Subject: Matt Costa

• Elvis Perkins at Spaceland

  Providence's Elvis Perkins plays Club NME at Spaceland tonight, along with Pernice Brothers. Perkins' despondent (yet somehow soothing) vocals are somewhat reminiscent of crooners Jeff Buckley, Colin Meloy (eh) or Rufus Wainwright—but minus all that excessive theatricality. And recently signed to XL Recordings (home to indie powerhouses Devendra Banhart, M.I.A., Basement Jaxx, Thom Yorke, Ratatat, Peaches and Tapes 'n Tapes), we've seen Perkins' name exalted in all the major music blog

  November 22, 2006

• MySpace Genre Semiotics!

  If you didn't know, bands don't like telling you what they sound like. Here's an example why: Let's say I play in a band, we're called "Stillborn Leper", and my boss asks me what we sound like, and I say "We're like a mix of Radiohead and The Velvet Underground, but our guitarist is really into The Pixies and Joy Division so sometimes we have a lot of post-punk going on, too." Stillborn Leper is, in all likeliness, a poorly executed teenage train wreck so godawfully bland it could sound like an

  December 7, 2006

• Good shows coming up!

  Happy new year! If 2007 goes right, you'll be able to count on this wee blog to keep you informed on all things . . . well, all things that we think you should like, I guess. That means: show reviews, band recommendations, random stuff from Ziegler and more contributions from (hopefully) more contributors. Got a band you'd like us to check out? Let us know. Or let me know. I'm here to help! In the meantime, here's some upcoming shows you might like to see, if you don't already know about them:

  January 3, 2007

• Matt Costa, Unfamiliar Faces

  Huntington Beach's Matt Costa may just be the most marketable, popular act out of Orange County since... well, No Doubt. And that's not a bad thing, either. Signed to Brushfire Records, Costa's latest full-length, Familiar Faces, is set to be released on October 2nd. Check out the teaser EPK released just today, featuring a snippet of one of the album's catchiest tracks, "Mr. Pitiful." Costa's also set to appear at San Diego's Street Scene September 22-23, in addition to Elvis Perkins, Dios

  August 10, 2007

• Matt Costa at Detroit, 8/26

  And now for the something-like-43rd time Matt Costa's been mentioned in the Weekly: What's there left to say? On Sunday night, the Detroit Bar was packed. And it wasn't really for their usual Karaoke Sundays, or even for any announced show at all. The Huntington Beach resident with the curiously large following played a secret show partially in preparation for a few dates he'll be opening up for Modest Mouse in Portland and beyond. Costa and band (including new member Jacob Sahagen—of

  August 28, 2007

• Matt Costa's gear stolen

  More bad news for a local band: Matt Costa and his band, currently in the middle of the North American leg of his worldwide tour, had their gear stolen after playing a show in Winnipeg, MB. For any struggling musician trying to bring their music to your cities, this is probably the worst thing that could happen. Check after the jump to see a message from the Costa camp asking for help tracking down their stolen equipment. P.S. This happened in Winnipeg of all places? Really?

  February 17, 2008

• What you missed over the weekend: Part X

  Cobra Starship landed at the Pomona Glass House Friday night for the closest-to-OC leg of their "Really Really Ridiculously Good Looking Tour." Christopher Victorio caught the main act and support band Metro Station (but missed out on We The Kings and The Cab, also on tour with Cobra). The venue was packed, and some fans brought their Cobra Starship action figures along for the ride. Photos here. Saturday took OCW intern and Cal State Fulleron student Nate Jackson to the L.A. Convention Center

  February 18, 2008

• Matt Costa on Morning Becomes Eclectic

  Huntington Beach's Matt Costa will be performing live on KCRW's "Morning Becomes Eclectic" today at 11:15 a.m. Tune in to 89.9 FM, or if you're stuck at work, you can listen online at kcrw.com. For iTunes users—aren't we all?—there's a link embedded in the "Radio" section of iTunes. Costa will also be playing a couple of sorta-hometown shows this weekend: Saturday at the El Rey and Sunday at the Glass House. Saturday's long sold-out but head over to Pomona to get your fix before Costa and

