Tue- Mar 31, 2009 – The Expendables w/ Less Than Jake – Avalon Theater – Hollywood, CA

What records is Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl buying these days?

Recently Dave Grohl, Foo Fighters frontman and former Nirvana drummer stopped by Amoeba Records in Hollywood to get some records (yes vinyl!), check out what he picked up. Some of his picks and references included Boredoms ,No Means No, L7, Bad Brains, Alice Donut , Alternative Tentacles and Scream.

Check out the video as Dave takes you through each of the records he picked up and why they are one he has to have.

 

 

 

Black Mercies

When you are trolling the net doing research you never know what you may find and then you find a diamond in the rough. This is where the introduction to Black Mercies from Portland Oregon begins. After listening to some of their stuff online, a simple email was sent to the band letting them know that they had a great sound.

The band's story starts when they were doing some incredible studio session work for other bands and other commercial ventures. It was during 2006 that the bass player Colby decided to hell with helping others sound great, we will just do it ourself and form our own band, which is what he and drummer Storm did. Bringing Caleb in on keys and then in 2007 they found singer/guitarist BB on Craigslist, it was then that the current line up was formed. Although for a brief period prior to this line up they were a 5 peice band until it was decided that a 4 peice just made better sense to the sound and structure of the band. Their sound could be best summed up as the best elements of U2 from 80-83 with the vibe of The Cure and Echo and The Bunnyman mixed in. It is this mixture with their own Indie style that makes this band so infectuous.


Black Mercies are as pictured above:
Colby Hendricks - bass, Eric Storm - drums, Caleb Skinner - synth/keyboards, BB - vocals / guitar

Then to our suprise we get a wire from the band that they will be in Los Angeles for a few dates, so we knew that this would be our chance to see if they were everything that they were on their CD, yet in a live performance.

One of our photographers was available and went to catch their show. When we transcribed what was written on the quad folded piece of paper he took notes on, these were some of the comments that were written:  "Stage presence was very confident without being pretentious - Vocal range is phenomenal - Very bold sound -  I had to go look at the sound board to see if it was it live or was it Memorex, the sound was such a match with the sound on their CD, I had to check to make sure - These guys are the Real Deal."

It is our impression of Black Mercies that they are seriously destined to go on and do some very big things in their career. When that stepping off point does finally occur, many will remember that they read about it in Big Wheel first. Consider yourself tipped off, go see this band now so you can say you saw them play before they hit.

The band's first release, Murder It Sweetly is out now with 8 tracks on it to get you started.

1. Ballad of a Kept Man
2. Hellacopters
3. Wake Up Sunshine
4. The Arsonist
5. Wreckin' Ball
6. Death to Celebrity
7. As Good As Gold
8. Less Than Zero

Band MySpace: www.myspace.com/blackmercies
Band website: www.blackmercies.com


 

Left Alone – Self-titled release

The long awaited arrival of yet another Left Alone album is finally within reach! Left Alone releases their newest self-titled album on April 7th, and will be released through Hellcat Records. The band's inimitable mixture of Punk, Ska, and slight Rockabilly Rock-N-Roll produces an album so lyrically and musically profound, that you're guaranteed to become a fan upon hearing the first strum of a chord from their new album.

The Los Angeles natives have progressed their style and sound completely on their self-titled release, and it is impressive to note in comparison to their previous releases. Left Alone has used less of a ska influence, and more of a Punk Rock-N-Roll style in their newest album. What hasn't changed is the Street Punk dynamic that has drawn much attention to the band, and it is most notable in their lyrics. Much different from "Lonely Starts and Broken Hearts", the self titled album deals more with the social circumstances of living in an urban environment such as Los Angeles, and matters of social situations one faces and endures in a big city surrounding.

Left Alone has maintained much from their signature sound which has in the past gained them great recognition, yet in their newest album, have demonstrated their musical strength, growth, and progress. Left Alone will be having a CD Release Party at The Knitting Factory in Hollywood on April 4th. They will be joined by Viernes 13, Kevin Seconds of 7 Seconds, Black Rose Phantoms and Gamblers Mark. Catch their self-titled album and make sure not to miss the band's CD release event, experience the incomparable band live in person yourself.
 

Left Alone song listing:
1. Spiked With Pain  2. Branded  3. Sad Story  4. Bottles Of Wine  5. Porcelain  6. Bombs Away  7. Brindle
8. Intermission  9. Self Made  10. Wishing Well  11. Empty  12. Low Fidelity  13. Do The Depression
14. Something For Nothing  15. Get Dead


Band's myspace:
www.myspace.com/leftalonepunx

Hellcat Records:
www.hell-cat.com

 

-Stephanie M.-

 

Music play list for the week ending March 29, 2009

Top 25  - In no particular order -

The Adicts - Troubadour
Left Alone - Branded
Chorus of Disapproval - Justice
Adolescents - Kids Of The Black Hole
Black Mercies - Hellacopters
The Descendents - Ride The Wild
No Doubt - Doormat
The Clash - Brand New Cadillac
The Billy Bones - We're Selfish
Bad Religion - We're Only Gonna Die
Krum Bums - Sometimes
Blur - Song 2
Sea Wolf - You're A Wolf
Narcoleptic Youth - Class of 99
David Bowie - Let's Dance
Arcade Fire - Rebellion Lies
Ignite - Ash Returns
DEVO - Mongoloid
Gun Club - Las Vegas Story
Metallica - Master Of Puppets
The Strokes  - Ask Me Anything
Rancid - Fall Back Down
The Detours - Hang Ten In East Berlin
Bad Brains - Rock For Light
T.S.O.L. - Abolish Government / Silent Majority

The above list are some of the top played songs amongst our staff this week.

