Buzz Bands becomes part of Soundboard

Buzz Bands, as the spiffy graphic would imply, is moving. It's now part of SOUNDBOARD, The Times' new group music blog that will feature a lot of people writing about a lot of things, some of them even bands that buzz. To the folks around Los Angeles (and occasionally elsewhere) who followed along with my scribblings the past 15 months, thank you.

Readers, adjust thy bookmarks. Meet SOUNDBOARD.

-- Kevin Bronson

 

Name yourself after rehab -- they said no, no, no ...

That's what Hazelden is finding. The L.A. rock quartet last week heard from a Minnesota-based law firm representing the prominent drug and alcohol treatment facility Hazelden. Would the band please change its name?

"I'm not sure what we're going to do yet," says front woman Mary Jane Snow, who says the band is named for Hedley Hazelden (1915-2001), a highly decorated World War II airman and test pilot [pictured above, with Hazelden]. Snow says her unsigned band can't afford legal representation. The foursome just released its initial EP.

Seems to me a lot of bands are having trouble with their names recently; it's obvious from the existence of RSI-inducing names like WFANFC and SSLYBY that all the good band names are taken. Afternoons -- the local outfit helmed by members of Irving -- might be looking for a new moniker because of the almost-forgotten Welsh band from a couple decades ago called the Afternoons. The L.A. band Muso recently renamed itslef Les Blanks because of trademark issues. And the Switch switched to Le Switch last year after finding that Switches were a dime a dozen.

We'll see about Hazelden -- for now, Snow says, her band is preparing for Sunday night's big show at the House of Blues Anaheim. The quartet is opening for the New York Dolls.

Other highlights for the weekend, March 7-9

Tonight: Delta Spirit, picking up steam on the strength of its great late-'07 release "Ode to Sunshine," headline the Troubadour, with the Virgins and Port O'Brien (nice album coming May 13) also on the bill. ... Youngsters the Jakes and Billy Boy on Poison head up a big bill at the Roxy. ... Division Day and the A-Sides are at Spaceland. ... Cool Kiwis Die! Die! Die! play the Echo. ... Why? and Yacht play at the Natural History Museum's First Fridays shindig. ... And Rademacher is squeezing into Pehrspace.

Saturday night: Liam Finn and the Heavenly States play at Spaceland, though Pela has had to drop off the bill because of a hand injury sustained by its guitarist. ... The Dodos play the Silverlake Lounge (it's a 4:30 p.m. early show). ... Whispertown 2000 plays El Cid, while LoveLikeFire comes back into town for a show at Bordello that includes Light FM. ... And there's a cool Air Don't Sleep show at Crash Mansion.

Sunday night: Travis Sullivan's Bjorkestra is quite a spectacle -- the band plays Safari Sam's. ... And Big Business is at Spaceland, with the Cops.

Talk about a roller-coaster month.

The Little Ones gained a little one in January -- and the Los Angeles quintet lost their record deals in the EMI corporate reorganization. "It was the highest of the highs and the lowest of the lows," says singer-guitarist Ed Reyes, who with wife Jenny became parents of a son, Nolan, on Jan. 31. Only a week earlier, the band was told it was being let go from its contracts with EMI imprints Heavenly (in the U.K.) and Astralwerks (in the U.S.).

They're regrouping. Later today, the band will announce a nationwide tour beginning in April with Syracuse, N.Y., sextet Ra Ra Riot -- a jaunt that will coincide with the debut of a new, self-released EP titled "Terry Tales & Fallen Gates."

"It's full circle for us -- we're back to where we were in April 2006 with 'Sing Song,'" Reyes says, referring to the debut EP that helped put the band's upbeat pop on the map.

"Whenever you're rejected by anything in life, it hurts. I'd be lying if I said we weren't disappointed. But it's a new day -- like anything, you have to roll with the punches," Reyes says. "The funny thing is, it never even felt to us like we were signed to a major [label], since both Heavenly and Astralwerks feel like indies."

As part of the separation, the Little Ones were given back the masters for their completed album, "Morning Tide," which originally was due to be released in April. The six songs on the new EP were recorded during the "Morning Tide" sessions but were not slated to be on the album. The band hopes to release it straight to iTunes, with physical copies available at shows.

||| Live: The Little Ones play a headlining date at the Troubadour on May 15, and are at the Glass House the next night with Ra Ra Riot.

||| Download: The intended first single from "Morning Tide," "Ordinary Song," as well as a remix of that song, at the band's MySpace site.

Local miscellany: The cinematic quality to Dengue Fever's sound makes it a natural for music videos. Here's the latest from the band's third album, "Venus on Earth." The track is titled "Seeing Hands":

Elsewhere: That sold-out Hot Chip show that was postponed Feb. 4 (at the El Rey) has been rescheduled for April 28 -- and it's at the Mayan. No on-sale date has been announced for the additional tickets yet; tickets for the original show will be honored... Locally famous folkies and Jenny Lewis collaborators the Watson Twins are now aligned with Vanguard Records and have a debut album, "Fire Songs," coming June 24. ... Midnight Movies are back with a new EP, "Nights," out digitally on Tuesday (check out "Should Have Known" on MySpace.

Highlights for tonight, March 6

Local dream-rock quintet Twilight Sleep celebrates the release of its new EP, "Race to the Bottom of the Sea," with a show tonight at the Echo that also features Karin Tatoyan and Restaurant. ... Brooklyn psych-rock quartet My Best Fiend, whose album of tuneful neuroses reminds you of stuff like Pink Floyd and Clinic, plays the first of a two-night stand in L.A. at the Viper Room. (The band is at the Echo on Friday.)  Also teeing it up on the good Viper Room bill tonight: Gran Ronde, Reeve Carney and the Daylights. ... Big goings-on at the Forum, where the Foo Fighters and Against Me! perform. ... The Junior Boys are doing a DJ set at Spaceland, where Troy This is playing. ... The Start kicks off a residency at Crash Mansion. ... And local quartet the Hanks mark the release of their sophomore album, "Distance," with a show at the Knitting Factory.

The Police, with Elvis Costello and the Imposters, have added a second show at the Hollywood Bowl. With the bill's May 27 date sold out, the added show will go off on May 28. Tickets ($304.50, $154.50, $99.50 and $54.50) go on sale at 10 a.m. Sunday.

It'll make for a busy week for veteran rock acts at the Bowl -- the Police/Costello on Tuesday and Wednesday, R.E.M. (which does not appear on th Bowl's calendar but is listed on the band's tour itinerary) on Thursday, May 29, and the Cure on Saturday, May 31.

Earlimart's announcement this morning on its MySpace website couldn't have come as more of a surprise -- the band has a new album finished and slated for release on July 1.

"It's done, in the can and delivered," front man Aaron Espinoza says of "Hymn & Her," which will be released on Majordomo (an imprint of Shout! Factory) less than a year after the group's first album for that imprint, last August's "Mentor Tormentor." "We just want to be relentless, keep making stuff."

"Mentor Tormentor" was more than two years in the making, but after touring behind that record Espinoza got together with principal collaborator Ariana Murray. "I told her, 'It's just you and me, we're going to get an engineer, reserve the studio and record 10 songs.' ... We didn't want to do the whole wait-three-years-to-make-another-record thing," he says.

The engineer was versatile multi-instrumentalist Andrew Lynch, who also plays keyboards and brass on the album, the band's sixth. "He's a talented dude," Espinoza says. "We're lucky to have him."

No new songs posted yet, but I'll let you know.

Photo of Earlimart's Aaron Espinoza and Ariana Murray by Darrin Noble

◊ ◊ ◊

Another local note: Silversun Pickups debuted their new, Joaquin Phoenix-directed video for "Little Lover's So Polite" on MTV2. You can check it out here. Update: Here it is:

[Apologies for the protracted silence, folks. Been away on a family matter, complicated by a run-in with Mother Nature, but thankfully people like Classical Geek Theatre can clue me in on what I missed. I now attempt to lurch back into action:]

An injury sustained by singer Alice Glass has forced the postponement of eight show by Crystal Castles, including Sunday's gig at the Roxy. The Toronto disco-noise duo hope to be back in time for their gigs at the South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin starting March 14. Glass suffered two cracked ribs in an auto accident, Pitchfork reported.

The Roxy will be silent on Sunday night. It was initially reported in Crystal Castles' press release that local noise specialists Health, their tourmates, would play as scheduled, but a spokesperson for the venue said the show will be postponed entirely and rescheduled later, possibly in June.

Highlights for Tuesday, March 4

Had I not been otherwise occupied, I would have found time to sing the praises of the new album, titled "Get Awkward," by Be Your Own Pet. Punky and delicious, I say. And the Nashville quartet is opening for the Raveonettes tonight at the El Rey. ... The Mountain Goats kick off a two-night stand at the Troubadour. ... Jim Bianco's release party for the very good "Sing" is tonight at the Hotel Cafe -- and as a bonus, Nyles Lannon, Daniel Ahearn and Everest (acoustic) are also playing. ... Working for a Nuclear Free City rocks Cinespace. ... And the Vacation are on the bill at the Silverlake Lounge.

Photo of Crystal Castles by Stuart Pillinger

Presidential candidate John Edwards wasn't the only person moved by the story of Nataline Sarkisyan, the 17-year-old from Northridge who died in December of complications from leukemia and whose family's battles with its insurance carrier became headline news. Two local musicians, producer/beatmaker/lyricist ailment (Tony Barkodarian) and rapper/lyricist eye2eye (Mike Chakrian), were touched too.

