Author Archives: Ash Eliot

Out of San Diego is a three-piece synth pop group known for their 80s-inspired head-shakin’ beats that are getting everyone all riled up. This past year, despite the fact that the guys hadn’t released a record yet, Lesands received all sorts of buzz. KCRW took notice and so did New York’s CMJ. Lesands is singer Austin Taylor Tirado, drummer Joel Plotnik and guitarist/bassist Nik Ewing.

Now, the band has officially released their debut EP Sweet Skin for free. But it will only be available for one month. I hadn’t heard songs “Sweet Skin” and “Restless Lover” until today, and though it’s hard to pick favorites on the record because they’re all noteworthy, original and addicting, these two tracks are my new fixation for the next week. So get ready friends to hear me blasting the EP on my computer, my iPod while at the gym and my car stereo while on my way to Santa Barbara this weekend.

Now, if you don’t trust my word, then go listen for yourself and download it. Again, it’s freeeeeeee.

Download: Sweet Skin EP

Check out the guys playing The Echo on Feb. 3 with We Barbarians. In early March, Lesands go on tour with Foster The People and Grouplove.

In April of 2009, Echo Park encountered an incredible addition to the area: a vinyl record store that would feed the neighborhood with music knowledge and keep it hip. Origami Vinyl, founded by Neil Schield, is where you will find the best and latest local finds plus weekly live in-store shows and record release parties. If I lived close by, which might happen soon, I would probably camp out there every day, going back and forth between there and Two Boots, and then over to The Echo once the shop closes. That sounds beautiful. Anyway, the store just launched OnTheRecord.TV, which has videos of the in-store shows, and will present the Monday night residencies at The Echo starting in February.

I caught up with Schield and the store’s manager Sean Stentz. Here’s what they had to say…

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After awaiting the reunion of Silver Lake’s Death To Anders during a long hiatus, singer/guitarist Nicholas Ceglio and bassist Pete DiBiasio decided it was time to start a new project. In November 2009, Ceglio, DiBiasio and Nathan Kondor (drums) met up at a bar, where good decisions are rarely made but in this case it was a great one, and started writing. Hence was the launch of George Glass – a rock three-piece that makes every word, beat and chord linger in your mind long after the first listen and that’s what I like. Influenced by The Kinks, Elliott Smith and The Decemberists, George Glass, with members based in North Hollywood and Silver Lake, released their debut EP in October of last year and now you can find it on vinyl.

Their song “For The Headless” shares similarities to a more at-ease Interpol meets Beach Boys, while “Tricks of the Tradeless” slows things down a bit reminding me of The Shins at first but then unexpectedly it goes into fast tempo guitar riffs and steady drumming over and over again. What I’m getting at is each song on the fairly new band’s EP can stand on its own with each having a unique element to it that wins you over instantly. The refreshing record is going to sound rad on 12″ vinyl, which you can now purchase. The guys worked with sound engineer Tim Shrout at Bedrock LA and mixed the record at Infrasonic with sound engineer Eric Palmquist. George Glass plans to release a 7″ later this year with three remaining tracks from their recording session.

Also, you can purchase the EP at http://georgeglass.bandcamp.com

Today, George Glass is performing at Origami Vinyl in Echo Park for the release of their 12″. Better pick yourself up a copy and say hello to the guys too.

Surprising as it might be for a couple of rambunctious punk rockers to migrate over to a sound like bluegrass or folk, Sean Wheeler (Throw Rag) and Zander Schloss (Circle Jerks, The Weirdos, Joe Strummer) known as The Legendary Duo are still the same risqué guys making real music. Schloss, born in Missouri, brings the twangy bluegrass and folk feel while Wheeler’s background is more soul and reggae.

Any artist changing up their music, whether it is from rock to pop or even stripping down to acoustic, always has concerns. How will the fans react? Will they understand it? If they don’t get it, then whatever, you keep doing what you’re doing until they catch on. And that seemed like the mentality going into this project. The duo wanted to create something raw and as the Silver Lake-based multi-instrumentalist Schloss states, “…super direct that they [listeners] can sink their teeth into.”

“I wasn’t concerned as much about it as Sean was but I always had to remind him that Throw Rag kind of has a ting of that [bluegrass] going on anyway,” he says. “I was born in Missouri and have been playing bluegrass my whole life. The Circle Jerks thing was actually a fluke for me. I’m a steady jazz player and all this other stuff.”

