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Eric Burdon to Play The Coach House Friday Night

This Friday night, Eric Burdon, one of the last standing icons from the golden age of rock, will be hitting the stage at The Coach House, one of only a handful of shows the singer has planned in 2013. Over the past few years, Burdon has experienced a revival of sorts. At last year's South-by-Southw ... More >>

No, Seriously, Is Daft Punk Playing Coachella?

This is, so far, the burning question of this Coachella, inescapable from the campsites to the press tent. Even though performance rumors stemming from a Vevo leak were officially squashed in Rolling Stone, many Coachellans aren't buying it. And last night things got even a little more complicated. ... More >>

The Five Best Concerts in OC This Week

Tuesday, January 22 Cat Power The Observatory No, it's not a feline liberation movement (although that would be rad), but rather the on-going musical project of singer/songwriter Chan Marshall that spans the musical spectrum from punk and folk to blues and electronica. Known for her unconventional ... More >>

Paul McCartney To Play With Nirvana Tonight At The 12-12-12 Concert? Unfortunately, Yes

For those of you who may or may not know, tonight in New York City is the granddaddy of all Sandy concerts. Taking place at Madison Square Garden, tonight's show will feature some of the biggest names in music history including (drumroll please) Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band, Bon Jovi, Eri ... More >>

Juan Flores Rides, and Falls, Again: Deanne Stillman's Desert Reckoning

I swear this heat is messing with my sleep, so that when I woke at four the other morning it was as if the accumulated bodily discomfort of the previous day's scorching here in Modjeska Canyon had stuck around, morphing into some kind of itchy psycho-emotional discontent, a near-existential nervous ... More >>

Four Reasons Lollapalooza Needs EDM

By: Ian TraasSee Also:*[Slideshow] Lollapalooza 2012: The People*Justice at Lollapalooza, 8/5/12*Ten things your Lollapalooza outfit says about youWith every year that passes, it feels like electronic dance music gains a bigger foothold in the summer festival circuit, and the climb in popularity was ... More >>

Duran Duran Speaks: John Taylor Says Twitter Helped Bring Their Fanbase Back to the '80s

By: Liz OhanesianSee Also:*Bloc Party Speaks: Why Bringing Their Guitars to HARD Summer is a Gutsy Move*Duran Duran: Still Hungry*Young the Giant are OC's Next Great BandDuran Duran had only been in Rome for an hour when we hopped on a phone call with bassist extraordinaire John Taylor. The night be ... More >>

'Rock of Ages,' or 'Hair Metal: The Musical'

Adam Shankman, et al. make you happy you missed the Sunset Strip, circa 1987

5 Reasons You Should Be Upset that Ween Broke Up

It was a sad day for music fans and weirdos alike as Aaron Freeman, better known as "Gene Ween," announced that his beloved duo Ween were calling it quits. Freeman told Rolling Stone yesterday that he's retiring the character, something that was news to bandmate Mickey Melchiondo (Dean Ween) with wh ... More >>

No Doubt Is Taking Their Beef With Activision's 'Band Hero' In Front Of a Jury

No Doubt's attorneys are getting their day in court to argue that the band's virtual likenesses in the 2009 video game Band Hero are nothing to play with. OC's seminal break-out band claim they were misled by Santa Monica-based video game giant Activision about how their avatars would be u ... More >>

Top 10 Things About Covering Music for OC Weekly

Nine years ago, I was in this wannabe new-wave band based in Santa Ana. Back then, our big goal in life was to get featured in OC Weekly. The band imploded, as bands are wont to do, way before we even got a concert listing in the Calendar section (not even a Locals Only, sob!). The funny thing was, ... More >>

Axl Rose Puts The Kibosh On A Rock Hall Reunion

Well, I guess it's safe to say that the original lineup of Guns N' Roses, you know, the one that everyone knew and loved, will never, ever reform. This morning, Axl Rose penned (or typed, depending on your point of view) an open letter that was published by the LA Times, not only stated that the mer ... More >>

The Best of SXSW Music: Wednesday 3/14/2012

​If you're familiar with chaos theory, which in its basic form is the attempt to find patterns in the random acts of shit on Earth, then you may understand the difficulty that comes with describing a full day at SXSW. To break down the bright, scintillating chaos, Village Voice Media's roving musi ... More >>

Five Local Bands Who Should Be Huge in 2012

​Young The Giant wins the prize for the breakout band of Orange County in 2011. Turn on an alt-rock station, google the word "young," and ask Morrissey who his favorite new band is and you'll have your answer--2011 belonged to Young the Giant. "Cough Syrup" was probably only second to Foster the P ... More >>

