Radio Free Silver Lake

We Don't Need No Stinking Festival: Marvelous Toy, Manhattan Murder Mystery Announce Weekend Shows

By Kathryn Pinto

(Updated 9:20 PM August 24)
Hitting back like a firm booty pinched one too many times at a rum-soaked Christmas party, Marvelous Toy, and Manhattan Murder Mystery announce rescheduled weekend shows. The Damselles are rescheduling, but have not confirmed a venue or time. The three bands were on the bill for the Sunset Junction Festival cancelled this morning when permits were denied by the City of Los Angeles.

Marvelous Toy is playing the R-Bar Saturday night at 9pm along with the Broken Numbers Band (Password for the R-Bar is Hello. I'm Johnny Cash.) for Boozapaloozacon. Origami Vinyl in Echo Park confirmed via their twitter feed that Manhattan Murder Mystery will play at the shop Sunday (and Barrio Tiger plays Saturday). Details about the shows and refunds for advance Sunset Junction tickets purchased at Origami Vinyl are coming soon.

Sunset Junction Festival Cancelled. Permit Denied.

By Kathryn Pinto

The Sunset Junction Festival scheduled for this weekend has been cancelled. The L.A. City Board of Public Works denied the festival's request for a permit in a unanimous vote.  Festival organizers failed to allay concerns of Silver Lake neighborhood groups or pay fees for city services in a timely manner, attempting an eleventh-hour maneuver with public requests for donations and a loan of funds from mega promoter Live Nation. For a more detailed explanation of this week's events see the Sunset Junction coverage at buzzbands.la.

As of this posting several excellent acts covered by this site are available to play this weekend, including Marvelous Toy, The Californian, Manhattan Murder Mystery, Shadow Shadow Shade, The Damselles, Olin and the Moon, among other more widely-known acts. According to buzzbands, promoters have been working to schedule makeup dates for the musical acts booked for the festival. Radio Free Silver Lake will keep you posted with these developments as we learn more.

New Releases from Bands We Love

By Kathryn Pinto

While I'm off curing cancer this week and letting demos and emails pile up, I thought I'd let you know about some bands who have new projects out now or soon to be released. Many of these are records we're going to review in the next few weeks, but why wait?

The Californian A Billion Grains of Sand: the new album is out soon from John Graney's modern surf rock dream project, but you can preview a free stream right now at their bandcamp page. (Disclosure: more than one RFSL staffer contributed to the Kickstarter project to fund the production of this record.)

Correatown Etch the Line: The review for this EP is next on my "to write" list. It's much poppier and more layered in the production that earlier Correatown work I've heard, and it's great stuff. Buy it on sexy seaglass blue vinyl. Catch the band Monday August 22 at the Echo, 9pm sharp.

Geoff Geis Princess: I saw the Pizza! and Big Whup frontman play some new material from this album at pehrspace a little while back. It was spastic Britney Spears meets David Byrne on acid doing performance art--and it was a really great show. We owe Geis a lot more ink on this one.

The Spires Curved Space:  Their new album isn't out for a little while yet, you'll have to go see their show at Lot 1 on Friday to hear the new stuff. Check out the excellent 2010 release Curved Space from the trio from Ventura.

Escalator Hill Poplar Avenue: This band impressed the hell out of us when they played the RFSL residency at the now defunct Labrie's with the Lonely Wild. You can see them live at Villians Tavern August 30 for the album release show.

Kissing Cousins Unfortunate End: We love this all-girl grunge band who could go mano a mano with Metallica at their best. Heather Heywood, Alexis Woodall, Amanda Paganini, & Beth Zeigler bring it.

Duniven I Have to Try for Her: Duniven sounded great at the Silverlake Lounge, four Mondays in a row which is no small accomplishment. Mr. Duniven transforms intensely personal love songs from the heart's impulse to on-your-feet rowdy dance-alongs that set the audience afire.

New Tracks, a Couple New Ways to Keep in Touch

By Kathryn Pinto

With all the new music coming out in the next couple of months, and all the great live shows coming up, we've added a couple of ways to bounce around the internet to keep up with Radio Free Silver Lake. Check out our new Sound Cloud page, and  then yeah we finally got around to adding a facebook page where you can like us. You know the drill.

Streaming over at Sound Cloud we've got a couple of tracks from the Californian from their soon to be released self-titled full length, two from Manhattan Murder Mystery's excellent recent release,  a song from the College Kids and one from  Rademacher's Baby Hawk (Part I of III)  that released today on bandcamp.

 

Radio Free Silver Lake Free Tuesdays with the Lonely Wild: the Aftermath

By Kathryn Pinto
About halfway into the second song of opening band Escalator Hill’s set, a feeling of alchemical perfection set in on the room at Labrie’s. A nice-sized crowd of friends, fans and supporters was filtering in, the sound mix was spot on and the everywhere you looked people were smiling. I had that ever-elusive feeling that we were getting something right. The Lonely Wild, who stole my musical heart forever when we first saw them play on that very stage back in December, owned the room. These kids are incredible songwriters with a live show that reaches down somewhere deep into your soul and doesn’t let go. Jessi Williams earned a special “grace under pressure” mention for stepping into the vocals part and making it her own. Wires in the Walls closed out the evening with high-spirited roots rock and a performance that just keeps on getting better every time I see them play. Kevin Bronson of buzzbands DJ’ed the best of the new material from L.A. bands between sets, and at the end of the night playing, “some really pretty songs that I want to hear on this big sound system.”

