Blogs
Win FREE STUFF from LA Weekly!
Get the New & Improved LA Weekly App!
Top Blog Stories
Friday, October 31, 2014
Friday, October 31, 2014
Los Angeles ConcertsThe Top 10 Artists to See at Red Bull's 30 Days in L.A.
Comments (0)By Artemis Thomas-Hansard
Fri, Oct 31, 2014 at 5:00 AM
Categories: Los Angeles Concerts
Last month Red Bull announced it's ultra-curated month-long musical event, 30 Days in L.A. It starts November 1 and features a range of well-known headliners (Cut Copy, Warpaint, Bad Religion and Chet Faker, to name a few) paired with artists hand-picked — and cultivated — by Red Bull's Sound Select Team.
Unless you're planning to go to 30 consecutive concerts, chances are you'll miss at least one of the incredibly talented up-and-coming acts. But don't worry, we've got you covered. Here are the top 10 rising stars to catch at 30 Days in L.A.
Unless you're planning to go to 30 consecutive concerts, chances are you'll miss at least one of the incredibly talented up-and-coming acts. But don't worry, we've got you covered. Here are the top 10 rising stars to catch at 30 Days in L.A.
Fuck Guilty Pleasures
NOFX Taught Me What It Means to Be Punk
Comments (0)By Art Tavana
Fri, Oct 31, 2014 at 4:15 AM
Categories: Fuck Guilty Pleasures, Punk
I didn't like high school. The security guards would sell us acid and try to fuck our friends. Our vice principal, Mr. Fox, was a fascist who walked around with a giant megaphone.
Punk rock offered me an escape from the prison-like experience of going to Hoover High in Glendale. NOFX records kept me sane. I saw Fat Mike, bassist and co-founder of NOFX, as a more dysfunctional, pill-popping version of Michael Moore — punk rock was how he revealed the awful truth. In many ways, Fat Mike was the '90s equivalent of Darby Crash: smarter than he gets credit for, a master manipulator of the media, and defiantly West Coast.
Feeling reflective, I decided to call Fat Mike and ask him what he thought about my punk baptism through NOFX. As you'd expect, shit got weird.
My high school experience was a series of "bad ideas." When school was out, we'd spend our free time at the Home Depot looking for barbed wire and light bulbs — medieval props for teenage torture experiments (i.e. backyard wrestling). A burned CD of AC/DC, NOFX, and Black Sabbath kept us whole.
I wasn't quite as studious. One weekend, during my senior year, I asked a fellow backyard wrestler to slice my forehead with a razor blade. I think he hit a vein, which made our fake violence look horrifically real. One quick slash, and suddenly, blood was squiring off my face like a scene from Kill Bill.
I don't remember much after that, except running to my pickup truck and driving to the hospital. NOFX's The Decline was the only CD in my car. I remember nearly passing out to Fat Mike screaming, "Father! What have I done?" as I swerved through the streets of Burbank — a fatherless teenager with blood streaming down my face.
NOFX provided the 18-minute soundtrack to my first near death experience.
As you might have guessed, my mom told me to find a new hobby. A few weeks later, I went to the Guitar Center on Sunset and bought a metallic blue Fender bass. I immediately put a NOFX sticker on it.
"One, two, join a punk band, shave your head and get a tattoo / You don't need talent, just sing out of tune." Or was it "sing attitude"? Nobody knows, except Fat Mike, who likes leaving things to interpretation, like an author using his twisted life story as an allegory for nihilism.
But those lyrics, off "Drugs Are Good," took me from mutilating my body to learning how to play NOFX songs on the bass. I even shaved my head. But what I remember the most was an interview where Fat Mike told a reporter that he sucked as a bassist. So I thought, "If Fat Mike can do it, so can I." (He was probably just fucking with the reporter.)
By "soft," he means melodic and clean. He's no Matt Freeman (a NOFX inside joke these days), but Mike's metallic bass grind on "Release the Hostages," and his clean picking on the intro to "The Desperation's Gone" are part of why I became a bassist.
