by Joe Fielder
We asked members of our staff and some of our favorite local acts which bands they thought that people should keep an eye out for in the new year.
Let's start with choices from RFSL's own Kathryn Pinto, Jackie Lam, Octavius, Jed, and Brad Roberts, then cover picks from folks from Seasons, Walking Sleep, Xu Xu Fang, The Lonely Wild, Manhattan Murder Mystery, The Hectors, Everest, The Western States Motel, The Deadly Syndrome, The Spires, Marvelous Toy, Signal Hill, The Californian, Shadow Shadow Shade, The Sweet Hurt, The French Semester, Big Whup, and Pizza!.
Kathryn Pinto
I have a confession here, I couldn’t stop at five best shows of the year, so my bands to look out for are the five best shows of the year by young bands in a small room.
The Lonely Wild - The Lonely Wild played at the first night of the Marvelous Toy residency at Labrie’s. They were fantastic, so good I went to see them two days later at the Redwood Bar and they were equally good. The cover of “Personal Jesus” is take no prisoners. You look at these fresh-faced kids and ask yourself, “where does all this country soul come from?”
Judson & Mary - If you’ve been around Echo Park or Silver Lake at all in the last year you’ve probably seen Judson & Mary, either playing a regular gig or busking outside a show. For their energy and ubiquity alone they’re one to watch, but they also have well-crafted songs and sweetness that will keep you rooting for them.
College Kids - College Kids is a new project from Malcom Sosa (of Rademacher) and Kim Haden (of Yellow Alex and the Feelings). They haven’t played many shows yet, but their debut set at the Radars to the Sky residency was something very special. The two had great chemistry and Kim Haden’s vocals and keyboards added some levity and effervescence to Sosa’s straight-ahead troubadour style. It was not only a great set, it was ripe with potential for more songs and a little tightening up the performance.
The Californian - I liked these guys from the first time I saw them play last spring. Then I had the chance to see them play every week for five weeks in a row at the Radio Free Silver Lake residency at Labrie’s and the love just grew. Not only does their surf -influenced rock sound great, but they are passionate about playing music. They’re also great guys to work with and super professional.
George Glass - RFSL Joel tipped us off to these guys. George Glass is Nick Ceglio and Pete DiBiasio from Death to Anders along with Nathan Kondor playing some very good man-cave rock that is sweetened by Nick’s vocal stylings. More than one RFSL contributor took a shine to this band, but my personal favorite show was the Pehrspace unofficial FYF Fest afterparty. In hunger and disgust, I left FYF before the headliners, hit up Taco Zone and headed over to Pehrspace where band and audience alike who had been following my tweets from FYF were glad to have a couple more music fans in the audience.
Jackie Lam
Gauntlet Hair - Besides getting a mention in Pitchfork for having one of the worst band names, this little-known musical duo from Denver has proved to be an elusive beast. But on tracks that can be found on the inter-Webs, with rangey vocals, dense textures, and robust, singular sound, indicate a band to surely keep an eye on. Unfortunately they cancelled the last leg of their tour this past fall, which included a stop in LA, and have not been seen on the indie music radar since. Last I checked they are working on a full-length, and you betcha bottom dollar this gal has her fingers crossed for a sooner than later release.
The Californian - After seeing them perform during their RFSL residency at LaBrie’s in November, their performance keeps getting stronger and there’s nothing like hearing their song, which are a perfect blend of ‘60s surfer rock and gritty grunge, live. The Californian are a testament to the monstrously good talent brewing amid the smog and hustle-bustle of our industry town.
Voxhaul Broadcast - I’m no crystal ball, but I have a sneaking suspicion that Voxhaul Broadcast’s first full-length album, Timing is Everything, is going to make major waves in the music scene. They’ve already built quite a local following with their massive amounts of radio play on KCRW, and if what I’ve heard so far on their EP is just a taste of what’s to come, then their future is bright and promising.
Octavius
Big Whup, Pizza!, The Happy Hollows (new album in February), Ariel Pink (cuz you know he’ll record another one soon), Captain Ahab (cuz every live show he does is amazing), and Allah Las.
Brad Roberts
These bands also performed strong sets during the year: The Californian, George Glass, Pepper Rabbit, Lord Huron, Judson & Mary, Modern Time Machines, and Birds and Batteries.
Jed
Who knows? I'm terrible at this sort of thing... Even though she is arguably already big, I'm waiting for Robyn to expand her fanbase beyond Pitchfork writers and gay men. I saw The Lonely Wild the other day at the RFSL Labrie's residency in support of Marvelous Toy. I'm a sucker for alt-country, it's true, but their cover of Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus", their great vocals (the girl sounded like Emmylou Harris! for real!) and otherwise very solid playing gave me a good feeling about these guys. Check them out in 2011!
