Results tagged “band”

In 2001, Dan Nigro joined up with some friends from high school and did what surely plenty of young people do in Long Island, New York: They formed a band. It would be glib to say "And the rest is history!" since As Tall as Lions is one hell of a hard-working quartet; they've just kicked off a tour in support of their August full-length release, You Can't Take it With You (Triple Crown Records), serving as support for Mutemath, and you can see them at Club Nokia this Saturday. This tour follows their summer tour with Dredg and Rx Bandits, and by late November through the end of the year they'll be touring in the US with Minus the Bear and in the UK with Frightened Rabbit and Athlete.

Looks like Fall Out Boy's Infinity on High has come to at least a temporary stall as one of the band members "is behind bars this morning," according to On the Red Carpet. Patrick Stump, the band's composer, vocalist, and guitarist was stopped last night while he was driving, and determined the 25-year-old "had a previous warrant out for his arrest in Beverly Hills [...] for being an unlicensed driver."

Perennial rock idols Depeche Mode have been breaking hearts up and down the coast of California this week, after first canceling their Bay Area show Wednesday night, and now canceling tonight's show scheduled for the Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre outside San Diego in Chula Vista. This evening's much-anticipated gig had the plug pulled on it due to lead singer Dave Gahan's heath: "Doctors have ordered complete vocal rest for [him] for several days," explains San Diego's 10News.com.

Overshadowed by Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcet's death yesterday, a shout out to Sky Saxon is also deserved. He was the co-founder of the local garage band, The Seeds, and made the Top 40 Charts with “Can’t Seem To Make You Mine” and “Pushin’ Too Hard” in 1967. The band broke up in 1970 and Saxon recently moved to Austin where he was publishing music DIY style and playing with his new band Shapes Have Fangs. He was in his 60s and no details have come to light about his death other that he was recently sick, but only briefly. RIP, Sly Saxon. Videos of the two hits are embedded below.

We first met the roving band Killsonic last year on Valentine's Day roaming the streets of downtown during the monthly art walk. The quality of music and the random nature of how it all felt gave us a fantastic feeling. Then last night, at the tail end of the Prop 8 march in Hollywood was the band, rocking it out, once again.

It seems that in the past month, you can't throw a joke book without hitting Garfunkel & Oates at some show around town. Not that you'd want to; these lovely ladies are quickly mastering the craft of beautiful songs with enough comedic edge to keep you in your seats. Both Riki Lindhome and Kate Micucci are well known faces on television and film, but their most recent musical endeavors have made them fan favorites around the Los Angeles alternative comedy scene, as well as online, where their single-take 'couch videos' are blowing up all over YouTube. LAist was fortunate enough to catch up with the ladies in the middle of their whirlwind month of performing, recording, and making new music videos for the fans. And let's not forget their UCB show on Wednesday!

Metallica. Slayer. Megadeth. These local boys gone legends are always worth a good mosh, but it's their lesser-known Canadian counterparts, Anvil, who have grabbed the city's heart by the horns. Continuing their residency at the Landmark, where documentary Anvil! The Story of Anvil has rocked audiences for a month and counting, Anvil appears alongside film director Sacha Gervasi for two special Q&A sessions tonight, May 6th, at the 7:50 & 9:55 shows. And the rock doesn't stop there! Renegade punk-a-billy outlet Devil's Night fires up the Angel City Drive-In with Jimmy Stewart, Grace Kelly & derby girls. Yowza!

Music of the 80’s ushered in groups like Roxy Music, Sex Pistols and UB40 that gave us “Red, Red Wine” and “If It Happens Again.” Saxophonist Brian Travers has been to UB40 to that of Clarence Clemons of Bruce Springsteen’ Band or Roxy’s Music Andy Mackay and whether listening to UB40 debut album “Signing Off” or 2009 compilation album “Love Songs,” its musical odyssey has been surreal to that of Salvador Dali, dada to that of Hugo Ball, and neoclassical to that of Nicolas Poussin. He spoke to us about the history, longevity and musical legacy of the band as he prepared for Thursday night concert at the Sunset Strip House of Blues.

       

The first sign should have been the earplugs being handed out at the door...

With the remarkable infusion of whimsical melodies and cutting lyrics, Stars has created a long history of fiercely bright pop. The kind of pop songs that lift you up with the beauty of their melodies and then crushes your heart with the tortured elegance that leaves you hungry for more. Touring to support their latest EP, Sad Robots, Stars frontman, Torquil Campbell was kind enough to grant an interview with the LAist from Oklahoma City.

Imagine yourself gliding down the PCH with the warm summer breeze blowing through your hair in a red convertible (preferably with fins). This is the vibe that emanates from the Western States Motel's classic Californian sound. Originally a one man band, Carl Jordan formed, wrote, and produced this first album himself in his home in Los Angeles. With his new work hailed by critics as an intelligent, poppy disk Jordan was compared to Jeff Tweedy of Wilco. Rumors have been circling since that Jordan has got himself a proper band. Naturally curious, I caught up with The Jordan before his show at the Spaceland in Silver Lake to see how his new band was working out.

         

Some bands are simply meant to be seen live.