But on a broader level, NOFX appealed to me because they didn't write sappy love songs like Blink-182. NOFX sounded like don't-give-a-fuck punk; each song on records like Punk in Drublic spoke to me like anti-establishment, violently sexual, and self-deprecating bazooka blasts to all the Offspring fans.
When I found out skinheads didn't like NOFX, I was off to see them live.
I attended my first punk rock show at the 2000 Vans Warped Tour in Anaheim, where I wore a NOFX "The Decline" t-shirt and shorts. I moshed with skinheads to "Don't Call Me White," and for once, the skinheads were the ones who were intimidated — surrounded by Mexicans, Jewish kids, and the emo army.
NOFX was followed by Pinkerton-era Weezer and pre-American Idiot Green Day. The Warped Tour 2000 in Anaheim was one of the last great moments for the punk rock I grew up with — before it all went to shit.
Things have changed in 14 years. I graduated from high school right around the time the Warped Tour began its decline. I was part of the last generation to see the Warped Tour when it was punk.
During their 30-minute set at the Warped Tour 2000, NOFX played "Louise," a song about a sadomasochistic lesbian. Everyone was singing along to lyrics like, "You better lick my puss and asshole clean," devirginized by Fat Mike's sexually raw lyrics, who wisecracked between songs, like he was one of us, just a more wasted version. Mike connected with the crowd by acting like he was there by accident — looking for a free drink.
It was one of the punkest things I had ever seen.
Is every Fat Mike interview highly orchestrated performance art? Who knows, but you can bet it's part of NOFX's fucked up mission statement: "I'm not your clown, I'm your dealer," says Mike, on 2006's "60%." "I'm holding three bindles of bullshit, and you're buying them because you're addicted to the pure and totally uncut." In other words, he's laughing about this right now, as if he's doing his Cokie the Clown performance art hopped-up on happy pills.
I guess that's why he's my preferred form of rock star — still down to earth, but detached from reality (either naturally or chemically). Did Mike really first start taking drugs in his thirties? I'll take his word for it, but he's probably chuckling about how I included that in this interview.
At 47, he's still punk rock's evil joker — part of the old punk guard of slapstick and drug abuse. He was also the West Coast's most vocal crusader, like Best Coast's Bethany Cosentino, except way more willing to trash the Bible Belt. Sure, he might just be fucking with us, but Mike influenced me to buy my first bass guitar, and for that, I owe him the permanent calluses on my right index finger — along with my born-again punk baptism at Warped Tour 2000.
The second season of NOFX: Backstage Passport 2, documenting their life on the road, is expected to be released this year. Their tell-all book, covering the debauched history of NOFX, is expected to be released next year.
Like us on Facebook at LAWeeklyMusic
@laweeklymusic
Follow Art Tavana
Top 5 Punk Drummers of All Time
Henry Rollins' 20 Favorite Punk Albums
Why L.A. Is More Punk than New York
Punk rock offered me an escape from the prison-like experience of going to Hoover High in Glendale. NOFX records kept me sane. I saw Fat Mike, bassist and co-founder of NOFX, as a more dysfunctional, pill-popping version of Michael Moore — punk rock was how he revealed the awful truth. In many ways, Fat Mike was the '90s equivalent of Darby Crash: smarter than he gets credit for, a master manipulator of the media, and defiantly West Coast.
Feeling reflective, I decided to call Fat Mike and ask him what he thought about my punk baptism through NOFX. As you'd expect, shit got weird.
Me: I took “Drugs Are Good” literally. What's it really about?
Fat Mike: It was just a throwaway off Punk in Drublic. The song is about experiences in my life when I've been on drugs, doing things I normally wouldn't do. It's like, “If you want an interesting life, drugs should be a part of it.” The best times in your life are bad ideas.
My high school experience was a series of "bad ideas." When school was out, we'd spend our free time at the Home Depot looking for barbed wire and light bulbs — medieval props for teenage torture experiments (i.e. backyard wrestling). A burned CD of AC/DC, NOFX, and Black Sabbath kept us whole.
