Initially conceived as a gift for a child, Violet Valen decided to develop her own line of custom teddy bear-themed one-of-a-kind sweatshirts after the adults went batty for the designs. Since forming Buddy Society in 2004, she's expanded into all manner of items to adorn yourself with, including denim jackets, jeans, and t-shirts. more ›

Tonight Oklahoma-bred singer-songwriter Wanda Jackson, the First Lady of Rockabilly and America's first female Rock and Roll singer, will be headlining the El Rey Theatre in support of her latest Jack White-produced endeavor—2011's The Party Ain't Over. LA-by-way-of-North Carolina folk outfit Hi Ho Silver Oh are poised to perform for free, in-store at Origami Vinyl. And, lastly, Portland-based folk songstress Laura Gibson will be gracing the Troubadour. But we strongly suggest heading over to the Echo to catch San Franciscan post-punk trio Weekend, who will be performing for this week's edition of Michael Stock's Part Time Punks. LAist favorites, Oxnard-bred garage pop act Catwalk are slated to kick things off. more ›

Destroy All Movies!!! - Zack Carlson and Bryan Connolly will be signing copies of their new book, “Destroy All Movies!!!” The Complete Guide To Punks On Film, Sunday evening at La Luz de Jesus. The book features new interviews with “music/big screen luminaries” such as Ian MacKaye, Richard Hell, Penelope Spheeris, Nick Zedd, John Doe & Exene Cervenka, Alex Cox, Martha Coolidge, Lee Ving, Keith Morris, Mary Woronov, and others. Boasting “A-to-Z coverage of over 1100 feature films”, the tome is surely as entertaining as it is comprehensive. more ›

This week disco/glam-infused rockers Scissor Sisters will be performing for free, in-store at Amoeba Music, as well as for not-so-free at the Hollywood Palladium. London-based indie rock quartet the Clientele will be headlining the Echoplex with none other than LAist favorite, local experimental psych folk duo Gangi's (LAist Review). Brooklyn-via-London-via-Sweden rock revivalists Alberta Cross are taking on the Troubadour with local indie rockers Athens-based psych rockers Dead Confederate and Red Cortez (LAist Review, #2, #3, #4) in tow. And, lastly, Virginia's own retro 80s lo-fi pop sensation Wild Nothing will be gracing the Echo for this week's edition of Michael Stock's Part Time Punks. more ›

Tonight LA-based alt-country outfit Horse Thieves will be performing at the Echo Country Outpost in Echo Park. Local jazz-infused pop duo Alex & Sam (LAist Interview, Review) are poised to grace the Bootleg Theater with none other than Judson and Mary. And, lastly, Fullerton-based garage rockers My Pet Saddle will be taking on the Troubadour. But we strongly suggest heading over to the Echo to catch Phoenix-based goth-infused electro act Zola Jesus, who will be performing for this week's edition of Michael Stock's Part Time Punks. more ›

Tonight San Diegan singer-songwriter Greg Laswell (LAist Interview, Review, #2, #3, #4, #5) will be taking on the Hotel Café. The unnecessarily abrasive Buddyhead-backed rock act known as the Icarus Line is poised to take on the Echo for this week's edition of Part Time Punks. And, lastly, LA-based alt-country troubadours Leslie and the Badgers will be gracing the Echoplex with none other than local chanteuse Eleni Mandell. But we strongly suggest heading over to the hole-and-corner Echo Curio to catch Stockton's own alternative hip hop and indie rock maestro Filbert. more ›

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Tonight LAist favorite, Cardiff-based folk songstress Cate Le Bon will be gracing the Bootleg Theater with none other than LA-based singer-songwriter Charlie Wadhams. Pasadena-based Americana act Old Californio are poised to perform for free at the Echo late in the afternoon for this week's edition of Grand Ole Echo. And, lastly, local indie rock act Voxhaul Broadcast will be taking on the aforementioned venue even later for this week's edition of Part Time Punks. But we strongly suggest heading over to Spaceland to catch Minneapolis-bred electro pop outfit Solid Gold. Local indie folk outfit Marvelous Toy and English rockers 22-20s are slated to kick things off. more ›

Tonight Ventura-based indie pop duo the Spires will be performing at the Echo as "the Velvet Underground" for this week's edition of Part Time Punks. Long Beach's own pop songstress (and general lass) Jessica Dobson will be performing at Spaceland under the pseudonym Deep Sea Diver (LAist Review). And, lastly, LA-based pop rockers the Monthlies will be taking on the Viper Room. But we strongly suggest heading over to the Henry Fonda Music Box to catch Toronto-based electronica musician Peaches, who will be concluding a two-night stint. more ›

