Those of you who have been reading this blog for a little while are no doubt aware that I have “a thing” for The Airborne Toxic Event. Through them, I’ve discovered a whole bunch of wonderful bands, who – if not actually based there – are often found playing in clubs in this cool and interesting area of East Los Angeles that includes Silverlake, Los Feliz, and Echo Park. A wide variety of influences, styles and personalities, they share a joy of performing, an absolute lack of pretension, a kind of camaraderie — and oh yeah, they’re all really fucking good as well.
share this:Wednesday night, I had an epiphany. I had gone to the Paradise to see a performance by singer, songwriter and producer John Forté. After checking out his music, researching for a profile I was doing, I saw he was playing here and decided I had to see him. Standing there before his set and listening to piped in hip-hop, I realized this was the first time I had ever gone to see music of that genre. Like many people, I think, I had a certain preconceived notion of what rap and hip-hop was. Happy to say, that notion would be tossed out the door that night.
share this:Continuing with my band roundup of artists I’ve recently been sent information on. Some of these people have been around for a while but I’m not terribly familiar with their work, so apologies to hardcore fans if the background information provided elicits a kind of “well, duh” reaction.
share this:Finally, part III of my ‘band roundup’, which includes The Willowz, The Bloody Beetroots, Har Mar Superstar, Yacht, and John Forte. If you’re in one of the bands I’m profiling and there’s new information, please let me know, and I’ll add it in.
share this:So I said in my review of Laura Lee’s Toad show that I would make up for not attending her Lizard Lounge performance by doing a write-up for her CD “tomorrow”, which is now seven days ago. That’s how it is sometimes.
share this:Wow. Seriously… wow. Yes, it’s been four days since the show and much of this time has been spent fretting about my camera meltdown (more about that later), but I have to say something about this wonderful performer, before more time goes by, and just ahead of another show she’s doing tomorrow night at The Lizard Lounge.
share this:Continuing where I left off last time, here’s part II of my ‘band roundup’. If you’re in one of the bands I’m profiling and there’s new information, please let me know, and I’ll add it in.
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