary due to level seating).

11/26 - GOT-OC presents House of 80's with Flashback Heart Attack, Rocktane, and Clique at House of Blues Anaheim. 8 p.m. $10 adv. // $12.50 dos.

11/27 - DJ E-man at Sutra Lounge. 9 p.m. $15.

11/27 - Brother with Jack Avalon, Trevor Green, Deal by Dusk at The Coach House. 8 p.m. $15.

11/27 - Dimmu Borgir with Enslaved, Blood Red Throne, and Dawn of Ashes at The Fox Theater Pomona. 8 p.m. $20 adv. // $23 dos.

11/27 - Spincycle feat. S.P.E.C.T.R.E., Pete Spinning, Flinch, Trip Simmons, ZEROone, Mista Maxx, Brainchild at Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa. 9 p.m. Free Admission.

11/27 - Darkest Hour with Veil of Maya, Periphery, Revocation, The Slow Forward at Glass House. 2 p.m. $15 adv. // $17 dos.

11/27 - The Wiseguys Big Band Machine at House of Blues Anaheim. 8 p.m. $20 adv. // $22.50 dos.

Dark Star Orchestra: for an "adventure seeking audience"

2010-11-24T11:17:00.000-08:00

The sounds of The Grateful Dead are coming to The Grove. Dark Star Orchestra will be taking the stage in Anaheim, performing classic hits from the legendary touring jam band. Dark Star Orchestra formed in 1997 under the concept to tour and perform real Grateful Dead show as they had been performed during the Dead’s original tour days.

DARK STAR ORCHESTRA CHANNELS THE DEAD

The band is comprised of seven members; Jeff Mattson, Rob Eaton, Kevin Rosen, Lisa Mackey, Rob Koritz, Dino English, and Rob Barraco. As the band tours they pick out a Grateful Dead show that was performed near the venue that they are performing, and play the same set list as the Dead had.

The bands current tour crosses the country from Los Angeles to New York, adding to their already impressive touring resume. Over the past thirteen years Dark Star has performed nearly 1,900 shows all over the country.

Dark Star’s lead guitarist, and somewhat of a newcomer to the band, Mattson has performed 124 shows with the band since November of 2009. Mattson’s a veteran to the road touring with a number of bands over the past 30 years, including The Zen Tricksters and Phil Lesh and friends.

“Yeah I was sort of a disciple of Jerry Garcia if you will,” said Mattson musingly. Mattson first saw The Grateful Dead perform in 1973, “all around the same time I started playing their music.”

Mattson has performed Grateful Dead songs before, “just not in this particular context where it’s kind of taken to a higher place,” said Mattson. Playing in Dark Star Orchestra isn’t easy, especially when you’re filling the shoes of the immortal Jerry Garcia. “To join this band you have to be really familiar with the music because there’s a lot of music to learn and a lot of understanding of style.”

To capture the essence of The Dead and receive critical praise across the country has been Dark Star’s mission for the past 13 years and there are no slowing down, impressing audiences with musical skill and great energy. “It’s definitely for a more adventure seeking audience,” said Mattson. “It’s almost like a jazz concept in the rock world, and that’s The Dead.”

-Fred Randall

Upcoming Events 11/17 to 11/24

2010-11-17T17:32:00.000-08:00

GWAR at The Glass House 11/22

11/17 - Club Lucky at House of Blues Anaheim. 9 p.m. $10 before 10 p.m. $12 after 10 p.m.

11/18 - The Legendary Pink Dots with special guests at Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa. 9 p.m. $16. 21+

11/18 - James Zabiela with Boris M.D., Ozzie at Sutra Lounge in Costa Mesa. 9:30 p.m. $10 before 10:30 p.m. with RSVP.

11/18 - Arms Like Yours with My Enemies Hero, Divergence, On the Shoulder of Atlas, JC Villafan, Above Me at Chain Reaction. 7 p.m. $10.

11/18 - Hey Monday with Cartel, The Ready Set, This Century, We Are the in Crowd at The Glass House. 6 p.m. $15.

11/18 - Belanova with DJ Eduardo at House of Blues Anaheim. $37.50 adv. $42.50 DOS.

11/19- Skeetox with confirmed performances by Warren G, Jesse McCartney, DJ Eye at Sutra Lounge in Costa Mesa. 9 p.m. $15.

11/19 Static Fridays at Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa. 9 p.m. Free before 10:30 p.m. $10 after. 21+

11/19 - Unwritten Law with THE PRICKS, Pacific Dub, Super Groupie at The Galaxy in Santa Ana. 8 p.m. $19.99 adv. $22 DOS.

11/19 - Wild Child (The Doors Tribute) with Full Revolution, Hemispheres (Rush Tribute) at The Coach House. 8 p.m. $20.

11/19 - People Under the Stairs with Express French, Delta 9 at The Glass House. 7 p.m. $15.

11/20 - Moving Units with LESANDS, Lexicon Don at The Glass House. 7 p.m. $20.

11/20 - The Bouncing Souls and The Adolescents with Heartsounds at House of Blues Anaheim. 9 p.m. $15.50 adv. $17.50 DOS.

11/20 - The 88 with VENUS INFERS, Red9, Chris Amodeo at The Coach House. 8 p.m. $13 adv. $15 DOS.

11/20 - Danzig with Posessed, Marduk, Toxic Holocaust, Withered at Grove of Anaheim. 7 p.m. $30.

11/21 - RRIICCEE feat. Vincent Gallo at Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa. 9 p.m. $15.

11/21 - The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus with Oh My Stars, Walk the Rio, Next Door at House of Blues Anaheim. 7:30 p.m. $13.50 adv. $16.50 DOS.

11/21 - Kenny G (2010 Holiday Show) at Grove of Anaheim. 8 p.m. $45 - $75 (pricing based on seating levels).

11/21 - New Riders of the Purple Sage with Groove Session, Heavy Water at The Coach House. 8 p.m. $20.

11/22 - GWAR with The Casualties, Infernaeon, Mobile Death Camp, Sick Sense at The Glass House. 6 p.m. $23.50.

11/23 - Live and Local Tuesdays feat. Dalai Sonido, May McDonough, Little Desert, Time and Energy at Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa. 8 p.m. No cover charge.

11/24 - Matt Costa with Everest at House of Blues Anaheim. 8:00 p.m. $17.50 adv. $20.00 DOS.

11/24 - DJ Quik at Grove of Anaheim. 8 p.m. $27.50.

11/24 - Trans-Siberian Orchestra (Winter Tour 2010) at Honda Center in Anaheim. 8 p.m. $34.45 - $79.50 (pricing based on seating levels).

11/24 - Jeramiah Red at The Continental Room. 10 p.m. No cover. 21+

Upcoming Events 11/10 - 11/17

2010-11-10T08:00:00.000-08:00

Blonde Redhead. Photo courtesy of 4AD Records.

11/10 - Masters of Reality with Sean Wheeler, Zander Schloss at House of Blues Anaheim. 8:00 p.m. $17.50 adv. / $20 dos.

11/11 - Sean Hayes at Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa. 9:00 p.m. $12.

11/11 - John Mayall with This Side Up Blues Band at The Coach House. 8:00 p.m. $25.

11/11 - San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino Presents: Face to Face (punk band) with The Darlings at House of Blues Anaheim. 8:00 p.m. $25 adv. / $27.50 dos.

11/11 - Chayanne at Honda Center Anaheim. 8:00 p.m. $43.60 to $145.85 (prices vary due to seating levels).

11/12 - Static Fridays: Electronic Music Every Friday Night at Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa. 9:00 p.m. Free admission before 10:30 / $10 after.

11/12 - Mae with Terrible Things, Windsor Drive, Beta Wolf at The Glass House. 7:00 p.m. $13 adv. / $15.00 dos.

11/12 - Carl Palmer Band with Twice Fooled, Agent 22 at The Galaxy in Santa Ana. 8:00 p.m. $25.

11/13 - Outbreak with Dropdead FM (former OCC students), Hour of the Wolf, Smartbomb, Vultures United, Laced at Chain Reaction. 7:00 p.m. $10.

11/13 - Margot and the Nuclear So and So's at Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa. 9:00 p.m. $12.

11/13 and 11/14 - Misfits with Juicehead, The Returners, Jahmbi, Fiction Reform at The Galaxy in Santa Ana. 8:00 p.m. $22 adv. / $25 dos.

11/13 - Yellowcard with He is We, The Coulourist at The Glass House. 7:00 p.m. $20.

11/14 - STARS with The Pains of Being, Pure At Heart, Geographer at The Glass House. 7:00 p.m. $18.

11/14 - Usher with Trey Songz at Honda Center Anaheim. 7:00 p.m. $42.15 to $146.90 (prices vary due to seating levels).

11/15 - Jeramiah Red with TOEJAMZ and DJ Snacks at the Commonwealth Lounge. 10:00 p.m. Free.

11/15 - Blonde Redhead with Ólöf Arnalds at The Glass House. 7:00 p.m. $25.

11/17 - Every Time I Die with Trap Them, Howl, The Sparring at Chain Reaction. 7:30 p.m. $15.

Kanye's runaway hit video

2010-11-08T10:44:00.000-08:00

When I say Kanye you say…actor?

Probably not, but rapper/producer Kanye West recently released Runaway, a short-film/music video filled with imagery and symbolism to promote his upcoming album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.

Courtesy of Island Def Jam

The movie was filmed in Prague over the course of four days in the summer. West describes it as a parallel of his own career, and when you look at the short film deeper than what’s on the surface, West’s vulnerability shows.

The short begins with Kanye running towards a giant explosion, which reveals a half woman-half Phoenix laying in the aftermath of the explosion. This represents something better being born out of Kanye West. Through his recent struggles in his personal life and through the media, the Phoenix is a representation of Kanye himself.

The Phoenix wakes up in Kanye’s room with the news playing the background. Kanye shows up behind her turning off the TV and declaring, “First rule in this world baby, don’t pay attention to anything you see in the news.”

Kanye goes on to teach the Phoenix proper etiquette, such as walking on two feet and eating with a knife and fork, symbolizing his own struggles to fit in with society.

He then takes her to a dinner party which looks like the Last Supper, with all the people dressed in white showing their purity. Once they sit, a guest asks them whether Kanye realizes his girlfriend is a bird.

This shows the industries disapproval of Kane West. Following the man’s comment, Kanye gets up to begin playing a song on the piano. Many ballerinas come out of nowhere and start gracefully moving to Kanye singing and playing the piano. Despite the “industries” disapproval, society seems to accept his uniqueness, for now.

As quickly as they appeared, the dancers freeze in motion then leave Kanye standing by himself. A representation of not only how quickly the media, but also how anyone can vanish as quickly as they came around, and how you should only depend on yourself at the end of the day.

Despite Kanye’s persistence to assimilate his Phoenix girlfriend in society the dinner takes an extreme turn. For dinner they place a turkey right in front of the Phoenix, she violently screams and leaves, which defines Kanye’s opinion on his own career.

Kanye may not have brought an Oscar worthy acting performance, but the genius was there, behind the surface masked by vibrant colors and music. The incorporation of light and dark, the imagery of fire and the drastic color contrast make Runaway not only a must see, but a short film/music video that will take its place amongst the greatest in music history.

-Cyrus Mehrfar

Upcoming Events 11/03 - 11/10

2010-11-02T23:47:00.000-07:00

The Cold War Kids at The Glass House 11/5 (myspace.com/coldwarkids)

11/04 - Circa Survive with special guests at House of Blues Anaheim. 8 p.m. $16 adv. / $18.50 dos. (day of show).

11/05 - I Love Electro Concert Series feat. Mustard Pimp, Ruth Flowers and more at Grove of Anaheim. 7 p.m. $20.

11/05 - Cold War Kids with We Barbarians at The Glass House. 8 p.m. $20.

11/06 - Senses Fail with Bayside, Title Fight, and Balance and Composure at House of Blues Anaheim. 8 p.m. $14.00 adv. / $16.50 dos.

11/07 - The Dodos with special guests The Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa. 9 p.m. $12 adv. / $13 dos.

11/09 - Brandon Flowers with Fran Healy at The Fox Theater. 8 p.m. $27.50 adv. / $30 dos.

Call the cops, literally

2010-11-01T13:35:00.000-07:00

Call the Cops Events lived up to their name Wednesday when the police actually were called to the scene in response to a reported fight between security and club-goers. The irate crowd slowly dispersed through the parking lot lingering in clusters trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

The fights started before Glen Christensen, a 20-year-old undecided major at OCC, was able to perform his set as Glendulum. Christensen was disappointed that security shut the whole club down as opposed to keeping the brawl an isolated incident.

DJ DOESBURG AT CALL THE COPS [photo by Fred Randall]

However his spirits about the night were still high. “I’d say tonight was pretty drum and bass,” Christensen said. “It was a pretty drum and bass fight too.”

Numerous DJ’s, some of whom are Orange Coast College students, performed electro, dub-step, and drum and bass at the "Freaks Come Out at Night" event at the Chateaux Lounge in Irvine.

The club was packed as costumed clubbers and OCC students alike got crazy on the dance floor. The music was playing loud and fast as the group of seven DJ’s performed encompassing genres such as hip-hop, reggae and electro.

DJ’s Faz, BLK LST, Fuss, 3 Kilos, Rankin, Thompson and Glendulum were scheduled to perform. However, fights broke out between security and club goers well before the night was over.

Kip Armstrong, a 21-year-old undecided major at OCC, was performing Drum and Bass under his DJ alias Thompson as the fights broke out. The situation became critical as punches began to be thrown in the back of the club.

Within minutes security had shut down the music and emptied the club, herding and shoving patrons through the exit. In the confusion that followed there was little to comprehend other than the intense ringing in my ears.

When reaching the exit the hostility of this evacuation became quite clear. Shouting and shoving between security and club goers, my immediate instinct was to stay low and get well out of arms reach.

