Andy Sternberg

We caught up with Joey Burns, Calexico's principal member, to talk about his L.A. upbringing, life in Tucson and more.

We're at Techcrunch Disrupt in San Francisco where some 30 startups from around the world are launching, execs, entrepreneurs and VCs are staking positions in the future of media and technology and Ashton Kutcher is introducing Walden Schmidt, his character debuting Monday on CBS' "Two and a Half Men."

LA Eastsiders Fool's Gold can debate top local taco joints for hours, and Baltimore-based Future Islands loves L.A. just OK. Watch our interviews from FYF Fest!

What we learned from Dead Milkmen at FYF Fest: Punk can't die, "it rebottles itself"; Rodney Anonymous is obsessed with MTV's "Teen Mom"; and... watch our interview with Milkmen Rodney Linderman and Dean Sabatino for more!

Explosions in the Sky guitarist Munaf Rayani took a few minutes to rap with us before the band took the stage at FYF Fest last weekend about surviving the deadly storm at Pukkelpop Music Fest in Belgium, how an art installation at Hollywood Forever Cemetery to debut the band's latest album, "Take Care, Take Care, Take Care," came to pass last April, and why they love Umami Burger.

This year's FYF Fest -- last Saturday at L.A. State Historic Park -- had something for everybody and at $40 entry for 10 hours of music on four stages (plus a comedy tent) was the ultimate no-brainer for live music aficionados.

The state of the economy may be a big question mark but one thing's for sure: L.A. tech is hot. Westwood-based Elevator Labs received $20 million in funding this week in another example of investors putting money into innovative Los Angeles-based startups. Managing partner Zack Zalon spoke to us about how his years at Virgin Digital influenced his approach and why he's excited about L.A.'s tech community.

Sounds from the West Coast and beyond will be showcased at the Pacific Festival in Orange County on Saturday. Dozens of acts will perform on 5 stages at the all-day affair at Oak Canyon Ranch.

With little progress being made to avert an NBA lockout a Turkish professional team is in talks to sign Kobe Bryant. Istanbul's Besiktas club made an offer to Bryant this week according to the L.A. Times. Kobe is said to be meeting with Besiktas officials in Istanbul on Saturday, reports SBNation.

Giovanni Ramirez issued his first public statement on Friday, a week after being exonerated following the arrests of new suspects in the LAPD's investigation into the nearly fatal beating of Bryan Stow at Dodger Stadium.