Radio Free Silver Lake

Video Free Silver Lake (Nightmail, The Hectors, Kurt Vile, Brass Bed, Charles Ramsey)

By Kathryn Pinto

1. Nightmail “Pulsar”
Nightmail (fka Spero) looks over their collective shoulder at 1980’s analog synth pop just long enough to pick up on the good memories (and not long enough to be turned to salt by what they have seen). Everything in these arrangements is in remarkable balance. It’s easy to say that it sounds great because the guitar and keys are weighted, but that ignores a pretty great bass line in “Pulsar” to say nothing of the vocals (or drums). The video, like the sound has a nice big open feel. It doesn’t feel restrained, it feels expansive and big and cool.
Nightmail play Thursday May 16 at El Cid.

2. The Hectors  “Her Dark Majesty”
Back when MTV played music videos, at its best each song on the channel had its own little three minute art movie. A favorite band took on a adventure in a new setting for each new single. The Hectors’ videos embrace that spirit completely. The latest one for “Her Dark Majesty” does not disappoint. This video has everything: time travel, green screen footage of battling knights, cameos of nearly everyone who has shared a stage with the Hectors--Jake Breakup (Gideon), Andy Clay People (Siara), Hunter “FTO FTW” Curra--including a pantsless shot of Hectors guitarist Robert Bonilla and Fieron Santos as a lovelorn warrior.
The Hectors play the Silverlake Lounge Thursday May 16, as part of the United Ghosts residency.

 

Video Free Silver Lake with Simon Cardoza of Cardoza

While Video Jed is away getting some much-needed R&R, Simon Cardoza of Cardoza is this week’s guest for Video Free Silver Lake. Cardoza is known to many as a longtime photographer of the eastside music scene, but about a year ago he launched his own band Cardoza. Cardoza (the band) have played at the Central SAPC, Casey’s and Lot 1. You can check out their demo EP on Soundcloud.

By Simon Cardoza

Friend Needs Help
Part 1: Today is Your Lucky Day

Friend Needs Help is a four part web series I wrote and directed a few years back. I wanted to see if I could write comedy so I created this series. Many of the actors are friends from local Silver Lake bands and most of the music used was local bands. Manhattan Murder Mystery’s “Smoky Mountain” is the theme song for the series. This is the first episode.

Video Free Silver Lake: New & Upcoming (The Hectors, The Lonely Wild, Brass Bed, The Little Ones)

By Kathryn Pinto

While Video Jed is on an indefinite hiatus to do some lawyering, sing karaoke and finally meet a nice Jewish girl, fans of his column are taking over VFSL one week at a time as guest columnists in tribute to his tireless work for this site. This week it is my great honor to bring you four videos from bands that I love that have new and upcoming releases.

The Hectors
“Episodes” from Her Dark Majesty (Tarantism) Out now
Record Release show Friday April 5 at The Satellite

Beautiful, intensely distorted guitar rock with vocals from a front woman who can outscore you on a math test, then beat you down in the schoolyard.  The Hectors are the perennial sleeper hit of the Los Angeles independent music scene. They release excellent albums, then drop out of sight for months at a time until the next round of songs is ready to work out live. The precedents for these guys are something like ‘90’s K Records, the Olympia sound, and bands like the Spinanes, Velocity Girl and Racetrack.

 

Brass Bed
“Please Don't Go” The Secret Will Keep You (Crossbill) Out April 23

The Secret Will Keep You is an exquisite album. The latest from the Lafayette, Louisiana band who draws us in like a tractor beam with the intensity of their live show. These tracks on their latest record are equal parts atmospherics, pop hooks and distorted guitar. The band tells me that in Lafayette people go out to shows to dance, to drink, and hang with friends. Music comes in at fourth place at best. Brass Bed creates this work in a context where a band—in songwriting and performance---has to be completely compelling to command any attention from the audience.

Video Free Silver Lake: Five Songs with Son Ark

Son Ark's new single "Clementine" has been on repeat play over here at RFSL HQ  since we caught the band at the Bootleg last week sounding great live. The LA folk-rock  six piece is working on their first full-length album The Land of Smoke,  and they have an active indie go-go campaign through March 4 to raise funds to cover production costs of recording, mixing & mastering and pressing the record and CD. This week we pass the Video Free Silver Lake baton over to Son Ark, to tell us about some of their favorite and most influential music. Listen: Son Ark "Clementine"

By Son Ark

1. Bjork - Human Behaviour

This is one of the first videos I remember watching all the way through and in a way, the first video that got me into music videos in general. Also, it happens to be directed by Michel Gondry, who would go on to be one of my favorite film-makers. I love this because it's sort of a scratch each others back sort of deal; both artists have grown to become extremely successful in their own rights (possibly because of this collaboration). This is the kind of relationship that always proves to be beneficial for both parties and should continue to happen into the vast beyond. -Robin Harris (Vocals/guitar)

 

Video Free Silver Lake: Five Songs with Bikos

When we talked to Bikos about their show at the Smell to benefit Sounds for the Cause we also got a chance to ask them about the music that shaped them--music they wanted to share with our readers. As bandleader Gabe Pearlman put it,  "I decided to highlight life-changing music that each of the members of bikos first shared with me and/or otherwise call to my mind."

