The investigation into the death of a 25-year-old woman whose body was found in the garage of her Malibu home Saturday evening continues, however detectives say this afternoon that they have ruled out foul play. more ›

Some bands are like those brilliant, glowing sparklers that you light on Independence Day. They burn really brightly for a couple minutes and then fizzle out. Promising Nashville rockers Be Your Own Pet did just that. They put out an album, toured for a couple years, and then imploded in on themselves. A year later, rising from the ashes of that band, former guitarist and bassist, Jake and Jamin Orrall have decided to get serious about their side band, Jeff the Brotherhood. Releasing their fifth reverb heavy, garage rock album (and first really serious foray as an independent group) the brothers will be opening for Ted Leo and the Pharmacists at the Echo on Friday. more ›

Friday night at the El Rey Theatre, the guitarist for Tilly and the Wall, Derek Pressnall, opened for the Black Lips with his new band, Flowers Forever. The only adornment on-stage was a tangled mass of lights that glowed like a giant light-up hairball that served as a visual embodiment of the Flowers Forever sound: bright, messy, pretty ugly, but intriguing nonetheless. Each song jumped around from melody to melody with no smooth transitions. Drums ricocheted from delicate to pounding, guitars from fuzzy to jangling, and the bass and keyboards seemed to fill in wherever necessary. The unpredictable tone of the lyrics went from sweetly lighthearted ("Beach Bum") to mopey ("Jealous Motherfucker") and finally to politically pissed off in "Golden Shackles." The overall sonic effect of this lack of cohesion was extremely off putting, because the moment you decided you finally liked what the band was playing, they immediately started playing something else. Forever Flowers have potential, though, and could improve enormously if they dedicated themselves to one idea per song, not five. With a little focus and some strict editing, they could make some seriously interesting pop. more ›

• In part to honor the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr and in part to "increase the peace" a 40-hour moratorium on violence goes into effect for the City of Los Angeles starting at 6:01 p.m. tonight. Do your part!
• Because "You can't fire me...I QUIT!" lacks that certain je-ne-sais-quoi, perhaps? An employee in the midst of getting the boot today in Industry stabbed his boss with a pocket knife.
• 31-year-old Keven Lee Graff was sentenced to two life terms in prison today for two murders he committed in June 2004. Graff, a former Marine who is homeless, beheaded a 91-year-old screenwriter then murdered his 69-year-old neighbor.
• The mother of the dead baby found earlier this week near a home in Santa Ana has been arrested by US Marshals after a short stand-off in Henderson, NV. 20-year-old Michelle Pedroza used to reside in one of the houses near where the infant's corpse was discovered by a resident.
• A crowd of about 4,500 gathered today to honor firefighter Brent Lovrien, who died on the job last week in an explosion. His services were held downtown at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, and he was remembered as a man with "a true sense of loyalty."
• Actor Chris Rock took the stand for about 15 minutes this morning to testify in the trial of pro-snoop Anthony Pellicano, who allegedly used some shady methods to do is generally shady job. Rock hired the private dick to dig up dirt on a model who claimed the comedian knocked her up.
• Ever wonder if renting a garage is legit in the city? CurbedLA reminds us about housing and tenancy laws in their Ask Curbed column.
• In the days before WeHo, there was grub The Gay Way... EatingLA gives us a culinary chuckle and throwback with a photo of a 1940s era downtown eatery.

Hurry up and relax -- the weekend is within reach. Echoplex is set to prep you for a hot weekend at Sunset Junction with a solid lineup tonight including local dahlinks Midnight Movies and Irving as well as Detroit's Gore Gore Girls and Architects from Kansas City. You'll sweat, you'll scream, you'll cry... but you won't spend a cent to get in the door. Carry on for music video offerings.... more ›