Ghost Reenactment at The Compound

The esteemed haven of dubstep and EDM after parties, The Compound, is more than just a party destination.  On top of being the home and studio of L.A.'s own 12th Planet, it's also apparently a comedy production den.  Dillon Francis and 12th's remake of the pottery scene from Ghost was shot there.  If you're not laughing by the end of the clip - go find a sense of humor. 

Tonight in L.A. (January 25, 2013)

Get your weekend #turntup - cause its Friday and the music is cruising through LA.  From the freshly signed sounds of Kid Ink at Key Club to the jams of Nicki Bluhm & The Gramblers at The Constellation Room - there is a lot to aurally digest.





If you want to jazz up your night - Stanley Clarke Band plays at Catalina Bar and Grill, but the funkier jams will be heard at The Mint during the NAMM Jam with Leo Nocentelli (Funky Meters), Stanton Moore and Bill Dickens with special guests.

12th Planet, AC Slater and Kelley Dean bring some bass and wobbly filth to the floors of Avalon, while Crookers make the crowd toss and turn at The Observatory. 





Indie westsiders should check out El Ten Eleven and Races at The Central SAPC, and for other good music Cody ChestnuTT at Troubadour and Jon Brion at Largo would be good choices too.  For a full list of tonight's shows in LA, look below:  

• Max Graham, Darin Epsilon @ Exchange LA

• Mozart & Beethoven’s  5^th @ Walt Disney Concert Hall

• Social Studies, Creeps, Jung Bouquet @ Pehrspace

• The Downtown Train @ One Eyed Gypsy

• Vim Dicta, The Do-Its @ Harvard & Stone

• Pageants, The Reflections, Sisu @ Bootleg Bar

• Wovenhand, VUM, Little Red Lung @ The Satellite

• Help Mike! w/ Adolescents, Mike Watt + The Missingmen, 45 Grave, AUDACITY, White Flag, The Abigails, Channel 3, The Garden, Agent Orange, White Night, The Urinals, Shattered Faith @ The Echoplex

• Gojira, The Devin Townsend Project, Atlas Moth @ Fonda Theatre

• Stanley Clarke Band @ Catalina Bar & Grill

• Plotz, Dorian Whood, Ghiant, Crab Lions @ El Cid

• Pebaluna, Joe McKee, Big Harp, Bell Gardens, Kita Klane, Gypsy & The Cat @ The Hotel Café

• Action Item, Max Schneider, Paradise Fears, Before You Exit @ The Roxy (6:30)

• Chris Lightfoot, Quest The Artist, Chloe Pappas @ The Roxy (10:15)

• Odd Ball, Loose Nuts, Anchor Babies, Bullets Made of Statues @ On The Rox

• Ours, Updownup, Sabrosa Purr @ The Viper Room

• Social Distortion @ House of Blues – Sunset

• Kid Ink @ Key Club

• El Ten Eleven, We Were Indians, Races @ The Central SAPC

• LBDA, Los Angelitos, Special @ Brixton South Bay

• The Barry Zweig Trio @ Del Monte Speakeasy

• The Mast, Bacchanal Soundsystem @ Del Monte Speakeasy

• Al Stewart @ mcCabe’s Guitar Shop

• Unwritten Law, Harmful If Swallowed, Lose Control, Sir Zacc West @ Saint ROcke

• Crookers @ The Observatory

• Nicki Bluhm & The Gramblers @ Constellation Room

• Big B @ Industry Theater

• Iration @ Majestic Ventura Theater

• Charles Feelgood @ Yost Theater

• Cody ChesnuTT @ Troubadour

• 12^th Planet, AC Slater, Getter, Kelly Dean, Steady @ Avalon

• Jon Brion @ Largo

• Blue Sky Riders feat. Kenny Loggins, Gary Burr, Georgia Middleman @ The Mint

• NAMM JAMM Experience w/ Leo Nocentelli, Stanton Moore, Bill Dickens w/ Special Guests @ The Mint

• James Clay Garrison, Galen, Piranha Chihuahua, Nayanna Holley, John Anderson @ WitZend

• Jun @ Amoeba REcords

• Raul Campos, Joaquin Garcia, Eric Tucker, DJ Santi @ King King Club

• Billy The Kid, Benny Marchant, Copper & Glass @ Room 5 Lounge

• Johnny Stachela Band, Duane Betts @ Harvelle’s

Tonight in L.A. (December 12, 2012)

Its 12.12.12.  I'm not feeling apocalyptic.  The end didn't happen...yet.  But it might be near.  At least that's what you'll hear if you go see 12th Planet at Exchange LA along with Two Fresh, Clicks & Whistles, Salva and Dallas K.  The bass drops will be heavy.





