So What Do You Call This Scene We're In?

Mr. T's Bowl in Highland Park, CA. Photo by dirtyworldnews I had a conversation just last night about the so-called "Highland Park Music Scene." There is no denying that there is something special happening on the other side of the LA River in music - in the last few months especially. I don't know exactly to call this phenomenon and and it has been the root of many discussions usually ending in a stalemate. This scene seems to have found a home in venues such as Mr T's Bowl, Eagle Rock Lanes, and The Scene in Glendale. I like to think of it as the isle of mistfit toys - a group of bands, bloggers, and photographers who reside in the hills far from the Sunset Strip and even the uber cool neighborhood of Silverlake all bonding together over a love of rock n roll and mutual support. This is similar ideal that began with the Central Second Collective but in the last few months it seems to be taking on even bigger life of its own. Anyone want to take a stab at naming it? This Saturday 10 of the best bands from Highland Park will be performing behind Zeppelin Music at the Highland Park Music Festival. The day long event starts at 1pm and will include performances from The Monolators, Pizza!, Fol Chen, Downtown/Union, and Seasons to name a few. Admission is only $5 and All Ages. There will be live music, food, art, and poetry. Your donation ensures that this music scene is here to stay. I will be there all day long. Come out and hang! Highland Park Music Festival Saturday May 10th at Zeppelin Music In Highland Park 5030 York Blvd Los Angeles CA 90042 (Behind The Store) TIME: 1pm - 12 AM Performances by The Monolators Fol Chen Push Play Pizza! Box Violet Ghost Machinists Naima Earth Braille Downtown/Union ALL AGES | Only $5! There will be FOOD, ART, and POETRY as well! Sponsored By: Zeppelin Music, The Grasshopper, Future Music, The Amar Collective, Aztecs Liquor, and The City Of HLP!

Other Shows Worth Checking Out TONIGHT!

The Central Second Collective and Classical Geek Theatre present: Death to Anders Solar Powered People Fol Chen Layer (And DJ sets by The Squaregirls!) Friday May 9th, 2008. The Scene 9pm $5 ($3 list w/ RSVP on myspace) Pizza! at L'Keg Gallery in Echo Park with No Paws (No Lions). A.M. and Voice on Tape. The show is All Ages! Fri, May 9. No Paws (No Lions), A.M., Voice on Tape, Pizza! @ L’Keg. 1170 Glendale Blvd, 90026. $5. All Ages.

The Parson Red Heads - Owl and Timber

The Parson Red Heads (Los Angeles, CA) Tonight The Parson Red Heads will celebrate the release of their simply gorgeous new EP Owl and Timber. The Red Heads have really come into their own in the last year and have been getting a lot of national attention. It's hard to see why not considering how enjoyable their feel good psychedelic folk tunes are. Their latest 6 song offering is loaded with breathy vocals and wondrous harmonies, fantastic melodies and awesome guitars. I've been listening to it at work for the past week and must say it's been keeping me a little more sane. [MP3] The Parson Redhead - Crowds [MP3] Monahans - Low Pining [MP3] My Pet Saddle - Alaskan Sun The lineup tonight is super-stellar with performances from The Movies, up and coming LA indie band My Pet Saddle, and San Francisco's Monahans - who got some love and a strong recommendation from Inflight At Night this week. Admission is only $8 and 21yrs + WATCH VIDEO: The Movies - Missed Opportunities

