The idea for Pangea Day was inspired by filmmaker Jehane Noujaim's acceptance speech after winning the TED Prize at the 2006 TED Conference. The global event begins this Saturday at 11:00 a.m. PDT with events in six cities including Los Angeles (Sony Pictures in Culver City) and numerous satellite gatherings. In addition to 24 short films, the four-hour event will include live music and speakers. Max Lugavere and Jason Silva, the founding hosts/producers of Current......

Guy Garvey is a busy... um... guy. As the frontman for one of the UK's most critically acclaimed bands, Elbow, he and his bandmates are in the middle of their global tour's North American leg, which ends here in Los Angeles Friday night at the Avalon. They have a newly-released album, The Seldom Seen Kid (read the LAist CD review here). On top of this, Guy is still selecting songs for his weekly BBC......

Comedian Brian Regan has been on "The Late Show With David Letterman" an astonishing 19 times - if you haven't seen him there, then how about Conan/Johnny Carson/Dr. Katz/etc.?? The man that has been everywhere is coming to The Wiltern, this Saturday, May 3rd at 8:00pm. LAist had a chance to talk to the Las Vegas-based Regan about his recent Comedy Central Presents Special "Brian Regan: Standing Up" which is now on DVD, and his......

The Mae Shi Versus Orochon Ramen. All photos by Carrie Meathrell So I think The Mae Shi are robots. I know, I know – they look like your typical cute-as-shit L.A. indie band, but start talking about the Book of Revelations and cybernetic intelligence with them, and you’ll start to get this funny inhuman feeling. And they’re certainly not clunky, "Forbidden Planet!" style robots, but super smooth Cylons, like something out of a Dan......

Junot Diaz at the Hammer Museum/Osmany Rodriguez for LAist The thing about author Junot Diaz is, one minute he’s on the phone with you, rapping about meringue, Malcolm X, comic books, and how shit never gets done on time in the Dominican Republic – and the next minute, he’s winning the Pulitzer Prize for fiction for his novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. He describes himself as just another ordinary, poor immigrant......

We caught up with Mahalo Daily host/producer Veronica Belmont at Community Next over the weekend to discuss her daily (weekdays) video podcast for Santa Monica-based Mahalo. Veronica discussed her sci-fi affliction, World of Warcraft habit, and LA vs. SF. We also coined the term "puppy roll," a unique variation on the Rick roll featuring the Mahalo CEO Jason Calacanis' bulldogs. What will Veronica get up to next?......

So what DOES Rick Astley think of his accidental role as star of the viral Internet prank that keeps on never giving up? Despite rumors of a possible Super Bowl halftime appearance and the pining of journalists and geeks around the world, the Rick behind the Rickroll has remained mum. Or perhaps nobody bothered to call his management. But in a breakout week for the Rickroll that included a nod from the Gray Lady, David......

Clinton Sparks smashing it up at Hard Rock Hotel's Body English every Saturday night If you aren't familiar, Clinton Sparks has rapidly risen from the basement of his mother's house in Boston to an elite DJ, producer and on-air personality. Recently, the host of the nationally syndicated Smashtime Radio and producer of numerous classic mixtapes like the first two volumes of the "We Got it 4 Cheap" series by The Clipse and The Re-Up......

Less than a year after being acquired by CBS Interactive, Wallstrip executive producers Jeff Marks, Adam Elend, and host-producer Lindsay Campbell (interviewed above at the MobLogic launch party this week at SXSWi) have added a second daily video podcast to the mix. MobLogic aims to take daily news and politics to the people, with daily topical summaries and commentary from everyday people-on-the street. Though based in New York City, MobLogic will be criss-crossing the......

Capping off four days of panels at SXSW's 2008 Film Festival, (which also included Mark Cuban interviewing Michael Eisner, and a conversation with Billy Bob Thornton), Doreen Ringer Ross of BMI interviewed Moby. The meat of the interview is posted above and concerns Moby's take on licensing music for film (and the concept of mobygratis) as well as a look at his unlikely rise from a punker on Manhattan's lower-east side to a corporate......

