When you throw a Halloween party, you are limited by the space you are working in. You can plaster your home in fake spider webs, hang bats from the ceiling, and carve as many scary pumpkins as you want, but unless you have a really cool location, it’s hard to make the party memorable. Fortunately for Southern California Halloween adventure seekers, Mr. Johnny Love has a Master’s Degree in haunted festivity hosting.
Gang Gang Dance didn’t so much play individual songs for their set closing down Filter’s Culture Collide festival… They just sort of started with a breathy rolling feedback infused with lead singer Liz Bougatsos tubthumping a Native American hand drum intro to “Glass Jar.” Which is not only the opening track from their most recent pop/world album, Eye Contact, but a tribute to their late vocalist who was struck and killed by lightning a few years back. Liz then began to fill that void with an airy but piercing voice that sounded as if it were being piped in from a hash shop easily within range of a NATO drone strike. Synth after layer of ghostly white synth soon began to pile on top of an ever funkier pulsating drum beat. A drum whose passport sounded like it must have stamps from far away destinations the likes of Ivory Coast, Bangalore and Japan, via connecting flights from DUMBO. This melodic Tower of Babel built until the very last crash of a triumphant high hat scattered it abroad upon the face of the parking lot confounding the wrap-up Tweets of all in attendance. Yo tambien.
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When it comes to the melding of music and design, few have cultivated a more intriguing and appealing aesthetic than San Francisco artist Scott Hansen. As Tycho, the songs he composes are lush, deeply emotive pieces that shimmer and buzz with analog warmth; the soundtrack to a long drive up the coast at sunset. As ISO50, his bold, colorful design exudes a simple sophistication that’s both classic and futuristic. See him live—as we were able to this summer, backed by a new band setup—and you’re in for a complete sensory takeover. An unfortunate leak caused Ghostly International to bump up Tycho’s latest LP release by a month, which means Dive is now available for purchase from the label’s online store.
We got Scott on the line to talk about the new album, his artwork, and how both halves paint a picture of who he is at the core. We’re also giving away one of his amazing t-shirts to one lucky ChinaShopper. All you have to do is Like us on Facebook and post your best sunset or sunrise camera phone photo to our Wall, or follow us on Twitter and TwitPic your shot. Just use the hashtag #tychosun so we know to look for you. We’ll be taking submissions until midnight PST on Monday, October 31.
This weekend I dropped by a little kick-ass record store called Origami Vinyl in the Echo Park area of Los Angeles to see if they had a 12” copy of “Belvedere Cruisin.” Alas, poor Yankovic, they not know you well. Buuuuut, the two dapper chaps behind the counter talked me into sticking around for a slick ass group from Israel.
Electra, no not that awesome movie where Jennifer Garner is a super hot ninja, is an Israeli Garage Rock band with a smidgen of 60’s pop and a dollop of Rockabilly. The trio did a nice job of rattling the rafters high above the crowd in Origami’s magic rock attic. The jangly sound diving down from on high was at times reminiscent of The Beatles 12 string tracks of 64’ yet swayed as far left as Broken English. A damn fine show full of energy and somehow the right amount of trepidation.
I grabbed lead singer Nitzan Horesh for a couple of questions after the show.
SCREEEEeeeeeECH!!!, my tires squeal to a stop with what I hope is that cool reverse looking strobe effect you get on movies. “Holy shit! I gotta let you go there’s a clown outside,” I yell into the smog lit sky hoping enough of it would somehow bend around my face to terminate the conversation taking place inside that space age earwig The Man makes me wear whilst driving. It falls to the floor.
Real rock ‘n’ roll is visceral. It can grab you by the throat or it can grab you by the balls. If you’re lucky, it’ll do both at the same time. It’s emotional, accessible and honest, and like Danny and the Juniors professed way back in 1958, rock ‘n’ roll is here to stay, especially if Dead Sara have anything to say about it.
Following in the great tradition of LA rock juggernauts, this four-piece is fronted by 25-year-old Emily Armstrong (singer, sometimes guitarist) and 23-year-old Siouxsie Medley (guitarist, sometimes singer), both of whom have the power to levy crushing cranial blows with their respective instruments. Their self-titled debut is full of massive numbers like “Weatherman” and “Lemon Scent” (available below), but also dips into catchy pop territory with “We Are What You Say.” It’s a bold body of work, and the band is just getting warmed up.
After opening for Bush on a select group of September dates, Dead Sara came home to blow the doors off LA’s Viper Room. (You can check out our photo gallery for evidence, or if you happen to see Grace Slick around, you can ask her about it. She was there, too.) Check out our interview with Emily Armstrong after the jump.
It’s not every day that you get to see Incubus up close and personal, let alone on a rooftop with complimentary spicy whiskey, a taco bar, and a patio size Twister board game; we were fortunate enough to be invited to such a soiree. The event was part of 98.7 KYSR-FM’s Penthouse Concerts at the historic Hollywood Tower series.
While bouncing around and checking out live shows in Los Angeles, I caught wind of a School of Rock concert. It was explained to me as: “The house band from the School of Rock North Hollywood is performing and the kids are really good.” I have to admit, I was thinking middle school talent show and cute little kids playing off-key instruments but boy was I wrong…
Prestidigitation. It’s a five dollar word for magic, but when you’re surrounded by the opulence and tradition that is Hollywood’s famed Magic Castle, it’s precisely the word you’re looking for. Bryan Hollon, the artist known as Boom Bip, has invited ChinaShop into the hallowed halls of this labyrinthine establishment to discuss his latest album, the alliteratively alluring Zig Zaj.
Partly inspired by material mined in the Castle’s expansive downstairs library, it’s Hollon’s darkest and most aggressive collection of songs, but as you’ll read, this has more to do with age and geography than magic itself. A play off Zan Zig, the turn-of-the-century magician who famously pulled a rabbit out of a top hat, the album features a diverse group of guests, but the variation was a perfect compliment to Hollon’s decidedly more live and motley songwriting style. Less bedroom shoegazing, more late-night rehearsal room shenanigans. Franz Ferdinand’s Alex Kapranos lays a foreboding vocal on “Goodbye Lovers And Friends,” Luke Steele (of Empire of the Sun and Sleepy Jackson) guests on the raucous “New Order,” Neon Neon’s Cate Le Bon sings on “Do As I Do,” and the always unpredictable Money Mark helps turn “Manabozh” into the monster mash anthem of epic proportions. But it was Hollon’s collaborations with Josiah Steinbrick, Eric Gardner, and new Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer—as well as the inspiration gleaned from inside a little lockout in East Hollywood—that provides the most surprising reveal.
Our journey to see AWOLNATION perform at Jimmy Kimmel began with standing in an alley to check in for credentials as a herd of paparazzi perked up. Fans began losing their minds while yelling out: “Elijah, Elijahhhhhhhh.” Elijah Wood passed by and the whole ordeal was repeated when Jennifer Morrison, Kimmel’s other guest star, strutted by. A man clad in a snazzy white suit wearing the AWOLNATION helmet walked around and snapped pictures with fans. The drummer from Fishbone was spotted stumbling around as the area in front of the outdoor stage began filling up. It was typical Hollywood chaos.