What had become of a great night of dancing, costumes and music? Where had all this negativity come from? And why was security dishing out punches at an 18 and over event?

If you're into an unpredicatble night of drum and bass, dub-step and electro keep your eyes out for more Call the Cops Events on their website.

-Fred Randall

Dusty Rhodes bring unique sound to the Continental Room

2010-10-25T14:32:00.000-07:00

Dusty Rhodes and the River Band put on an entertaining performance at their show at the Continental Room Thursday. It was difficult to know exactly what I thought of Dusty Rhodes, because there seems to be a big division between the sound of the old songs and the new songs. Even the instruments are different, as the lead singer, Dustin Apodaca, switches from a fancy synthesizer which creates a more experimental indie sound for the new songs and an accordion that creates a folk sound for the older stuff. Since they play both, it's hard to place them in a category.

The environment while they were playing was very all encompassing, it would make anyone feel at home. They ended their set with an epic song that included a beautiful violin solo which made the whole event feel worthwhile.

Francisco The Man started out the evening slow and melodically, with a song that sounded very similar to the Smashing Pumpkins. At first it seemed they were going to be just that, a 90's influenced rock band, but after a couple more songs you could hear a mixture of influences from indie bands of the 2000's such as Beach House or Minus the Bear. In spite of my initial skepticism, I did enjoy the music and the crowd seemed impressed by the end of the set.

Jeramiah Red could be described as DIY arena rock. For a local band, their sound is impeccable. They sound as if they are meant to be playing giant concerts and big festivals. They have an American rock n' roll bluegrass sort of feel to them, with what seems like an occasional metal influence.

The harmonica gives them a more folk sound at times, which creates a good dynamic because within their music, there is something to be liked by everyone. If you love classic rock and want to hear something pleasantly put together as opposed to those loosely thrown together, “whatever equipment I might have in the back of my garage” indie bands, I would strongly suggest going to see Jeramiah Red.

-Katie McCluer

13 For Halloween

2010-10-23T21:06:00.000-07:00

Because of the various dark, but fun themes of Halloween, many different types of genres and songs can be included in one singular mix. Here are a quick thirteen tracks for the holiday, some accompanied by creepy clips.

1. "Black Sabbath" - Black Sabbath (Black Sabbath 1970)

2. "Rainbow" - Boris with Michio Kurihara (Rainbow 2007)

3, "Bodysnatchers" - Radiohead (In Rainbows 2007)

4. "Candy" - Vitalic (Fanfares 2004)

5. "To Here Knows When" - My Bloody Valentine (Loveless 1991)

6. "Distortions" - Clinic (Internal Wrangler 2000)

7. "Halloween Theme (Main Title)" - John Carpenter (Halloween [Original Score] 1978)

8. "21st Century Schizoid Man/Mirrors" - King Crimson (In the Court of King Crimson 1969)

9. "Der Erlkönig" - Franz Schubert [poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe] (Opus 1 D328 1815)

10. "Closer" - Nine Inch Nails (The Downward Spiral 1994)

11. "Mysterons" - Portishead (Dummy 1994)

12. "Come to Daddy [Pappy Mix]" - Aphex Twin (Come to Daddy EP 1997)

13. "Careful with that Axe, Eugene" - Pink Floyd (Ummagumma 1969)

Bonus because I have to: "Thriller" - Michael Jackson (Thriller 1982)

Jonseing for Jonsi

2010-10-20T13:54:00.001-07:00

A full house gathered in the close quarters of Fox Theater in Pomona on Monday in eager anticipation of their favorite Icelandic siren, Jonsi. The audience made warm conversation, waitresses hustled up and down tiers of tables compiling drink orders, and always from somewhere else in the room, that one distinguishable laugh echoed a good night.

But as Sigur Ros’ lead singer Jón “Jonsi” þór Birgisson took the stage with his band, the buzzing in the air was replaced with something infinitely more special.
White fog-lights caused Jonsi to glow in front of a huge projection screen that illustrated stories of forest animals sprinting, butterflies fluttering, leaves falling, and water at every pace. And when Jonsi started to strum his guitar and sing out in his signature unearthly falsetto, these animations took real life. They started to feed the audience real life aurally.

When Jonsi opened his mouth, he put listeners in a happy trance. He stirred water in the deepest parts of hearts and made every problem on the planet feel ages away. He weaved stories from his soul and cried them out to us in words that only our hearts could understand.
Experiencing Jonsi play is like dreaming about love. Every note and sway of his voice strikes beautiful chords across heart-strings, and his humble presence is inspiring.

Each band member seemed to have actually stitched together his own whimsical outfit from fairy tales. Jonsi wore a long, plaid shirt held together by patches and strips of other plaid shirts. Dozens of long ribbons with feathers and beads hung from his shoulders and arms and danced with his movements.

For his encore, “Grow Till Tall”, Jonsi came out wearing a towering, feathered headdress, and boas to match. Lights shaped like birds flew around the theater and the rolling thunder of þorvaldur þorvaldsson’s drums said goodbye in the only way Jonsi could have been expected to –– by embracing the audience one last time with warm sounds and a voice that pierces every facet of unhappiness with unfathomable joy.

- Story and photo by Garrett Marshall

Jeramiah Red kicks up dirty blues

2010-09-27T19:21:00.000-07:00

JERAMIAH RED: (from left) Wes Dickson, Travis Ruiz, Matt Pleskacz, Ian Cullen, Tim Miller. Photo by Austin Ruiz.

With a soulful, charismatic swagger, Jeramiah Red is kicking up dust in the Orange County music scene with reckless abandon.

Inspired by acts like The Black Keys and Bob Dylan, Jeramiah Red’s sound is an intoxicating blend of blues and classic rock. The bite of the group’s lyrics coupled with the warm tones of acoustic guitar and harmonica make every song go down like the whiskey in their veins, and they are picking up speed.

Jeramiah Red rose from the ashes of several of the members’ past acts. Lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Wes Dickson, 24, played in punk band The Relentless with Jeramiah Red’s bassist Tim Miller, 24, prior to forming the group.

Vocalist and lead guitarist Ian Cullen, 21, drummer Matt Pleskacz, 25, and percussionist and harmonica player Travis Ruiz, 23, were also in a former band together. Cullen described the band, they asked not to include the name, as a “hip-hop Jack Johnson band.”

The two former bands merged into Jeramiah Red in 2008.

“Me and Wes are from such different backgrounds that we come together between mainstream and alternative,” Cullen said.

To watch Jeramiah Red play is to see five friends really work toward something they all feel potential in. Their energy is awesome.

“I’m super happy to be in this band—I’ve done enough stupid stuff,” Cullen said from the band’s practice space overlooking a Diamond Bar valley.

The group’s passion for the music they create sings out in each song they play. The boot-stomping beats of “My Baby” and “Whole Lotta Love” demand a listener to their feet, and the fiery vocals keep them there. Naturally, Jeramiah Red wants to reach out.

“When you write a new song, you want to show the world,” Ruiz said.

Jeramiah Red fairly recently hired manager Matt Gardner to help execute its vision.

“Wes came to me saying he wanted to get serious, and right out of the gate they got a show at the House of Blues,” Gardner said.

The band is releasing a self-titled EP at their headlining House of Blues Anaheim show on Oct 7. They will perform on Oct. 21 at The Continental Room in Fullerton.

They are planning a music video by spring.

“We’re gonna play as many shows as we can,” Gardner said.

-Garrett Marshal

Ariel Pink gets funky at The Glass House 9/11

2010-09-13T21:17:00.000-07:00

Ariel Pink at the Glass House (Photo: Taylor Hamby)

Perhaps it's the difficulty in defining Ariel Pink's music that makes it hard to review one of his shows. Ariel Pink and his band played at the Glass House in Pomona Saturday.

The Kurt Cobain look alike creates David Bowie-esque tunes than can be classified as dance, eighties revival, lo-fi, funk, or a genre of its own.

Whatever you want to call it, it was not love at first listen. Ariel Pink's music takes a bit of time to dial in your ears to this unique sound.

He has an odd stage presence. Sometimes he looked nervous. He fiddled with a tie during two songs; wrapped it around his neck and then his finger. He put the microphone in his mouth.

Odd presence or not, he is still able to get the crowd riled up. During songs like "Fright Night" and "Menopause Man" fans screamed out and formed a pit.

In fact, I was called out at my lack of visible excitement. A boy hit my shoulder to get my attention and told me to start dancing. "I'm not seeing enough excitement out of you!" he said.

The has more energy in concert than his live recordings, but offers the same comparison defying, confusing sound.

Ariel also demonstrated the large range of his voice that night, and moved from a speaking voice to a falsetto seamlessly.

White Arrows opened for Ariel Pink with their psychedelic goes electric sound. While they didn't break any new ground, they played an entertaining set.

They projected light fractals onto the stage which added an element of mystery, or pretentiousness, depending how you look at it, to the show.

White Arrows seems to be at the imitating, not innovating, stage in their career, but this is nothing that a bit of practice and an acid trip or two can't remedy.

In that vein, they played the best version of Springsteen's "I'm on Fire" I have ever heard.

Bella Novela opened up the evening. Sorry guys, I was late and missed them.

-Taylor Hamby

Radiohead's drummer goes solo

2010-09-08T10:11:00.000-07:00

Phil Selway's "Familial" (2010)

For his first solo effort, “Familial,” Radiohead drummer Phil Selway explores himself as a singer and songwriter, creating a warm and soothing record.

This isn’t his first venture away from Radiohead. Selway had partaken in Neil Finn’s all-star concerts, “7 Worlds Collide,” recording an album titled “The Sun Came Out.”

While working on the project, Selway established some creative relationships with multi-instrumentalist and singer Lisa Germano, bassist Sebastian Steinberg, and Wilco drummer Glenn Kotche who all contribute on the record.

As the drummer of Radiohead, Selway has always demonstrated restraint and patience, and the songs on “Familial” are much understated.

Similar in vein, the music is effective and Selway indulges in themes of parenthood, relationships and middle-age.

He devotes “The Ties that Bind Us” to his son, singing, “I want to show you another way, I want to shield you from my mistakes” and on “Broken Promises,” he addresses the loss of his mother.

The songs are mostly restricted to acoustic guitars and bare instrumentations, and the lyrics are far less abstract than anything Thom Yorke ever wrote, providing relatable and universal imagery.

Selway’s vocals are also very tender and delicate, and his natural singing serves well to the haunting music.

“A Simple Life” is the most romantic song on the album, with Selway dreaming of a runaway relationship, “we’ll leave and disappear into the night, we’ll turn out the lights, we just want a simple life.”

The best song might be the introduction, “By Some Miracle,” a direct confession of his inner demons, “there’s a black dog in my basement, he is barking out my name.”

There is a Radiohead song called “Electioneering” off the classic album “OK Computer,” where Selway, on a rare occasion, goes berserk on the drums, perhaps releasing that “black dog” he is talking about.

While “Familial” is successful in its purpose, a Radiohead fan might wonder what Selway could have written in his younger years, and at 43-years-old, with a wife and three children, he only examines middle-aged themes.

“Familial” does not break any new ground, but it is a refined and touching release, easy enough for a long drive and pleasant enough for a quiet night at home.

-James Vu

Paramore's at the top of its game

2010-05-07T10:05:00.000-07:00

On May 3rd, Paramore performed a solid set at a sold-out show in Columbus, Ohio. Orange Coast College alumnus and former managing editor of The Coast Report, Tony Lee, was there to catch all the action and has graciously written a review for TMP. Check it out below!

“Best show of the tour, so far,” said Paramore’s Hayley Williams after playing the third song of its 17-song set-list at the LC Amphitheater in Columbus, Ohio.

She was wrong. It might have been the best show of Paramore’s career.

Paramore, led by the 5-foot-2-inch, fire-truck-red-haired vocalist, displayed they have what it takes to be the next rock ‘n’ roll superstars.

With Relient K and fun as opening acts, the band had the sold-out crowd on May 3 rocking out to its punk-pop-rock ’n’ roll fusion and showed why they are one of the top-10 bands to see in 2010.

Williams ended the 75-minute show with the same insanely energetic demeanor she had at the beginning. Guitarists Josh Farro and Taylor York, drummer Zac Farro and bassist Jeremy Davis echoed Williams’ contagious energy that had the majority-tween crowd jumping around like popcorn kernels being popped from start to finish.

Williams even took a fan’s camera during the band's last song “Misery Business”, filmed herself, her band mates, and the crowd and captured the unforgettable atmosphere (click here to see the YouTube clip).

Williams engaged with fans throughout the entire concert by encouraging them to sing along, especially during "Whoa", and sharing gifts that she received from fans.

She had a problem with her in-ear monitor during “Decode” that deprived the audience of 10 seconds of singing, but the entire crowd filled the outdoor venue by belting the lyrics word for word.

At one point, Williams announced she would be doing a “low-budget costume change” and put on a black New Found Glory hoodie because she was “freezing” on this windy day.

The hoodie, most likely an ode to New Found Glory guitarist / boyfriend Chad Gilbert, actually became an endearing accessory as she sang “The Only Exception” - Paramore’s latest single and love song.

The show consisted of basic concert lighting, three different backdrops, and gimmick-free continual flow of songs.

Last summer, Paramore was the opening act to No Doubt. This year, they are proving it's not a stretch to say Paramore may reach No Doubt’s superstardom in the near future.

Paramore’s spring concert opened on April 27 in Nashville and ends in July 2 in Werchter, Belgium at the Rock Werchter Festival. Its last U.S. spring showing will be on May 16 in Las Vegas, Nev. at The Joint.

They will headline the Honda Civic Tour starting July 23 in Raleigh, N.C. at the Raleigh Boutique Amphitheater and ending Sept. 19 in Orange County, Calif. at, fittingly, the Honda Center.

