Watch This! Maverick Sabre, Harris Grade, Crash Kings

Posted on by Kristen

Just some videos I came across this past week that I thought deserved sharing…

 

Maverick Sabre’s “I Need” made my SXSW ’10 mix. He finally has a video and is releasing the single on November 6th. I’m keeping my eyes on this Londoner…I think you should too!

[youtube GZNtticFI60]

 

Local LA rockers, Harris Grade, put out a video for one of the tunes off of their new EP, Sea in You. I dig it!

[youtube PrWKohj0d2g]

 

It has been FAR too long since we’ve heard from Crash Kings. Love this band. Love this song. Always love a good acoustic version of a great rockin’ song.

[youtube c1uBhwnKwlg]

 

Enjoy!

 

~ Kristen

LMN Band Exam: Maniac

Posted on by Kristen

Who is Maniac? You could check out their webpage. That will tell you something. You could attend their show tomorrow night (Thursday 10/13) at The Bootleg Theater. That will certainly give you a taste. You could even look at the definition of the term, maniac. I’m pretty sure that gives you some solid intel as well.

If there is only one thing to say about LMN band love Maniac, it might be that they are doing their own thing and loving it! From their on-stage antics and quirky tunes to the way they interact with their fans, partners in crime Jake Grigg and Shawn Harris always manage to dish up the unexpected and make sure everyone is having a good time.

I love Maniac for their exciting live performances. I also love their unique perspective on being a professional musician. The band captures the essence of DIY, pushing the boundaries on both music-making and marketing. They are currently recording in their home studio and plan to  release new music three songs at a time in limited edition screen printed cases. The songs will be available in their online store starting this month! In the meantime, be sure to pick up their Extended Play EP and first full lenght album, Mania.

For more info on their travels, specialty-crafted limited edition merch items, random thoughts, and how to become a member of their exclusive East Nowhere Social Club, I’d head on over to their facebook  page.

Is that still not enough information for you? Well, LMN also wanted to learn more about Jake and Shawn (AKA Maniac) so we gave the fellas our band exam full of random questions. Here’s how they did:

 

Multiple Choice:

Favorite Super hero: Superman, Spiderman, Batman

Shawn: Batman doesn’t have any powers, just heaps of monies

Jake: Spiderman hooked up with Kirsten Dunst in the movies so i’m jealous and want him dead.

Best place to play a random show: beach, forest, shopping mall 

Shawn: Depends on the weather

Jake: Your house

Best mode of transportation: bicycle, train, horse

Jake & Shawn: Definitely a horse.

The ultimate music question: The Beatles or The Rolling Stones

Shawn & Jake: hahahahahahahahahahaha

Shawn: I can’t believe thats even a fucking thing

Jake: hahahaha

Fill in the Blank:

My favorite guilty pleasure music is __The Rolling Stones___.

The last book I read was ___Keith Richards Life___.

One weird skill/talent no one would expect from me is ____oral sex___.

Describe what it’s like to be on the road in two words: ___oral­­­­_ _  _ _sex___

 

Essay/Short Answer:

 If you could live in another Era, what would it be and why?

Jake: 1960’s would be fun. Free love, acid and the radio was playing songs that we actually like.

Shawn: And everyone rode horses

Jake: Bare back!

Tell us a story about one of the songs off Mania.

Shawn: I totally asked Jake “who do you know” and he was “all I know is I don’t like people like me.” Which prompted me to ask “who do you trust?” Turned out, he trusted the mail and the rain. We wrote a little song about that.

Jake: Hahaha

 

Listen and Love!

[youtube mpHqduuBPZ8]

[youtube TYLpR9Ix4vw]

 

 

 

New Music Tuesday 10/11/11 Featuring Rachel Yamagata, Deas Vail, Forrest Day, Rams’ Pocket Radio

Posted on by Kristen

Looking for some new tunes? Here are my suggestions from this week’s batch of new music releases:

 

Rachel Yamagata– Chesapeake 

This is another CD that I reviewed for the fall issue of High Voltage Magazine. Don’t want to give away too many spoilers, but I love this new album from Rachel Yamagata. It might be her best to date! It showcases her sultry voice and well-crafted lyrics perfectly.  Check out the album and if you’re in LA be sure to get tickets for her show at The Troubadour November 29th.

