LA Eastsiders Fool's Gold can debate top local taco joints for hours, and Baltimore-based Future Islands loves L.A. just OK. Watch our interviews from FYF Fest! more ›

What we learned from Dead Milkmen at FYF Fest: Punk can't die, "it rebottles itself"; Rodney Anonymous is obsessed with MTV's "Teen Mom"; and... watch our interview with Milkmen Rodney Linderman and Dean Sabatino for more! more ›

Explosions in the Sky guitarist Munaf Rayani took a few minutes to rap with us before the band took the stage at FYF Fest last weekend about surviving the deadly storm at Pukkelpop Music Fest in Belgium, how an art installation at Hollywood Forever Cemetery to debut the band's latest album, "Take Care, Take Care, Take Care," came to pass last April, and why they love Umami Burger. more ›

This year's FYF Fest -- last Saturday at L.A. State Historic Park -- had something for everybody and at $40 entry for 10 hours of music on four stages (plus a comedy tent) was the ultimate no-brainer for live music aficionados. more ›

Descendents, Guided by Voices, Death From Above 1979 and Broken Social Scene are among the dozens of acts performing at FYF Fest on September 3 in downtown L.A. The one-day festival is moving from the L.A. State Historical Park near Chinatown to City Hall -- or more specifically the streets outside City Hall at 1st and Main. more ›

There's no question that FYF Fest promoter Sean Carlson can assemble a musical lineup that arguably rivals or even surpasses many of the longstanding festivals, including the Sunset Junction Street Festival. But will this year's problems be resolved next year? more ›

"This year we hit a few growing pains. We can and will overcome these issues and continue to organize this festival that supports independent music in Los Angeles," FYF Fest promoter Sean Carlson wrote in an e-mail sent last Thursday to his e-mail list. more ›

Earlier this month, the seventh annual FYF Fest took place at the LA State Historic Park near Chinatown, and while the numbers -- 37 bands across three stages with 17 comedians and an estimated 20,000 attendees -- are impressive, the consensus among many was how disorganized the event was, as exemplified by tweets like "FYF = fuck you fans fest," "Almost 3 hours to get into @FYFFEST = FAIL," "@FYFFEST is like a hipster concentration camp," "Hey @fyffest maybe you wouldn't run out of water if you let us bring some inside. It's only 95 degrees. Jus sayin'," and "Fuck lines fest more like @FYFFEST." more ›

more ›

The lineup is an eclectic array of musicians, from headliner The Rapture to indie favorites like Panda Bear and Delorean, to older, influential bands like Unbroken and 7Seconds. Carlson’s programming criteria are simple: “It’s real mix tape of the bands that I love, so it’s all over the place. For the bands, it’s a chance to play with other amazing bands that would never play with one another.” more ›

This week NYC-based dance-punk trio the Rapture will be headlining Sean Carlson's ever-so-famous Fuck Yeah Fest—now in its seventh year—which is set to take place in Los Angeles State Historic Park. Local electronic chanteuse Nite Jewel, who recently released a new EP entitled Am I Real?, is poised to grace the Troubadour with none other than recent collaborators Teen Inc. in tow. Portland-based alt-rock-leaning outfit Blue Giant, which is of course a splinter of celebrated indie pop act Viva Voce, will be warming up the stage at Spaceland for Nashville's own rock troubadour Bobby Bare Jr.. And, lastly, Pacific Hurt, formerly known as Santa Ana-based indie rockers Aushua, will be taking on the Troubadour with San Diegan buzz band LESANDS, LA-by-way-of-Glasgow retro 50s/60s pop outfit Neverever and folk-infused indie rock outfit Mississippi Man. more ›

SXSW Saturday was a slow descent into Hell GWAR. As LAist's Molly Bergen probably mentioned, the weather dropped about 30 degrees from the night prior, startling the hung-over 90% of us that were completely unprepared clothing-wise. (Not like I own a truly warm coat, anyhow). more ›

LA-based band The Soft Pack are hitting the road on Saturday--the roads of Los Angeles, that is. The San Diego-transplants (formerly known as The Muslims) will play 10 consecutive shows marathon-style all across town in an event that has them partnered with the FYF Fest and riding in a veggie-oil fueled 1992 Blue Bird school bus. The band is inviting fans to follow along all day or hit up spots wherever they can; while some of the locations have been announced some are still top secret, so you can follow the band via Twitter the day-of to see where their next stop is. more ›

If an amazing lineup, a great cause, and a kissing booth weren’t enough incentive, the organizers of the FYF Fest announced late yesterday that they are running a special discount ticket offer. Up until 5pm today, tickets to the event are a mere $8! To quote the ad: “That’s insane!” To borrow a phrase from the full name of the festival: “Fuck Yeah!” more ›

Dan Deacon, Dillinger Escape Plan and Torche have been added to the FYF Fest line-up, which benefits California State Parks this year. For the $20 that will will go towards helping keep state parks open in California, audiences can see over 20 bands including the Black Lips, No Age, Mika Miko, Crystal Antlers, Peanut Butter Wolf, Avi Buffalo and many more. "That is 60 cents a band!!!!" organizers exclaimed in an e-mail today. Check out the full line up here, a schedule will be announced next week. The festival, scheduled for September 5th, will also include a kissing booth, taco eating contest, dance offs, a record fair, face painting and a 'missed connections' center. "This will be the best day of summer and it's all for a good cause, to build awareness about the possible closure of our beautiful state parks," they say. more ›

With a stellar music lineup set for Sept. 5, FYF Fest is presenting Save Our State Parks to raise awareness about the closure of 100 parks in California. They aren't just stopping there, FYF Fest is harnessing its draw as an amazing music festival and encouraging people to volunteer at a variety of charities and organizations in the greater LA area. As a reward for donating 20 hours of your time, the festival is offering two free tickets and a "care package" of freebies. The exchange program has already proven popular with almost two dozen local organizations benefiting like the Union Rescue Mission, Northeast Trees, Reading to Kids LA and many more. Spaces have filled up fast, but slots still remain open for those who'd like to volunteer for film non-profit CineFamily. more ›

A Killer Music Festival: On Saturday, September 5th, FYF Fest will host a Save Our State Pars festival at Los Angeles State Historic Park in Chinatown. For $20 that will will go towards helping keep state parks open in California, audiences can see over 20 bands including the Black Lips, No Age, Mika Miko, Crystal Antlers, Peanut Butter Wolf, Avi Buffalo and many more. Check out the full line up here. Meet the Politician: State Senator Fran Pavley, Committee Chair of the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee, will be hosting an informational meeting on the budget of state parks and mitigating closures. It's on Friday, August 28th from 9 to 11 a.m. at the First United Methodist Church in Santa Monica. Pavley represents portions of Los Angeles and Ventura counties. more ›