Congrats to the exuberant Portland champions of the Eastern European sound Chervona (in the picture) for winning our Portland Best of 2010 Fans’ Poll. The beloved revolutionaly orchestral combo preceded lo-fi psych rockers Archers and – to complete our podium in the name of variety – eclectic roots music deconstructors The Ascetic Junkies. Here’s the Fans’ Poll Top 10 – thanks to all the bands for spreading the word about it! The composite chart results (including the vote of our jury of scene makers) will be out later this week, so be sure to check back for the overall winners!
Congrats to The Apache Relay for winning our Best of 2010 fans’ poll. They are one of Nashville’s youngest and freshest indie folk acts, gathering nearly 1200 fan votes. They made huge strides in 2010 with their gorgeously rootsy release of 1988, as well as a rigorous regional touring schedule. They wowed the masses with numerous local shows as well, including opening for Dr. Dog at Live on the Green this past summer. They preceded melodic indie rockers The Great Collide and playful singer songwriter Madi Diaz. Below is the Fans’ Poll Top Ten, and thanks to all the bands for spreading the word about it! The composite chart results (including the vote of our jury of scene makers) will be out later this week, so be sure to check back for the overall winners!
Below is a happy club remix of Sun Airway’s “American West” by local Philly DJs Sammy Slice and Siyoung. You can check out the real thing this Friday when Sun Airway perform at their first all ages show with Golden Ages, CSLSX, Celebration and Savages at The Ox. Enjoy! (Photo by Ryan Muir) – The Deli Staff
What is probably the most important phase of our L.A. Best of 2010 poll, the FAN’S vote, has left us with some fresh new bands to become obsessed with.
The Filthy Violets reign as #1. The band formed in late fall of 2010, played a couple shows in December, recorded some jams, and won our fans poll…not a bad way to start the new year! They resonate pure rock, nothing too fancy, which is hard to find these days. With their catchy, witty lyrics and great onstage chemistry, you’d think they have been playing together for years.
In 2nd place is singer/songwriter Patrick Joseph. Whether it be the mellow acoustics or the heart-wrenching piano keys, Patrick’s music and deep-rooted lyrics will have you swooning. He released his full-length LP "Antiques" in November of 2010. One reviewer compared it to Radiohead’s "OK Computer", and I can’t help but mention his similarities to Jeff Buckley, in both his looks and his music style.
Angst-ridden, rock-n-roll quartet Queen Caveat bursts into our 3rd place spot. Lead singer Lauren Little is a bombshell with a striking resemblance to Cherie Curry, and the band sounds like what might have happened if The Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Runaways had a jam session. They played a couple shows at The Viper Room last month and shredded it to pieces, and their 4 track EP "Emptor" was released last summer.
And there you have it, the 3 completely different artists that comprise the tip top of our fan’s poll. All completely talented emerging artists showcase the diversity of the Los Angeles music scene, and we can’t wait to see what they hold for us in 2011!!
Friday Ears of the Beholder will present yet another show with yet another fantastic line-up. At Cafe du Nord featuring a headlining set by Exray’s with support by Tim Cohen, Cyclyst, and a DJ set by Fiveng this here is another EOTB show you can’t miss, 8pm.
Finally on Saturday wander out to Mama Buzz in Oakland to see Ben Thompson, who took third place in our Readers Poll, lay down some electronic tunes, 9pm.
Congrats to alt rockers The Filthy Violets (in the picture) for winning our LA Best of 2010 fans’ poll. After a seriously tight race the band preceded atmoshperic pop songwriter Patrick Joseph and apocaliptic rockers Queen Caveat. Here’s the Fans’ Poll Top 15 – thanks to all the bands for spreading the word about it! The composite chart results (including the vote of our jury of scene makers listed here) will be out later this week,so be sure to check back for the overall winners!
There’s something special about Rioux – pronounced ‘ree-you’, the moniker of artist Erin Rioux – an audiovisual artist whose creative energy is almost too genius to have come from someone so young. It’s equally intriguing to pick up on the eclectic sounds in Rioux’s songs as it is to try and fathom the inspirations behind them. His debut full-length "Everything You Need Is Right Here" dropped on January 17th and each track has been such a special treat to the ears – some psychedelically trippy, some painfully romantic, and even some that sound like the Dirty Projectors playing around with an NES cartridge. But the most interesting aspect of Rioux is that he marries the music-listening experience with a visual one, making his shows especially captivating (read: trippy). We’re really excited for what this local Brooklyn artist has to offer in the future.
You can download a free track over at The Morning After Pills blog but really you should stream and purchase the entire album over at his website. We got ours on vinyl! – – Kristen Yoonsoo Kim
Brooklyn indie folk artist Ace Reporter (born Chris Snyder) spent one full year of his life, 2009, busy with the occupational side of being a musician without the music part. Frustrated, Chris set himself a quest: to write, record and post one song a day for the entirely of 2010 (a short blurb written by the artist about this project can be found here). As Chris says, "[The project] became a journey of my physical and mental state…It was something I poured myself into." Now that the threesixfive project is completed, Ace is releasing free EPs featuring various tracks from the project, from the quiet first title track Sleepyhead to the playful juxtaposition No Planes. The 5-track Sleepyhead EP is now available for free download here, the release party will be at Cameo on 02.17. – Leah Tribbett
From the streets of Williamsburg comes Heroes of Popular Wars. With a resonating sound, they let loose an indie/electronic sound, unique to the scene. Their music is complex, yet simple; one of the many reasons they pick up so many avid listeners. One of their songs, “A Bus Called Further” sums up the band in just under five minutes: catchy, inventive, experimental and, overall, highly enjoyable.
Psychedelic dark-wavers Music for Headphones recently released their latest effort Life.in.Mono, which you can check out and purchase here. But if you are like us and enjoy visuals with your music (and other things), then you can watch as well as listen to the entire album here. Below is a sample of the tripped-out things that you might find with Life.in.Mono. The track is titled "Drive Motorik". – The Deli Staff
“I’m gonna grab me a clown, put its head into the ground, cause it’s habit.” That’s awesome! I hate clowns. What are you hiding behind all that make-up? Well, that is a line from “Kamikaze Blues” (which you can check out a video consisting of live footage and slideshow pics below) by Vilebred, who will be taking the North Star stage this evening and anchoring tonight’s lineup. Led by Sam Vile (yes, Kurt Vile’s younger brother – sorry Sam, that’s going follow you for a while – my friend), the band formed in 2006. However, Vile and bandmates Will Donahue (backing vocals, drums), Paul Donahue (bass) and Jared Pennington (lead guitar) have been creating music for over a decade now ever since they first met in church at a very young age. Vilebred released their debut album Kamikaze Blues on West Chester’s Kind of Columbian Records last year, which also featured backing vocals from the Sisters3. Having been influenced by “demented older siblings”, you can tell Sam’s songwriting flows in the same vein, but generational gaps also help separate the brothers’ musical tastes. So blank out everything that I just said, and simply take a listen for yourself. North Star Bar, 2639 Poplar St., 9pm, 21+ – H.M. Kauffman
Commenting on a strange world from their burning observation deck, Public Jones fills its groove-based electronic art rock with crunchy guitars, cinematic imagery, and 80’s synth pop elements, jumping instantly from moody melodic pop to aggressive overdriven emotion — fueled by alienation, cynicism, and a desire to understand. Just crowned winner of the 2010 Best Alternative Artist at the Hollywood Music in Media Awards, and having a recent video pick of the week in the San Francisco Bay Guardian, the band will stop at the Silverlake Lounge on Thursday, February 3rd at 9PM, to open for War Tapes.
