SHOW ALERT: Arts & Crafts Time w/ the Darcys, NO and Reuben and the Dark

Hey kids, it's time for Arts & Crafts! No, this will not involve Play Dough or macaroni and glue- not unless bring your own.

Arts & Crafts is a boutique independent record label based in Toronto and 10 years ago they launched a 'tour package': aka a touring bill made up exclusively of Arts & Crafts bands. The bands on that initial tour were Broken Social Scene, Feist and Stars. Bands currently on the Arts & Crafts roster still include Feist and Broken Social Scene as well as Moby, In The Valley Below, Deer Tick and more and during March and April the Arts & Crafts tour package tradition continues featuring The Darcys and Reuben and the Dark, both of Canadian descent, and NO from Los Angeles.

Los Angeles happens to be where this party kicks off: March 8th at one of LA's finest venues, the Troubadour. As tours go, this is a fairly fine matchup of A&C's musical assets: the art rock of the Darcys meeting the shiny noir of NO divided by the indie harmonies of Reuben and the Dark, all rotating their performance slots throughout the tour. And each band has a new release and new music among them to tour: on February 18th NO released El Prado, last October came Reuben and the Dark's Rolling Stone and September brought the Darcys' Warring (check our review here) where the art rockers craft cool and dramatic layers of sound that have a dreamscape-quality. An audio/visual aide:

There are 21 shows across North America, kids, which equals 21 opportunities to catch this rock solid tour. And again, no on the Play Dough thing.

Mar 08 Los Angeles, CA | Troubadour | Tickets
Mar 09 Scottsdale, AZ | The Western | Tickets
Mar 12 Austin, TX | SXSW
Mar 15 Houston, TX | Fitzgerald's | Tickets [Free Over 21]
Mar 18 Atlanta, GA | Masquerade - Purgatory | Tickets
Mar 19 Chapel Hill, NC | Cat's Cradle | Tickets
Mar 20 Washington, DC | DC9 | Tickets
Mar 21 Brooklyn, NY | Cameo Gallery | Tickets
Mar 22 NYC, NY | Mercury Lounge | Tickets
Mar 23 Boston, MA | Middle East Upstairs | Tickets
Mar 25 Toronto, ON | Lee's Palace | Tickets
Mar 26 London, ON | Call the Office | Tickets
Mar 27 Chicago, IL | Schubas | Tickets
Mar 28 Minneapolis, MN | 7th Street Entry | Tickets
Mar 29 Winnipeg, MB | JUNOFest @ Union Hall | Tickets
Apr 01 Edmonton, AB | The Artery | Tickets
Apr 02 Calgary, AB | The Gateway @ SAIT | Tickets
Apr 03 Kelowna, BC | Habitat | Tickets
Apr 04 Seattle, WA | Barboza | Tickets
Apr 05 Vancouver, BC | Biltmore | Tickets
Apr 06 Portland, OR | Mississippi Studios | Tickets

Dirty Glitter 2013 In Review #3: Say Hello to the Janks, D & M and Javier Dunn

Hello again, lovelies. What time is it? Just Dirty Glitter with Brody Ramone-review time. Third installment of my High Voltage Magazine-recap, so let's get down to business.

High Voltage Segment on Dirty Glitter: 8/22/2013

The Janks- "Rat Racer"
If you listened to an album's worth of the Janks music you'd be able to pinpoint their very specific formula: no, rules; just right- whatever 'just right' is. The Janks are Zachary Zmed, his brother Dylan Zmed, Paul Kilmister and Leon LeDoux and they have a serious classic rock jones but rock out so eclectically, sometimes irreverently. One of LA's premier radio stations described them as “Imagine Jack White had a baby with Jimmy Page. And that baby had a brother. And those brothers were adopted and raised by a commune of favorites like Father John Misty and Family of the Year." That's pretty much it. Vocals and brotherly harmonies are provided by Zach and Dylan and their live show is incredible. In August they had a month-long residency at the auspicious LA venue, the Satellite and what a fantastically successful residency it was.

And if the last names Zmed or Kilmister sound familiar, they should be: Zach and Dylan's dad happens to be actor Adrian Zmed and Paul? His dad goes by the name of Lemmy (Motorhead).


D&M- "Dirty Love"
From Philadelphia we have the duo D&M, simply named so because the players are Danny Fornasa and Matt Klahre who met in college back in 2009 and bonded over their love of rock and roll, blues and pop which you can hear plain as day in the grittiness of this track. Danny has some impressive vocal range and tone which is just as at home on any genre style. Expect a full length release from these guys later this year but in the meantime here's "Dirty Love".


Javier Dunn- "Couple Of Drinks"
For the past 10 years or so Javier Dunn has been the right hand guitar-man of singer-songtress Sara Bareilles but now making music under his own steam: it sounds like that shyly confident romantic storyteller with a Taylor guitar on open mic night getting his synth-washed sexy back and phone numbers on cocktail napkins. Javier has a terrific new album out called Trails that's all about love and its potential, if not inevitable, highs and pitfalls with an overlay of R&B groove and pop sense electronically tweaked. This track comes from that album and it's pretty much a tale of a night out on the town and romancing via liquid courage. Here's "Couple Of Drinks."

Signed,
Diary of a Concert Whore  aka @dharma69 

Music, Magic & Beer = Bedrocktoberfest: Interview w/ Kamran V. of Bedrock LA

Bedrock LA is called a ‘musical mecca’ for good reason: it’s pretty much one-stop shopping for the musical needs of the many whether it’s rehearsal space, recording time or pesky amp repair. And the place is massive. Huge, even. Yet it’s cozily nestled in a residential area of the Los Angeles neighborhood of Echo Park supporting and servicing local musicians and those just passing through.