- By Tony Lee (twitter.com/sHecKii)

"Careful" clip provided by Tony Lee

"Misery Business" clip provided by YouTube user angie0491

Set-list

Looking Up
That's What You Get
Playing God
Pressure
For A Pessimist, I'm Pretty Optimistic
Brighter
Turn It Off
The Only Exception
Whoa
crushcrushcrush
Let The Flames Begin
Ignorance
Where the Lines Overlap
Careful
Brick By Boring Brick

Encore

Decode
Misery Business

Check out more on Paramore - including tour dates - at their websites:

http://www.myspace.com/paramore
http://www.paramore.net

Vampire Weekend Impress at The Fox Theater in Pomona

2010-04-22T12:16:00.000-07:00

All Photos by Flavia McBride

Two days before thousands of people swarmed to Indio, CA for the Coachella Music and Arts Festival, a seemingly endless line of ticket holders weaved their way around the circumference of The Fox Theater in Pomona to see Vampire Weekend perform a sold-out show.

The five piece band from New York recently released their sophomore album Contra to rave reviews. The album even hit number one on the Billboard 200, and it was clear that fans at The Fox Theater had Contra in constant iPod rotation since its release.

Vampire Weekend opened with "White Sky" and the room instantly erupted with energy that would hold throughout the entire performance. The audience danced, sang, and cheered along to favorites like "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa", "One (Blake's Got A New Face)" and "A Punk".

The mood quickly became relaxed for a calm and stripped down performance of "Taxi Cab", but picked right back up for "Run" during which the eyes of the woman pictured on the giant backdrop (and Contra album cover) lit up like lasers.

Frontman Ezra Koenig interacted frequently with the audience, making endearing quips between songs. At one point, when asking the crowd to sing along, he said "It's gotta be funky. Not Baja Fresh, more Del Taco, know what I mean?"

Bassist Chris Baio demonstrated some admirable dance moves, and the entire band seemed genuinely excited to play together.

Vampire Weekend closed with "Oxford Comma" before returning to play three encore songs. Koenig thanked the audience and boldly declared to all those not attending Coachella that the festival "might not get any better" than this performance.

In a way, he was right. Not only were Koenig's vocals spot on the entire night, but the band as a whole was able to perform in a polished yet natural way. There were no instances where I felt like I could sense the band thinking, rather they seemed to be able to let go and have fun without worrying about the result.

The attitude definitely transferred to the audience; it seemed like the crowd could not have been any more excited to spend an evening rocking out with Vampire Weekend, and neither could I.

-Eszter Zimanyi

Check out more photos from Vampire Weekend's set at The Fox Theater on our flickr account: http://www.flickr.com/photos/themusicpirate

See videos of Vampire Weekend's ENTIRE set at The Fox Theater on Eszter's YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/eszterzimanyi

Keep up with Vampire Weekend at their websites:
http://www.myspace.com/vampireweekend
http://www.vampireweekend.com

Vampire Weekend at The Fox Theater in Pomona

2010-04-15T17:12:00.000-07:00

Last night Vampire Weekend played a show at The Fox Theater in Pomona, CA and by all accounts it was amazing. TMP sent Eszter Zimanyi to cover the event along with photographer Flavia McBride, and next week we'll have a proper review posted along with some great photos. For now though, here is one of the 19 videos Eszter took along with the set list from last night's show:

Set list:

1. White Sky
2. Holiday
3. Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa
4. I Stand Corrected
5. M79
6. Bryn
7. California English
8. Cousins
9. Taxi Cab
10. Run
11. A Punk
12. One (Blake's Got A New Face)
13. Diplomat's Son
14. Giving Up The Gun
15. Campus
16. Oxford Comma

Encore:

1. Horchata
2. Mansard Roof
3. Walcott

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club 3/17 at HOB Anaheim Review

2010-03-19T15:15:00.000-07:00

In one of their hit songs, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club answers their own question. They ask, “Whatever happened to my rock and roll?”

This is a valid question when discussing today’s underground music. We are surrounded by electronic beats and soft folksy tunes today but when searching for raw rock and roll, listeners are forced to look to the past.

At BRMC’s Tuesday performance at the House of Blues Anaheim, they answered their question with their loud guitar and heavy drums and said, “Rock and Roll is right here.”

This was apparent in the audience. While waiting for the band to start, I was surrounded by mostly men aged 50+. Some were singing along to the Iggy Pop playing in the background, probably reminiscing about when they saw The Stooges when they were my age. Of course BRMC would have an older audience; they have the same no-nonsense raw rock that The Stooges and their contemporaries have.

The band walked out on stage without saying a word, and jumped right into their music. The first thing I noticed was their new drummer, Leah Shapiro. Her heavy drums stood out in the third song of the evening, “Stop” and “Berlin.”

The first half of their set was filled with waves of fast songs to slow songs, then slowed down signifigantly mid-set. This brought the best part of the evening.

Robert sat at the piano under the spotlight and played a most beautiful rendition of the Edgar Allen Poe poem, “Annabelle Lee”. It was haunting, it was gorgeous, just like Poe wrote it. A faithful tribute.

The mood was stopped abruptly by the sharp harmonica intro of “Ain’t No Easy Way”, and continued to step up the pace with “Spread Your Love.”

Peter Hayes brought you back down again with his great acoustic solo of “Sympathetic Noose.”

The title track off their new album “Beat the Devil’s Tattoo” was another stand out song.

They played three encore songs, and ended with “Open Invitation”, one of their slower, sad songs. They let us down gently, and walked away just as silent as they entered,

I heard an audience member asked as I was walked away, “Why would they end with that song?”

You can’t expect anything else from a band of rebels.

-Taylor Hamby

Go Beyond Wonderland

2010-03-19T12:05:00.000-07:00

Get the lights, beaded bracelets’ and glow sticks ready for a world that takes you Beyond Wonderland.

Attendees can dance and shuffle the night away on March 20 at the NOS Events Center in San Bernardino . The Beyond Wonderland music festival is hosted by a popular event planner Insomniac.

More than 30,000 people are expected to attend this electric event are Paul Van Dyk, Sander Van Doorm and Bart M More.

The venue holds four themed areas that reminisce back to Alice in Wonderland such as arenas called Madhatters Castle, Queens Domain, Caterpillars Garden and Chess Village.

There is a bar located inside of the arena as well.

Anh Pham, a 19 year old Technology Major at Orange Coast College said she is going for the line-up and the people.

“Pretty much everyone who knows about this event is going,” she said. “I’m stoked.”

On the other hand people like Cindy Nguyen, an 18-year-old business major at OCC, said it doesn’t matter to her who’s going to be there.

“I never really know who the line-up is,” she said. “I go to exchange beaded bracelets, and dance all night.”

Ticket prices started out at around $45 but as the event comes closer, prices have gone to $60-$70.

Marie Youth, an 18-year-old nursing student at OCC, said the cost doesn’t bother her.

“The money is well worth it,” she said. “It does get pricey but these events are amazing. You will have one of the best nights of your life.”

-Angel Rodriguez

Gorillaz recycle genres in "Plastic Beach"

2010-03-17T14:21:00.000-07:00

Damon Albarn and his Gorillaz returned with “Plastic Beach” Tuesday with an alluring and intoxicating assimilation of various genres.

“Plastic Beach” is a world where waste products and plastics are turned into new toys. The plan here is to salvage from different musical styles such as hip-hop and Arabic music.

The music is as eclectic as the collaborations, which include rapper, Mos Def, and rock legend, Lou Reed. Gorillaz have been a rotating set of musicians, but Albarn has always been in control, enforcing his vision.

“White Flag” is a prime example of the musical combinations. The Lebanese Orchestra for Oriental Arabic Music accompanies low-key British rappers Kano and Bushy creating an exotic blend of dub and Arabian strings.

The electric pop of “Stylo” is hypnotizing with its disco style beat and atmospheric synthesizers. Mos Def’s mellow delivery compliments old-school soul singer, Bobby Womack’s dramatic belting.

“Superfast Jellyfish,” with the help of Gruff Rhys and De La Soul, is the most animated tune on the album. De La Soul is as funky as he was on “Feel Good, Inc.” and Rhys sings lines like, “the sea is radioactive,” in a fun, robotic voice.

“Empire Ants,” which features Little Dragon, might be the best song on the album. Albarn takes the microphone and sings softly over an acoustic guitar and a shimmering piano. When Little Dragon’s Yukimi Nagano starts singing, the music swirls into a spacey ballad with haunting synthesizers and a soothing rhythm.

But, there are a few things that make “Plastic Beach” an imperfect record.

This is Albarn’s first time as the producer of a Gorillaz album, and without Dan “The Automator” Nakamura or Danger Mouse there to condense the music, the album does seem to stretch a bit. It also lacks the pop brilliance of songs like “Clint Eastwood” and “Dare.”

“Demon Days” was a goliath of a record, with huge commercial and critical success, and expectations for the next album were tremendous.

Still, “Plastic Beach” is an excellent record, and Albarn continues to stretch his musical horizons creating some of the most infectious and original music of the 2000s.

-James Vu

"Transference" is Spoon at their best.

2010-03-10T14:29:00.000-08:00

Spoon adds another first-class release to their brilliant discography with “Transference.”

Almost three years after the release of the critically acclaimed “Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga,” Spoon begins the decade with a rougher and grittier release.

“Transference” was self-produced and is reminiscent of their first record, 1996’s “Telephono.” The music on the new album is more raw rock ‘n‘ roll.

The first single, “Got Nuffin,” released six months prior to the album, was the first implication of the album’s rawness.

Spoon remains in top form despite the fact that most of the songs are mostly in their demo form.

The complexity of the music on “Transference” is created through the careful construction of the songs, not the glossing over in the studio.

Britt Daniel, the lead singer, once again demonstrates his skills in writing songs. The roughness in the songs emits a higher emotional resonance.

“Written in Reverse” is one of the more aggressive songs. It begins with the lines, “I’m writing this to you in reverse, someone better call a hearse.”

Daniel snarls and yells about a declining relationship over a pounding piano and an unsteady beat.

The lack of studio buff works best on the piano ballad, “Goodnight Laura,” revealing a more tender and delicate side to the album.

Emotions run high as Daniel croons a loved one to sleep. The intimacy of the performance amplifies its effect, similar to the impact of a child’s lullaby sung before bed time.

Piano chords are pressed methodically against a building rhythm on the second half of track six, “I Saw the Light.”

This is Spoon at their best, rationalizing during a jam session. No notes are wasted and every instrument is utilized efficiently.

All these abilities would go to waste if the songs themselves were not good. Even the more difficult songs are filled with plenty of hooks and grooves here to please rock and pop fans.

Transference is one of those albums that should be listened to a few times before passing judgment. However, it is a testament to one of the best bands of the 2000s and their skills in consistently producing great albums.

-James Vu

Musink

2010-03-10T14:28:00.000-08:00

Tyson McAdoo peddles his wares at Musink 2010.

Fifty-four vendors, more than 300 tattoo artists, 29 bands and a skate ramp jam — all within a three-day period.

This is Musink.

The three-day music, tattoo and skate festival, celebrating its third year, was held Friday through Sunday at the Orange County Fairgrounds.

Sean Akhavan, Musink’s event coordinator, said the main reason he picked the OC Fairgrounds was because of its access to multiple buildings and the fact that Orange County doesn’t have a really good tattoo convention.

“If you notice all of the same people listening to music all have tattoos. I think it’s a culture that blends,” Akhavan said.

The bands are chosen on availability and Akhavan said he tries to get the best artists from all around the world so the festival maintains a wide variety for any type of spectator.

“As long as the event is successful and people have a great time, that is all that matters,” Akhavan said.

Some may be intimidated walking into a festival where the majority of attendees are tattooed from head to toe, but Peter Levy, owner of Under the Gun Tattoo Company in Hollywood, was the first to throw away this perception.

“I think people misunderstand the work of tattooing because I think it is art. The truth is I think it is the most unbelievable form of art, in that you really don’t have a second try. You don’t take the paper, you don’t throw it in the garbage, you get one shot,” Levy said.

Levy said his favorite part of Musink is to see other artists like Robert Hernandez who came from Spain and to show off his own body artwork.

“This festival, Musink, is unlike many others — it has a really awesome display of wonderful artists where you have a lot of tattoo conventions out there that don’t really focus on the art and more on the money,” Levy said.

Along with the vendors, there were also traditional artists there as well.

Meet Tyson McAdoo, a tattooed 31-year-old pin up artist who has dabbled in tattooing and even worked for Marvel and DC while maintaining a well groomed handle bar moustache.

“It (Musink) is a family reunion all weekend. Even if it is not your thing it’ll blow you away because it’s such good quality. We say it’s a private subculture but it’s really as mainstream as it gets,” McAdoo said. “We’re not like everyone else — we are everyone else so why not have more people a part of the party.”

There were also tattoo artists like Hoser, an artist for Empire Tattoo in the Redlands, who could not wait to see the bands NOFX and Face to Face.

“It gives us a chance for other people to see our work and get your ideas out there. Some people like it some people don’t but that’s the best part about it. It is life and you should expose yourself to as much stuff as possible,” Hoser said.

Acoustic Side of OC Music Awards

2010-03-10T14:27:00.000-08:00

At the most heavily attended Acoustic Finals night in OC Music Awards history, Billy Kernkamp and his band came out on top, walking away with $2,500 toward Fender gear and four days of recording time at Red Bull Studios.

The event was held Friday at the historic Yost Theater in Santa Ana, able to seat up to 800 fans as opposed to last year’s show at the Gypsy Den, which holds a capacity of less than 100.

But the large venue didn’t intimidate the opening band, I Hate You Just Kidding, who opened with a sweet and intimate set. The Costa Mesa couple that makes up the band, guitarist Jeremy Brock and singer Jessi Fulghum, playfully and humbly talked to one another and the audience throughout their set, adding to the band’s warm atmosphere.

