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Sean McCourt on July 14, 2016
Birthed in L.A.’s late-’70s underground music scene—back when punk rock was still in its infancy—The Dickies are one of the longest-running and most entertaining punk bands to ever take the stage. Formed in the San Fernando Valley in in 1977, The Dickies hit upon a winning formula with songs like “Stukas over…
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Avi Salem on June 29, 2016
When it comes to picking songs for that carefree, windows-down summer playlist, front seat selectors would do well to consider The Mowgli’s. With acoustic anthems about holding hands beneath a California sunset and disco-punk celebrations of kissing in the dark, the SoCal indie-pop outfit have built a career upon songs in praise…
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Mike Huguenor on June 1, 2016
In his mind-bending essay on Marx and Shakespeare, visionary French philosopher Jacques Derrida imagined a future, which comes from the past. “The same question had already sounded,” he writes in Specters of Marx. “The same, to be sure, but in an altogether different way. And the difference in the sound, that is…
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Nick Veronin on May 25, 2016
Though he doesn’t have the energy he had in his 20s, Bobby Liebling, the creator and longtime frontman for pioneering metal band Pentagram, says he still feels like a 25-year-old at heart. “I didn’t grow up,” the singer and songwriter says, speaking over the phone from Mesa, Arizona, where his band is…
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Mike Huguenor on March 30, 2016
Even if you don’t recognize the name, you’ve probably heard the Stone Foxes. Their music has been used in multiple TV shows, including Showtime’s Shameless, FX’s Sons of Anarchy and a 2013 Jack Daniels TV campaign that prominently featured their cover of Slim Harpo’s “I’m a King Bee” (a song once covered by…
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David Ma on March 23, 2016
Cutting against the grain has pretty much always been Rich Quitevis’ thing. The San Francisco-born Quitevis, better known as DJ Qbert, just prefers zagging where others zig. “You ever see schools of fish at the aquarium?” he asks. “They’re all swimming in the same direction but there’s one that’s swimming backwards the other…
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Nick Veronin on March 16, 2016
Buzz Osborne swears that he isn’t an ordinary dude, but talking to him on the phone it would be easy to mistake him as such. Sure, the guy sounds a bit high strung; but not tweaker high strung—more like quirky science professor after too many cups of coffee. In fact, after more…
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Nick Veronin on March 9, 2016
It’s doubtful that any of us ’80s babies realized it at the time, but we soaked up a lot more than words like “shoryuken” and meme-worthy phrases, like “all your base are belong to us,” while we sat cross-legged on the floor, frantically tapping our plastic Nintendo and Sega controllers. It would…
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David Ma on February 10, 2016
It’s no easy task to be a creator of throwback sounds in this modern era without sounding overly derivative, disingenuous, or worse yet, like a novelty act. But for the last few years, Pasadena-based Dam-Funk (pronounced “Dame-Funk”) has earned underground and critical acclaim doing just that. Born Damon Riddick, the producer and vocalist…
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Nick Veronin on December 16, 2015
It’s that time of year again. The South Bay’s favorite electro-pop duo, The Limousines, are hosting their annual holiday party—and this year promises to be the biggest one yet. Literally. “We’re excited to be able to utilize that space,” says Limos singer Eric Victorino, referencing the fact that the sixth annual XXX-Mas…
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