  May 14, 2008

• Matt Costa Releases Second Single

  The Malloys, the brotherly director-ly duo who've worked previously with artists like the Kooks, Jimmy Eat World, Cold War Kids, Santana, the White Stripes, Will Ferrell (?) and others, have teamed up once again with Huntington Beach's Matt Costa for the video to his second single, "Cigarette Eyes," off his sophomore album, Unfamiliar Faces. The video was shot in a single take and even features a couple cameos from Costa's drummer, James Fletcher, who also plays drums for the Costa Mesa-based

  August 27, 2008

• The Costa Fame

  August 24, 2006

• Matt Costa Models Oliver Peoples Eyewear

  Matt Costa's future is so bright, he's gotta so on and so forth.The dreamy (I'm using that word to describe his music, honest!) Huntington Beach singer/songwriter is featured in the new advertising campaign for upscale eyewear retailer/maker Oliver Peoples. Also featured is similarly adorable actress/She & Him singer Zooey Deschanel (why not read this review of their show in Anaheim last month, eh?). Oliver Peoples (one of their seven b&m stores is in South Coast Plaza) are apparently pl

  December 3, 2008

• Last Night: Oasis, Ryan Adams, Matt Costa at the Staples Center

  Last Night: Oasis, Ryan Adams & The Cardinals, Matt Costa at the Staples Center, Los Angeles, Dec. 4th, 2008.Better Than: Fighting with your brother.Download: New single "I'm Outta Time" from the album Dig Out Your Soul at the Oasis MySpace.Anglophiles filled the Staples Center Thursday to watch '90s icons Oasis show why they still--13 years after "Wonderwall"--are the flag bearers of British rock. The band's touring in support of latest release Dig Out Your Soul, an album that holds up well

  December 5, 2008

• Cold War Kids, Matt Costa to Tour with Death Cab for Cutie

  Death Cab for Cutie--led by the newly slimmed down (and engaged to Zooey Deschanel) Ben Gibbard--are going back on tour this spring in support of last year's Narrow Stairs, and they're getting help from two acts from 'round here; Long Beach-based Cold War Kids and Huntington Beach singer/songwriter Matt Costa.Cold War Kids are taking the first leg of the tour along with Syracuse's much-buzzed about Ra Ra Riot, with Matt Costa picking up CWK's slack in May for the final five dates (because the ge

  January 27, 2009

• OC Music Awards Nominees Announced

  I'll have some more thoughts on the more, uh, interesting choices made by the academy (which I am not a part of, despite what their Web site says) a little later, but for now here's the full list of nominees, unedited from the OC Music Awards press release.

  February 25, 2009

• [Trendzilla] Musicians, Fans and Fashions

  July 24, 2008

• [Trendzilla] Today's Teens Have Already Moved Beyond Bad Flared Denim

  May 29, 2008

• [Hits!] Top-Selling Records at Music Revolution

  March 13, 2008

• Songs He Sings

  January 10, 2008

• [CD review] Matt Costa

  Unfamiliar Faces (Brushfire)

  January 17, 2008

• Tom Dumonts 7 Favorite Things

  September 20, 2007

• My Sweet Satan

  100 artists, 16 bands, 1 Dark Lord

  July 1, 2004

• Aural Reports

  Guided Missions: Nick Bogardus works the angles for Cold War Kids, Thrice and others

  June 28, 2007

• Tricky Traditional Roman Script

  RVCA's Summer Warehouse Sale

  June 7, 2007

• Art Marathon

  June 22, 2006

• Matt Costa

  April 23, 2009

• Scum of the Earth

  Jan. 18-Jan. 25

  January 18, 2007

• CD Review

  Piers Faccini , Tearing Sky

  This Week in Thirty-two

  The Happening

  January 18, 2007

• No Marshall Stacks!

