Blank Blue, soon to be rocking Europe with Prefuse 73. Photo by Plastic Nancy
Dublab is an excellent web radio station run by some of SoCal's most skilled musicians and DJs, many of whom will be touring Europe with Prefuse 73 Sept. 1-15. Touring Europe isn't cheap without label support, so the Labrats (as they call themselves) are holding a benefit podcast Tuesday Aug. 21. Your donation will bring you a gift and the satisfaction of helping these worthy artists to crack some European domes. Ch
Blank Blue: Blissin' up.
On May 6, Ubiquity Records will release Blank Blue's debut album, Western Water Music II. This is good news because, among other things, Blank Blue—the recording project of soulful Long Beach musicians Elvin “Nobody” Estela and Niki Randa—were named the Weekly's Best Local Rock Band in our 2007 best-of issue.
You can hear a few songs from the full-length on Blank Blue's MySpace. That's some sweet-ass baroque, funky psychedelia. Spring is in the air... and in
Long Beach folkadelic-funk duo Blank Blue will do a CD-release show at Fingerprints record shop (where Blank Blue members Elvin Estela and Niki Randa work when they're not creating excellent music) May 6 at 8 p.m.
The event is free but you must RSVP to attend. To RSVP, call Fingerprints at (562) 433-4996. Limited-edition posters will be available with purchase of Western Water Music Volume II (which Ubiquity is releasing and which I'll be reviewing in the next Sprawl of Sound column, out May
Nobody (Elvin Estela): a highest uncommon denominator kind of DJ.
Well, it looks like Elvin Estela Week here at the Weekly. My Sprawl of Sound column includes a review of his and Niki Randa's Blank Blue album on Ubiquity; we run his well-informed list of top albums with references to “blue” or “water” in their titles on Heard Mentality; and now we're tipping you off to his DJ appearance tonight at the long-running Good Foot monthly at Que Sera in Long Beach. (Nobody is Estela's DJ and