As we all know, opposites do attract. Wheeler and Schloss balance their musical tastes and punk rock attitudes, which are presented loudly on stage with explicit banter.

“We talk a lot about herpes, crack cocaine, you know, heroine, stuff like that,” kids Schloss. “It’s not necessarily intentional. We are kind of raunchy dudes. Sean is exceptionally raunchy. And it’s great. I’m generally a pretty funny guy. But in a comedy team or whatever there is the serious guy who is tall and skinny, and the other guy who is more stout and jolly. So we are doing the classic comedy thing where we are foils for one another.”

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Oh how we look forward to the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival…three days in the desert surrounded by sweaty music lovers. I’m ready for it and hopefully you are too because tickets go on sale this Friday. Yep, this is true. Time to break your Coachella piggy bank and head over to the Coinstar machine to rustle up some cash. Now, how do you feel about the lineup? I’m way too excited for LA indie acts like Foster The People, The Henry Clay People, Warpaint, Glasser and Best Coast making the roster. You’ve got headliners Kings of Leon, Arcade Fire, Kanye West and The Strokes. And you’ll find me front row for The Black Keys, The New Pornographers, Cold War Kids, Delta Spirit, Crystal Castles, Interpol, Bright Eyes, CSS, Jimmy Eat World (for high school memories sake) and definitely some newer acts I’ve never even heard of that I’m going to need to check out for us. Expect Coachella updates here on The Vinyl District Los Angeles and share your thoughts about the fest!

Inspired by well-known thriller Friday The 13th, “Showers Without Warning” by LA folk group Hi Ho Silver Oh is a haunting yet eccentric song bursting with “oohs” and “awws.” It’s not as eerie as one would think, given its comparison to a disturbing horror film. Hi Ho Silver Oh actually wrote quite a few songs about Friday The 13th and you can watch this video with the band performing as their “alter-ego” The Happy Campers to prove all this true. The guys obviously have a sense of humor. Released on Trailer Fire Records, the limited edition “Showers Without Warning” 7″ with a b-side featuring a Tom Petty cover is now available for purchase.

Download the song “Showers Without Warning” here.

A side – Showers Without Warning
B side – Time To Move On (Tom Petty Cover) -featuring Leslie Stevens of Leslie & The Badgers

And here is a double whammy for you, the band is offering their first EP My Friends And The Sun for free here.

The first thing that came to mind when I heard about the band Tic Tic Boom! was a cheer my friends and I used to do back in elementary school. Yes, at one point in my life I wanted to be a cheerleader..I was a loud and energetic kid, and thought it was a good idea at the time. Anyway, the phase lasted like five minutes. So we would do this cheer that got us all hyped up and flaring our arms like crazy people. That’s what I thought about before listening to the band. I expected their sound to be reflective of how I felt at that age. And in Tic Tic Boom!’s EP Reasons & Rhymes, I can hear the youthful angst that I kept hidden during my private school days. The Hollywood-based group meshes synth pop with garage rock while lead singer Leilani Francisco whispers and bellows out catchy choruses. The sophomore EP comprises of five tracks, including “The Pattern,” “The Open,” “180 Degrees,” “The Floodgate” and “Just Friends.” The indie pop foursome releases Reasons & Rhymes this Monday at The Viper Room.

Listen to: “The Floodgate”

More info. at http://www.ticticboommusic.com.

My Southern California music show called Everyday Noise on Houndstooth Radio will replay tomorrow (Sunday) at 11 a.m. PST. Everyday Noise features indie acts from Los Angeles, Orange County, Long Beach, San Diego and Inland Empire. Expect music by Grouplove, The Henry Clay People, Jenny O, The Fling, Fool’s Gold, Kitten, So Many Wizards, Pepper Rabbit, Foster The People and a ton more. The two-hour show airs Tuesdays from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Hope you can tune in!

– Ash

In 2009, Silver Lake’s Chasing Kings released their debut EP “The Current State Of Our Future” … a record that I still keep on repeat for days at a time. Now, I will get to hear their indie pop songs that boast soul and folk influences on vinyl. And as you know, everything sounds even better on vinyl. Chasing Kings released new songs “Just Our Luck” and “Maybe It’s The Distance” in December but their 10″ can be found at Origami Vinyl in Echo Park now. The band’s sound is catchy pop/rock/soul all blended together beneath lead singer Matthew Schwartz’s ruggedly raw vocals that would make you think he’s had either way too much Whiskey or he’s older in age. But Schwartz and the rest of the band are barely 21 years old, and once you give them a listen, you won’t believe that.