There will probably be heavy bass at Barrington Levy at Echoplex, although quite a different sort in the form of reggae vibes.  Also on the eastside you can catch The Soft Moon and Vinyl Williams at The Echo or Das Tapes at The Satellite.

Personally I like the sophista-funk of Dragon Smoke at The Mint featuring Ivan Neville, Stanton Moore, Eric Lindell and Robert Mercurio.  The half Galactic, half just awesome superband will probably do things on stage that blow the average concert goers mind - but don't take my word for it.  See for yourself.  We have a pair of tickets to give away so just holler at us at contest@supergoodmusic.com.



Up in the West Hollywood region Bondax, Kingdom and Bones bring electronic stylings to The Roxy, Shwayze does his southern California hip soul at The Viper Room and The Tragically Hip try to impress at House of Blues - Sunset.  Last but not least - JMSN and Meg Myers perform at Troubadour.Dragon 



Other notables include Alt-J and Wildcat! Wildcat! at Fonda Theatre and Prodigy and Alchemist at The Observatory and of course 12.12.12. at Low End Theory with Peanut Butter Wolf and 11 other DJs each spinning 12 records.  A full list of shows tonight is below...

• JMSN, Meg Myers, Nylo @ Troubadour

• Shwayze, 7Lions @ The Viper Room

• The Tragically Hip @ House of Blues – Sunset

• Dylan Moran @ Largo

• Bondax, Kingdom, Bones @ The Roxy

• 12^th Planet, Salva, Two Fresh, Dallas K, Clicks & Whistles @ Exchange LA

• The Sword, Gypsyhawk, American Sharks @ El Rey Theatre

• Alt-J, Wildcat! Wildcat!, Dj Bryan Davidson @ Fonda Theatre

• Dragon Smoke feat. Ivan Neville, Stanton Moore, Eric Lindell and Robert Mercurio @ The Mint

• Night Mail, Nightmare Ari, United Ghosts, The Vigils @ Silverlake Lounge

• Dunes, Thrones, Kim Free, PROTECTME @ The Smell

• Yoya, Tapioca and The Flea, Das Tapes, Boom Forest, LA Font (DJ Set) @ The Satellite

• The Mountain Goats, Matthew E. White @ Hollywood Forever Cemetery

• Tegan and Sara @ 987FM Hollywood Tower Penthouse

• The Soft Moon, Vinyl Williams, Group Rhoda @ The Echo

• Barrington Levy, Detour Posse, Arise Roots @ Echoplex

• Prodigy (of Mobb Deep), Alchemist @ The Observatory

• A Night of Twelve of LA’s Best Musical Comedians @ El Cid

• Jesse Payo, The young Romans, Julia Price, Libby Koch @ The Hotel Café

• Pissheads, Mania, Zoloa, Kruel, Sadicos @ Alex’s Bar

• People From Venus @ Bootleg Bar

• Frankie & Rufus, Humonstro, Jam Stain @ Redwood Bar

• Wayne Hancock, Elvis Cortez, Vinnie & The Hooligans, Murietta @ Slidebar

Skrillex Invades L.A. (Late January 6 Show Run)

Grammy award nominee Skrillex (does that sound weird to anyone else?) descends on Los Angeles and New York City from his dubstep mothership to party with friends and label mates ten more times before the Grammy ceremonies get under way.

The five time nominee won't be playing alone, he has recruited some heavy-hitting dubsteppers and signees to his OWSLA label to join him. The ten date run features a host of intimate gatherings that will be limited to those that act early (tickets go on sale for L.A. Live tomorrow at 10 am) and those in Skrillex's personal circle. You'll be lucky to get into any show in L.A., because given Sonny Moore's massive rise in stardom, Dim Mak Studios, Echoplex and Avalon just won't be able to contain the demand. The Palladium probably won't even be able to handle it - I imagine that will sell out rapidly too.

In total, he rages through Los Angeles for six straight nights beginning on January 24th at Dim Mak Studios for their weekly Dim Mak Tuesday party. He will be joined by Alvin Risk and Koan Sound. My guess is there won't be free alcohol to get you in the door early that night...