"We didn't know Nataline personally, but I grew up in the same area and the whole story hit very close to home," says Barkodarian, a Northridge native who now lives in Glendale. "The best catchphrase I heard was 'murder by spreadsheet' -- that's exactly what it was."

After Sarkisyan's death, Chakrian posted some lyrics on MySpace, and upon seeing them Barkodarian was inspired to write a beat. The pair got together and recorded a song, "Nataline," and have made it available for download. Proceeds from the download ($1.99) go to the Sarkisyan family.

Learn more and download "Nataline" here.

Highlights for tonight, Feb. 20

Shane Alexander's album release show goes off tonight at the Troubadour. ... Halestorm rocks the Viper Room. ... And the Minor Canon and the Snow perform at Club NME at Spaceland.

I suppose it was inevitable that the Presidents of the United States of America would resurface this year. Could've sworn these guys broke up about 1998, but the bio tells me they've been back it full-time since 2004. Now comes the news that they have a new album "These Are the Good Times People" (what newspapers have they been reading?) due March 11 and they have re-teamed with "Weird Al" Yankovic for the video to its first single "Mixed Up S.O.B.," which you can hear here.

I mention this to note the strange whims of remembering the 1990s. PUSA sold millions of albums (4.5 million of their debut), and yet when the e-mail landed about their upcoming album, I could not remember a single one of their songs. The disposable nature of pop-punk? Possibly. The disposable nature of PUSA's pop-punk? Probably.

On the other hand, the news landed last week about another rock radio mainstay of that era, the newly reformed Filter. Richard Patrick and gang are back after five years ("Anthems for the Damned," due in May), and as soon as I saw the band's name in the subject field, "Hey Man, Nice Shot" lodged itself in my brain and simply would not go away for three days.

The big debuts by PUSA and Filter both came out in 1995, and each remains on my shelf at home. But only one remains in the inventory of my brain. Happens to you too? Please share (and, yes, take potshots at my musical tastes in 1995 all you want ...)

||| Live: PUSA plays March 19 at the House of Blues Anaheim and March 21 at the Roxy.

||| Live: Filter (no new songs on their MySpace yet) has no L.A.-area dates scheduled yet, but they're at the Casbah in San Diego on March 2.

Photo of Richard Patrick by Andrew Pinter

Highlights for Monday, Feb. 18

Dengue Fever headlines the Indie 103.1 night at the Viper Room. ... Film School plays the warm-up slot for the Pity Party's Spaceland residency. ... Robert Francis continues his Silverlake Lounge residency with guests Dawes (members of now-defunct Simon Dawes). ... Casket Salesmen and four other bands bring the rock at a free show at the Troubadour. ... And at the Echo, the Henry Clay People toast producer David Newton (who helmed their "Working Part Time" EP) by welcoming three other Newton-produced local bands onto the bill -- the Happy Hollows, Kissing Tigers and Death to Anders.

Easy as "1 2 3 4" -- Feist, the 31-year-old Canadian torch singer and Grammy nominee for best new artist, will be coming to the Hollywood Bowl for a headlining gig on July 20.  The Toronto native's striking chamber pop will be counterposed that evening by the stirring soul stylings of Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings. There's no on-sale date for tickets yet, and a third artist is likely to be added to the show.

The Bowl's pop/rock offerings are shaping up for the summer. Earlier this morning, a May 27 show featuring the Police and Elvis Costello and the Imposters was announced (tickets on sale Feb. 24). Mary J Blige and Jay-Z have an April 16 show; the Cure are scheduled for May 31; Sgt. Pepper's Revisited with Cheap Trick goes off June 20; Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers play on June 25; Gilbert Gil and Devendra Banhart team up on June 29; Gnarls Barkley parties on July 27; and UB40 pays a visit on Aug. 3.

Update: It's not on the Bowl's website yet, but it's on the band's: R.E.M. is playing the Bowl on May 29. And it should be pointed out that the Feist, Gil/Banhart, Barkley and UB40 shows are part of KCRW-FM's World Music series.

Photo of Feist playing KROQ-FM's Almost Acoustic Christmas show by Lawrence K. Ho / LAT

Hazelden checks in -- to Hazelden's name

 

Name yourself after rehab -- they said no, no, no ...

That's what Hazelden is finding. The L.A. rock quartet last week heard from a Minnesota-based law firm representing the prominent drug and alcohol treatment facility Hazelden. Would the band please change its name?

"I'm not sure what we're going to do yet," says front woman Mary Jane Snow, who says the band is named for Hedley Hazelden (1915-2001), a highly decorated World War II airman and test pilot [pictured above, with Hazelden]. Snow says her unsigned band can't afford legal representation. The foursome just released its initial EP.

Seems to me a lot of bands are having trouble with their names recently; it's obvious from the existence of RSI-inducing names like WFANFC and SSLYBY that all the good band names are taken. Afternoons -- the local outfit helmed by members of Irving -- might be looking for a new moniker because of the almost-forgotten Welsh band from a couple decades ago called the Afternoons. The L.A. band Muso recently renamed itslef Les Blanks because of trademark issues. And the Switch switched to Le Switch last year after finding that Switches were a dime a dozen.

We'll see about Hazelden -- for now, Snow says, her band is preparing for Sunday night's big show at the House of Blues Anaheim. The quartet is opening for the New York Dolls.

Other highlights for the weekend, March 7-9

Tonight: Delta Spirit, picking up steam on the strength of its great late-'07 release "Ode to Sunshine," headline the Troubadour, with the Virgins and Port O'Brien (nice album coming May 13) also on the bill. ... Youngsters the Jakes and Billy Boy on Poison head up a big bill at the Roxy. ... Division Day and the A-Sides are at Spaceland. ... Cool Kiwis Die! Die! Die! play the Echo. ... Why? and Yacht play at the Natural History Museum's First Fridays shindig. ... And Rademacher is squeezing into Pehrspace.

Saturday night: Liam Finn and the Heavenly States play at Spaceland, though Pela has had to drop off the bill because of a hand injury sustained by its guitarist. ... The Dodos play the Silverlake Lounge (it's a 4:30 p.m. early show). ... Whispertown 2000 plays El Cid, while LoveLikeFire comes back into town for a show at Bordello that includes Light FM. ... And there's a cool Air Don't Sleep show at Crash Mansion.

Sunday night: Travis Sullivan's Bjorkestra is quite a spectacle -- the band plays Safari Sam's. ... And Big Business is at Spaceland, with the Cops.

Talk about a roller-coaster month.

The Little Ones gained a little one in January -- and the Los Angeles quintet lost their record deals in the EMI corporate reorganization. "It was the highest of the highs and the lowest of the lows," says singer-guitarist Ed Reyes, who with wife Jenny became parents of a son, Nolan, on Jan. 31. Only a week earlier, the band was told it was being let go from its contracts with EMI imprints Heavenly (in the U.K.) and Astralwerks (in the U.S.).

They're regrouping. Later today, the band will announce a nationwide tour beginning in April with Syracuse, N.Y., sextet Ra Ra Riot -- a jaunt that will coincide with the debut of a new, self-released EP titled "Terry Tales & Fallen Gates."

"It's full circle for us -- we're back to where we were in April 2006 with 'Sing Song,'" Reyes says, referring to the debut EP that helped put the band's upbeat pop on the map.

"Whenever you're rejected by anything in life, it hurts. I'd be lying if I said we weren't disappointed. But it's a new day -- like anything, you have to roll with the punches," Reyes says. "The funny thing is, it never even felt to us like we were signed to a major [label], since both Heavenly and Astralwerks feel like indies."

As part of the separation, the Little Ones were given back the masters for their completed album, "Morning Tide," which originally was due to be released in April. The six songs on the new EP were recorded during the "Morning Tide" sessions but were not slated to be on the album. The band hopes to release it straight to iTunes, with physical copies available at shows.

||| Live: The Little Ones play a headlining date at the Troubadour on May 15, and are at the Glass House the next night with Ra Ra Riot.

||| Download: The intended first single from "Morning Tide," "Ordinary Song," as well as a remix of that song, at the band's MySpace site.

Local miscellany: The cinematic quality to Dengue Fever's sound makes it a natural for music videos. Here's the latest from the band's third album, "Venus on Earth." The track is titled "Seeing Hands":

Elsewhere: That sold-out Hot Chip show that was postponed Feb. 4 (at the El Rey) has been rescheduled for April 28 -- and it's at the Mayan. No on-sale date has been announced for the additional tickets yet; tickets for the original show will be honored... Locally famous folkies and Jenny Lewis collaborators the Watson Twins are now aligned with Vanguard Records and have a debut album, "Fire Songs," coming June 24. ... Midnight Movies are back with a new EP, "Nights," out digitally on Tuesday (check out "Should Have Known" on MySpace.

Highlights for tonight, March 6

Local dream-rock quintet Twilight Sleep celebrates the release of its new EP, "Race to the Bottom of the Sea," with a show tonight at the Echo that also features Karin Tatoyan and Restaurant. ... Brooklyn psych-rock quartet My Best Fiend, whose album of tuneful neuroses reminds you of stuff like Pink Floyd and Clinic, plays the first of a two-night stand in L.A. at the Viper Room. (The band is at the Echo on Friday.)  Also teeing it up on the good Viper Room bill tonight: Gran Ronde, Reeve Carney and the Daylights. ... Big goings-on at the Forum, where the Foo Fighters and Against Me! perform. ... The Junior Boys are doing a DJ set at Spaceland, where Troy This is playing. ... The Start kicks off a residency at Crash Mansion. ... And local quartet the Hanks mark the release of their sophomore album, "Distance," with a show at the Knitting Factory.

