THE WATSON TWINS GUEST LIST IS NOW OPEN!

In our shelf loaded with "Live at..." releases the far right end (alphabetically) is held up the ever-so-charming Watson Twins. Their in-store was a heady combination of killer harmonies, great song-craft, and a double-barreled sense of humor. You may have heard them on Rabbit Fur Coat, the album they did forever ago with Jenny Lewis (of Rilo Kiley), it was how we discovered them, but Fire Songs was when they stole our hearts. Q Magazine said "...slow, brooding, impeccably delivered songs..."

Talking to You, Talking to Me, Leigh and Chandra's latest, is again full of smoke, grooves, heat, and soul. Spin said "[T]he Watsons consult vintage Southern styles for inspiration, incorporating touches of country and plenty of hot-blooded soul."

In addition to the new album, it would be irresponsible for me to not mention "Live From Fingerprints" the live CD from the last time the girls were here, but if you haven't grabbed yours yet, we have them now and we will still have them at the in-store.

Get your sample on at their Myspace page.

The guest list is currently open. But anyone who purchases a copy of either of their albums will get priority entry and a special event poster (suitable for framing), so if you want to be sure you're up front, support the girls by taking an album home.

Click to buy/sample Talking to You, Talking to Me

It's time for a local music night and there are very few in the 562 that we'd rather spend an evening with than these two local bands. Eugene & the 1914 is led by Eugene Owens, who you may know through his bass work with Deep Sea Diver (not to mention the time he's spent playing with serious jazz cats like Terrence Blanchard & Branford Marsalis), but it's as a bandleader that Eugene comes into his own; whether it be moody songwriter style or more up-tempo jangly band style, Eugene & the 1914 are local artists that are well worth your attention.

Myspace has samples.

We are also proud to host Fort Wife, another LB band that features some of the folks who've made Avi Buffalo such a compelling live act; on their own they make strange & dreamy soundscaped pop songs that for some reason remind me why cats like to sleep in baskets full of warm laundry.

Brew up a cup of tea and check out their myspace.

The guest list is open now with RSVP, let us know you're coming and we'll save you a spot. We will have CDs available at the event, and as always, we will have something nifty you can use to cover all the hand marks by the lightswitch for anyone who purchases a copy.

Some of you will recall last summer when we hosted an evening with the local author Alan Rifkin and a few of his friends. Well, one of the true highpoints of that night was Stanley Wycoff and his band. Stanley has spent a good amount of time in the LA music scene, playing guitar with Dave Alvin, writing songs for Chris Gaffney, and quietly releasing excellent albums that are steeped in roots and rock and roll tradition. We have been waiting for Stanley's new record to come back from the printer so we could have a proper celebration and that time has come. Stanley has assembled a crack band that includes some major heavy-weight talent; Rick Shea (who's played with Alvin's Guilty Men & Los Lobos), Donny Ott (Dobro for Gregg Allman's Band), Bruce White (guitar for Hal Ketchum), Eric Brenton (Fiddle), Joe Lamano (bass player with Zappa, the Turtles & The Association).

Stanley don't need no stinkin' myspace.

The guest list is open now, let us know you're coming and we'll be ready. Stanley's new CDs will be available at the event and Haymaker, the one before the new one (go ahead, call it the last one, but it feels weird to me when we're talking a new one.) Anyway, it's available now.

Yep, a morning in-store with an artist who specializes in music for smart kids that like to sing. So round up the little ones and clear the decks, it's gonna be a hoot. Ralph Covert started off fronting the Chicago based Bad Examples, a band that created near-perfect pop-rock tunes with a very sly sense of humor. We were fans then, and now that he's become a shining light in music for young ears movement, we're still fans. If you've grown weary of cartoon soundtracks, lullabies, or 98% of the other dreck that is marketed to kids, make plans to join us for a singing and hooting good time. RSVP required. The guest list is currently open to those who buy Ralph's latest album, which will include priority entry and a poster that will look great on the back of any bedroom door. If space allows, we'll open it up first come, first served, as we get closer. Absolutely no curmudgeons will admitted prior to noon.

Check out the full album stream at Ralph's website.

We're gonna try to talk him into playing at least one Bad Examples tune for us old fans.

Click to check out some of the Ralph's World releases

We have been fortunate enough to host ALO (Animal Liberation Orchestra, if you want to find them on Wikipedia) a couple of times already and when you factor in the times we've caught them live, both headlining and opening for Jack Johnson (who's band features Zach Gill playing all things keyed - piano, accordion, and melodica) you begin to get the idea that these guys deliver live. Hopefully you've seen one of their in-stores, or even better, their headline set at last summer's Soul Motion concert kick off to the Summer and Music series downtown. If you missed these opportunities, you're in luck. February 9th sees the release of Man of the World and the guys will be stopping in on Wednesday, the 10th, to kick things off. Man of the World is ALO's fourth full-length, and third for Brushfire Records. Jack Johnson produced it and guests throughout, but the real star is the collective power of a band hitting its stride. In a live setting ALO works off of each other, building a laid-back California beach based monster that is much larger than the sum of its parts. Man of the World captures this energy and electricity like never before.

