For plenty of punk bands, reinvention is the mother of ... [more]
Music
Mesa Lanes Is More Than a New Band For Veteran Punk Nick Sjobeck. It’s a Fresh Start.
For plenty of punk bands, reinvention is the mother of necessity. Reliving the glory days by trading on the band name that brought them popularity is a way to come out of retirement with guns blazing. It’s about feeling important again. For Nick Sjobeck, one of OC’s most infamous punks and the founder of Dodge […]
OC-Based Company Smuggle Your Booze Helps Coachella Get Buzzed on a Budget
We can all agree that Coachella has become increasingly more expensive than when it first began in 1999. That said, the unbeatable lineups, art installations, chef driven food and late night dolab parties keep us coming back every year – but after three days of forking over some serious cash it’s easy to go brokechella. […]
Coachella’s Not Getting Worse, You’re Getting Old
According to music journalists from publications like the New York Post, The Guardian, and numerous hip blogs in and around Southern California, Coachella kind of sucks these days. Every year, hundreds of reporters, bloggers, social media influencers, and regular people come home from the desert (often accompanied by a sinus infection and/or the dreaded “Coachella […]
While You Watch Beyoncé, Coachella Finally Embraces (Japanese) Heavy Metal
Of all the things Coachella’s been known for over the years, heavy metal has never been one of them. There’s always a wide variety of hip-hop, EDM, pop hits, hipster-friendly lighter rock bands, but any and all forms of metal are generally left somewhere around Pomona or San Bernardino on their way to the most […]
The Evolution Of Coachella’s Campgrounds
It’s Saturday, May 1, 2004, and the desert heat is comparable to Dante’s eighth ring of hell. But the Pixies, Kraftwerk, Hieroglyphics, LCD Soundsystem, (old school) Black Keys and Living Legends played day one of Coachella, so it almost doesn’t matter. Radiohead closed out the main stage leaving those who witnessed the magic in […]
Mad Clown & San E’s Crossover Journey to Becoming the Kings of Korean Hip-Hop
In a short span of five years, K-pop has gone from a relatively unknown music scene that made everyone look at it with “Gangnam Style” to harboring arguably the biggest boy group sensation in the world, BTS, who now break Billboard records with every release and are regular figures in U.S. media. Last year specifically […]
Dashboard Confessional’s New Record Goes Back to Their Roots
If it seems like Chris Carrabba was just out here, it’s because he practically was. Not only did Dashboard Confessional play the OC Fair last July, but he also put on a set in the Constellation Room of the Observatory with his band Twin Forks less than two months before that. In the nine months […]
Top 5 Songs Sure to Clear a Dance Floor According to Shawn Wayans (aka DJ SW1)
Let’s take it back to 1990 for the “In Living Color” days, shall we? The skits were crushing, the Fly Girls were pumping those booties, and Shawn Wayans, aka DJ SW1, was spinning MAD beats that that would make even the most uncoordinated bust out the cabbage patch, sachey chantey, and pop lock and mother […]
Coachella By The Minute: Weekend 1
Friday, April 13 4:35 p.m. Coachanimal spotted in near the Outdoor Theater wearing a rainbow-colored fur cape and a pink, sparkly, full-body banana hammock unitard. Comfort means different things to different people at Coachella. (Niyaz Pirani) 5:02 Rolling into the parking lot and within a minute I roll past a girl in a sparkly […]
Stereo Brewing Company’s Passion For Records is Always on Tap
As I sit with Rick Smets in the taproom of Stereo Brewing in Placentia on a late Friday afternoon, a series of precursory warnings get thrown my way from the regulars at the end of the bar: “Don’t bring up Tool.” “No Dave Matthews either. And he hates Beastie Boys.” “Alice in Chains and Soundgarden […]
Coachella Sets The Standard Of Security In High Risk Festival Environment