The Police, with Elvis Costello and the Imposters, have added a second show at the Hollywood Bowl. With the bill's May 27 date sold out, the added show will go off on May 28. Tickets ($304.50, $154.50, $99.50 and $54.50) go on sale at 10 a.m. Sunday.

It'll make for a busy week for veteran rock acts at the Bowl -- the Police/Costello on Tuesday and Wednesday, R.E.M. (which does not appear on th Bowl's calendar but is listed on the band's tour itinerary) on Thursday, May 29, and the Cure on Saturday, May 31.

Earlimart's announcement this morning on its MySpace website couldn't have come as more of a surprise -- the band has a new album finished and slated for release on July 1.

"It's done, in the can and delivered," front man Aaron Espinoza says of "Hymn & Her," which will be released on Majordomo (an imprint of Shout! Factory) less than a year after the group's first album for that imprint, last August's "Mentor Tormentor." "We just want to be relentless, keep making stuff."

"Mentor Tormentor" was more than two years in the making, but after touring behind that record Espinoza got together with principal collaborator Ariana Murray. "I told her, 'It's just you and me, we're going to get an engineer, reserve the studio and record 10 songs.' ... We didn't want to do the whole wait-three-years-to-make-another-record thing," he says.

The engineer was versatile multi-instrumentalist Andrew Lynch, who also plays keyboards and brass on the album, the band's sixth. "He's a talented dude," Espinoza says. "We're lucky to have him."

No new songs posted yet, but I'll let you know.

Photo of Earlimart's Aaron Espinoza and Ariana Murray by Darrin Noble

◊ ◊ ◊

Another local note: Silversun Pickups debuted their new, Joaquin Phoenix-directed video for "Little Lover's So Polite" on MTV2. You can check it out here. Update: Here it is:

[Apologies for the protracted silence, folks. Been away on a family matter, complicated by a run-in with Mother Nature, but thankfully people like Classical Geek Theatre can clue me in on what I missed. I now attempt to lurch back into action:]

An injury sustained by singer Alice Glass has forced the postponement of eight show by Crystal Castles, including Sunday's gig at the Roxy. The Toronto disco-noise duo hope to be back in time for their gigs at the South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin starting March 14. Glass suffered two cracked ribs in an auto accident, Pitchfork reported.

The Roxy will be silent on Sunday night. It was initially reported in Crystal Castles' press release that local noise specialists Health, their tourmates, would play as scheduled, but a spokesperson for the venue said the show will be postponed entirely and rescheduled later, possibly in June.

Highlights for Tuesday, March 4

Had I not been otherwise occupied, I would have found time to sing the praises of the new album, titled "Get Awkward," by Be Your Own Pet. Punky and delicious, I say. And the Nashville quartet is opening for the Raveonettes tonight at the El Rey. ... The Mountain Goats kick off a two-night stand at the Troubadour. ... Jim Bianco's release party for the very good "Sing" is tonight at the Hotel Cafe -- and as a bonus, Nyles Lannon, Daniel Ahearn and Everest (acoustic) are also playing. ... Working for a Nuclear Free City rocks Cinespace. ... And the Vacation are on the bill at the Silverlake Lounge.

Photo of Crystal Castles by Stuart Pillinger

Presidential candidate John Edwards wasn't the only person moved by the story of Nataline Sarkisyan, the 17-year-old from Northridge who died in December of complications from leukemia and whose family's battles with its insurance carrier became headline news. Two local musicians, producer/beatmaker/lyricist ailment (Tony Barkodarian) and rapper/lyricist eye2eye (Mike Chakrian), were touched too.

"We didn't know Nataline personally, but I grew up in the same area and the whole story hit very close to home," says Barkodarian, a Northridge native who now lives in Glendale. "The best catchphrase I heard was 'murder by spreadsheet' -- that's exactly what it was."

After Sarkisyan's death, Chakrian posted some lyrics on MySpace, and upon seeing them Barkodarian was inspired to write a beat. The pair got together and recorded a song, "Nataline," and have made it available for download. Proceeds from the download ($1.99) go to the Sarkisyan family.

Learn more and download "Nataline" here.

Highlights for tonight, Feb. 20

Shane Alexander's album release show goes off tonight at the Troubadour. ... Halestorm rocks the Viper Room. ... And the Minor Canon and the Snow perform at Club NME at Spaceland.

I suppose it was inevitable that the Presidents of the United States of America would resurface this year. Could've sworn these guys broke up about 1998, but the bio tells me they've been back it full-time since 2004. Now comes the news that they have a new album "These Are the Good Times People" (what newspapers have they been reading?) due March 11 and they have re-teamed with "Weird Al" Yankovic for the video to its first single "Mixed Up S.O.B.," which you can hear here.

I mention this to note the strange whims of remembering the 1990s. PUSA sold millions of albums (4.5 million of their debut), and yet when the e-mail landed about their upcoming album, I could not remember a single one of their songs. The disposable nature of pop-punk? Possibly. The disposable nature of PUSA's pop-punk? Probably.

On the other hand, the news landed last week about another rock radio mainstay of that era, the newly reformed Filter. Richard Patrick and gang are back after five years ("Anthems for the Damned," due in May), and as soon as I saw the band's name in the subject field, "Hey Man, Nice Shot" lodged itself in my brain and simply would not go away for three days.

The big debuts by PUSA and Filter both came out in 1995, and each remains on my shelf at home. But only one remains in the inventory of my brain. Happens to you too? Please share (and, yes, take potshots at my musical tastes in 1995 all you want ...)

||| Live: PUSA plays March 19 at the House of Blues Anaheim and March 21 at the Roxy.

||| Live: Filter (no new songs on their MySpace yet) has no L.A.-area dates scheduled yet, but they're at the Casbah in San Diego on March 2.

Photo of Richard Patrick by Andrew Pinter

Highlights for Monday, Feb. 18

Dengue Fever headlines the Indie 103.1 night at the Viper Room. ... Film School plays the warm-up slot for the Pity Party's Spaceland residency. ... Robert Francis continues his Silverlake Lounge residency with guests Dawes (members of now-defunct Simon Dawes). ... Casket Salesmen and four other bands bring the rock at a free show at the Troubadour. ... And at the Echo, the Henry Clay People toast producer David Newton (who helmed their "Working Part Time" EP) by welcoming three other Newton-produced local bands onto the bill -- the Happy Hollows, Kissing Tigers and Death to Anders.

Easy as "1 2 3 4" -- Feist, the 31-year-old Canadian torch singer and Grammy nominee for best new artist, will be coming to the Hollywood Bowl for a headlining gig on July 20.  The Toronto native's striking chamber pop will be counterposed that evening by the stirring soul stylings of Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings. There's no on-sale date for tickets yet, and a third artist is likely to be added to the show.

The Bowl's pop/rock offerings are shaping up for the summer. Earlier this morning, a May 27 show featuring the Police and Elvis Costello and the Imposters was announced (tickets on sale Feb. 24). Mary J Blige and Jay-Z have an April 16 show; the Cure are scheduled for May 31; Sgt. Pepper's Revisited with Cheap Trick goes off June 20; Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers play on June 25; Gilbert Gil and Devendra Banhart team up on June 29; Gnarls Barkley parties on July 27; and UB40 pays a visit on Aug. 3.

Update: It's not on the Bowl's website yet, but it's on the band's: R.E.M. is playing the Bowl on May 29. And it should be pointed out that the Feist, Gil/Banhart, Barkley and UB40 shows are part of KCRW-FM's World Music series.

Photo of Feist playing KROQ-FM's Almost Acoustic Christmas show by Lawrence K. Ho / LAT

The Little Ones bounce back after losing record deal

Talk about a roller-coaster month.

The Little Ones gained a little one in January -- and the Los Angeles quintet lost their record deals in the EMI corporate reorganization. "It was the highest of the highs and the lowest of the lows," says singer-guitarist Ed Reyes, who with wife Jenny became parents of a son, Nolan, on Jan. 31. Only a week earlier, the band was told it was being let go from its contracts with EMI imprints Heavenly (in the U.K.) and Astralwerks (in the U.S.).

They're regrouping. Later today, the band will announce a nationwide tour beginning in April with Syracuse, N.Y., sextet Ra Ra Riot -- a jaunt that will coincide with the debut of a new, self-released EP titled "Terry Tales & Fallen Gates."

"It's full circle for us -- we're back to where we were in April 2006 with 'Sing Song,'" Reyes says, referring to the debut EP that helped put the band's upbeat pop on the map.

"Whenever you're rejected by anything in life, it hurts. I'd be lying if I said we weren't disappointed. But it's a new day -- like anything, you have to roll with the punches," Reyes says. "The funny thing is, it never even felt to us like we were signed to a major [label], since both Heavenly and Astralwerks feel like indies."

As part of the separation, the Little Ones were given back the masters for their completed album, "Morning Tide," which originally was due to be released in April. The six songs on the new EP were recorded during the "Morning Tide" sessions but were not slated to be on the album. The band hopes to release it straight to iTunes, with physical copies available at shows.

||| Live: The Little Ones play a headlining date at the Troubadour on May 15, and are at the Glass House the next night with Ra Ra Riot.

||| Download: The intended first single from "Morning Tide," "Ordinary Song," as well as a remix of that song, at the band's MySpace site.

