The Idaho Falls, collaborative-laden project of producer/engineer/songwriter Raymond Richard, is a breathing all-star act featuring local notables.  His upcoming LP The Spark tracks cameos from Angela Correa and Rob Poynter from Correatown, Brian Whelan from Broken West, Alex Silverman from Alex & Sam, Wendy Wang from The Sweet Hurt and others including longtime Idaho Falls guitarist Kevin Feyen and drummer Roger Brogan. For those seeking that classic Topanga Canyon sound, Richard isn’t too far — musical communities tend to have that effect.

Democracy loving peoples,

The last phase of our exhausting Year End Best of LA vote has begun — each one of you can now let us know what their favorite emerging LA band of 2009 is. Don’t miss this opportunity to CHANGE THE WORLD (sorta)!

VOTE HERE!
***Poll closes January 21***
(Vote wisely — only one vote per IP/household)

The winner of the Composite Chart (the one including votes from Jury, Deli Writers and Deli Readers) will get the cover of The Deli’s Spring issue + various prizes including free studio and mastering time, audio plug ins, music store vouchers, musical instrument insurance, all courtesy of our sponsors.

2nd and 3rd artists will also be rewarded with features and cover space in the next issue + some prizes from our sponsors.

CORRECTION!
We previously posted the wrong prizes for our LA Poll – this is the pool of prizes that will be shared amongst the winners: 1. Cover of The Deli Magazine’s Spring Issue 2. 14 free mastered songs 3. Four Audio Plug Ins 4. Artist of the Month Banner on The Deli’s website for 2 weeks (winners only).

Happy voting!

The Deli Staff

The folks at Manimal Vinyl are putting a stellar line-up together this Friday for a Haiti relief benefit show at the Echoplex. If you haven’t given already, or are willing to give up some more, The American Red Cross will be standing by to collect the $10 entry fee for immediate relief. Scheduled to play: Nico Vega, Adanowsky, Jenny O., SoKo, Corridor, Pizza!, and the LA Ladies Choir. RSVP on the Facebook event page for more updates.

We never wanted to partake in the Coachella line-up guessing game because, well, we might as well be writing fan fiction, so we patiently waited for this glorious graphic to surface this morning. Unless you’ve been living under a proverbial digital rock, here it is. Congrats to Deli LA favorites Mayer Hawthorne and Local Natives for scoring a spot on one of the most diverse bills the festival has seen in recent memory. We’ll be bringing you a complete round-up of LA artists slated for Indio in days to come, just in case the itch for a local preview hits you.

Music Go Music | "Light of Love" (Live on "Face Time)

Avant-pop outfit Music Go Music are the kind of group that you know grew up secretly obsessing over the songbooks of Abba, The Carpenters, Blondie and anyone else who dominated AM radio, but they channel back to their non-guilty influences with a dignity that leaves all chances of it being intentionally kitsch on the side. We highly recommend checking out their "Face Time" sessions on their YouTube page for a full showcase of this super faceted and mega talented group. If it tickles your fancy, check out their Echo set next Thursday night.

The last time we caught up with Joe Sib, he was fronting a reunited Wax at Weezer’s Palladium set a few months ago. It seems Sib has put the punk theatrics away (at least for awhile) for "California Calling," his one-man show about growing up all things punk. The debut went so well that Sib will be touring the show coinciding with a monthly Largo residency on Feb. 10, which will also feature new Deli favorite, singer/songwriter Audra Mae (of Sib’s label Side One Dummy).

Oren Lavie | "Her Morning Elegance"
Dir. by O. Lavie, Yuval and Merav Nathan

Singer/songwriter Oren Lavie is on his way up. The newly LA-based is seeing a fair share of notoriety, from scores of sets on both coasts to a noteworthy television debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live. But what really got heads turning was Lavie’s video to "Her Morning Elegance," released early last year. With nearly 10 million views (not including the heaps of copies floating around the web), Lavie’s vision of big, dreamy landscapes in small spaces is resonating. Not bad for a first-time filmmaker.

Oren Lavie plays the Hotel Cafe every Monday in January — 21+

Singer/songwriter Nik Freitas is a sponge. In one instance, his downtempo tracks seem honorably stolen from Mind Games-era Lennon and the next, contemporaries like M. Ward and an early Ben Kweller. The thing that sets Freitas apart from all the other sponges in town is that we actually believe him. Sincerity will always prevail. Freitas plays The Echo this Saturday night with AA Bondy.

The next-round’s-on-me sounds of Olin and the Moon will be claiming The Echo as their own every Tuesday this month. If the free cover isn’t enough to bring you in (it should — Olin and the Moon put together a great live set), then perhaps the pizza and beer specials alongside games of bingo might help if you’re into being ultimately distracted at a live show. Tonight: cabaret pop’s Eleni Mandell joins the bill, with Dusty Rhodes and the River Band on the 19th and The Henry Clay People on the 26th.

For those who consider buying CDs as some archaic pastime, reconsider: Silver Lake’s own Horse Stories are releasing an especially nifty and ultra limited edition of its latest LP November, November for the first 100 people to grab them. The homemade CDs boxes follow up in singer Toby Burke’s folksy aesthetic by providing  original notebook lyrics, original photos from recording sessions and other mementos that paved the way to the creation of this record. Own a little piece of indie history for $15 here. Take that, iTunes.

Globes on Remote | "Space Camp"
Dir. by Bridger Nielson

Indie-pop quartet Globes on Remote turned Deli heads a few months ago with their brand of super-happy-fun-time dance tunes, and turned heads they’ve done again. Their video for "Space Camp" is a visual orgy of colors and smiles and dancing and photographic whimsy, all representative of one of our favorite breaking acts. Is it too early to call favorite video of 2010? Yes? Then prove us wrong and send some video goodness to hugo [at] thedelimagazine [dot] com.

If you’re in the mood for some white-collar schmoozing among music industry folks, then later this month you’re in luck. The Moodtyme Events company’s pre-Grammy mixer comes with a set by indie locals The Alternates and though it’s "disclosed to the public" we found a link where you can buy your way in for twenty bucks. In the off-chance a good connection can’t be made with these uber-powerful industry people, you’ll at least go home with an excellent set by a group we’ve had our ears on since this site began three years ago. Artistic consolation: check.