Van Halen to Tour in 2012 With David Lee Roth

​Unless you were awake at 12:30 am PST or a part of their mailing list, then you'd be surprised to know that rock icons Van Halen announced they are going on tour in 2012, with tickets on-sale January 10. What happens from here no one knows since there aren't any dates or cities listed, only three ... More >>

Warner Bros. Records Announce Exclusive Vinyl Releases For Record Store Day On Black Friday

​This morning Warner Bros. Records announced that they'll be releasing exclusive Record Store Day releases on Black Friday. See below for details on limited edition vinyl packages from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Iron and Wine, Tom Petty, The Black Keys, and Eric Clapton that'll be available this F ... More >>

The Black Lips Go Slick

The Atlanta garage-rock band enlist Mark Ronson's production style for their sixth album to change things up

Ten Musician Stamps We'd Like To See

​ The US Postal Service, desperate to stop 15 years of bleeding caused by email and private competitors, announced that it will soon feature living people on stamps (the post office has long had a policy of placing only the dead on postage). Of interest to this column, the USPS will consider fe ... More >>

Katy Perry: Cashing in on that Normal Niche

Flickr user florencia.tomasConsider Katy Perry--who, a few years before her rapid rise to stardom, was best known as "the girlfriend of that guy from Gym Class Heroes."  Now, Perry sells out stadiums. She's gotten so popular that she's performing at the Nokia Theatre in LA for three nights in ... More >>

No Irvine Stop for Kings of Leon

[Mental Notes] Band suffering from more than exhaustion, and WonderCon may leave SF

Kings of Leon Cancel Entire U.S. Tour--No Irvine Show in September

Andrew Youssef/OC WeeklyCaleb Followill at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine during healthier days​Kings of Leon just canceled their entire U.S. summer tour in the wake of a Dallas show on Friday that was cut short after lead singer Caleb Followill left the stage to vomit, Rolling Stone repo ... More >>

Kurt Cobain's Hometown to Consider Naming In his Honor

 Rolling Stone reported today that the  Aberdeen city council in Washington state,  is considering a proposal to name a local bridge and park in honor of late grungeman Kurt Cobain. The public works conveyance up for honor is the Young Street Bridge which according to legend is the sa ... More >>

Michele Bachmann Ignores Tom Petty, Keeps Playing 'American Girl' at Rallies

​So when Tom Petty sent Tea Party candidate Michele Bachmann a cease and desist letter from asking her to refrain from playing his song "American Girl" (after which Katrina and the Waves asked her to stop playing "Walking on Sunshine") on Monday, Bachmann may not have gotten the memo.That's beca ... More >>

I MiX What I Like! An Interview with Jared Ball (Part II)

​Yesterday, we published the first part of an interview with Jared Ball, author of I MiX What I Like! A Mixtape Manifesto, where the "Funkinest Journalist" talks about the politics of hip-hop and popular culture. Read the first part of the interview with Jared Ball here; in this second installment ... More >>

'Sweet Child O' Mine' Vid Filmed in Huntington Beach 23 Years Ago Today

​[via Anti Music] Before Fergie and the rest of the Black Eyed Peas ruined it with their Superbowl version, the signature riff from Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child O' Mine" was an era-defining moment in rock & roll. And the video for it was filmed in a ballroom in Huntington Beach, 23 years ago. T ... More >>

Ten Years of the OC Music Awards

The OCMAs have been pimpin' local acts since 2001

Last Night at the OC Music Awards Best Live Band Finals

Christopher Victorio/OC WeeklyThe Steelwells​OC Music Awards Best Live BandFeb. 25, 2011Galaxy Concert TheaterThe best live band of the 10th-annual OC Music Awards was announced last Friday night at a showcase at the Galaxy Concert Theatre in Santa Ana. And the winner is . . . drumroll, please . . ... More >>

Blues Legend Hubert Sumlin Comes to OC for Robert Johnson Centennial Concert

​Hubert Sumlin, guitarist and sideman to Howlin' Wolf for most of his career, became an unwitting inspiration for a generation of British rockers including Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Keith Richards. When the Big Head Blues Club rolls out in celebration of Robert Johnson's 100th birthday, Sumlin, ... More >>

Jim Morrison, Sinead O' Connor, Sting, More to Appear on New Charity Album

​Charity records often bring together oddball combinations of musicians (or semi-musicians; see Aykroyd, Dan and "We Are the World"). According to Rolling Stone, a brand-new anti-nuclear-weapons benefit album titled Prayer Cycles 2: Path to Zero will do just that. Artists ranging from Sting to Sin ... More >>

Bob Dylan Nets Six-Book Deal

​​For all the Bob Dylan fans out there, this is pretty exciting news. The singer/songwriter has reportedly signed a deal with publisher Simon & Schuster to write six books, including two follow-ups to his previous work, Chronicles: Volume One. Another title will be a book based on ... More >>

[UPDATED: Steven Tyler Confirms Album] Long-Awaited Aerosmith Album in 2011?

