On Tuesday May 25th some friends and I made our way to the Echo in Echo Park to see The Airborne Toxic Event perform and to support the Neda Project. The benefit show that the band was having was in response to the murder of a young woman named Neda who was shot and killed in Iran when she was protesting the limitation of human rights. The band joined forces with Amnesty International to put together a show and a silent auction on Tuesday night.

The opening band was Red Cortez. I’m not sure how well-known this band is but they were amazing. The lead singer had an amazing energy and he jumped and danced around. In between the songs he would talk to the crowd and at one point he told us to always question authority. The crowd seemed to like it when he said that. Their set was no longer than thirty minutes but it was great.

If you’ve ever been to an Airborne Toxic Event concert then you know what to expect. Mikel has so much energy on stage it’s scary. You can’t help but simply close your eyes while he sings. That’s exactly what I did. I closed my eyes and just listened and it was amazing. At one point during the show Anna jumped into the crowd and started jumping around with fans. Mikel talks to the crowd a lot which is refreshing. They played a lot of songs from their debut album but also played new songs that would be released on their second album. One of the knew songs is called “The Kids are Ready to Die.” This song is about young kids who are taught that going to war is a manly thing to do and they only end up dying. The show was overall amazing and after the show they band hung around for a while taking pictures with fans and just talking. It’s impossible to not be able to talk to at least on of the members of this band after a show. They are really good about talking to their fans and just hanging out with them. They continually thank their fans for being there and supporting causes they think are important.

I guess you would think that that was the end of my night but it wasn’t. We hung around for a while and took pictures with a majority of the band. I was wearing my awesome UCLAradio shirt and Steven, the guitarist, looked at it and told me he went to Berkeley. It was awkward but slightly funny. We talked to Anna and asked her were she got her dress. She amazes me. She manages to wear heels and a dress at most of the shows she plays. After a while we realized we were too hungry to go home and sleep. We asked Daren, the drummer of the band, where we could go eat. He gave us the name of a restaurant but it was closed so we found a different one in LA. We headed there and when we were done eating we saw Jonah Hill walk into the restaurant. It was surreal. No one talked to him and he sat down in a booth, ordered his food, and ate.

It was an amazing night and I can’t wait to do it all again soon.

– Laura

Lady-fronted VersaEmerge has uploaded a new track from the 22 June 2010 release Fixed At Zero.  The track (also titled Fixed At Zero) can be heard on VersaEmerge’s MySpace.  Also, check out the tracklisting, and if you’re interested in pre-ordering the album, you can do so here.  Not having really heard VE before, I was skeptical at first, but, I gotta say, it’s actually halfway decent.  Give it a listen!

Fixed At Zero is to be released on Fueled By Ramen (again, on 22 June) and is a follow-up to 2009’s self-titled LP.

So I guess in order to release all of the songs for the 12 May release date of This Sinking Ship, Swedish punk band Splitside has treated their fans to (the final?) two tracks of the album.  Intoxication and Glory Days can be heard on Splitside’s MySpace along with a few other songs to be released on This Sinking Ship.

This Sinking Ship is a follow-up to the band’s 2007 release Our Days Our Numbered, both of which are Knuckle Ride Record releases.  If you live in Europe, they’re playing a heap of shows to promote the new album, so check out Dying Scene’s Shows page for the dates.

Recently I attended the second of two Ben Folds shows at the Music Box. As an ardent Ben Folds fan I was pleasantly surprised with the laid back and humorous atmosphere he was able to create, even though his entire set was done (or at least it seemed) without any setlist or structure other then the fact he did not want to duplicate any songs from the show the night before (according to the 1/4 to 1/3 of the crowd that went to both shows).

He started out the show with “Effington” from his Way to Normal album and was able to transition from his upbeat and dancy songs to his more dramatic songs seemlessly. He even performed “You Don’t Know Me” (orginially featuring Regina Spektor) with the opening act Kate Miller-Heidke (who also was able to put on a fun yet musically sound show). After leaving the stage momentarily, the crowd would not stop cheering and Folds was quick to perform his encore, ending with “Not The Same” where he was able to turn the entire crowd into his own chior; leading them to harmonize at his will. Overall the concert was a very fun expierence and was thrilled with the amount of old stuff (including Ben Folds Five material) and new stuff he was able to fuse together into his show.

