I think it would be a drastic conflict of interest to slurp on a friends band and make an out and out recommendation for you to be into them, so I won’t do that. I’d like to preserve the little bit of integrity I have left so I will instead tell you with absolute honesty that of all of the regular bands that I see on the strip (and I see A LOT of bands on the strip), one of very few that I actually enjoy seeing at least once a month is Lady Sinatra. Their own brand of Rock & Roll is as hard, fast and loud as it is difficult to pin down directly. I sometimes swear that I hear a bit of Motörhead in the backbeat mixed with a bit of that indefinable Sunset Strip sound.  The musicianship is tight and the swagger is loose. If you’ve got a girl that likes to strip then put on “Girl, You’ll Be A Trainwreck Soon” off of their 2nd album Hisses & Kisses and let her do her thing. The band (@LadySinatra) was at one point giving away a free download of the record in exchange for a Tweet, but that offer may have expired. It’s still available through iTunes.

Lead singer and head of Loose Fang Records,  Bunny Holliday recently sat down with evergrowing institution The Real Sunset Strip w/Scheff and The Hawk for the short interview/artist profile above (shot by photographer Andrew Herrold) which should give you a taste of their sound.

But to catch them in action they’ll be playing Monday February 15th at Crazy Girls Gentleman’s Club (Sunset & LaBrea) in West Hollywood with Sink To See and brilliant newcomers Jacuzzis (fb event). Full Disclosure: I’m playing that show, too. But if you haven’t seen Lady Sinatra in on their home turf at The Viper Room then you just haven’t seen them in their destructively natural habitat.
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Testing my iPhones ability to build a decent mobile post. Like it? Expect more!

I’m fully jazzed that Omaha indierock veterans Cursive will be doing 2 shows this spring on the Sunset Strip. They’ll be out from Feb.16 – Apr.2 supporting Chicago’s Alkaline Trio starting and ending the tour in the LA area. If you haven’t caught Cursive since their days with Cellist Greta Cohn you may be pleasantly surprised with the renewed energy/texture that the addition/replacement of keys/horns has been to the bands live show. I felt like using a lot of slashes today. Need fulfilled. See you next month, Cursive!

Cursive tour dates (all in support of Alkaline Trio)

FEB. 16              POMONA, CA GLASS HOUSE
FEB. 17             LOS ANGELES, CA HOUSE OF BLUES (SUNSET STRIP)
FEB. 18             SAN FRANCISCO, CA REGENCY BALLROOM
FEB. 19             PORTLAND, OR WONDER BALLROOM
FEB. 20            SEATTLE, WA NEUMO’S
FEB. 23             BOISE, ID KNITTING FACTORY
FEB. 24              SALT LAKE CITY, UT IN THE VENUE
FEB. 25              DENVER, CO GOTHIC THEATRE
FEB. 26              LAWRENCE, KS GRANADA THEATRE
FEB. 27             CHICAGO, IL METRO
FEB. 28             CHICAGO, IL METRO
MAR. 2             ROYAL OAK, MI ROYAL OAK MUSIC THEATRE
MAR. 3             COLUMBUS, OH NEWPORT MUSIC HALL
MAR. 4             CLEVELAND, OH HOUSE OF BLUES
MAR. 5             PITTSBURGH, PA CLUB ZOO
MAR. 6             TORONTO, ON PHOENIX CONCERT THEATRE
MAR. 8             CLIFTON PARK, NY NORTHERN LIGHTS
MAR. 9             HARTFORD, CT WEBSTER THEATRE
MAR. 11           PHILADELPHIA, PA TROCADERO
MAR. 12          NEW YORK, NY NOKIA THEATRE
MAR. 13          SAYREVILLE, NJ STARLAND BALLROOM
MAR. 14          PROVIDENCE, RI LUPO’S HEARTBREAK HOTEL
MAR. 16          TOWSON, MD RECHER THEATRE
MAR. 17          CHARLOTTE, NC AMOS’ SOUTHEND
MAR. 18          CHARLESTON, SC MUSIC FARM
MAR. 19          ATLANTA, GA MASQUERADE
MAR. 20          JACKSONVILLE, FL FREEBIRD LIVE
MAR. 22          ORLANDO, FL HOUSE OF BLUES
MAR. 23          FT. LAUDERDALE, FL REVOLUTION
MAR. 25          NEW ORLEANS, LA HOUSE OF BLUES
MAR. 26          HOUSTON, TX WAREHOUSE LIVE
MAR. 27          DALLAS, TX PALLADIUM BALLROOM
MAR. 28          AUSTIN, TX EMO’S
MAR. 30          TEMPE, AZ THE MARQUEE
APR. 1             SAN DIEGO, CA HOUSE OF BLUES
APR. 2             LOS ANGELES, CA HOUSE OF BLUES (SUNSET STRIP)

