More than halfway through the journey towards 10 covers from 10 years in 10 days and Tokyo Police Club is holding strong. The sixth day brings us their rendition of Phoenix’s “Long Distance Call” (2006) and some violin magic from Ray Suen of Mariachi El Bronx.
Most of the bands at this year’s Sunset Strip Music Festival were of a Los Angeles origin, but Whiskey Six made the trek out from Phoenix. The band, which consists of Chriskey Strickler on lead vocals/guitar, Dave Lansing on guitar, Raf Garcia on bass, and Matt Indes on drums, is known for avoiding corporate rock and taking a raw and gritty approach to the music scene; they combine a dose of hard rock and metal while sneaking in elements of the blues.
Whiskey Six was all over The Sunset Strip this past weekend and hard to miss – Chriskey with his signature southern locks, Dan in a skull and crossbones cowboy hat, Raf sporting a Batman t-shirt, and Matt towering in height over many a festival goer. After chatting with the guys, sharing beers, and shooting some fun photos along Sunset Blvd, we decided they were the perfect candidates to involve in a social experiment.
There was no doubt an endless array of talent at this year’s Sunset Strip Music Festival, however, the line up erred on the uneven side. There were extremely established bands like Motley Crue, Bush, Public Enemy, and Buckcherry, and a plethora of up and coming rock bands – not much in between. In order to bridge the gap of the generations, we brought Whiskey Six backstage to pick the brains of Josh Todd, Keith Nelson, and Jimmy Ashhurst from Buckcherry.
Each Whiskey Six-er came armed with a question and a cowboy hat. Introductions were made and the games began. The conversation included everything from Kobe Bryant to driving around in a smelly van but all questions were answered, new friends were made (aww) and everyone left happy.
Today’s bloggin’ best…
- Check out the new XXXChange powered track by Bloc Party singer Kele Okereke, “Tenderoni.” Pitchfork
- Phoenix performs acoustic in the rain on the Spin rooftop. Spin
- New Lupe Fiasco video, “I’m Beaming.” MissInfo
- The guy in The Flaming Lips who does heroin is hospitalized. Palm Beach Post
- Theophilus London new mixtape, I Want You. Hypebeast
- RZA announces Liquid Swords 2. URB
It’s Sunday, the closing day of the festival. People stagger through the Coachella grounds with forced bravado and as much cheerfulness as they can muster, but stop anywhere and you’ll hear one of any of the following: “I’m tired,’ “I’m so exhausted,” “I just want to go home,” “You okay dude? Get up, this isn’t funny,” etc. They’re trying to stay conscious for what will later prove to be one of the biggest shows of the entire 3-day package — an hour long performance by France’s Phoenix. I thought the crowd at MGMT’s show was huge; truth be told, they had nothing on these guys. Nobody did.
Today’s bloggin best…
- Outkast’s Big Boi finally sets a release date for Sir Lucious Left Foot. NME
- Finally some real Daft Punk movie music. Prefix
- The xx remixes Yacht. DFA Records
- Sophia Coppola baby daddy to score her new film (it’s Thomas from Phoenix). Pitchfork
- Steve Jobs really hates pr0n. Sends perverts to Google. Wired
-Legendary MC Guru passes away. MTV
- B.O.B. hangs with Jay Electronica. 2DopeBoyz
- Behind-the-Scenes with Plastikman at Coachella. URB
Today’s bloggin best…
- Flying Lotus replaces Thom Yorke leak with a flash player. URB
- Massive Attack kick off major film project for Heligoland. Dazed Digital
- Punks jump up, throw out back! Dr. Martens turns 50. Format Mag
- More LCD Soundsystem behind-the-scenes video. Fader
- Asher Roth’s manager arrested for tween endangerment. SOHH
- Noel Gallagher talks about getting his ass kicked onstage. Billboard
- Gogol Bordello is giving away a free song. GogolBordello
- And Phoenix is giving away and entire live album. WeArePhoenix