Little things like a toy glockenspiel, an occasional harmonica harmony and a snare drum beat with one stick quickly built an endearing rapport with the audience as well.

“It seemed like everybody really liked it, so we’re happy about that and we did our best,” Fulghum said, “We just want for more people to have heard of us.”

Friday night’s contest winner, Billy Kernkamp, took the stage next with a guest guitarist before bringing out the whole band.

The stage grew more and more crowded throughout the set, growing from only two musicians to six, then 10, finally ending the set with 11 band members and fans on stage, all singing and having a great time.

“Thank you so much to the Orange County Music Awards for bringing us all together and supporting each other,” Kernkamp said during his set. “I want you to remember, it’s not about us, it’s about you guys coming out and supporting. You guys’ coming out is why we do this.”

The alternative country singer/songwriter was nominated for Country Americana last year as well, but did not progress. Friday night Kernkamp and his band were No. 1.

“I feel great, I love it,” Kernkamp said before being announced as the evening’s winner. “It’s not about awards. The validation comes from when my mom tells me I did good.”

Following Kernkamp, Stacy Clark overcame minor equipment malfunctions to present a Katy Perry/Avril Lavigne fusion.

Clark’s strongest songs, including “Touch and Go” as featured in the latest Bell Palm Pre commercial, were those when her guitar was laid down and she let her hips sway.

Marc B followed with his toe tapping surf/reggae songs as the audience continued to build. Bassist Yoni Berk was especially enjoyable to watch, hitting the groove hard and infecting the audience with what can only be described as “boogie.”

Mike Vitale took the stage alone next, closing the night with endearing songs and a humorous rapport with the audience.

Vitale performed with enthusiasm and a smile on his face, utilizing loop pedals and audience chants to close out the night.

OC Music Awards director of events and marketing Ashley Eckenweiler couldn’t have been happier at Friday night’s turnout.

“This is our largest turnout for the best live acoustic finals yet,” Eckenweiler said in an interview between sets. “This year has had the largest turnout at every showcase we’ve had. I think the best bands have been involved and we have great sponsors this year as well.”

At the end of the night, OC Music Awards producer Luke Allen took the stage, armed with a giant check and a Red Bull recording certificate.

Finally, and without overbearing suspense, Allen announced Kernkamp as the evening’s winner.

“I know it’s not cool to be excited about these things, but I’m really pumped guys,” Kernkamp said into the mic while accepting his prize. “I know I say this all the time, but we are here to serve you. We do this because of you.”

-David Sachs

Wolf In A Spacesuit set to release limited edition vinyl

2010-01-12T12:41:00.000-08:00

Wolf In A Spacesuit are releasing two singles, Bark of a Cedar and I Fee Nthg, on white vinyl through Hi-Scores Recording Library. The limited edition vinyl will be available in February but you can pre-order a copy now HERE. There are only 500 copies available, so if you're a lover of vinyl be sure to send in your order!

According to the Hi-Scores Recording Library website, Wolf In A Spacesuit are also scheduled to play a show at Piano's in Brooklyn, NY on Feb. 25th. The show will be part of a Hi-Scores Recording Library showcase.

You can read our review of Wolf In A Spacesuit's debut EP, Pomegranate Stationary, HERE or read our interview with the wolves THIS WAY.

Posted by Eszter Zimanyi

Lady Gaga at Nokia 12/21

2009-12-22T14:43:00.000-08:00

Hate her or love her, Lady Gaga has undoubtidly been
one of the most talked about artists of 2009.

Known for her bizarre and sometimes obscene antics (staging her suicide at the VMAs, breaking whiskey bottles on a piano at the AMAs), people often question whether there lies any musical substance under the kermit and body lace dresses.

I have to admit I bought The Fame expecting nothing more than a pop dance album (which everyone needs in their collection) and it delievered. Tracks like "Starstruck" and "Boys Boys Boys" had bubblegum lyrics such as, "Let's go see the Killers and makeout in the bleachers" that were lighthearted and somewhat laughable. But there were also tracks such as "Papparazzi" and "Poker Face", which gave a glimpse to a more serious side of GaGa. When The Fame Monster was released in November, I was suprised and happy to hear a more artistic side to GaGa. The bubblegum pop lyrics had been left in the gutter and replaced with visions of monsters and sexual inuendos.

I was excited to see which side would emerge on the stage of the Nokia on Monday, December 21st. She emerged solo in a light up leotard muttering De De De de de the begginning of her "Dance in the Dark" track and the electro pop opera began. Every aspect that has molded the image of Lady Gaga was present in this show, from the lavish outfits to the gothic-like vibe in her dancer's makeup. "Do you love me?" she asked the crowd and a wave of approval shattered the air as a response. There is no doubt in my mind that Gaga has popped the bubblegum layer that was once associated with her image and instead replaced it with her artistic visions. Although I do agree with Ann Powers that an underlying theme was sometimes hard to determine, this only the beginning for her and what a high bar she has set. I encourage anyone who can find tickets to the two other nights at Nokia (Dec 22nd and 23rd both are sold out) to go. Do not be afraid to release your inner monster and go crazy. Because for me the show was Am ma ma ma mazing.

Here's "Alejandro" live from last night's show:

New Arcade Fire album in 2010!

2009-12-04T08:26:00.000-08:00

There had been some talk circulating the internet that the Arcade Fire was working on some new songs, but the band was careful to not give away too much. Fans, including myself, kept asking the question "does this mean a new Arcade Fire album in 2010?". Well, now it's official. According to Billboard.com, the Arcade Fire is nearly complete in recording their yet-to-be-titled third full-length album, which is due out in the spring.

The band spent six months with producer Markus Dravs, who has collaborated with well-known artists such as Bjork and Brian Eno, and also took part in engineering the band's 2007 release Neon Bible.

Expect a North American tour in 2010!

"Neon Bible" by the Arcade Fire.

Filmed by Vincent Moon for La Blogotheque.

Simian Mobile Disco at the Mayan 11/25

2009-11-27T12:01:00.000-08:00

What better way to open up a weekend of eating and purging than to sweat to some heart pumping beats created by Simian Mobile Disco?

Before a breakdown of the show, I will give you a brief history of this English DJ duo and how they came to be. Comprised of two former members of Simian (yes they sang that "Never Be Alone" remixed by Justice for the hipster anthem circa 2006) James Ford and Jae Shaw decided to take on new sound. The majority of their songs feature simple vocals combined with extreme distortion and unique beats. With their debut album Attack Sustain Release in June of 2007, they began to form a name for themselves with hits such as "Hustler" and "I Believe". Their sophmore album Temporary Pleasure was released this May and included some heavy hitting names on the vocals (Beth Ditto of the Gossip, Chris Keating of Yeasayer). Temporary Pleasure featured more variety compared to the first album and most of the songs were either a hit or miss.

Lights decorated the stage and flashed giving you only glimpses of the duo mixing in front of you. The dancefloor was filled with glowsticks and kids hopping up and down to the bass. I have to say the one component I really enjoyed of this show is the originality. It seemed this team used their original songs as only a base for the new songs they created for the audience. They would take the original hook and create a whole new track right in front of you, seeping their creativity into the foggy atmosphere of the Mayan.

Various times they played the isolated vocals to hype up the crowd and then would slowly increase into the excellerated tone of the song. These men knew how to work the crowd and when they left the stage after their encore people were screaming for 15 minutes until they finally turned the lights on. Hands down this concert was worth the $25 and I will be attending their next show in the Los Angeles area.

Here is "Cruel Intentions (feat. Beth Ditto)" live at the Mayan:

New Animal Collective EP

2009-11-18T14:59:00.000-08:00

Animal Collective's Fall Be Kind EP is dropping next week. The digital release will be available November 23rd, and a physical copy (either in compact disc or vinyl format) can be obtained in stores on December 15th, according to Paste Magazine,

Animal Collective made headlines this summer by being the first band to gain rights to a Grateful Dead sample. The song, "What Would I Want? Sky," featuring the Dead sample will be available on this EP, as well as "Graze", a more recent live track from the band.

The Twilight Saga: New Moon Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Review

2009-11-16T17:02:00.000-08:00

The next installment of the “Twilight” movie series will premiere Friday and tickets are already selling out.

For The Twilight Saga: New Moon Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, the artist selection strayed from the more mainstream bands featured on the first Twilight soundtrack and compiled a mix of indie-rock heavyweights that do not disappoint.

Perhaps the most interesting element of the soundtrack is not the artists featured on it, but that almost every song on the soundtrack is an original piece made specifically for the Twilight movie.

Death Cab for Cutie’s radio friendly original “Meet Me on the Equinox” opens the album.

The song is classic Death Cab, but its lyrics seem painfully forced. It’s as if the band wrote the song with the objective of including as many clear Twilight references as possible.

Lyrics such as “Let our bodies intertwine / But always understand that everything ends” seem like they could have been taken straight out of Meyer’s book.

Lykke Li’s “Possibility” is a gorgeous piano ballad that will surprise those only familiar with her singles and Grizzly Bear’s “Slow Life,” which features singer Victoria Legrand of Beach House, is a fantastic swirl of harmonies and symphonic bliss.

Thom Yorke’s “Hearing Damage” is the standout piece on the soundtrack. It’s a jittery electronic ballad of sorts similar in style to the tracks on Radiohead’s last full-length album “In Rainbows.”

Yorke also wrote “Hearing Damage” specifically for the Twilight soundtrack, but unlike Death Cab for Cutie’s original piece, “Hearing Damage” could easily fit onto one of Yorke’s or Radiohead’s own albums.

Its chorus of “You can do no wrong in my eyes” is perfectly applicable to the relationship between Twilight’s protagonist Bella and her vampire lover Edward, but is still ambiguous enough to avoid seeing flashes of the movie upon every listen.

The majority of the soundtrack features dreamy and atmospheric songs with hushed overtones and lots of acoustics, but there are a few upbeat tracks.

“Monsters” by Hurricane Bells is sure to get stuck in your head, in a good way, and Band of Skulls’ “Friends” is another toe-tapper.

Though none of the songs on the New Moon soundtrack are representative of their respective artists’ best work, the soundtrack is a great introduction to indie music for all those Twi-hards who haven’t yet experienced it, and definitely worth the buy.

Kid Sister TV Debut

2009-11-16T10:30:00.000-08:00

Chicago's Kid Sister (A-Trak's girlfriend and older sister to Josh of Flosstradamus) made her first TV debut on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on Friday with the help of Flosstradamus.

Here's the video, including the same crazy dancers she brought with her at Detroit Bar and the Echoplex.

Videos: Jookabox & Animal Collective

2009-11-13T09:49:00.000-08:00

Though Halloween has long since passed, I can't help but enjoy this video.
"You Cried Me" by Jookabox, from their latest album entitled Dead Zone Boys.
Asthmatic Kitty Records 2009.

In other news, Animal Collective has released a new video for "In The Flowers" off of their early 2009 release Merriweather Post Pavillion. It is (quite fittingly) very whimsical and colorful. Click here to view it.

Viva Voce

2009-11-05T11:15:00.000-08:00

I've been constantly listening to the song "Octavio" by the Portland-based husband and wife duo Viva Voce for the past few days (although they have added two more members for their latest album, so duo might no longer suffice.) Though the song was released earlier this year, I can't help but play it on repeat. It brings me joy, and I thought that I might share a bit of that joy with you all.

The song is from the album Rose City which was released this year (2009) through Barsuk Records.

Free Vampire Weekend show!

2009-11-01T10:53:00.000-08:00

Vampire Weekend played an intimate, secret show last night (which I luckily won tickets to) in Chinatown, Los Angeles last night at Madam Wong's.

But for those of you who missed out, they are playing another free show today!

Sunday, November 1 - Dia De Los Muertos
Vampire Weekend 3:30pm
HOLLENBECK RECREATION CENTER BAND SHELL
415 S. St. Louis St.
Los Angeles, CA 90033

New Yeasayer track "Ambling Alp"

2009-11-01T10:47:00.000-08:00

Brooklyn's experimental Yeasayer has released a new song available for download titled "Ambling Alp," which is the first single off of their sophmore release Odd Blood, due out in February 2010.

It's easily their most radio-friendly song, full of upbeat and bouncy synths. It is definitely a departure of their past album's, All Hour Cymbals, exploration into spacey, funky sounds.

DOWNLOAD HERE. Enjoy

A review of "The BQE"

2009-10-28T16:23:00.000-07:00

Sufjan Stevens has outdone himself once again with his latest release. Though the inception of The BQE may have been a simple project commissioned by the Brooklyn Academy of Music, it has snowballed into something more. This is a masterpiece that surpasses all notions and boundaries of what one would expect from a current artist. Perhaps that’s the magic of Sufjan Stevens; we know his sound, but with each release he does something new. One can never know what to fully expect from this man.

As I sit hear listening to the album, I can’t help but envision Sufjan on stage surrounded by a symphony in a beautiful concert hall. The explosions of sound, the arrangement of each instrument—it is all too brilliant. Some pieces are dark and brooding (Interlude I: Dream Sequence in Subi Circumnavigation), while others are lighthearted and playful- calling to mind paintings from the Rococo era (“Movement III: Linear Tableau with Intersecting Surprise”). However, Stevens does not end the musical journey in the 1700s. There is a sense of modernity when electronic elements are showcased in the appropriately titled “Movement IV: Traffic Shock”, with all the samples and sounds creating a mental image of frenzy and confusion, truly mirroring “the BQE’s inexplicable twists and turns,” as Stevens goes on to explain in the accompanying comic book. (Yes, a comic book!)