Introducing The Voyeurs

The Voyeurs (South Bay, CA) I've known about The Voyeurs for quite some time now and have been waiting until I found the right time and the right words to talk about them. Today seems like the perfect day for such introductions. Most of you probably recognize them as former members of E>K>U>K and current side project Vaudeville. Its members are also the brains behind the burgeoning South Bay label Otik Records. Voyeurs drummer Sean Johnson and has also been spotted playing with the likes of Shirley Rolls and The Sweet Hurt and some of you may know them as the kickball champions with keen fashion sense. These guys are ubiquitous around town and are always down to help out a friend. I'm actually shocked that I haven't written about them before! The Voyeurs rose from the ashes of the now defunct pulse-pounding rock act E>K>U>K. Their music still displays the raw energy and catchy tunes that became an E>K>U>K trademark but takes the sound one step further with a FANTASTIC mix of 60s pop and down n' dirty classic rock. It's tunes like these that gets me excited about music again. Their songs are totally solid and show a great deal of promise. My personal favorite is "Things That People Say" which can be heard on the band's myspace page and the video posted below. The Voyeurs will be playing at Charlie O's TONIGHT with The Rolling Blackouts and The Lieutenants - who have been getting some airplay on Indie 103. Show starts at 9pm and is only $5. I have a prior engagement in the evening but I'm going to rush like hell to try and make it in time for The Voyeurs! The MP3 posted below is a demo. Head over to The Voyeurs myspace page to listen to more kick ass tracks that give you a sense of their sound. [MP3] The Voyeurs - Losing My Cool [MP3] The Voyeurs - You Make Me Feel Sick WATCH VIDEO: The Voyeurs - Things That People Say

New Beck Album This Summer!

Beck (Los Angeles, CA) I'll be perfectly honest - I don't read half the press releases sent to me via e-mail. I get over 200 a day - I just don't have time to read all of them people! Occasionally one grabs my attention and I'll write about it - like the one I got this morning announcing that Beck will be releasing a new album this summer produced by Danger Mouse. News of a new album got out last week but today the rumors were confirmed - The 10 track album doesn't have a title yet and word is it will only be slightly over 30 minutes in length. No word yet on when the remix contest will be or when his people will start flooding the internets with b-sides to ensure hype machine success. It's Beck people. It's Danger Mouse. IT'S BECK AND DANGER MOUSE - TOGETHER. That should be reason enough to buy this record. [MP3] Beck - Loser Beck At Hell Ya! March 2007 BONUS: You may remember Beck crashed our Hell Ya! at The Echo back in March of last year. Click here and check out photos from the show!

Adult Swim + Ghostly Int'l = Ghostly Swim AWESOMENESS

There's nothing I love more than when a label or band gives away their entire album for FREE. Ghostly International and Adult Swim  recently teamed up to create Ghostly Swim - a site where you can download an 18 track album loaded with stellar electro tracks from the label. I think I just found my new gym mix people! The tunes range from ambient and down-tempo to dangerously insane. Really great collection I must say. [MP3] Cepia - Ithaca (From Ghostly Swim) Stream the sampler below and then head over to Ghostly Swim and download the entire mix for iPOD enjoyment!

VIDEO: Mezzanine Owls Residency @ Spaceland (5/5/08) New Song!

Mezzanine Owls Residency @ Spaceland (5/5/08) I do believe it is safe to say that Mezzanine Owls stunned the crowd last night. I'm not going to say much - Just watch the videos below. [MP3] Mezzanine Owls - Snow Globe Soo Damn Goood.

Mezzanine Owls Spaceland Residency Begins TONIGHT

Mezzanine Owls (Los Angeles, CA) Happy Cinco De Mayo Everyone! If you're looking for a place to get cheap Mexican beer and watch a FREE show then come on out to Spaceland for night one of Mezzanine Owls residency! There are way to many good shows going on in Los Angeles tonight and I know the decision is going to be a tough one. If you can't make it out to Silverlake then I suggest checking out The Henry Clay People, Rademacher, and I Make This Sound at The Viper Room or heading over to The Echo to see my good buddies Le Switch, Amnion, and Frankel. Mezzanine Owls 7"/EP is available now on JAXART Records. You can buy the EP digitally at iTUNES or pick up the vinyl in the JAXART Store. Every 7" single comes with an exclusive download card with Free MP3s of the entire EP! Filter Presents Mezzanine Owls Every Monday In May At Spaceland FREE ADMISSION! May 5th, 2008 W/ Wait.Think.Fast [listen] Minipop [listen] In Waves [listen] May 12th, 2008 W/ We Barbarians [listen] Eagle and Talon [listen] The Black Kites [listen] May 19th, 2008 W/ lovelikefire [listen] The Henry Clay People [listen] Eli Paperboy Reed [listen] May 26th, 2008 W/ The Quarter After [listen] Asteroid 4 [listen] EXITMUSIC [listen] Club Spaceland 1717 N Silver Lake Blvd Los Angeles CA 90027 21 Yrs + | Free Admission