With the massive influx of listening to the French band Daft Punk on a everyday basis because of one of my good friends, I have been obligated to be a little more French, and by being a little more French, I mean going to Amandine, in the West L.A. suburbs of Brentwood, conveniently about a 10 minute bike ride away from campus, so us college kids that don’t have a car can get there.

Once you step in the restaurant, you feel like you’ve gone into a small Ethnic enclave, but instead of Chinatown, this could seriously be called Frenchtown.  Upon entering, the rich, sweet, succulent smell of fresh pastries, entered through my stuffy nose,  and tickled my senses. Also,  the rich scent of coffee, emulating like all other Frech cafes were definitely very prevalent.  Other things that were pretty interesting were the interior of the building; it looked like it  could be in France, and the tables and chairs lined up outside. The vibe in the restaurant seemed like more working class individuals, taking a good coffee break on a regular long day in the crazy world of Los Angeles.

As my my senses were being tickled, I felt the obligation of  finally ordering something. Peering into the glass, I saw a pastry called the ” Banana Carmel Danish”, and I must say my mouth started drooling once I saw it- a custard like base with bananas drizzled with caramel sauce over it. Of course, again, I would definitely be obligated to  order even though I thought $3.75 seemed a bit overboard for a pastry. Along with that pastry, I order a generic cup of coffee, so that’s not to amazing.

The coffee was, as I said a cup of coffee. However, the Banana Carmel Danish, was wow…something definitely out of the world. Once I had a small bite, my taste buds were bouncing off the walls. The sweet succulent taste of bananas with fresh new crispy pastry bottom made me go crazy. In addition, the caramel drizzled on the top, topped it off with just the right hint of sweetness.  There was a good medium between the sweetness, not too sweet, and not too bland… just perfect.  Since the pastry was  same day fresh, I would definitely say that made a big difference because you could definitely taste the difference between something you buy at Ralph’s and Amandine.

In conclusion, go here because it’s pretty reasonable for  what you’re getting. go here because you go to to France without the place ticket, go here because pastries are good. just go here and give it a shot!

-Dj Swaggerlicious

For those of who are advent blog readers you may have read my earlier blog post about British parody MC band The Midnight Beast. If you didn’t read it, what the heck man?

Today I bring you a comedian from Australia in Comedic Invasion pt. 2: Tim Minchin. Tim Minchin is technically a comesician (a comedian musician hybrid) whose intellectual style and catchy songs have propelled him to be one of the better comedians in England. Minchin, although classified as a comedian, likes to think of himself as a songwriter whose songs just happen to be funny.

So true. (more…)

Futurehouse 014 Sunday May 30th 2010

Headinghome is proud to present the Memorial Day Weekend Summer kickoff party! Celebrating 14 years of dance music in Los Angeles!

FUTUREHOUSE 014
Sunday May 30, 2010

This year we will be celebrating Futurehouse with a two-part party. From 5pm-9pm our guests will enjoy music and food under the sun!
$20 will cover your admission for the entire party and BBQ.
MENU: Food grilled on outdoor patio • Hot Dogs • Sliders • Sausage Links • Wings • Carne Asada • Grilled Veggies • Green Salad • Corn on the Cob •
Chips • Cookies •

From 9pm-4:00am, the party will continue with the late night dancing ’til 4am with four rooms of music. Plus $1 Tacos all night!

LOCATED AT: The Proud Bird
11022 Aviation Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90045

Limited $10 Presale Tickets available

$20 after (at the door)

18 & Over Ok.
21 + encouraged

DJs

Patio & BBQ Hosted By The Feel Up Starts 5:00pm-4:00am
Steve Loria
Lillyanne & Hawkeye
DJ Buck
Tony Watson
Travis TK Disco
Rick Wren
Cocoe

The House Room Hosted by Philter 9:00pm-4:00am
Nonfiction & Wobs
Eddie B
Josh Heath

The Techno tower hosted by Droid Starts 9pm-4am
Dean Paul
Death By Acid
Fabian

Electro Patio 9pm-4am
James Amato
Bul!m!atron
DJ Minx
Le Apples
AudioPilot

Here’s the original link to FutureHouse: http://futurehouse.net/?p=156

Michael Kashiktchian

Electronic Frequencies

Wednesdays 10:00PM-2:00AM

In an part one of an eight-part interview with Against Me! vocalist/guitarist, Tom Gabel, the singer speaks of his hopes of the fans being able to connect with what the band writes about and that it’s “OK if you’re a little fucked up.”  Check it out here.