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Old Canes is the work of Lawrence, KS native Chris Crisci (of The Appleseed Cast). The band has an eclectic indie-folk sound with lush instrumentation reminicent of Band of Horses or Sea Wolf. His most recent album Feral Harmonic was released on 10/20 through Omaha’s Saddle Creek Records. A limited edition set of HANDMADE CD & LP packaging is available. You can download an MP3 of “Trust” from Feral Harmonic here.

I highly recommend getting to the show by 9pm to see LA up-and-comers Sol Giant & I Will Never Be The Same. Drink specials kick in just as Old Canes takes the stage…the perfect Sunday!

Advance Tix Are Available for $8 or can be purchased at the door for $10.

Boom Boom Satellites at 12am, Old Canes at 11pm, I Will Never Be The Same at 10pm, Sol Giant at 9pm, The Salutation at 8pm, DJ High Voltage spinning throughout the night.

You know how I know that The Sunset Strip is BACK? Because I’ve seen sooo much amazing live music this week! Between The Sunset Strip Music Festival and all of the other fantastic shows that happen on the regular out here, as a live music fan I don’t think I’ve ever felt more at home.

And of all this amazing music I’ve seen lately (honestly 4-5 nights a week), the best act I’ve seen in a while to really, genuinely impress me has been the “Indie Gospel” that comes from NICO VEGA. I’ve seen them 3 times this week alone and everytime feels completely new; but this is not a new band by any stretch. Dan Expand (drums), Rich Koehler (guitar+) and Aja Volkman (vocals) have certainly been making a name for themselves in the indie scene around Los Angeles for years now, but I think very soon this will be a band that will illuminate a lot of peoples’ worlds. Their Self-titled album has been available on Myspace Records since February and what absolutely mystifies me about it is how versatile the sound is while at once being such a cohesive collection. Each song is so different yet such a complete part of a sonic narrative. And an expansive narrative it is for one that comes from just ONE melodic instrument onstage! The way that dancing maestro Rich mixes his guitar sound through Octave and Delay pedals is that of a psychedelic mad scientist whose found the cure for having a bassist or synth player to clutter Aja and Dan’s stage. And believe me, there may never be a big enough stage to hold Aja; within the first minute of seeing them live, you will be in love.

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My pic of the Marquee of The Viper Room (via Twitter taken on my iPhone) was reposted on the LA Times’ entertainment blog: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2009/06/sunset-strip-venues-pay-tribute-to-michael-jackson.html

I checked out Candlebox at the Roxy tonight and I’m a little depressed right now. During the show the lead singer started talking about how L.A. seems dead, how expensive the rents are getting and how shot the economy is… man, I really don’t want to hear about that. I thought shows were there so we could escape the day to day?

But actually my D2D has been pretty rad lately (thanks for asking). I’ve been enjoying the sunshine, I get to go to a Bar-B-Q at noon tomorrow and I’m making progress with my Motorcycle (still need to get the timing checked out).

Another thing that kind of bummed me out about the show were the cougars running around. I remember when Candlebox came out, I was into music a little before most of my class so I wasn’t even old enough to drive but in my mind it doesn’t seem like it was that long ago but really it was over 15 years ago now! Let’s say that some of their fans haven’t stopped partying. I felt worried for them… and maybe myself.

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As of the beginning of February, AvantTrash.com in its current incarnation celebrated its first birthday. Thanks to everyone who visits, comments, emails us, sends us CDs to review, puts on guest lists and surprises me in actual conversations by complimenting me on something written on the site. That blows my mind and you are fucking amazing!

It means a lot and I’m glad we have something to offer.  We started with ZERO audience like every site and I’m glad to say that we are now averaging over 3,000 hits weekly!

