Indie Dispatches: New Superchunk, A Toast to Best Coast & Fitz on Fire
Lost in the warm fuzzy glow over the Arcade Fire topping the charts last week, one rather important item was neglected, which is that amidst all of their efforts to create the landmark 2010 Merge is having, the label owners Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance also found time to record a new album. Yes ladies and gentlemen, reason to rejoice, as there is a new Superchunk album on the way! It’s entitled Majesty Shredding and is due for release on September 14 – on Merge Records of course! A number one record and a new Superchunk album – now that really IS a banner year.
Speaking of landmark years, the same can be said for Best Coast who surprised more than a few people with their #36 debut (with one industry rag leaving them out of their charts altogether!) for the album Crazy for You. But kudos to the Mexican Summer label for a superb job of artist development, and it just goes to show that in amongst all the clutter of the ‘long tail’ music biz in 2010, the same formula of great songs, a good build up and a masterful job of marketing can achieve results! Alas, not so fortunate were WAVVES, whose latest album King of the Beach only trickled to a #168 chart position first week, despite some great reviews and a ubiquitous presence amongst the blogs.
Also benefitting from a nice job of development and marketing is Los Angeles act, Fitz and the Tantrums, who are riding a great word-of-mouth wave leading to the August 24 release of their album Pickin’ Up the Pieces on Dangerbird Records. After a glowing review in the LA Times, a “you had to be there” jam-packed performance at the Hammer Museum, an exclusive streaming preview of the album on KCRW, and an instore performance at Amoeba Records in LA scheduled for release day, the buzz is becoming rather deafening. Which makes it hard to believe it was barely a year ago that the retro-soul combo was playing to a small scattering of early adopters at the 3 of Clubs…
- Cool Hand Luke
05.14.10Out and About: Week in Review
Heavy Young Heathens @ El Cid Tuesday Night
The theme for this week was firsts… Monday night at Silverlake Lounge saw a smattering of industry and early-adopters out for the Pittsburgh band 1, 2, 3 who will see their second single released this month via Chess Club in the UK. The band’s debut single came out on Ooh La La Records earlier this year. Monday was the group’s first show ever. Warner Bros.’s Matt Marshall and Lindsey Cook, who has recently taken up West Coast A&R reins for RCA Records, were on-hand for the indie-inaugural. Across town KCRW’s School Night had another full house for Angela McCluskey – among fans in attendance was Joaquin Phoenix, thankfully he didn’t rap… Tapas and rock were on the menu for Tuesday night at El Cid, where we caught an early performance from locals Heavy Young Heathens, check out recent love for the band on MTV’s Buzzworthy Blog. And speaking of buzz, a lot of folks were out to catch new band Group Love who took the tiny flamenco-stage after HYH that night for their first show ever. Mingling on the East Side restaurant’s patio that night was CAA uber-agent Jenna Adler (who just picked up Surfer Blood), Interscope A&R hitter Louie Bandak and Atlantic Record’s Mollie Moore. We also caught up with Flogging Molly manager and merch-master Gary Schwindt who promised to teach us everything he knows about hoodies and tees… Ian Rogers was not out at the Viper Room on Wednesday night for Get Busy Committee’s first official L.A. show, but plenty of others were there to catch GBC’s unique high-energy performance. The Topspin Media founder was however on-site for the previous day’s parking-lot party on the West Side, which featured a performance from GBC and a visit from the Kogi BBQ truck… Yum.
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Take Notice: Saint Motel
L.A.'s Saint Motel
With sold-out shows at The Roxy, long lines for their Spaceland residency and a packed room for their recent KROQ/Filter show at the Echoplex, Tinseltown music fans and industry folks alike have definitely taken notice of L.A. locals Saint Motel. Now, having completed a successful Northwest/Canada tour with UK buzz act Band of Skulls, expect a lot more folks to be packing their shows. And rightfully so, considering powerhouse talent agency CAA have picked them up for representation.
From the beginning, the group took added measures to stand out from other local acts by putting together themed “events” rather than just shows, like their annual Zombie Prom or the Black and White show. They also used creative methods of promoting, such as creating videos to virally promote their events. When they released their six-song ForPlay EP last September, it also came with a free video for each song. What may seem like small extra touches, have gone a long way to building a solid fan base, and has caught the attention of local tastemakers like KROQ’s Kat Corbett and Nic Harcourt, who have championed the band. Catch them on July 1st at the Hammer Museum where they headline the opening show of KCRW’s concert series, Also I like to Rock…
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Out & About: Week in Review
Glassnote Record's Two Door Cinema Club Arrive in L.A.
In its third week running, School Night! hosted by KCRW’s Chris Douridas at Bardot in Hollywood was packed for the L.A. debut of Two Door Cinema Club on Monday night. We saw fans and industry alike crowding the intimate space to catch the UK act who recently released their debut album stateside on Glassnote Records… Largo (At the Coronet) and punk-rock might seem like oil and water, but Joe Sib’s California Calling brought together the mixed masses for his one-man show. We ran into a number of folks out to see Sib’s “broken word,” including Foo Fighters axeman Chris Shiflett (who also performed an acoustic set), major league manager Missy Worth, APA uber-agent Corrie Christopher, filmmaker Paul Papadeas and rock-photog Lisa Johnson. Also seen on-hand for the night of stories from the former Wax frontman and current co-owner of SideOneDummy Records was Blondie drummer Clem Burke and Rancid’s Tim Armstrong… Check out a review of the show here… A tequila-fueled Cinco de Mayo consisted of a stop by the annual bash at the Velvet Margarita to pay respects to owners Ava and Carlos and put back a (few?) shots with legal-eagle Ian Friedman and Swinghouse’s Phil Jaurigui… Still exuding a healthy Patron afterglow 24-hours later, Thursday night included a drop by Space 15 Twenty to catch a set from L.A. band LINKS and chat with local tastemaker Kevin Bronson (Buzzbands.la) and Viper Room’s Sarah Berkowitz and Chelsea Schwartz, before heading to 3 Clubs to grab a drink with manager and indie-authority Jason Reynolds at The Rumble…
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File Under: Stuff We Like
BDTM @ Hotel Cafe - Tuesday 4/27
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Tonight is a School Night!
Free Monday nights aren’t just for the eastside any more… Tonight is the debut of School Night, a new weekly series at Bardot in Hollywood launched by KCRW DJ Chris Douridas. The weekly night is a first for Douridas who is well established in the Los Angeles music scene and is known as a supporter of unsigned and emerging music talent. The nights will feature live sets from a range of artists as well as special “secret” performances and DJ sets… Recent Universal Music signees SHEL will kick things off tonight along with special guests Dawes. Upcoming Mondays will feature artists such as The Like, Apples & Lemons and Two Door Cinema Club among others… School Night is free with RSVP.
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SXSW ‘10 Day One
Jon Pikus: Master of Wristbands
The first day of SXSW Music was lively as ever, falling on St. Patty’s day, 6th street was running wild… We started off the evening at the ASCAP party, where we caught impressive performances from HoneyHoney and Kopecky Family Band, but Josh Briggs’ hotdog suit was nowhere to be found. Feeling plenty good, it was a perfect time to catch a sweaty set from Scorpion Child at the World’s End showcase at Encore… Midnight saw Fitz & the Tantrums pack the tent at the KCRW showcase, where they played some songs from their newly finished album. Good stuff. We ended the night with friends new and old at the Driskill bar. Stay tuned…
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