My friends at Feeding Birds Boutique held their annual Midsummer Flock Party this past weekend. The event featured a number of free shows by local musicians, rare photos of Bob Marley for sale by photographer Kim Gottlieb-Walker, the Calbi food truck and Los Angeles shaved ice truck.
Local art(ists):
My ‘fro and camera ventured into Old Town Pasadena for the annual Make Music festival. It reminded me of SXSW in Austin sans the Lone Stars.
Below are some of my favorite photos that I took. You can see them all at Remezcla.
Don’t forget to check out my cameo in the video below (a few seconds in the beginning and the last minute or two at the end):
One of the highlight’s from this year’s SXSW festival was the Sounds From Spain showcase at Red Eyed Fly on 4th/Red River. The showcase featured a number of artists from Spain including current Indie darlings Polock who opened the festivities.
I spent a few minutes with the quintet from Valencia to talk about their first tour in the US in support of their debut album Getting Down From The Trees.
Continue reading “Five Minutes with Spain’s Hottest Indie/Rock Band: Polock”
A: When it’s the Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Group feat. Cedric Bixler-Zavala OR when Omar says it isn’t.
The backstory: The Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Group headlined the Sargent House Showcase last Saturday at SXSW at Emo’s Annex, an impromptu stage and concert area built in a small lot on the corner of 6th/Red River. Fans lined up as early as 2 p.m. for a show whose doors/gates opened at 7 p.m. Zavala appeared on stage about 10 minutes before opening time to soundcheck with ORLG. Predictably, Twitter, Facebook and many a carrier-pigeon were sent into the skies of Austin to carry the news prompting the line to stretch out like an intestine up the street and behind the “venue.” The group (Rodriguez-Lopez, Bixler-Zavala, Deantoni Parks, Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez, Juan Alderete and Lars Stalfors) took the stage at 12:50 a.m. to a capacity crowd that included fans who filled up the alley behind the stage and down the sidewalk.
Here’s a clip of the madness and the music by Refused TV:
Continue reading “Q: When is The Mars Volta NOT The Mars Volta?”
I made my first trip to Austin, TX last week to attend the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival and though I only spent 48 sleepless hours there, I’m already making plans to return next year. Coachella, I love you and we had great times but I’m now in love with another music festival.
I saw a lot of great bands, made some new friends, bumped into some old friends and drank some great local beers (hello 512 Porter). The only bad memory I have of the trip is of the non-existent taxi service at night. Hooray for (almost) being left stranded in Austin at four in the morning!
Head over to my Flickr for photos of The Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Group feat. Cedric Bixler-Zavala (sort of The Mars Volta but not technically The Mars Volta), Adebisi Shank, Polock (interview with Polock coming soon), Fang Island, Little Red Radio and many more.
I’m currently on a jet plane on my way to Austin, TX for two days of interviews, photos, freebies and whatever else comes my way. Wish me luck!
In the meantime (if you haven’t already), check out KCRW’s coverage of SXSW here.
Afroxander (aka Iván Fernández) 