By the time you read this, the first annual LA Weekly Bedrocktoberfest (which took place on October 5th) featuring performances from RZA (Wu-Tang Clan), Liam Finn and Vanaprasta along with the magical stylings of Rob Zabrecky, David & Leeman and Jon Armstrong will have come and gone and that’s fine: we were there and it was a good time. But other than the heady scent of beer, what remains is the heart of and the intent behind such an eclectic fun-fest: Music and community. Marvelously and stylishly clad in what looked to be fairly traditional lederhosen, Kamran V. (Bedrock LA and Bedrocktoberfest co-founder) was more than happy to talk about the idea and spirit of Bedrocktoberfest.

HV: Tell us about Bedrocktoberfest.
Kamran V: It is music, magic and prost meaning beer. We've had a longstanding, great relationship with LA Weekly and we've had a long, good standing relationship with all of the artists that are here.

HV: I've heard that from several who rehearse here, work here. So this seems like a natural progression.
Kamran V: This is just for fun. Truly just for fun. Beer, magic, music: It just all fits together.

HV: How did the magic come into play?
Kamran V:: The magic was a result of multiple things. So you see there's "Magic Is Real." Some friends Cyrcle, they're artists made that mural [Magic Is Real] in 33-1/3 days which happened to be my 33-1/3 birthday which happens to be the RPM on a record, and we said you can do whatever you want and they put that "Magic Is Real" and we felt like it represented what was happening inside. The musicians doing their magic or whatever, and then the LA Weekly has been doing a lot of things with magic which is kind of cool.

Bedrock LA Mural by Cyrcle: Magic Is Real

When we were brainstorming this idea we thought oh that's kind of a unique idea, what if we did magic. We've had actually magicians here before in the pinball room just for fun, and there's this natural sort of kinship between magicians and musicians even though magicians are typically more geeky and musicians are typically cooler, but we're all geeky. I just realized maybe it's this mode of being that magicians and musicians share that brings this kinship. It's just like when you're in this kind of creative activity you sort of wear your character on your sleeve. Like when you're a musician you are that musician, like you can't really fake it, and magician-wise, same thing. You embody that character. You are it. You can't just change it up, otherwise it feels un-genuine. So maybe that mode of thinking sort of leads to this. And for all of that long-winded explanation, it feels natural.

HV: I got this this Liam Finn when I was talking to him earlier and he was just so impressed with rehearsing here yesterday and how laid back, how easy going and how communal things feel around here that he's almost not ready to go back home to Brooklyn. One of my favorite things about this part of town is that Echo Park and Silver Lake have become a very communal hub.
Kamran V: Absolutely.

HV: Where in most music areas it was so dog-eat-dog. One of the best things I've seen the past few years is how bands have supported each other and how local businesses have been supporting the music and Bedrock is a really good hub of musician support. Which it's your job, but at the same time there's no law that says you don't have to be dicks about it.
Kamran V: Yeah it's a privilege; it's totally a privilege. Everyone that works here, they all do creative work. I mean I think pretty much everyone that works with us was a client first. Like they actually just rehearsed here or did whatever here or some of them were interns. That's why no one's a dick because they know how it is and for us the culture of the company- for lack of a better way to put it- that's highly important. I mean we pride ourselves that people are nice, that it's pretty clean, that stuff works, that it's comfortable and easygoing like Liam said. There's air conditioning and parking...

HV: There's pinball machines.
Kamran V: There's pinball machines. Molly's got all her pinball machines here, so it's just much like the way the magic that are Bedrocktoberfest, all that stuff, it just is a natural thing. We want to provide a service that we would want to partake in, also. It’s really important that we are part of that creative community in a meaningful way and the business community in these neighborhoods, like you mentioned, in a meaningful way because we're all lucky to be here at this time. It's really incredible.

Pinball Machines @ Bedrockberfest: Photo by Timothy Norris

And what's neat about it is, at least from my point of view, but I feel like the way these neighborhoods kind of came up now there is some gentrification. I feel like it's generally very inclusive and it's not a neighborhood pushing out locals. It's the locals and the new people coming in and embracing each other and doing something unique, so it's kind of interesting. It doesn't always happen that way.

HV: The last time I was here, I remember going upstairs and seeing a lot of construction going on. So now you’re up to 100 rooms?
Kamran V:: About 100, yeah.

HV: That's impressive.
Kamran V: Yeah well it's just demand. We're 100% full. I mean every time someone leaves, right away someone comes in.

HV: That's great.
Kamran V: And it's a really good problem to have, obviously. We just grow the business side in different ways, mostly because people ask for stuff. Like what's enabling this festival is for the past couple of years we've grown our rental division and we have all this gear now and that way we can do something like this on our own. LA Weekly is our partner, but we're taking care of all the production part.

HV: And you do that for other festivals, too.
Kamran V: Yeah, we've done that. I mean we don't do massive things. I mean we're not that kind of company, but we do smaller things. It’s cool. Of course you have a ton of local bands who rehearse here. Liam [Finn] is debuting brand new stuff with his new band. That's really what we want this to be, bands that are that comfortable with this place and the people that are in this neighborhood to just do it, just because. There's no agenda, it's not that I ask them to do that. They just are doing it just because it works. Like I just hit up Liam and I say, "Hey man”, I hung out with him about a year ago when he was about to get into a new record and I said, "Hey I hear you’re doing a new album, wanna out here and do something?" "Sure." He came out. He came here when we first opened this place. We borrowed gear for a gig. I found him when I was doing Spaceland recordings and did a couple of albums with him and it just worked...it just happens. We're so lucky, it just happens.

Liam Finn: Photo by Timothy Norris

HV: And you've been here since 2009?
Kamran V: 2009, we've been here about five years.

HV: What have been some of the great albums recorded here?
Kamran V: You know what, it's mostly rehearsals. We've done a lot of recordings. Fitz and the Tantrums actually did some demos for their new record here. Vanaprasta’s done a lot of recording here. Divine Fits did all their preproduction here, they actually picked the band here.