Get Chesapeake here

[youtube 4ERmCz3Q3ew]

 

Deas Vail– Deas Vail

I fell in love with this band a couple of summers ago (it’s a great story if you haven’t heard it already). Songs like “Balance” and “Birds” are particularly uplifting, but Deas Vail’s entire catalog has found its way onto my “make me feel better” playlist. I’ve heard a couple of tunes from this new album when I saw the band this summer at Bonnaroo. I’m looking forward to exploring the rest.

Get the album here.

[youtube p0nAvtOrHUE]

 

 

Forrest Day – Forrest Day 

One of the best bands you may not have heard from located in the Bay Area. They put on quite the live performance with their interesting mix of hip-hop, jazz, rock, etc. (they call it attention-deficit disorder rock). Check out their self-titled CD out today! They play The Mint October 21st.

The album is available on Itunes and Amazon.

[youtube rz70Zxq7YbA]

 

 

Rams’ Pocket Radio– Dogs Run in Packs EP 

I’ve been slightly obsessed with this one man band from Ireland since I first heard him earlier this year. The song “1+2” made my SXSW ’11 mix. I was thrilled to find out new music was released today…  Rams’ Pocket Radio is currently opening for Snow Patrol in London. I eagerly anticipate a US tour. Please.

http://ramspocketradio.bandcamp.com/album/dogs-run-in-packs

[youtube yAlCqZ73x8s]

 

Other new music out today I plan on giving a listen to:

 

 

Happy Music Listening!

~ Kristen

Amanda’s SD Concert Calendar 10/10-10/16

Posted on by Amanda

It’s Monday? Really? Where did the weekend go? It was such a blur but a pretty awesome weekend nonetheless. My weekend was punctuated with some sadness when my favorite band The Academy Is… announced they were breaking up. It made me doubly sad because I was planning to catch them on the west coast leg of Jack’s Mannequin tour but alas, no such luck. Thankfully, that was remedied by a music video shoot with The Silent Comedy yesterday.

But anyway, let’s look at the calendar for this week!

 

Monday: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart and Hotel St. George @ Belly Up @8 $6
AND: Megafaun @ Casbah @9 $12

Tuesday: Fountains of Wayne @ Anthology @7 $10-$24
AND: Boy and Bear, Matthew and The Arrogant Sea, and The Howls @ Soda Bar @9 $10
AND: Mattson 2 and Patrick Norton @ El Dorado @9
AND: Dropkick Murphys and The Silent Comedy @ House of Blues SD @7 $28.50-$43.50

Wednesday: Dropkick Murphys and The Silent Comedy @ House of Blues SD @7 $28.50-$43.50
AND: Katie Herzig and Butterfly Boucher @ Casbah @9 $10 adv/$12 day of
AND: Mister Loveless @ Soda Bar @9 $5

Thursday: Steve Poltz acoustic @ Belly Up @8 $16 adv/$18 day of
AND: Amber Rubarth and Chris Holmes @ Lestats @8

Friday: The Head and the Heart @ House of Blues @7 $17.50 adv/$20 day of
AND: Maren Parusel and Sundrop Electric @ Whistleshop @10
AND: Gregory Page @ Lestats @8

Saturday: Hoodang Festival feat. Louis XIV, Mr. Tube and the Flying Objects, Endoxi, and more @ Santa Ysabel Casino @11am $30
AND: Vonda Shepard Trio @ Anthology @730 $10-$42
AND: Chris Pierce @ Anthology @930 $11-$27
AND: Josh Damigo @ Lestats @8
AND: The Drums and IO Echo @ Casbah @9  $12 adv/$14 day of

Sunday: The Naked and Famous @ Belly Up @9 $15
AND: Hillcrest Hoedown with Heavy Guilt @ Ruby Room @2

 

Keep in Mind:

October 17th- AWOLNATION (reschedule) @ Belly Up @9
October 17th- Foo Fighters w/ Cage the Elephant @ Viejas Arena
October 19th- Foster the People @ Soma @7 $25
October 21st- Blackout Party, Grand Tarantula, and Jesse LaMonaca and the Dime Novels @ Casbah @9 $10
October 23rd- Anna Nalick @ Anthology @7 $10-$26
October 24th- David Cook and Gavin DeGraw @ Humphrey’s By The Bay
October 26th- Manchester Orchestra @ House of Blues SD
October 28th- The Donkeys, Cuckoo Chaos, and Bully @ Casbah @9 $8 adv/$10 day of
October 30th- Matt Nathanson @ House of Blues SD $23-$40
November 2nd- Minus the Bear and The Lonely Forest @ Soma @730 $25
November 3rd- Mayday Parade @ House of Blues SD
November 5th- The Parlotones @ Casbah $12
November 7th- Purple Melon and Kevin Martin @ Casbah $8
November 9th- Ra Ra Riot @ Belly Up
November 11th- Thrice @ House of Blues SD
November 16th- The Dirty Heads with Gym Class Heroes @ House of Blues SD
November 17th- The Sounds @ Soma @7
November 20th- Newfound Glory @ House of Blues
November 22nd- Jason Mewes Kevin Smith @ Belly Up
December 3rd- Little Hurricane @ Casbah $14
December 10th- The Chris Robinson Brotherhood @ Belly Up
December 19th- Pinback @ Belly Up

