Category Archives: Gallery

page 5 of 52 ←first … ←previous 3 4 5 6 7 next→ … last→

Featured Gallery Music HARD Haunted Mansion – The Biggest Halloween Party Not On Halloween

by Alexander Rose and E.M.S.
October 31, 2011 - 12:25 pm

If there wasn’t an age stipulation for going trick-or-treating, HARD Haunted Mansion might not have made it past the four-year mark. Having just completed a successful fourth installment to its steadily growing Halloween party, Los Angeles’ Shrine Exposition Hall played host to all the adults who want to satisfy their Halloween desires without risking the door-to-door candy gathering which would land them in jail. Look at it like this; HARD Haunted Mansion is like the house you always went to on Halloween who gave you full-sized candy bars from the big brands you actually liked.

Read the full story →

Featured Gallery Music Gang Gang Dance Makes Contact

by Dustin Downing
October 28, 2011 - 10:52 am

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.
Read the full story →

Featured Gallery Music The Peter Bjorn and John All You Can Eat Tour

by Nicole Pajer and E.M.S.
October 27, 2011 - 10:16 am

Playing a show or two in a city and them moving on to the next? Peter Bjorn and John have been there done that. When planning the “All You Can Eat” leg of the Gimme Some tour, the Swedish trio was looking for something more exciting to bring to their fans. Their solution? A stop in each city featuring a PBJ Gimme Some gallery exhibition, multiple performance dates, and food truck catered events where the band can hang with fans while they munch on a variety of dishes from mobile eateries. “Food trucks are the indie rock of food so having those on site was only fitting,” explains Björn Yttling.

Read the full story →

Gallery Music Ninja, Please: Amon Tobin, Eskmo and Emika hit LA

by Rich Thomas and E.M.S.
October 24, 2011 - 11:27 am

Confetti. Lots and lots of confetti, blowing out of two large air canisters like a paper orgasm at the end of a Super Bowl. Who’s the big winner? You are. The above photo was taken at the close of Amon Tobin’s (inter)stellar performance at the Music Box in L.A. on October 16. If you were fortunate enough to be in attendance, scraps of write paper most likely fell out of your shirt whilst you were changing into your jammies later that night. Maybe your hearing has returned. Maybe not. Depends on where you were standing and whether or not you brought earplugs to combat the onslaught of sound, courtesy of “Big Sam” and his Pure Filth system. Maybe you bought an Amon Tobin onesie for your friend’s newborn—they were on sale—or perhaps you went home and downloaded songs from opening acts Eskmo and Emika. The traveling circus known as Ninja Tune once again rolled through Southern California, transforming the eyes, ears and expectations of a healthy Sunday night crowd.

Read the full story →

Gallery Music Tycho: A Deep Dive into Art and Music

by Rich Thomas and Dustin Downing
October 21, 2011 - 8:30 am

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.

Read the full story →

Featured Gallery Music An International Cornucopia of Sound: Culture Collide

by Mike Bucher and Catie Laffoon
October 20, 2011 - 12:55 pm

It’s safe to say that one thing all cultures have in common is music. There is something intrinsic to the sonic vibrations of voice, instrument, and song that we as humans are universally drawn to. It is something that transcends culture or race. It is something we all share.

This October, Filter Magazine’s 2011 Culture Collide Festival lived up to it’s name, bringing together musicians from 23 countries to play on one stage right here in the heart of Los Angeles, and successfully creating an international cornucopia of sound.

We at ChinaShop can’t hardly wait until next year’s Culture Collide, adventure but in the meanwhile, we thought we would tie up this years event with a little bow by offering you some of our favorite photographs of the people that made this event so special.

Read the full story →

Featured Gallery Music Broken Heart Still Beating: The Darlings

by Nicole Pajer and Lisa Johnson
October 20, 2011 - 11:15 am

During their recent gig at The Roxy Theatre, The Darlings treated their audience to an impersonation of the creepy noise that the half-man/half-pigeon, which haunted them during a recent stay in Nevada City, uttered outside their hotel window. The fans seemed amused but had more fun singing along to their hit single “Broken Heart Still Beating.” Perhaps they needed the full story behind the eerie war cry, as we were lucky enough to be privy to.

In an interview with ChinaShop, the Los Angeles rockers told us all about this hybrid creature, which they decided had to be something worthy of a role on the X-Files. They also discussed their wide array of influences, bizarre childhood incidents involving mannequins, and their quest to bring real rock and roll back to the music scene.

Read the full story →

Featured Gallery Music Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (The Godfather-esque Interview)

by Nicole Pajer and Catie Laffoon
October 17, 2011 - 10:38 am

Alec Ounsworth and Sean Greenhalgh from Clap Your Hands Say Yeah joined us in the dining room at Taix French Restaurant for what the guys referred to as a “Godfather-esque” interview. We had our own private dining room complete with white linen tablecloths, cloth napkins, and an obnoxious amount of silverware. As Alec showed off his napkin folding skills, he told us all about his hobby of writing obscure children’s songs. Sean admitted to his obsessive self-Googling habits and the band joked about ridiculous photo shoots they’ve been wrangled into.

Read the full story →

Gallery Music Chico Mann and His One Mann Band

by Nicole Pajer and Catie Laffoon
October 17, 2011 - 10:25 am

Marquitos Garcia knows that it takes a special ear to appreciate an “obscure” genre like Afrobeat. While he welcomes a receptive audience, the Jersey-based one-man band, says he enjoys creating his groundbreaking Afrobeat/Afro-freestyle sound regardless of the crowd reaction. In an interview with ChinaShop, Garcia, aka Chico Mann jokes about not having time to gage audience reactions while he’s busy running the show on stage. He pokes fun at his alter ego, Chico Mann (Chico Maeng) and explains that he doesn’t take it too seriously. Garcia is all about the music, and thank goodness because he’s pretty damn good at it.

Read the full story →

Gallery Music Garage Rock in the Magic Attic: Electra at Origami Vinyl

by Dustin Downing
October 14, 2011 - 10:57 am

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.

Read the full story →

page 5 of 52 ←first … ←previous 3 4 5 6 7 next→ … last→