September is here, which means a slew of great residencies around town are launching their first week. That's right, people. Rock shows for free! What a magical concept. In a town where there are so many great acts to go and see the LAist will try and guide you through the best of the best.

Dave Matthews Band sax player, LeRoi Moore, died earlier this afternoon at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center "from sudden complications stemming from his June ATV accident on his farm near Charlottesville, Virginia," according to a statement given to TMZ.

 

Brooklyn indie rockers Pela were supposed to play Spaceland back on March 8, but a few days before, frontman Billy McCarthy was injured while playing a gig in Chicago, forcing them to cancel the rest of their tour.

       

Walter Meego is not a dude, it's actually Justin Sconza (vocals, keyboards, guitar) and Colin Yarck (keyboards, computer), a Chicago-bred but LA-living electronic-alt-pop duo. Throw Andrew Bernhardt in the mix (or on the mix, hmmm?) and you've got one hell of a kick-ass live band. They hit the El Rey earlier this week as the openers on The Presets' tour, playing to a sold out crowd.

So I think The Mae Shi are robots.

        

There is little doubt that by now you have seen them on MTV, heard them on KROQ or Indie or seen them on SNL, if you haven't then it must be dark in that cave. The ginormous hype machine known as Vampire Weekend came through LA Thursday night to play their first proper show in support of their debut self-titled album. With tickets reportedly going for upwards of $400 a pair on ebay, (!!) the mere curiosity factor of seeing whether this band could deliver would almost be enough to warrant attendance. Once the prep-rockers hit the stage and began their set it was clear that this band does indeed deserve the hype and praise they have been given. With their quirky blend of afro-pop and world influences they bring a refreshing vibe that is unlike anything out today.

        

It was quite an amazing scene Monday night at the Wiltern, the place was completely packed for a band that had no singer, no lyrics of any kind and was basically just guitars and drums. While some would think this wouldn't be an exciting concert to see or it would be inspiring or emotional as seeing a band with a singer at the front they would be wrong, very wrong. Emotional and inspiring are the exact words I would use to describe the music of the Texas-bred quartet, Explosions In The Sky. You have heard it on various movie trailers and in the soundtrack/score for the feature film, and later television adaptation Friday Night Lights but the true power of their music can only be felt live.

If you haven't heard their infectious single "That's Not My Name" burning up LA radio stations, you will soon enough. The Ting Tings, the latest UK import, brought their carefree blend of electro/dance/pop duo to Echo Park's Rec Center Studio in what was their first (and most likely of many) "proper" show in Los Angeles Tuesday night. The Rec Center was packed to see the Tings, a band that at this point really only has thew previously mentioned single to their name (at least here in the US). But that did not matter to this crowd, all that mattered was the quality and freshness of their music.

Spaceland, Thursday, Feb 28 (With a Pause to mention their Echo show on the 27th.)

Today the small town of Montrose, known first as "Glendale's first suburb," hits the big 9-5, and the Founders Day Celebration is expected to be a big draw.

Colourmusic are the rarest of musical rarities- a band from the isolated hinter portions of America's Heartland (Also known as "The Sticks") that not only doesn't suck, but actually turns out to be pretty great. And not in that sort of special olympics, everyone's a winner, "well, they're good for [insert your tiny state here]" kind of way, but actually, honestly, for realsies good. Kind of like how The Flaming Lips are so good you're kind of surprised to find out they're from Norman, Oklahoma.

What Made Milwaukee Famous finish up their Los Angeles tour playing along with Tulsa and the British Sea Power/Colourmusic bill moves over to Spaceland. On the Westside, there's only one choice to make and that is hip-hop violinist Paul Dateh at the Temple Bar (check out our interview with him including video). Over in Little Tokyo, Vosotros is having a record release party at LAND for their new album featuring 12 bands. You can get the music free on iTunes via their podcast (search "vosotros the lazy susan" and click on the image)

Liquid Kitty's annual punk rock BBQs have been such a success, this Sunday they are hosting a special Winter BBQ. What better to chase away the rain than with colorful drinks and hard-core thrash? Some dogs on the grill? Done! And all for the low, low, price of FREE.

LA Weekly points us to some hot picks for tonight. About Girl in Coma: "Joan Jett knows a thing or two about rock & roll, and her latest protegees, Girl in a Coma, on her Blackheart label are one of the best and most interesting bands to come out of Texas in a long time," writes Falling James. They also play Alex's Bar in Long Beach tomorrow night. Also, Brian Wahl picks the "rare appearance" of Buddy Collette Big Band, who will be playing at the Terrace Court on the second level of Paseo Colorado at 8 p.m.

UPDATE, 12:10 P.M.: We forgot to remind you that Sia is playing this afternoon in Santa Monica for free. 2:00 p.m., Starbucks, random (see first bullet in Extra, Extra list).

In what can only be seen as a ratification of Mike Huckabee's belief that Satan actually exists, .

We've never been to the Celebrity Center for a concert, but we can vouch for Cowboy (not Country!) musician Dave Stamey if you're into that kind of thang. Still, for those inclined to roots music, The Arthur Adams Band will be at the Baked Potato in Studio City playing blues.