Kevin Bronson on October 6th, 2010

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It was a concept that had been bandied about by local promoters for years – stage a festival using geographically friendly Eastside clubs. Now Filter magazine, with a little help from some foreign governments, is making it happen with this week’s Culture Collide Festival in Silver Lake, Echo Park and downtown L.A.

Featuring the likes of the Klaxons, Black Lips, White Lies [pictured] and Tokyo Police Club topping a bill of bands from more than a dozen countries, Culture Collide kicks off four days of music Thursday at the Echo/Echoplex, Spaceland, Taix, 826 LA and downtown’s Standard hotel. The event is capped by a Toyota-sponsored Block Party on Sunday on Reservoir Street (between Alvarado and Sunset) with a couple of the aforementioned headliners along with Jenny & Johnny, Amusement Parks on Fire, Phantogram, the Boxer Rebellion and Sea Wolf, among others.

Wristbands for the festival are $20 through today. [Find the schedule here (not yet updated with Sunday’s headliner), or as straight text (updated), after the jump.]

“We’d been talking about the idea of a small-scale festival – kind of like CMJ – for a long time,” says Filter co-publisher Alan Sartirana. “But it was the persistence of my partner Alan Miller that made it happen.”

The festival’s international flavor comes courtesy of many of the participating countries’ export offices, which subsidize bands to help offset travel expenses. Many nations will be hosting happy-hour events at Taix. “Most countries outside the U.S. see music as another commodity that helps expose their home,” Sartirana says. “They’re enthusiastic about getting their music here.”

Most of the event’s bills mix international acts with better-known U.S. and local bands. “Pairing them with like-minded bands seems right, and the fans can discover some great music that way,” Sartirana says.

Filter also managed to line up some impressive corporate support at a time similar endeavors have had difficulty getting sponsorship. “A lot of companies are looking to get back into music,” he says. “Marketing budgets have shrunk, but now companies are seeing [this demographic] as a market they have to tap into.”

CULTURE COLLIDE SCHEDULE
For a handy PDF of the schedule, click here and then download

Thursday, Oct. 7

Echoplex
9 – LexiconDon
10 – KAMP!
11 – City Riots
12 – Black Lips

Echo
8:30 – Slang Chickens
9:30 – Harry’s Gym
10:30 – Kordan
11:30 – Casiokids

Spaceland
9 – Risers
10 – Zebra and Snake
11 – Superhumanoids
12 – K-X-P

Standard hotel
9 – El Guincho (DJ)
10 – The Witness Protection Programme (DJ)
11- Voxhaul Broadcast
12 – Sebastian Tellier (DJ)

826 LA
7 – Guitar Center Sessions with the Black Lips
8 – Hello Saferide
10 – Annie Stela
11 – Gamble House

Taix
4-6 – Germany happy hour
6-8 – Australia/New Zealand happy hour
8 – Tristen
9 – Laleh
10 – Nive Nielsen & the Deer Children
11 – Gold Lake
12 – The Black Atlantic

Friday, Oct. 8

Echoplex
8 – Baby Monster
9 – Suuns
10 – The Besnard Lakes
11 – Land of Talk
12 – Klaxons

Echo
9 – The Witness Protection Programme (DJ)
9:30 – Amusement Parks on Fire
10 – White Lies (DJ)
10:30 – The Boxer Rebellion

Spaceland
8 – Two Sheds
9 – Capsula
10 – The Outline
11 – Gold Lake
12 – El Guincho

Taix
2-4 – Canada happy hour
4-6 – Sweden happy hour
6-8 – Spain happy hour
9 – Harry’s Gym
10 – Battle Circus
11 – L. Stadt
12 – City Riots

Saturday, Oct. 9

Echoplex
8 – Zebra and Snake
9 – L. Stadt
10 – Battle Circus
11 – Voxhaul Broadcast
12 – White Lies

Spaceland
8 -Jacuzzi Hi-Dive
9 – The Franks
10 – Pink Noise
11 – Mariachi El Bronx
12 – Monotronix

826 LA
8 – Nive Nielsen & the Deer Children
9 – The Black Atlantic
10 – Laleh
11 – Cass McCombs

Taix
2-4 – Israel happy hour
4-6 – U.K. happy hour
6-8 – Poland happy hour
8 – Hello Saferide
9 – Two Sheds
10 – Capsula
11 – Bambi Kino

Sunday, Oct. 10
Toyota Antics Block Party (Reservoir St.)

Updated at 1:45 p.m. Wednesday

Main Stage
4 – Monotronix
5- White Lies
6- Phantogram
7 – Tokyo Police Club
8 – Jenny & Johnny

Stage 2
2:30 – Glaciers
3:30 – The Tender Box
4:30 – Josiah Wolf
5:30 – Amusement Parks on Fire
6:30 – Cass McCombs
7:30 – The Boxer Rebellion

Church Stage
7:40 – Sara Lov
8:50 – AM
9:45 – Fran Healy of Travis (acoustic)
10:45 – Sea Wolf (acoustic)

White Lies photo by Steve Gullick