Radio Free Silver Lake

Album Review: EZ Tiger

By Jackie Lam

For word nerds such as myself, the word “cromulent” puzzles yet mystifies. A made-up term from The Simpsons, it means both respectable yet not respectable at all, and it’s one of those things you have to knock around in your head for a bit before figuring out how it works. And EZ Tiger’s self-titled debut works by the same machinations.  An LA-based all-female trio made up with lead singer and guitarist Tina DiGeorge, drummer Kristy McGinnis, and bassist Anna Rosales, EZ Tiger’s playful yet deliberately written songs are paradoxes: the tracks that are sweet and lush at certain points, and raw and driving at others. The album bears a potent energy that pops and soars yet never fizzles. It's a crafty blend of driving power pop and unadulterated rock, and hooks you in from the start. The first track, “Legend,” is a power pop ruckus that reels you in with DiGeorge’s crystalline vocals that glides over titillating guitar riffs, and an unnervingly good drum solo. “Dancing for Dimes” is another kicker, a post-punk rock anthem that squeals and kicks to no avail. “Last One In” really shows the band’s stylistic range, with DiGeorge’s vacillating inflections and the song swelling into a malaise of dense percussion before descending into calmer, more distilled waters.

Scott Bennett, Brian Wilson’s keyboardist and collaborator, took them under his wing and produced the album, and it’s apparent in its sterling, masterfully recorded tracks. While most debut albums are an amalgamation of disparate sounds, their influences nakedly apparent, EZ Tiger seems to spin their own brand of wool that is delicately cultivated.

 This album is full of flittering earworms and reeks of the band’s potential. These ladies could easily make any audiophile and indie rock connoisseur blush with anticipation, myself included. There’s intricate layers at work here, and it would take eons to dig to the core. EZ Tiger’s debut is like being 16 and taking a drive in your mom’s old clunker for the first time, anticipating an adventure, the road ahead, breathing in the promise of infinite possibilities.

 EZ Tiger’s album is out now and will be playing local shows in February and March. Check their site for more info.

 

Photography Show Friday by Jeff Koga, Laurie Scavo and Sterling Andrews

By Kathryn Pinto
Tomorrow night beginning at 8:00 PM Ballard's Framing in Echo Park presents a three person photography show spotlighting the work of Jeff Koga, Laurie Scavo and Sterling Andrews. If you know an image of a Silver Lake band, there's a very good chance the photograph was taken by one of these artists. You probably know these photos from web sites or music blogs, but this exhibition is a really great chance to see these phototgraphs presented as a body of work in a gallery setting.

The exhibition is RFSL contributor Laurie Scavo's first in Los Angeles and Koga's first show in more than a year. The show will feature new photos of Warpaint, The Henry Clay People, the Airborne Toxic Event, Silversun Pickups and more. The opening reception is a free event with in-store performances by the Parson Red Heads (in their last Los Angeles performance before decamping for Portland), Ferraby Lionheart and Special Guests.

This gallery exhibition opens Friday, September 24 and runs through October 16. The opening reception will take place Friday September 24 from 8:00pm to midnight. Ballard's Artwork Framing & Gallery is located in beautiful Echo Park next to the Gold Room at 1568 W. Sunset Blvd., Echo Park, CA 90026. For more information call (818) 468.5315 or visit www.ballardsartworkframing.com/.

Celebrate Record Store Day on Saturday, April 17th!

 
By Jackie Lam

As many of us have amassed our music collections by a simple click of a download button or stealthily ripping them off the Inter-web, the record shop has increasingly become something of a mythical creature, like a unicorn or dragon. It was a place where you could come across your next favorite band by picking up an album based purely on its name or off-beat cover art, and spend hours sampling new music at one of the listening stations. The record store, with its walls plastered with show posters and grisly guys huddled in the front, smoking and shooting the bull about the last best concert they went to, was the music lover’s haven. I can still remember heading over to D.B. Coopers, a small used music store in a strip mall near my high school in Burbank, and feeling a swell of excitement as I carefully flipped through the albums in their shiny, plastic casing.

This Saturday is the fourth annual Record Store Day, and there’s no better way to lend support and pay homage to the few music shops that still remain in town (RIP Aron’s and Rhino Records). With free in-store performances, sales, giveaways, and limited edition RSD releases  on vinyl and LPs from over 100 bands which include Everest, Beach House, Built to Spill, Of Montreal, Male Bonding and the Dum Dum Girls, Pavement, Wilco, Devo, Sea Wolf, and Deerhoof. What each store will carry may vary, so if in doubt, call ahead. Here’s what goodies the record shops in L.A. have lined up this year:

Coachella Line-Up Revealed

by Joe Fielder

So, what do you think? Are there enough reasons to drive out to the desert one day? (If so, which one?) Or all three? These are the questions each boy or girl must answer for his or herself... Public Image Limited makes Friday for me.

KXLU's Pledge Drive - Where'd you get that cool sweatshirt?

by Octavius

KXLU broadcasts from the beautiful cliffs above Playa Vista at Loyola Marymount University. When it started in 1957, it was one of only 15 stations in Los Angeles on the FM dial.

The radio station is entirely and completely funded by listeners with a dash of LMU money. It's completely run by students, alumni, and maybe a few dropouts and people that hung out till they got a spot. Most average around 23 years old.  Some DJ's are discovering their own musical tastes, as so many kids do at the age of 19; while others act as guru's of music history, with weekly theme shows covering specialty genres and time periods.

Yes at 5:59PM, you might hear The Jesus Lizard played back to back with a classical song.  and Yes, it is still the same radio station when it become Spanish Language programming every weekend during Alma Del Barrio from morning to sundown. ...and Yes, KXLU has been the location where so many  interviews and live performances have occurred from Nirvana, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, John Vanderslice, Beck, Beachwood Sparks, Deathcab for Cutie, The Faint, The Hi Fives, Kaito, Jurrassic 5, Money Mark, The Boredoms, Rilo Kiley, The Rapture, Sea Wolf, Irving, The Happy Hollows, Silversun Pickups, and probably every single local band you've ever liked (and I'm not exaggerating). This is just a list I compiled by looking at KXLU Live Volumes, most of which are out of print.  So much of the station's history is undocumented; yet it is such an important part of the Los Angeles music scene.