Tonight Grammy-nominated electro-pop act Shiny Toy Guns will be performing at Hard Rock Cafe at Universal City Walk for KROQ's Super Bowl Party. Local folk duo Alex & Sam (LAist Interview, Review) are slated to play Home Restaurant in Silver Lake. This week's edition of Part Time Punks at the Echo will be centralized around the Cure. And, lastly, Olympia's own underground rock king Calvin Johnson is set to rock out at the Smell with local singer-songwriter Devon Williams in tow. But we strongly suggest heading over to Spaceland to see Highland Park-based indie-pop outfit Fol Chen, who will be accompanied by their contemporaries Light FM and Radars to the Sky (LAist Review, #2, #3). more ›

Tonight the Echo will be hosting its usual Part Time Punks extravaganza with Rainbow Arabia headlining the bill. OC garage-rockers the Growlers are slated to perform at the rather posh Cinespace. And, lastly, English psych-pop outfit Yeti will be rocking the Viper Room. But we strongly recommend heading over to the Smell, where Highland Park's own indie rockers Bodies of Water are purportedly playing their last show for a while. more ›

We haven't seen a Sunday like this since the summertime. We've got Athens-based new wave rock band the B-52's performing at Club Nokia in Downtown. Seattle's own experimental rockers Minus the Bear will be coming through the Henry Fonda Music Box with our favorite Raleigh-based indie pop group, the Annuals. LA locals Tigers Can Bite You are slated to rock at the Alterknit Lounge at the Knitting Factory. And, lastly, singer-songwriter Charlie Wadhams will be continuing his month-long Sunday Night Residency at Tangier. Word on the street is that Tangier will be closing its doors soon due to financial woes. But how could anyone turn down the Part Time Punks Festival at the Echo and Echoplex compound? Not only will some of LA's prominent fringe acts be playing (The Muslims, Mika Miko, Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti), but living legends like Manchester's A Certain Ratio will be headlining the predominantly punk-tinged extravaganza. It will be the band's first performance in the US since 1985—the year I was born. more ›

On Sunday evening, local band Midnight Movies (MySpace) performed on Part Time Punks (MySpace) at The Echo (MySpace), opening for Spectrum. Also on the bill was Chicago's Grimble Grumble (MySpace). more ›

Sometimes one is in the mood for a gathering of people with great music, but instead of being happy and energetically dancing around, there is Give Up's "A Sad, Slow Dance Party" presented by dublab and Part Time Punks tonight at La Cita. Taking cue from the successfully subdued Give Up shows where DJs played gloomy music and devotees painted tears on their faces, this next installation takes on the lonely theme in time for Valentine's Day. What's interesting is the depressing music actually has the opposite effect and makes for a joyful time. more ›

2006 Performance of Unsilent Night in SF more ›

Korn - "Falling Away From Me" more ›

AMERICAN MUSIC an acoustic punk documentary more ›

Last Saturday, my friend and I headed downtown (a bit late) to check out Night Vision: MOCA After Dark. We made a spur of the moment decision to go, after wandering around aimlessly a bit, eating Pinkberry (the reason being only one of us could get in to see What We Do Is Secret, and that just wouldn't be fair). So we found ourselves driving around and around and around looking for parking, ultimately... more ›

Portland’s disco-punk duo Glass Candy graced L.A.’s presence twice this past weekend. On Friday night, Johnny Jewel and Ida No played to a sardine-packed crowd of teenagers at Echo Park’s Tribal Cafe, a juice and coffee bar that clears out part of its floor for bands. Everybody danced and yelled out requests and put the band in a chipper mood. more ›

Fiery Furnaces, Comets on Fire @ Arthur Nights, Palace Theatre more ›

The Cramps, Hank Williams III, Drive By Truckers, Dave Alvin, Candye Kane, Nona Hendryx, Richard Street @ Sunset Junction The Smithereens, Susanna Hoffs & Matthew Sweet, The Minus 5, Jefferson Starship (minus Grace Slick) @ House of Blues Faster Pussycat, Stephen Adler, Bang Tango @ Safari Sam's Gotan Project, Zero 7 @ Hollywood Bowl Minion, Hot Wired, Searh Tea, Rock Beats Paper @ Viper Room Nevermore, Agent Steel, Scarred, Cage, Nuclear Winter @ Knitting... more ›

