REMINDER
Matt & Kim @ El Rey Thu Aug 27 (tonight!)

Interview with Matt from Matt and Kim
By The Experience Gallery

They only intended to play in the privacy of their own bedroom until a friend made them play in front of others. They have since developed a reputation for putting on energy-packed live shows that get everyone on their feet and bouncing to the music. We caught up with Matt on the road heading towards Los Angeles for tonight’s show at the El Rey and their first appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live in support of Grand, their second album released earlier this year.

Hi, how are you?

I’m good.

Do you prefer performing in smaller venues or larger ones?

I think there is something about both that makes it desirable to go back and forth. You play a festival where thousands of people are there you have a certain energy there; where there are so many people cheering and singing. But it is difficult to see a person in the mix. It becomes more abstract. Whereas you play a small show where there are less than 500 people there you start picking out faces and seeing individual reactions. It is a different sort of feeling. You kind of want to do both and we are in the position to do that right now.

You have so much energy on stage and you don’t need a lot of space. Even your “Daylight” music video has you playing in a small space. How do you bring so much energy wherever you play?

»continue reading Losanjealous Interview: Matt from Matt and Kim

HEADS UP
Daryl Hall & John Oates: Up Close and Personal Tour @ Nokia Theater
Wed Sep 2
Daryl Hall & John Oates @ Morongo Casino Resort and Spa
Fri Sep 11

A few weeks back, John Oates played an Agoura Hills nightclub with a pair of local Upright Citizen’s Brigade girls. We gave you an interview tease at that time. Now that Oates is set to return to town with Daryl Hall, the pair of them with a comprehensive boxed set release looming on the horizon (74 tracks, 16 of which are previously unreleased; four discs, more than 40 years of material on seven different labels), we’re pleased to finally publish the full transcript of that conversation. Below, find candid insights regarding Michael Jackson, American roots music, probably-drug-addled 1970s music videos, nude photo shoots, mustaches, beards, emus, alpacas, and the aging process. Ladies and gentlemen, John Oates.

John! Timely question first. I know that you guys were involved with USA for Africa, and I was wondering if you could talk to me about your interaction with Michael Jackson, or if you have any favorite Michael Jackson moments.

USA for Africa and “We Are The World”… that evening was pretty special, you know, and it’s already been documented so many times, and so accurately. What I recall about it is that Michael was pretty retiring; he didn’t assert himself very much during that thing. I think he left it up to Quincy Jones to kind of run things, and he was very quiet, and he did his thing. He really wasn’t making his presence felt in terms of being the frontman, so to speak; it was more Lionel Richie and Quincy Jones. But Michael came to a bunch of Hall and Oates shows when we’d play in LA. And I remember one time he came backstage in the dressing room after the show, and he said, in that little squeaky voice, you know, he said (chuckles) “Oh, I like to dance to ‘No Can Do’ in front of my mirror, in my bedroom…”

(Ryan is laughing.)

…which I thought was pretty cool.

No arguments.

Needless to say, I think the groove affected him. He liked the groove of that song.

»continue reading John Oates: The Losanjealous Interview: “The Mustache is Not Me, and I’m Not the Mustache…”

HEADS UP
George Thorogood & The Destroyers w/Jonny Lang @ The Greek Sun July 26

Destroyers frontman George Thorogood, acutely aware of his place in the pantheon of rock and blues, has at various times in the past likened his musical output to a car dealership and a cheeseburger franchise, arguing that the business is thriving because all customers still get a quality cheeseburger (and/or car) at the end of the day. George and The Destroyers will play hits, catalog standards and songs from the new album The Dirty Dozen, which drops on Capitol/EMI this coming Tuesday, July 28, at the Greek this evening. George will also stop by Guitar Center tomorrow evening for a free story-and-song session sponsored by Gibson guitars.

George! How are you?

Bad. I’m bad.

Some things never change. So you’re playing the Greek on Sunday. I just read in the LA Times that it’s one of your favorite venues here in town.

We’re playing on Mick Jagger’s birthday. And…we’re going to invite him. I don’t know if he’s going to show up, but the invitation’s out there. (laughter in background)

Are you going to give him some sort of shout-out, on stage?

I might. You never know. This is the entertainment capitol of the world, you know. You never know who’s going to turn up. I did a thing at the House of Blues, and Bruce Willis and John Goodman poked their head in to say “Hi.” It was pretty cool. Another time I was working there and my wife came in and said, “You know who wants to meet you out there? Johnny Rivers.” Los Angeles. It’s a cool place to work, you know what I mean? You never know who’s out there checking your ass out, so you gotta hunker down.

