THOUGHTS: Performing on the Murs curated hip-hop stage, was a rapper from Bloomington, MN named Mod Sun. When I did a little research to find out about him I read that his name was an acronym for “Movement On Dreams + Stand Under None” , and saw that he listed “Jack Herer” as one of his influences. I kinda got the gist of what he was about after reading that. lol. Under the bright California sun, his performance, backed by a band, was hella fun. Even while smoking a blunt on stage, he still danced and jumped the full length of true stage delivering his lyrics with vigor. He suggested to the audience that his music was “hippy hop” … call it whatever you want, but it was fun, raucous party music.
THOUGHTS: The first time I saw/met Moses, it was after a Hiatus Kaiyote concert at the Bootleg Theater. His impromptu acappela jam with Nai Palm impressed me so much that I made a concerted effort to see him perform live, which I did HERE and HERE. The other performances were intimate performance in front of significantly smaller crowds. I was very interested to see how his performance would play out in front of a significantly larger festival crowd. Armed with just his voice, vocal looper, electric guitar, he dazzled the crowd with creative songwriting and arrangements. I’ll admit, I much prefer seeing him perform in smaller venues, but when the music sounds this good, you take when you get it.
THOUGHTS: With tight harmonies singing folk songs about the everyman, you probably would’ve guessed that this band came from the midwest or the south. Nope. These talented musicians are Los Angeles based, and delighted the audience that came to the Carousel Stage to watch them perform with their light and carefree tunes.
THOUGHTS: When I picked up my pass for the festival, I bumped into an old friend. I asked him if there were any bands I should check out. He suggested Fartbarf … what?!?! LOL. At first I thought he was kidding, but when I checked the artist schedule, I saw that there was a band called Fartbarf and I was already in the venue where they were performing, so I decided to stick around and check them out. When they took the stage, there were wearing matching NASA astronaut jumpsuits and wore odd, creepy masks. I initally had my doubts about the band because of the costume gimmick, but as soon as they started playing, my opinion changed immediately. Their synthpunk was adrenaline stirring, and I couldn’t help but groove to their sound. I think they could do without the masks, but as long as their music rocks out, I’ll keep my mouth shut.
PHOTOS: Just got a new 50mm prime lens, and still learning how to use it, so some of these pictures could have been better in focus, but I ain’t complaining.
THOUGHTS:The first band I was able to catch taking the main stage was Houndmouth; a band from New Albany, Indiana with a sound that’s a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll. Their tight harmonies sounded very polished over their textured music and I was instantly smitten. A little bit Head and the Heart and a little bit Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, their style of music was definitely something I would purchase,
THOUGHTS:The first band that I saw at Way Over Yonder was The Far West. I got to the venue a little late due to the transportation issues, but from what I was able to hear, their music was a combination of Americana and roots music, honest and true the way folk music should be.
THOUGHTS:After picking up my photo pass for the festival, I made my way towards the festival grounds when I noticed an up-and coming artist whose music I had been listening too since an Instagram follower suggested I check her music out: Dorothy Martin of Dorothy (Her record titled “After Midnight” is super bad-ass). She was heading into the Whisky A Go-Go to check a band out, so I figured I’d follow her in to check out what she listened too. The band was The Killing Light and they are a metal band from Los Angeles. Formally named Vampires Everywhere!, they thrashed the stage with an aggressive set of shredding metal tunes. It got my adrenaline pumping and I was glad to know that Dorothy has good tastes in music.
PHOTOS: Just got a new 50mm prime lens, and still learning how to use it, so some of these pictures could have been better in focus, but I ain’t complaining.
It may officially be fall … but it still feels like Summer in Los Angeles. It certainly feels like summer when the sun is shining and music is playing at the Santa Monica Pier.
In only its second year, the Way Over Yonder festival features two days of well curated American folk music. With up and coming, and award winning, recording artists taking the stage, performing both intimate and rocking sets, it was a terrific showcase of American music.
Below is a list of artists that I had the chance to check out. Links to pages with my brief thoughts, photos, Instagram videos and set lists. Hope you enjoy them!
Though I’m a Los Angeles native, I had never attended the Sunset Strip Music Festival. Now in it’s seventh year, and featuring several artist’s that I had been longing to see live for a while now, I decided to apply for a press pass.
Though I didn’t get approved to shoot the music festival, I called one of my clients, who happened to manage one of the artists performing, and got added to the photo pass list for the acts performing Saturday, September 24th.
Below is a list of artists that I had the chance to check out. Links to pages with my brief thoughts, photos, Instagram videos and set lists. Hope you enjoy them!
A few weeks ago, I was sitting in a club with a friend and we were talking about bad ass bands, and the name Rival Sons came up. I had never heard of the band previously, so I had I a lot of questions. Where are they from? What kind of music do they play? How many albums have they released? The only I answer I got?
“Dude. Just check them out. They will blow your mind.”
Considering that my friend plays in a bad ass band as well, I didn’t take the blunt statement of approval lightly. I surfed the web the following day and started doing some “research”. My friend was right. My mind was blown.
I really got into rock and roll when I purchased my first Led Zeppilin album, “House of the Holy”. I must have played that CD a hundred times during my four years of college. It shaped the way I listen to music, and has since shaped my sensibilities. Needless to say, I’m a pretty big fan of classic rock.
Rival Sons are classic rock revivalists, and they are, quite simply, bad ass. They’ve been releasing records since 2009 with 4 studio albums under their belt, and I’ve been kicking myself in the ass for not having heard of them until recently. The fact that they are based out of Long Beach, California and I hadn’t heard of them until now? Yes … shame on me.
I wanted to see them at The Troubadour, but that show had sold out. Though I hardly ever travel outside my comfort zone (Los Angeles) to see bands play, they were embarking on a world tour that’ll basically run through till the end of the year, and I knew that I couldn’t wait until next year to see them perform live. So I sucked up the prospect of an hour long commute, and made my way to a new venue in a foreign territory: The Observatory in Orange County.
Thankfully, I had company for the trek, but when I got to the Observatory, I found it to be quite a terrific venue. It was set up so that there was a pretty decent view from anywhere in the audience (unless you had an extremely tall patron in front of you). It wasn’t overpacked and the crowd, at least for this show, was extremely friendly. Enough with the venue … let’s get to the music.
In my opinion, they’ve got everything a killer band needs. A charismatic frontman with killer pipes? Jay Buchanan has it in spades. A bad ass guitar player? Scott Holiday and his Dali-esque mustache looked and played as badass as it gets. Dave Beste (bass) and Mike Miley (drums) complete the music puzzle capturing a huge, guitar-driven classic rock sound that many try to copy, but fail to achieve. These guys nail it.
These guys nail it, but they aren’t imitators. They take the music that’s influenced them, and create a fresh, rocking sound that, though revivalist, is current and edgy. God damn, it was good. I guess I’ll have to wait until next year to catch them live again. It’s a good thing I’m a patient man. I just hope that the LPs I purchased don’t get worn out before they get back into town.
#DKLPHOTOS 