The Avett Brothers’ Rick Rubin-produced new album “I and Love and You” comes out Tuesday, and after taking a spin through it courtesy of NPR, the North Carolina-based trio’s major-label debut sounds like it’s worth the hype. Their show earlier this month at the Orpheum left a couple friends of mine downright delirious – both […]
I pulled an all-nighter at Hollywood Forever Cemetery over the weekend to review Bon Iver. It was a one-of-a-kind morning. Only the sun copped a bad attitude, staying shrouded behind the marine layer until after the concert was over. Here’s the beginning of the story: What if they held a sunrise concert and everybody showed […]
Voxhaul Broadcast is quartet that discovered a fountain of soul in its native Orange County a couple of years ago and drank from it to wash down a steady diet of freshly prepared guitar rock. The urgent, scratchy licks on their” “Rotten Apples” EP two years ago earned them some notice in L.A., but after […]
[A huge week ahead – and not just because of Wednesday’s Buzz Bands Anniversary Show. After all, it’s National Chimney Week. And it’s Joseph Arthur’s birthday today. Celebrate accordingly with the show of your choice …] Portland six-piece Blitzen Trapper headline the El Rey Theatre behind the release last month of its new “Black River […]
Fans who remember the Deadly Syndrome as a wiry, winsome indie-rock band had another thing coming Saturday night at the El Rey Theatre. Headlining the music night of TarFest, the Los Angeles quartet played a set that suggests they must have been guzzling protein shakes in the months they’ve been working on their sophomore album. […]
[I’ve been meaning to share random observations from recent shows for days. Now, obviously the lack of sleep has made me slap-happy – not only did I write these, I’m posting them.] Autolux, El Rey Theatre, Sept. 25 Sending out good wishes, as they get back in business, to Autolux, the best damn aloof band […]
As a guy known in some circles for his wide array of Buffalo Tom T-shirts, I risk going all fan-boy in touting this song: a cover of Big Star’s “Thirteen” by BT’s Bill Janovitz and Letters to Cleo frontwoman (and now Los Angeles resident) Kay Hanley. Janovitz [pictured at a 2008 benefit with Hanley, left, […]
[Here’s the full version of the piece I wrote for LA Weekly on Autolux, in advance of the band’s show tonight at the El Rey Theatre:] There are fans who would go to the end of the earth to hear the new album from Autolux. So when you’re offered a chance to talk to the […]
Samuel Stewart might come from a pop music lineage, but, one year into his apprenticeship on the Los Angeles scene, he’s intensely aware that he must make his own way, and that there’s some serious dues yet to be paid. “I think that’s the danger of being a professional musician’s kid,” the 21-year-old son of […]
[Chapter 5 of the journal Jonneine Zapata is sharing while she and her band are touring the U.S. in support of Soulsavers:] Sept. 20 New Orleans to D.C. Nah, let’s stop over in Memphis. Mendel’s parents still live in the house he grew up in (Shelby County, to be exact), and there’s a good chance […]