HV: I remember when Divine Fits were here.
Kamran V: Beck did all this stuff before the Serge Gainsbourg Tribute that he did at Hollywood Bowl. Eagles of Death Metal are working on their new record right now here.

HV: I thought I saw Jesse [Hughes] wondering around.
Kamran V: Yeah, Jesse is running around. I mean there's 100 rooms here turning over. Naked and Famous just did all their pre-production here. They had a room and Justin Meldal-Johnsen (Nine Inch Nails, Beck, Neon Trees, M83) was here producing that record.

This isn't the fanciest studio in the world, it seems to be where…like the point of inspiration for those things and people sometimes will track here, sometimes they're just rehearse here, sometimes they'll do pre-production here. We're just here to do whatever they need.

HV: Magic happens here.
Kamran V: The magic [laughs]. We're here for the magic.

NOTE: Mark your calendars, kids: Bedrocktoberfest 2014 is already in the works: Saturday, September 27th!

Bedrock LA: Facebook
Bedrock LA: Twitter

Dirty Glitter 2013 In Review: The Record Company, Louis London, Ceasefire, Mona & James Bay

Here we are nearing 2013's end and isn't this the by-the-book time of the year for year end lists and stuff? Best ofs, worst ofs, highlights, lowlights and trends that- for better or worse- defined this annual cycle. Get ready for the inevitable onslaught of references to blurred twerking and if that's what you're looking forward to, then you'd best look elsewhere. No really, fuck that noise, it's a waste of time and space.

It's been a full year of a rock solid collaboration between High Voltage and WGBU-FM's radio show Dirty Glitter hosted by the fantasatical Brody Ramone. What began as an experimental hook-up every Thursday night (8pm PST/11pm EST) turned out to be a brilliant match because our goals just happened to be in perfect alignment: helping listeners find their new favorite band or artist. We're all about new music discovery that's worth getting excited about as opposed to pushing/promoting artists who are already established and on the map. Seriously, I love Queens of the Stone Age and Soundgarden as much as the next person, but they don't need a damned thing from me as far as coverage when Rolling Stone and NME are underfoot. It's the creative and diverse sonance being made underneath what is on the Top 40/Billboard charts, mostly by bands/artists who are still busting their asses at club shows, still hustling for your *Like* on Facebook, slinging their own merch and deserve to be heard. So we try and get you to hear them.

So here's the first in a series of recaps of the songs and artists that I personally selected for our High Voltage segments on Dirty Glitter w/ Brody Ramone this year.

November 21, 2013
The Record Company- "Baby I'm Broken"
We're paying a return visit to the Los Angeles blues/rock revivalists that High Voltage loves called the Record Company because Tuesday (Nov. 19th) brought a new EP from the trio called Feels So Good. By nature of the seasoned musicians that they are, Chris Vos, Marc Cazorla and Alex Stiff do fantastic work in honoring the old school but are finely adept at freshening it up and serving it new with hearty rock and soul. As is tradition with the blues, love is hard work so here's Chris wailing on his harmonica and guitar while Marc on drums and Alex on bass are the rhythm of trying to do right with "Baby I'm Broken."


Louis London- "We're Not Alone"
From Sydney, Australia we have the 5-piece pop/rock outfit, Louis London. Relatively young in band-years, Ed Saloman, Nick Ingall, Karl Fernandes, Jack O' Donnell and Jack Kiddell conceived Louis London in 2010. In 2012 their debut EP, On Your Lips We Roared, did just that with tracks like "Hardly Hear You" putting the band on the music radar in Australia with great song structures and Saloman's soaring and flexible vocal style. Their second EP called The Big Deep came out Nov. 11th and from that EP, here's "We're Not Alone."


Ceasefire- "Wake Up"
From Orange County, CA we have Ray Alexander (vocals), Kamren Alexander (guitar), Tristan Montgomery (bass) and Anthony Hainsworth (drums) of Ceasefire who are all about reaching and anthemic songs that move the head and the heart. They formed in 2011 and their music channels and even pays homage to 80s new wave, 90s arena rock and their wide stretch of influences that range from Joy Division to Oasis, Morrissey to Pink Floyd and the Cure to ELO. These guys are ambitious down to who they work with and earlier this year Ceasefire went into the studio to record their In The Dead of the Night EP with serious music muscle: Josh Mosser (Eminem, Imagine Dragons, Christina Aguilera) and Mark Needham (The Killers, Imagine Dragons, Neon Trees, Pink). Here's a track from the EP: "Wake Up."


October 31, 2013
MONA- "Cross The Line"
Mona aren't new; they've been around since 2007 but we don't feel like enough ears are aware of their goodness. A little 50's retro swagger, cigarettes, guitars blazing and some blue collar Mid-Western and gritty Southern attitude and charm, Nick Brown, Vince Gard, Zach Lindsey and Jordan Young sound like that band your mother warned you about but only because she knows how good bad boys can be: musically and otherwise. Now based in Nashville, the foursome throw down scorching and rugged rockers of honesty, then can flip to something gospel-touched or ballad pretty all carried by Nick's soaring vocals: The guy can sing. In July came their sophomore album, Torches & Pitchforks,  which speaks of the tug between good and evil and is a worthy addition to your 2013 record collection.

James Bay- "When We Were On Fire"
Most 22 year-olds don't have anywhere near the vocal command and presence as James Bay does but we're not complaining; he's from the UK and a singer-songwriter who creates a certain magic between him and his guitar. In the vein of a John Mayer or a Ray Lamontagne, the earthiness and expressiveness of James' voice along with his lyrics convey a sensual warmth. This track, "When We Were On Fire" is from his Dark of the Night EP which is a very stripped showcase of this young man's talent of which there is plenty of. He's toured with ZZ Ward, Beth Orton and even opened for the Rolling Stones. Keep an eye on this one.

