An alternative title for this post could be “Masked Men Rock Downtown Alley.” Seeing a band like Hello My Name is Red reminds me why I write an indie music blog. Just down the alley from The Vivian Girls show at The Smell last Saturday, three guys wheeled up in a black SUV, hooked up their amps to a car battery, and kicked more ass in a few songs than a lot of bands could in a two hour set. The band does an accurate job describing its sound on their MySpace page as “loud, catchy, bouncy, sloppy, soothing sounds.” The outside venue didn’t provide the best lighting conditions unfortunately, but the video below provides a taste of the sweet acid these guys serve up. Short interview with the lead singer about halfway through.
State of the Independent Music Scene
The Deadlies
New L.A. band The Deadlies played a set at Boardner’s in Hollywood recently. The group has a unique sound that fuses power pop with 8 bit keyboards and melodic vocals. I spoke with the band about the one thing they’d like to see change in the indie music scene. And as you’ll notice, they were very complimentary to the interviewer toward the end of the video.
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Moonrats
Caught L.A. band Moonrats at The Smell Friday evening. The ‘rats sound is an edgey guitar pop with melodic vocals and great use (not over-use) of keyboards. A lot of well-produced tracks on the band’s MySpace page, particularly “Sleepwalk” and “Blue, White and Red.” The video below contains clips from the show and a short interview with lead singer Nathan Thelen, in which he mentions that indie bands could use more venues like Vera in the Netherlands. Sounds like a cool place.
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Back Alley Kicks
Saw a fun band from Olympia, Washington about a month ago called Back Alley Kicks. Their sound is an upbeat garage punk, and we discussed the difference between the indie music scene in their backyard vs. other parts of the country. Between stage clips below, there’s an interview with the band, in which you’ll also see more cigarette smoking than an entire episode of Mad Men.
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Chasing Kings
I caught a show by L.A. band Chasing Kings a couple of weeks ago. They play a piano rock jive I found comparable to The Fray and James Blunt. And yes, I do mean that in a good way. Below are stage clips and a short interview with lead singer Matt Schwartz. The on-stage background artwork painted during the show is by Norton Wisdom.
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