Punk
It’s a Flamin Groovies New Year
By JOHN DALY The Flamin’ Groovies will play The Bootleg on New Year’s Eve and fans will get to hear many of the new songs off the band’s new album, Fantastic Plastic. The group, which […]
Articles by News
Awards
Jackson Browne to be Honored with Les Paul Award at NAMM 2018
By DONNA BALANCIA Jackson Browne, the beloved songwriter of tunes like “Running On Empty” and “On The Boulevard,” will receive the Les Paul Innovation Award at the TEC Awards during NAMM 2018. The honor for […]
Live Reviews
Moon Honey: Asian Opera + U.S. Fuzz
By DONNA BALANCIA In a global economy, change and challenge must be accepted. Competition is tough and innovation is at a premium. The members of Moon Honey are succeeding in a new, uncharted, global music […]
Musicians
Review: ‘Blank Generation’ Proves Richard Hell’s Impact on Punk
Review by DAN MACINTOSH Richard Hell and The Voidoids were right there in the thick of New York’s burgeoning punk rock scene, which also included iconic acts like Blondie, Talking Heads and Television. In fact, […]
Alternative
Throwback Photos: 2017 Holidays John Dwyer and OCS, Shannon Lay, Go Mellow for Charity
By DONNA BALANCIA John Dwyer and his OCS with Brigid Dawson, and Shannon Lay took a different turn at The Teragram Ballroom for two sold-out nights. It was billed as a mellow evening and that […]
Reviews
‘The Dank’ Mixes TexMex and Blues
By Patrick O’Heffernan What happens when two Texan musicians raised in classical music and school choirs find themselves in a punk venue in Guadalajara playing for tacos and tequila. They write a song, “Guadalajara,” part […]
Musicians
Aloe Blacc Captivates at Swing House Holiday Party
By DONNA BALANCIA Aloe Blacc and The Grand Scheme grooved with the guests at a “Super Secret” Holiday Party at Swing House Studios. Blacc was jovial, his 7-piece band picking up the slack and it […]
Live Reviews
Review: Dream Syndicate Band ‘Finds’ Its Way Back at El Rey
Review by DAN MACINTOSH Prophets of doom are trying to convince us guitar rock is going the way of the dinosaur, and they’ll point to all the R and B songs filling up the pop […]
Musicians
Jody Hamilton and Gilt Lily Band Rock Molly Malone’s for Charity
Carol Burnett’s Daughter Takes up Sister Carrie’s Cause By DONNA BALANCIA What happens to a band after the lead singer dies? This year, that question has come up a lot. When Carrie Hamilton died of […]
interviews
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Eduardo Arenas of Chicano Batman Drops Foodie Christmas Song
By DONNA BALANCIA É Arenas, also known as Eduardo Arenas, the bass player for Chicano Batman, says he honored his aunt at the holiday time with the release of a special Christmas song, “Buñuelos a […]
The Latest
Patti Smith ‘Froze’ at Dylan Nobel Award
By JOHN DALY Patti Smith said it was “love at first sight” with her husband Fred Sonic Smith, she simply “froze” during the Bob Dylan Nobel presentation, and she is a big believer in Jesus. […]
The Latest
Nathaniel Rateliff is No ‘S.O.B.’ and Buys The Drinks These Days
By DONNA BALANCIA Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats made an appearance at The Village Studios on the West Side to chat with The New 88.5 FM to play a few tunes for a lucky […]
Musicians
VIDEO: Thom Yorke Performs New Song at LA Show: ‘Rude Person’
Curated By JOHN DALY Thom Yorke put on a special show at The Fonda Theatre Tuesday night and treated fans to work off his solo albums. Among some of the tunes he played was the […]
The Latest
VIDEO: James Blake Plays New Songs at Immanuel Presbyterian in LA
By JOHN DALY Check out video from James Blake at Immanuel Presbyterian in Los Angeles. The British singer-songwriter introduced three new songs, “Asking For a Friend,” “I Can’t Believe That We Float,” and “Black Lung.” […]
Musicians
Review: ‘Automatic’ by R.E.M. is Lengthy Listening Pleasure
Review By DAN MACINTOSH R.E.M.’s Automatic for the People (25th Anniversary Edition, Concord) is 45-songs long. So, unless you’re retired, bedridden or just have endless hours for binge listening time, there’s likely more music included […]
Live Reviews
The Shrine Rocks The Echo With Wild Release Party
By DONNA BALANCIA The Shrine rocks it. It’s as simple as that. Josh Landau, Corey Parks and Jeff Murray have Shepard Fairey art on the cover of their new record “Never More Than Now,” they […]
Musicians
VIDEO: Rodney Presents Glitter Critters With Clem Burke on ‘Drummer Boy’
By DONNA BALANCIA It wouldn’t be the holiday season without Rodney Bingenheimer and a cool Christmas party. The Glitter Critters made their live debut last night at Rodney Bingenheimer’s shindig at La Luz de Jesus Gallery […]
Musicians
Beatles ‘Love Me Do’ Demo Single Sold for Record-Breaking Price
By JOHN DALY The Beatles first demo single for Parlophone ‘Love Me Do’ has been officially confirmed as sold through Discogs for $14,757 (or £11,250.00) breaking a Discogs sales record for a 7″ single. Released on Oct. […]
Locals Only
Casey and Shakers Open For Chambers Brothers
By DONNA BALANCIA Carol Casey says some of the best friends in her life have been her band members. “Singing and playing music is my salvation,” she said. “I decided three years ago to get […]
The Latest
Jesika Von Rabbit Devoted to The Music
By DONNA BALANCIA Her fashion may be wild and her songs are pop-electro, but Jesika Von Rabbit, is a no-nonsense working musician. Von Rabbit has accomplished what few others have been able to do: She […]
By JOHN DALY
CaliforniaRocker.com Wins Best Blog at National Journalism Awards
December Award for Best Blog followed by January’s Best Music Blog List By JOHN DALY LOS ANGELES – CaliforniaRocker.com won first place in the Best Individual Blog category of the National Arts and Entertainment Journalism […]
Live Reviews
The Dandy Warhols and Pow! Bring Crowds to Teragram Ballroom
Dandy Warhols Draw a Diverse Crowd of Longtime Fans By DONNA BALANCIA The Dandy Warhols brought some holiday cheer, some fables and great music to a 2-nite stint at the Teragram Ballroom with the band […]
Live Reviews
CRAIG HAMMONS: Gary Numan Electrifies at Teragram Ballroom
Review By CRAIG HAMMONS Gary Numan rolled through town in support of his brilliant new album Savage: Songs from a Broken World with two sold-out shows at The Teragram Ballroom and one at the Observatory […]
Locals Only
Canadian Punker Richard Duguay Plays Maui Sugar Mill
Duguay Brings Canadian Punk to Maui Sugar Mill By DONNA BALANCIA Richard Duguay and Fame Whore makes their first U.S. stage appearance in two years at the Maui Sugar Mill. It may be the start […]
By JOHN DALY
Rap, Rhythm and Blues Dominate GRAMMY Noms
By JOHN DALY Rap and R/B dominated the nominees for the 60th annual GRAMMY Awards, and Ed Sheeran and Lady Gaga were among the snubs. The Recording Academy announced the nominees Tuesday morning. JAY-Z leads with […]
Records
The Smiths Remaster ‘The Queen Is Dead’ A Hi-Fi Classic
Review By DAN MACINTOSH The Queen Is Dead offers all the evidence anyone will ever need to prove The Smiths’ genius. Originally released in June of 1986, it is 37:07 of soul-bearing music, and all […]