John Graney – The Californian
Ok, so I missed the boat on this last year, but it was only a scheduling issue. I'm going to say the same thing I said last year. THE BEST BAND THAT EXISTS WITHIN LOS ANGELES CITY LIMITS IS ..... THE BELLE BRIGADE!!!! When their album finally drops it's going to flatten us all. Everyone in that band is a mad beautiful genius and they deserve the world domination they have coming to them.
Corrine Diner – The Hectors
Wait.Think.Fast. - I really love these guys, and they deservedly keep picking up more steam. Luces del Sur is a beautifully layered album, and I'm sure they'll top even this with their next release.
Matthew Teardrop – Manhattan Murder Mystery
I try not to ever miss Hello My Name is Red, M31 or Schoenberg Knife Fight Ensemble.
Everyone from The Lonely Wild
Andrew Carroll: Sarah from The Happy Hollows has been working on a solo record with Dave Newton. I'm eager to hear how much of a departure it will be from her Happy Hollows material.
Jenn Talesfore: Risers
Ryan Ross: The Branches - Bryan Harris from The Hanks' new band. "Game For Fools" is a really strong song.
Andrew Schneider: Wild Feathers - We played a show at the Bootleg Theater with these guys in November, and I was very impressed. However, I can't find any information on them online. They're a 5 piece, with 4 guys playing acoustic guitar and singing in beautiful harmony and the 5th man playing minimal percussion (shaker, washboard, etc.). They reminded me a lot of the acoustic side of My Morning Jacket, with a little more of a country/southern rock influence. Out of all the people and bands we shared bills with this year, Wild Feathers was, in my opinion, the hardest act to follow.
Our previous band-mates' bands: Escalator Hill and Tizoc Estrada
The Guys from Signal Hill
People Get Ready - Brooklyn NY, The Lights From Here - Los Angeles, CA (Brian is playing keyboards with them now!), and This Town Needs Guns - Oxford UK.
Bobby Tamkin – Xu Xu Fang
Xu Xu Fang took most of 2010 off to work on new songs for our new record. We recorded a cover of David Bowie's China Girl for a Bowie tribute record and also shot a video for it. So, look out for Xu Xu Fang in 2011 because we can't take another year off.
Jordan Huddock – Marvelous Toy
The Dig - For all the reasons stated in #4 of "Top shows of 2010."
Jason Bays – The Spires
I’ve had a sneak peak at the new Frankel record, that’s definitely one to look out for. The new Destroyer sounds like it’s gonna be pretty great also.
Jesse Hoy – The Deadly Syndrome
Can I say us? Because I hope people are always looking out for us. On top of that I hope that people are always finding us, and then thinking "Wow this is exactly what I was looking for."
Wendy Wang – The Sweet Hurt
Geof Geis – Big Whup, and Pizza!
Jon Barba (ex-Nicole Kidman) and Toe Jam
Riaz Tejani – The French Semester
The Happy Hollows - Everyone loves ‘em, but I’m talking Africa and India now!
Brian Canning – Shadow Shadow Shade
Big Search - I saw them last night, they were really incredible. I have also heard a song from Sarah Rayn's new project that I believe is going to be called Princess and I think it is going to be huge, reminds me of old motown.
Jason Soda – Everest
Wild Flag - Rocking, joyous, bad ass live music.
Aaron Lariviere - Walking Sleep
Ghost - Not to be confused with the Japanese psych band, these dudes are Swedish. If Blue Oyster Cult sung about Satan and soloed/harmonized like Wishbone Ash, you'd get something like Ghost. It's solid gold Satanic rock n' roll, and these guys have some serious hits on their hands. Honestly, this isn't even metal, they just embrace the image. With their debut album, Opus Eponymous, set to be reissued on Metal Blade in January, these dudes are gonna blow up right quick. Recommended to everyone, everywhere, except maybe devout Christians.
Johnny Seasons - Seasons
You should look out for Marvelous Toy! I got a preview of their new album "Not Moving" and it is the best music we have heard come out of LA in a long time! It is as refreshing as The Arcade Fire's "Funeral", The Walkmens "Bows and Arrows" and Bob Dylan's "The Times they are a Changin" were at the time of their release. They are the next band in LA who will reach a national audience.
Also.....Rebecca Coleman (formerly? of Avi Buffalo)has a band called "Pageants" that I haven't even heard yet.... BUT, I know her voice is amazing. AND, I loved "Family Blankets" when she was doing it. "Pageants" will be one to watch.
Posted by: octavius again | January 03, 2011 at 08:24 AM