The worlds of rock music and fine art have long traded personnel back and forth, from John Lennon dropping out of art school to make music as one of the Beatles to Captain Beefheart dropping out of music to make paintings as Don Van Vliet. Devo’s Mark Mothersbaugh, whose solo show at the Akron Museum of Art just ended, is a more recent exemplar of the creative spirit who is able to walk in both worlds. Several more examples can be seen in the exhibition “Rhythm” at Irvine’s Great Park, which...
I know a concert was good when every time I try to sit down and write my review of it, I get distracted by composing music myself instead. This was most gloriously true of the Children of Bodom concert at the Observatory in Santa Ana on March 2, supported by Tyr and Death Angel. Even though I love the word, I reserve it only for special occasions like this one- fuck… Children of Bodom were so fucking good. That does sum it up, but I will elaborate. Children of Bodom, a melodic death metal band...
When I was little I used to spend hours in my family's garden, studying the intricacies of the landscape. Deeply influenced by my love of Jill Barklem's Brambly Hedge illustrations, I was looking for mice homes amongst the trees and bushes. What I discovered under rocks and in what seemed like quiet little corners of our yard, was a surprising amount of activity amongst the insects and the birds. Those formative, imaginative years were the first time I began to be in awe of nature and draw and...
It's rare that LA can offer me something that makes me feel right at home in Ireland again… Owen Dara's delightful comedy show "Two Pint Wonder," showing every Sunday in April at the Renegade Theatre in Hollywood, does just that. Dara crafted an extremely charming and, simply put, very funny show about the in and outs of growing up Irish and coming to America. For myself, as a child of immigrants from Ireland, Dara's comedy possesses a particular type of self-deprecating Irish wit that feels...
It's rare that a band can invoke a real feeling of mysticism in me upon hearing their music. Perhaps this is because I play music and my brain can go directly to understanding song structure and chords; that is, unless the song is coming from another place entirely. There are some bands and composers who are tapping into something on a deeper, more spiritual level that can shut my brain off and immediately propel me into a state of meditative bliss. The multi-cultural band Deleyaman, currently...
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds celebrated the release of their 15th studio album "Push the Sky Away" with a special show at the Fonda Theatre in Hollywood on Feb 21. This show marks a different sort of album release than they've ever done before. Instead of the usual more extensive tours that the band has done in the past, they've elected to do exclusive small-venue album release performances in a few cities around the world. We in Los Angeles were lucky to have the opportunity to see their album...
The night before Thanksgiving, November 21st, the legendary reggae band Toots and the Maytals played a joyous show at the Coach House. On tour from their home in Jamaica, Toots and the Maytals played some of their most classic songs "Pressure Drop," "54-46 Was My Number," and "Monkey Man" to a grateful and enthusiastic crowd. Called a living legend by many, Toots is one of the founding fathers of the reggae music, deeply influencing the ska and rock steady styles. His 1968 single "Do the...
A compelling and vibrant art show is currently on display at the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art in Santa Ana. The show, entitled "Siempre es Hoy," runs until November 24, with a special closing reception from 6-11 pm. You must RSVP for the closing festivities (by emailing solartradio@gmail.com), and I highly recommend it based on how fun, lively and interesting the opening reception was. "Siempre es Hoy" vividly documents the Mexican music scene through a diverse group of intimate...
Last week, I had the privilege of seeing singer and songwriter Tristan Prettyman in concert at Fingerprints Records in Long Beach. Prettyman was celebrating the release of her third studio album "Cedar + Gold" and just about to commence a tour in support of the new music. Dedicated to "anyone who has ever surrendered," the new album "Cedar + Gold" is a work of incandescent beauty. Not since the 90s Lilith Fair days of Sarah MacLachlan, has surrender sounded so achingly sweet. Prettyman...
I recently met up with the progressive metal band Between the Buried and Me during the tail end of their Summer Slaughter Tour. The tour, headlined by Cannibal Corpse, stopped through the Grove in Anaheim on August 25th. Upon arriving at the Grove, I was struck by a unique culture clash occurring that day between the neighboring venues of the Angels Stadium and the Grove. Crowds of young people, generally dressed in black with an assortment of metal shirts, were crossing Katella Ave to reach...
The legendary music of 1930s jazz virtuoso Django Reinhardt is alive and well in Orange County… if you know where to look. Long Beach-based Gypsy jazz band Hedgehog Swing plays every first and third Wednesday at the Gypsy Den in downtown Santa Ana, along with members of the Orange County-based Gypsy jazz band Riff Raff. Riff Raff have hosted this event for many years, leading the song choices on the first Wednesday of every month, with Hedgehog Swing hosting every third Wednesday. Their lively...