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for the next Dirty Glitter recap!
Signed,
Diary of a Concert Whore  aka @dharma69

Essentials: Irontom's "The Nitro EP" & Javier Dunn's "Trails"

EPs can be anything from the wanton disposal of excess musical baggage to a band marking their territory but without the peeing on things...because that would be gross. With that in mind, it seems that Irontom is relatively baggage-free and intend to be in your face for a while. Here is Harry Hayes, Zach Irons, Daniel Saslow, Dane Sandborg, and Dylan Williams following up 2012’s The Loose EP with recorded versions of four songs which they have been fleshing out and kicking audience asses with live for nearly a year now. Where The Loose EP was a sensory teaser, The Nitro EP is a ballsy, self-assured calling card.

“It’s not enough just to play anymore.”

Within the breadth and space of that one sentence (actually several sentences but we’re parsing for brevity) Hayes and his brothers-in-no-nonsense serve up a deceptively simple and eloquently contained cease and desist letter on musical bullshit with “What Will Happen To All The Indie Stars,” the lead off track as well as a damned good question (think about it: where are approximately 85% of 2012’s “buzz bands” and blogosphere darlings extolled as the best thing since maple bacon donuts? Exactly). Alain Johannes (Queens of the Stone Age, Eleven, Them Cooked Vultures) was tasked with producing The Nitro EP aka harnessing Irontom’s funky and bombastic nature. Not taming it, but making it discernible for ears familiar and unfamiliar with the assault these guys unleash live. Nitro dishes power and muscular punch song for song with significant sound detail: You can hear what each member brings to the plate and it’s something to pay attention to because Saslow’s churchy keys are just as fundamental as Irons’ aggressive guitar bravado is to the walls of sound that they create. Essentially Nitro is “controlled bold” supported by above average songwriting (dig into the distress of "Tinkerbell"), the craft of melody, hook and musicianship at an enviable level of skill, particularly considering the band’s collective and individual youth. Hayes walks a line between self-critical and analytical in the push and pull of “Boy Born” and the title track is an example of the art of building a refined blitzkrieg.
From Hayes’ agitated vibtato and world-class ability to shriek a full chorus then fall back on a coo, to the rugged rhythms of Sandborg and Williams, The Nitro EP is the capture of a band's lightening in a bottle (which you can release whenever you want) and an indie rock harbinger that Irontom is a bullshit-free zone.

Feel free to jump on the Irontom train. It's a sweet ride.

Here's the thing about Javier Dunn: He's really pretty.

I probably should've used my inside voice there, but this is why my internet name is "dharma." Another thing about Dunn is that for the past 10 years or so he has been something of a right-hand-man to songstress Sara Bareilles as her long-time touring guitarist and occasional collaborator. Great musical results have been the return on this partnership but there comes a time in every music man's life when he's got to pay attention to his own truth, whatever that truth may sound like.

Abandoning the role that he fashioned for himself as "merely" an acoustic singer/songwriter on the side, Dunn's truth now sounds like that shyly confident romantic storyteller with a Taylor guitar on open mic night getting his synth-washed sexy back and phone numbers on cocktail napkins. It's the sound of love and its potential, if not inevitable, pitfalls with an overlay of r&b groove and pop sense electronically tweaked, but gently so as never to become overbearing noise and lose the plot of a good song well sung. The focus of Trails (released on June 25th) is equally split among Dunn's vulnerable, carmel-toned voice, his lyrical gifts and the emotional textures evoked by each song's arrangements. From a tale of romancing via liquid courage ("Couple of Drinks") to a melancholy duet with Bareilles ("If You Go"), Dunn's done pretty well for himself in showcasing how hot a graceful coolness can be.

That and he's really pretty. Check out his new video for "Couple of Drinks."

Putting A Shine On Terraplane Sun's "Get Me Golden"

How can five music-making dudes who occupy space in the beachfront city of Venice, CA possibly go all south of the Mason-Dixon line-sound and blend it with California sun and soul without sounding- what’s the word- ridiculous? Yes, fricking ridiculous. Well, that’s Terraplane Sun for you. These guys are my guys: I  took ownership of them a long time ago (in the most platonic way possible) and am just shy of being able to claim them on my taxes.

Ben Rothbard (singer dude), Johnny Zambetti (guitar, mandolin and awesome hair), Cecil Campanaro (slapping da bass), Lyle Riddle (cool drummer, cool tats) and Gabe Feenberg (like...everything else, seriously) describe themselves as “blues indie rock folk dance soul”: their sound is a little vintage, a little timeless and a lot of awesome as they truly do flesh out blues, indie rock, folk, dance and soul with full blown musicality and a refined rawness that translates fantastically from record to their live show. So here's a song for you that will be on their brand spanking new EP coming out in June. The song: "Get Me Golden." The theme: going for the gold, silly.

Rothbard (or 'Ben' as I like to call him) was kind enough to sum up the song in his own words:

"Golden was written with the notion that if you want something, you gotta go and get it. One thing we've learned as a band and even just as individuals is that very little will fall in your lap and if it does, chances are it won't happen again. I've never been a fan of the lottery and have always been called crazy for saying that I'd give away all the money if I won it. It's always so much more rewarding if you earn what you get and really go after exactly what you want, whether it's love, a goal, a challenge etc...

The song itself was Motown inspired for sure. It's a dancer!"

And who doesn't like to dance? So you read these words, listened to the killer song, did the hand claps because it's a little irresistable and now you're all, "Holy shit, this band's a bucket full of awesome...if you could actually put awesome in a bucket, of course! Where/when can I get some of this live?"