So in return, we will be sending Promo CDs to the friends of this site and immigrant friends from Horror Fansite DeadLantern.com. For those unfamiliar, I contribute to Dead Lantern’s World Famous Splattercast, a horror podcast of the highest caliber. We think so anyway. And were even written about in a recent article: Suite101.com

AvantTrash has existed in one form or another since 2003. It used to be hosted by my friend Duck at Ibusol computers when I lived in Lincoln, NE. Sadly all of that work is lost in the ether leaving no trace of my posts. I just have the HTML and Image files from it so long ago. But the best moment ever from that site came at a party where 2 guys came to kick my ass because one thought I was messing with his wife (which I wasn’t, we were just friends) and after I explained to him that we were just having a drink and hanging out he told me that he loved the way I wrote and cited a specific post that was very long and mostly listed out the specific things I missed at the time. I wish I still had that post.

February 14th marks my 2 year anniversary here in L.A. and as of  Wednesday I will be moving to a new apartment behind the Whisky-A-Go-Go just north of Sunset Blvd. It has a great view, I will be paying less than in Hollywood and hopefully this will lead to more live reviews or a return to the music biz.

It should at least make for some interesting stories. I will after all be living across the street from Motley Crue’s den of depravity. There must be some cool neighbors left over.

Its been a Long Weekend. It’s fairly safe to say that I packed the most between 7:30 Friday when I got off work through 5am Monday morning when I went to sleep that I possibly could. I absolutely destroyed myself and feel great. Well, I felt pretty good this morning at least. Then work kicked my ass again. :sigh:

I managed to drink probably a gallon of whiskey. I’m not bragging, I’m just telling you thats whats up. I didn’t try to do so, I just went out every night. I was a little sluggish Sunday morning but no hangovers! Friday I hit the strip, I hadn’t in a while and was by no means disappointed. Rainbow, Barney’s Beanery and some sushi bar near the Viper Room (irony?) that had snake venom shots. It was this “vodka” that tasted like sake (it might’ve just been sake) and it had a whole dead snake in it. The sushi bartender had to pour it through a filter as to avoid filling the drink with scales. And the night ended well enough for me to not make it home until the following afternoon. Saturday I went to breakfast and actually got some excercise in the afternoon and topped it off with lots more drinking at On the Rox, Free drinks at another Sushi Restaurant and finally the Snake Pit. Sunday’s slow start allowed me to not get much cleaning done in my apartment and then surprise², I went out and drank. I hit up Cinespace and checked out a band that I’d seen a couple times before and have to say their show has improved quite a bit. 3 free Kentucky Breakfasts in the VIP area later and the night ended in conversations about Tony Danza and the Joe Dirt script in Greco’s Pizza. On top of that I watched Blade Runner, The Decline of Western Civilization and finished the Program design for Hastings High’s production of “Honk!” So yeah. Now I’m tired. And I’ve spared you the rigorous and juicy details. Somehow, I want to once again be paid for doing what I’ve done this weekend.

So on the job front I have to announce that an Ad that I designed will be making its way into Playboy, Rue Morgue and Fangoria next month (or the month after, I’m not sure). I said this before when I had a Sex In The City ad (not in the horror mags) that got shot down 5 minutes before I was going to upload the Mechanical. I announced it and then It didn’t happen. I counted my chickens before they hatched and the eggs were full of snakes. But this time. I don’t care. The Ad they chose was once again mine (with elements borrowed from one of the Key Art Comps) but it has the STUPIDEST quote as the headline so I’m not taking full credit. I still wrote a bit of copy in it and I’ve toiled too many hours on it so I guess now I’m kinda proud of it. Even if it looks fucking cheesy. Oh well, the movie that It’s for is cheesy, too.

To wrap this up I wanted to share with you a bit of a moral dilemma that presented itself to me at the end Zombie Jesus Day as I was arriving at Cinespace. I was crossing Hollywood Blvd at Ivar and I noticed these 3 loud cunts dropping N-bombs while 2 of the 3 were white. A second later I notice them starting to assault the man who was walking behind them. He was in his 70s. They roughed him up a bit, he pushed one in the face somewhat and they knocked off his hat and probably stole it. It was sad. I turned around to help him and looked at the hipsters in front of the club and none of them seemed to share my need to help the poor bastard. I also realized that these 3 hoodrats could probably stomp me (but not if I had another dude helping) and I was also fearful that these cunts would call the cops and say that WE assaulted them. So like an asshole I stayed out of it. As I walked into the club the door guy(6′5″ 225 lbs.) said, “Only in Hollywood, right?”. “I guess” I said, wondering why he didnt abandon his post to help (there was someone else there that could have watched the door).

So I pose this question to you. What would you do in the same situation?
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