Bowed Glockenspiel

Stef finally got his glockenspiel back. He was interested using a bow with it, but weren't any videos on the web showing how it's done or how it sounds, so we took the initiative and created one ourselves. With my little Flip cam taped to our floor lamp, we were able to get an awesome angle of the glockenspiel. I edited the parts together and Stef worked a bit on the sound. 'Twas a fun little project.

The Hobby Shop Music Series - Woolen + Lou Barlow and the Missingmen

The July 1st The Hobby Shop music series featured Heard of Elephants collective band Woolen and Lou Barlow + The Missingmen.

Woolen is a band I haven't heard of before that night and it was great to see them at an aurally pleasant environment as my introduction to them. They are a great indie rock band to check out.

Lou Barlow played a couple of songs solo and then asked The Missingmen to join him for the rest of his set. I just missed him at the Bootleg Theatre and discovering that he was playing at The Hobby Shop was a treat. The set had a nice mix of heavy sounds and slow-paced music.

I was spoiled by the setting that night. It's going to be difficult to experience live music at a larger venue. Sadly, The Hobby Shop music series has ended, but there are plans to revive it in August.

To hear recordings and view video of past performances, visit The Hobby Shop Studios site (http://www.thehobbyshopstudios.com) and click on "Live at The Hobby Shop."

Orbital at Glastonbury 2010

Orbital performs the Doctor Who theme song with current doctor, Matt Smith

I crave this experience.

Kandyce and the Killdozer at Pehrspace

I finally got away from the world of gaming last night and took a refresher by catching some live music at Pehrspace in Echo Park. A band introduced to me last year has slowly been becoming one of my favorite local bands. Kandyce and the Killdozer, featuring Kandyce, Dylan (60 Watt Kid) and Bobb Bruno (Best Coast) has a killer line up and one hell of a sound.

Catch their tunes on MySpace or keep 'em close on your social network via Facebook:

MySpace
Facebook

Echo Park Shows

Holy F-Bomb!

It seems I've been out all week. With summer approaching, more and more events are happening and I'm blessed to have the problem of having too many events to choose from as an Angelino.

Origami Vinyl is a record store that hosts in-store loft shows and I was finally able to make it out to one. From somebody's suggestion to Stef, we made it a point to check out HOLY FUCK at Origami. Someone in the crowd blurted out "Mogwai," and I assume they were probably describing bands that are similar to HOLY FUCK. Well, they're wrong. Although both may seem to have the same style of musical setup and a lack of vocals, their music has very little similarity in sound. We opted to stay outside to prevent smelling hipster aroma, hearing stupid comments like the one mentioned above, and to save our ears from their LOUD performance. It actually sounded great outside and we were able to eat our Two Boots slices with ease.

The day before, Stef and I were invited to a backyard party at a friend's house. The three of us are not on Facebook, so we were oblivious of the scope of the invite. One observation that made me sneer was while an iPod played music through a small guitar amp, a kid from one of the bands covered the speaker with a piece of paper labeling the location of the communal ashtray. THIS GUY IS IN A BAND... where's his awareness of sound and music equipment? This dude muffled the sound of the only good tunes coming from that scene. It quickly got crowded by hipsters and I was eager to leave after checking out at least one band.

Even the guy in the band looks bored...

I kept sane by taking pictures like the one above. Sadly, video footage wasn't caught. The awkward, unrehearsed songs sounded like a joke. Uh, I guess it's fine if it makes them happy... right?

The Hobby Shop Music Series

Jail Weddings @ The Hobby Shop

Last Thursday, Stef and I attended Mudrock's first Hobby Shop series. Mudrock owns a recording studio whose building blends in the face of the street, hidden and unmarked in Highland Park. The only indicator of the location of the studio was a piece of lined paper with a logo printed on it saying "The Hobby Shop." We walked in during The Bonebrake Syncopators, which features a lineup of extremely talented musicians playing jazz music from reminiscent of the 50s. It felt like everyone was in a Shag painting, sans the dirty martinis in their hands. They covered many songs with new arrangements including the vibraphone and Hawaiian steel guitar. One of those covers was "Dinah," a song The Toughcats also cover.

The atmosphere could not be any cooler. During their set, I thought that it sounded fantastic in there--and then I remembered I was in a real recording studio!

Being in such a delicate space, the long tear down and setup of bands' equipment is understandable. Luckily, it gave us enough time to walk down the block to get veggie burritos at Tacos El Pique, one of the best (original, not trendy) taco trucks in LA.

Tacos El Pique!

The veggie burrito was grand. Highly recommended for late night eats. They're open until midnight most nights, and later on Friday nights.

Back at The Hobby Shop, we got back in time to see Jail Weddings perform a set. The recording studio floor was able to fit this large band (about 9-10 members?) effortlessly, and even leave room for the spectators... and the cute dogs!

A DJ spins tunes out back, where the free beer and smoking area is. The backyard itself is another great feature of the space. It has a welcoming vibe, and is very inviting for those who like a touch of nature.

The Hobby Shop features two bands and a DJ each night. $10 and your email address pays for admission, beer, and a link to the mp3s of the night's performance.

Schedule: http://www.thehobbyshopstudios.com/Hobby_Shop/Live_Shows.html

The Hobby Shop
5239 York Blvd.
Highland Park, CA 90042
Every Thursday night in June
$10, doors 9pm, bands at 10pm and 11pm