Funny you should ask: if you happen to be in Los Angeles on Thursday 5/30 and attending the Imagine Dragons concert at the Hollywood Palladium, Terraplane Sun just happen to be the opening band so, BAM!, you're welcome. Otherwise, do your duty and stalk them in the usual places like their website, Facebook and Twitter in order to get in their business. They'd probably like that.

By the way, every Thursday night at 11pm EST/8pm PST High Voltage takes over the radio on Dirty Glitter w/ Brody Ramone on WBGU-FM in order to play three High Voltage-approved songs. Tune in this Thursday night and you'll hear Terraplane Sun getting some love.

Interview: This And That With Daniel Balk of the Postelles

From “White Night” to “1, 2, 3 Stop”, the Postelles have made catchy retro rock/pop with a city edge their signature sound and one that works. Between their eponymous debut album from 2011 and time spent on the road playing club shows, various festivals, honing their songs and live show, the New York City rockers have taken a minute or two to ready album #2 but ready it is and was released into the wild on April 23rd.  For those of you here in Los Angeles, the boys from New York City have a date at the Bootleg Theater on May 21st. For everyone everywhere else, check their tour dates HERE.

The Postelles voice and guitar guy, Daniel Balk, took a moment to discuss  important things like the new album, being shook and what he really thinks of Los Angeles.

Q: For those not in the know (and I’m very much in that camp), what exactly is a ‘Postelle’?
Daniel: In terms of the band it's a made up word, but we have had a fan from Australia tell us female postal workers in Australia are, indeed, Postelles.

Q: That’s…odd, but thanks for clearing that up. Now your new album …And It Shook Me seems like quite a romantic album or rather there is an overarching theme of ‘love’ in the lyrics: what’s the occasion?
Daniel: Love is the occasion. We've had one too many candle lit dinners as a band on tour. The album is dealing with life and relationships while away on the road and the emotions that occur with that.

Q: Speaking of love and relationships, the duet with Alex Winston (“Pretend It’s Love”) is a particularly bright spot on the album; her vocals are damned endearing. How did you wind up working with her on that track?
Daniel: We were friendly and I wrote a song that I was interested in having a female vocal involved on. I gave her a call and asked if she'd be down. She was a perfect fit and she did a great job.

Q: Definitely agree with you there. And now that album #2 is done, when you look at your two releases- other than time- what do you feel is a major difference between the two records?
Daniel: We've matured as musicians and people. We've grown as a band and understood the studio more so in my mind it is a much more mature record in terms of the sound and production. The songwriting is better but we've also learned so much from years of touring.

Q: Well one thing that definitely has not changed is the distinctly retro sound that you guys foster. How did such youth wind up with such an appreciation for such a not-so-young sound? Not complaining, mind you.
Daniel: Our parents were definitely musical people and they introduced us to their favorite bands. Whether it be Bob Dylan or The Beatles, we learned about rock and roll at a very young age and grew to love it.

Q: We appreciate all of your folks for the solid background. And being from NYC (as I am) I imagine the aesthetics of the city would filter into one’s music. I don’t know if that’s true or not for you, but I have visions of an odd morning getting flashed on the A train or an amazing bagel winding up in a song…like “Running Red Lights”, for example (don’t worry: I’m not calling Traffic Enforcement). Does that ever happen in the writing or is the writing a bit more general?
Daniel: You definitely are right with that assumption. The city definitely is a huge inspiration in our music. The most obvious influence might be 'White Night' from our first record where as ...And It Shook Me is influenced by many places because of all the touring. For example 'Tidal Wave' is a song that I wrote in Los Angeles, when I visited for the first time, so this album ventures out of New York. Having said that, New York will always be my biggest influence in terms of the band.

Q: I always like to know what musicians are listening to of late, so do tell: who’s listening to what these days?
Daniel: We really like the new Vampire Weekend record so far. It just came out, but what I've heard I've really enjoyed.

Q: You have tour dates in May and June with Aussies Atlas Genius (whom I adore) and sonically that seems like a good pairing; what's on the schedule through the rest of the year?
Daniel: More touring, we always love to be on the road. We are planning more shows now and we're excited to play the new record for everyone. Definitely check out our website for updates.

Q: Well, we know that you’re coming back to Los Angeles to play the Bootleg Theater on May 21st; tell me something nice that would make me believe that you like or you’ve actually missed our insane little city.
Daniel: I really love LA. I've actually visited as a traveler away from the band as I really wanted to experience the city apart from playing shows. It's very beautiful and we filmed our video 'Caught By Surprise' in Silverlake and the director, Gus Black, filmed not only that video but also 'Running Red Lights' in California as well.

Q: That was so sweet that I almost believed you. Now tell me what you REALLY think of LA.
Daniel: I really like it! At first I didn't. I love New York more because it's home and it's New York, but if you want some gossip here it is. Our bassist John doesn't like LA. I agree with him about some things, for example everything is so far apart. Though, I will say I personally enjoy it.

Q: I hear you...and no foul on John. And nothing compares to NYC’s public transit system. One more question: …And It Shook Me: what, exactly, shook you?
Daniel: Life, everything. It's basically all of the experiences we've had in the last few years wrapped up into an album. Mostly touring and traveling and shows and all of that. This is a very personal album and a very genuine one and I hope people notice that.

Q: Is that your final answer?
Daniel: Can I phone a friend? If not, yes.

With no lack of humor, check out this irreverent video for the track, "Caught by Surprise" from ...And It Shook Me.

Delicious Synth Pop, Thy Name Is Jonathan Bates aka Big Black Delta

Jonathan Bates is the sexiest Venezuelan that I know. Granted, he’s the only Venezuelan that I know but that’s nitpicking and I’m not about to diminish his level of cool particularly on the musical front.