You’ve just played two nights with Jonny Lang on this tour. How did those dates go?

So far so good. I knew there weren’t going to be any disappointments with Jonny Lang; he’s a first-rate entertainer in his own right, you know? In my mind he’s really just starting his career. He was no flash-in-a-pan, but he was attention-grabbing when he started. As far as him maturing into what it is he’s going to be, if he chooses to have a lengthy career, I think he’s coming into it now.

Ok, enough formalities. I want to get an answer now to a question I’ve had for years regarding your take on “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer.” You basically tack an extended play onto the front of the song. Long before the guy ever goes inside a bar, the protagonist is running around, hustling, dodging the rent lady. Where’d you get the idea for this, sort of, dodgy character avoiding paying his rent?

»continue reading George Thorogood: The Losanjealous Interview: “You’re Going To Have To Legalize Dope And Tax It.”

You There! WIN ONE OF OUR GRAND PRIZE PACKAGES at the end of this article! What you’ll get: a SIGNED Forbidden Zone (remastered! in color!) DVD, a SIGNED Forbidden Zone poster and tickets to the screening of your choice this weekend at the Egyptian. Contest ends end of day Thursday (7/16).

HEADS UP AND SHRUNKEN
Richard Elfman’s Modern Vampires & Shrunken Heads @ Egyptian Theatre Fri Jul 17
Richard Elfman’s Forbidden Zone @ Egyptian Theatre Sat Jul 18

As previously mentioned, three contemporary classic Richard Elfman films will be screened by American Cinematheque at the Egyptian this weekend: Modern Vampires (”Uncut and fucking scandalous!” in the director’s own words) and Shrunken Heads Friday; Forbidden Zone on Saturday. Q&A and special guests both nights. We speak today with director Richard Elfman about the film Modern Vampires.

Richard, thanks for joining us. First off: Why the name change from Revenant to Modern Vampires? (I like both titles.)

I like both titles too. People didn’t know what “Revenant” meant. Shrunken Heads was originally “The Call of Mr. Sumatra.” Distributors changed that name.

Without giving too much away, you tackle a host of social issues in this film, which might ultimately be seen as an updated take on the classic vampire story. You’ve got abusive trailer park stepfathers, interspecies gang rape, crack-smoking vampire hunters, racist vampires, fascist-paranoid van helsingisms, and bisexual and lesbien acceptance among vampires to name but a few. With all of these issues packed into the film, what was the most important point you hoped to address in the film?

»continue reading Richard Elfman on Modern Vampires and This Weekend’s American Cinematheque Retrospective: The Losanjealous Q&A

HEADS UP
John Oates w/Special Guests Garfunkel & Oates (Female UCB Comedy Songwriting Duo) @ The Canyon Club, Agoura Hills Sat Jul 11

Hang on – two girls from the UCB who call themselves Garfunkel and Oates are opening for John Oates in Agoura? How exactly did this happen again? In Oates’ own words:

They are amazing. I’ve seen them on the web, but never seen them live. We have a little surprise planned…

I discovered them on the web, emailed them, and said, “Hey, you guys are amazing! I’m going to play the Canyon Club, do you want to come out and open for me?

We’ll have an extended conversation with solo artist John Oates, one half of the bestselling rock duo Hall and Oates, hitting the site soon. Stick around.

» John Oates’ 1000 Miles of Life is out now
» Garfunkel and Oates (official site)

Today we chat with legendary bassist and Yes founding member Chris Squire about his upcoming 2009 summer tour with Asia, Rock Band The Game, Six Flags, Bobby Fischer and much more.

Tough questions first. You had leg surgery back in February, which cancelled the remaining dates of the Yes tour at that time. After you recovered, we got the announcement of the tour with Asia taking place this summer. And now, most recently, we have an announcement that Jon Anderson will be apparently touring, solo, over in Europe this summer. Here’s the big question I’m reading on a lot of message boards: Is this an indication of you guys finally saying, “I don’t know if we’re going to be able to all tour at the same time” ? Or what’s going on, here?

When you say he’s touring Europe, I think he’s going on vacation to Paris, and he’s just doing a couple of odd shows here and there, just keeping his foot in the water (what do I mean?)…just him and acoustic guitar, from what I know, so it’s not really like he’s touring.

Actually he’s announced nine or ten dates as of now.

