Molly Bergen

All photos were taken by the very talented Pete Ambrose. The Whiskey Saints found each other on Craigslist. Each of them had moved to Los Angeles from towns on the Eastern Seaboard to form a rock band. Drummer, Jeff Bell, knew what kind of band he wanted to join. He posted a list of influences that he wanted his band to incorporate. Due to the high demand for drummers, he got lots of very...

When Theresa Andersson was eighteen she left her native Sweden on a romantic whim and moved with her boyfriend to New Orleans to form a band. The romance fell apart, but by then Theresa had fallen in love with the city and it's vibrant music scene. A little more than a decade later Andersson has written her fifth studio album, Hummingbird, Go! to great critical acclaim with Rolling Stone calling her a "spacier, sultrier...

On New Year's Eve I found myself in the fortunate position of being invited to two parties. One was being held at the swanky Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, well known playground of the rich and famous. The other had an Old Hollywood theme and was thrown at the ancient Vogue Theater, which is no longer a theater but remains an icon (and is rumored to be one of the most haunted places in Hollywood.) The...

Wednesday night, around 10:30pm Pacific Standard Time, one of the fundamental truths that I had held to be self-evident came crashing down. It is a well-known fact that disco and rock are mortal enemies. Even now Staying Alive and Won't Get Fooled Again cannot be played at the same party, or, if they are, they need at least three songs in between them as a buffer. Throughout the '70s and into the '80s people divided...

The beautiful haunting melodies of the Duke Spirit's new album Neptune broke out at the beginning of this year with the single The Step and the Walk.On that single Liela Moss' voice radiated an eerie joy and her famous tambourine rattle bounced all over the radio waves. The British band traveled all the way to Joshua Tree to record this album. Oddly enough in the middle of the desert, they found themselves writing about...

The Echoplex was hit by a tidal wave of audio marshmallow fluff last Thursday. By the time I arrived, the air was sticky with it. Natalie Portman's Shaved Head was on stage. You want a band that can provoke a reaction just by naming things, it's this one. I mean their album is called Glistening Pleasure for God's sake. Who wouldn't want to own Glistening Pleasure? Unfortunately that is where the genius seems to wear...

My first thought when Boots Riley took the stage was, "Holy crap! Shaft has gone on tour with Kurt Cobain." Sporting an Afro, leather overcoat with a fur collar, and some impressive sideburns, he took the stage at the El Rey accompanied by a young man with long blond hair, a green winter jacket, and who frankly looked quiet stoned. If you look at the photo gallery below, you'll see that first impression was warranted....

Riding high on a tidal wave of media hype, Little Joy (otherwise known as Fabrizio Moretti's new band or Fab's Band) played for a sold out crowd on Sunday night. Being hailed by critics as the next great rock band and blogged to death as the best thing since sliced bread by Strokes fans, who are biding their time while the band is on hiatus, Little Joy had a lot to live up to. Their...

Deep in the heart of Los Angeles' theater district, after all the patrons have gone home, there is a lot of rock 'n' roll going on. Surprised? I was too. Specifically, one evening a few weeks ago I had the pleasure of stopping by the Unknown Theater after hours. This is where Elemenopy hold court every other Thursday. With a motto like "F the genre police," Elemenopy that is a band that will play...

John Dragonetti and Blake Hazard never intended to form the Submarines. They had met in Boston through mutual friends when they were both playing in separate bands. They became a couple, moved to LA, and promptly broke up. After their break up each of them began to write songs about how the break up had affected them. They still shared the same studio space, and eventually got to hear each others songs. Blake and John...