Local miscellany: The cinematic quality to Dengue Fever's sound makes it a natural for music videos. Here's the latest from the band's third album, "Venus on Earth." The track is titled "Seeing Hands":

Elsewhere: That sold-out Hot Chip show that was postponed Feb. 4 (at the El Rey) has been rescheduled for April 28 -- and it's at the Mayan. No on-sale date has been announced for the additional tickets yet; tickets for the original show will be honored... Locally famous folkies and Jenny Lewis collaborators the Watson Twins are now aligned with Vanguard Records and have a debut album, "Fire Songs," coming June 24. ... Midnight Movies are back with a new EP, "Nights," out digitally on Tuesday (check out "Should Have Known" on MySpace.

Highlights for tonight, March 6

Local dream-rock quintet Twilight Sleep celebrates the release of its new EP, "Race to the Bottom of the Sea," with a show tonight at the Echo that also features Karin Tatoyan and Restaurant. ... Brooklyn psych-rock quartet My Best Fiend, whose album of tuneful neuroses reminds you of stuff like Pink Floyd and Clinic, plays the first of a two-night stand in L.A. at the Viper Room. (The band is at the Echo on Friday.)  Also teeing it up on the good Viper Room bill tonight: Gran Ronde, Reeve Carney and the Daylights. ... Big goings-on at the Forum, where the Foo Fighters and Against Me! perform. ... The Junior Boys are doing a DJ set at Spaceland, where Troy This is playing. ... The Start kicks off a residency at Crash Mansion. ... And local quartet the Hanks mark the release of their sophomore album, "Distance," with a show at the Knitting Factory.

The Police, with Elvis Costello and the Imposters, have added a second show at the Hollywood Bowl. With the bill's May 27 date sold out, the added show will go off on May 28. Tickets ($304.50, $154.50, $99.50 and $54.50) go on sale at 10 a.m. Sunday.

It'll make for a busy week for veteran rock acts at the Bowl -- the Police/Costello on Tuesday and Wednesday, R.E.M. (which does not appear on th Bowl's calendar but is listed on the band's tour itinerary) on Thursday, May 29, and the Cure on Saturday, May 31.

Earlimart's announcement this morning on its MySpace website couldn't have come as more of a surprise -- the band has a new album finished and slated for release on July 1.

"It's done, in the can and delivered," front man Aaron Espinoza says of "Hymn & Her," which will be released on Majordomo (an imprint of Shout! Factory) less than a year after the group's first album for that imprint, last August's "Mentor Tormentor." "We just want to be relentless, keep making stuff."

"Mentor Tormentor" was more than two years in the making, but after touring behind that record Espinoza got together with principal collaborator Ariana Murray. "I told her, 'It's just you and me, we're going to get an engineer, reserve the studio and record 10 songs.' ... We didn't want to do the whole wait-three-years-to-make-another-record thing," he says.

The engineer was versatile multi-instrumentalist Andrew Lynch, who also plays keyboards and brass on the album, the band's sixth. "He's a talented dude," Espinoza says. "We're lucky to have him."

No new songs posted yet, but I'll let you know.

Photo of Earlimart's Aaron Espinoza and Ariana Murray by Darrin Noble

◊ ◊ ◊

Another local note: Silversun Pickups debuted their new, Joaquin Phoenix-directed video for "Little Lover's So Polite" on MTV2. You can check it out here. Update: Here it is:

[Apologies for the protracted silence, folks. Been away on a family matter, complicated by a run-in with Mother Nature, but thankfully people like Classical Geek Theatre can clue me in on what I missed. I now attempt to lurch back into action:]

An injury sustained by singer Alice Glass has forced the postponement of eight show by Crystal Castles, including Sunday's gig at the Roxy. The Toronto disco-noise duo hope to be back in time for their gigs at the South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin starting March 14. Glass suffered two cracked ribs in an auto accident, Pitchfork reported.

The Roxy will be silent on Sunday night. It was initially reported in Crystal Castles' press release that local noise specialists Health, their tourmates, would play as scheduled, but a spokesperson for the venue said the show will be postponed entirely and rescheduled later, possibly in June.

Highlights for Tuesday, March 4

Had I not been otherwise occupied, I would have found time to sing the praises of the new album, titled "Get Awkward," by Be Your Own Pet. Punky and delicious, I say. And the Nashville quartet is opening for the Raveonettes tonight at the El Rey. ... The Mountain Goats kick off a two-night stand at the Troubadour. ... Jim Bianco's release party for the very good "Sing" is tonight at the Hotel Cafe -- and as a bonus, Nyles Lannon, Daniel Ahearn and Everest (acoustic) are also playing. ... Working for a Nuclear Free City rocks Cinespace. ... And the Vacation are on the bill at the Silverlake Lounge.

Photo of Crystal Castles by Stuart Pillinger

Presidential candidate John Edwards wasn't the only person moved by the story of Nataline Sarkisyan, the 17-year-old from Northridge who died in December of complications from leukemia and whose family's battles with its insurance carrier became headline news. Two local musicians, producer/beatmaker/lyricist ailment (Tony Barkodarian) and rapper/lyricist eye2eye (Mike Chakrian), were touched too.

"We didn't know Nataline personally, but I grew up in the same area and the whole story hit very close to home," says Barkodarian, a Northridge native who now lives in Glendale. "The best catchphrase I heard was 'murder by spreadsheet' -- that's exactly what it was."

After Sarkisyan's death, Chakrian posted some lyrics on MySpace, and upon seeing them Barkodarian was inspired to write a beat. The pair got together and recorded a song, "Nataline," and have made it available for download. Proceeds from the download ($1.99) go to the Sarkisyan family.

Learn more and download "Nataline" here.

Highlights for tonight, Feb. 20

Shane Alexander's album release show goes off tonight at the Troubadour. ... Halestorm rocks the Viper Room. ... And the Minor Canon and the Snow perform at Club NME at Spaceland.

I suppose it was inevitable that the Presidents of the United States of America would resurface this year. Could've sworn these guys broke up about 1998, but the bio tells me they've been back it full-time since 2004. Now comes the news that they have a new album "These Are the Good Times People" (what newspapers have they been reading?) due March 11 and they have re-teamed with "Weird Al" Yankovic for the video to its first single "Mixed Up S.O.B.," which you can hear here.

I mention this to note the strange whims of remembering the 1990s. PUSA sold millions of albums (4.5 million of their debut), and yet when the e-mail landed about their upcoming album, I could not remember a single one of their songs. The disposable nature of pop-punk? Possibly. The disposable nature of PUSA's pop-punk? Probably.

On the other hand, the news landed last week about another rock radio mainstay of that era, the newly reformed Filter. Richard Patrick and gang are back after five years ("Anthems for the Damned," due in May), and as soon as I saw the band's name in the subject field, "Hey Man, Nice Shot" lodged itself in my brain and simply would not go away for three days.

The big debuts by PUSA and Filter both came out in 1995, and each remains on my shelf at home. But only one remains in the inventory of my brain. Happens to you too? Please share (and, yes, take potshots at my musical tastes in 1995 all you want ...)

||| Live: PUSA plays March 19 at the House of Blues Anaheim and March 21 at the Roxy.

||| Live: Filter (no new songs on their MySpace yet) has no L.A.-area dates scheduled yet, but they're at the Casbah in San Diego on March 2.

Photo of Richard Patrick by Andrew Pinter

Highlights for Monday, Feb. 18

Dengue Fever headlines the Indie 103.1 night at the Viper Room. ... Film School plays the warm-up slot for the Pity Party's Spaceland residency. ... Robert Francis continues his Silverlake Lounge residency with guests Dawes (members of now-defunct Simon Dawes). ... Casket Salesmen and four other bands bring the rock at a free show at the Troubadour. ... And at the Echo, the Henry Clay People toast producer David Newton (who helmed their "Working Part Time" EP) by welcoming three other Newton-produced local bands onto the bill -- the Happy Hollows, Kissing Tigers and Death to Anders.

Easy as "1 2 3 4" -- Feist, the 31-year-old Canadian torch singer and Grammy nominee for best new artist, will be coming to the Hollywood Bowl for a headlining gig on July 20.  The Toronto native's striking chamber pop will be counterposed that evening by the stirring soul stylings of Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings. There's no on-sale date for tickets yet, and a third artist is likely to be added to the show.

The Bowl's pop/rock offerings are shaping up for the summer. Earlier this morning, a May 27 show featuring the Police and Elvis Costello and the Imposters was announced (tickets on sale Feb. 24). Mary J Blige and Jay-Z have an April 16 show; the Cure are scheduled for May 31; Sgt. Pepper's Revisited with Cheap Trick goes off June 20; Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers play on June 25; Gilbert Gil and Devendra Banhart team up on June 29; Gnarls Barkley parties on July 27; and UB40 pays a visit on Aug. 3.

Update: It's not on the Bowl's website yet, but it's on the band's: R.E.M. is playing the Bowl on May 29. And it should be pointed out that the Feist, Gil/Banhart, Barkley and UB40 shows are part of KCRW-FM's World Music series.

Photo of Feist playing KROQ-FM's Almost Acoustic Christmas show by Lawrence K. Ho / LAT

New video from Dengue Fever

Local miscellany: The cinematic quality to Dengue Fever's sound makes it a natural for music videos. Here's the latest from the band's third album, "Venus on Earth." The track is titled "Seeing Hands":

Elsewhere: That sold-out Hot Chip show that was postponed Feb. 4 (at the El Rey) has been rescheduled for April 28 -- and it's at the Mayan. No on-sale date has been announced for the additional tickets yet; tickets for the original show will be honored... Locally famous folkies and Jenny Lewis collaborators the Watson Twins are now aligned with Vanguard Records and have a debut album, "Fire Songs," coming June 24. ... Midnight Movies are back with a new EP, "Nights," out digitally on Tuesday (check out "Should Have Known" on MySpace.

