Tommy Goodkin, the Post War Quartet frontman, is telling an interviewer about the band’s song “The Blue Light.” “It was inspired by the Hindu text the Bhagavad Gita,” he says matter-of-factly. “I was into a lot of theologies at the time. I wasn’t much of a singer when we started working on it, but we […]
Summer’s here, and that means barbecues and poolside parties for most people. However, Orange County’s Young the Giant will be hard at work and on the road from now through October, and this time they’ll become globetrotters as they visit the U.K., Australia, the Netherlands and more. We swear it seemed just like yesterday that […]
Anthony Polcino emerged from the shadow of his role as guitarist in Low Vs Diamond last autumn, when, doing business as Soft Pipes, he self-released a very good homemade album “When You’re Done Here You Get to Go Home.” Since then, abetted by Christopher Pappas and Miracle Parade, Polcino has assembled a live band and […]
Tenlons Fort, the vehicle for the meditative songwriting of Jack Gibson, will play their first Los Angeles show in more than a year when the band headlines Buzz Bands LA’s SecondTuesday songwriter night on July 12 at Lot 1 Cafe in Echo Park. Tenlons Fort will be joined by the Sweet Hurt, CMG & We […]
It says here that Nika Roza Danilova is 4-foot-11, 90 pounds. As Zola Jesus, the white-robed sprite is a lot bigger, and growing by the minute. Her second album, “Conatus,” will be out Oct. 4 (on Sacred Bones Records), and the teaser track “Vessel” finds the 22-year-old electro-experimentalist full-throated and daunting, wailing her way out […]
Person walking through my office, a bit surprised: “You listening to the radio?” Me, turning down the volume slightly on “Rootless” by L.A.’s Youngblood Hawke: “No, but this song could be there soon enough.” And it’s true. “Rootless,” like a lot of songs on the quintet’s first EP, insists on being memorable, thanks to its […]
Los Angeles native John Gold crafts introspective but largely feel-good tunes that seem to twinkle like sunlight off waves. It’s taken the “writer-songsinger” (as he calls himself) a couple of albums to get noticed; his 2002 and ’05 records were DIY affairs that yielded a film placement here and a TV commercial there, along with […]
Your Monday embarrassment of riches: ‣ Scorching night ahead at the Troubadour, where Mexican garage-rockers Le Butcherettes headline, supported by Adebisi Shank and Tera Melos. ‣ Rickie Lee Jones (pictured), with her “Live In Stockholm” DVD coming out next week, is back on tour. She plays It’s a School Night at Bardot, joined by young […]
L.A. singer-songwriter Terra Naomi has been giving her fans easy access to her music since 2006 when she launched her innovative “Virtual Summer Tour” from her Hollywood apartment and scored a viral hit with her song “Say It’s Possible.” Long before Justin Bieber came along with his feathery haircut, Naomi was the first one to […]
This afternoon I violate a longstanding Buzz Bands LA policy against posting material by artists who wish to remain anonymous, or work under fake identities. “Feels Like” was written a few days ago by guy who plays in a band I’ve seen, and who says, “I’ve been through some hard times and just felt like […]