The ending track, “Prelude: Critical Mass” is a delicate and moving piece. There is a sense of serenity; a stillness and sadness that stirs the soul. It is the most perfect and calm way to end a tumultuous journey through the BQE (and when I say tumultuous, do not think of the negative dictionary definition, for the tumult presented on this album is nothing but the best kind of uproar and loudness. The sounds shift from heavy to light, from calm to bellicose, and that is what I am trying to capture). The BQE is a road that begs to be traveled down again and again.

This album is easily one of the best that I have had the pleasure of listening to in 2009.

You can purchase the album in various forms through Asthmatic Kitty Records.

Posted by Gabrielle Costa

From Dub to Dubstep

2009-10-28T14:50:00.000-07:00

This is a fascinating video I encountered online. I'm a huge Lee "Scratch" Perry fan. He revolutionized the dub concept with his recording and mixing techniques with Reggae music. Incredible.

Only lately have I been dabbling into the world of Dubstep, which is considerably different with it's electronic influences. Obviously, though, there is a link in between the two styles.

This video does a great job of relating the origins of the two styles and includes performances and music from Lee Perry, a brief interview with Dubstep monster Rusko, as well as Jahdan performing with Major Lazer (Diplo and Switch's electronic dub/reggae inspired club collaboration.)

Here is Lee Perry's "Blackboard Jungle:" From Dub to Dubstep mini documentary.

Group to Watch: Chauffeur

2009-10-28T14:29:00.000-07:00

Chauffeur is the new supergroup made up of eclectic members Theophilus London, Mark Ronson and Sam Sparro.

The group came together and released one track to date. The song, "Soles on Fire," was written by Ronson for Gucci's pop-up Icon-Temporary stores that feature boat-shoe inspired sneakers designed by Ronson.

The track is a spacey, chilled out lounge and dark R&B fighting it's inner electro/hip hop demons. Dark synths, repetetive Cool Kids inspired vocal hooks and a spacey beat are paired with London's classic breezy, cool and collected flow and Sparro's soaring high-pitched melodies.

Truly an interesting song, but it's got me skeptical. There's room for improvement. London, Ronson and Sparro are distinguished musician's in their own right, but something about this collaboration isn't hooking me. Yet. Hopefully there's more to come from this group. London's style is truly unique in the hip hop world. He embraces electronic music, afro beats and hip hop as inspiration. I think I was expecting a bit more of this group because of London's involvement. I'd hate to think this song was just a selling gimick for Ronson's shoe.

Photo courtesy of thefader.com

Here is a video of Chauffeur's debut as a group at the Levi's®/Fader Fort at the CMJ festival in New York.

Chauffeur live at CMJ Fader Fort.

Click here to download Chauffeur - Soles on Fire. DOWNLOAD HERE

Flosstradamus Speaks with The Music Pirate, Planning New Album

2009-10-22T21:16:00.000-07:00

Flosstradamus and Kid Sister are coming to Southern California! They will rock Costa Mesa's Detroit Bar tomorrow and The Echoplex in Echo Park on Saturday, Oct. 24.

After the tour, Flosstradamus plan to take a month off in their hometown Chicago to wind down and produce a debut album.

We caught up with a jet-lagged and exhausted Flosstradamus before their soundcheck in Portland, Oregon yesterday. Curtis was gracious enough to stay awake and give The Music Pirate a call while Josh was sleeping to talk about their work-in-progress debut album, Yo Gabba Gabba, dental hygiene and more.

Read the full interview after the jump! Also coming soon: video interview with Flosstradamus (and POSSIBLY Kid Sister) for their Saturday Echoplex show. Be sure to check back on TheMusicPirateTV on YouTube!

Lucas: Whats up? Where are you guys?

Curtis: We are in Portland right now supporting this leg of Kid Sister's tour that she’s doing. Josh and I were in the studio and she wanted help on this first part of her tour so we just said ‘Let’s go. Let’s do it.” So we’re out here doing that. We’re playing a few shows as Flosstradamus and playing a few as just Kid Sister shows as well.

Lucas: What do you mean?

Curtis: We’re doing a few Flosstradamus AND Kid Sister shows as well as just a few Kid Sister shows without our set in there as well, as the supporting act.

Lucas: Oh awesome. So I have to ask about her name.

Curtis: Yeah she’s Josh’s sister. She’s actually Josh’s older sister.

Lucas: That’s funny, her name is almost a bit misleading.

Curtis: [laughs] In a sense. I don’t know if BIg Sister sounds really good. It doesn’t flow off the tongue as well as Kid Sister

Lucas: Yeah, haha. So you guys have proven you have amazing production skills with quite a few remixes and you’ve even released an original song with Caroline from Chairlift. Are you guys considering making more music? What’s next for Flosstradamus?

Curtis: That’s what we’re doing right now man. DJ shows and club events are getting kind of over saturated in the scene, or they have been since 2008 to now. Josh and I have been touring around forever. We’ve been touring since 2005. We’ve done a lot of it and we’re just like ‘We need to take a break now. We need to release some stuff’ and it feels good. It feels natural now just to like be in the studio. Before we would have a couple weeks or a few days to work on a remix or an original song, and now we’ve got like a month. We’re taking our first month off since 2005 in December. We’re starting to put out stuff. We’ve just been in the studio right now trying to find our sound because we don’t want to copy anything that’s hot right now. We just want to find our own sound because we haven’t really done that yet. With remixes we can put a sound out on the track but for original songs we want to have something different. We want something unique and fun that reflects Chicago and reflects us. We’re grinding in the studio now and I’m pretty stoked on that.

Lucas: Awesome. I have noticed a few of your remixes having different sounds and vibes. The Matt and Kim - Yeah Yeah remix has a different vibe than the Act A Fool song or Overnight Star.

Curtis: The Act A Fool one was more of a mashup thing we did. We were playing a lot of old school trance at the time and we were also playing a lot of Lil Jon so we put them together. But yeah, with the Matt & Kim remix, I was playing some keys in the key of their song and it just came out like that. Then we remixed Mates of State as well and that remix has a different sound to it too. With a remix, it’s pretty cool because we can apply a sound that’s hot at the time on it and give our own take on what’s going on in the current music game, but for the album we want something that’s a bit more listenable and more timeless than just like a remix that can played in the club for a few months.

Lucas: So with you guys in the studio, what are you guys influenced by? Even outside of a specific style of music, are you guys looking outside of electronic music? What are are you guys really into right now?

Curtis: Even looking outside of music. Josh and I are going into this with lot of free time now at home so we’re reading a lot of pop culture books and movies and things that we’ve missed out on over the years. Cult classics and stuff. We’re just brushing up on everything that’s influencing us in many ways just even artistically like getting different aesthetics from things out there. Things that have happened in the past that have inspired culture, that’s kind of what we’re doing. We’re listening to a lot of new stuff, theres a lot of new music that’s coming out that’s really cool.

Lucas: Yeah, this year has been really great in music. What are your favorite musical acts this year?

Curtis: This year? Hm. The xx are super good. Diplo. The Major Lazer thing is killing. I guess this wasn’t this year, but Friendly Fires are in constant rotation and the M83 album. Those are both from last year but they made it into this year and they’re still killing it. Pretty timeless. Theres a lot of singles I’ve been feeling this year too. The new Chromeo single is good.

Lucas: So back to the original song you released, ‘Big Bills,’ with Caroline from Chairlift, how did that come about?

Curtis: Man, that was a crazy process and it happened super fast. Josh and I can do remixes and stuff, but we haven’t really done an original track and Green Label Sound did a song with Matt and Kim and they did one with The Cool Kids, which are both our friends. They hit us up next and it just kind of worked out. They were like “Hey we have a few artists we’d like you guys to work with. We want you to produce an original song for them” and gave us a list of names. Caroline and us gave the thumbs up and a couple days later we’re in LA in a studio, for three days only and we came up with that song. Just whipped it together in those three days and then two days later we’re filming a video and having a photo shoot. So that whole entire project happened within less than 7 days

Lucas: Wow.

Curtis: It’s pretty rushed for a single, so that whole process was different and it was fun too. I like being pushed. I’m a huge procrastinator so if they gave us 3 months it probably wouldn’t have happened in 3 days… but it was good. She brought her sound to the table. She brought more of an indie vibe, more of a melodic vibe and we brought a bit of the dance vibe and put it all together in the studio and made this weird little indie-dance cross over thing you can just listen to instead of just another club banger which was a trend for DJs at the time.

Lucas: Yeah when I heard that song, I thought “I don’t think I’ll hear this at a club but I’ll definitely be playing this on my iPod.”

Curtis: Yeah that was kind of the whole point that Josh and I took with it too, because at the time when we made it, the whole the idea everyone was about was ‘Banger banger banger banger!’ It was just like ‘Yo man thats kind of played out. Kinda over it.’ We just took another stance on it and just tried to make something different, that’s one thing a lot of artists are afraid to do. Do something weird and different and we did it.

Lucas: Yeah, its definitely different and great. With your new album in the works and based off of that experience are you planning on collaborating with outside people or is it more gonna be like a Curt and Josh thing?

Curtis: We are collaborating. We’ve got a lot of friends we’ve made. We’ve been touring for like 3 year straight so we’ve been meeting a lot of people on the road and a lot of people are down to work with us. What Josh and I are doing right now is getting a huge catalog of songs together. We’ve been making different things. We’ll get an idea and we’ll bang it out. Some of them are really rough and some of the tracks are pretty polished up, so we’re going to take the album in progress and send them out to all the people in our family, like Chromeo and Fool’s Gold and Mad Decent and be like “Yo which ones do you like?” We’re gonna send those out and then polish those up then we’ll start sending them out to the artists we’d like to have featured on them. Then yeah, it goes from there.

Lucas: Nice, yeah that’ll be really exciting.

Curtis: I’m stoked. It’s a good feeling to be doing something different again. I’m super stoked to be working in the studio,

Lucas: For sure. Did DJing somehow get old for you, from touring for so long nonstop?

Curtis: [laughs] Uhhh…. Im going to say yes in a way. All the new music that came out as we were touring kept us inspired. We were like “Oh cool we can fit this crazy song in our sets ina certain way” and still play a lot of the old songs we always play. That was inspiring and that was fun. But having to travel and do it all the time it got taxing man. Josh and I got tired. You can just tell by looking at press photos we’ve taken just how much this has aged us. It’s good to take a breather and it’s good to just be back home, just relaxing. This is an amazing job. I’m not mad that we have this job and this is what I do to make a living. I get to enjoy what I do and I get to do something creative for a living. This is all of the things I would want so I’m not mad at it. I just think it’s time to switch gears for just a little bit and let everyone else do their thing so we can work on our album and work on a whole new way to tour. That’s another thing Josh and I are doing right now. Instead of just having a DJ set we’re trying to flip up everything do more live performances as well as DJing in our new sets when we come back out.

Lucas: Awesome. I’m sure you guys know the Twelves. They do that too, they perform live more than they DJ.

Curtis: They do it really really well. We’re gonna take our influence from that a little bit cause they’re not really like DJing as much as they are playing tracks and playing live to it but doing their own version of it. Like what Chromeo does, they bring live percussion in. They don’t have a drummer or anything. It’s just two dudes. They’ve got P Thug on keys and Dave 1 on guitar and singing and then they have a backing track that they’ll add to. They’ll add a little bit of drums and some cowbells and stuff. We wanna take that as well as a little bit of a musician performance and hopefully, once we established with our album, we can bring a couple of them out on the road with us. If you’ve ever seen Basement Jaxx they do it really well. They’ve got singers and dancers and people on stage with them. They heighten up their tracks. Hopefully we could do that when the albums released. Eventually that’s what we want to do for sure

Lucas: Sweet. This next question is from one of my writers Eszter.

Curtis: Hey Eszter.

Eszter: Hey whats up? How important is the visual aspect of a live show?

Curtis: It’s huge. We have these people we’re going to bring out too. They’re called Thunder Horse and they help us curate all of our shows in Chicago. They do visuals, videos and effects as well as help us design and build stages. We do theme shows in Chicago and that’s what we want to bring out on the road. For a 4:20 party we built a giant UFO a stage built out of these giant smoking joints that would smoke. I dunno, it was crazy. And I think that’s a huge thing, especially in the DJ game because at the end of the day we’re just playing other people’s music. If you have visual stuff there to entertain the crowd its better than sitting there watching some dudes behind their laptops. Girl Talk kills it with the things he does. He’s killing it musically but he has all these kids around him dancing. He has a balloon drop and beach balls, you name it. Fireworks now. He’s doing all sorts of crazy shit and that just adds to all that element and adds to the night. If you were to go to a show and be like “He was there doing his thing,” it’s not as epic as fireworks and a show.

Lucas: For sure, it definitely keeps you ahead of the game.

Curtis: Yeah totally

Eszter: Have you ever had a fan come up to you with a weird interpretation of what Flosstradamus means? The actual word?

Curtis: No actually. That’s the thing, though. Everyone asks us about that; everyone thinks it some super deep thing. But, no I haven’t had that. I actually want a fan to do that. Maybe we could have like a T-shirt contest or something and have fans illustrate what they think it means. What do you think it means?

Eszter: I kind of thought it was like the future of flossing. Cause you know Nostradamus was making predictions about the future, so I was thinking maybe it’s the future of dental hygiene.

Curtis: [laughs] See there you go! That’s awesome. Uh, I mean, my interpretation isn’t that but it is kind of a play on both those words. Yeah, Nostradamus predicted the future and also if you’re flossin’ you’ve got the best stuff on you. We’re foreseeing that’s hot I guess [laughs] in a weird way. But I like the dental floss idea. the future of dental hygiene.

Lucas: [laughs] You’ll always be fresh. In both senses of the word .

Curtis: [laughs] Exactly, yeah.

Eszter: They should put you on Yo Gabba Gabba and then you can do a whole thing about brushing teeth. It would be perfect.

