Love is hard. So is creating anything original that touches upon a subject Shakespeare, Beethoven and Elliott Smith all emptied their hearts for. But people keep trying to successfully send up life’s most vexing problem, and to varying degrees of success and originality. more ›

Destroy All Movies is the punk film Bible, and a weekend-long release party at Cinefamily proves LA's still the mohawk Mecca. Raw concert clips, post-apocalyptic gang fantasies and scene survivors will blow the doors off the Not-At-All-Silent Movie Theatre with rare footage from the East Coast, West Coast and both ends of the pond. more ›

If you think life is hard on a cruise ship, try taking the train! Unstoppable pits Captain Kirk and Malcolm X against an iron horse with a serious vendetta, several tons of chemicals, and a hundred schoolkids thrown in for good measure. more ›

When you think of Islam, you probably don't picture mohawks and leather jackets. That may change after viewing The Taqwacores, a new film about a motley crew of New Yorkers that bring the music to Muhammad and crank it past 12. more ›

Last year was a rough one for Ted Leo and The Pharmacists. Their label dissolved and the album that they were working on was scrapped. Undeterred they set about writing new material and self produced a new album in Brooklyn which was released a couple weeks ago on Matador Records. We caught up with Leo a few weeks ago to talk about these crazy transitions, the health of punk music, and Malibu rum. Here is some of what was said. more ›

The infamous reputation of the Black Lips' live show stretches far and wide. Their music itself is actually pretty straightforward, by the book, catchy garage rock. There are the usual songs about teen angst and political strife, but nothing too shocking. Black Lips' shows, however, cover everything that would make your mother die of shame. Public urination, vomiting, crowd surfing, stage diving, eating firecrackers, inciting riots, and nudity are all not only possible events at a Lips show--they're expected. Last year they were kicked out of India for exposing themselves in public. (Although why the promoters booked a band who is famous for nudity in a town where it's considered a crime is a mystery.) We caught up with guitarist, Cole Alexander, before their show at the El Rey to talk about their upcoming album, learning chords from Buddy Holly, and what it's like to flee a country in the middle of the night. Here is some of what was said. more ›

About one year ago, Nuart Theater in Los Angeles premiered the award-winning Dream of Life, a documentary about rock legend Patti Smith, filmed by Steven Sebring. It was not highly publicized but the theater was crowded with an audience spanning all ages, all curious to see how a piece that was filmed over eleven years would portray Patti Smith. At the end of the documentary, my friends and I found ourselves wanting more, even though we secretly admitted it was quite long. more ›

The second program in REDCAT’s sixth annual New Original Works Festival is brimming with things rarely seen before. This week (only), two interdisciplinary artist collaborations inhabit the basement of Disney Hall and, as the theater’s executive director, Mark Murphy says, “I can’t wait to see the results!” Innovative media artist Carole Kim collaborates with award winning choreographer/dancer Oguri, percussionist/composer Alex Cline and 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 ›

The dress code for a punk show has not changed in about thirty years. It is also a very simple one to follow: when in doubt, wear black. Black pants, black shirt, black shoes, black hair, black eyeliner, and a black tongue ring and you're good to go. With the exception of a Dropkick Murphys show in which case green is the new black. The Hollywood Palladium was lit up in green lights which reflected off the Murphy fans' Celtics jerseys fans with a sort of ominous glow. Almost everyone in the place was wearing Boston regalia, be it Celtics jerseys, Red Sox caps, Patriots jackets, and the occasional Bruins jersey. And why not? This was after all the Dropkick Murphys All Roads Lead to Boston tour. more ›

"Dude, are those earplugs?! What kind of pussy are you?" mocked Fat Mike of NOFX from atop the stage at the Henry Fonda Theater last Thursday. "Holy shit and they're orange!" an observation that probably made the unfortunate soul in the front row blush to the roots of his mohawk. This weekend was NOFX's triumphant 25 plus year reunion gigs. What was once a fringe band on the Los Angeles punk scene have emerged as legends of their time. Mostly because they've lasted for so long, a theme that was rehashed frequently over the course of the night. "Is there anyone here under 21? Because you can get the fuck out! Leave! You don't belong here! Punk rock is not for kids" Mike grinned. "I am 42 years old and I am the youngest dude on this stage. I've done the math and there is a combined 650 years of punk rock on this stage right now." more ›