Highlights for tonight, March 6

Local dream-rock quintet Twilight Sleep celebrates the release of its new EP, "Race to the Bottom of the Sea," with a show tonight at the Echo that also features Karin Tatoyan and Restaurant. ... Brooklyn psych-rock quartet My Best Fiend, whose album of tuneful neuroses reminds you of stuff like Pink Floyd and Clinic, plays the first of a two-night stand in L.A. at the Viper Room. (The band is at the Echo on Friday.)  Also teeing it up on the good Viper Room bill tonight: Gran Ronde, Reeve Carney and the Daylights. ... Big goings-on at the Forum, where the Foo Fighters and Against Me! perform. ... The Junior Boys are doing a DJ set at Spaceland, where Troy This is playing. ... The Start kicks off a residency at Crash Mansion. ... And local quartet the Hanks mark the release of their sophomore album, "Distance," with a show at the Knitting Factory.

The Police, with Elvis Costello and the Imposters, have added a second show at the Hollywood Bowl. With the bill's May 27 date sold out, the added show will go off on May 28. Tickets ($304.50, $154.50, $99.50 and $54.50) go on sale at 10 a.m. Sunday.

It'll make for a busy week for veteran rock acts at the Bowl -- the Police/Costello on Tuesday and Wednesday, R.E.M. (which does not appear on th Bowl's calendar but is listed on the band's tour itinerary) on Thursday, May 29, and the Cure on Saturday, May 31.

Earlimart's announcement this morning on its MySpace website couldn't have come as more of a surprise -- the band has a new album finished and slated for release on July 1.

"It's done, in the can and delivered," front man Aaron Espinoza says of "Hymn & Her," which will be released on Majordomo (an imprint of Shout! Factory) less than a year after the group's first album for that imprint, last August's "Mentor Tormentor." "We just want to be relentless, keep making stuff."

"Mentor Tormentor" was more than two years in the making, but after touring behind that record Espinoza got together with principal collaborator Ariana Murray. "I told her, 'It's just you and me, we're going to get an engineer, reserve the studio and record 10 songs.' ... We didn't want to do the whole wait-three-years-to-make-another-record thing," he says.

The engineer was versatile multi-instrumentalist Andrew Lynch, who also plays keyboards and brass on the album, the band's sixth. "He's a talented dude," Espinoza says. "We're lucky to have him."

No new songs posted yet, but I'll let you know.

Photo of Earlimart's Aaron Espinoza and Ariana Murray by Darrin Noble

◊ ◊ ◊

Another local note: Silversun Pickups debuted their new, Joaquin Phoenix-directed video for "Little Lover's So Polite" on MTV2. You can check it out here. Update: Here it is:

[Apologies for the protracted silence, folks. Been away on a family matter, complicated by a run-in with Mother Nature, but thankfully people like Classical Geek Theatre can clue me in on what I missed. I now attempt to lurch back into action:]

An injury sustained by singer Alice Glass has forced the postponement of eight show by Crystal Castles, including Sunday's gig at the Roxy. The Toronto disco-noise duo hope to be back in time for their gigs at the South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin starting March 14. Glass suffered two cracked ribs in an auto accident, Pitchfork reported.

The Roxy will be silent on Sunday night. It was initially reported in Crystal Castles' press release that local noise specialists Health, their tourmates, would play as scheduled, but a spokesperson for the venue said the show will be postponed entirely and rescheduled later, possibly in June.

Highlights for Tuesday, March 4

Had I not been otherwise occupied, I would have found time to sing the praises of the new album, titled "Get Awkward," by Be Your Own Pet. Punky and delicious, I say. And the Nashville quartet is opening for the Raveonettes tonight at the El Rey. ... The Mountain Goats kick off a two-night stand at the Troubadour. ... Jim Bianco's release party for the very good "Sing" is tonight at the Hotel Cafe -- and as a bonus, Nyles Lannon, Daniel Ahearn and Everest (acoustic) are also playing. ... Working for a Nuclear Free City rocks Cinespace. ... And the Vacation are on the bill at the Silverlake Lounge.

Photo of Crystal Castles by Stuart Pillinger

Presidential candidate John Edwards wasn't the only person moved by the story of Nataline Sarkisyan, the 17-year-old from Northridge who died in December of complications from leukemia and whose family's battles with its insurance carrier became headline news. Two local musicians, producer/beatmaker/lyricist ailment (Tony Barkodarian) and rapper/lyricist eye2eye (Mike Chakrian), were touched too.

"We didn't know Nataline personally, but I grew up in the same area and the whole story hit very close to home," says Barkodarian, a Northridge native who now lives in Glendale. "The best catchphrase I heard was 'murder by spreadsheet' -- that's exactly what it was."

After Sarkisyan's death, Chakrian posted some lyrics on MySpace, and upon seeing them Barkodarian was inspired to write a beat. The pair got together and recorded a song, "Nataline," and have made it available for download. Proceeds from the download ($1.99) go to the Sarkisyan family.

Learn more and download "Nataline" here.

Highlights for tonight, Feb. 20

Shane Alexander's album release show goes off tonight at the Troubadour. ... Halestorm rocks the Viper Room. ... And the Minor Canon and the Snow perform at Club NME at Spaceland.

I suppose it was inevitable that the Presidents of the United States of America would resurface this year. Could've sworn these guys broke up about 1998, but the bio tells me they've been back it full-time since 2004. Now comes the news that they have a new album "These Are the Good Times People" (what newspapers have they been reading?) due March 11 and they have re-teamed with "Weird Al" Yankovic for the video to its first single "Mixed Up S.O.B.," which you can hear here.

I mention this to note the strange whims of remembering the 1990s. PUSA sold millions of albums (4.5 million of their debut), and yet when the e-mail landed about their upcoming album, I could not remember a single one of their songs. The disposable nature of pop-punk? Possibly. The disposable nature of PUSA's pop-punk? Probably.

On the other hand, the news landed last week about another rock radio mainstay of that era, the newly reformed Filter. Richard Patrick and gang are back after five years ("Anthems for the Damned," due in May), and as soon as I saw the band's name in the subject field, "Hey Man, Nice Shot" lodged itself in my brain and simply would not go away for three days.

The big debuts by PUSA and Filter both came out in 1995, and each remains on my shelf at home. But only one remains in the inventory of my brain. Happens to you too? Please share (and, yes, take potshots at my musical tastes in 1995 all you want ...)

||| Live: PUSA plays March 19 at the House of Blues Anaheim and March 21 at the Roxy.

||| Live: Filter (no new songs on their MySpace yet) has no L.A.-area dates scheduled yet, but they're at the Casbah in San Diego on March 2.

Photo of Richard Patrick by Andrew Pinter

Highlights for Monday, Feb. 18

Dengue Fever headlines the Indie 103.1 night at the Viper Room. ... Film School plays the warm-up slot for the Pity Party's Spaceland residency. ... Robert Francis continues his Silverlake Lounge residency with guests Dawes (members of now-defunct Simon Dawes). ... Casket Salesmen and four other bands bring the rock at a free show at the Troubadour. ... And at the Echo, the Henry Clay People toast producer David Newton (who helmed their "Working Part Time" EP) by welcoming three other Newton-produced local bands onto the bill -- the Happy Hollows, Kissing Tigers and Death to Anders.

Easy as "1 2 3 4" -- Feist, the 31-year-old Canadian torch singer and Grammy nominee for best new artist, will be coming to the Hollywood Bowl for a headlining gig on July 20.  The Toronto native's striking chamber pop will be counterposed that evening by the stirring soul stylings of Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings. There's no on-sale date for tickets yet, and a third artist is likely to be added to the show.

The Bowl's pop/rock offerings are shaping up for the summer. Earlier this morning, a May 27 show featuring the Police and Elvis Costello and the Imposters was announced (tickets on sale Feb. 24). Mary J Blige and Jay-Z have an April 16 show; the Cure are scheduled for May 31; Sgt. Pepper's Revisited with Cheap Trick goes off June 20; Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers play on June 25; Gilbert Gil and Devendra Banhart team up on June 29; Gnarls Barkley parties on July 27; and UB40 pays a visit on Aug. 3.

Update: It's not on the Bowl's website yet, but it's on the band's: R.E.M. is playing the Bowl on May 29. And it should be pointed out that the Feist, Gil/Banhart, Barkley and UB40 shows are part of KCRW-FM's World Music series.

Photo of Feist playing KROQ-FM's Almost Acoustic Christmas show by Lawrence K. Ho / LAT

The Police add second Hollywood Bowl show

The Police, with Elvis Costello and the Imposters, have added a second show at the Hollywood Bowl. With the bill's May 27 date sold out, the added show will go off on May 28. Tickets ($304.50, $154.50, $99.50 and $54.50) go on sale at 10 a.m. Sunday.

It'll make for a busy week for veteran rock acts at the Bowl -- the Police/Costello on Tuesday and Wednesday, R.E.M. (which does not appear on th Bowl's calendar but is listed on the band's tour itinerary) on Thursday, May 29, and the Cure on Saturday, May 31.

Earlimart's announcement this morning on its MySpace website couldn't have come as more of a surprise -- the band has a new album finished and slated for release on July 1.

"It's done, in the can and delivered," front man Aaron Espinoza says of "Hymn & Her," which will be released on Majordomo (an imprint of Shout! Factory) less than a year after the group's first album for that imprint, last August's "Mentor Tormentor." "We just want to be relentless, keep making stuff."