Me: I hated high school. What about you?
Fat Mike: I thought high school was fine. I didn't take hard drugs until my thirties. I was into punk rock, getting good grades... I never even ditched.
I wasn't quite as studious. One weekend, during my senior year, I asked a fellow backyard wrestler to slice my forehead with a razor blade. I think he hit a vein, which made our fake violence look horrifically real. One quick slash, and suddenly, blood was squiring off my face like a scene from Kill Bill.
I don't remember much after that, except running to my pickup truck and driving to the hospital. NOFX's The Decline was the only CD in my car. I remember nearly passing out to Fat Mike screaming, "Father! What have I done?" as I swerved through the streets of Burbank — a fatherless teenager with blood streaming down my face.
NOFX provided the 18-minute soundtrack to my first near death experience.
As you might have guessed, my mom told me to find a new hobby. A few weeks later, I went to the Guitar Center on Sunset and bought a metallic blue Fender bass. I immediately put a NOFX sticker on it.
"One, two, join a punk band, shave your head and get a tattoo / You don't need talent, just sing out of tune." Or was it "sing attitude"? Nobody knows, except Fat Mike, who likes leaving things to interpretation, like an author using his twisted life story as an allegory for nihilism.
But those lyrics, off "Drugs Are Good," took me from mutilating my body to learning how to play NOFX songs on the bass. I even shaved my head. But what I remember the most was an interview where Fat Mike told a reporter that he sucked as a bassist. So I thought, "If Fat Mike can do it, so can I." (He was probably just fucking with the reporter.)
Me: I remember you saying you weren't a very good bassist. Do you think you're any better today?
Fat Mike: I mean, I still don't know how to play scales or anything. But I think the only reason I'm good is because I play soft. Most bass players just play too hard. A bad bass player can ruin a band.
By "soft," he means melodic and clean. He's no Matt Freeman (a NOFX inside joke these days), but Mike's metallic bass grind on "Release the Hostages," and his clean picking on the intro to "The Desperation's Gone" are part of why I became a bassist.
But on a broader level, NOFX appealed to me because they didn't write sappy love songs like Blink-182. NOFX sounded like don't-give-a-fuck punk; each song on records like Punk in Drublic spoke to me like anti-establishment, violently sexual, and self-deprecating bazooka blasts to all the Offspring fans.
When I found out skinheads didn't like NOFX, I was off to see them live.
I attended my first punk rock show at the 2000 Vans Warped Tour in Anaheim, where I wore a NOFX "The Decline" t-shirt and shorts. I moshed with skinheads to "Don't Call Me White," and for once, the skinheads were the ones who were intimidated — surrounded by Mexicans, Jewish kids, and the emo army.
NOFX was followed by Pinkerton-era Weezer and pre-American Idiot Green Day. The Warped Tour 2000 in Anaheim was one of the last great moments for the punk rock I grew up with — before it all went to shit.
Me: What happened to the Warped Tour? It sucks now.
Fat Mike: Yeah, we're not involved with them anymore. It's no longer punk rock. It's just the "what's popular with high schools kids" tour now.
Things have changed in 14 years. I graduated from high school right around the time the Warped Tour began its decline. I was part of the last generation to see the Warped Tour when it was punk.
During their 30-minute set at the Warped Tour 2000, NOFX played "Louise," a song about a sadomasochistic lesbian. Everyone was singing along to lyrics like, "You better lick my puss and asshole clean," devirginized by Fat Mike's sexually raw lyrics, who wisecracked between songs, like he was one of us, just a more wasted version. Mike connected with the crowd by acting like he was there by accident — looking for a free drink.
It was one of the punkest things I had ever seen.
Me: A song like "Separation of Church and Skate" was talking about punk becoming more corporate in 2003. What's the state of punk in 2014?
Fat Mike: I think real punk rock stays the same, especially underground. There's a place near my house in San Francisco called the Knockout, and I go see punk bands there frequently, just playing for beer. But "Separation of Church and Skate" was more about a romanticized experience of how scary it used to be to go to a show. Before the barricades and security guards. That was punk rock to me. Some clubs in Europe are still like that.