 

This weeks playlist brought to you by: TKO Records

 If you would like to sponsor our weekly playlist - Contact us

 

 

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Shows and events calendar for Los Angeles, Orange County, Ventura, San Diego, San Bernardino, California and states all over the United States and the world. Complete and extended listing covering Punk, Indie, Rock, Psychobilly and more.

FEAR – The Dickies – at The Galaxy Theater – Santa Ana, CA

It's been a little over a year since one of Orange County's biggest venue, The Galaxy Theater, had closed down "permanently". Shortly after the venue was shut down, there had been speculation about the future of the venue, and what was to become of it. Rumors began to circulate during early 2009 that The Galaxy Theater would re-open once again, and when the FEAR show was announced to take place at The Galaxy Theater, many people rejoiced to hear the news that the venue was truly coming back. On Saturday, FEAR, The Dickies, Unwanted Guests, Not A Chance, and Tri-City Trashed all played at The Galaxy.

The show commenced at 8pm with Tri-City Trashed opening up the night. The band's sound is a combination of Hardcore Punk with Thrash influences, somewhat similar to bands like D.R.I and Suicidal Tendencies. The band played a short set to the small crowd that had arrived early for the show.

Second to play was Not A Chance, whose sound is best fit in the category of Ska/Reggae/Two Tone. Despite complications during the band's set, the band went on to play with much vigor and energy, and tried to spread tremendous positivity to the audience through their music. The band's music was catchy and upbeat, and had it not been for the complications during the band's set, the set would have been one of the most enjoyable and fun performances of the night.

Unwanted Guests went on after Not A Chance, and despite the band's uninviting name, the band provided music that made you question the origins of their name. Unwanted Guests put on one of the best performances of the night, both musically and physically. The band's set was composed of half Punk Rock songs, and half Thrash-like songs, and provided fast beats with a Punk Rock attitude. The band also had stage props and stage on-goings that made the band all the more fun to watch. A man in a gorilla costume made guest appearances by either playing inflatable guitars, throwing glitter and beach balls into the audience, or just dancing senselessly on stage. Unwanted Guests compensated for the mishaps that occurred during Not A Chance's set and brought back the positive energy into the venue during their set.

By the time The Dickies went on, the venue was finally full and unbelievably hot and humid. No one seemed to mind the heat when the band arrived on stage, and when vocalist Leonard Graves Phillips welcomed the crowd and introduced the band, the audience cheered wildly. The band's pit was surprisingly intense; for being known as "the clown princes of punk", the mosh pit for the band was almost as intense as a pit for a Heavy Metal band. Leonard Graves Phillips went on to say during the set how grateful and relieving it was to finally have The Galaxy back and running. The audience cheered and clapped in agreement with the statement. The Dickies went on to play crowd favorites such as, "Gigantor", "You Drive Me Ape", "Paranoid", "Manny, Moe, Jack" and more. When the band finished their set, people were yelling in unison for an encore and demanding one more song. No encore was given, but people were thrilled to hear that FEAR would finally play next.

The heat was hard enough to endure when The Dickies played, and before FEAR went on, the heat became an inferno. Lee Ving's arrival on stage was met with furiously excited fists in the air and screams that were almost frightening to hear. The band opened with their classic, "I Love Livin' in The City" and the pit was excruciatingly packed and vicious. The floor was so full and forceful, that it was like witnessing the consequence of someone shouting "Fire!" in a crowded theater. People were flying, bodies were stacking on top of one another, and the movement of the circle pit was so fast and full of force, it almost seemed like people were running away from something with great passion. The action of the floor alone and the chaos that was being provoked was enough to let you know how much people were enjoying themselves, and how great of an impact FEAR's music was having on the crowd.

During FEAR's set, Lee Ving, who is known for his crude and comical jokes, did not disappoint the audience by providing laughs with his inappropriately appropriate comments throughout the night. Among Ving's statements, one joke stated, "When you don't know what to do with women anymore, you marry them!" Females in the audience took no offense to his sometimes chauvinistic jokes, mainly because it was plain to see that for the most part, it was all for laughs and not told in a negative spirit. Lee Ving's notorious jokes helped to lighten up the mood of the night.

FEAR went on to play "Let's Rodeo", "Beef Bologna", "I Don't Care About You" and other FEAR favorites. When the set was over, half of the venue left, but the other half that remained shouted and begged for an encore, or at least another song. When the band came back on, they ended the night with "Let's Have A War" and people in the audience were singing along passionately during the song. FEAR finally said their farewells and concluded their night at The Galaxy.

The re-opening of The Galaxy Theater was important for many, and essential to the Orange County scene. The FEAR show was just one of the many nights The Galaxy has in store for us, and the appreciation everyone has for its return is immense. Although the FEAR show had a couple of complications, the bands themselves put on good sets and all performed with enthusiasm and tenacity. Galaxy Theater, it's great to have you back.

-Stephanie M.-
Big Wheel music scene reporter

 

More photos of the show can be seen HERE

 
                                          Go HERE to see all the latest show reviews
 

 

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