Go to Rooftop Bar @ The Standare Hotel: Overly expensive, but what do you expect from a place like The Standard … http://whrrl.com/u/4BX1

Rockin’ out with Jess to @audio_jack (@ The Church (First Methodist Church) 600 6th St, Los Angeles, 90021) http://whrrl.com/e/hMrei

Having a great time at king king with jess. @darinepsilon and @TorinSchmitt amongst the happy rockers!

Go to Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery (Long Beach, CA): Monthly beer is the “Silver Mullett” ESB and it’s … http://whrrl.com/u/3LHx

The weekly with Netty, Jessica and Chris. (@ Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery 1 Pine Ave, Long Beach) http://whrrl.com/e/hLEnv

Nestled in the heart of downtown San Pedro, the San Pedro Brewery sits in between shops, restaurants and small clubs. Having the average selection of micro brews, the Brewery presents a small stage in the heart of the bar for local bands in the area to perform. On Friday, June 13th, the Brewery hosted Sean Lane & the Hellhounds & Somehow Still Alive to keep the bar rocking until the early morning hours.

Starting off the evening, the Hell Hounds brought a blues infused, rockabilly style sound to open it for my
local friends, Somehow Still Alive. The Hellhounds started out soulful and bluesy, getting the bar crowd bobbing their heads and tapping their feet to some of their soulful original tunes.

After about an hour, the Hellhounds ended their set after getting the bar warmed up for the main event! Around 11:45PM Somehow Still Alive started off their set with a bang, playing Frontline, my favorite track of their’s, early off in the set. The crowd was really responsive and you could feel the energy in the room. The guys played quite a few tracks off of their freshman release, Afterall as well as playing at least one new track I hadn’t heard throughout their set. By the end of their set the bar was up and arms and having a great time. All in all a great show although the bar’s stage was tiny in comparison to other hot spots for local talent in the area. Either way Somehow Still Alive put on a great performance and I am definitely looking to go see them again (maybe at a little bit bigger spot next time…).

Justin

*Pics to come soon.

Joe Geffen is a friend of mine and local DJ currently living in the Los Angeles area. He performs weekly on Faderwave.net at Midnight – 1:30AM every Sunday and writes regularly for both djforums.com and redplasticup.com. Here is Joe’s review of Daedelus’ “The Axe Murderation LP.”