You can sample some of the new stuff at their myspace page.

The guest list is now open for folks who pre-order Man of the World. Pre-order will include an event poster and priority entry to the in-store. Space permitting, we will open the list wide closer to the event. Pre-order in person or by calling 562.433.4996.

Click here to buy/sample Man of the World

Tick, tick, tick... The Guest list is open! Call now - 562.433.4996

Damn the torpedoes and full-steam ahead! We usually try to keep our Saturdays open, but since we've been waiting for just the right moment to kick off our 2010 in-store calendar, and the crazy kids in Soft Pack are trying this nutty 10 shows in one day gimmick, we figured sure, "bring the circus, we're up for it", and we said yes.

Coming out of the San Diego music scene, Soft Pack started off as The Muslims, and they released a couple of singles and toured as openers for The Breeders and Bloc Party under that name, but due to a handful of knuckleheads who gave them a bunch of grief, Soft Pack was born. Since the rechristening they've toured with Last Shadow Puppets, White Lies, Phoenix, and Friendly Fires. They're currently signed to Kemado Records, managed by Radiohead's management team, and their self-titled debut is coming out on February 2nd - and they've just been announced as part of COACHELLA!. To celebrate they are doing 10 shows in one day. Videothing.com is capturing the whole thing for a little guerrilla documentary action, and well, we've got the middle of the day nailed down. The rest of the shows will be house parties, so this might be your only shot to be in on the action. It's looking like there may even be a special guest for this little shindig, but since his record isn't out yet, and we're hoping to have him back for his own show at that point, we'll only mention that Avi has a new record coming soon on Sub Pop and currently has a cool little 7" out at the moment, and will leave it at that - oh, and of course we'll whisper that this isn't to be missed, especially if your only reason is because these guys aren't household names yet.

Check out a few of Soft Pack's tunes at their myspace page.

The guest list is open wide, all you need to do is call. Remember, pre-orders will still include an event poster and priority entry (and you'll be able to pick up your copy a couple of days before the rest of the world, because we've arranged to have CDs on hand for the in-store). Welcome to 2010.

To RSVP or pre-order - visit or call us at 562.433.4996.

Click here to buy/sample The Soft Pack

We hate to see people struggling to deal with disasters, but when it's an earthquake it seems to strike a bit closer to home (if that seems like a pun, it's not meant to) and we'd love to encourage you to send some good thoughts and, if you can, a little financial support, to help them out a bit. Hopefully, we won't ever be in a position to need the help ourselves. We're proud to institute Trade for Haiti, a new program where you can donate used CDs, books, DVDs, LPs, or other goodies we would usually take for store credit, and have the full credit value donated to IMC (More about them below).

In trying to make sure our donations do the most good, we've done a little scouting and feel pretty good about International Medical Corps. They're based in Santa Monica, they have an A+ rating from the American Institute of Philanthropy, and their Better Business Bureau rating is solid. They have earthquake experience and specialize in helping affected communities set up long-term solutions that will help beyond the initial services provided by other agencies.

To donate directly, or for more information on International Medical Corps visit their site directly.

If you donate between now and the end of February, using your AMEX, American Express will kick the fees back to IMC, which is likely a few extra points. For a complete list of charities AMEX has approved check out this site.

You can also donate through IMC by texting "Haiti" to 85944 on your cell phone.

Charity
Watch - for information about others providing assistance.

TRADE FOR HAITI - If you are unable to throw cash to help, but you can spare a few records from your collection (or other stuff we buy/sell), we are happy to announce that starting this weekend we will be accepting trade ins to benefit Haiti. Any donated trades will be paid to International Medical Corps and where the usual cash value is usually 60% of the trade-in value, we will be posting all donations at the higher store credit value. We will continue to do the higher charity payout as long as we can afford it, at which point we will have to go back to our regular cash/credit split, but we will keep the program going as long as we think it's helping.

While their songs have featured prominently in video games and film and TV (including Twilight: New Moon), there is very little chance that Band of Skulls will be remembered as jingle-writers; these Brits have an incredible talent for plugging in and delivering big rock with a Seventies bent and a rhythmic bluesy stomp to it. They've been mentioned in the same breath as The Kills, The Ravonettes, and the Duke Spirit, and while the comparisons aren't bad, they don't convey the power-meets-glory of their 3-piece with dual vocals delivery.