Oh, he has? I didn’t even know about any of that. I got the impression he was just doing some odd casual shows. Like, I believe he did one up in the central coast last weekend, actually. Just kind of impromptu appearance in a bar, with his guitar, sounds like that’s what it is. But, I don’t know. (laughs) Enlighten me; if there’s more of a tour going on, I don’t know about it.

The YesWorld website has finally added a link to his tour dates underneath your tour dates, so it definitely looks like two different tours going on this summer. Thus all the chatter.

Oh, ok. Yeah. Well, as I’ve said, as far as I know, he’s just keeping his hand in really, I suppose, while he’s still in recovery.

It sounds like you guys are happy with the lineup that you have right now. What do you say to sort of placate the people that are worried that you have the “Jon understudy” (Benoit) and Oliver Wakeman instead of Rick (Oliver’s father – ed) out there? Or do you not even worry about any of that, and just go out there.

»continue reading Chris Squire of Yes: The Losanjealous Interview

I’m happy to report the smashing success of The Bird and The Bee, Haim, The Damn Sons, and [Post-foetus] at the Tricot Showroom. The Fire Marshall almost shut it down, but FMLY came to the rescue. Out of respect to FMLY members Cameron Rath and Cody Silberfein, I wave my awkward pre-show experience walking up and down the winding staircase, wristbands, everybody wait outside, form two lines on the side, keep this middle area clear, one hour delay thing to just say thank you. Fuck the paddy wagon, rock the house.

I learned about FMLY that evening, described by Gray on the staircase as “a music collective, an art collective, basically throws shows, dedicates itself to bringing music back into prominence and is for the people.” Anonymous people found this show through your own Losanjealous, LA Weekly, KCRW, The Onion, Santa Monica something or other, The Bird and The Bee MySpace page, and THEFMLY.COM. The mostly under 21 audience came to honor their local band favorites, not necessarily The Bird and The Bee. Elijah said of Haim, “They’re very good. They’re like a girl pop band with testicles.” Most people to whom I spoke said that they’re REALLY good. Someone else said he did not know much about the Bird and The Bee, that he had one of their albums, “the, um, laser one” (Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future), and he was there to support [Post-foetus]. “I don’t really know them that well. I don’t really know them,” said another.

The next thing I knew, I was striking up a rapport with Serena of Serena Interiors. We discussed her Eastern positive outlook, meditation, new journeys… and then we were friends. This is something that happens at FMLY events, but how was I to know.

Inside, I appreciated the large loft Tricot: loud as hell, bricks for walls, open bar left, juice cage right, and up front, everyone around a ground level stage. The Tricot slowly filled with people. I tried to find out the name of the first band. No one knew it was [Post-foetus]. I noticed a Macbook Pro running noises and keyboard drops, a cellist with three guitar pedals near her chair, drums, two guitarists, a bassist, and front man Will Wiesenfeld. This singer, writer and recordist performed syncopated hand claps while uttering primal screams and chants over the six piece accompaniment.

I caught up with him after his set:

»continue reading The Bird and The Bee, Haim, The Damn Sons, and [Post-foetus] at the Tricot Showroom, March 14, 2009

[Note: Following last week's conversation with Aziz, Lindsay's piece is the second installment of our apparent Human Giant trifecta. Keep your eyes peeled for next month's steamy Rob Huebel pictorial. -ed]

After spending well over ten years as an active member in the crazy, mostly unstable, world of comedy it would be almost expected for many people to lose that childlike wonder and enthusiasm that we all start off with. It’s easy for some comedians to become jaded or even bitter after years of trying to make people laugh. I’m sure you know the type of people I’m talking about. You might know them. You may even be them. Now imagine the exact opposite of that, and you will find someone resembling Paul Scheer.

I met the comedian, writer and producer for coffee in the trendy Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles on a sunny December day, and didn’t know exactly what to expect. I had, of course, done my research, and have been a fan of his commentary on VH1’s Best Week Ever along with his zany loveable characters on MTV’s Human Giant and multiple other film and television cameos, but had no idea how to prepare for Paul Scheer, the guy I was meeting for coffee on a random day.
»continue reading Interview: Paul Scheer (Human Giant)

Rising pop star Aziz Ansari hits Largo this weekend (see: Pick of the Week) for his Glow In The Dark tour. We speak with him briefly in two languages today.

Aziz. You “won” the second best Los Angeles concert of 2008 on our site for a 20-minute set at the Orpheum last summer. Question. Why didn’t you win top honors? (Where did the failure occur?) Discuss.

