“I am full of fear And contradictions Easier to hear Beautiful fiction” What sort of sentiment do these lyrics conjure? Despair; introspection; confusion? Well for Surf Curse’s crowd, packed into the standing room offered by The Novo, practically oozing an amalgamation of youthful frustration and excited tension, the answer to the question above appeared to…
Photos by Bankhead of Str8out the Trunk Radio Los Angeles-based dance and R&B artist, Dayna Madison, hasn’t had your traditional journey into the music industry. Madison is a former member of the Memphis Grizzlies’ dance squad, having been trained in dance for the past two decades. However, finding a love for the stage and music,…
Orange County, California: home to 40 miles of beaches, world-class surfing, and glimmering sunshine. What could be a better location for a Summer Salt concert? 2012 saw Matthew Terry (vocalist/guitarist) and Eugene Chung’s (drummer) introduction into the Austin, TX music scene, developing a sound reminiscent of bossa nova, 60s rocksteady, and surf psychedelia. Two years…
The beams of sunlight shining through the patchwork of clouds over UCLA’s Sunset Recreation Center set the stage for this year’s annual JazzReggae Festival (JRF), a celebration of jazz and reggae culture stretching from Jamaica to Los Angeles. From 11 am to 7 pm, there were hours of live art, performances from both students and…
Cover Photo Credit : DIVISUALS It’s incredibly hard to summarize what Lightning in a Bottle is. The fest wears so many different hats and provides an experience unlike any other. First off, Lightning in a Bottle is long; it’s a five day fest. Its length, while at first seems overwhelming, is a major strength of…
Ripped fishnet tights, barely-there mini skirts, distressed t-shirts, the lowest of low-rise pants hanging loose from exposed hip bones. Grunge didn’t die in the ‘90s; it’s alive in “Pretty Sick” and I’ve never felt so simultaneously out of place yet at home. It was 7:45pm; Thursday evening; and a line was already extending down Hartford…
Photos by Angela Kan One of DTLA’s oldest bars, the Moroccan Lounge is an unassuming little white building lined with blue tiles and a sea blue dome at top. Tucked away on the outskirts of the Arts District and neighboring Little Tokyo, it is easy to miss. Tonight, I’m glad I didn’t miss it. The…
Coming in hot, this year’s Desert Hearts is being hosted in our very own backyard: the historic Los Angeles Coliseum. Changing venues from the traditional Lake Perris location to the city landscape will inevitably bring a different energy to the famous festival. For the first time, Desert Hearts moves from the desert into the big…
Photos by Sophia Russo If anyone can disrupt a scene and make it their own, it is singer-songwriter Kelela. Kelela debuted her experimental sound with her mixtape ‘Cut 4 Me’ in 2013, where she mixed R&B, house, electronic, and soul to establish her own sound and identity as an upcoming and unapologetically herself artist. Fast…
Mau P @ Night Trip, Academy LA As LED screens blared the statement “House Music All Night Long”, dancers and bass shook the pavement. However, when the clocks struck midnight, the whole venue stood still, and so did the music. Suddenly, the crowd was engulfed in a shower of red lighting, as the stereos projected…