Now based in Los Angeles, in 2011 under the moniker of Big Black Delta, Bates (formerly of Mellowdrone) ventured off into the world of electronically designed music. Armed with a laptop, technology, synesthesia and his vivid sonic imagination, he mashed up everything there was to love about 80s synth, dance and pop and then French kissed it with a sci-fi celestial bend for additional sexy. An early result of this magic carpet ride that we got to enjoy was “Huggin & Kissin” which was nothing short of a fantastical thunder dance of rhythm.

As one with [extremely] limited appreciation for things electronic/a, EDM and the like (ok, Thomas Dolby was cool), Big Black Delta managed to hit all of the right notes with me with the massive sound and textures on his kind-of-debut-album-but-not-quite BBDLP1. I say “not quite” because the 10-song BBDLP1 went and got an upgrade. Tuesday, April 30th sees the release of Big Black Delta; the new 13-track ‘debut’ featuring a good portion of BBDLP1 lovingly re-mastered and tweaked with a few new additions making it a warm and full-bodied, futuristic warp of beats and propulsion.

One of those additions debuted in March: “Side of the Road” with its synth-laced buzz and vocoder contortions. If you haven’t already, check out the video which finds Jonathan inside the machine getting his Gene Kelly on in a very digitized world. Most apropos.

And yes, “IFUCKINGLOVEYOU” actually is the title of a song. Jonathan’s just not shy about letting us know how he feels and I can totally get behind that.

If you’re in LA tonight, Big Black Delta (the project) celebrates the release of Big Black Delta (the album) at It’s a School Night at Bardot. But the bigger point is that a full and proper album is here for your pleasure. Dig in to Big Black Delta in all of the usual social places: Official Web, Facebook and Twitter.

And the dude likes the kitties. See?

A Silent Film: LA Moments and a Bed To Call Home

A Silent Film = Robert Stevenson (vox, piano), Karl Bareham (guitar), Ali Hussain (bass) and Spencer Walker (drums)

Their stop in Los Angeles at the Troubadour on February 28th was a sold-out one and- along with Australia’s Gold Fields- fits perfectly into A Silent Film’s nefarious master plan of being (according to Spencer) the “only English band on the road” in a respective tour. Even so, they do admit to being open to the prospect of possibly touring with fellow countrymen and High Voltage favorite, the Chevin. I may have planted an extra seed of potential for such a thing to happen by heartily endorsing the Chevin as really nice guys and reminding them that both bands chose to record their current albums in the same studio in- of all places- El Paso, TX. “I do really like that song [“Champion”],” mused Spencer.

Collectively from Oxford, England, the guys of A Silent Film make beautiful music: the kind that is heartfelt with uplifting, thoughtful and exploratory narratives that pretty girls love to sing along to. And what they deliver live cannot be mistaken for anything other than a rock show as they translate the beautiful into damned fine energy. Touring on their second album, Sand and Snow, and with the radio-ready hits “Harbour Nights,” “Danny, Dakota and the Wishing Well” and “Anastasia” under their belts, they’ve made a healthy impression on this side of the pond, certainly in Los Angeles: this is their fourth tour visit. Their initiation into the City of Angels, their very first LA show, turned out to be at none other than the infamous Viper Room in 2010: An experience categorized as “crazy” and “a bit of a blur.”

Robert: “That was our first opportunity to play LA. The coolest thing about it was when we finished sound check and we had to put our gear somewhere and the guy said ‘Put it in Johnny’s [Depp] booth’. That’s pretty cool.” And the show was a good one, complete with pretty girls singing along so cheers all around.

As far as ‘LA moments’ go, A Silent Film were surely gifted a high quality one that evening, but you’re not truly one of us until you’ve been subjected to when things get just a little awkward.

Karl: “Oh, when we went to that party…”

Spencer: “OH THAT WAS SO LA! That was amazing.”

Robert: “We get invited to this party, we went all the way to the top of Beverly Hills…in a van and trailer [at this point Spencer is giggling, Karl is shaking his head]. There was a valet at the party, so you know what kind of party it is, at a really, really big mansion. Spent ages trying to get the van up the hill to the party! All these fancy cars and there’s our van with a trailer. When we actually did get to the party there were about 15 people there?”

Spencer: “If that. Basically the person whose party it was wasn’t there and there was just a bunch of people like…who just when you walk in immediately look at you, don’t recognize you and go back to their non-conversation while looking over the shoulder of the person they’re talking to. It was the weirdest night.”

Robert: “Actually there was a DJ in the corner just spinning records to nobody. Just being paid to be there. It was so LA. Don’t get me wrong, we’ve had some great nights in LA, but that’s probably the most ‘LA’ night.”

On the flip side, Karl offered up what he considers to be an ‘awesome’ night in Los Angeles: “I like to go to Swingers (West Hollywood diner). Just hanging out.” Robert and Spencer are in wholehearted agreement.

Band formation can tend to be a fluid process as, over time, members may come and go and A Silent Film has been no different. Coming from different bands and moments in time found a way to conspire so that Robert, Karl, Ali and Spencer would eventually and fortuitously meld in 2010. “The nice thing about this band,” Robert says “is that it’s come together like gravity pulled us together. Some benevolent force has got the four of us together to make music because it’s happened very naturally.”
Spencer adds, “It’s evolved into this. Which is a great feeling rather than the four of us just being together and trying to make it work just for the sake of it. This is what’s stuck.”

From here A Silent Film continued their co-headlining tour with Gold Fields in the US, ending their road trip in March at South By Southwest in Austin, TX. There I caught two of their festival sets and, even though it had been a long few months and they were a little road-weary, their shows were no less endearing and vibrant than in Los Angeles. A nomadic and rock and roll lifestyle is not easy. It may be a dream come true, but it’s hard work and sometimes there’s just nothing like sleeping in one’s own bed.

After SXSW, they headed back to the UK for a few weeks of rest in those beds of theirs before resuming life on the road in the US. They're coming back for you, America, so check out their tour dates HERE.

Speaking of beds...