"Mentor Tormentor" was more than two years in the making, but after touring behind that record Espinoza got together with principal collaborator Ariana Murray. "I told her, 'It's just you and me, we're going to get an engineer, reserve the studio and record 10 songs.' ... We didn't want to do the whole wait-three-years-to-make-another-record thing," he says.

The engineer was versatile multi-instrumentalist Andrew Lynch, who also plays keyboards and brass on the album, the band's sixth. "He's a talented dude," Espinoza says. "We're lucky to have him."

No new songs posted yet, but I'll let you know.

Photo of Earlimart's Aaron Espinoza and Ariana Murray by Darrin Noble

◊ ◊ ◊

Another local note: Silversun Pickups debuted their new, Joaquin Phoenix-directed video for "Little Lover's So Polite" on MTV2. You can check it out here. Update: Here it is:

[Apologies for the protracted silence, folks. Been away on a family matter, complicated by a run-in with Mother Nature, but thankfully people like Classical Geek Theatre can clue me in on what I missed. I now attempt to lurch back into action:]

An injury sustained by singer Alice Glass has forced the postponement of eight show by Crystal Castles, including Sunday's gig at the Roxy. The Toronto disco-noise duo hope to be back in time for their gigs at the South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin starting March 14. Glass suffered two cracked ribs in an auto accident, Pitchfork reported.

The Roxy will be silent on Sunday night. It was initially reported in Crystal Castles' press release that local noise specialists Health, their tourmates, would play as scheduled, but a spokesperson for the venue said the show will be postponed entirely and rescheduled later, possibly in June.

Highlights for Tuesday, March 4

Had I not been otherwise occupied, I would have found time to sing the praises of the new album, titled "Get Awkward," by Be Your Own Pet. Punky and delicious, I say. And the Nashville quartet is opening for the Raveonettes tonight at the El Rey. ... The Mountain Goats kick off a two-night stand at the Troubadour. ... Jim Bianco's release party for the very good "Sing" is tonight at the Hotel Cafe -- and as a bonus, Nyles Lannon, Daniel Ahearn and Everest (acoustic) are also playing. ... Working for a Nuclear Free City rocks Cinespace. ... And the Vacation are on the bill at the Silverlake Lounge.

Photo of Crystal Castles by Stuart Pillinger

Presidential candidate John Edwards wasn't the only person moved by the story of Nataline Sarkisyan, the 17-year-old from Northridge who died in December of complications from leukemia and whose family's battles with its insurance carrier became headline news. Two local musicians, producer/beatmaker/lyricist ailment (Tony Barkodarian) and rapper/lyricist eye2eye (Mike Chakrian), were touched too.

"We didn't know Nataline personally, but I grew up in the same area and the whole story hit very close to home," says Barkodarian, a Northridge native who now lives in Glendale. "The best catchphrase I heard was 'murder by spreadsheet' -- that's exactly what it was."

After Sarkisyan's death, Chakrian posted some lyrics on MySpace, and upon seeing them Barkodarian was inspired to write a beat. The pair got together and recorded a song, "Nataline," and have made it available for download. Proceeds from the download ($1.99) go to the Sarkisyan family.

Learn more and download "Nataline" here.

Highlights for tonight, Feb. 20

Shane Alexander's album release show goes off tonight at the Troubadour. ... Halestorm rocks the Viper Room. ... And the Minor Canon and the Snow perform at Club NME at Spaceland.

I suppose it was inevitable that the Presidents of the United States of America would resurface this year. Could've sworn these guys broke up about 1998, but the bio tells me they've been back it full-time since 2004. Now comes the news that they have a new album "These Are the Good Times People" (what newspapers have they been reading?) due March 11 and they have re-teamed with "Weird Al" Yankovic for the video to its first single "Mixed Up S.O.B.," which you can hear here.

I mention this to note the strange whims of remembering the 1990s. PUSA sold millions of albums (4.5 million of their debut), and yet when the e-mail landed about their upcoming album, I could not remember a single one of their songs. The disposable nature of pop-punk? Possibly. The disposable nature of PUSA's pop-punk? Probably.

On the other hand, the news landed last week about another rock radio mainstay of that era, the newly reformed Filter. Richard Patrick and gang are back after five years ("Anthems for the Damned," due in May), and as soon as I saw the band's name in the subject field, "Hey Man, Nice Shot" lodged itself in my brain and simply would not go away for three days.

The big debuts by PUSA and Filter both came out in 1995, and each remains on my shelf at home. But only one remains in the inventory of my brain. Happens to you too? Please share (and, yes, take potshots at my musical tastes in 1995 all you want ...)

||| Live: PUSA plays March 19 at the House of Blues Anaheim and March 21 at the Roxy.

||| Live: Filter (no new songs on their MySpace yet) has no L.A.-area dates scheduled yet, but they're at the Casbah in San Diego on March 2.

Photo of Richard Patrick by Andrew Pinter

Highlights for Monday, Feb. 18

Dengue Fever headlines the Indie 103.1 night at the Viper Room. ... Film School plays the warm-up slot for the Pity Party's Spaceland residency. ... Robert Francis continues his Silverlake Lounge residency with guests Dawes (members of now-defunct Simon Dawes). ... Casket Salesmen and four other bands bring the rock at a free show at the Troubadour. ... And at the Echo, the Henry Clay People toast producer David Newton (who helmed their "Working Part Time" EP) by welcoming three other Newton-produced local bands onto the bill -- the Happy Hollows, Kissing Tigers and Death to Anders.

Easy as "1 2 3 4" -- Feist, the 31-year-old Canadian torch singer and Grammy nominee for best new artist, will be coming to the Hollywood Bowl for a headlining gig on July 20.  The Toronto native's striking chamber pop will be counterposed that evening by the stirring soul stylings of Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings. There's no on-sale date for tickets yet, and a third artist is likely to be added to the show.

The Bowl's pop/rock offerings are shaping up for the summer. Earlier this morning, a May 27 show featuring the Police and Elvis Costello and the Imposters was announced (tickets on sale Feb. 24). Mary J Blige and Jay-Z have an April 16 show; the Cure are scheduled for May 31; Sgt. Pepper's Revisited with Cheap Trick goes off June 20; Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers play on June 25; Gilbert Gil and Devendra Banhart team up on June 29; Gnarls Barkley parties on July 27; and UB40 pays a visit on Aug. 3.

Update: It's not on the Bowl's website yet, but it's on the band's: R.E.M. is playing the Bowl on May 29. And it should be pointed out that the Feist, Gil/Banhart, Barkley and UB40 shows are part of KCRW-FM's World Music series.

Photo of Feist playing KROQ-FM's Almost Acoustic Christmas show by Lawrence K. Ho / LAT

New Earlimart album due July 1

Earlimart's announcement this morning on its MySpace website couldn't have come as more of a surprise -- the band has a new album finished and slated for release on July 1.

"It's done, in the can and delivered," front man Aaron Espinoza says of "Hymn & Her," which will be released on Majordomo (an imprint of Shout! Factory) less than a year after the group's first album for that imprint, last August's "Mentor Tormentor." "We just want to be relentless, keep making stuff."

"Mentor Tormentor" was more than two years in the making, but after touring behind that record Espinoza got together with principal collaborator Ariana Murray. "I told her, 'It's just you and me, we're going to get an engineer, reserve the studio and record 10 songs.' ... We didn't want to do the whole wait-three-years-to-make-another-record thing," he says.

The engineer was versatile multi-instrumentalist Andrew Lynch, who also plays keyboards and brass on the album, the band's sixth. "He's a talented dude," Espinoza says. "We're lucky to have him."

No new songs posted yet, but I'll let you know.

Photo of Earlimart's Aaron Espinoza and Ariana Murray by Darrin Noble

◊ ◊ ◊

Another local note: Silversun Pickups debuted their new, Joaquin Phoenix-directed video for "Little Lover's So Polite" on MTV2. You can check it out here. Update: Here it is:

[Apologies for the protracted silence, folks. Been away on a family matter, complicated by a run-in with Mother Nature, but thankfully people like Classical Geek Theatre can clue me in on what I missed. I now attempt to lurch back into action:]

An injury sustained by singer Alice Glass has forced the postponement of eight show by Crystal Castles, including Sunday's gig at the Roxy. The Toronto disco-noise duo hope to be back in time for their gigs at the South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin starting March 14. Glass suffered two cracked ribs in an auto accident, Pitchfork reported.

The Roxy will be silent on Sunday night. It was initially reported in Crystal Castles' press release that local noise specialists Health, their tourmates, would play as scheduled, but a spokesperson for the venue said the show will be postponed entirely and rescheduled later, possibly in June.

Highlights for Tuesday, March 4

Had I not been otherwise occupied, I would have found time to sing the praises of the new album, titled "Get Awkward," by Be Your Own Pet. Punky and delicious, I say. And the Nashville quartet is opening for the Raveonettes tonight at the El Rey. ... The Mountain Goats kick off a two-night stand at the Troubadour. ... Jim Bianco's release party for the very good "Sing" is tonight at the Hotel Cafe -- and as a bonus, Nyles Lannon, Daniel Ahearn and Everest (acoustic) are also playing. ... Working for a Nuclear Free City rocks Cinespace. ... And the Vacation are on the bill at the Silverlake Lounge.

Photo of Crystal Castles by Stuart Pillinger

Presidential candidate John Edwards wasn't the only person moved by the story of Nataline Sarkisyan, the 17-year-old from Northridge who died in December of complications from leukemia and whose family's battles with its insurance carrier became headline news. Two local musicians, producer/beatmaker/lyricist ailment (Tony Barkodarian) and rapper/lyricist eye2eye (Mike Chakrian), were touched too.