Purchase “Just Our Luck” and “Maybe It’s The Distance” on Bandcamp.com also.

Check out Chasing Kings at DiPiazza’s in Long Beach on Jan. 17.

TOMORROW, I learn how to really shop for records. I’m waking up at 6 a.m. to do so. Should be interesting.

With indie pop group Foster The People’s title track “Pumped Up Kicks” still in our thoughts as if it were an endless California summer, the band just keeps impressing us. Last night, the guys kicked off their residency at The Echo and performed to a packed house. With 9,000 fans on Facebook it’s no surprise the venue was overflowing with people. But that’s not the only reason of course, their buzzworthy “Pumped Up Kicks” and the anticipation for their debut record is causing quite a commotion. Now added to the rotation on KROQ 106.7 FM, Foster The People is much more than than the stuck-on-repeat catchy song. Their live show is friendly, fun, dancey and from what I heard last night, definitely bass heavy. You can tell how much the band enjoys being on stage…I think smiling while sweat drips down their faces is proof enough.

You have several chances this month in LA and OC to see it all for yourself and for free. Foster The People perform at The Echo every Wednesday and at Detroit Bar every Monday with Pacific Hurt.

Download their new track “Helena Beat” for free on the band’s Facebook page and be a fan!

Also, “Pumped Up Kicks” is available on 12″ and you can find it at your local independent record store. I found it online for you here.

Check out the feature I wrote on Foster The People in the second issue of LA Canvas, which is out now!

This Saturday at the Bootleg Theater, Plays Well With Others and BuzzBands.LA present a concert and compilation release to raise funds for the rebuilding of The Ruuska Village, an orphanage and shelter affected by the earthquake in Haiti that occurred one year ago today. Non-profit group Reach Out To Haiti founder Barbara Walker, who specializes in Haitian adoptions, created The Ruuska Village for mothers and children.

Photo by Jess Koehler http://www.jesskoehler.com

Vanaprasta, John Carpenter, John Isaac Watters and Mariah McManus are set to perform at the benefit show. The $10 admission includes a download card featuring songs by 18 artists. You can also purchase the compilation here. It is an 18+ show. Purchase tickets here.

Bootleg Theater is located at 2220 Beverly Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90057

Tonight at The Echo, during the country/folk band’s residency, Olin & the Moon release their new record Footsteps. The 15-song album is available for purchase at the shows or online HERE. Coyol and Pauli Pesh are also on the lineup for the band’s second residency show. Olin & the Moon accompanied by two violinists and a pianist will be playing all the tracks off of Footsteps. Check out the lineup and times for the residency at The Echo this month on Tuesday nights below:

11th: 9pm – COYOL
10pm- Olin & The Moon
11pm – Paulie Pesh

18th: 9pm – Wires in the Walls
10pm – Olin & The Moon
11pm – The Reflectacles!

25th: 9pm – The Damn Sons
10pm – Olin & The Moon
11pm – Amanda Jo Williams

Footsteps track listing:

1. Say Goodbye
2. Watch, Wait Never Change
3. Escape
4. Not In Love
5. Gonna Make You Mine
6. Last Song
7. That Light
8. Repeat
9. Wait For You
10. Waking Up
11. Payo
12. Out Of Here
13. Change Your Mind
14. Footsteps
15. Burro Blanco

Echo Park’s Origami Vinyl doesn’t just sell music. The record shop puts on in-store performances, supports local concerts and even has its own label. Now, located right next door to the addicting Two Boots pizza, Origami Vinyl is partnering up with The Echo, which is only a couple doors down from the store. Starting in February, they will present the Monday night residencies at the venue and that includes taking over the patio area, which will also soon have a bar, to DJ and sell music. On top of that, Origami Vinyl is going to host a record release party every week. Dates and details are below.

Monday Night Residency in February at The Echo with Slang Chickens and Papa
02/07 Line-up: Slang Chickens, Papa, Mini Mansions, and Rachel Marie Williams (ex-Sleepy Sun)
02/14 Line-up: Slang Chickens, Papa, John Carpenter, TBA
02/21 Line-up: Slang Chickens, Papa, more TBA
02/28 Line-up: Slang Chickens, Papa, more TBA

Record Release Parties on the back patio of The Echo:
02/07 – Esben and The Witch (Matador)
02/14 – Mogwai (Sub Pop)
02/21 – Anika (Stones Throw)

and more dates to come.

Expect an interview with Origami Vinyl owner Neil Schield very soon!