Matt Belknap is changing the way people experience comedy. As founder of Aspecialthing.com , Matt's created a place where comedy nerds, whether they be fans or the artists themselves, can discuss the art form they love so much. But Belknap isn't only a comedy fan. He runs See You Next Tuesday at the UCB Theater, is producer of and panelist on Never Not Funny, one of the I-Tunes picks for best Podcasts of '06 and......

It's hard not to notice when Jeffree Star enters a room because he is wearing high heels, has bright pink shoulder length hair, is heavily tattooed from head to toe, and carries a large Louie Vuitton purse. And it was apparently just as difficult not to notice him when he bust onto the internet scene (and into our hearts) in 2003. Recently, and without any marketing or ads, he has been blowing doors on the......

Big Business, Red Fang, The Cops @ Spaceland (Tho Cops reviewed on LAist, 3/20/06) New York Dolls @ House of Blues (Anaheim) Travis Sullivan’s Bjorkestra, George Sarah & String Trio @ Safari Sam's (George Sarah video below) The Riders of the Purple Sage @ Live at the Lounge (Hermosa Beach) Peter Himmelman @ McCabe's (Music for the kids) Sunday Residency (See all March Residencies) Alex & Sam, Liz Pappademas @ Tangier ($8), Los Feliz (Read......

When you read something you like on LAist, we love it when you hit the "recommend" button, and we love it even more if you put your two cents' worth in the comments. Getting a dialog going with our readers and making sure we're giving you content you can use are top priorities for us. So here's this week's top posts, as endorsed by you via the recommend feature, or as indicated by the level......

Photo of Carter Tanton by Amanda Zee Carter Tanton of Tulsa always gets rave reviews about his voice like this one from Pitchfork: "Lead singer Carter Tanton has a spectacular voice... [he] could probably sing a recipe for chocolate éclairs and still make it sound good." And Rolling Stone said "his indie-seraphim voice is not of this world." Both reviews referenced the similarities to My Morning Jacket. And not to forget the band, the......

Sara Melson has been in LA for some time now after graduating from Harvard with a degree in English (she's shy about this fact). First it was acting, now it is music. She loves living in classic Los Angeles area neighborhoods, especially those with history, roots and the word "canyon" in it. Currently living in Beachwood Canyon, which she describes as a "true oasis," her past homes have been Topanga Canyon and Laurel Canyon, both......

It’s shaping up to be a busy year for singer-songwriter Cary Brothers. With the fourth annual Hotel Cafe Tour beginning in just a few days and his first full-length CD, Who You Are, getting great reviews, things won’t be slowing down for him anytime soon. Brothers first received nationwide attention when his song “Blue Eyes” was featured on the Garden State soundtrack four years ago, and his fan base has grown with the release of......

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has begun to get the word out that he plans on running for a second term. According to the LA Times, Mayor Tony made mention of his plans, along with "his most personal remarks to date about the political fallout from his extramarital affair" on Wednesday during an interview on the Charlie Rose show. The Mayor was also asked about his plans to run for governor, which have been circulating in the......

Headdress plays tonight at McCabe's Guitar Shop | Photo by Briana Purser Photography Har Mar Superstar, Electrocute @ Spaceland Wooden Shjips, Mariee Sioux, Headdress @ McCabe's (read our Interview about Sunday nights at McCabe's) El Manifesto, Orgullo Café @ House of Blues Maceo Parker @ The Roxy (Video after jump) DJ Craze, Klever, Treasure Fingers, Villains @ Henry Fonda Sunday Residency (see all February residencies here) Alex & Sam, Rachel Cantu, Dustin Boyer @......

Chances are you’ve heard of Dr. Drew Pinsky, board certified addiction medicine specialist, either through his popular late night radio program Loveline, or recent TV hit show, Celebrity Rehab. What you may not know is that in addition to the two programs, Dr. Drew also has another radio show on KGIL 1260 AM. Monday through Friday, from 11 am -1 pm, Dr. Drew opens up the phone lines and explores broader health topics, from......

