Hoth Skywalker Tennis Shoes: Not recommended for escaping from Imperial Walkers on Hoth, but if only Luke had been wearing these snazzy Skywalker Tennis Shoes, he might have outwitted Vader and never had his arm severed. Then again if that had happened, we wouldn’t have had Solo frozen in carbonite for half of Jedi. Or Boba Fett being thrown into the Sarlacc Pitt. Or Ewoks. Read the full story
With an array of critically acclaimed albums under their belt, The Sounds were ready for a new challenge. When the Swedish rock quartet stepped into the studio to undertake their fourth full-length album, “Something To Die For,” they decided to tackle things on their own. The disc, which is said to be the band’s best endeavor yet, was not only produced entirely by The Sounds, but also written and recorded in their personal studio.
Since it’s April 2011 release, catching The Sounds live has been on the top of everyone’s ‘To Do’ list. It’s been 2 years since the band’s last United States tour and Americans couldn’t be happier with the newest material.
Prior to The Sound’s recent show in Los Angeles, ChinaShop caught up with Felix Rodriguez to discuss taking the plunge and recording on their own, international surfing, and drinking crappy coffee in American diners.
Ximena Sariñana is no stranger to the spotlight. The twenty five year old daughter of a screenwriting mother and director/producer father became a household name in Mexico after appearing in prominent films and telenovelas. After a successful childhood acting career, Sariñana set off to pursue her true passion of writing and performing songs. Her Latin music career quickly catalyzed, earning her placement on the Billboard Latin Album Chart and three Latin Grammy Nominations for Best New Artist, Best Alternative Song, and Producer of the Year. She was also the only Latin artist to appear on the iTunes Best 10 Albums of 2008 Chart.
Sariñana’s latest endeavor is her self-titled English solo debut, a record that has earned her the title of VH1’s “Latest You Oughta Know Artist.” SPIN Magazine included her in their list of “Best Albums of 2011…So Far,” and she’s been nominated for MTV Iggy’s 2011 Best New “Bands in The World Award.”
ChinaShop sat down with Sariñana prior to her Culture Collide Festival performance to discuss how badly Americans have been butchering the pronunciation of her name (Her official bio provides a vowel by vowel description: hi-MEN-a sa-rin-YAH-na). We also talked about her first band being called “Happy Un Birthday” as well as how her latest adventures in cooking have left her with several battle wounds.
Slow music week, sorry kiddies… Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell keeps busy despite his old band’s reunion… Rihanna has yet another one out, her third straight over the past 3 years…the reviews aren’t bad but not exactly stellar either… Yelawolf releases Radioactive, the culmination of years of mix tapes and collaborations… Nickelback if you like that sort of thing… and The Allman Brothers Band re-release two of their latter-day gems…
Nickelback - Here and Now
Asking Alexandria – Stepped Up and Scratched
Allman Bros. Band - Hittin the Note/One Way Out
Kate Bush - 50 Words for Snow
Mary J. Blige - My Life Part II…The Story Continues
Mariah Carey - The Profile
Behemoth - Demonica
Daughtry - Break the Spell
Aura Noir - Black Thrash Attack
Lady Gaga - Born this Way (remix)
Yelawolf - Radioactive
Chris Cornell - Songbook
Rihanna - Talk that Talk
This past Saturday the seminal band, The Pixies, played a little venue in Hollywood called the Music Box. If you are saying to yourself right now, “I didn’t even know the Pixies were playing”, you are not alone. They opened up tickets to their fans alone and sold out in minutes. It was a very cool way to gather the faithful to pay homage to these alt rock icons.
One of the most anticipated shows at this year’s Culture Collide Festival was the performance by Norway’s disco Viking, Lindstrom. A legend in his hometown, Peter Lindstrom had a unique rise to what many refer to as the founder of “space disco.” In an interview with ChinaShop, Lindstrom discusses how he went from a young lad who grew up listening to Johnny Cash and Hank Williams in the oil fields of Norway to a notorious dance music producer and record label owner. He also jokes about how his one Los Angeles mission was to try a sip of java from Intelligentsia Coffee, which was recommended to him by the staff of his favorite caffeine house in Oslo.
International graffiti artist duo HOW and NOSM have been beautifying the globe for over 23 years now, dodging bullets, and running from police dogs in the name of sharing their art. In this episode, the duo heads to a land where wall space is plentiful and cops are gentle. Video after the jump.
On Friday the air was ripe with the flavor of Rock n Roll at the one and only Viper Room on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood. ChinaShop presented its first official collaborative night with the venue and it was intoxicating. Skirts were short, the music was extraordinary, the give-a-way was quality and smiles were in abundance. If you missed it, I’m sad for you…
But you can relive the experience through the photos. With a little photo shop magic and some creative lies you could always insert yourself…or you could just come out to our next night Friday, January 13th.
Last night was history in the making as Red Bull MP Embassy brought three of the best live drum machine performers on the planet together for a one-of-a-kind showcase. Renowned drum controller music producers Araabmuzik, Jeremy Ellis and Party Supplies hit the Emerald City on the heels of a performance the night before in Portland. Through several “rounds,” the three kept the crowd at the Crocodile in awe with their display of beat creation and sheer rhythmic dexterity.
We’ve seen some dedicated fans arrive to venues early for concerts, but nothing like the scene outside The Wiltern for last week’s Anberlin show. It was two and a half hours prior to show time and the line wrapped around the venue twice! Sifting to the front of that to located the band’s tour manager was an adventure in itself and we were glad to be safely inside the venue and away from the masses come interview time.
When we finally caught up with Anberlin frontman Stephen Christian, he had just cooled off from being the brunt of a budding prank war between his touring mates in Atomic Tom. He had apparently done something to get on Atomic Tom’s bad side as the need for them to dump water all over his leather jacket and stage ready hair was a necessary measure. “I’m not sure how I’m planning to retaliate but rest assured, it’s going to happen,” says Christian.
During our sit down chat with Christian, he explains why you shouldn’t listen to Anberlin while lying on the beach with a bottle of wine, that he always loses when gambling, and that a tour in Singapore comes with a necessity for bodyguards.