Clearly, Radiohead had a few fans who were more adept at having robots vote for them over and over. I hope that Radiohead’s scheme to beat me left a huge carbon footprint. The fans know who really won.

Describe if you will your songwriting process.
»continue reading Ten Random Questions For Aziz Ansari

December 8, 2008 would have been Jim Morrison’s 65th birthday, had he lived. To celebrate, KLOS threw a massive party at Barney’s Beanery, one of Jim’s favorite bars in West Hollywood. Prior to this party I found myself sitting at the dining table of the Doors’ suite in the Pali House hotel down the block. Robby Krieger and Ray Manzarek – aka THE DOORS – were sitting on the other side of said table. So what do they make of this birthday party? What might they have given Jim for his birthday? What would they be doing on this night, were he still alive? What do they think of Barney’s Beanery: The Franchise? And who’ll be the first to bring up Obama? Read on.

Ok, guys. What can you tell me about the Beanery between 1967 and 1970?

Robby: It didn’t change much between those years, you know, it was kind of a sawdust-on-the-floor type of place. They had pool tables, right?

Ray: Yeah.

Robby: Pool tables, you go in there and shoot pool, hang out, and generally waste time.

Ray: “A place where a man can go to waste time.”

I don’t think that’s changed.

Ray: I mean that place has been the same since the ’30s. It was a writer’s bar, kind of a writer’s intellectual bar, great assortment of whiskey behind the bar, great assortment of beer, beer on tap, lots of beer. Ed Kienholz, in the early ’60s, did a construction of Barney’s Beanery; it was fabulous. It was just a great place to hang out and very conducive to talk! It was a place where a man could go and have a drink and talk to another guy. And then the girls started coming too, which was kinda cool. Women started to come in. But before that, I don’t know.

Robby: Did they have a jukebox?

»continue reading Exclusive: A Chat With The Doors And A Stroll to Barney’s Beanery on Jim Morrison’s 65th Birthday

Nic’s out, Jason’s in. Oh, and Garth’s back! The next KCRW saga officially begins December 1, 2008. So does Jason have an agenda yet? A grand scheme? Devious plans to turn the station into a gigantic conglomeration sponsored by Ableton Live? Time to head down to Venice, grab a coffee and squeeze in a few words. Meet Your New KCRW Music Director Jason Bentley!

First off, congratulations.

Thank you.

Now I’ll go ahead and ask the question that’s on everybody’s mind. What’s the first record you’re going to play on Morning Becomes Eclectic? There’s an over/under of sorts on whether or not it’s going to be something electronic.

I’ve been thinking about playing a song off the Crash soundtrack by Mark Isham. Such a great soundtrack. I’ve also been thinking about playing a track by Johan Johannson’s latest album Fordlandia. I really want to kind of flip the switch.

Do you have a general idea as to what the shift in your audience looks like? I’m guessing considerably larger post-NPR crowd in the mornings. (note self, might have been prudent to actually procure applicable segment and reach #s prior to venturing down to Venice for coffee this morning)

»continue reading Exclusive: Getting To Know Jason Bentley, Your New KCRW Music Director

Storytelling songwriter David Berman occasionally draws on afternoons and is known in some circles as a fêted contemporary poet, probably letting 1,000 poems collect dust under his floorboards.

In an interview by mail, we can’t really talk nonchalantly about weather with the man behind Silver Jews, but we can approach the weather as a writing exercise—blending deep or analytical questions with phrasing you might answer on a “What primary color are you?” test.

Are the musician and the writer and the artist in you, roommates, neighbors, family or friends?

They are in some ways all strangers to my day to day self. I am always standing behind them and can’t see their faces….

Does your approach to making music take the same type of architecture as working with words?

Music in western rock and country doesn’t get written so much as blocked out.
There is no comparison between the recombination of a handful of guitar chords and the systems of language.

If your music had a landscape, what would it be?

»continue reading Electronic Correspondence with David Berman of Silver Jews

An Invitation, by Inara George and Van Dyke Parks, is a truly welcoming and rewarding album. Since she’s performing songs from the album at Largo this weekend, today we quiz Inara on some of the subtleties of its lyrics, and ask her to share the joy of collaborating with one of modern music’s greats.

The arrangement of the songs definitely has the feel of a musical. The album even has an overture. Was musical theatre a big inspiration for the songs?

