Kevin Bronson on December 12th, 2019

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Long before he was making spaced-out rock ’n’ blues with his wife Lauren Brown as KOLARS, Rob Kolar was a fixture on the L.A. scene as part of the bands He’s My Brother She’s My Sister and, before that, Lemon Sun.

So he’s seen a lot of bands come and go, or come and stay, or come and morph into other bands.

As we reach the end of the decade, KOLARS looks over the shoulder at some of their favorites — in the form of the playlist “L.A. Local Flavor: Favorites From the Last Decade (and Beyond).” At 22 songs and more than an hour, it’s a flashback that recalls many a night of bands plying their trade in local clubs. “We have shared bills with most of them and we’ve seen all of them deliver fantastic live shows,” Kolar says.

This weekend, KOLARS put the wraps on their exhaustive 2019 touring. On Friday, they are joined by the Soft White Sixties and Bloody Death Skull for a night at the Lodge Room (tickets), and on Saturday, they visit the Wayfarer in Costa Mesa for a show with Tokyo Luck Hole (tickets).

Find the playlist below, along with the duo’s commentary on the tracks.

||| Stream: KOLARS’ “L.A. Local Flavor” playlist

Fool’s Gold

Infectious West African-influenced indie dance-rock. They played at Rob’s sister’s wedding, and it will go down as one of the best live shows we’ve ever attended. We danced ourselves into a sweaty mosh pit of bliss.

Foreign Born

Excellent L.A. band that is no more. We also included Matt Popieluch’s newer project on here, Big Search. This song feels as fresh now as it did when it came out (2007). A rock ’n’ roll shot of adrenaline.

The Dig

Originally from New York, they recently moved to L.A. The songs on this playlist are themed around their move to L.A. We toured with them in KOLARS and they are some of our favorite songwriters out there. Happy to have ’em on our side of the country now.

Terri Terri

Mark Noseworthy has played in Pete Yorn’s band, Fool’s Gold, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros and many others around L.A. This “solo” record of his is brilliant. He produced it himself. The whole record sounds fantastic.

Spindrift

One of the biggest influences on us from the L.A. music scene. Their blend of Morricone-inspired Western riffs and psychedelic rock has been a huge inspiration to our sound. One of the best shows we’ve seen was when they headlined Clean Air Clear Stars (Desert Stars) at Pappy & Harriet’s outdoor stage. OK, maybe the mushrooms helped a bit.

Kera & The Lesbians

Kera moved up here from San Diego and is now a mainstay in the L.A. music scene. The live performances are full of raw vitality and unhinged brilliance. One of the best live performers we’ve ever seen.

Livingmore

On some of our early KOLARS headlining dates, we took Livingmore with us. Great live band with a great music style that harks back to some of the best of the ’90s (and ’60s).

Joy Downer

Rob produced this record of Joy’s. She has since become one of actress Amy Adams’ favorite artists and is steadily growing in the L.A. scene. Her music is full of infectious pop hooks with a delightfully quirky alternative twist.

The Soft White Sixties

We are on tour with these guys now. While they know how to rrrock, this song really showcases what a great singer Octavio Genera is and how they are just as good with a ballad.

Henry Wolfe

Henry has been crooning and pulling heartstrings in L.A. for a decade. Rob makes a little cameo in this music video, along with Jenna Malone and a few others. Every time we hear this song it brings us right back to this time … early 2010s Los Angeles. Musical time machine.

Jenny O

We love Jenny O. What can we say. She’s a great songwriter and a wonderful person. Incredible singer and her harmonies are unreal. Rob played some percussion on this tune which she recorded in her Silver Lake apartment.

James Supercave

These guys have created a really cool, unique sound that brings together elements of New Wave, modern indie-rock, Britpop and a Radiohead-inspired experimental eeriness. This is one of our faves of theirs, but their shows are where the songs really come alive.

Big Search

Matt Popieluch brings a certain magic to any project he’s working on. His new project Big Search is no different. It’s hard not to feel moved and inspired listening to this anthem.

Mondo Cozmo

Josh Ostrander has been writing great songs for a long time. Rob’s band Lemon Sun used to do shows with Josh’s previous band Eastern Conference Champions. Both bands broke up and we started KOLARS around the same time as he began doing Mondo Cozmo. Feels like we share a lot in common with our stories and our music. This is a great mid-tempo anthem you can’t help but bob your head to.

Alex Ebert

In our early days of touring (as He’s My Brother She’s My Sister), we hit the road with the Magnetic Zeros. During that time, Alex put out a solo record. The whole record is great and this is one of the standout songs.

Crash Richard

Crash used to front a great L.A. band called Deadly Syndrome. This is his newest project under his own name. He’s originally from Louisiana and this song captures some of that soulful R&B sound.

Rex Aquarium

This band (fronted by Charlie Wadhams) was the first band Rob heard about when he moved to the Echo Park area. He picked up both their albums at a local record shop and has been listening to them ever since, well over a decade later. Charlie has since joined Lauren and Rob on stage for a Velvet Underground tribute they did a few years back.

Bloody Death Skull

Daiana Feuer has put on many incredible festivals in the Los Angeles and desert areas over the years. This is a song from her current musical project. They play with us Friday at The Lodge Room. Great live band with an impeccable sense of humor and authenticity.

Amanda Jo Williams

Amanda’s iconic countrified Moldy Peaches-esque brand of experimental lo-fi freak folk was essential to the early 2010s L.A. alt-folk scene. Here’s a great example of what she does best.

He’s My Brother She’s My Sister

All right, we threw on one of our own. But, hey, it’s a cover. We recorded this one for Manimal Vinyl’s Bowie Tribute album and it didn’t get chosen. But it went on to be a cult favorite for HMBSMS fans. It also features Shakey Graves on backup vocals and percussion and Pipe Ceballos (who now plays with Mexican rockstars Zoé) on drums.