About 10 days ago, I witnessed Gold Fields and Capital Cities perform a free live performance put together by Pandora next to the Staples Center in LA Live. They closed off the street for the performances of these two up-and-coming electronic pop acts and overall they both killed it with high energy performances, getting the crowd to dance and sometimes sing along although I felt most of the people there only knew one song, “Safe & Sound”. Unfortunately, there could have been way more music fans at this show but Pandora and LA Live didn’t advertise this free show, which was actually a show to help support the NCAA March Madness tournament.

Oh yeah, forgot to mention that Capital Cities performed three amazing covers too: Sinead O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares”, Madonna‘s “Holiday” and the Bee Gees “Stayin’ Alive”. I had hadn’t heard the Bee Gees cover but when I did, I was ecstatic and really loved how they added this electronic element while keeping everybody dancing to the catching disco tune.

I had a great time and below are two of my favorite songs performed.

The picture at the top of the post is the horn player from Capital Cities, who decided to jump off stage into the crowd during “Safe & Sound”, real incredible!

Tags: Capital Cities, Gold Fields, LA Live, Los Angeles

Last Saturday I had the pleasure to catch indie electro pop duo Carousel and dream pop quartet, Trails and Ways, live at the Bootleg Theatre near Downtown Los Angeles. Read my review below. (more…)

Tags: Bootleg Bar, Bootleg Theatre, Boston, Carousel, Los Angeles, Oakland, Trails and Ways

First of all, The Ranch Party was awesome even though most of what I remember was being stuck in over an hour of traffic to check-in, the school bus ride that took us to and from the festival and how many people were camping out was ridiculous! Overall I had a great time and below I will recap most of what I remember at The Ranch Party which includes reviews of The Record Company, Neo Fresco, Terraplane Sun, Mansions on the Moon, and Kisses. (more…)

Tags: Kisses, Los Angeles, Mansions on the Moon, Neo Fresco, Santa Monica Mountains, Terraplane Sun, The Ranch, The Ranch Party, The Record Company, Topanga Canyon

The Ranch is an epic live music benefit party, nestled in the Santa Monica Mountains of Los Angeles. In the spirit of the music scenes that came together in LA’s canyons, The Ranch Party allows you to come camp out at the top of Mulholland Drive for a full day & night of LA bands, Artists, DJs, food and drinks. The one-day festival takes place Saturday, music starting at 2pm and goes through the whole night with many emerging acts we are big fans. I’m most looking forward to seeing The Internet (of OFWGKTA), Mansions On The Moon, the drummer from Miami Horror (Good Night Keaton), Tropicool and Zak Waters.

For more details on the event, RSVP on facebook and visit TheRanchParty.com. It’s the best value concert coming up in LA as you can enjoy over 20 musicians in an all-day and night event for as little as $40 ($50 if you decide you want to camp out).

Here’s a 10-track playlist of the songs I can’t wait to hear live at The Ranch.

The playlist above doesn’t even include the chill summer vibes I expect Tropicool to spin, the electro house from Bones, and the trap from Neo Fresco.

Click read more to find out how you attending The Ranch Party benefits the youth community of LA! (more…)

Tags: Bixel Boys, festival, Good Night Keaton, Los Angeles, Mansions on the Moon, Mystery Skulls, OFWGKTA, Ranch Kids, Terraplane Sun, The Internet, The Ranch, The Ranch Party, The Record Company, Zak Waters

Kosha Dillz recently dropped a fun new music video directed by Ricky Shabazz called “Hangin Out”. It’s a chill hip-hop track that everybody can sing along to as Kosha spits about something we all love doing, simply hanging out.

From mobbing out in Koreatown to Froyo, Hollywood Blvd. and Jewish delis, the self proclaimed Dillzionaire parades through Los Angeles all while hanging out with a mob of fans, friends and cameos that include Laker Girls and many more. The ode to kicking it comes from his forthcoming untitled record (or possibly series of EPs) that also features tracks with Gangsta Boo, Murs, Big Pooh, Wax and more.

Watch the video to “Hangin out” and download the free mp3 below.
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Tags: Jewish Rapper, Kosha Dillz, Los Angeles, Ricky Shabazz, upcoming project

Story of the Running Wolf is an electro duo based out of Los Angeles, CA. A little bit retro, a little bit future, they blend 80′s influences like Depeche Mode and Duran Duran with modern electro-dance elements, creating an infectious sound that’s all their own. After playing their first show at a rooftop party in early 2012, the band began developing a live show experience which has been described as a “John Hughes party on Neptune”, replete with neon lasers, make-up, fog and feathers. Their new self-titled EP is available for free download at www.sotrw.com.

They just dropped their first song/video from their debut EP, “Stratospheric”. Stream and download their EP below.

Watch the video to “Stratospheric” below. (more…)

Tags: debut EP, electro duo, Los Angeles, Story of the Running Wolf

Last Friday night I saw indie dance pop band Capital Cities perform their last LA show for a long time as they prepare to hit the studio to record their next album. It was a packed audience with lots of passionate fans who sang along to most of Capital Cities releases and while this was my 3rd time seeing them live, they continued to impress with a more upbeat slightly improved set list, more dancing on stage among the founding duo of the band with a uniform clothing style of all band members wearing gold/yellow jackets.

It felt almost magical seeing them live as most of the audience and I knew this would be Capital Cities last Los Angeles show for the year and maybe the next several months. I loved the show because it was the fans way of getting to celebrate Capital Cities recent signing under the Capital Records imprint.

Big things continue to happen for Capital Cities and if you haven’t seen them live, I suggest you try to do so soon before they start selling out arenas all over the world.

Here’s a great why you should see them live: “Safe & Sound”.

Tags: Capital Cities, Capital Records, Los Angeles, The Roxy, West Hollywood

Earlier today, my favorite Los Angeles indie electro pop band, DWNTWN, released The Red Room EP (iTunes). Two of the song “See My Eyes” and “Transition” we’ve heard before but “Stood Me Up” and “Look The Other Way” are two brand new indie dance tracks that create a must-listen project from DWNTWN.

Stream “Stood Me Up” and “Look The Other Way” below and enter your email for free download of the must-listen 4-track EP.

Tags: DWNTWN, indie electro-pop, Los Angeles, The Red Room EP

Last Sunday on October 7, I attended the last day of Filter Magazine’s Culture Collide 2012 Festival. I saw many acts which included: Icona Pop, Colorfeels, Class Actress, The Royal Teeth, Niki & The Dove, Poolside, The Moog and Of Montreal. Read my full review of these acts below and shout out to Filter Magazine for giving me press access and distributing most of the pictures you see below. (more…)

Tags: Class Actress, Colorfeels, Culture Collide, Culture Collide 2012 Festival, Echo Park, Filter Magazine, Filter Magazine's Culture Collide 2012 Festival, Icona Pop, Los Angeles, Niki & The Dove, Of Montreal, Poolside, The Moog, The Royal Teeth

I only just recently became introduced to Jez Dior when Jess Johnson of RTV sent me the video and mp3 for “Candles”, his first release and music video as a solo artist, and I was instantly impressed.

“Candles” is the first release from Jez Dior’s upcoming mixtape entitled Scarlett Sage. It was the first song recorded for the record and instantly picked as the first single. It contains a hook sampled from the Indie group Daughter. The video was shot earlier this year in San Francisco with director Stephen Mallet who won 1st place at the Los Angeles Movie Awards for the JMSN – Jameson video.

Watch the “Candles” video below and read a brief bio on Jez Dior.
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Tags: Jez Dior, Los Angeles