"We didn't know Nataline personally, but I grew up in the same area and the whole story hit very close to home," says Barkodarian, a Northridge native who now lives in Glendale. "The best catchphrase I heard was 'murder by spreadsheet' -- that's exactly what it was."

After Sarkisyan's death, Chakrian posted some lyrics on MySpace, and upon seeing them Barkodarian was inspired to write a beat. The pair got together and recorded a song, "Nataline," and have made it available for download. Proceeds from the download ($1.99) go to the Sarkisyan family.

Learn more and download "Nataline" here.

Highlights for tonight, Feb. 20

Shane Alexander's album release show goes off tonight at the Troubadour. ... Halestorm rocks the Viper Room. ... And the Minor Canon and the Snow perform at Club NME at Spaceland.

I suppose it was inevitable that the Presidents of the United States of America would resurface this year. Could've sworn these guys broke up about 1998, but the bio tells me they've been back it full-time since 2004. Now comes the news that they have a new album "These Are the Good Times People" (what newspapers have they been reading?) due March 11 and they have re-teamed with "Weird Al" Yankovic for the video to its first single "Mixed Up S.O.B.," which you can hear here.

I mention this to note the strange whims of remembering the 1990s. PUSA sold millions of albums (4.5 million of their debut), and yet when the e-mail landed about their upcoming album, I could not remember a single one of their songs. The disposable nature of pop-punk? Possibly. The disposable nature of PUSA's pop-punk? Probably.

On the other hand, the news landed last week about another rock radio mainstay of that era, the newly reformed Filter. Richard Patrick and gang are back after five years ("Anthems for the Damned," due in May), and as soon as I saw the band's name in the subject field, "Hey Man, Nice Shot" lodged itself in my brain and simply would not go away for three days.

The big debuts by PUSA and Filter both came out in 1995, and each remains on my shelf at home. But only one remains in the inventory of my brain. Happens to you too? Please share (and, yes, take potshots at my musical tastes in 1995 all you want ...)

||| Live: PUSA plays March 19 at the House of Blues Anaheim and March 21 at the Roxy.

||| Live: Filter (no new songs on their MySpace yet) has no L.A.-area dates scheduled yet, but they're at the Casbah in San Diego on March 2.

Photo of Richard Patrick by Andrew Pinter

Highlights for Monday, Feb. 18

Dengue Fever headlines the Indie 103.1 night at the Viper Room. ... Film School plays the warm-up slot for the Pity Party's Spaceland residency. ... Robert Francis continues his Silverlake Lounge residency with guests Dawes (members of now-defunct Simon Dawes). ... Casket Salesmen and four other bands bring the rock at a free show at the Troubadour. ... And at the Echo, the Henry Clay People toast producer David Newton (who helmed their "Working Part Time" EP) by welcoming three other Newton-produced local bands onto the bill -- the Happy Hollows, Kissing Tigers and Death to Anders.

Easy as "1 2 3 4" -- Feist, the 31-year-old Canadian torch singer and Grammy nominee for best new artist, will be coming to the Hollywood Bowl for a headlining gig on July 20.  The Toronto native's striking chamber pop will be counterposed that evening by the stirring soul stylings of Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings. There's no on-sale date for tickets yet, and a third artist is likely to be added to the show.

The Bowl's pop/rock offerings are shaping up for the summer. Earlier this morning, a May 27 show featuring the Police and Elvis Costello and the Imposters was announced (tickets on sale Feb. 24). Mary J Blige and Jay-Z have an April 16 show; the Cure are scheduled for May 31; Sgt. Pepper's Revisited with Cheap Trick goes off June 20; Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers play on June 25; Gilbert Gil and Devendra Banhart team up on June 29; Gnarls Barkley parties on July 27; and UB40 pays a visit on Aug. 3.

Update: It's not on the Bowl's website yet, but it's on the band's: R.E.M. is playing the Bowl on May 29. And it should be pointed out that the Feist, Gil/Banhart, Barkley and UB40 shows are part of KCRW-FM's World Music series.

Photo of Feist playing KROQ-FM's Almost Acoustic Christmas show by Lawrence K. Ho / LAT

Crystal Castles postpones Roxy gig

[Apologies for the protracted silence, folks. Been away on a family matter, complicated by a run-in with Mother Nature, but thankfully people like Classical Geek Theatre can clue me in on what I missed. I now attempt to lurch back into action:]

An injury sustained by singer Alice Glass has forced the postponement of eight show by Crystal Castles, including Sunday's gig at the Roxy. The Toronto disco-noise duo hope to be back in time for their gigs at the South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin starting March 14. Glass suffered two cracked ribs in an auto accident, Pitchfork reported.

The Roxy will be silent on Sunday night. It was initially reported in Crystal Castles' press release that local noise specialists Health, their tourmates, would play as scheduled, but a spokesperson for the venue said the show will be postponed entirely and rescheduled later, possibly in June.

Highlights for Tuesday, March 4

Had I not been otherwise occupied, I would have found time to sing the praises of the new album, titled "Get Awkward," by Be Your Own Pet. Punky and delicious, I say. And the Nashville quartet is opening for the Raveonettes tonight at the El Rey. ... The Mountain Goats kick off a two-night stand at the Troubadour. ... Jim Bianco's release party for the very good "Sing" is tonight at the Hotel Cafe -- and as a bonus, Nyles Lannon, Daniel Ahearn and Everest (acoustic) are also playing. ... Working for a Nuclear Free City rocks Cinespace. ... And the Vacation are on the bill at the Silverlake Lounge.

Photo of Crystal Castles by Stuart Pillinger

Presidential candidate John Edwards wasn't the only person moved by the story of Nataline Sarkisyan, the 17-year-old from Northridge who died in December of complications from leukemia and whose family's battles with its insurance carrier became headline news. Two local musicians, producer/beatmaker/lyricist ailment (Tony Barkodarian) and rapper/lyricist eye2eye (Mike Chakrian), were touched too.

"We didn't know Nataline personally, but I grew up in the same area and the whole story hit very close to home," says Barkodarian, a Northridge native who now lives in Glendale. "The best catchphrase I heard was 'murder by spreadsheet' -- that's exactly what it was."

After Sarkisyan's death, Chakrian posted some lyrics on MySpace, and upon seeing them Barkodarian was inspired to write a beat. The pair got together and recorded a song, "Nataline," and have made it available for download. Proceeds from the download ($1.99) go to the Sarkisyan family.

Learn more and download "Nataline" here.

Highlights for tonight, Feb. 20

Shane Alexander's album release show goes off tonight at the Troubadour. ... Halestorm rocks the Viper Room. ... And the Minor Canon and the Snow perform at Club NME at Spaceland.

I suppose it was inevitable that the Presidents of the United States of America would resurface this year. Could've sworn these guys broke up about 1998, but the bio tells me they've been back it full-time since 2004. Now comes the news that they have a new album "These Are the Good Times People" (what newspapers have they been reading?) due March 11 and they have re-teamed with "Weird Al" Yankovic for the video to its first single "Mixed Up S.O.B.," which you can hear here.

I mention this to note the strange whims of remembering the 1990s. PUSA sold millions of albums (4.5 million of their debut), and yet when the e-mail landed about their upcoming album, I could not remember a single one of their songs. The disposable nature of pop-punk? Possibly. The disposable nature of PUSA's pop-punk? Probably.

On the other hand, the news landed last week about another rock radio mainstay of that era, the newly reformed Filter. Richard Patrick and gang are back after five years ("Anthems for the Damned," due in May), and as soon as I saw the band's name in the subject field, "Hey Man, Nice Shot" lodged itself in my brain and simply would not go away for three days.

The big debuts by PUSA and Filter both came out in 1995, and each remains on my shelf at home. But only one remains in the inventory of my brain. Happens to you too? Please share (and, yes, take potshots at my musical tastes in 1995 all you want ...)

||| Live: PUSA plays March 19 at the House of Blues Anaheim and March 21 at the Roxy.

||| Live: Filter (no new songs on their MySpace yet) has no L.A.-area dates scheduled yet, but they're at the Casbah in San Diego on March 2.

Photo of Richard Patrick by Andrew Pinter

Highlights for Monday, Feb. 18

Dengue Fever headlines the Indie 103.1 night at the Viper Room. ... Film School plays the warm-up slot for the Pity Party's Spaceland residency. ... Robert Francis continues his Silverlake Lounge residency with guests Dawes (members of now-defunct Simon Dawes). ... Casket Salesmen and four other bands bring the rock at a free show at the Troubadour. ... And at the Echo, the Henry Clay People toast producer David Newton (who helmed their "Working Part Time" EP) by welcoming three other Newton-produced local bands onto the bill -- the Happy Hollows, Kissing Tigers and Death to Anders.

Easy as "1 2 3 4" -- Feist, the 31-year-old Canadian torch singer and Grammy nominee for best new artist, will be coming to the Hollywood Bowl for a headlining gig on July 20.  The Toronto native's striking chamber pop will be counterposed that evening by the stirring soul stylings of Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings. There's no on-sale date for tickets yet, and a third artist is likely to be added to the show.

The Bowl's pop/rock offerings are shaping up for the summer. Earlier this morning, a May 27 show featuring the Police and Elvis Costello and the Imposters was announced (tickets on sale Feb. 24). Mary J Blige and Jay-Z have an April 16 show; the Cure are scheduled for May 31; Sgt. Pepper's Revisited with Cheap Trick goes off June 20; Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers play on June 25; Gilbert Gil and Devendra Banhart team up on June 29; Gnarls Barkley parties on July 27; and UB40 pays a visit on Aug. 3.