Fri 5/26 - Elefant / Voxtrot / Silversun Pickups @ the Wiltern ($20) – Elefant's new album, The Black Magic Show, is out on Hollywood Records. They've got a stylish front man with lots of swagger and they should appeal to fans of the Killers and She Wants Revenge. Silversun Pickups are getting ready to release their debut full-length, Carnavas, on Dangerbird Records on July 11th. The people who’ve heard it say it’s really good and that they’ve outdone their EP. Austin’s Voxtrot are definitely a band to keep your eye on. Their recent EP is full of infectious, early 80s, Smiths-style rock. They just toured the country with local heartthrobs, Irving. Download Voxtrot’s “Mothers, Sisters, Daughters and Wives” more ›

Fri 5/19 - Kelley Stoltz / Irving / The Little Ones @ the Echo ($10) – This is a very strong lineup for the indie pop fans. San Francisco’s Kelley Stoltz put out an overlooked album earlier this year on Sub Pop. He sounded great at the Echo in February, but his set was cut short by a DJ night. Hopefully he won’t be rushed tonight. He writes songs that are informed by all the classic music you love from the late 1960s / early 1970s, but still manages to make them his own. Download “The Sun Comes Through” You've already heard us talk about Irving several times before. Their latest album is super catchy and they always put on an energetic live show. Their songs cover the spectrum from early 1980s, Cure-influenced songs to Elephant 6 pop. Download “Situation” The Little Ones are one of our favorite new local bands. They seemed to spring out of nowhere (the lead singer was actually in a popular emo-ish band called Sunday's Best) and immediately caught the attention of the blogosphere. They play sing-along indie pop in the mold of the Shins and Fruit Bats. Download “High on a Hill” more ›

Unless otherwise noted, all shows are free of charge.


SUNDAY, 11/6




• Mews Small & Her Fabulous Females, Brad
  Kay and Justefanie perform at Unurban Coffeehouse at 1 PM. Call (310) 315-0056.


• The All Saints Choir and
  Orchestra perform
  Fauré’s Requiem and works by C.V. Stanford and Craig Phillips.
  The event is free but all donations will benefit Katrina recovery efforts.
  The show begins at 5 PM in the All Saints’ Church in Beverly Hill.
  Call (310)
  275-2910.


• Pianist
  Maria Demina performs for LACMA's Sunday
  Live series. The concert begins at 6 PM in LACMA's Leo S. Bing
  Theatre. Call (323) 857-6234.

Unless otherwise noted, all performances
are free.

SATURDAY, 9/24

• DJs Michael Stock and Benjamin White of Part Time
  Punks continue their two month residency at
  MOCA. The show
  starts at 6pm and it's free with general museum admission. Call (213)
  621-1734.
  
• JB and The Rebellion's play at
  One
  Colorado in Old Pasadena,
  from 9pm to midnight. Call
  (626) 564-1066.
  

SUNDAY, 9/25

• Pianist Sara Naomi Sumitani performs at the Beverly
  Hills Public Library at 2pm. Call (310) 937-7275.
  
• Pianist Marina
  Lomazov plays
  at the LACMA Sundays
  Live Series.
  The show starts at 6pm. Call (323) 857-6234.
  
• Paul Bailey Ensemble performs
  at Mr. T's Bowl at 9pm (323)
  256-7561.
  
• DJs Michael Stock and Benjamin White spin post-punk, mutant disco and
  indie 80s-90s at the echo at 10pm.
  For info, call (213) 413-8200.
  
• Part Time Punks spin the Smiths, Morrissey
  and other Suedeheads all night long. The show starts at 10pm at the
  echo. Call (213) 413-8200.
  

MONDAY, 9/26

• Toys That Kill take the
  echo stage at 8:30pm. Call (213) 418-8200 for
  details.
  
• The Oohlas continue their residency
  at the
  echo. Doors open at 8pm but there's no cover after 10pm. For
  details, call (213) 413-8200.
  
• Run Run Run also continue their
  residency at Spaceland.
  Doors open at 8pm and the show begins at 9pm. Call (323) 661-4380
  
• One of the Loudest Tragedies Ever Heard take
  the stage at the
  Silverlake Lounge at 11pm. Call (323) 666-2407