The real treat of the run is probably Wednesday the 25th at Echoplex where he plays a Skrillex vs. 12th Planet show, along with Diplo. When 12th Planet is essentially the least recognizable artist on your bill, and that bill takes place in Los Angeles, you know the show is going to be massive.

Thursday he takes on exchange with OWSLA signee Zedd, and Friday he moves to Avalon for Control with Huoratron and Kill The Noise. After that, its two less intimate nights at Palladium and L.A. Live Event Deck respectively. The latter offers guest spots from Benga, Nadastrom and other special guests TBA.

If you're not already amped for this - I don't know what you're drinking or you just hate dubstep, or both. Don't sleep in tomorrow if you're a Los Angeleno. Get up at 10 am and make sure you get some of those damn tickets!

New Yorkers, check your local listings, but he tackles the Big Apple with four shows over five nights, including a show at Terminal 5 with Skream & Benga, KOAN Sound and Tokimonsta on February 4th.

HARD HAUNTED MANSION - LESS THAN 4 WEEKS AWAY!

The HARD Haunted Mansion returns to The Shrine on Friday October 28th and makes it its home for two nights of raucous electronic mayhem. You probably don't need us to tell you how nasty its going to be if you were at HARD Summer...but if you weren't, we promise, it will be the sauce.

The line-up is maxed out. With fierce competition for wearing the badge of dopest electronic music event of the year, Hard Haunted Mansion is making a strong play for the belt. Catching Skrillex on his Mothership Tour (along with his support act, 12th Planet) is key and with Rusko, Skream, Benga and more - dubstepping college children are guaranteed to have their faces melted.

Fatboy Slim, Soulwax, Major Lazer, Laidback Luke and 2Manydjs only make it more tempting - and then all the rising support cast, from SBTRKT to Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs to The Knocks will keep the concrete dance floor rocking from the second the doors open on Friday at 6 p.m.

Cop your tickets for both nights at Shrine Expo Hall here.

Event is from 6pm - 2am each night. 18+ event.

The full line-up is below:

Fatboy Slim
Soulwax
Rusko
Skrillex
Laidback Luke
2manydjs
Major Lazer
Skream + Benga
Tiga
Fake Blood
12th Planet
Switch
SBTRKT
L-Vis 1990
Annie Mac
Goose
Housemeister
Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs
Pearson Sound
Destructo
Paul Chambers
The Magician
Jackmaster
Beataucue
Kingdom
Oliver
Japanese Popstars
The Knocks
Clockwork

Dear SXSW and Coachella - 12th Planet is coming

Have you heard this bass? Turn your computer speakers up and learn how John Dadzie AKA 12th Planet throws down at festivals in 2011. This is 12th at Snowball Music Festival past Friday.

Why didn't I go to Colorado for Snowball Music Festival?

12th Planet Works on The Public Record

12th Planet collabs with Gunner Bass and Coma....check it out:

12th Planet from Gary Orellana on Vimeo.

Red Bull Music Academy Presents: Culture Clash w/ SMOG, Dim Mak, Stones Throw & Dub Club

Tonight, LA plays host to the U.S. Debut of Red Bull Music Academy's Culture Clash event. Taking place at Exchange - 4 of the hottest music troupes representing Los Angeles, Dim Mak, Stones Throw, SMOG and Dub Club hit stages for a certainly epic night.

The atmosphere will be competitive as the scene-sters compete over the course of four rounds, (although the competition will likely be friendlier than tonight's Cavs vs. Heat post "Decision" match up). For each round, the crowd will register their vote(s) on a handful of criteria - including measured cheers and applause. After warming up their respective stages with 15 minute set, the first round will judge the musicians ability to "select" the right tunes. The second round focuses on the entertainment factor and is expected to feature special guests. The third round stretches the musicians knowledge of other genres - having them stretch from their traditional outfits. The fourth (and final) round, also known as the "banger round," requires the music teams to bring their most raucous sets and baddest tunes to win over the crowd.

The night will be hosted by MC Commander - who will lead Dim Mak (electro), Dub Club (roots reggae), Smog (dubstep) and Stones Throw (funk/soul/hip-hop) through their battles over their respective soundsystems. For those unfamiliar with traditional sound clashes, each collective supplies their own sound system for the event.