/ —> The Daedelus Redox <—

Joe

I want to preface this review with a bit of an explanation. I really really enjoy the work of Daedelus; his work continues to defy the fringes of what most people consider music. That is, in fact, the quality about his work that I enjoy the most. You really have to open up one of his albums expecting a jolt to your musical tastes. And so, you can imagine my surprise to walk into a small Los Angeles “Club” on a lonely Tuesday night, to walk past a small table on which was placed all of the releases of this artist. This stopped me dead in my tracks; IDM being sold in a LA club?? And so I looked up to see what kind of person would sell this stuff in a location as juxtaposed as this only to see a very polite-looking man of his 20s smiling at me, dressed fancily in a rust-colored, winged tux jacket, complete with matching tie. “Wait,” I said. “Daedelus is playing tonight?” “Oh, I’m Daedelus, and yes, I’m playing tonight”, he says, and – suddenly – I start to encounter the gripping emotions of being star-struck. Situations like this – where one’s expectations keep getting defeated – lie at the very heart of this artist’s work. At first listen to Daedelus, many mainstream listeners hear nothing but metallic clamour – rightfully so, I might add, as that is essentially the bulk of the sound. But, whereas with other artists those words constitute a “death blow” with which I mean to send potential listeners away, the right people will know that this is, in this case, a major compliment. Because, out of the sounds of seemingly simple computer-gibberish, you’ll start to notice cohesion in the chaos. Behold, this is the artistry of a visionary. So, without much more introduction, this is the Redox of Daedelus, starting with some of his most abstract to his most crowd appealing. —> The Axe Murderation LP <— I got this particular release from Daedelus himself, and upon choosing it from the selection of discs layed out before me, he simply said, “Yeh, that one’s experimental.” And after saying that I can handle it and I’m into hearing new techniques in music production, he looked at me strangely and said that, no, seriously, it’s really experimental. I just dismissed the claim and didn’t think anything of it until I put the record on my turntable, and DAMN! In terms of pushing the limits of music, this MUST be the cutting edge. I feel like, for the most part, if computers could synthesize music themselves, this would be the result. And while several songs on here, are cacauphnous, there still exist several gems. Please note, before listening to these tracks, be sure you have areally good speaker system that can handle a lot of bass. Here are a few to check out: Phthalocyanine: shape axed from the backdrop of shape. Primarily a remix of rhythm and bass, expect to find the remnants of chopped breakbeats superimposed over a very eerie track. This is Aphex Twin on LSD… well, more LSD for that matter… Venetian Snares: girl/boy as performed by selkirk retard orchestra for the daughters of asexual lithium addicts. The title says it all. Personally, I would say it was performed by the children of Rubber Johnny. Check it out. Eight Frozen Modules: Cutes like an axe. This is one of the aforementioned tracks where you need a pretty good subwoofer to resolve the bass tones. The discordancy of the synthesizers in this track and effective use of a mixer’s pan functions really come together to make a cool track…. actually, does that make any sense? <— Live at the Low End Theory —> His newest album (released earlier this year [2008]) commemorates his performance at, you guessed it, the Low End Theory in L.A., and is possibly the best example of how IDM can be worked into the club scene. As with most of his other danceable tracks, these tracks are infested with 1/16 notes and so much energy that it makes my head want to explode. There are no particular tracks that really stick out in my mind because the overall performance was simply incredible. I can only imagine what it must have been like in the club with lots of subs pumping bass everywhere. A crowd pleaser and a must listen, for sure! <—Exquisite Corpse —> Published back in 2005, this was my introduction to Daedelus and is the probably the best way to delve into this guy’s work. Within the first few tracks, you get a really good idea of how this guy successfully transcends traditional music structure by overlaying multiple different time structues over each other. While you might at one point be listening to your usual 4×4 beat, other layers will be in 3×4. Be sure to listen to the track Impending Doom; it’s hip-hop over a beat that’s been cut-up into more pieces than the personality of Britney Spears. Following that is Just Briefly, which is an excellent conglomeration of a swinging, glitchy beat that has, once again, been fragmented. In typical Daedelus fashion, however, it comes together into a very quirky danceable track. Lastly, be sure to check out the collaborative track with Prefuse 73,Welcome Home.

04.24.08 Los Angeles, Music No Comments »

This article can originally be found on djforums.com & redplasticup.com.

So my friend Alex is in this band called Somehow Still Alive and they will be opening for Alien Ant Farm at the Pangea Music Festival in Hollywood Park. Normally I’m not into local bands because I see them the same way as I do when I meet another DJ; they’re a dime-a-dozen. However, with Somehow Still Alive, this wasn’t the case! After listening to their debut release, Afterall, I was totally convinced that these guys were not just legit, but fucking good!

The first thing that really hit me with this album was that it had that “Califonicated” sound in each of their songs, almost being laid back as opposed to very tight and gritty as is with most Rock/Metal bands. Like a combination of Nirvana, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Disturbed, the band has a very individual sound, something that had to be present for me to really give them, or any local talent for that matter, a chance. Now I am not much of a rocker, but I grew up listening to Rock, Punk and Metal bands. Being somewhat removed from the scene, I first expected to throw their CD in and hear another generic rock, metal, or punk band. To my surprise it didn’t have the screaming, overly loud drums or guitar, or those annoying mumbled vocals that sound as if the lead singer is chewing on the microphone.

From the first song, This Time Its Personal, the albums takes off running with a twangy lead guitar pushing out licks as the bass guitar echoes with a deep and dark bass line. Each track after the first has a bit of its own individuality from the last keeping the listening experience refreshing and flowing, making sure the song you just heard doesn’t sound like the one before it. Once you get to the title track, Afterall, you will be convinced these guys know how to write, play and truly rock! From start to finish Somehow Still Alive kept me entertained and eager to hear the next song up! If you have a chance, check these guys out, you will not be disappointed!

This is my favorite song of their debut: Frontline.

Below is the event flyer for the Pangea Music Festival. There is going to be 100 bands over the course of the day with 10 stages to entertain, providing many different styles of music! Tickets are available at Ticketmaster or from the bands directly. This is an all ages show so be prepared for young kids as well as the old rocker crowds. Food and Alcohol will be available at the venue and the event is sponsored by KROQ 106.7 FM, Los Angeles.