Is every Fat Mike interview highly orchestrated performance art? Who knows, but you can bet it's part of NOFX's fucked up mission statement: "I'm not your clown, I'm your dealer," says Mike, on 2006's "60%." "I'm holding three bindles of bullshit, and you're buying them because you're addicted to the pure and totally uncut." In other words, he's laughing about this right now, as if he's doing his Cokie the Clown performance art hopped-up on happy pills.
I guess that's why he's my preferred form of rock star — still down to earth, but detached from reality (either naturally or chemically). Did Mike really first start taking drugs in his thirties? I'll take his word for it, but he's probably chuckling about how I included that in this interview.
At 47, he's still punk rock's evil joker — part of the old punk guard of slapstick and drug abuse. He was also the West Coast's most vocal crusader, like Best Coast's Bethany Cosentino, except way more willing to trash the Bible Belt. Sure, he might just be fucking with us, but Mike influenced me to buy my first bass guitar, and for that, I owe him the permanent calluses on my right index finger — along with my born-again punk baptism at Warped Tour 2000.
The second season of NOFX: Backstage Passport 2, documenting their life on the road, is expected to be released this year. Their tell-all book, covering the debauched history of NOFX, is expected to be released next year.
Like us on Facebook at LAWeeklyMusic
@laweeklymusic
Follow Art Tavana
Top 5 Punk Drummers of All Time
Henry Rollins' 20 Favorite Punk Albums
Why L.A. Is More Punk than New York
Lina In L.A.
Party Pick of the Week: “Sex & Chaos” Opening Party
Comments (0)By Lina Lecaro
Fri, Oct 31, 2014 at 3:15 AM
Categories: Lina In L.A.
If you’ve ever stolen somebody’s pumpkin, gone to a costume party not in costume or called Halloween “amateur night,” then you, my friend, have a punk-rock attitude. The folks who’ll hit the opening party for “Sex & Chaos” at the Stockroom on Oct. 31 have one, too, so expect costumes that aren’t really costumes at this exhibit, which meshes two provocative scenes: fetishists and hardcore punk.
Rollins Radio Notes
Fanatics! The First of Five November Sundays Together
Comments (0)By Henry Rollins
Fri, Oct 31, 2014 at 3:00 AM
Categories: Rollins Radio Notes
RADIO BROADCAST #292
11–02–14
Fanatic! Welcome to our first of five November Sundays together. Tonight’s show is a great mix of new and old.
A lot of new music on this show. New Electric Wizard is great. Always happy when they put out a new record and this one is excellent. If you like what you hear on the opening track, the rest of the album delivers.
I am really digging the Ex-Hex album as well as the Scott Walker / Sunn 0))) collaboration Soused. I was hoping it was going to be great and it does not disappoint. We will be playing a track from it every week of this month.
There will be some great music from Australia on the upcoming shows. Straight Arrows, Living Eyes and new Ausmuteants. Great stuff!
11–02–14
Fanatic! Welcome to our first of five November Sundays together. Tonight’s show is a great mix of new and old.
A lot of new music on this show. New Electric Wizard is great. Always happy when they put out a new record and this one is excellent. If you like what you hear on the opening track, the rest of the album delivers.
I am really digging the Ex-Hex album as well as the Scott Walker / Sunn 0))) collaboration Soused. I was hoping it was going to be great and it does not disappoint. We will be playing a track from it every week of this month.
There will be some great music from Australia on the upcoming shows. Straight Arrows, Living Eyes and new Ausmuteants. Great stuff!
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Henry Rollins!Henry Rollins: It's Better for Me to Get My Chain Jerked
Comments (3)By Henry Rollins
Thu, Oct 30, 2014 at 3:45 AM
Categories: Henry Rollins!
[Look for your weekly fix from the one and only Henry Rollins right here on West Coast Sound every Thursday, and come back tomorrow for the awesomely annotated playlist for his Sunday KCRW broadcast.]
Part two of a three-part travelogue.