With staple LA resident DJ artists like Them Jeans (Dim Mak Tuesdays), Thee Mike B (Cannonball Sundays at Drais), DJ Fashen (Cannonball Sundays at Drais), Tom Chasteen (Dub Club), Roy Corduroy (Dub Club), Dam Funk (Funkmosphere) - you know the music will be the sort of stuff that keeps LA crowds moving. Throw in some more name brand artists like 12th Planet (Smog), Peanut Butter Wolf (Stones Throw), Craze (Smog), Mayer Hawthorne (Stones Throw) and whomever Dim Mak's special guest is (or guests are) and you've got one hell of a show.

Don't miss it. Buy tickets here. (UPDATE: 10:40 am - TICKETS ARE SOLD OUT)

And, FYI, cop your tickets now because I heard it might sell out! If for some reason you can't make it, but you want to check out some DJ mashed music - DJ Quickie Mart plays his last show at Air Conditioned Lounge on Lincoln Blvd. in Venice.

Moustache Mondays at La Cita

Diplo is going to be in the house for Sam Sparro's B-Day party at La Cita tonight! This is going to be a wicked jam. I wish I didn't have so many obligations because I would go earlier to make it for free time (before 10) - but this party will rage until closing. Don't miss Diplo who just dropped a wicked mixtape that featured LA's own 12th Planet and whose remix of I Feel It All by Feist has been making my ears wet all day.

SUNSET JUNCTION STUMBLES/SMOG 4 YEAR ANNIVERSARY RUMBLES

Hey SUPERGOODMUSIC nation. Its Monday morning and we're feeling fresh from an amazing night of hardcore dubstep on Saturday night at the SMOG 4 Year Anniversary Party and a dosage of LA scenesters at Drais Hollywood for Cannonball Sundays last night. Thankfully we were able to make it to those events because SUPERGOODMUSIC experienced a FAIL of epic proportions when we learned that our Sunset Junction press passes did not exist.

Those shenanigans first: SUNSET FLUNKTION

After repeated attempts to elicit a written response from the Sunset Junction team, they had informed one of our writers that our press passes were forthcoming and would be issued as they had been last year. However, come Friday there was no confirmation e-mail received so we wisely contacted the Sunset Junction offices. That led to us being referred to an outside third party press coordinator, Rogers and Cowan, to attempt to resolve the situation and a woman regretfully told us that they could not accommodate our request because they were "at capacity," which took our breath away....

HOLD UP HOLD UP HOLD UP! An outdoor 4 block street festival that expects maybe 20,000 people is at capacity? We may not be Sunset Junction 30 year veterans, but we are not stupid. There is no way that Sunset Junction was "at capacity."

And on top of that, the grassroots community related event that has been going on for 30 years suddenly stops supporting the grassroots community that represents the essence of the motivations behind the Sunset Junction Street Fair? It seems so inconsistent with the Fair's character. But, when you look at the heightened ticket prices for this year's event and the poor communication from both Junction and the outside company, Rogers and Cowan, engaged to do their press, perhaps it is not so surprising. Sunset Junction is not supposed to be a corporate event, but all signs point to it moving that direction now, including their election of Rogers and Cowan to do their press.

We reached out to Rogers and Cowan to attempt to resolve the situation on Friday and again Saturday.

A quote from Rogers and Cowan's site says "[w]ith Rogers & Cowan’s global network and cross-promotional potential as our start-points, we work closely with tastemakers, music supervisors, national talent bookers, and a host of other trusted media connections to build customized and integrated campaigns for our entire client base." We're a local tastemaker and trusted media source in the LA music community and Rogers and Cowan gave SUPERGOODMUSIC the metaphorical press dick in the ass. So, Rogers and Cowan, you get a fail and Sunset Junction you get a fail for hiring them. If they pride themselves on working closely with tastemakers and trusted media connections - then what were they thinking? Perhaps they think we are not a trusted media connection, but not a tastemaker? Please. Tell us the last time SUPERGOODMUSIC picked or even suggested a loser.

Brandon took the liberty of writing to a contact at Rogers and Cowan to address the situation and try and dig to the root of the communication snafu and misrepresentation. It took to threatening to publish an article that would chastise and criticize Sunset Junction and its press organizers, Rogers and Cowan, to obtain a favorable response. And even that was a day late and a buck short; the favorable response was from a Karen Sundell (thank you Karen). Two press passes produced for us at the eleventh hour on Sunday - 1:36 p.m. to be exact. 6 minutes after one of the acts we had wrote about, The Janks, had finished their set.

