Local Music Nation is a website dedicated to the local music scene in San Diego and Los Angeles. Don’t mistake us for those indie snobs though. We love bands big and small from the local band to the major touring band. We love it all.
This blog is run by two friends who met in happenstance circumstances years ago (honestly, it was a mutual love for The Raconteurs) and after many years finally decided it was time to share their love of music with everyone they know (and don’t know)!
Here is a little introduction…
Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Amanda and this awesome little blog will be run by myself and my friend Kristen (who will introduce herself at a later time). We are in a word, local music junkies. Thats not to say we don’t like mainstream music because we do but our love is for local shows where we can get our music fix on the daily.
This blog will serve as a way for us to share with our friends local shows that are going on in the LA and the SD area which you might find us at if we aren’t stuck at home doing homework. We also like to share our experiences of shows we have attended or random musings.
We hope you enjoy!
~Amanda
And Kristen…
So, just about everyone I talk to thinks that I need to start a blog. I’m too busy to maintain a blog. I’m a graduate student working on getting my PhD in the sciences (AKA my lab is my life) and I spend most of my free evenings gallivanting around Los Angeles at various clubs, bars, concert halls…wherever the music happens to be.
But when my good friend and fellow music lover, Amanda, said she’d help me run it…how could I refuse?
I guess I enjoy live music slightly more than the average person…some might call me addicted. But honestly, I still can’t wrap my head around the idea that this isn’t everyone’s favorite thing to do. What I most enjoy is discovering amazing local bands and doing whatever I can to help get their music out there (hence the reason everyone tells me I need to start a blog).
For the past year or so I’ve been sending out a weekly email to my friends informing them of all the shows I would like to go to in a given week. I was tired of getting rejected every time I asked people if they wanted to go to a show with me and this open invitation method seemed to be the perfect solution. The email has morphed somewhat overtime as have the list of people who receive it. Several don’t even live in the LA area and use this email to either keep tabs on me or on the local scene…or they just want to discover new music.
So I guess putting my email into the blogasphere for any to access is the next logical step. As for my personal mission statement, I’m not sure where this will go or who (if anyone) is going to read it, but I will continue to do what I love to do…go to shows, discover new bands, tell everyone I know about said bands…and if you happen to become a part of my circle of influence, welcome new friend, it’s nice to have you here!
~ Kristen
To contact us about band suggestions, general comments or just to say hello, leave a comment or email us at localmusicnation@gmail.com!
Amanda & Kristen~
I stumbled across your blog as it referenced Lady Danville AND The Other Side of Morning. Once I dove in a bit I realized that about 60% of all the acts you reference have either played my annual showcase at SXSW or I have had some interaction with them over the last few years – just to name a few – Crash Kings, Nico Vega, Get Back Loretta, AMP, Dirty Sweet, Jealousy Curve, First Aid Kit, Long Live Logos, Greg Laswell, Honeyhoney, Jason Castro, Killola, and then SO MANY others that you can check out on the site for my showcase.
Anyway, my first thought was that we should just coordinate on anything that makes sense. I too work my butt off helping artists and getting more people to know about them. If either of you are by chance gonna be at the Lady Danville show tonight, please text me and we can say hello! If at the very least we can coordinate on something for my showcasing in 2011 – that would be amazing. I am almost sure I will be booking bands that you both will love just judging on the cross-section of acts you have. The majority of the bands I recognize from your list have played my showcase already.
Anyway, if you are there tonight and if not, we should grab coffee. It’s rare that I find others who LOVE the music I do AND are doing something about it!!!
Jennifer DaRe
ATN Management
I’m also working VERY directly with The Other Side of Morning right now. They palyed my SXSW showcase this year. They’re in the studio working on their record and I am just helping them out on some minor stuff. They play at Harvelle’s on May 6th and it’s kinda like a big coming out party for them. Let me know if you guys wanna come hang out! I would love you guys to see them at that show in particular. 🙂
Hey there!!!
I stumbled upon your blog randomly today and was shocked to learn that you had suggested people catch my show at Molly Malone’s last monday. I just wanted to say THANK YOU! Thanks for loving music and for supporting up and coming artists like myself!!! It means the world to us and I’m so honored that my name was among so many amazing artists that I love and admire! So thanks again for being so awesome and for your support!!!
😉
Victoria Clemmons
Thank YOU Victoria for giving us something to write about. Looking forward to seeing you play again soon!
~ Kristen
Hey this website is sweet. I like all this stuff a lot. I met Amanda on the train in downtown. Add me on facebook Sage Sanders there is a picture of me surfing. Let me know if you want any of this site broadcasted on facebook or something anything to spread the word of this good stuff…
Hey Sage!
I’m so glad you found us here! I’m trying to find you on Facebook but the only picture I see is of a guy with water in the background and I’m not entirely sure it’s you… Can you link me your page? Or you can email me localmusicnation@gmail.com.
Also, if you want to send me your show list, I can see about incorporating it in my show calendar 🙂
~Amanda
So Cool that you guys are really making a effort and letting the lazy people at home know about the local music that is being played in California. I recently went to on show on sunday down here in san diego at Brick BY brick. It was hip hop night and their was suppos to be 19 acts. unfortunately only 7 acts came and all of them sounded just alike. But around 8:40 as i was leaving the venue I heard this man By the name of El gun LEgro(The weirdest name on the planet) approach the microphone and at first I was thinking hell this is a gimmic he looks, sounds and acts weird. As soon as his first song started….OMG i was star struck. He had crazy energy, and the music was professional put together, his outfit was very simple but his attitude made his whole creative side flourish. I instantly became a fan. He really grab both me and the audience with amazing call and response throughout his songs. I found a diamond in the rough people. If you ever can you should go on a hunt for this man.
hey you two! I’ve been surfing your blog all morning, and I’ve been pleasantly pleased! as a musician, I must say that (local) music junkies like ya’ll are what keeps the music scene spinning around! anyways, respekt, from Chelsea Automatic!!! (we’re gonna have tons of new tunes soon)
Kristen and Amanda,
Love to see passion about the thing you love, it is inspiring to, not only those who love music (like I think you do 😉 ), but to anyone passionate in anything! Awesome website and great content. Keep up the hard work!
-Me