Robert: “Oh my goodness it feels so good when you finally get out of the van and you have somewhere to call ‘home’.”

Spencer: “We don’t say that word, actually, because it’s too emotive. So we don’t use the “B” word in relation to the possessive. It’s too much to handle.”

I’m almost positive that Spencer whimpered.

“I’m going to start welling up. I’m gonna be weeping uncontrollably on the floor if you start talking about my bed.”

I had no idea they were so sensitive.

Official web
Facebook
Twitter

Dangerbird Co-Founder Peter Walker Finds His Punk Spirit With Broadheds

Say 'hello' to Broadheds. An unexpected musical offering for sure, but shape-shifting from the delicate melodies of his band Eulogies to ska-infused punkish rock is a transition that Dangerbird Records co-founder Peter Walker has taken seriously; hence enlisting the likes of Justin Meldal-Johnsen (Beck, NIN) on bass, Fitz & the Tantrums sax man James King and Denny Weston Jr (Earlimart, the Kooks) on drums. Broadheds’ 13-track, self titled debut checks in at under 30 minutes (which is totally punk rock), scratches with rawness and youthful agitation yet fine-tuned undertones that don’t undermine Walker’s energy. It's a dichotomy in the listening, no more so than when a breakneck pace is pitted against the out-of-sight and off-the-wall brassy wailing from King's saxophone in the track "Nothing That I Care About." Feel free to get to downloading it right here.

Accompanying the listening, the album comes with a 64-page booklet created by visual artist Mark Todd who sat in during the band's 3 1/2 day recording blitzkrieg and it's pretty dynamic, eye-involving stuff. The album hits the streets on Tuesday, April 9th and Broadheds will celebrate it with a CD release show that night at Bootleg Bar. Shows to date are:

April 3rd   @ Sainte Rocke, Hermosa Beach, CA
April 9th   @ Bootleg Bar, Los Angeles, CA (CD release show)
April 10th @ Fingerprints Music, Long Beach, CA

Broadheds may be a momentary flex of Walker's creative muscles but it's a good one worth paying attention to.

South By Southwest-Watch: Track-By-Track With Irontom

The number of times that I’ve mentioned Irontom via Tweet, Facebook, email or face-to-face conversation probably cannot be counted but you should know that it is for cause: I happen to believe in this band. A five-piece out of Los Angeles, Harry Hayes (vox), Zach Irons (guitar), Dane Sandborg (bass), Daniel Saslow (keys) and Dyl Williams (drums) are, by my ear, a little too dynamic, too talented and too non-ordinary of a band to be ignored. It’s classic rock high on youth, fresh blood and swagger: unabashedly loud, dense and eclectic.

Two seminal events have and are about to happen: Irontom has released a 4-song EP (Loose) and they’re making their first trip to South By Southwest (SXSW) this week. This simply means that they now have recorded music to be judged by and that they’ll be before more eyes and ears than ever before. As Harry put it: “This is our first EP. We put it out basically to announce the existence of the band.”

Announcement, made. Each of those four songs has an individual killer rhythm, upheaval and instinct about it and apparently- with a full-length album on the way- it’s only the tip of the iceberg. Here’s introducing you to those four songs by way of Harry, himself.

1. “Mind My Halo”
This was one of the first songs we wrote as a band. Over the course of a week At Zach's grandma's house we wrote and recorded four songs. One of them was “Halo.” Dan came in with most of the chords on the Rhodes and then one night we sat in a circle and figured out all the rest. We all knew that we had something pretty decent with this one. The lyrics are about a guy turning towards religion as an answer to his lonely and empty feelings. The dude basically finds out that even though his new creed might've distracted him from his deep fears, it's all still there as plain as ever.

2. “My Brothers”
The song is about my two drug addict brothers. They've caused a ton of grief for my family over the past couple years. It's a pretty personal song and that's why it's sick.

 

3. “Goin’ Slow”
This is a song Zach and I wrote some time before the band. It was really easy to bring into the group and it's great live because Dan and Z get to solo and fly with the seagulls. It's a song about being too content with whatever's going on. And then getting into the habit of being stuck there. The day we recorded this one, Z had been drinking quite a bit more 4loko then he normally does. When we told him to slow down, he just said 'never tell me what to do'.

 

4. “Lady Got Me”
Another song Zach and I had written that we brought into the band. Z is playing drums on this recording as well. Zach and I wrote this with him jamming on drums and me on guitar. We wrote this song the year the band basically came together and I remember it exciting Dane and Dan to start working seriously with Zach and I. It seemed like a good one to include on the EP. Lyrically it's a song about trying to forget about a crazy old girlfriend.

Their current SXSW schedule looks like this but don't be surprised if more shows get added:

SXSW
Mar 12th @ The Jr (603 Red River St)
Mar 14th @ The Old School (401 E. 6th St)

Last Week In Review: Irontom, Gold Fields, & Snowden

Three musical offerings of vastly different natures highlighted last week that are worth pointing out. If they're not already, maybe these will wind up on your radar to look forward to when coming to a city near you:

Irontom @ Dragonfly, Hollywood 2/26/2013

There are many reasons why I keep eyes and ears keenly focused on Irontom and this show at Dragonfly was yet another summation: they're one hell of a fucking band. Their immense and eclectic sound taps classic rock, 90s rock and even an undercurrent of reggae and youth and young manhood are definitely on their side. The five-piece of Zach Irons, Dane Sandborg, Dyl Williams, Daniel Saslow and Harry Hayes whose cherubic offstage demeanor in no way prepares you for what he unleashes on stage, made heads bounce and bodies move with songs like "Your Mother" (no really, that's the title), the circus baroque of "Going Slow," the well thought out derision of "What Will Happen To All The Indie Stars?" (yeah that, too, is the title) and "Mind My Halo." 