Curtis: Dude. That is actually a really good idea. They had Chromeo on there and our friend Louisa from that DJ group Staccato in LA. Her mom works for Nickelodeon so that would be awesome.

Lucas: Actually Curtis, I have a friend that interns there. Maybe I can say something.

Curtis; Dude, put in a word. That would be so awesome.

Lucas; Definitely, I’ll hit him up right after this interview [laughs] I saw that Chromeo clip of the Wash Your Hands song and it was so great.

Curtis [laughs] Yeah, amazing

Lucas: It’s incredible. It’s weird and awesome.

Curtis: Yeah dude, it’s just cool that they involve people in our culture and age group. Like the stuff that we’re fans of are in this little kids show. It’s so cool. They’ve got Biz Markie. Ah, awesome.

Lucas: I’m definitely jealous that I didn’t have that when I was a kid.

Curtis: Exactly. Exactly.

Lucas: If they’re growing up with all this cool stuff on the show like Chromeo and MGMT, how cool are they gonna be when they’re our age?

Curtis: Exactly. I’m actually really stoked on what kids are gonna be like. I think things are switching gears, and being a creative kid is actually a good thing now. Before it seemed like it was a weird thing, like we were outcasted or something but now I feel like being creative and different is more acceptable in our society now. I’m stoked to see what these kids are gonna do.

Flosstradamus is a not a show you want to miss. Four turntables, two mixers two incredibly creative DJ's are the perfect equation to a buck wild dance floor.

Detroit Bar is located at 843 W. 19th St. Costa Mesa. The Echoplex is located at 1154 Glendale Blvd. Los Angeles.

Interview conducted by Lucas Vocos and Eszter Zimanyi.

Interview with The Growlers

2009-10-21T14:36:00.000-07:00

Last week The Music Pirate blog spent the afternoon with The Growlers in their Costa Mesa studio/warehouse/party-house. The Growlers are vocalist Brooks Nielson, guitarist Matt Taylor, bassist Scott Montoya, drummer Brian Stewart, and guitarist/keyboardist Kyle.

Welcomed into the studio by their dog Jonsey and a plate full of carrots, we spent the evening talking about Chubacabras, alter egos, which animal has the best growl and the illogical plotline for Zombieland, though Scott will admit Bill Murray's cameo was the best moment in cinema ever.

When we weren't discussing these heavy topics, we got around talking about The Growlers and their latest album release, 'Are You In or Out?' on Oct. 6.

Here is our exclusive interview with these Costa Mesa surf bums. Check it out after the jump! Also, check out a video of The Growlers performing exclusively for us in their practice space.

Lucas: You guys just had your release show for your new album "Are You In Or Out?" How was that?

Brooks: It was good. It was fun.

Matt: We played with some interesting groups like a haunted mansion cowboy group called Crooked Cowboy and this band The Freshwater Indians.

Lucas: So tell us about the CD you guys are releasing. Are these new songs?

Brooks: It's a collective, a mix CD of our previous records. We made one record when we first started and then we made eight smaller EPs. We had too many songs to release all together, so we picked songs from our previous album and EPs and made a compilation.

Eszter: Did you rerecord any of the songs?

Brooks: No we kept them as they are. So there is a difference between the songs. Every song is recorded differently with different equipment. They are recorded generally in the same room, but in different wherehouse spots we've been at. So all of it is different. It's pretty cool.

Eszter: Did you get any input from anyone who was kind of like a producer figure or was it literally just picking and choosing from songs you had already recorded and placing them on one album?

Brooks: Yeah. We're being managed right now by Everloving and JP, who is managing us. We had him come over and sat down with him and got his input on the songs we put on the album. There wasn't really much to it. There wasn't a lot of time left to pick the songs we liked, and we were like "Fuck, we like them all" so we just put as many as we could out there as best we could.

Eszter: When you guys write songs is your objective more to create a story or to convey personal emotions and ideas?

Brooks: They're all different. Most of the time you don't try to think at all. The more you think the more you feel like you're trying too hard. But sometimes, yeah, there's story lines, sometimes it's just something that has been in my head.

Lucas: What is the song writing process like in your band? Are you all involved or is there one person that usually comes with an idea that everyone then builds off of?

Brooks: It's always different but I'd say the majority of the time Matt comes up with a sweet riff and I think about it, and then the band all jumps in there after.

Eszter: Do you think it's just as important to have a visual aspect to your band along with creating quality music? I've noticed some of your music videos have really interesting themes throughout them and your album artwork is really cool.

Brooks: I don't know how important it is but it's definitely something that is interesting to us and fun. We had people approach us and ask if we wanted to do a music video. It wasn't some Hollywood dude, it was just a friend of ours, and we were like "yeah we'll try" and it kind of went from there.

Eszter: Do you have any plans to incorporate visual aspects to your live show or do you prefer to keep that simple and straight forward?

Matt: It's always fun when you get some weird shit behind you but it's not really our goal as a band.

Brooks: We're not really the band that's like...a band of weird art kids.

Scott: It would be cool to eventually have a SHOW you know? Like a....thing.

Brooks: I think we've just been trying to learn how to play well. That's been the key, so it's like, trying to get some naked grandma to do the hula hoop is not our main priority. We feel like we should learn the songs first.

Eszter: Probably. There's definitely cool stuff you can do though. I just saw Fever Ray in concert last Tuesday and she had the most amazing light show, with lasers and fog. It was intense.

Brooks: Yeah we can't even afford laser beams.

Matt: We could get laser pointers.

Brooks: We did that once! We gave out laser pointers.

Lucas: You should do that...and maybe use some cigarrette smoke. That could look cool.

Brooks: And then we would blind the whole room. "Yeah we gave our friends laser pointers and they shot us in the eyes."

Scott: "We used to not see very well but now we see perfectly!"

Lucas: That's hilarious. So you guys are playing tomorrow with Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros. Do you want to tell us how that came up?

Matt: I'm not sure how that came up.

Brooks: I just listened to them today. They remind me of New Order...or uh, I don't know. It's weird.

Eszter: Have you ever listened to Ima Robot?

Brooks: No.

Eszter: Oh. I was going to say Alex Ebert, who fronts Edward Sharpe, also fronts Ima Robot.

Scott: Yeah I saw a video of Ima Robot on Letterman and then a video of Edward Sharpe on Letterman and its weird.

Lucas: It's weird how different it is.

Brooks: It's cool, its like they took some acid.

Matt: He was like, "What am I doing? I am NOT a robot!"

Scott: "I AM EDWARD! I AM EDWARD!"

Brooks: I can't wait to see them tomorrow.

Scott: So is his name really Edward?

Eszter: No his name is Alex Ebert and Edward Sharpe is like a stage name.

Brooks: I always regretted not doing that, getting a stage name.

Eszter: Brooks Nielson is a cool name though. It's not like your name is something really common.

Matt: You could have been Trash can Sam or something.

Brooks: Trash can Sam.

Lucas: That should be your stage name.

Eszter: Or you could do like...Shady Brooks.

Scott: Shitty Brooks?

[all laugh]

Brooks: You don't sound like a fan.

Matt: That sounds like a retirement community.

[all laugh]

Brooks: Oh I thought you said shitty!

Scott: I said shitty, but I thought that's what she said too.

Eszter: No no no no. Alright. Why did you guys decide to stay in Orange County as opposed to moving to Los Angeles?

Brooks: LA sucks! [laughs] We grew up on the beach so it's kind of hard to just leave it. We did move to Long Beach. But at the same time it really doesn't matter where you are. We're in a wherehouse making music and then we go play shows.

Matt: The internet is everywhere.

Brooks: We gotta be by the beach. We weren't playing in LA when we first started.

Matt: It would be a little bit more convenient but yeah we like the beach.

Brooks: LA is right there. We'll cruise up for the weekend and then come right back, where it's a little cooler.

Eszter: Do you think the music scene can thrive in Orange County with LA so close by?

Matt: Orange County's weird. You can't even put up a flyer without it being torn down.

Brooks: But there's still kids that love music everywhere. Here. There. They help each other. As much as Orange County thinks LA is lame and as much as LA definitely thinks that Orange County is lame, it's like, we definitely like to drive up to LA and see rad shows and if someone does come down here from LA they can find some rad little wherehouse shows and some bars too.

Eszter: What's one instrument the general public might not know about that you think they should discover?

Matt: The kazoo. Everyone can have fun with the kazoo.

Brooks: Yeah, the melodica too. It's not just a toy.

Matt: The bottle. (blows into bottle)

Brooks: Yeah the bottle's good for tapping too.

Matt: The carrot.

Eszter: The carrot? Can you demonstrate that?

Scott: I'll demonstrate the carrot. (eats a carrot)

Eszter: You gotta get the bottle going at the same time.

Brooks: Reverb is really cool. It helps you sound better and I think it can be trippy. Reverbs pretty sweet. A cave.

Matt: Yeah he plays the cave.

Brooks: Yeah and I play the shower.

Scott: It's more like what you do with what you have than what the instrument is.

Matt: It's not about the size of your penis.

Lucas: It's how you use it.

Eszter: Okay. What movies influenced you guys growing up?

Brooks: Stand By Me.

Scott: A Clockwork Orange. Ghostbusters.

Matt: Homeward Bound.

Brooks: Yeah that was a fucking tear jerker.

Eszter: Homeward Bound? Is that with the dogs and the cat? That was a good one.

[all laugh]

Brooks: Oh Kids! That was a fucking cool movie.

Lucas: That's a fucked up movie.

Brooks: Yeah that was cool. I'm going to wear a condom.

Lucas: Yeah. That movie scared the shit out of me. I felt gross after watching it.

Eszter: What animal has the best growl?

Brooks: [laughs] that's a Growlers question. That's funny.

Matt: I don't know. The human can take a mean shit.

Brooks: Yeah the human.

Matt: I don't know. A bear? Is it a bear?

Brooks: Oh, I don't think there's an answer to this is there?

Lucas: Yeah its a personal opinion

Brooks: Oh the fucking chupacabra!

Check out this video of The Growlers performing for us in their studio. Here is The Growlers with Acid Rain.

The Growlers are currently on a West Coast tour in support of their latest release 'Are You In or Out?' playing dates with Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeroes and BLK JKS from South Africa and Mt. St. Helen's Vietnam Band. Check out The Growlers on their MySpace page for tour dates and more information.

The Growlers MySpace.

Interview conducted by Lucas Vocos, Eszter Zimanyi and Mike Slobom.

Gogol Bordello 10/18 Show Review

2009-10-21T11:21:00.000-07:00

Gogol Bordello came to The Grove in Anaheim on Oct. 18 and our writer Taylor Hamby was there to experience the awesome gypsy punk ruckus caused by frontman Eugene Hutz and his crew of ragtag Eastern Europeans.

Read Taylor's review of Gogol Bordello live at The Grove in Anaheim after the jump.

What can I say? Gogol Bordello live is quite a spectacle. Their Sunday, Oct. 18 show at the Grove in Anaheim was a prefect example of how well a high energy band and charismatic front man, Eugene Hutz, go together.

They are a nine piece outfit with highly influenced Eastern European influences. Their cornucopia of instruments is refreshing, compared to the traditional four piece; singer, bassist, guitarist, and drummer ensemble. Despite their wide use of instruments that are considered obscure by modern music standards, the band still remains harmonious.

Besides two guitars, a bass, and drums, Gogol Bordello is also comprised of an accordion, a violin, bongos, and two lovely dancers. The band together on stage can only be described as mildly organized chaos.

The highlight of the evening was arguably during “Start Wearing Purple.” It seemed as if the whole venue was dancing and singing with double the enthusiasm of every other song played that night. It was wonderful to see the performers and audience dance with the same level of excitement.

Pedro Erazo was spectacular on bongos, an instrument which is typically overpowered by a band, and also as an M.C. from time to time.

The only other person with more energy on stage was, naturally, Hutz, who is the vocalist, and played acoustic guitar for the evening. Though he was a man of few words that evening, Hutz successfully got the crowd excited through his dancing and vocals.

He did have one piece of advice for the audience. Hutz prefaced the song “Educate Thy Neighbor” with this. “This next song is called ‘Educate Thy Neighbor.’ That is the only thing that can be done if you want to take control of this fucking situation.”

The evening ended with a near 20 minute encore, which had even more energy than the preceding set. The encore began with an acoustic song, “Alcohol.” The band proceeded to play a few more songs.

They were like fishermen during the encore. They held on to the audience with a hook, and wouldn’t release. They had several false endings, in which you would think, ‘It can’t get any bigger than that.” And then they would top it with even more intensity in the next song.

If you are looking for a unique musical experience, a Gogol show is the show to go to.

To view more photos of Gogol Bordello taken by Taylor, check her Photobucket album.

Flosstradamus and Kid Sister come to Southern California! (Interview coming soon!)

2009-10-21T00:18:00.000-07:00

Chicago's favorite DJ duo Flosstradamus will be coming to lay waste to dancefloors all over Southern California and they are bringing along Kid Sister (who, funny enough, really is the sister of Josh from Flosstradamus) for the ride.

Flosstradamus are not your average DJ's. Whereas most DJ's use two turntables and a mixer, they've got four turntables and 2 mixers for absolutely unique sets. From small clubs to the main stage at Coachella, Flosstradamus do, quite literally, bring the party.

Kid Sister has been blowing up as of late. From having Kanye West collaborations and redoing The Jungle Brother's house classic "I'll House You," Kid Sister is a force to be reckoned with.

Go go go go go go go. You will not be disappointed. I guarantee it.
They are playing Friday Oct. 23 at Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa and Saturday Oct. 24 at the Echoplex in Echo Park.

Also, be sure to check back soon for an exclusive interview with my buddy Curtis from Flosstradamus. Video coming soon as well.

Check out Flosstradamus on their MySpace.
Check out Kid Sister on her MySpace.