Kristen’s LA Concert Calendar: 10/10-10/16

Posted on by Kristen

This weekend just seemed to slip through my fingertips. I swear I spent most of it in front of my computer working, but I certainly don’t have anything to show for it. I did manage to get out Friday night for a little Culture Collide (such a great festival!). Then Saturday night was an evening at The Hotel Cafe where I was taken on a journey back to 2004 with Michael Tolcher. Hearing Michael play some of my favorite tunes from that year made me realize just how connected certain songs are to particular years of my life…and that 2004 may very well be my happiest year. I’m not sure if that year’s greatness was more because of the music or because of the events that the music accompanied, but I do know that the bands and songs that I associate with that time will forever be my favorites.

 

What songs are going to make that indelible imprint on 2011? Could it be a song heard by a band playing this week? Quite possibly! Here’s my schedule:

 

Monday: It’s a School Night at Bardot featuring The Silent Comedy (10:30)…FREE with RSVP http://www.itsaschoolnight.com/
ALSO: Golden State and Indians FREE at Silverlake Lounge (10,11)
ALSO: The Rambles and Fat City Reprise at The Viper Room (10:15, 11:15)
ALSO: Abbott Kinney and Youngblood Hawke FREE at The Satellite (10,11)
ALSO: Boy & Bear at The Bootleg (9pm)
ALSO: Ryan Adams at The Hollywood Forever Cemetery (9pm)
ALSO: Songwriters in the Round at Room 5 (9pm)

 

Tuesday: Atomic Tom, Anberlin, and Switchfoot at The Wiltern (6:30)
ALSO: Oh No Not Stereo at The Roxy (10pm)
ALSO: Lakes at The Troubadour (8pm)
ALSO: Rival Sons, The Pretty Reckless, and Evanescence at The Hollywood Palladium (7pm)
ALSO: Foxy Shazam at Chain Reaction in Anaheim (10pm)
ALSO: Chris Pierce at The Hotel Cafe (9pm)…record release show
ALSO: Joe Henry at Largo (8pm)

 

 

Weds: Whitton, Leftover Cuties, Amber Rubarth, and Coby Brown at  at The Hotel Cafe (8pm)

 

Thursday: Maniac and Family of the Year at The Bootleg (10,11)
ALSO: The Head & The Heart at The Music Box (9pm)
ALSO: Kim Richey, Jennifer Hirsh, Rob Giles with All New People at The Hotel Cafe (7, 9, 10)
ALSO: Some Hear Explosions at The Viper Room (midnight)
ALSO: Foo Fighters at The Forum (7pm)
ALSO: Lindsay Buckingham at UCLA Royce Hall (8pm)

 

Friday: Amy Kuney, Butterfly Boucher and Katie Herzig at The Bootleg (8,9,10)
ALSO: George Stanford at The Hotel Cafe (8pm)
ALSO: Nikka Costa at The Del Monte Speakeasy in Venice (9pm)
ALSO: Saint Motel at ReForm Academy (11pm)
ALSO: The Muddy Reds at The Central (8:45)
ALSO: Los Sindicate at Saint Rocke (9pm)
ALSO: Abbot Kinney at Molly Malone’s (10pm)
ALSO: Shelby Lynne at McCabe’s Guitar Shop (8pm)

 

Saturday: Haroula Rose at The Hotel Cafe (8pm)
ALSO: Kozmonaut at The Bootleg (10pm)
ALSO: Jesse Malin and The Hold Steady at The Echoplex (8:30)
ALSO: Shelby Lynn at McCabe’s Guitar Shop (8pm)

 

Sunday: The Canyons at The Troubadour (8pm)

 

 

