Unlike Bob, who is a fan of Frank Zappa's, I am a superfan. I am a devotee. I have every album, as well as imports and bootlegs, and I have played them over and over and over. Some people tire of his Foley-esque Edgar Varese-inspired noise explorations, but for some reason I always found the humor in them. And I'm not usually very patient with masturbatory jams. My friend Dez and I used to... more ›

It was a hell of a thing to see Dweezil Zappa onstage at the Wiltern last night, jamming with his pop, who of course passed away fourteen years ago. You can thank modern technology. Frank was projected on a large screen behind the actual living musicians, who played along to his vocal and guitar tracks. Of course we’ve seen this kind of thing before, Natalie Cole’s sentimental duet with her father being the first... more ›

Daniel Johnston at SXSW, 3/07 more ›

You gotta admit that this summer LAist has held some pretty sweet contests. Right now we're iin the midst of a haiku contest for Vegoose in Vegas, and today we have something to offer you closer to home -- and close to the stage. How would you like four box seat tickets AND free parking AND four picnic baskets to one of the upcoming three shows at the world famous Hollywood Bowl? Just follow... more ›