LAist first met Long Beach/Los Alamitos-natives Avi Buffalo last March at an LA-Underground-presented showcase that included local rising stars The Sweet Hurt, Ema and the Ghosts, Amnion, and Cobra Lilies. more ›

December is list-making season. And for us music journalists, it is a time to look back on scores of albums, reflect upon the music and recapitulate our favorites. But this year, just like the last, we took this opportunity to flip that tradition upside down, asking the artists that influenced us what influenced them. more ›

Nobody better covers the LA indie music scene than the local blogs, which include LA-Underground, Radio Free Silver Lake, Rock Insider, You Set The Scene, Squaregirls, Aquarium Drunkard, Classical Geek Theatre, Amateur Chemist, and the now-defunct Buzz Bands. Besides spotlighting up-and-coming artists and posting concert photos, many of those blogs regularly present shows -- Radio Free Silverlake's Let's Independent! have included The Happy Hollows (MySpace), The Deadly Syndrome (MySpace), Castledoor (MySpace), and Everest (MySpace). more ›