  October 19, 2006

• Matt Costa

  October 19, 2006

• Letters

  September 14, 2006

• Mediocre? You Can't Be Serious

  In defense of Coachella

  May 4, 2006

• Get Out!

  April 27 - May 4: the Slaughtahouse
  

  April 27, 2006

• Two Days in the Valley

  April 27, 2006

• Live Review

  February 2, 2006

• Dear Band

  December 22, 2005

• Get Out!

  Kill them all
  

  December 8, 2005

• Wanted: The Next Interpol

  November 3, 2005

• Irvine

  October 20, 2005

• Bionic Records

  September 22, 2005

• Small World

  August 4, 2005

• SHOCKING THEMSELVES

  JUNE 23-JUNE 30

  June 23, 2005

• Aloud and Alive In 2005

  January 6, 2005

• EIGHT DAYS

  July 1, 2004

• More Slideshows? We Can't Be Stopped! (The Ringers, Matt Costa)

  Just yesterday, we showed you some pretty pictures from the Faint and Ladytron at the Grove of Anaheim and Protest the Hero at Chain Reaction. For some folks, that would be enough. But we are not men. We are Devo OC Weekly. So here are a couple more slideshows for your viewing pleasure--Huntington Beach's Matt Costa doing his thing over at the House of Blues Anaheim Saturday night, photographed by John Gilhooley (that's here!) and raucous LA wildmen the Ringers on the final night of their Monday

  April 28, 2009

• Tomorrow: Free In-store performance by Zee Avi at Finger Prints

  If there were ever a study to test the boundless possibilities of music via You Tube, I'm thinking Malaysia might be a good place to start. For there is probably no other way to explain how the beautiful, chirpy talents of singer song writer Zee Avi landed on the roster of Jack Johnson's Brush Fire Records other than the divine timing of an internet video she made the day before her 22nd birthday. After a whirlwind year of label buzz and continually falling into the hands of the right people (in

  May 18, 2009

• Matt Costa to Play Free Show at Cal State Fullerton Wednesday

  All of a sudden, Cal State Fullerton is some type of hotspot for shows. Just a week ago today they played host to Britian's Friendly Fires, and tomorrow at noon Huntington Beach's favorite son Matt Costa will play CSUF's Becker Amphitheatre. Free, natch.Call it a warm-up of sorts for Costa's show at the House of Blues in Anaheim on Saturday, where he'll be playing with opening acts the 88 (from LA, we wrote about them recently here) and Fullerton's Mothers Sons (from...Fullerton, we wrote abut t

  April 21, 2009

• Step Into Highwater With Dana Brown

  Dana Point filmmaker Dana Brown returns to the surf for his next documentary, Highwater, which is scheduled to make its Orange County premiere at 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 24, in the Regency Lido in Newport Beach.As he did with Step Into Liquid and Dust to Glory, which both marked their local debuts with sellouts in the same historic theater, Brown will be at the Lido to talk about his film with the audience and take questions after the screening, which is presented by the Newport Beach Film Festi

  July 15, 2009

• Incoming: Matt Costa at Detroit, Morrissey at the Fox Pomona

  ​It may be late Friday afternoon, but there's still some stuff to talk about. Like a couple of big new shows coming our way.

  September 18, 2009

• News and New Material from Matt Costa

  A few things have happened since we last checked in with Brushfire artist and Huntington Beach resident Matt Costa. Though he's been MIA for the last few months, it seems like he's back, but not without a few new developments. His Facebook page just posted this semi-new (recorded in August, it seems) YouTube vid of a live performance of some new material, a song titled "Miracle Drug" that he has performed live. Appearing with him? His new wife, Casey. Aw. Costa also seems to be starting fres

  October 14, 2009