Against Me! is currently on tour in the South and will skip across the pond for a couple of weeks before touring the US again.  Check out all of the tour dates here.

Watch the video for I Was A Teenage Anarchist, which can be heard on White Crosses due for release 7 June 2010 on Sire Records.

On Wednesday, April 21, 2010, the only thing that I could think about was sleep. Coachella weekend was the weekend before, I had a midterm on Tuesday, and I had an upcoming retreat the following weekend.  So its not surprising that I nearly forgot that my friend had bought us tickets to see Foxy Shazam at the Troubadour that night.  Alas, I jumped on a few MTA Rapid buses and made it to the Troubadour in time for the show.  What I was expecting – a few hours of good music by some bands I wasn’t really familiar.  What I got – a lineup that crossed over three different spectrum’s of music, a band that had so much energy that it was contagious, and a $25 sweatshirt (worth every penny – it’s extremely comfortable!).  Read more of the review after the jump!

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Not too long ago, Skyler Gray came in and performed for us a few songs at the UCLARadio station. For the many who will soon know who she is, Skyler is an undergraduate at UCLA, as well as a singer, songwriter, and musician. Multi-talented, she has become very popular at UCLA, and many have compared her to the likes of country singer Jewel. We have uploaded 2 of her songs on our YouTube channel, which are “Occupied”, and “The Luck of the Draw,” both of which you can also watch after the jump.

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Walking on water has always been thought of as impossible. Occasionally it’s a magician’s illusion, but nothing more. Now, ordinary human beings can accomplish this feat. Liquid Mountaineering is a new craze introducing the art of walking, well running, on water.

Liquid Mountaineering involves participants essentially running on the surface of the water. An act once only believed Jesus could do, it is now the feature of numerous youtube videos. Clips of people running up to 15 feet on the surface of the water are now available. History suggests the Greeks created this sport, but German athletes have reinvented it.

Think of skipping a rock on a calm surface of water. The science behind Liquid Mountaineering is essentially the same. You have to run at the right speed and angle to bounce off the water. The logic is that if the athletes follow the same set of physical rules that involve skipping a rock, they can touch the surface of the water numerous times without sinking.

A key component is the right gear. Necessities are rubber running shoes, a cold lake, and proper entry site into the water according to the Liquid Mountaineering website. One runs from about 10 feet away from the water, and continues at that speed once hitting the water. The goal is to run on the water only skimming the surface with your feet.

This is all sounded absurd to me until I watched the videos, and even after that it was still pretty ridiculous.

Check out the video below, and enjoy some Liquid Mountaineering this summer!

-DJ RED
Logjammin Mondays 8 – 10pm

LA hardcore group Eken Is Dead covered the Deftones’ classic jam My Own Summer (Shove It) recently for a show at O’Connell’s in San Diego, CA, last Friday.  Who doesn’t like a little Deftones to brighten up their day (BTW, get Diamond Eyes… so good)?  The video features Joe LA of Silence Betrayed on back-up vox.  Peep it here.

Check out Eken Is Dead’s tour dates as they stroll around SoCal, bringing their music to the masses.

Monday, May 10th, 2010 — Everyone asked for it and everyone finally got it! “The Dating Game” returned on “The Paymon Jalali Show”, but with a twist this time! Instead of 4 guys and 1 girl on the original dating game, it now was 4 girls and 1 lucky guy. That 1 lucky guy was Tommy on the show. A 4th year undergrad at UCLA who studies history, Tommy stumbled, tumbled, but did not fall, as he had to decide from 4 beautiful UCLA college girls. They fought for his attention and would answer questions regarding love, sex, relationships, and to show their amazing differences among each other. It was live video streamed online and watched by people around the world. Hilariously entertaining, you must check out the recording!

Watch the recording here. (more…)

Ladies and gentlemen of the blog, may I present to you Scott Pilgrim.

For those of you who don’t know, Scott Pilgrim is a comic book series written by Bryan Lee O’Malley. The story follows a 23-year-old Canadian slacker, Scott Pilgrim. Life is seemingly ordinary for Scott. He attends University of Toronto. He has trouble paying rent for a house, which he shares with his sarcastic gay friend. And he dreams that his band Sex Bob-Omb will one day become famous. Things pick up when Scott meets Ramona, a purple haired girl who recently moved to Toronto from New York after a messy breakup, and Scott instantly develops feelings for her.

However all good things must have a catch.