Happy Record Store Day!

By Kathryn Pinto
In the lead up to Record Store Day I was surprised by how many people I talked to had never heard of the celebration, and not just civilians, but bloggers and band guys. I wanted to write a story about the day and reflect on it with all the optimism and enthusiasm for local music that are at the core of Radio Free Silver Lake. With a heavy heart and a huge, ominous deadline looming large at the day job I gave away this plum assignment to Radio Free Silver Lake staff writers Jackie and Jed. RFSL Jackie wrote an RSD Low Down for the event detailing what the various Los Angeles record shops have planned, and today RFSL Jed takes on Record Store Day 101 for the benefit of the uninitiated.

If the music scene has something like soul surfers—people make music for the love and joy of making it—that’s who Radio Free Silver Lake was is here to write about, review and document. At its heart Record Store Day is a day for people who really love music to get together in real life.

The day is worth paying attention to not because it’s going to “save” the record business or even because it’s a chance to score a limited edition LP to sell on ebay, but because it reflects some larger trends in the music world. The music industry as a business got bloated—selling $19 CDs then suing its customer base when they started downloading—and then it started shrinking and dying slowly (for a great read on the topic, see Greg Kot's Ripped), while at the same time music as something that people play and record and see live and listen to is quite vital.

When a fan can download nearly any album imaginable via the internet, where is the place for physical records? If we don't need a physical product to hear these songs and if no one is buying CDs or records by the millions and no one is making any money off it, then what is going on in this places? Why are new stores like Origami Vinyl opening? (We Listen for You has a passionate and entertaining discussion of vinyl love on their soundcast.) Maybe the more that we fans can have nearly unlimited music collections, the more we miss something physical and finite. Record stores are equally important because they are places where you can meet up and talk to other people about music, disagree, get recommendations and geek out a little. Get out there today and get yourself some records.

Celebrate Record Store Day on Saturday, April 16th!

By Jackie Lam

In an age where cloud computing, in which you can listen to music or watch a movie on a shared digital space without having to own it, is on the horizon, and stealing music off your friends’ iPods is easier than baking brownies from a Betty Crocker mix, it’s a small wonder why record sales actually went up last year (by a whooping 14%). Perhaps because listening to an album still reigns supreme in a lot of ways. It’s an undisputed fact that because a record’s analog recording more closely resembles an audio wavelength, its sound quality is far superior than digital formats. Perhaps taking a record out of carefully designed cardboard sleeve, putting it on the turntable’s slender needle, and listening to an album in its entirety, is still considered a bit of a sacred act. Or perhaps it's because record collectors have the reputation of being more knowledgeable about music than the casual Pandora peruser. To own is to cherish, and to have a long-sought-after rarity or B-side is a testament to how hardcore a music fan one truly is. And we introverted audiophiles know there's nothing more enjoyable than spending a leisurely afternoon on your day off going through the aisles of your neighborhood record store. 

So what better way to support your local music retailer than dropping in this Saturday, April 16th to celebrate the 4th annual Record Store Day. Participating stores will be having

giveaways, special in-store performances, sales, and most will carry an exhaustive list of RSD
exclusives, which includes releases from our own indie darlings Manhattan Murder Mystery, and Dengue Fever, Akron Family, Blitzen Trapper, Built to Spill, Caribou, Deerhoof, Fleet Foxes, Lower Dens, Of Montreal, Pinback, The Flaming Lips, The Naked & Famous, Vivian Girls, Yeasayer, Bear in Heaven, Deerhunter, Panda Bear, and The Growlers. If you are seeking a particular exclusive, I highly recommend checking out the store's website or calling ahead of time. 

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 On the Eastside, Amoeba Records in Hollywood continues its tradition of celebrating RSD with a day chockful of festivities. They’ll be open at 10:30 am and all their exclusives will be kept behind their front counters. In addition to carrying a boatload of exclusives, from 11 am – 4 pm you can get a limited-run RSD t-shirt. Just make a sliding-scale donation of $5-$10 and receive a tee of your choosing. All donations will benefit Doctors Without Borders. There will also be special DJ sets from KCRW’s Henry Rollins and members of Fucked Up.

Origami Vinyl in Echo Park is the place to go if you want to see some fantastic bands play. This cutesy, intimate long corridor of a record store is just over two years young, and they’ll be opening shop bright and early at 10 am Saturday. The first 150 customers will receive a free Origami Vinyl/Altamont Tote Bag with purchase. Free in-stores include a surprise guest (2 pm), Nick T. from Islands (4 pm), Hanni El Khatib (6 pm), and The Growlers ( 8 pm). Plusthey'll be doing free giveways all day. 