Wolf In A Spacesuit: "Most of our songs are based on antler appreciation."

2009-10-19T13:08:00.000-07:00

Wolf in a Spacesuit is a three-piece band from Chicago. The project first gained attention through the support of psych-pop darlings MGMT, who placed Wolf in a Spacesuit in their coveted top friends list on MySpace. Originally, Wolf in a Spacesuit consisted of only one person who posted short, mostly instrumental, songs onto his MySpace page. Since then, Wolf in a Spacesuit has added two members to the line-up and released a 5 song EP entitled Pomegranate Stationary (available for free through their websites). Two of Wolf in a Spacesuit's members, who identified themselves only as "Algebra" and "Commander Mark", took the time to call The Music Pirate's Eszter Zimanyi to talk about how the project started, where they hope to take it, and why they insist on keeping their names a secret. Check it out after the jump!

Side note: This is the first Wolf in a Spacesuit interview ever!!!

Eszter: Hey you guys, how’s Chicago?

Commander Mark: It’s good. I live on one side of the city and Algebra lives on the other. Right now we’re in my apartment, which, how would you describe this apartment Algebra?

Algebra: It’s got walls and a TV, some paintings. Um…there are some coat racks with scarves on them. The coat racks are shaped like antlers. I’d say most of our songs are based on antler appreciation.

Eszter: Nice. When did you first start working on this project?

Algebra: A few years ago. I had a roommate, and we had a cat that we named a whole bunch of shit, and part of its name was Wolf in a Spacesuit. I started making music but the guy that I was playing with didn’t know how to play any instruments so it kind of turned into my own project for a few years.

Eszter: How has it evolved since then?

Algebra: It’s evolved into…sort of a real band. I was just working with an MPC and a drum machine and then I decided I needed to start making money to buy jewelry and things, so I started recruiting other people to play and now we’re completely rich!

Eszter: What prompted you to want to stay anonymous within the band?

Algebra: A lot of my favorite bands are comprised of people that, you’re not really sure what kind of people they are, but you know they must be really bad people. Like, you know, Tool isn’t my favorite band but they’re a good example of people who didn’t really care to have their faces on album covers or whatever. They just wanted to make some crazy shit and scare people.

Eszter: Do you think your music is scary?

Algebra: Um…not really I guess. It’s not scary. That would be a good way to describe it. Not scary.

Eszter: In what ways has the internet made it easier to succeed as a musician and in what ways has it made things harder?

Algebra: It’s definitely made it easier in terms of networking. You can network with a lot of people. MySpace, as much as everyone pretends that they hate it, helps everybody out. It definitely helped us out. A lot of the stuff that we’ve done in the past, we’ve done by collaborating with other people online. That's actually how I recruited Commander Mark and our other secret member, whose name will not be revealed. I saw their other projects on MySpace and we all liked each others' work, so I asked them to join Wolf in a Spacesuit. The internet has pretty much helped in every way.

Eszter: And you don’t think it has made things harder at all?

Algebra: Since we’re not making any money at this yet it hasn’t really affected us in terms of album downloads or anything. We’re just giving away the EP for free so we can get it out there. As far as playing shows and things like that, we’ll see what happens.

Eszter: Well back to your other member, she started contributing to the project fairly recently, and I was wondering if you had always wanted to have a female voice or presence in the band, or if this was something that happened organically?

Algebra: It just kind of happened. I never really thought anybody would want to join my band to begin with.

Eszter: How far ahead do you look into the future in terms of the success of the band? Do you set goals for yourself or do you take it day by day?

Algebra: Um…I definitely see us making millions of dollars in the future. We really want to play with Sting. We want to open up for Hall and Oates or something like that, or the last surviving Beach Boy, maybe we could get in touch with him. Yeah, just making money and playing with Sting.

Eszter: I think you can do it. I have faith in you.

Algebra: Thanks.

Eszter: Do you have plans to tour right now or is it still too early to start thinking about that?

Algebra: Eventually. The three of us want to. We’re working on the live show but it’s hard because we don’t live that close to each other. I think we’re just trying to see where we’re at, get some stuff recorded, get a live show together and hopefully tour this winter at some point.

Eszter: What artists do you think would benefit from collaborating with you, and vice versa?

Algebra: Megadeath.

Commander Mark: U2

Algebra: Yeah, U2. Kermit the Frog.

Commander Mark: Avenged Sevenfold.

Algebra: A guy carving a canoe out of a log. No, a kayak, I’m sorry. A guy carving a kayak out of a log. We would like to collaborate with…

Commander Mark: Cake on Cake

Algebra: Who are the cool bands right now?

Eszter: Uh…you.

Algebra: We’d like to collaborate with ourselves.

Eszter: Sounds like a plan.

Commander Mark: We could probably collaborate with like, David Byrne, or Brian Eno.

Algebra: I want to do an album with Stereolab. Or maybe Elton John, we could do the soundtrack for Lion King 4.

Eszter: That could happen.

Algebra: I hope so. Oh, and I’d like to add Fever Ray to the list of artists it would be fucking incredible to work with.

Eszter: What’s your favorite instrument, not necessarily to play but just in general?

Algebra: Tambourine. Playing the tambourine and hand claps, those are my two favorite instruments.

Commander Mark: I don’t know. A jar of nails.

Algebra: A glass filled with water that you rub your finger around…a deck of cards as percussion.

Commander Mark: Anything natural, anything that occurs outside of actual instrumentation. Anything organic in nature can be manipulated into an instrument. That’s where you pick up a lot of interesting sounds.

Algebra: Babies crying.

Commander Mark: Yeah babies crying. If we just had like, a room full of babies crying--

Eszter: Yeah, and then you could auto-tune it or something. [all laugh] That should be your next track. Auto-tuned babies crying.

Algebra: I think that will be a double-disk album actually.

Eszter: Cool. Well then I want to be thanked in the thank you section for contributing to that idea.

Algebra: I thought you were going to do it for us!

Eszter: Oh. I could try…I mean, I don’t really know where I could find babies…

Commander Mark: Yeah, how soon can you get us babies?

Eszter: Nine months from now.

[all laugh]

Commander Mark: Alright, fair enough.

Eszter: What would Wolf in a Spacesuit wear if you didn’t have spacesuits?

Algebra: Glitter capes.

Commander Mark: Glitter capes! Yeah.

Algebra: A jar of nails. Maybe a mustache? Glitter capes and a mustache and some chaps would be pretty good. We would be naked. That’s the answer.

Eszter: Okay, this is my last question. Are you ever going to put the MySpace version of “Bark of a Cedar” on your EP download? I swear I have downloaded that EP 10 times in the hopes that it would be fixed, and it never is.

Algebra: Ummm yeah….eventually. I don’t even have it on my computer anymore. I just kind of did it on accident. There’s a guy who used to work for Paper Bag Records who wants to put “Bark of a Cedar” out on vinyl and have the B-side be a remix. We were going to re-record “Bark of a Cedar” so yeah, the next time anything is changed, it will be a different version altogether. You’re just going to have to live with the crappy version on the EP.

Commander Mark: It’s online somewhere isn’t it?

Algebra: Yeah the original is online somewhere on a website but we don’t know the address.

Eszter: Awesome. Well I guess I’ll have to do some detective work. Any last words?

Algebra: We're working on another mini album, which we're going to call Auntie Aircraft, so be on the lookout for that!

Keep up with Wolf in a Spacesuit at their websites:

MySpace

Facebook

Twitter

Acoustache, Volume One Out Now!

2009-10-19T11:27:00.000-07:00

Huntington Beach's poster boys have graced us, yet again, with a new collection of their pop infused roots rock. Moostache's recent release, Acoustache, Volume One, strays slightly from the distorted string section listeners are used to, hence the title. This six song, no wires attached EP is no let down. The release still seaps with the gritty yet delicate harmonies that have accentuated the style of the Stache in the past and even incorporates new elements such as the southern pluckin' banjo in tracks like "Hold On" and "Basics."

Acoustchache, Volume One is available to download on the band's website, but here's the twist. They've given potential listeners three options to download the EP: Pay $5, "Steal It" or name your own price. Whichever you choose, you won't be disappointed.

Download the EP here: http://moostachemusic.com/acoustache

Also check out the band's other sites:

http://moostachemusic.com/

http://myspace.com/moostachetheband

http://facebook.com/moostache

http://twitter.com/moostachemusic

Mr. Oizo at Avalon Hollywood 10/16

2009-10-18T12:58:00.000-07:00

In a world where DJing has become more common through electronic advances, it takes talent and creativity to stand out.

Mr. Oizo's "Lambs Anger" displays a variety of songs both fast and slow. A play on words of Rob Base & DJ EZ Rock's "It Takes Two" turns into a vulgar sex account. There is no doubt that this man loves to mix his French influence with fast-paced sweat dripping beats.

Mr. White performed the opening set at Avalon mixing chart toppers such as Kid Cudi's "Day N' Nite" into bass pumping house tracks which began to get the crowd's heart pulsing.

The dancefloor was full when Oizo took the stage somewhere around 12:30 a.m. This man played hours of fast paced tracks never leaving the audience a chance to breath. The tone was almost similar to a rave. Continous fast paced bass kept hitting the speakers, but the beaded bracelets and ridiculous outfits were absent (thank god). Unfortunately, I did not stay until 3 a.m. to see Oizo's whole set, but when I emerged on Vine Street sweaty and exhausted my ears were still ringing.

Overall I enjoyed this show and it panned out to be what I had expected: a night of sweaty kids jumping to one long electronic song. It definitely wasn't one of the best but it was fun and worth the $10. My only advice to Oizo for his next U.S. show; cut some of the repetitive, flashy tracks and add more vocals. If he slowed down his set just a tad the audience would have had a chance to appreciate the artistic approach to DJing.

Here's a clip of Mr. Oizo's set at Avalon 10/16:

Booty Shakin Bodega Girls

2009-10-16T13:23:00.000-07:00

Bodega Girls is a dance rock group from Boston, MA.
They've released a few original tracks, and have remixed Passion Pit - To Kingdom Come, Port O'Brien - My Will is Good, and a few others. Really great, danceworthy remixes.

These songs just drip with lust and sex, as that is what Bodega Girls is all about. Here is a snippet of their About Me section on their Myspace Page:

BODEGA GIRLS Only an audience so bloodthirsty and sex starved as they could take pleasure in the world of bra-busting, pants-dropping debauchery they have to offer.

BODEGA GIRLS A musical troupe performing acts of sexuality and persuasion with their own God-given instruments, turning on the already depraved, as well as the naive. ..

BODEGA GIRLS A sick cinematic slew of sweaty skimp and callous kink. An unadulterated penetration into the gaping hole of the sicko's soul...

BODEGA GIRLS The human id - illustrated in flesh and guitar strings. Hourglass figures and experienced fingers prance and wriggle their way across the stage, screen and into your psyche. An orgy of sleaze, desire, and rock and roll music - brought to life in bouncy, jiggly technicolor...

BODEGA GIRLS Hedonistic purveyors of Soul, too well endowed and too world renowned to be confined to lo rent clubs and white bred soundstages – look for their sonic ebony to explode at a party near you.

Honestly, I couldn't say it better myself. I can definitely picture these tracks playing to an oversexed and sweaty dancefloor in any Hollywood or Brooklyn dance parties.

Bodega Girls - She's Into Black Guys

This track is incredible. It's a blend of funk, soul, and dance music. I hear traces of Rick James in the melody and bassline. The bottom line is, you can't stop dancing to this.

I wish I was in New York this weekend to catch them at the CMJ Music Marathon and Film Festival in addition to seeing Midnight Juggernauts, The Rhodes, Theophilus London, The Golden Filter, Cold Cave, Lovvers and more. Blah, what an incredible weekend for music, and I'm here in Costa Mesa.

Be on the lookout for more coverage of Bodega Girls as they release more material here at The Music Pirate!

Artist to Watch: The Golden Filter

2009-10-13T13:49:00.000-07:00

Although on the surface this duo may somewhat resemble the Ting Tings, with their stylish platinum blonde lead singer and analog/synth player behind black rimmed spectacles their sound is would be anything but.

Lead singer Penelope grew up near Byron Bay in New South Wales, Australia while Stephen, their analog programmer is from Ohio. Although these two have become the face for the Golden Filter, they have a drummer, Lisa, whom joins them onstage live.

I first heard this band's single "Solid Gold" in A-Trak's "Infinity +1" mixtape and the 30 second sample jumped out to me. Even though the lyrics are somewhat repetitive and simple, Penelope's light voice is entrancing and perfect for the warped disco beat. The band 's second single "Thunderbird" was scheduled to be released on November 16th, but was leaked onto the internet in early October. This single almost takes on more of a funk feel, more heavy on drums with echoing vocals. Based on these two singles I believe this band could really emerge onto the music scene.

They performed in the 2009 SXSW and toured in the U.S. with the Presets up until April 2009. Besides their own music, the Golden Filter have also released remixes of Empire of the Sun's "We Are the People", Cut Copy's "Far Away", and Little Boot's "New in Town".

Here is their video for "Solid Gold:

You can pre-order the "Thunderbird" single on a 12" record, which will also include a cover of the White Stripes' "Hardest Button to Button". http://shop.dummymag.com/product/the-golden-filter-thunderbird

Posted by Kirstie Mauro

Photos of The Growlers

2009-10-12T13:02:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos from our interview with The Growlers. Video and interview to be posted soon. More photos after the jump.

For more photos of The Growlers in their awesome warehouse/studio in Costa Mesa, be sure to check out our Flickr page!

Fever Ray Mesmerizes in Pomona

2009-10-11T19:02:00.000-07:00

Fever Ray wowed the crowd at The Glasshouse in Pomona last week. Our writer Eszter was there to experience the majesty. Read her review after the jump.