Check out the video for "I Know What I Am" then head over to their myspace page for a 2nd helping.

Catch them December 11th at the Troubadour.

We will be opening the guest list for anyone who purchases Baby Darling Doll Face Honey. You may purchase in person or over he phone, but unfortunately we are unable to qualify online orders for the event. If space allows, once we're a little closer we will open the list first come, first served. In the spirit of full-disclosure we need to say we are thinking this is likely to sell out quickly. Baby Darling Doll Face Honey is available now for $9.99 and besides the event, your purchase will include a free custom event poster.

Click here to buy/sample Baby Darling Doll Face Honey

It's getting to be the time of year when reflection is upon us; making lists and reflecting on our favorite albums and our favorite shows/in-stores of 2009, so the timing of this indie-store only release couldn't be better. It finds Lisa and her band returning to our stage (Lisa and several members of the band played on the Damien Rice Live at Fingerprints release) and the term magical only scratches the surface. Containing 6 tracks from the Mercury Prize nominated Sea Sew, performed right here on our stage, this is a full band performance by a band with everything clicking into place. There are a tremendous number of exciting things happening for Lisa right now and we're extremely happy to be able to play a small part in her inevitable rise to several of those best of the year lists.

Live at Fingerprints is available beginning December 15th, but we're accepting pre-orders at the sale price of $5.49 starting now. All pre-orders will be entered to win a poster from the event (which ended up as the album cover in a slightly different form - woot! to Dana for the design).

It can be dicey to judge a band by their producer, but sometimes it works (Brian Deck and Rick Rubin come to mind as two who have way more in their win columns than average) but a new production name on our radar is Peter Katis, and it's with great thanks to him that we stumbled across Fanfarlo, one of our favorite new bands. Katis has recorded albums with The National, The Swell Season, Interpol, Frightened Rabbit, and numerous others that are taking up space on our shelves at home.

Happily, to those shelves we're now adding the latest from Fanfarlo. Based in London, Fanfarlo is a collective of sorts, that specializes in up-tempo folk-ish songs, with a bit of Romani blood running through their appropriately attired neo-indie rock veins. They have an air of the orchestral to their music (think Beirut or Arcade Fire) and the fun they're having creating this, slightly moody and melancholy, music is pervasive; imagine a Merchant Ivory film suddenly turned into a house party and you're on the right path.

Check out the video for Luna, shot stripped down and acoustic in an empty garden for a small taste, then head over to their myspace page for a little meatier sample.

This event is also first come, first served, beginning tomorrow (11/17) at noon. Call us to be added to the guest list, at 562.433.4996

Click here to buy/sample Reservoir

Lots of buzz on this one, but since it's upon us, and we have a couple of spots left... it's open season on the last couple of slots to see these two very fine bands. Call us after 10:30am on Monday and we'll hook you up, while the space allows. The folks who've already purchased a disc will get the priority entry, and if that's what you're looking for, we'll still get you in as quickly as possible with purchase of an album from either band, but if you want to wait until they've blown your mind to grab a CD or LP, we understand.

Sea Wolf has been out and about touring to promote the new album, White Water, White Bloom, and we are very happy to get them in to play for us.

We spent a lot of time trying to work out an in-store around their last record, and it just couldn't be done, so this is one of those delayed gratification evenings that usually serves to remind us that patience really can work in your favor.

Check their myspace to hear some of the new tracks and, when that leaves you wanting more, click over to listen to their last KCRW session.

To this already special evening, we've also added an acoustic warm-up set from The Growlers, straight out of Costa Mesa. They've been described as "garage-rock fuzz and a distorted voice, riding atop a surf-ska emotion that (drives) it toward making even the tightest legs move" (OC Weekly) - Check their myspace to hear some of their new tracks and watch for them opening shows for Julian Casablancas (of the Strokes) in the immediate future and Dr. Dog, a bit down the road.

Click here to buy/sample White Water, White Bloom

Three albums in and El Perro del Mar are still shaking things up. With Love Is Not Pop, Sarah Assbring (aka: El Perro del Mar) has taken the folk-pop meets girl group sound of From the Valley To the Stars, and added a darker, more groovy, element that makes for the perfect evolutionary next-step.

Sarah recently stopped in to use the facilities at the Fader Fort, and while this is a little more stripped down than what we're expecting next weekend, it gives you a great glimpse of what she's capable of pulling off with no-frills and no help.

Recent press includes:

"Mixing tears with sugary sound effects, she wallows with Scandinavian style."-New York Times

"A minimal Phil Spector sound. Unique and magical" - The London Times.