It’s 90 degrees, and you’re waiting in line, except it’s more of a swarm of sweaty people herding toward the entrance, trying to get into Coachella. The wind stirs up dust, which blows in your eyes, sticks to your skin and coats your hair. A person passes out in line because of the heat. The […]
See It or Skip It: How to Spend Your Time Wisely at Coachella 2018
With over 200 acts taking the stage throughout the two weekends of Coachella 2018, there are names you won’t think twice about passing on to maximize your festival experience but those inevitable slots of uncertainty bring stress and anxiety to what should be a carefree weekend in the desert. We’ve compiled a list to ease […]
The Tanning of Coachella: Beyoncé, Blackness, and the Collision of Cultures
In 2011, music executive and advertising guru Steve Stoute, released his book The Tanning of America: How Hip-Hop Created a Culture That Rewrote the Rules of the New Economy. Stoute analyzed how Black culture permeated mainstream America, going as far as proposing its swell helped Barack Obama get elected. Stoute and his readership may be […]
11 LGBT Punk and Metal Artists Who Made An Impact
If there’s at least one positive thing we’ve learned in the ongoing chaotic aftermath of the Trump administration, it’s that as a modern civilized society, we can’t take things like diversity and inclusion for granted. When it comes to musical genres like punk rock and heavy metal, one should keep in mind that there have […]
Jonathan Davis’ Dark Solo Project Gets a Moment in the Sun at Belasco Theater
As this weekend marked the beginning of the Coachella music festival in Indio, there were still a considerable amount of local concerts happening that many still found worth attending. This was the case at the Belasco Theater in Downtown LA, as frontman from nu metal rock super superstar band Korn, Jonathan Davis performed a special […]
This OC Couple Has a Coachella Love Story For the Ages
Love is to Coachella what LA smog is to sunsets. By 7:15 p.m. on Saturday at the Indio festival, eros covers the sky like a blanket, painting the clouds a pink and purple hue over the booming sounds the Outdoor and Coachella stages. A cocktail of David Byrne and Tyler the Creator swirls in the […]
The Buttertones Revive Coachella’s Past Without Melting Under Its Pressure
The Buttertones are having the best Coachella of their lives. Sure, most of the members in the band don’t have anything to compare it to. But when your first experience going to the biggest festival in the country is as a performer during a night time slot, the bar is already set pretty high. While […]
Don the Beachcomber Officially Closes April 15
It’s finally time to say aloha to Don the Beachcomber. After a two year fight to keep the historic building that once housed the legendary Sam’s Seafood and the home of tiki culture in OC for the last 10 years, owner Delia Wu Snyder just announced that the restaurant and lounge is officially closing Sunday, […]
The Best Concerts in OC, April 13-19
Friday, Apr. 13 Kate Nash, Miya Folick 8 p.m., $22, The Observatory, 3503 S. Harbor Blvd., Santa Ana, (714) 957-0600, www.observatoryoc.com. All ages. Rob Leines, The American Vagrants, Ruen Rivera, 8 p.m., $5, The Wayfarer. 843 W. 19th St., Costa Mesa (949) 764-0039, www.wayfarercm.com. 21+. In This Moment 6 p.m., $29, House of Blues Anaheim, […]
Chelsea Cutler’s Rise From Soccer Player to Soundcloud Star Was Only the Beginning
Chelsea Cutler is far from your average 21-year-old. You may have discovered the Westport native, jersey-wearing enthusiast, on Spotify’s “New Music Friday” playlist, or in your basic indie electronic music search; but with a light voice backed with power, you probably stuck around to hear a few more tunes. Long gone are the days where Cutler […]
Los Angeles Azules Bring the Cumbia Heat to Coachella
With Coachella quickly approaching this weekend, most festival goers are excited to see the typical headliners like Beyonce, The Weeknd, and Eminem. However, no group stands out more from typical this year than the legendary backyard dance troubadours like Los Angeles Azules. By far the most seasoned act on the Coachella stage, Los Angeles Azules are […]