I arrived to shut down streets with blinking police barricades. Somewhat imposing, I hoped for barely managed chaos. I parked and wandered into a relatively un-crowded Museum Plaza. Fullerton’s own, the Adolescents, one of the best punk bands to come out of southern California were playing in their hometown to a few hundred well-outfitted punk rockers. I had anticipated a much larger crowd and had expected to a struggle to get near the front of the stage, always my preferred spot. Having had a...
I began writing this music blog at a time in my own music career- in between albums and right about to turn 30 years old- when I have felt myself changing, growing, and reassessing why I do what I do. My ulterior motive for writing was to get out of my head, my studio, and my everyday life to ask other musicians how they have gotten to where they are and how they have faced whatever struggles they have encountered. I wanted to learn from others further down the road in their careers than me....
An epically historic moment occurred at the Grove in Anaheim on Friday the 15th of June. The Italian symphonic power metal band Rhapsody of Fire performed for the first time in the Los Angeles area after garnering a dedicated following since forming in 1993. Rhapsody of Fire's rousing brand of power metal has been lovingly called "Hollywood Metal," because of its resemblance to epic film soundtracks. The powerful compositions tend to make one feel inspired and remarkably able to go slay a...
I recently had the privilege of interviewing Ciscandra Nostalghia from the LA-based avant garde electro-acoustic musical duo Nostalghia. They have been called "post-apocalyptic gypsy punk," which is the best description I have heard of their intensely creative music. Nostalghia is the brainchild of recording and performing artists Ciscandra Nostalghia and Roy Gnan. The musician and visual artist pair blend beautiful, mysterious romantic visuals with passionate music and avant garde...
I first heard a Margot and the Nuclear So and So's song when I saw the Long Beach-based singer and songwriter Will Morrison of the Vacuum Bell perform a beautiful rendition of "Broadripple is Burning." Though the song is absolutely gorgeous, it has desperate lyrics like "I'll be hanging from a rope/I will haunt you like a ghost." Frankly, because Morrison is a friend of mine, I was concerned for his mental health until I discovered he did not write the song. Because the song's melody was so...
I first came across the visual art of metal musician John Dyer Baizley last year. I saw a band T-shirt that was so stunningly beautiful it made me stop in my tracks. The shirt, advertising the Norwegian punk/metal band Kvelertak, interlaced women and an owl with black ink outlines and delicate watercolor shading. The artwork recalled the style of 19th-century Art Nouveau lithographic artist Alphonse Mucha, and included women who looked like they stepped out of 17th century Baroque paintings....
Deciding to devote your life to making music or another artistic endeavor has probably always been a difficult decision that entailed making some personal sacrifices. These days the decision to pursue music feels particularly hard, because while technology makes it so we can easily write, record and put music out on the internet, there are seemingly less ways to earn money through songwriting. While I am a firm believer that we should always follow our passions because it makes us live our...
This past Saturday April 21st, folk singer M. Ward played an intimate sold-out show to an enrapt audience at Long Beach's Fingerprints Record Store during their Record Store Day celebration. Fingerprints, located at 420 East 4th Street in the Long Beach East Village Arts district, continually showcases awesome talent during their free in-store performances. The in-store performances I have attended over the years have all felt special, as the audience is getting the privilege of seeing a...
Joe Sorren's paintings remind me of the sweetness of the simple moments in life, like a flower covered in dew sparkling in the sun or a child quietly playing in a garden. We have to intentionally stop being mentally absorbed in the incessant activities of our lives, to mindfully notice these sweet and movingly beautiful moments happening before our eyes everyday. Going to see Sorren's paintings on display feels like this. Like a visit to a park just to lay down on the grass and stare at the...
The OC Art Blog was created in 2004 as a way to build community and promote the marginalized but dynamic Orange County art scene.
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By Maggie Luy Paper decor fluttered overhead as baby doll dresses and flower crowns filled the crowd. Women-owned vendors lined the walkways as festivalgoers moved through the sunlight, surrounded by bursts of color and music. That vibrant atmosphere captured...
By Mason Fujikawa The Tipping Point is a two-story installation at the Laguna Art Museum by Einar and Jamex de la Torre. The de la Torre brothers, glassblowers by trade, are prolific mixed-media artists who have exhibited internationally for over thirty years. Born in...
By Maggie Luy Take another step and lean in. Ordinary objects reveal deeper stories than they first appear to hold. From delicate threads woven into a portrait to bold images capturing moments of social change, the 42nd Irvine Annual transforms familiar...
By Maggie Luy Where does the game end, and the art begin? A basketball court is usually defined by rules and competition. In “GAME! Basketball and Contemporary Art,” that definition expands as the court becomes a surface for design and intervention. The...
By Chris Hoff There’s a particular kind of vertigo that comes with watching a technology arrive faster than the culture can metabolize it. Photographers felt it in the 1840s. Painters felt it again when Photoshop showed up. Now it’s AI’s turn, and the stakes feel...
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