Christopher Victorio/OC WeeklyAerosmith concert at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater on July 29, 2010​​UPDATE, 2:05 P.M., Jan. 17: Steven Tyler reiterates that, even though he is a judge on American Idol, he will record an album with Aerosmith soon. He informed the public that he will head ... More >>

Traffic Jams

Aloe Blacc honed his songwriting skills while stuck in traffic

TGIF: Wild Flag is Coming to Pomona on Sunday! (Expect a Rolling Stone Cover or Two)

​In this week's print feature by Billy Gil, Wild Flag's Carrie Brownstein talked about the aftermath of her previous band's breakup.Most of the buzz about Wild Flag has to do with the fact that both Janet Weiss and Brownstein used to be in veteran riot grrl band Sleater-Kinney; Mary Timony (of Hel ... More >>

WTF of the Week: Ron Burgundy, Hip-Hop Icon?

The October issue of Rolling Stone Magazine recently published its annual "Hot List;" under the heading of Hot Influence, the hallowed rock rag listed none other than celluloid news buffoon Ron Burgundy. It seems the persona immortalized by Will Ferrel in 2004's Anchorman has bee ... More >>

Ska's Not Dead

Orange County purveyors are still skankin' to the beat

Courtney Love Uses Twitter To Say Crap to Francis Bean On Her 18th Birthday

Andrew Youssef/OC Weekly​As if you need more proof that Courtney Love is mentally deranged, she went on a Twitter rampage today, a day after her daughter Frances Bean Cobain turned 18. The tweets are misspelled and don't make a lot of sense, and apparently, she's used social networking sites to be ... More >>

The Runaways' Cherie Currie: "I'm Not Sure There Will Ever Be An All-Girl Band Like It"

Janet MacoskaCherie Currie performing with The Runaways​Talking with Cherie Currie on the phone is easy. What's not easy is fitting several lifetimes' worth of crazy days and recovery into 50 years in this planet. Who would ever dream of attaining the level of success that she achieved by 17 years ... More >>

Train at the OC Fair Over The Weekend

Mark Stouffer ​​TrainJuly 18, 2010OC Fair It's hard to feel sorry for Pat Monahan, lead singer for the San Francisco-based Train. Sure, the band may have peaked 10 years ago, when its Drops of Jupiter--fueled in large part by the inescapable titular song--sold more than three million copies ... More >>

Cause Of Death Revealed: Avenged Sevenfold Drummer Died of Accidental Overdose

​[via Rolling Stone] Orange County Deputy Coroner Mitchell Sigal confirmed today that Avenged Sevenfold drummer Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan died on December 28, 2009 from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs and alcohol. The toxicology report said Sullivan suffered "acute polydrug intoxica ... More >>

Local Natives Get Texas-Sized Buzz at SXSW

[Mental Notes] The music press falls all over itself in praise of the LA-by-way-of-OC band

Local Natives Shine at SXSW; Earn Rave Reviews from BBC, RS, NME, NPR and More

Chad CheverierLocal Natives, originally from Orange County, rock SXSWLocal Natives crushed at South by Southwest, returning home to LA with massive momentum leading up to their April 18 Coachella date. The other OC/LBC acts that made appearances in Austin surely turned heads but nothing like Lo ... More >>

The 10 Greatest Journalism Stories EVER

​Reporter Conor Friedersdorf got quite a bit of media play last month for his roundup of the best journalism stories he heard, watched or read in 2009. Really interesting list, but what none of write-ups mentioned is that Friedersdorf is an OC native, raised in Newport Beach (if I remember correct ... More >>

Lil Wayne

Honda Center

Electro-hop Duo LMFAO Prepare for an Arena Show in Anaheim, Bitch

!Babasonicos para Presidente!

How one group and its CD led to the rejuvenation of the Argentine Nation

Bronx Cheer

Letter from Coachella

Please Rewind

Were Bad, Were Worldwide

The Offsprings weird, weird realm

Gonna Make You Groove

Cameron Crowes Almost Famous