ShoutNote

ShoutNote is an independent, non-commercial blog which profiles bands playing in or passing through the Los Angeles area, asking them all the same question, “How would you change the indie music scene?”

Even though Jace Everett’s written one of the most popular title songs on television, he prefers the freedom and ownership that independent record labels provide, now working with Weston Boys Entertainment out of Austin. True Blood executive producer Alan Ball first heard what would become the show’s title song when Everett was with Epic Records a number of years ago, but the deal didn’t solidify until after Jace moved off the label. I caught up with him after a set that was part of the The Twilight Dance Series (no reference to the teen movie intended) on the Santa Monica Pier, and I asked him to compare his experiences on both major and indie labels. He also offers advice for bands looking to place songs in movies or television shows and takes on how he’d change the indie music scene.

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Ah, nothing bespeaks summer quite like drinking an overpriced bottle of domestic beer at an indie music dive bar. And that’s where I found myself last Friday. Relax Bar has become a local fave amongst heavy indie rock fans, and it (gratefully) stands in stark contrast to the celeb spotting glitz clubs just a mile or so up Hollywood Blvd. The talent on display was an Athens, Georgia band called Music Hates You, which kicks out heavy, quasi-metal riffs underneath coarse, hard-hitting vocals. I spoke with lead singer Noah Ray after the gig. He talked about the current scene in Athens compared to other areas of the country and answered my question about how he’d change the indie music scene at large, which you’ll find similar to the sentiments of Tacoma, Washington band Highlight Bomb.

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Last time I went to the Make Music Pasadena Festival was in 2008 to see L.A. faves Dengue Fever. I trekked back to the event this year to see another amazing local act called Warpaint. There are many others who accurately describe the band’s sound, so I will refrain from doing so in detail here, but I will say that Warpaint manages to capture an authentic Southern California sound, but not by trying to blow life into the corpse of west coast alt metal or raw-veggie-eating folk rock. And that last sentence may make little sense until you check out their recent EP, ironically titled Exquisite Corpse (don’t let the Emo name fool you). In the video below, I was regrettably a little too close to the speakers to capture distortion-free sound (there’s much to be desired from my camera’s auto gain control — you hear me Panasonic?), but I caught great interviews with all members of the band, asking them about their recent experience playing in Europe and how they would change the indie music scene.

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Costa Mesa band The New Limb played an outdoor set on June 11 as part of the monthly Friday Night Sessions in Downtown L.A. The free event features indie bands on the second Friday of each month. Catchy, unique songs make up most of New Limb’s current slate. Oddly, the group played a couple of cover tunes also,  which I’ve viewed as necessary only when a band’s current songs blow, and that’s really not the case with these guys (and one girl). The video below features clips from a cool tune called “Ebb and Flow.” There’s a short interview with lead singer Joey Chavez also, where he makes a valid point about the potential pitfalls of indie music.

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