If you faithfully watched the first season of "True Blood" on HBO this Fall, then you'll remember Fangtasia, the vampire bar set in Shreveport, Louisiana. The true setting of the bar isn't too far off from reality, in alternative theme at least. It's actually Alex's Bar in Long Beach which is one of the top venues for punk music in the Los Angeles area. LAist has visited them a number of times for shows and is happy to see the great venue used for a great show (also a candy-crack easy-to-read addicting book series by Charlaine Harris). more ›

Richard Meltzer, reviewing the Germs’ G.I. album for the LA Times in 1979, declared the band heirs apparent to the Doors. So perhaps there’s poetic justice in the way the two bands’ late-period careers mirror each other almost exactly; their lives have both been reenacted in Hollywood movies, and they’ve both returned to the concert stage with a celebrity ringer in place of a defining, iconic, dead lead vocalist. And importantly enough, they’re both continuously idolized by a new crop of 16 year olds searching for an edgy, articulate, safely deceased role model every year. Consider them essential rites of passage for hippie and punker kids respectively, from the same town, their reigns just six years apart. more ›

Submitted & Authored by Michael Zampelli more ›

Authored, Photographed and Submitted by Michael Zampelli more ›

Now in its fourth year, Punk Rock Social is a monthly event at Alex's Bar in Long Beach. This past weekend, they held the CD release for the Cute Lepers. more ›

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There were nearly as many people on stage as in the crowd at the Echo last night to witness the phenomenon that was a 35-minute set from Dark Meat, the 17-piece psychedelic rock collective from Athens, Georgia. more ›

If you live in Los Angeles or know anything about punk rock circa 1977 then you know about X. If you don't, Perry Farrell will tell you in the clip on the right. Farrell introduced X last month at SXSW, headliners of Spin's day party at Stubb's BBQ. The place was only two-thirds full after a mass exodus of sweater vests following a short set by Vampire Weekend. But all four original members of X -- now touring in celebration of their 31-year anniversary -- proved once and for all that punk's not dead (or at least that rock and roll is alive and kicking). more ›

As promised, the second day of photos from last weekend's Bamboozle Left punk festival. See the pictures from Saturday here. more ›

The Bamboozle Left Festival at Irvine's Verizon Wireless Amphitheater was a punk rock madhouse this weekend. Photos from Sunday coming soon. All photos by David Greenwald/LAist more ›

LA power punks The Dollyrots will play a homecoming show at Safari Sam's in Hollywood on Saturday, March 22. The trio has been on the road since January with Suffrajett and the "Love & Conquer Tour" in support of their latest album, 'Because I'm Awesome'. We had lead singer/bassist Kelly call in from the road to chat with LAist. more ›

Last Sunday, local electronic pop duo Electrocute (MySpace), perhaps best known for their song "Bikini Bottom" on the soundtrack, concluded their February residency at Spaceland (MySpace) in Silver Lake. The lineup included Totally Radd!! (MySpace) and Har Mar Superstar (MySpace). more ›

The main theme of the seminal grunge documentary Hype! is how something that by its very nature was anti-commercial became commercialized. more ›

That's heavy stuff indeed. And like it or not, those days are gone. more ›

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. more ›

Cindy Pierce and Edie Thys Morgan presents Finding the Doorbell 7pm @ Book Soup more ›

Whether it’s free bands by the river, obscure films at the Silent Movie Theatre or music festivals featuring great non-mainstream bands, Arthur magazine has improved L.A.’s sullied corporate reputation by organizing eclectic, margin-friendly events that embody the magazine’s mission to represent “transgenerational counterculture.” Case in point: Arthur’s Sunday Evenings series at McCabe’s Guitar Shop in Santa Monica, which continues this weekend with eccentric songwriter Michael Hurley and next Sunday evening with psych-rock band Wooden Shjips. On Feb. 13, the magazine also presents a launch of Abby Banks’ new book Punk House at Family on Fairfax. The book features photos of punk houses from across the country ⎯ a few of which are reprinted in this month’s issue of Arthur. We asked Jay Babcock, guru of Arthur magazine, a few questions about the upcoming shows. Continue on to read more about the dire state of L.A.’s all-ages scene, the mysterious absence of our rock ‘n’ roll elders, and the fall and rise of Arthur magazine. more ›

UK punk band, The Gallows, play at the Troubadour tonight | Photo by Michael/www.attheshow.org more ›

Prior to the Melvins' eardrum-shattering and patriotically inspiring performance at the Echoplex, Buzz Osborne was kind enough to share his thoughts on the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame, the digital revolution, and the potential for "peculiar" art in today's world. more ›