Don’t forget to swing by Rockaway Records  in Silverlake as they will be having a massive storewide sale. RSD exclusive vinyl and CD music releases they have in stock includes special releases from The Beach Boys, Dengue Fever, The Velvet Underground, and The Beatles. In addition, they’ll be raffling off a signed Alice Cooper guitar and Rockaway gift certificates. No doubt there will be lots of free goodies from the music distributors and labels, such as buttons, stickers, records, and posters.

Vacation Vinyl on Vermont in Los Feliz will have DJ sets all day long, and a buttload of great exclusives. You can check their store blog for a more complete list.

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On the Westside, Record Surplus in Santa Monica is extending RSD to a three-day weekend blowout bonanza and extended hours from 11 am to 10 pm. Their massive sale will run from Friday to Sunday.  Select LPs, cassettes and VHS that are housed in their Attic section will be sold at three for a whooping .90 cents and all bargain bin CDs that are regularly marked at .90 cents will be reduced to .23 cents each. On top of that, your entire purchase will be discounted an additional 20% off. So for those who are anticipating an exhausting, jam-packed day of perusing sale bins, making a quick grab for the last copy of Lower Dens 7" exclusive,  I highly suggest starting your RSD celebration early and trekking over to Record Surplus on Friday. Although not an official participant of RSD, Angel City Books & Records in Santa Monica has a robust assortment of collectibles and rarities, and is worth a trip. 

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And for Valley denizens, RSD participants in my hometown of Burbank includes Backside Records. Backside will have hundreds of exclusive titles, DJ sets, and live bands performing all
day long. For a complete schedule of the lineup, please visit their website. In addition, ever item in the
store (sans items already for sale) will be 20% off.  They’ll have extended store hours and will be open from 9 am – 11 pm. If you're already in Burbank, swing by Atomic Records , which offers a bulk discount.
Pasadena peeps should check out the longstanding Penny Lane Records, where your entire purchase will be tax-free, and Canterbury Records, which is reputed to have an amazing vinyl collection, will be carrying a lot of exclusives. 

So have a field day and paint the town red by visiting your favorite mom and pop indie music shops.

Video Free Silver Lake: Jordan Hudock of Marvelous Toy (and the Henry Clay People)

This week Jed is riding all over the Valley on his bicycle delivering the LA Times. When he saw how much the Ticketmaster service charges were for Coachella tickets this year, he had to go out and get a paper route to cover his Visa bill--and this is a guy who pays no rent.

This week's guest columnist Jordan Hudock of Marvelous Toy (who play April 18 at the Satellite) told me you couldn't pay him to spend three days in the desert with a bunch of weekend warriors. Then somebody offered to pay him. His side project the Henry Clay People plays the festival Saturday at 1:00pm on the Mojave Stage.

By Jordan Hudock
1) I get a real kick out of watching the Walkmen play.  Lead singer Hamilton Leithauser is like a boxer when he sings... jumping around and gearing up for that next note he's gonna scream at the top of his lungs.  So I got a REAL kick out of watching them cover this Lindsay Buckingham classic... somewhere in the middle of watching the video, Christie Brinkley drove up next to me in a red Ferrari.

 

Show Spotlight: Marty Nation Benefit at the Satellite, Saturday April 2 at 7pm

By Kathryn Pinto

This Saturday at the Satellite is a benefit for old school punk pioneer Marty Nation who was injured in a near fatal motorcycle accident. This eclectic lineup is a little off the Radio Free Silver Lake beaten path, but we hope you'll come out and support this very worthy cause. For more information, see Marty's tumblr page. Featured acts include: Candye Kane, Julie Christensen (Stone Cupid, Divine Horseman, Leonard Cohen), Johnny Nation and City Fritter. The Ben Powell Band (featuring Candye’s son Evan Caleb on drums), The Vampowers with Peter Andrus, Stereo Blues with Tony Marisco, The Jill Sharpe Band, The Bloody Brains with Hermann Senac, Daniel Ash (Bauhaus) special DJ highlight. $15 suggested donation. All proceeeds benefit the Marty Nation Fund.

On the road to SXSW with John Graney of the Californian--Part 2

By John Graney

Friends, if I showed you all of the pictures of the Californian from yesterday and last night you would have us institutionalized, or call the cops, or lift us high above your shoulders and parade us through town as heroes.  But we don't have time for any of those things right now. Right now I have to tell you what happens when you attempt to drive a car in Austin, Texas during SXSW.  A crippling rage and a mind melting confusion that borders on lunacy.  That's what happens.  And that is precisely what happened to us for the first many hours of the day.

When our heads stopped spinning we rose from an underground parking lot to hear the foot thumping ass shaking sounds of Fitz & The Tantrums.  We followed said sounds, joined the crowd, thumped our feet, and shook our respective asses.  That band has such a big huge awesome sound it's incredible.  We only caught a few songs in the parking lot of Waterloo Records, but what we heard was rad.