Oct. 14, Washington, D.C.: 2351 hrs. Long day. Early afternoon at the Kennedy Center for an on-camera interview. Ian MacKaye came to pick me up afterward. I had a few hours before I had to be onstage at the Baird Auditorium for the Smithsonian. He took me to visit Jeff Place at the Smithsonian Folkways offices. Jeff gave us a tour. Tape restoration, document scanning, climate-controlled storage for masters — incredible. Jeff showed us original drawings by Woody Guthrie. Even though they are reproduced beautifully in the Woody at 100 box set, which Jeff worked on, there is nothing like the real thing.
I hit the stage at 1845 hrs. and had a great time.
I have to be up in a few hours. I can’t believe I am leaving so soon.
Part two of a three-part travelogue.
Oct. 14, Washington, D.C.: 2351 hrs. Long day. Early afternoon at the Kennedy Center for an on-camera interview. Ian MacKaye came to pick me up afterward. I had a few hours before I had to be onstage at the Baird Auditorium for the Smithsonian. He took me to visit Jeff Place at the Smithsonian Folkways offices. Jeff gave us a tour. Tape restoration, document scanning, climate-controlled storage for masters — incredible. Jeff showed us original drawings by Woody Guthrie. Even though they are reproduced beautifully in the Woody at 100 box set, which Jeff worked on, there is nothing like the real thing.
I hit the stage at 1845 hrs. and had a great time.
I have to be up in a few hours. I can’t believe I am leaving so soon.
Hip-Hop
RL Grime Explores Bass Music's Softer Side
Comments (0)By Mary Grace Cerni
Thu, Oct 30, 2014 at 3:30 AM
Categories: Hip-Hop, Low End Theories
RL Grime is no stranger to bangers, but he's also got a soft side.
The 23-year-old L.A. native says he's always wanted to produce songs that are more mellow, which is what he's done on Void — his first full-length album, due out next month on L.A. label WeDidIt.
The trap/bass music DJ and producer's reinvention also comes with his first headlining tour, which kicks off today. He'll also play two sets at Hard Day of the Dead on Sunday — his own, and a second set with his Void Team crew.
We sat down with the dude himself, who's actual name is Henry Steinway, to talk about the motivations behind his musical shift, his thoughts on trap music, and where he hopes to take RL Grime in the future.
The 23-year-old L.A. native says he's always wanted to produce songs that are more mellow, which is what he's done on Void — his first full-length album, due out next month on L.A. label WeDidIt.
The trap/bass music DJ and producer's reinvention also comes with his first headlining tour, which kicks off today. He'll also play two sets at Hard Day of the Dead on Sunday — his own, and a second set with his Void Team crew.
We sat down with the dude himself, who's actual name is Henry Steinway, to talk about the motivations behind his musical shift, his thoughts on trap music, and where he hopes to take RL Grime in the future.
Free Music
The Best Free Concerts To See in L.A. This November
Comments (0)By LA Weekly
Thu, Oct 30, 2014 at 3:30 AM
Categories: Free Music, Los Angeles Concerts
Be sure to check out our constantly updated concert calendar!
Who doesn't love free stuff? Especially at this time of year, when you're saving up for all that holiday shopping (you sweet, generous soul). Well, here's our gift to you: the best free concerts in L.A. this November. You're welcome.
Saturday, November 1
Amason
Origami Vinyl
What happens when Pontus Winnberg of Swedish indie-pop band Miike Snow makes a side project with his Swedish indie-pop friends? You get Amason, a supergroup (or suppergruppen) comprised of some of the most talented musicians in the Scandinavian scene, featuring members of jazz-rock group Dungen, folk-pop act Little Majorette, and singer-songwriter Idiot Wind. The group scored a nomination for Best Newcomer of 2014 at the Swedish Grammys after their ephemeral tracks "Went to War" and "Margins" gained massive Internet attention, and are preparing to release their debut album, Sky City.
Who doesn't love free stuff? Especially at this time of year, when you're saving up for all that holiday shopping (you sweet, generous soul). Well, here's our gift to you: the best free concerts in L.A. this November. You're welcome.