I wouldn’t say musical theatre…but definitely musicals… as a kid I loved watching film musicals with Gene Kelly, Judy Garland, Jane Powell etc… as well as some of the Disney cartoons. Sleepy Beauty was a favorite of mine.
»continue reading Interview: Inara George on An Invitation

What’s the music on your answering machine?

I’m playing “Swanee River” on the harmonica.

I wondered whether you were playing it or holding something recorded next to the machine.

People complain that when it hits the high note it gets kind of piercing. But I think I just put the phone down. I’ve never once left an answering machine message where I talked on it. My whole life it’s been some little music that I played on some weird instrument.

What are some of the good ones?

Well, I’m not sure that any of them are really considerable good. I try to keep them really short. Usually it’s a tune. I can’t play that many things on the harmonica. I had “Popeye” on there once. I maybe recorded something before and put it on there, some teeny little ditty. But I hate the sound of my speaking voice so there’s no way I would ever talk into it.

It’s not bad at all. You could be an operator. It sounds pretty clear.

It’s disconcerting. Something about it. It’s like hearing your spirit animal. It really kind of scares me. It’s disconcerting how similar it is to my sister’s voice. I talk to her all the time and then I hear my own voice and I’m like, wow, it sounds almost identical.

What do you think your spirit animal is?

»continue reading Dogs & Drums: A Chat With Janet Weiss of Quasi

Those Thomas Guides work well when you’re trying to wend your way through LA, but they sure aren’t as pretty as the Los Angeles typographical map designed by Jenny Beorkrem, founder of Ork Posters. “It is a poster, and less so a map,” Beorkrem says.

What began as a small-scale project of turning her homebase, Chicago, into a map for her own walls has turned into a popular way to show city pride for urbanites throughout the country. Beorkrem has also designed typographical maps of Brooklyn, Manhattan, Boston, and San Francisco. Then came Los Angeles.

“Every Ork poster is restricted to city limits, but with the case of LA I decided to include the separate cities that were wholly within the LA city limits for aesthetic reasons,” explained Beorkrem, “to avoid a bunch of holes in the design.” And even with the inclusion of cities such as Culver City and Beverly Hills closing up the gaps, there’s still a long tail of city heading from South Los Angeles to San Pedro. “The shape of the city in and of itself is pretty, well I guess goofy.” And it’s difficult to disagree.

So how did Beorkrem determine the boundaries of LA neighborhoods and separate cities surrounded by LA? »continue reading Typography/Topography: Ork Posters Tackles Los Angeles

Wanda Jackson, Live in 2007. Photo by the author.

“We do need a girl…” type of thinking got Wanda Jackson on tour with Elvis in 1955, where he convinced her to play rockabilly, and gave her his ring.

Wanda already stood out from the country scene, coming out of Oklahoma, glamming up the cowboy look with long earrings, silk fringe, and black hair.

As rockabilly carved a dance party out of country and blues, Wanda Jackson became the first female rocker, the first woman to growl and squeal and shake this new kind of music and culture into existence.

This past weekend, she played her yearly show at the Knitting Factory, at age 70, making history and spreading a little gospel.

The following conversation takes place in her hotel room, sifting through newspaper clippings and photos, which her husband brings everywhere they go, just in case.

Wendell (Wanda’s husband): Thought.

Wanda: What?

Wendell: Thought, would it be good to dedicate “I Saw the Light” to Janis Joplin? Or is that a little morbid? …Janice Mar-, uh…

Wanda: You said it right.

Wendell: Martin. I said Joplin.

Wanda: Oh! Janis Joplin! I was thinking Martin.

Wendell: Anyways, I thought. Okay?

Wanda [To Daiana]: Have you heard of Janis Martin? Rockabilly girl singer from my era. Her one big hit was “My Boy Elvis.” Some of the rock and roll people know her. The kids. I say kids, I mean young adults.

D: Do your fans surprise you?
»continue reading A Hotel Room Chat with Wanda Jackson, First Lady of Rock N’ Roll

In late 2002 I stumbled into the downtown Palace Theatre in Los Angeles for a 72-hour punk rock and shock film festival titled “Shock-o-Rama a Go-Go”. With a very liberal “bring your own booze and sleeping bag” policy, the festival featured all-night-and-all-day films, performances by bands such as the Nervous Return and 400 Blows, and general creepiness – all within the confines of the lovely (albeit rotting) Broadway district theatre. The highlight for me was a screening of The Forbidden Zone, a cult film by Richard Elfman starring Herve Villechaize as King Fausto, with Richard’s brother Danny Elfman playing the devil. (Richard, if you did not know, is the original founder of the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo.) The screening was followed by a Q&A with the director himself. Six years later, The Forbidden Zone has now been restored, the sound remastered and the film colorized. It will screen at the Egyptian on Wednesday, July 30, again with a Q&A with the director, and we’re stoked to give you the chance to win tickets to the screening at the end of this article. But first, a few brief questions with Richard regarding his film, his legacy, and Los Angeles.