Update: It's not on the Bowl's website yet, but it's on the band's: R.E.M. is playing the Bowl on May 29. And it should be pointed out that the Feist, Gil/Banhart, Barkley and UB40 shows are part of KCRW-FM's World Music series.

Photo of Feist playing KROQ-FM's Almost Acoustic Christmas show by Lawrence K. Ho / LAT

'Nataline' tribute song benefits Sarkisyan family

Presidential candidate John Edwards wasn't the only person moved by the story of Nataline Sarkisyan, the 17-year-old from Northridge who died in December of complications from leukemia and whose family's battles with its insurance carrier became headline news. Two local musicians, producer/beatmaker/lyricist ailment (Tony Barkodarian) and rapper/lyricist eye2eye (Mike Chakrian), were touched too.

"We didn't know Nataline personally, but I grew up in the same area and the whole story hit very close to home," says Barkodarian, a Northridge native who now lives in Glendale. "The best catchphrase I heard was 'murder by spreadsheet' -- that's exactly what it was."

After Sarkisyan's death, Chakrian posted some lyrics on MySpace, and upon seeing them Barkodarian was inspired to write a beat. The pair got together and recorded a song, "Nataline," and have made it available for download. Proceeds from the download ($1.99) go to the Sarkisyan family.

Learn more and download "Nataline" here.

Highlights for tonight, Feb. 20

Shane Alexander's album release show goes off tonight at the Troubadour. ... Halestorm rocks the Viper Room. ... And the Minor Canon and the Snow perform at Club NME at Spaceland.

I suppose it was inevitable that the Presidents of the United States of America would resurface this year. Could've sworn these guys broke up about 1998, but the bio tells me they've been back it full-time since 2004. Now comes the news that they have a new album "These Are the Good Times People" (what newspapers have they been reading?) due March 11 and they have re-teamed with "Weird Al" Yankovic for the video to its first single "Mixed Up S.O.B.," which you can hear here.

I mention this to note the strange whims of remembering the 1990s. PUSA sold millions of albums (4.5 million of their debut), and yet when the e-mail landed about their upcoming album, I could not remember a single one of their songs. The disposable nature of pop-punk? Possibly. The disposable nature of PUSA's pop-punk? Probably.

On the other hand, the news landed last week about another rock radio mainstay of that era, the newly reformed Filter. Richard Patrick and gang are back after five years ("Anthems for the Damned," due in May), and as soon as I saw the band's name in the subject field, "Hey Man, Nice Shot" lodged itself in my brain and simply would not go away for three days.

The big debuts by PUSA and Filter both came out in 1995, and each remains on my shelf at home. But only one remains in the inventory of my brain. Happens to you too? Please share (and, yes, take potshots at my musical tastes in 1995 all you want ...)

||| Live: PUSA plays March 19 at the House of Blues Anaheim and March 21 at the Roxy.

||| Live: Filter (no new songs on their MySpace yet) has no L.A.-area dates scheduled yet, but they're at the Casbah in San Diego on March 2.

Photo of Richard Patrick by Andrew Pinter

Highlights for Monday, Feb. 18

Dengue Fever headlines the Indie 103.1 night at the Viper Room. ... Film School plays the warm-up slot for the Pity Party's Spaceland residency. ... Robert Francis continues his Silverlake Lounge residency with guests Dawes (members of now-defunct Simon Dawes). ... Casket Salesmen and four other bands bring the rock at a free show at the Troubadour. ... And at the Echo, the Henry Clay People toast producer David Newton (who helmed their "Working Part Time" EP) by welcoming three other Newton-produced local bands onto the bill -- the Happy Hollows, Kissing Tigers and Death to Anders.

Easy as "1 2 3 4" -- Feist, the 31-year-old Canadian torch singer and Grammy nominee for best new artist, will be coming to the Hollywood Bowl for a headlining gig on July 20.  The Toronto native's striking chamber pop will be counterposed that evening by the stirring soul stylings of Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings. There's no on-sale date for tickets yet, and a third artist is likely to be added to the show.

The Bowl's pop/rock offerings are shaping up for the summer. Earlier this morning, a May 27 show featuring the Police and Elvis Costello and the Imposters was announced (tickets on sale Feb. 24). Mary J Blige and Jay-Z have an April 16 show; the Cure are scheduled for May 31; Sgt. Pepper's Revisited with Cheap Trick goes off June 20; Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers play on June 25; Gilbert Gil and Devendra Banhart team up on June 29; Gnarls Barkley parties on July 27; and UB40 pays a visit on Aug. 3.

Update: It's not on the Bowl's website yet, but it's on the band's: R.E.M. is playing the Bowl on May 29. And it should be pointed out that the Feist, Gil/Banhart, Barkley and UB40 shows are part of KCRW-FM's World Music series.

Photo of Feist playing KROQ-FM's Almost Acoustic Christmas show by Lawrence K. Ho / LAT

Filtered thoughts on Presidents' Day

I suppose it was inevitable that the Presidents of the United States of America would resurface this year. Could've sworn these guys broke up about 1998, but the bio tells me they've been back it full-time since 2004. Now comes the news that they have a new album "These Are the Good Times People" (what newspapers have they been reading?) due March 11 and they have re-teamed with "Weird Al" Yankovic for the video to its first single "Mixed Up S.O.B.," which you can hear here.

I mention this to note the strange whims of remembering the 1990s. PUSA sold millions of albums (4.5 million of their debut), and yet when the e-mail landed about their upcoming album, I could not remember a single one of their songs. The disposable nature of pop-punk? Possibly. The disposable nature of PUSA's pop-punk? Probably.

On the other hand, the news landed last week about another rock radio mainstay of that era, the newly reformed Filter. Richard Patrick and gang are back after five years ("Anthems for the Damned," due in May), and as soon as I saw the band's name in the subject field, "Hey Man, Nice Shot" lodged itself in my brain and simply would not go away for three days.

The big debuts by PUSA and Filter both came out in 1995, and each remains on my shelf at home. But only one remains in the inventory of my brain. Happens to you too? Please share (and, yes, take potshots at my musical tastes in 1995 all you want ...)

||| Live: PUSA plays March 19 at the House of Blues Anaheim and March 21 at the Roxy.

||| Live: Filter (no new songs on their MySpace yet) has no L.A.-area dates scheduled yet, but they're at the Casbah in San Diego on March 2.

Photo of Richard Patrick by Andrew Pinter

Highlights for Monday, Feb. 18

Dengue Fever headlines the Indie 103.1 night at the Viper Room. ... Film School plays the warm-up slot for the Pity Party's Spaceland residency. ... Robert Francis continues his Silverlake Lounge residency with guests Dawes (members of now-defunct Simon Dawes). ... Casket Salesmen and four other bands bring the rock at a free show at the Troubadour. ... And at the Echo, the Henry Clay People toast producer David Newton (who helmed their "Working Part Time" EP) by welcoming three other Newton-produced local bands onto the bill -- the Happy Hollows, Kissing Tigers and Death to Anders.

Easy as "1 2 3 4" -- Feist, the 31-year-old Canadian torch singer and Grammy nominee for best new artist, will be coming to the Hollywood Bowl for a headlining gig on July 20.  The Toronto native's striking chamber pop will be counterposed that evening by the stirring soul stylings of Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings. There's no on-sale date for tickets yet, and a third artist is likely to be added to the show.

The Bowl's pop/rock offerings are shaping up for the summer. Earlier this morning, a May 27 show featuring the Police and Elvis Costello and the Imposters was announced (tickets on sale Feb. 24). Mary J Blige and Jay-Z have an April 16 show; the Cure are scheduled for May 31; Sgt. Pepper's Revisited with Cheap Trick goes off June 20; Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers play on June 25; Gilbert Gil and Devendra Banhart team up on June 29; Gnarls Barkley parties on July 27; and UB40 pays a visit on Aug. 3.

Update: It's not on the Bowl's website yet, but it's on the band's: R.E.M. is playing the Bowl on May 29. And it should be pointed out that the Feist, Gil/Banhart, Barkley and UB40 shows are part of KCRW-FM's World Music series.

Photo of Feist playing KROQ-FM's Almost Acoustic Christmas show by Lawrence K. Ho / LAT

Feist headlining Hollywood Bowl on July 20

Easy as "1 2 3 4" -- Feist, the 31-year-old Canadian torch singer and Grammy nominee for best new artist, will be coming to the Hollywood Bowl for a headlining gig on July 20.  The Toronto native's striking chamber pop will be counterposed that evening by the stirring soul stylings of Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings. There's no on-sale date for tickets yet, and a third artist is likely to be added to the show.

The Bowl's pop/rock offerings are shaping up for the summer. Earlier this morning, a May 27 show featuring the Police and Elvis Costello and the Imposters was announced (tickets on sale Feb. 24). Mary J Blige and Jay-Z have an April 16 show; the Cure are scheduled for May 31; Sgt. Pepper's Revisited with Cheap Trick goes off June 20; Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers play on June 25; Gilbert Gil and Devendra Banhart team up on June 29; Gnarls Barkley parties on July 27; and UB40 pays a visit on Aug. 3.

Update: It's not on the Bowl's website yet, but it's on the band's: R.E.M. is playing the Bowl on May 29. And it should be pointed out that the Feist, Gil/Banhart, Barkley and UB40 shows are part of KCRW-FM's World Music series.

Photo of Feist playing KROQ-FM's Almost Acoustic Christmas show by Lawrence K. Ho / LAT