Saturday, November 1
Amason
Origami Vinyl
What happens when Pontus Winnberg of Swedish indie-pop band Miike Snow makes a side project with his Swedish indie-pop friends? You get Amason, a supergroup (or suppergruppen) comprised of some of the most talented musicians in the Scandinavian scene, featuring members of jazz-rock group Dungen, folk-pop act Little Majorette, and singer-songwriter Idiot Wind. The group scored a nomination for Best Newcomer of 2014 at the Swedish Grammys after their ephemeral tracks "Went to War" and "Margins" gained massive Internet attention, and are preparing to release their debut album, Sky City.
Los Angeles Concerts
The Best Concerts to See in L.A. This Weekend
Comments (0)By LA Weekly
Thu, Oct 30, 2014 at 3:30 AM
Categories: Los Angeles Concerts
Be sure to check out our constantly updated concert calendar!
Friday, October 31
Queens of the Stone Age,The Kills
THE FORUM
The lineup of amusements and distractions assembled by Queens of the Stone Age for their li’l Halloween party at the Forum is “so scary, you’ll soil your psychological jeans,” the band promises. In addition to Oklahoma roots/rockabilly singer JD McPherson and prodigal-son former QOTSA bassist Nick Oliveri, the show includes pinup-model gang Suicide Girls, a morbid mariachi band, a haunted house, dunk tank, and sideshow freaks “at every turn.” Even better, QOTSA are co-billed with The Kills, the jaggedly savage duo of English guitarist Jamie Hince and enchantingly sullen vocalist Alison Mosshart, who are reportedly working on a long-overdue, reggae-spiked new album. Meanwhile, QOTSA kingpin Josh Homme continues whistling past the graveyard, infusing the band’s most recent album, Like Clockwork, with allusions to how he almost died from a simple knee operation in 2010. — Falling James
Friday, October 31
Queens of the Stone Age,The Kills
THE FORUM
The lineup of amusements and distractions assembled by Queens of the Stone Age for their li’l Halloween party at the Forum is “so scary, you’ll soil your psychological jeans,” the band promises. In addition to Oklahoma roots/rockabilly singer JD McPherson and prodigal-son former QOTSA bassist Nick Oliveri, the show includes pinup-model gang Suicide Girls, a morbid mariachi band, a haunted house, dunk tank, and sideshow freaks “at every turn.” Even better, QOTSA are co-billed with The Kills, the jaggedly savage duo of English guitarist Jamie Hince and enchantingly sullen vocalist Alison Mosshart, who are reportedly working on a long-overdue, reggae-spiked new album. Meanwhile, QOTSA kingpin Josh Homme continues whistling past the graveyard, infusing the band’s most recent album, Like Clockwork, with allusions to how he almost died from a simple knee operation in 2010. — Falling James
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
EDMZhu Is Becoming the World's Most Famous Anonymous DJ
Comments (0)By Sarah Purkrabek
Wed, Oct 29, 2014 at 5:00 AM
Categories: EDM, Hard
“We live in 2014; everybody has something to say. There is more power in being silent,” says Jake Udell, an artist manager at Th3rd Brain Management who represents Krewella and, more recently, a mysterious producer who calls himself Zhu.
In February, Zhu made a huge splash on EDM music blogs as the nameless artist behind "Moves Like Ms. Jackson," a remix/mashup of the Outkast tracks "Ms. Jackson," "So Fresh, So Clean" and “The Way You Move.” Fans and bloggers speculated that the mystery artist was Disclosure because of the track's deep house style and the fact that both Disclosure and Outkast were set to headline at Coachella only a month later.
A week after the “Ms. Jackson” release, the anonymous artist released an original, “Superfriends” — but this time he added a name: Zhu. But who is Zhu?
For the most part, people are still wondering.