Before he can date her he must fight, nay defeat, her “seven evil exes.” Each ex has their own super power, for example Mathew, the first ex, can summon “demonic hipster chicks.” Its this kind of humor that makes Scott Pilgrim not only entertaining, but brilliant.

So far only five volumes of the eventual six have been released. The first book, Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life, was released in 2004 and since then the Scott Pilgrim snowball has been getting bigger and bigger with each book receiving more critical appraisal than the last. There is upcoming film based on the comic book, titled Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, directed by Edgar Wright (of Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead), which stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead (of Grindhouse and Live Free or Die Hard) and Michael Cera (of basically any recent teen comedy).  Ubisoft is also creating a video game, which will be a side-scroller influenced by the old 8 bit and 16 bit video games and features a soundtrack by Ananmanaguchi, the chiptune punk band. Also let us not forget that Scott Pilgrim was also mentioned in the recent movie Kick Ass.

I strongly urge you to go out and buy, check out, steal, barter, or pirate a copy of this comic book, especially if you’re new to comics. This comic book contains everything you need from sex to epic fights to music to video games. However if perchance your library is closed or you just can’t muster the energy to put on those pants right now indulge yourselves with the upcoming Scott Pilgrim trailer.

- Karel Ebergen, Intern
Pathos, Sunday 8-10pm

GET YOUR SWAG FOR SUPPORTING UCLA’S OFFICIAL STUDENT-RUN RADIO STATION!

Here is a list of all the awesome premiums you can score by donating to UCLAradio.com!

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“Groupie”-Level

(Everyone loves groupies! Especially us! Thank you!)

If you donate $20… we’ll send you the UCLAradio.com special edition tote bag! (see design below)

If you donate $25… we’ll send you the UCLAradio.com t-shirt! (color of your choice; see below)

“Struggling-Musician-With-Artistic-Integrity”-Level

(Even though you’ll probably never make it big, the critics love you, and so do we! But you don’t care about that, anyway, do you? You do it for the love of music!)

If you donate $40… we’ll send you an anniversary tote bag plus a UCLAradio.com t-shirt! (color of your choice; see below)

If you donate $50… we’ll send you a black zip hoodie with our station logo! (see photo below)

“Rock Star”-Level

(You absolutely rule and yes, we do love you more than the other levels even though we told them otherwise!)

If you donate $85… we’ll send you a $100 American Eagle gift card! (12 available)

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Don’t forget to check out our SPECIALS (pledge level in parentheses) for other cool premiums!

***Shipping and handling included on all orders! All donors will additionally receive an alternate logo sticker (pictured below) or a UCLAradio.com button, depending on what we feel like sending you! Nice!!!!!***

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Digital Camera Sweepstakes!!!

For every $10 you donate you earn an entry in a lottery to win a spankin’ new digital camera!!

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“Crappy Economy Blues”-Level Pledges

We know not a lot of students can pledge mad money to the station and we understand. That’s why we’ll be accepting donations as low as $0.25! Come by the station and donate what you can and we’ll hook you up with a UCLAradio.com sticker or button!

Or, stop by our table on Bruin Walk around noon from Monday to Friday for a chance to spin “The Wheel of Dreams™!” for your chance to score a t-shirt, CD, or one of many other amazing prizes!

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Tote Bags

You’ll be the coolest cat in tha club with this baby around hanging from your shoulder! The perfect size for all of your daily essentials! It easily fits books or your favorite records. Featuring tubcat, longtime friend and unofficial mascot of UCLAradio.com, this teal-colored anniversary bag commemorates our station’s 10 years of broadcasting on the Interweb!

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T-Shirts

UCLAradio shirt, made to order and screened with love on American Apparel tees! (Ladies sizes are available as well!) Please specify your choice of color, style (unisex or ladies cut), and size!

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Hoodies

Everyone knows Spring is the best time to buy yourself a hoodie! And a black one at that! Stylishly emblazoned with our illustrious, classic yellow logo, all your friends will hate you for looking so cool. Plus, it fully zips UP!!

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Specials

2 x 1Audio7 – DigiMultimedia Player ($100)

1 x Portable Multimedia Player ($150)

2 x FinePix 2100fd cameras ($350)

3 x Jesus/Moses Packages ($30)

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Special Thanks

Endless thanks to the following for their generous donations of premiums and for making this pledge drive possible!

American Eagle Outfitters

Goldenvoice

Jimmy Jam T-Shirts