Dec
04

Wherefore Art Thou, Chromeo?

These days, it’s not that difficult to find Patrick Gemayel (P-Thugg) and David Macklovitch (Dave 1), the childhood friends who comprise the retro-electro-funksters Chromeo. They’re on tour, of course, wrapping up the third, and final, round of dates around their 2010 release, Business Casual. The pair, based in Montreal, Quebec, first burst onto the scene in … Continue reading »

Dec
04

10 Questions for Jonny from The Drums

  Who: Frontman Jonny Pierce from the Drums What: The Brooklyn-based five-piece plays ridiculously infectious pop tunes with an edge Why: The Drums just dropped their sophomore release, Portamento, and it trumps their acclaimed debut Where: The Casbah When: Saturday night, with opener IO ECHO Scott McDonald: You and [Drums co-founder] Jacob [Graham] have been friends for so long. Does it help the … Continue reading »

Dec
04

Avi’s ‘Bird’ Flies Into Loft

It turns out the cliché is true: Good things sometimes do come in small packages. For instance, take diminutive Malaysian singer/songwriter Zee Avi, who plays at the Loft at UCSD on Sunday, and at M-Theory Records earlier in the day. Born Iyan Alirahman, the petite 26-year-old songstress has a beautifully big voice, and it doesn’t … Continue reading »

Dec
04

VanGaalen Brings ‘Island’ to Soda Bar

Canadian illustrator, sculptor, musician and producer Chad VanGaalen hasn’t had much of a break in the last few years. Content for a long time as a visual artist, someone heard some of the recordings he had been making in his makeshift basement studio in 2003 and thought they were better than the handmade/hand-drawn treatment they were … Continue reading »

Dec
03

New ‘Dreams’ For Dum Dums

There’s really only one question that needs to be asked when talking about Los Angeles pop-punkers Dum Dum Girls. And, to me, that’s: How can you not like Dee Dee (aka Kristin Gundred) and her merry band of lady tricksters? I mean, really? A uniformly stylish, sassy, all-girl group that rocks it like they talk it, is … Continue reading »