In February, Zhu made a huge splash on EDM music blogs as the nameless artist behind "Moves Like Ms. Jackson," a remix/mashup of the Outkast tracks "Ms. Jackson," "So Fresh, So Clean" and “The Way You Move.” Fans and bloggers speculated that the mystery artist was Disclosure because of the track's deep house style and the fact that both Disclosure and Outkast were set to headline at Coachella only a month later.
A week after the “Ms. Jackson” release, the anonymous artist released an original, “Superfriends” — but this time he added a name: Zhu. But who is Zhu?
For the most part, people are still wondering.
Hip-Hop
Salva Ditches the Trap and Gets Back to "Real Rap Music"
Comments (0)By Peter Holslin
Wed, Oct 29, 2014 at 4:30 AM
Categories: Hip-Hop, Low End Theories
You know a music trend has lost its sparkle when even a guy who’s benefited from it starts looking elsewhere.
Two years ago, Salva got his big career break after he and RL Grime dropped a trap remix of Kanye West’s song “Mercy.” The track arrived right when the trap beat was making its ascent in EDM. But as time passed and trap’s popularity reached Katy Perry proportions, the 33-year-old electronic producer realized he had much more to offer compared to all the remixers lurking on SoundCloud.
“I started getting bored,” Salva says. “I turned a corner. Not on some ego shit, but just on something like, ‘You know what? I’m seasoned.’ I’m not a 19-year-old kid just figuring this out. I want to do bigger things, and these cats can remix rap songs all day, but they don’t have what it takes to get into the studio with a rapper — let alone someone like Schoolboy Q and Freddie Gibbs — and speak the language of real rap music.”
Two years ago, Salva got his big career break after he and RL Grime dropped a trap remix of Kanye West’s song “Mercy.” The track arrived right when the trap beat was making its ascent in EDM. But as time passed and trap’s popularity reached Katy Perry proportions, the 33-year-old electronic producer realized he had much more to offer compared to all the remixers lurking on SoundCloud.
“I started getting bored,” Salva says. “I turned a corner. Not on some ego shit, but just on something like, ‘You know what? I’m seasoned.’ I’m not a 19-year-old kid just figuring this out. I want to do bigger things, and these cats can remix rap songs all day, but they don’t have what it takes to get into the studio with a rapper — let alone someone like Schoolboy Q and Freddie Gibbs — and speak the language of real rap music.”
Now Trending
-
The Top 10 Artists to See at Red Bull's 30 Days in L.A.
Last month Red Bull announced it's ultra-curated month-long musical event, 30 Days in L.A. It starts November 1 and features a range of well-known headliners (Cut Copy, Warpaint, Bad Religion and Chet Faker, to name a few) paired with artists hand-picked — and cultivated — by Red Bull's Sound Select...@ 5:00 AM On Fri, October 31 -
Art-Rap Legend Busdriver Got Racially Profiled in Arizona
Several hours after they crossed the Arizona border, the nauseating flash of lights and sirens forced their rented car to the roadside. The Pillsbury-faced cop commanded the driver to step outside the vehicle. The charge: exceeding the speed limit by three miles an hour. “I repeatedly apologized and told him...@ 3:45 AM On Wed, October 29 5 -
Party Pick of the Week: “Sex & Chaos” Opening Party
If you’ve ever stolen somebody’s pumpkin, gone to a costume party not in costume or called Halloween “amateur night,” then you, my friend, have a punk-rock attitude. The folks who’ll hit the opening party for “Sex & Chaos” at the Stockroom on Oct. 31 have one, too, so expect costumes...@ 3:15 AM On Fri, October 31 -
Veteran Noise-Pop Trio Medicine Got Into Brazilian Music on Their New Album
The just-out Home Everywhere (Captured Tracks) is veteran noise-pop combo Medicine’s followup to last year’s critically huzzah’d To the Happy Few, which was released after a near 20-year break for the band. The trio — made up of guitarist/producer Brad Laner (Electric Company, Savage Republic), singer/bassist Elizabeth Thompson and drummer...@ 4:00 AM On Wed, October 29 -
