Lisa Johnson | ChinaShop

Featured Music Four Year Strong: Determined to Rise Above

November 14, 2011 - 12:07 pm

Chinashop decided to catch up with Four Year Strong as they headline the Alternative Press Fall Tour 2011 along with bands Gallows, Title Fight, The Swellers, and Sharks! The day, November 8, 2011, marks a milestone in the band’s career. It is the day of their latest album release, In Some Way, Shape or Form (Decaydance, Universal Motown). It’s also the most mature album to date for the Worcester, Massachusetts natives, and deals with issues during a transitional phase for the band who found themselves at the crossroads of their career, all the while sticking to their roots firmly planted in the hardcore scene.

Finding a cozy little nook in a public alley behind The Glass House in Pomona, Four Year Strong members Alan Day, Dan O’Connor, Joe Weiss, and Jake Massucco fill us in on some of the key tracks on the new album, and discuss what they’d do if time travel were possible.

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Music A Rock and Reality Intervention With Kill The Complex

by Nicole Pajer and Lisa Johnson

November 3, 2011 - 11:53 am

Kill The Complex might not be able to escape the wrath of being associated with Jersey Shore but it seems to be working for them. After having three different songs appear on the show over the last few years, fans of the Guido-centric train wreck are starting to recognize the band’s music, and not just in the US. In a recent interview with ChinaShop, Ted Barakat, Mike Elling, and Dann Saxton explain how their recent TV placements have earned them followers in countries as far away as Australia and how they are “so big in Israel and Denmark that it would blow your mind.” The guys also talk about transitioning from punk to more of a rock sound, their forthcoming acoustic album, and music being cheaper therapy than a shrink.

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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.

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Featured Gallery Music Punk Rock Mariachi: Mariachi El Bronx

by Lisa Johnson

August 4, 2011 - 9:01 am

Mariachi El Bronx celebrated the release of their second self-titled album at La Cita in downtown Los Angeles with a two night sold-out stand.

Taking on an artistic challenge, ChinaShopMag was there rockumenting with the aid of the Instagram app.

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Film Gallery The Electric Daisy Festival Film Sparks a Hollywood Riot (Sort of)

by Jeff Nau and Lisa Johnson

July 28, 2011 - 3:37 pm

The Electric Daisy Festival is quickly turning out to be the newest Coachella— a massive music extravaganza that has tapped the mainstream pulse of a nation’s youth, drawing in fans by more and more thousands each year.

But did you know it’s also likely to incite mass chaos and rioting in the streets – especially if those punk-ass raver kids ain’t happy?

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Featured Gallery Urban Exploration 10 Things About Vegas That Don’t Totally Suck

by Lisa Johnson

June 30, 2011 - 10:38 am

Have a love/hate relationship with Sin City? I know I do. So this is a list of all the wonderful things that don’t totally suck about Las Vegas.

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Featured Gallery Music Punk Rock Pool Party: Old Man Markley

by Lisa Johnson

June 22, 2011 - 9:00 am

One of the best things about Summertime is the abundance of pool parties. But if that pool party is in Las Vegas and Old Man Markley is playing, then it’s possibly the Best Pool Party Ever!

Iron Fist Clothing hosted the Punk Rock Pool Party and Bikini Contest at the Goldspike Hotel in Vegas, just off historic Freemont Street in Old Las Vegas. The pool area itself is classic mid-century motor inn, far from the shadow of the McHotels on the strip. Perfect for sunbathing! And an afternoon invasion from punks around the globe (including Canada and Australia!) which didn’t seem to bother the hotel staff one bit.

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Film Access All Areas: Foo Fighters with Director James Moll

by Lisa Johnson

June 10, 2011 - 12:51 pm

Foo Fighters: Back And Forth is released on DVD this week. If you’re a fan of music and a good story, then seeing Foo Fighters: Back And Forth is essential viewing. ChinaShopMag got to hang out with the film’s director James Moll on the Universal Lot where his office is tucked behind the legendary Phantom of The Opera soundstage (oh it’s legendary alright! And possibly haunted). Hearing him speak about the art of film, it’s clear that James Moll loves his job! Which is handy when you make movies for a living.

When he first started working on the lot, he told me he’d take his lunch up to the Psycho house on the hill and eat it sitting on the porch, watching the tourists roll by on the Studio Tram. It’s a lovely view from up there he tells me. Today on our impromptu walking tour of the Universal Studios lot, Moll is posing for photos in front of the CSI set on stage 24. A Tram rolls by, and they start snapping fervently perhaps mistaking the director for a star of the crime scene show. Moll is working on his EGOT, so far nailing a few Emmys and an Oscar. The former for Best Documentary Feature for The Last Days in 1999. EGOT stands for Emmy-Grammy-Oscar-Tony. Tracy Jordan has one on 30 Rock. If James Moll keeps it up, he’ll have his EGOT soon enough.

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Music THRICE – Required Listening

by Lisa Johnson

May 16, 2011 - 11:21 am

Entering the lounge at the Red Bull Studios, the scene is similar to an intense study hall. The air is hushed. Backpacks and piles of books and papers along with a half dozen guitars fill the couches and table tops. Sitting alone, with a guitar is in his lap and alternately scribbling over a pad of paper and laptop is Thrice singer Dustin Kensrue. He’s pressed for time to finish lyrics to the band’s as-yet-untitled new album set for a Fall 2011 release that the band is currently in the middle of recording at the state-of-the-art Red Bull Studios. At the helm is producer/engineer Dave Schiffman (Bayside, The Bronx, Avenged Sevenfold). The band are excited about the new album and getting back on the road.

This well respected quartet formed 13 years ago in 1998. On the dawn of a new era, this self-proclaimed “band of introverted artists” sat down with ChinaShopMag to spill the beans on the record, and what they plan to do on their summer vacation.

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Music Manchester Orchestra – The Dawn of a New Day

by Lisa Johnson

May 13, 2011 - 11:32 am

Following their stellar performance as part of the Red Bull Studios Sessions, Manchester Orchestra’s captain Andy Hull sat down with ChinaShopMag to discuss the band’s complex new album Simple Math and the joys of peaches. Andy Hull loves peaches so much that if you’re a fan of the band, he would greatly appreciate peaches on the road, or anything peach flavored or shaped. He loves them, so much, and would not stop talking about them (readers get the edited version of his ode to peaches here).

A young, complex man in a simple world, or maybe the other way around, Hull might say “weird” when he means “unconventional,” and “crazy” when he means “genius.” Either way, upon the release of Simple Math, the unconventionally talented genius known as Andy Hull will soon confirm the sweet smell of success is just peachy.

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