To Keep in Mind:
October 17th: Youngblood Hawke and Imagine Dragons at The Satellite
October 18th: Portishead at The Shrine
October 19th: Melissa Ferrick and Harper Blynn at The Hotel Cafe
October 22nd: The War on Drugs at The Satellite
November 3rd: Twin Atlantic and Awolnation at The Music Box
November 4th: Mike Doughty at The El Rey
November 7th: Lights at The El Rey
November 8th: Thrice at The Mayan Theater
November 8th: First Aid Kit at The Troubadour
November 11th: Jack’s Mannequin at The El Rey
November 12th: Feist at The WIltern
November 13th: Milk Carton Kids at The El Rey
November 17th: Marketa Irglova at The Troubadour
November 19th: Milo Greene, The Belle Brigade, and The Civil Wars at The Wiltern
November 29th: Rachel Yamagata at The Troubadour
March 13th-18th: SXSW (Austin, TX)

~ Kristen

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LA Calendar update: Nathan Angelo on Friday at Room 5

Posted on by Kristen

I recently downloaded the Noisetrade Fall Sampler from noisetrade.com. I’m enjoying so many of the artists on it. Atlanta artist, Nathan Angelo makes an appearance on the sampler with his song “Follow Your Heart”. I looked him up and noticed that he’s playing LA this Friday (October 7th) at Room 5 at 8pm with Chris Ayer and Matt Simons (I assume in a round scenario). They are followed by Parker Ainsworth at 10pm so all in all a great night of singer-songwriters!

[youtube qvOccYqUxeY]

~ Kristen

New Music Tuesday 10/4 Featuring Jack’s Mannequin, Mutemath, Lights, and Allen Stone

Posted on by Kristen

An overwhelming number of new albums I’m excited about today. Not even sure where to begin on this one. My top picks could be any number of the albums listed below…

 

Jack’s Mannequin – People & Things 

I actually got to preview this one. I wrote the following review for High Voltage Magazine:

Prince of punk rock piano, Andrew McMahon is back with another offering from his outfit Jack’s Mannequin. People and Things is standard fare for any McMahon fan, who should run immediately to the record store. It’s all there in this album; the voice, the pleading lyrics, the soaring choruses, the PIANO ROCK. Andrew McMahon has developed a trademark sound and each track can be identified as his almost immediately. While there isn’t anything very new sonically, lyrically the record shows a maturing outlook on love, life on the road, and relationships which will connect immediately to Andrew’s maturing fan base. Standout moments on the album include the poppy opener “My Racing Thoughts”, the catchy “Television”, the soaring vocals in “Platform Fire”, the quiet beauty of the more acoustic “Restless Dream” and the profoundly realistic, and somewhat hard hitting lyrics in the song “Hey Hey Hey” which reminds the listener that “we’re all going to die someday” and invites them to “sing with me just one more time.”  Hopefully not a prophetic statement…

Listen to the album here http://music.aol.com/new-releases-full-cds/#/2

Buy it on ITunes or Amazon

[youtube MzGdmsRoSkg]

 

 

MUTEMATH– Odd Soul 

MUTEMATH’s self-titled debut CD, has some of my favorite songs on it. MUTEMATH also puts on one of the best live performances. Odd Soul is bound to make its way into my CD collection based on these two facts along. I’m also loving the video for the single. I’m en route shortly to see the band perform on Jimmy Kimmel. VERY excited about this one.

Pick up the CD on Itunes or Amazon

[youtube cv2mjAgFTaI]

 

 

LIGHTS– Siberia 

Lights (AKA Valerie Poxleitner) has come a long way since I first heard her song “Feburary  Air” on a TV commercial about three years ago. I really like this Canadian’s first full length CD, The Listening, especially the songs “The Last Thing on Your Mind” and “Face Up.”  I’m generally not a huge fan of the electro-pop genre, but there is something about the sweetness of the voice in contrast with the electro beats that draws me in. As long as that combination remains, I’m sure Siberia will be another hit in my book. LIGHTS will be coming to Los Angeles November 7th at The El Rey.

Buy Siberia on Amazon or Itunes

[youtube xwioi-BsaXM]

 

 

Allen Stone– Allen Stone

I’ve seen this Washington soulster deliver some impressive and inspiring performances over the past year. I’m quite excited to finally have recorded versions of songs like “Satisfaction” and “The Wind.” Allen Stone has one of those voices that can change the way you think about life. Definitely give him a listen and buy the album.

[youtube z4Hy6kp5kIs]

 

 

Other CDs coming out today that I’m anxious to put past my ears:

~ Kristen