Samantha Sidley and Alex Silverman at their Silver Lake rehearsal space | Photo via their MySpace page Alex & Sam may be a duo in title, but their fairly large band, sometimes up to twelve-members on stage, is quite a force of music that just puts a smile on your face. You can't really corner them into a jazz-blues rock or straight rock category. All we can say is that on stage, they've got......

For those of you who don't know, Moistboyz are a politically vulgar Punk-Metal hybrid Featuring Lead Vocalist Dickie Moist (Guy Heller,) and Lead Guitarist Mickey Moist (AKA Mickey Melchiondo, AKA Dean Ween of Ween.) They've been playing and recording ittermittently since the early 90s, with increased activity during the 2000s. Their music somehow manages to combine methamphetamine levels of energy, and aggressively in-your-face politics that, frankly, defy all description. (It's true - I don't like......

photo by Timothy Norris Local duo The Pity Party is playing the second show of their month-long Monday residency at Spaceland tonight. Much has been made about drummer/keyboardist/singer Heisenflei and her triple-threat instrumentation. But even if she weren’t an octopus, Heisenflei and guitarist/singer Maurice-Richard would still be stirring up L.A. with their smartly sparse songwriting and quirky melodies. We asked Heisenflei, who also runs The Little Knittery in Atwater Village, a few questions before......

Want to be a singer, a model, or maybe a comedian or TV Host? Then Big Shot Live is your chance to do just that. Simply go to the site, submit your video, and see if you're one of the lucky winners to get flown to LA (given that you're not already here) to pursue your goal and have it documented on the web. But unlike most talent contests, you get flown out right away,......

Hillary Clinton, via her site. As we speak, New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is in a heated, two-way battle for the Democratic nomination with Illinois Sen. Barack Obama. Clinton has enjoyed a strong lead in California, the grand prize of today's Super Tuesday, but has seen some of her poll numbers slip recently. LAist asked to interview both Clinton and Obama in January. Both camps agreed, questions were sent and, as of 3:30......

Deadspin's Will Leitch will be signing copies of his new book, God Save the Fan tonight at Book Soup Will Leitch, Deadspin editor, New York Times contributor, and author is in Los Angeles today presenting and signing copies of his new book God Save the Fan: How Preening Sportscasters, Athletes Who Speak in the Third Person, and the Occasional Convicted Quarterback Have Taken the Fun Out of Sports (And How We Can Get It......

I first interviewed the guys almost a year ago for another online publication and we decided to sit down again, have a chat and see what had happened with and to them as Current's go to guys. The boys are blowing up. Last year they won and Emmy, this year they landed a spot in the pages of Interview Magazine and an advertorial spread in L'Uomo Vogue. That's right people, Current TV does high......

Jim Wirt is a St. Louis native living in LA, but most people know him as Gay Bigfoot. The 42-year-old North Hollywood resident moved out to Los Angeles in 1996 and is a local artist who recently found himself in the middle of some online censorship when he tried to get one of his pieces printed on a t-shirt. Here's his story... You're an artist, you had some art you wanted to put on a......

Talib Kweli is your favorite rapper's favorite rapper. On his first farewell, The Black Album, rap superstar mogul Jay-Z gave Kweli the greatest sign of respect when he spit the following line "If skills sold/Truth be told/I'd probably be/Lyricly/Talib Kweli." The son of two college professors, the Brooklyn native is far from your average emcee. In the fall of 2007, Kweli released the critically acclaimed and commercially successful album Eardrum, the first from his new......

Carmen Rizzo will play the Temple Bar tonight Be joyful with the electro-pop sounds of Hey Willpower (Will from Imperial Teen and Tomo from Tussle) at The Echo or get a more worldly groove on at the Temple Bar. Jackshit, who we interviewed once, plays tonight and there are two in-store performances as well: one at Amoeba (of course) and the other at Active Ride Show. There's a few sold out shows, but you......