Best Indie Music Venues in The City of Angels

Here's the list of good places: The Echo (its sister venue Spaceland used to be the best when I lived next door in Silver Lake, but it's under new management, so I don't know what the deal is now), Troubadour, Bootleg Theatre and Fais Do-Do (once in a while). Catch neat indie bands like Datarock from Norway (pictured) plus odd entertaining underground music that you won't see anywhere else, such as Gil Mantera embedded below. As a bonus, here's also a list of 10 good hipster bars in Silver Lake worth checking out for a beer before or after the show, personal favs are Red Lion and Cha Cha Lounge, not on the list but also really good are Hyperion Tavern and El Cid.  

Indie Bands Join Up With Real Estate Moguls in Hollywood

Two industries in hard times, the music industry and the real estate industry, have found a new creative way to work together in Hollywood: Free "intimate rooftop shows." The first one is hosted by KYSR-FM and offered as a perk to every resident at very nice newly renovated Hollywood Tower and La Belle. So if you can afford $1907 for a studio, you can get an 'all access pass' upon move in, which allows you plus a guest to attend all of the uber exclusive shows. Now isn't that a better perk than granite countertops? Past shows include Incubus, Florence and the Machine, and Broken Bells. Via Hollywood Patch. 

Live Tip - The Phenomenal Handclap Band

NPR: "The Phenomenal Handclap Band makes music that’s as sprawling and unwieldy as its name: To watch the group on stage is to witness what seems like several bands at once. With eight members — from hipsters and beautiful women to long-haired rockers and what look like everyday office workers — the group has been painstakingly engineered to generate a big, bold sensory overload. Fortunately, its sound is outrageously danceable, fusing grimy funk with cooing disco, retro rock and sweet pop. The Phenomenal Handclap Band was the subject of breathless buzz well before its self-titled debut came out this month, and its live show makes it easy to see and hear why." Sounds like a band you would wanna see live, right? Be at The Echo on Wednesday. It seems like their material is a little uneven, but if they have more songs like the one below, it should be well worth the price of the ticket...

Don't miss Stellastarr, Gil Mantera & Grand Buffet

Three of my favorite live bands are dropping by SoCal in the next month and I highly recommend getting tickets. The first one of the videos below is the best known know - Stellastarr - which plays Spaceland on December 5th. The second one is playing Spaceland as well (November 14th). I have blogged about them before, Gil Mantera's Party Dream, the crazy brothers from Ohio whose over-the-top live shows and updated channeling of 1980s synth-pop à la Tears for Fears is highly, eeh, entertaining? The third one if Grand Buffet, is a hip-hop duo from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (pictured above), which have toured several times with notable artists such as Gil Mantera's Party Dream, Sage Francis, Of Montreal, Cex, Sole, Magnolia Electric Co., Streetlight Manifesto, and the late Wesley Willis. They are playing at the Groove of Anaheim on November 15th.

Hollywood ArtWalk Monday October 26

Hollywood Artwalk seems like a cool event tomorrow, Oct. 26. If you're in town, check it out. Thanks for the heads-up Nicole @ Fabric Interactive.

Spärhusen - A Swedish Spinal Tap?

The second episode of Spärhusen, a spinoff from the IKEA sponsored web series Easy To Assemble, is now online. It's a Spinal Tap for the web about the almost great band of Sweden. It features Keanu Reeves and the band can actually play. I took the picture above at the Easy To Assemble premiere the other week.

The Founder of "New Age" Music?

ISOS is one of the original founders of "New Age" music according to his website, which he describes is targeted to those who "cherish Beauty and prefer Love, Happiness, & Ecstasy." Is this guy is the real deal? Check out that smile, the jacket, the piece of art pinned up on the wall - someone cast him in a web-tv show already! I'll write the script. I promise it will be better than Love Guru, which is not saying much, but still.

Is Social Media the New Punk Rock?

The stylish video below compares social media to punk rock. It's an interesting analogy, but I agree to with one of the comments on the YouTube clip which goes as follows: "Social Media is more Hip Hop than punk, because it has evolved from its early rap roots it is changing but still harks back to older forms of communication or 'samples'. Either way comparing Social Media to punk, Hip Hop or any other musical genre just sounds a bit wanky to me and for the sake of videos like this Social Media is fast becoming just another fucking ace marketing tool." But music genres aside, I think the real lesson in comparing the two is that what we're really talking about is authenticity and the ability to listen to, and acknowledge, your audience. I think that there is nothing wrong with marketing, as long as it's done right, but it so often isn't, which is why punks and other rebelled against it. Social media has actually made it possible for big media companies and other businesses, and even governments, to become more "real" and actually participate in a conversation and listen. But if they try to use social media like mass-media to do in-you-face branding and push product, then they're missing the point and the opportunity becomes a threat. So listen up. BTW, I'm born 1976, so I missed the boat on the punk movement. But I'm really into Hip Hop. Check out some of my earlier posts for Hip Hop artists successfully using social media to communicate with their audience and build up a community of fans.

She Wants Revenge at The Echo on Thursday

For those of you who are staying in town over Independence Day weekend, don't miss She Wants Revenge at The Echo. I'm going to try to make it for sure!