"Heartbreak and loneliness have never been so beautiful" - Word Mag.

8.1 - "Achingly genuine" - Pitchfork

The guest list will be open, first come, first served, starting at Noon on Monday (11/16). Stop in or call us to be added to the guest list. (562)433-4996

Click here to buy/sample Love Is Not Pop

If you spent any time checking out the Summer & Music series we worked on earlier this year, you may have been lucky enough to see the whirling wall of sound that answers to the name of 60 Watt Kid. Their bio mentions that Kevin used to front Dance Disaster Movement, they took their name from a wanted poster in the laundry room of their apartment when the landlord was trying to figure out who kept stealing the light bulbs, and they've embraced the adjectives ambient, improvisational, 60s kitch, droney, psychedelic, acoustic freakout, and Folk-Noise. That's a lot of ground to cover, but cover it they do. Think about a crazy combination of Sonic Boom, Animal Collective and some bedroom Pink Floyd/Spiritualized mesomorph.

Some Recent Press:

"60 Watt Kid, swearing their love for krautrock and acid-folk, erupt out of the primal goddess Rock N' Roll, like a dream in which David Lynch produces 'Fear of Music' by the Talking Heads with Buddy Holly's Crickets as studio musicians."
      - Four stars, German Rolling Stone Magazine

"The 'Being John Malkovich' of indie"
      - Pitchfork review

"Triumphant weirdness"
      - Performer magazine

"Kevin, Derek, and now young Dylan are pretty much the most crucial and underrated band in Los Angeles at this point."
      - Grant, founder/curator Echo Curio

Click here to pre-buy We Come From the Bright Side

What a night. We had hopes for something memorable to come out of an evening of music by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova (collectively, The Swell Season), but we’re easy. This event was so much better than we could ever have dreamed; emotional, passionate, funny, and long enough for everyone to disappear into the groove. Starting off streetside, with an impromptu, unplugged solo version of "Say It To Me Now", Glen set the mark and collectively, they never moved off of it. Over the next hour plus, Glen and Mar worked through a set that included five songs from their stunning new album, Strict Joy, some of the
best bits from the Once soundtrack, covers of "Buzzin’ Fly" (Tim Buckley) and "New Partner" (Will Oldham), and a very nice, as yet unnamed new tune, that may very well end up with a name suggested by someone in our crowd. Here are a couple of other videos captured from the front couple of rows, hopefully they’ll take you back if you were there, and if you missed it, hopefully they’ll soothe the ache. Bear in mind that the videos are all audience shot and that the quality varies. Please help us spread the word.

1. Say It To Me Now (street performance)


2. Fallin’ Slowly


3. *Low Rising (no video yet)


4. *(Maybe I Was Born To Hold You) In These Arms (no video yet)
   


5. *Feelin’ The Pull


6. *Fantasy Man


7. Leave


8. Paper Cup (no video yet)


9. *If You Want Me


10. Walking Into Fingerprints (a new song, but this was my favorite of the shouted out titles)


11. New Partner (Will Oldham Cover)


12. Lies


13. When Your Mind is Made Up


14. Buzzin’ Fly (Tim Buckley Cover)

Several years ago we were lucky enough to host The Frames while they were out supporting Damien Rice, and it is still one of our most talked about in-stores, to this day. Anyway, flash forward a few years, and Glen Hansard is now a movie star (Once) and he's playing in a new project called The Swell Season and we get the unbelievable call asking if they could play at the shop the day after the Academy Award telecast, but as a grounding experience if they win the Oscar for Best Song - Let me tell you when they won, it felt like we were gonna get to hold the gold guy. Well, long story short, they got a little overwhelmed with press requests and we agreed to revisit the idea when things had calmed down a bit. Apparently this is the eye of the storm. Mere days ahead of the release of Strict Joy we are incredibly excited to welcome Glen and Marketa to our humble little stage.

I could go on for days trying to describe their sound and still not do as god of a job as if I just sent you to watch the desk-top performance they did as a Tiny Desk concert for NPR.

The new album is a step forward from the sparseness of their self-titled debut and the Once soundtrack, due in large part to it boasting much fuller instrumentation, courtesy of several members of The Frames. You can Low Rent listening post them at their myspace page.

We are expecting a quick capacity bell on this one, so if you'd like to join us, please RSVP ASAP. We'll begin the pre-order Thursday at 11:00am, via drop in visit or phone call (Sorry, we need to keep too close an eye on the list to allow web orders). Our number, for those who don't have us on speed dial, is 562)433-4996. We are currently only opening the list for the folks who pre-order Strict Joy, which is due out on October 27th. (Please note; there is a regular, deluxe (with a live CD and a live DVD), and a vinyl version available, any and all will be available for pre-order.)