An anxious crowd waits inside The Glass House for Fever Ray to take the stage. It's pitch black as fog creeps across the floor and envelopes the audience, the thick smoke making it impossible to decipher what is in front of us, save for the few seconds when a camera's flash cuts through the dark and illuminates the front of the room. The mood is decidedly eerie, and as the first pounding bass lines of "If I Had A Heart" sweep through the venue, Karin Dreijer Andersson slowly walks up to the microphone and stands motionless. She is obscured by a giant headdress of some sort, one which looks like it is constructed from elk skin and colored cloth. Hanging from the front of the headdress is thick blondish hair, not belonging to Karin, but rather hinting of another animal origin. Her band is equally as shrouded, emerging in various mime-like costumes. Her percussionist is completely covered in black cloth, faceless and unidentifiable. As two beams of lasered light shoot from behind Karin into the audience, Fever Ray's stage setting finally emerges, and the crowd sees a variety of antique lamps placed in front, behind, and to the sides of each band member. This is no ordinary Tuesday.

Seeing Fever Ray live is like being invited into the living room of a family of practicing Voodooists. Each of the antique lamps flicker on and off in rotation to the rhythm of the bongos. At times, like during Fever Ray's cover of "Stranger Than Kindness", the lamps were used to create a strobe light effect (successfully I might add). Fog would ripple up into the light shining parallel to the ground and, when the light was blue, create the illusion of clouds drifting across the sky or waves rolling through water. It was as if I was staring into an animatronics exhibit in Disneyland. All consciousness of reality had been suspended. A few times throughout the night I imagined what it would be like to build a small roller coaster around Fever Ray's show, something akin to 'The Haunted Mansion'. Needless to say, the stage production Fever Ray has created is nothing less than hypnotizing.

Karin's voice, even when not distorted with effects, is haunting and bizarre. Fever Ray makes a point of recreating the many sounds on their album as well as possible, and made use of a variety of shakers, drums, and wind chimes to do so. It is difficult to know how much Karin actually sang live, at one point she visibly stopped singing and played a recording of her voice instead, but it's also clear that Fever Ray is more than just a band performing songs. It is a visual experience. Not once did Karin say 'thank you' after a song. In fact, she did not vocally acknowledge the audience at all. Instead, she went straight from one song to the next, making the show feel less like a concert and more like a movie. None of this discerned me though; I felt as though I had been transported to another universe, placed like a fly on the wall into the world Fever Ray had created for me, and I loved it there.

Fever Ray played her entire album and two cover songs she had released separately to compose a show lasting just over an hour. Each piece flowed smoothly into the next, building upon the dark and ghostly themes that have always resided within the work of Karin Dreijer Andersson's, whether it be Fever Ray or her other project, The Knife. These themes are exactly what attract me to her, and her live show left me desiring nothing but more time to spend within her world.

You can watch Fever Ray's entire set from The Glass House on The Music Pirate's official YouTube page.

Stay up to date on Fever Ray at her websites:

http://www.myspace.com/feverray

http://www.feverray.com

Posted by Eszter Zimanyi

Five creepy music videos to get you in the mood for Halloween

2009-10-11T18:32:00.000-07:00

With Halloween just around the corner, I thought it would be cool to share my top 5 favorite music videos that not only rock, but also creep me out!

5. Coming in at number five is the alternate music video for Amazing Baby's "Headdress". The abandoned house, strange naked women, and abundance of mice all make my stomach squirm.

4. Bat For Lashes steals the number 4 spot with her music video for "What's A Girl To Do". Follow Natasha Khan and her peculiar friends on a strange night-time bike ride, if you dare.

3. Fever Ray is my number 3 pick. Their music video for "If I Had A Heart" uses innocent children, tribal masks and costumes, and the implication of something supernatural to spook viewers. Enjoy.

2. I don't know about you, but I am terrified of large groups of identical people. Supplying me with this exact scenario is the video for Aphex Twin's "Come To Daddy". I still haven't fully recovered.

1. Finally, Radiohead's "There There" is my pick for creepiest music video. I find the scenery in this video fascinating, and the fact that Thom Yorke becomes trapped in the forest for eternity never ceases to give me the chills. Plus the song is awesome. If only I could have found a higher quality version to embed...

Posted by Eszter Zimanyi

Questions Answered: The Films

2009-10-09T15:18:00.000-07:00

From the big city hustle in Brooklyn, New York down to Charleston, South Carolina, where the only hustle is in the chicken coop, The Films have not let listeners down with their folk infused sophomore release, Oh, Scorpio. Our writer Mike was able to chat with front man Michael Trent (also of Shovels & Rope) via email. Check it out!

TMP: So I understand that The Films is based out of both Brooklyn and Charleston. I’m assuming that different members live in both cities. How does that work with writing and practicing and what not?

Michael: A lot of times we share songs with each other through email, then when it’s time to record we get together and work them out. A lot of work can get done in a short amount of time. Plus it keeps things fresh. As far as practicing goes – we get together for a few days before a tour and work it out. Over-rehearsing is entirely overrated. The beauty is in the spontaneous moments.

TMP: I noticed a substantial change from Don’t Dance Rattlesnake to Oh, Scorpio, both musically and lyrically. Is there a hidden reason behind that? What sparked the change?

Michael: I don’t think any artist wants to make the same record twice. The way you see the world is constantly changing. It’s a natural evolution. There was no Thom Yorke backstage "hissy" or "aha" moment where we made a conscious decision to change the “sound” or anything like that. It’s just the way the songs came out.

TMP: Is there any significance behind the album name (Oh, Scorpio)?

Michael: Yes, but I prefer leaving it up for interpretation.

TMP: Will fans in the U.S. be able to get their hands on a hard copy of Oh, Scorpio or will it strictly remain online to download?

Michael: I’ve got a good feeling about it.

TMP: I’ve noticed you guys have toured quite a bit in Europe, but touring in the U.S. has been pretty minimal. Is there a reason behind that? Will there be any big U.S. tours coming up?

MIchael: We’ve had more opportunities in Europe than we’ve had over here. That's basically what it boils down to. We got to go on a few tours opening for some bands that were having a lot of success over in Europe and along the way convinced THEIR fans to be OUR fans too! Over here we just haven’t had as many of those opportunities. It’s basically who ya know.. Ya know?
No US tours booked as of now, but I’ve got a good feeling about it.

TMP: Do you guys plan on seeking label support, or have you already?

Michael: Honestly we’re not that interested in it. Record labels don’t do much for artists like us these days. We’ve already been in that world and our experience was not too pleasant. A little publicity would be nice though.

TMP: I know a few of the members in the band are a part of side projects, as well. Does this conflict with the intensity of The Films at all?

Michael: The intensity of The Films is never compromised. When we get together it's gonna be what it is. But I think it's good for us to have things going on other than the band. Keeps us balanced and creatively satisfied. Also keeps there from being 25 songs on each Films album that we put out.

TMP: Finally, what are some of your guys' hobbies outside of making music?

Michael: Everyone stays busy with different musical projects.. (side projects, other bands, whatever) - Jake is doing a lot of producer/engineer work in LA. I am raising chickens down here in Charleston. Can't speak for Adam or Kenny, but I think tennis is probably a good guess.

Here's The Films with "Black Shoes" off of their debut album "Don't Dance Rattlesnake"

Posted by Mike Slobom

Mr. Oizo in Hollywood

2009-10-08T18:25:00.000-07:00

Mr. Oizo, the genius DJ and producer on Ed Banger Records, will perform a DJ set at Control on Oct. 16 at the Avalon in Hollywood.

For more info check out Control's website. The Avalon is located at 1735 Vine St. Hollywood.

Posted by Lucas Vocos

New Radiohead album to be released in 2010

2009-10-08T11:07:00.000-07:00

Earlier this year, it was reported that Radiohead would no longer be making albums. Thom Yorke was misquoted when he said that making another record would "kill the band". According to guitarist Ed O'Brien, Radiohead is set to release a follow-up to In Rainbows in 2010!

Read what Ed O'Brien had to say here.

Fever Ray rocks The Glasshouse

2009-10-07T18:35:00.000-07:00

So, here is a bit of a video post for you. Our writer/photographer/videographer extraordinaire Eszter caught Fever Ray last night at The Glasshouse in Pomona for an inspired and lively set.

Here is Fever Ray with 'When I Grow Up'

Check out more videos of Fever Ray's performance on our YouTube channel, TheMusicPirateTV!

Posted by Lucas Vocos, videos by Eszter Zimanyi

The Growlers Album Release

2009-10-07T16:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the release of The Growlers' "Are You In or Out?"
Tonight, you can catch them live at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano. They are playing with Crooked Cowboy and the Freshwater Indians.

Pick up The Growlers - "Are You In or Out?" tonight at the show or download it from iTunes.

Posted by Lucas Vocos

Some fun with Fun!

2009-10-06T13:29:00.000-07:00

Out of the rubble of the tragic announcement of The Format's hiatus, emerges a new gleam of light. It may be slightly different from what some Format die-hards are used to, but it is definitely more... fun! Straight of out New York, New York is the melodic pop trio, Fun, coming to infect listeners with their catchy choruses. The lineup includes former frontman of The Format Nate Ruess, ex-member of Anathallo, Andrew Dost, and Steel Train's Jack Antonoff.

Our writer Mike had an opportunity to speak with Fun's multi-instrumentalist, Andrew Dost. Take a look!

Mike: Ok, so first things first, what is your role in the band?

Andrew: Well, I play piano and guitar and horns. And that’s it. I guess just little odds and ends.

Mike: Awesome. Alright so I would say “Fun” is a different name for a band. I was kind of surprised when I first saw it. Can you explain where it came from?

Andrew: Well, we had a really hard time deciding on a name and fun was the only one that we couldn’t contingently say no to. The alternative was “Ice Cream,” but then we thought that would be too silly. We though “Well, what does ice cream make you think of?” and then we thought, “Well, ice cream makes me think of fun.” So that’s kind of where we got the name from. Nice and simple and memorable.

Mike: That’s awesome, man. It was definitely memorable for me. It really stood out.

Andrew: Yeah, I really like it now. It’s kind of grown on me. Initially, I was afraid that we were going to start hating it, which more than often happens, but not so much with this one. So that’s good.

Mike: Definitely. So, I know Nate was formerly in The Format. Were the rest of you in previous bands before this? Anything notable?

Andrew: Yeah, I was in an indie band called Anathallo. And Jack continues to be in a band called Steel Train. And all of our bands have toured together. So we’ve known each other for a while.

Mike: Is that how you guys met, then?

Andrew: Yeah, just through touring, basically. Nate and Jack had know each other longer than I had known Nate or Jack. The three of us have toured together a couple of times. So we were just kind of a mesh of different abilities and we all worked well with each other.

Mike: I know that you guys are a three piece right now, do you plan on remaining a three-piece or do you want to expand as you go along?

Andrew: Well, as far as writing and recording members go, we’re just going to keep it three. But touring-wise we have more. We tour with more than three. We normally tour as a six piece depending on who can make it. For live it’s two guitars, keyboard, bass, drums and then Nate singing.

Mike: I saw on your band’s Twitter account that you guys recently visited the White House. Want to tell me a little bit about that?

Andrew: A friend of ours was able to give us a tour and basically we’re not a political band, but we are political people. And as somebody who is a pretty big supporter of Obama and the Democratic party in general, it was pretty darn neat. (Laughs) I mean it was pretty cool to walk around where JFK walked around or where this picture was taken or whatever. It was a pretty cool experience.

Mike: I saw that you guys have a music video coming up, I don’t believe it is out yet. Who directed it? Tell me a little bit about that. Is there a release date set yet?

Andrew: Actually I don’t know if there is a date yet, I know that we’re shooting for this month (October). But it was directed by a guy named Isaac Rentz who is wonderfully, wonderfully talented, very creative and also very easy to work with. And very accommodating. He’s willing to compromise and listen to everybody’s viewpoint even though he knows more than any of us about film making and video directing and whatever. He was willing to listen to everything. Basically every idea he has is valid.

Mike: Absolutely. It must be nice to work with someone who actually knows what they’re doing.

Andrew: Yeah, definitely. It was my first experience making a video, or a video with a budget, at least. It was neat to see the whole process. Just having multiple people working and knowing what their job is, whether it be working the camera or getting a bottle of water. Everybody was very much on the ball. It was a very cool experience.

Mike: So, tell me about a typical Fun show. Is there anything fun about a Fun show, anything crazy?

Andrew: We keep it pretty standard as far as the way we conduct the concert goes. We’re not going to be dropping balloons or confetti or having go-go dancers or whatever. We pretty much just play our songs and we try to play them better than you’re expecting someone to be able to, I guess. The idea is to not play what we have recorded, but to translate it into a live performance.

Mike: Awesome. It’s always good to go see a band that grabs your attention outside of the record.

Andrew: Yeah, and it’s hard to record like an orchestra and then pull that off live. That’s not what we’re trying to do. We’re not trying to play you what you hear on the record, we’re trying to make the songs come to life in context. And that again, is what our main goal is: to change the presentation of it.

Mike: So what’s in store for you guys? I know you guys just released your debut album. Is there anything big coming up for you guys? Anything to expect?

Andrew: Well, we’re embarking on a tour coming up this month with Taking Back Sunday. We have planning for tours over the next year in the works, but nothing set in stone yet. And we’re releasing a few odds and ends, we’ve uploaded a few tracks here and there. We’ve also recorded few tracks that will be seeing the light of day eventually. We’ve also recorded a few b-sides and a Christmas songs and then a few acoustic songs.

Check out Fun's debut album "Aim & Ignite" in stores and on Itunes now!

Here is Fun with "Walking The Dog."

Also check them out at:
www.myspace.com/fun
http://www.ournameisfun.com/
www.twitter.com/ournameisfun

Posted by Mike Slobom