Their 4-song EP, Loose, and upcoming full length album were both produced by THE amazing Alain Johannes (from Eleven, Queens of the Stone Age, Them Crooked Cultures) and that, alone, speaks to the potential of these guys. Next week they make their way to SXSW to put a beautiful hurt on Austin, TX, so if you're out there, put Irontom on your "must see" list and make it happen. You'll want to be able to boast that you saw them "way back when."

Hits: At one point 2/5ths of Irontom was naked from the waist up.

Misses: Other than their set always seeming too damned short...

Gold Fields @ the Troubadour, West Hollywood 2/28/2013

The electo bombast and rhythm of Gold Fields came to do their thing in Los Angeles and do it on the Troubadour stage for a sold out show. The last time this five-piece from Ballarat, Australia came to LA was in October  2012 for the Culture Collide Festival and it was nothing short of balls to the wall as their dense electro pop aerated by great harmonies served notice that these guys meant business. Now where that October show was a 10 on the rocking scale, this Troubadour show registered about a 7.5. I can't speak to what was ailing young Mark Robert Fuller (vox) but something surely was: it seemed a bit of a challenge for him muster his full-on self and he frequently clutched at his throat but for the 45 minute set he gave it his best and, for the LA crowd, it seemed just fine. Their freshly released full-length debut album Black Sun got proper treatment as the set kicked off with "Meet My Friends" and Fuller pushing through, seemingly feeding off of the energy of his mate Ryan D'Sylva's tribal beat, the swirl of synthesizers, electric chords, more cowbell than you can shake a cow at and a crowd there for a good time. In the end a good time became a great time with "The Woods," "Treehouse" and breakneck "Moves" sounding full and the fully realized gems that they are as Gold Fields brought everything to a rowdy close with their signature "Dark Again." 

Hits: Youth and energy triumphs. Glow sticks were present: yes, I had one.

Misses: No "Ice." Now THAT'S the song I want to hear live. Next time, boys? Thanks in advance.

Snowden @ the Satellite, Los Angeles 3/1/2013

By the looks of and the number of bodies occupying the Satellite in Los Angeles on this Friday night you would think that a few folks have missed Snowden aka Jordan Jeffares and the songs that made his sideways pop nod on post-punk so endearing. "It's been a long seven years since we've played LA." said Jeffares.

"Too long!" random dude loudly volunteered from somewhere in the middle of the Satellite floor. The masses seemed to agree.

This is what happens when you drop a record, it leaves a mark and then you kind of do whatever they did that kept them out of arm's reach for seven years. Doing a balancing act of material from Anti-Anti, EPs and forthcoming album, No One In Control (due May 14th) it was a successful return for Snowden: "Between the Rent and Me" and "Don't Know Me" garnered some sing-along action (love it when people know the words to what others find obscure) and it all came to a fruitful end when Snowden dangled the hook of that damned catchy "The Beat Drops" over the room.

Hits: That guy who kept it analog by waving a real lighter (as opposed to a cell phone or the lighter app) in the air. It was a moment.
Misses: Why didn't more people follow suit? That would've been awesome.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. Jam At...A Farmers Market?

Saturday January 19, 2013

Tripping the daylight fantastic among four-legged family members, organic squash blossoms, vegan pita bread and hand-stitched/embroidered whatevers...

That's just an ordinary Saturday at the Farmer's Market in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Silverlake. And since LA is never one to do ordinary for more than 15 minutes, enter Detroit's own Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. arriving on the scene in a tricked out MINI vehicle affectionately called the MINI Rockmobile. And it's a literal thing as Josh Epstein and Daniel Zott (Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.) cruised in said vehicle (which is a traveling "stage" wired for performance) along city streets, playing their tunes enroute to the Farmers Market for a bright set of their alternative pop. A healthy crowd gathered around as the weather, which had been downright frigid of late, decided to remember that we were in California and lent itself to a groovy afternoon in the sun. Josh and Daniel treated us to songs like "Morning Thought," "Simple Girl" and even a loop-filled cover of the Beach Boys "God Only Knows." 

Visual aids:

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club Prep Return w/ New Album, Club Dates

12/13/2012

“The war is over, let the battle begin-
The album was officially completed and wrapped in the studio on 12-12-12…
ROBERT LEVON BEEN*” 

This was the Facebook announcement that many have waited for with breath bated and the many collectively exhaled.

Because it meant that a certain wondrous thunder was about to roar again: Los Angeles based trio Black Rebel Motorcycle Club have wrapped up their seventh studio album (due out March 2013, title unknown) and follow up to 2010’s stellar Beat The Devil’s Tattoo. Nine months from beginning to end as the band entered the studio in March of this year, Been summed up this finale with, “Not a moment to late…and not a moment to soon.”

This on the heels of their mid-November announcement of three intimate West coast club shows to close out the year. Shows in the types of spaces which they and their music seem to thrive where BRMC will road test some of the new material on some of their most avid fans. The fortunate few/locations/venues and dates are:

Dec. 19th @ Slim’s, San Francisco, CA (SOLD OUT)
Dec. 20th @ The Catalyst (the Atrium), Santa Cruz, CA (tix available HERE)
Dec. 21st @ The Troubadour, Los Angeles, CA (SOLD OUT)

The musical landscape always welcomes the return BRMC (Peter Hayes, Robert L. Been and Leah Shapiro); they are one of the most disarmingly understated, hard working, notoriously enigmatic bands yet the quality of the atmospheric fuzz, psychedelic and blues infested noise they make resonates louder than anything they could possibly say. Except when Been said, "Peter, Leah and myself are dying to get out of this studio right now and back into the fight. It's taken us a long while getting back on our feet, but the time has come." And it’s that ethos that continues to endear them to the many.

Come Spring 2013, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club takes on Europe and the UK with the first leg of their world tour. Check the dates right HERE so that you can catch this rock and roll gang doing what they do best.