By Gabriel Pearlman (of Bikos)

Austin Wester, Drums.
DJ Shadow - Building Steam with a Grain of Salt
"...I'm a student of the drum, and I'm also a teacher of the drums too"

When Austin and I were 17 years old, we were participated in a statewide youth program called Youth & Government. We were in Sacramento lounging in the lobby of our group's hotel and Austin, who I at that point didn't know all that well turned to me, took his disc man headphones off and said "dude, you gotta hear this" and put the headphones on me. DJ Shadow's album Endtroducing, was just beginning. I had never heard anything like it.

 

 

Daniel Hur, Lead Guitar.
The Mountain Goats - Cubs in Five
"...and I will love you again"

Video Free Silver Lake: 1/2/13

2) Hunter Hunted - "End of the World" [Official Music Video]

Just wanted to share a little "End of the World" fun with you from the new Los Angeles band Hunter Hunted.....KCRW has just started spinning them, and they'll be headlining at the Troubadour in Los Angeles on February 12th.....this is just a precursor - hoping the Mayans were wrong.... 

3) Retro Stefson - Glow (Official Video)

Video Free Silver Lake: Christmas Spectacular 2012

By Jed

 

I'm shocked to realize that this is my FOURTH Christmas Spectacular for Video Free Silver Lake, and still hardly a repeated video! Hopefully these following videos will entertain and inform. To all a belated happy Hanukah, a Merry Christmas and a Gleðileg Jól!  

 

1) I discovered (though facebook) a contest put on by an Icelandic charity that involved inviting various Icelandic businesses to record their own Christmas song and video (typically either a cover of already existing Christmas song or a conversion of a non-Christmas song into a Christmas song). While I thought all 15 of the submissions were delightful, one of my Icelandic friends to whom I showed some of these videos found them to be "God Awful." Enjoy one of my favorite submissions by Tryggingamiðstöðin (I have no clue what they do). The song is "Höldum við jól" (I believe it translates to "We are thinking about Christmas"), and it's an Icelandic version of the Bee-Gees' "How Deep is Your Love?" It is heartwarming.  Although I may have detected a bizarre reference to Jews somewhere in the middle of the song...

2) Unrelated to the contested, the Icelandic variety show Hljóskálinn released a delightful Icelandic cover of "Little Drummer Boy" (a la David Bowie and Bing Crosby) performed by Unnsteinn Manuel Stefánsson from Retro Stefson and Sigtryggur Baldursson, the drummer from the Sugarcubes.   The cover is called "Klukkan tifar."

Video Free Silver Lake: Young Hunting, Ólöf Arnalds,Valdimar

By Jed

1) Melted Mixtapes presents a new video from L.A.'s Young Hunting for the sweet new song "Sweet Bird", filmed on the roof of Syrup Loft in Los Angeles's Garment District this past August. According to the band "[a] couple on a nearby rooftop was slow-dancing while we played...Sadly the cameras didn't catch it, but it happened!" I'm slow dancing with myself as I watch this video for the first time.

Melted Mixtapes: Young Hunting - Sweet Bird from MeltedMixtapes on Vimeo.

Video Free Silver Lake: Haim, Julia Holter, Sin Fant

By Jed

1) Given that the sisters Haim seems to be exploding onto the world musical stage these days (recently signed by Columbia Records), my opportunity to feature them as an up and coming LA based band is probably limited.  For better or for worse, their basketball themed new video for their new song "Don't Save Me" lives up to the high standards set by their 3 song EP.  

Here's a video of Haim playing their smash single "Forever" at Iceland Airwaves 2012:

Video Free Silver Lake: Local Natives and Sykur

By Jed

1) One of the most successful bands native to the local L.A. scene, The Local Natives, have released a new video for "Breakers", off of their upcoming January 29 (US) release. The video features the band, among other things, moving in reverse. They'll be playing on January 28 at the Fonda Theatre and January 29 at the El Rey Theatre. Unless you somehow acquire an early copy, you'll have between 1 and 0 days to learn all the words to the songs on the album in preparation for the show. 

2) Sykur's video for "Curling" came out 7 months ago, but I was unaware at the time. Based on my experience with Icelandic live music, Sykur is the band most likely to be brought out at 2:00 a.m., to make sure everybody keeps on dancing through 3 or 4. Last year, the lead singer (the girl with the purple hair) led a crowd of tourists through the streets of Reykjavik to the final afterparty of the festival.

Email me at RFSLjed at gmail dot com to get your band's video on Video Free Silver Lake NEXT WEEK!!!!