NOFX Taught Me What It Means to Be Punk
I didn't like high school. The security guards would sell us acid and try to fuck our friends. Our vice principal, Mr. Fox, was a fascist who walked around with a giant megaphone. Punk rock offered me an escape from the prison-like experience of going to Hoover High in Glendale...@ 4:15 AM On Fri, October 31 -
Tom Chasteen Is L.A.'s King of Dub
Reggae will always be relevant. For evidence, see the Bob Marley posters perennially tacked to the dorm room walls of stoned college students across the country. However, few move beyond the genre’s most popular practitioner. If you listen to Peter Tosh, you’re probably one spliff away from being your residence...@ 3:15 AM On Mon, October 27 -
The Best Free Concerts To See in L.A. This November
Be sure to check out our constantly updated concert calendar! Who doesn't love free stuff? Especially at this time of year, when you're saving up for all that holiday shopping (you sweet, generous soul). Well, here's our gift to you: the best free concerts in L.A. this November. You're welcome...@ 3:30 AM On Thu, October 30 -
Fanatics! The First of Five November Sundays Together
RADIO BROADCAST #29211–02–14 Fanatic! Welcome to our first of five November Sundays together. Tonight’s show is a great mix of new and old. A lot of new music on this show. New Electric Wizard is great. Always happy when they put out a new record and this one is excellent...@ 3:00 AM On Fri, October 31 -
Henry Rollins: It's Better for Me to Get My Chain Jerked
Part two of a three-part travelogue. Oct. 14, Washington, D.C.: 2351 hrs. Long day. Early afternoon at the Kennedy Center for an on-camera interview. Ian MacKaye came to pick me up afterward. I had a few hours before I had to be onstage at the Baird Auditorium for the Smithsonian...@ 3:45 AM On Thu, October 30 3 -
Gajah's Avant-Garde Rap Started from a Christian Youth Group
Today sees the release of Los Angeles underground hip-hop favorite Gajah's new album, Hands of Gold Are Always Cold. Entirely produced by prog-rap innovator Uncommon Nasa, it's the latest in Gajah's two decades' worth of boundary pushing output. As one-half of seminal West Coast duo Acid Reign and a veteran of...@ 3:30 AM On Tue, October 28 -
Corey Taylor Is Ready for Knotfest and the "Scent of Slipknot"
Dark clouds barraged nine-piece metal behemoth Slipknot in the wake of their 2008 release All Hope Is Gone. The death of bassist Paul Gray in 2010 from a drug overdose nearly derailed the group permanently. The band regrouped two years later for live shows, but then longtime drummer Joey Jordison...@ 4:15 AM On Fri, October 24 -
The Best Concerts to See in L.A. This Weekend
Be sure to check out our constantly updated concert calendar! Friday, October 31 Queens of the Stone Age,The Kills THE FORUM The lineup of amusements and distractions assembled by Queens of the Stone Age for their li’l Halloween party at the Forum is “so scary, you’ll soil your psychological jeans,”...@ 3:30 AM On Thu, October 30 -
Foxygen's Sam France: "We Were Never Gonna Break Up"
Sam France doesn't want to talk about any “rebound record.” “It’s not a rebound. Stuff was never that bad.” France doesn't sound particularly hostile, or even mildly annoyed. If anything, he sounds like a teenager explaining to the teacher why his homework isn't done. “We both were young, certainly,” he...@ 5:00 AM On Fri, October 24 -
The Best Concerts to See in L.A. This Week
Be sure to check out our constantly updated concert calendar! Monday, October 27 Rachael Yamagata TROUBADOUR Rachael Yamagata continues to sing well-crafted pop songs that are pretty without being sugary, and romantic without lapsing into complete bathos. The Virginia-born singer-songwriter is able to take her own experience and transmute it...@ 3:30 AM On Mon, October 27 -
Pauly Shore Nearly Ruined the Beach Goth Party
Beach Goth 3 The Observatory October 25, 2014 At a time when music festivals are a dime a dozen, it's hard to build one that stands out from the ever-growing crowd, or can compete with larger local festivals like FYF and Burgerama. Now in its third year, the Beach Goth...@ 5:00 AM On Mon, October 27