Coldplay Unveil "Violet Hill"

Coldplay (London, UK) What's you verdict on the new Coldplay track "Violet Hill?" The track is off the band's forthcoming FOURTH album Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends. The ten track disc will be released June 12th and was produced by none other than BRIAN ENO. I think you can definately hear his production on this track. Specifically the driving bass line and ethereal distant vocals - more so than usual for a Coldplay single. This is definitely a darker more brooding number and a far departure from the hope filled swells and starry guitars of X&Y. Is Coldplay starting to develop (GASP!) a bit of an edge? Take a listen below. [MP3] Coldplay - Violet Hill BONUS VIDEO: Young At Heart - Fix You (Coldplay Cover)

VIDEO: The Airborne Toxic Event - Sometime Around Midnight On Carson Daly

The Airborne Toxic Event The Airborne Toxic Event performed "Sometime Around Midnight" on Last Call with Carson Daly last week thus joining acts such as Cold War Kids, Silversun Pickups, Sea Wolf on the short list of Silverlake bands that have made their way to the small screen. Everest will be the next east side band to break into the national TV market as they perform on Late Night with Conan O'Brien May 16th. Set your DVR and Tivo now so you don't forget. WATCH VIDEO: The Airborne Toxic Event - "Sometime Around Midnight" Live On Carson Daly

Rock Insider Invades San Francisco

This past weekend I went to San Francisco for my cousin's bachelorette party. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Crystal Antlers, The Dodos, and The Mae Shi were ALL playing in the the city on Sunday night. I decided to hop around in true Rock Insider form - hitting up three different venues in just under 5 hours. My friend Pat from the awesome band Battlehooch came along for the ride. The Dodos at Great American Music Hall (San Francisco, CA - 4/27/08) photo by space ally First, we hit Great American Music Hall to see The Dodos. It was the day after the band had performed at Coachella and their set was slightly lethargic but still amazing. I don't think it's possible for these guys to play a bad show - even though they may beg to differ. I also saw "The Season" and "Ashley" - my favorite tracks off Visiter live for the first time. Incredible. The Dodos went on early (thank goodness) so Pat and I hightailed it to The Hemlock Tavern down the street to watch Crystal Antlers nail their set. Filmfatale was there and filmed part of their show which you can view below. I unfortunately had a broken camera and wasn't able to film anything. WATCH VIDEO: Crystal Antlers - Live At The Hemlock Tavern The Mae Shi at Bottom Of The Hill (4/27/08). Photo by TZP Finally, we flew like a small child in a field across the city to try and catch The Mae Shi and Pre. Unfortunately the show ran an HOUR early and we missed the ENTIRE show. We walked in as the band was cleaning up. To make up for it we had a drink at the bar and talked with the band til the wee hours of the morning. All in all it was an eventful day and a lot of fun. I caught my flight home and have been operating in a state of perpetual sleep deprivation ever since - Which is pretty normal if your me. [MP3] The Dodos - Jodi [MP3] Crystal Antlers - A Thousand Eyes [MP3] The Mae Shi - Boys In The Attic [MP3] Battlehooch - Deep Knee Bends The Dodos will be playing at The Natural History Museum in Los Angeles this Friday with Akron/Family. You do NOT want to miss this show (Buy Tickets) Crystal Antlers will be playing a benefit show at the Sugar Hair Salon in Silverlake this Sunday May 4th with Bipolar Bear, God's Gang, and Black Church. (View Flyer) The Mae Shi will play Pomona College with Abe Vigoda on Thursday May 1st before heading over to the UK for two months of touring (Details)