A new local-centric radio program, Close To Home (C2H) debuted last night at 11:00 on 98.7 FM. The show will air every Monday from 11:00 p.m.-Midnight. more ›

Release Date: September 2007 more ›

Last night I was casually checking out what various travel websites had to say about the neighborhoods of Los Angeles. Most of the summaries in Frommers sounded like this: Silver Lake, a residential neighborhood just north of Downtown and adjacent to Los Feliz (home to the Los Angeles Zoo and Griffith Park), just to the west, has arty areas with unique cafes, theaters, graffiti, and art galleries -- all in equally plentiful proportions. The... more ›

Did you know you can still get tickets for Monday night's Rilo Kiley show at the Santa Monica Civic? Do you know why you can still get tickets for the show? Because it's in Santa Monica. And when the people of Santa Monica aren't trying to destroy old trees and houses, they're looking for things to do Other than see great rock shows. Let's think of things they do on the Westside other than... more ›

Chicagoist is gearing up for this weekend's annual Air & Water Show along the lakefront. In what's becoming an annual tradition around there, staff member Todd McClamroch even got to fly with one of the participants. Chicagoist's decidedly opinionated readership was also appalled that one of their staffers found a popular local brewpub to be a great place to bring a kid. They also think that an unlikely activist for immigration rights should just take her medicine and offered their own suggestions to how the city should capitalize on the local music scene. And everyone thinks that a suggested tax on bottled water is a great idea. more ›

LAist Editor Tony Pierce has blogged here non-stop for more than a year deserving a well-earned vacation (and did he ever earn it). While out of town, we decided to have a little fun and bring some guest day editors in from around the blogLAsphere. Monday we had Green LA Girl and Tuesday saw Fred Camino of MetroRiderLA.Zuma Dogg took Wednesday and LA City Nerd yesterday. Today, former LAist Editor Carolyn Kellogg makes a comeback!... more ›

Come out and support local music labels and artists at A Community Record Fair, presented by Dublab and The LA Record this Sunday, May 20 at The Echoplex. Record labels, stores, DJs and independent collectors will offer new and used vinyl, CDs, DVDs, cassettes and collectible rarities. Visual artists, bookstores and clothing designers will also present their creative gems at special prices. For artist olive47, who designed the stuffed creatures above, this will be one of her last appearances in LA as she prepares to move to London. "I'm selling plush dolls, handscreened T-shirts, prints, stickers and badges," she says. more ›

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As we sat down to write this week's Best of the -ists post, a car blaring "21 Questions'" passed by our house. And that started us thinking about how some of the best -ist posts out there have at their hearts questions, some of which are answered, and some of which are left open. Check out the Best of the -ists from this week, and see if you agree. more ›

On the eve of Austin's gargantuan music festival in Zilker Park, Austinist is hosting our second annual fall soiree, replete with bands, DJs, video projections, fire dancers, and more! For Local Music is Sexy 2, we've brought together some of our favorite bands who call this city home: IV Thieves [myspace] "You Can’t Love What You Don’t Understand“ (from without sound) “Chase Me Off/Out“ (from without sound) "Take This Heart" (from Berkeley Place) Brothers and... more ›

We -ists are an eclectic bunch, but there's a couple of things we all love: famous people, social causes, and wacky local facts. Join us as we starf**k, get virtuous, and learn across the -ist network! more ›

Fri 6/9 - Silversun Pickups / Film School @ the Echo ($10) – The Silversun Pickups drop their debut full-length, Carnavas, on July 25th on Dangerbird Records. The record is consistently strong and they're one of the handful of local bands with a really good chance of blowing up this year. Expect to hear a few Smashing Pumpkins comparisons in the reviews (classic Gish/Siamese Dream-era Pumpkins). San Francisco’s Film School frequently gets favorably compared to your favorite Manchester bands. more ›

With all the hand-wringing over the closures of Aron's and Rhino Records, you might think any non-Amoeba record store in Los Angeles is doomed. But that would mean you've never visited Sea Level Records in Echo Park. Dedicated music fanatic Todd Clifford opened the store in December 2001, and it's survived ever since selling CDs, vinyl and the occasional art piece. Sea Level's speciality is indie rock and local music; it's got listening stations stocked with new CDs and frequent in-store performances (Hudson Bell and The Glass Family are next, on March 4 and 5). Of course, Sea Level is on MySpace; it also has a plain old website. In the offline world, it can be found at 1716 W. Sunset Blvd. in Echo Park. more ›

• Nine Inch Nails drummer
  Jerome Dillon has been hospitalized for the second time since NIN began its
  fall tour. According to the band's
  website, Dillon returned to Los Angeles today to undergo tests. NIN's
  September 30th (Oakland) concert will be postponed and a replacement drummer will
  be used for the rest of the tour.


• We already knew there
  was a corporate heart beating behind the 21 JACK FM
  stations. Meet the voice behind the attitude: DJ Howard Cogan.


• Nickelback was
  unable to shake off Kanye West's Gold
  Digger. West's track ranks as the most downloaded
  digital song this week, while Nickelback holds the #2 spot with Photograph.

Our friends in the Nation's Capital launched their first foray into audio posting with a dcist podcast. It should become a regular feature of the site (and something we're thinking about doing here) and the inaugural episode focuses on the local music scene and a discussion with one of the planners of the Katrina Benefit that DCist co-sponsored earlier this month. more ›

The Gotham-centric Paper magazine runs a feature in the February 2005 issue that gives their guide of the "hottest restaurants, bars, clubs and shops in the city of angels" and it's actually not half bad. While they seem to be searching for all the things they love in New York in Los Angeles -- they have more than a little obsession with gangsters (of the mob kind not the neighborhood ones with which we're familiar) and finding designer gear -- they do happen on some spots around town that we're ashamed to say we didn't know about. more ›

Once described as an LA hipster's wet dream, The Adored's post-punk, mod-influenced sound stays true to their indie sensibilities and can be heard throughout the small club circuit east of the plastic glam of Hollywood. Drew, Max, Nat and Ryan have stayed under the radar from larger crowds in Los Angeles but that is likely to change in 2005 with their V2 Records EP release set for January and a great kick-off to the year as the featured band New Year's Eve at one of LAist's favorite local music venues, The Echo. more ›

Is it just us or are the 47th Grammy Awards Nominations woefully lacking in Los Angeles based artists and bands? Oh sure, the Black Eyed Peas and No Doubt make a few appearances and Snoop Dogg's Neptunes produced "Drop It Like It's Hot" rightfully competes for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group but these are all the usual suspects. more ›

My name's Tom Berman and I'm the editor of LAist. Thanks for the visit. more ›