I caught you and the film at a 72-hour punk festival back in 2002. What’s the kookiest place or festival you’ve ever personally attended a Forbidden Zone screening – any good stories? What should or shouldn’t we expect at the Egyptian?

Modesty and gentlemanly discretion prohibit me from discussing that particular night in 2002. In terms of the Egyptian screeing July 30, not much happening. Naked beauty-pageant mud-wrestling begins at 5 pm. Then unlimited free drinks for an hour while my brother Danny jams with Paul McCartney and Sting. Then the ritual slaughtering of the of the boars, subsequent barbecue and demented mass orgy dance. And then the screening begins at 8pm. (Susan Tyrrell, Matthew Bright, animator John Muto and other cast and crew will be joining us.) After the screening, we will all sit and relax, as we enjoy a reading of Homer’s Ulysses (in the original Greek), followed by a reading of James Joyce’s Ulysses. And then we can have a wonderful discussion about the two Ulysses. Hopefully it will all be over before the following night’s screening!

The parts I’ve seen in color look great. What was the primary impetus for colorizing (and remastering) the film?
»continue reading Delving Into Richard Elfman’s Brightly-Colored Forbidden Zone

Not many people will ever use the phrase “Overconvergent Siegel Modular Symbols” in a sentence, but that’s one thing that makes Dr. Daniel Snaith, the mastermind behind Caribou, who happens to have a Ph.D. in number theory, a one-of-a-kind neat dude you might take underwear shopping while casually dissecting the essence of reality. Here, all the questions planned regarding favorite foods and Beach Boys were soon forgotten, and instead we slipped into the mud and spent some time digging wormy abstractions.

I have never seen you live and the videos on your MySpace page don’t work. Every one I pressed was sorry no longer available. I took it as a sign that I wasn’t going to watch any Youtube videos. What is the audience like at your show?

We get all sorts of stuff actually, from standing and staring kind of serious music nerd crowd, which I can’t complain about because I definitely am a serious music nerd probably if you saw me in the audience. We also get wild hippie dancing, people on acid and other kind of drugs, and I love those people too. Then we get, in the UK especially, severely drunk people who are more into participating by yelling stuff out and getting right up there in your face, which I also quite like. I can see the appeal to watching a kind of show like ours in any of those ways, just standing back and listening, or I’m always definitely pleased when people get into it or are a little drunk or inebriated in some way or another.

Aside from the visual projections, I read that you change the way songs are presented when you play them live with the band as opposed to when you record by yourself. What’s different?

The main thing people would notice is the intensity. Some of the songs we stick quite closely to the arrangement on the record. But even if we think we’re playing them like the record, the fact that there are two drum kits bashing away, lots of live dynamic in the instruments on stage, makes it a more in your face, aggressive, more visceral experience than listening to the record, which is maybe more subdued, more laid back sounding. We can make a big wall of sound and make a lot of noise up there. A lot of the songs tend to extend and go into big psychedelic jammed out sections, and evolve as we tour, so things head in that direction.

»continue reading Musical & Mathematical Abstractions… and Table Tennis: A Rap Session with Daniel Snaith of Caribou

A little over a week ago, at the Silent Movie Theater in the Fairfax District, I and a bunch of local artsy musician types were glued to the screen, watching the most recent Dublab short film festival, “Labrat Matinee V: Daytime Goes Dark.” After seeing thirty or so pretty good shorts and music videos (featuring, among others, Michael Cera, Flight of the Conchords, Charlyne Yi, Daedelus, Laura Palmer’s mom, Ariel Pink, and John Malkovich being interviewed and simultaneously bathed by Craig Bierko), I somehow corralled Cinefamily honcho and cinematic curator Hadrian Belove away from his buddy Billy Zane (loved you in Orlando!) and into my journalistic clutches.

What exactly is Cinefamily?
»continue reading Interview: Hadrian Belove of The Cinefamily

The Giraffes
Interview and photos by Brian Romero – March, 23 2008

You guys are about halfway through your cross-country tour, how’s it going so far?

Damien: So you’re lobbing softballs huh?
»continue reading Interview: The Giraffes