Thanks Rogers and Cowan and Sunset Junction for that matter. We relied on you to attend the festival and then you dropped the ball. We changed all of our weekend plans after your failure and only when we threatened to expose your misdeeds did you offer us access to Sunset Junction. And you offered us access only on the second day, after we'd e-mailed you multiple times about the issue; after more than half of LA's great up and comers, like Saint Motel, Orgone and Eastern Conference Champions, had already played.

Needless to see, we didn't go. We've got principals here at SUPERGOODMUSIC. Rogers and Cowan, we said we'd publish your bullshit story if you didn't correct the misrepresentation and you didn't correct it in time. The street fair was over capacity? We're surprised you couldn't come up with a better excuse. But, in the famous words of Ocho Cinco, Child Please!


Just for giggles - here is a portion of Brandon's last e-mail to Rogers and Cowan.

"We were kind enough to give publicity in anticipation of being granted the same access we received last year and our publication has grown since then. A contributing writer was told our access would be granted again. ...

As you can see, junctions decision not only surprises us, but irritates us.

I am giving you and the organizers of Junction the chance to do the right thing and grant press access to an organization that has already given favorable coverage to your event. You can read our most recent Junction post at www.supergoodmusic.com/blast.html.

As indicated above, failure to be granted press access will result in us publishing a story about that failure as opposed to the street fair itself. I just cannot let being led to believe we had access only to be denied access slide. We relied on those representations and, at this point, it was to our detriment.

Let me know if you've had any openings or found us a press pass some other way.

Thanks.

Best,

Brandon"



SMOG ANNIVERSARY PARTY:


SMOG and Media Contender, in our opinion, are much more in tune with today's music market than the Sunset Junction organizers or Rogers and Cowan for that matter. Both SMOG and Media Contender have done an excellent job of building a core nucleus of true dubstep fans to attend their events over the past several years, and Saturday night the performance to a capacity crowd that consisted of only adults was one of the better full on dubstep or electro events I've attended in the great city of LA. SMOG wisely crafted a night catered to the alcohol drinking crowd and avoided the multitude of problems and potential catastrophes that come from hosting an 18+ or all ages event.


SUPERGOODMUSIC arrived on the scene after the party was already jumping - sometime between 11 and midnight. Only guest listers were being let in at that point, so thankfully we were able to flex some clout and get through the door, but not after a serious security check. Not sure if the security had anything to do with complying with the new Raver Task Force rules because I'm not even sure that the SMOG event drew scrutiny from the city, but regardless, the security was serious.


From security, we were thrust into the main performance room where dubstep artists were rotating in and out. The crowd was infected with a wobble step - from front to back you could see flat brim donning patrons bobbing their heads to the 140 bpm rhythms. After experiencing a taste of the indoor dubstep room - we wandered outside to check out the Media Contender stage.

B-boys and b-girls were more prevalent outside, where the music was a lot less hardcore dubstep and much more of an eclectic mix. Frequenters of the entrenched SMOG and Media Contender scene clustered together, exhaling smooth smoke streams into the cool warehouse district atmosphere. The merch booth saw some heavy traffic where you could purchase your SMOG 4 Year anniversary gear as well as the limited edition 12th Planet is My Homeboy T-Shirts (cop them at www.12thplanet2012.com)

With bars both inside and out, and extremely good sound control (you couldn't hear the dubstep outside except when you were very close to the entrance to inside), the environment was perfect to enjoy whatever mix of music you were seeking.

Thee Mike B closed things down outside as 12th Planet and Special Guest, Plastician, closed the night inside. Spending most of our time getting down to the dubstep, 12th played a set that experimented a lot with MCs - more so than some of the other performances of his recent past. The crowd was easily biggest during his set, which he closed with his remix of M.I.A.'s "Born Free." Plastician, dressed in his special SMOG 4 LA Lakers Jersey surprised with some wicked shifts, although the crowd thinned some as the clock approached 2 a.m.

Exiting into the dark LA night around 1:45, we left the event wondering how much bigger next year's party will be...and still pissed at the Sunset Junction people and Rogers and Cowan cause we missed Orgone, Saint Motel, Ghostland Observatory and more.

HARD Weekend...

After jumping through some hoops to acquire the HARD press pass, I finally parked near the LA State Historical Park and waded through the sea of people that was the raver task force and potential concert attendees. Before I could even enter the event, the first "did I just see that?" experience occurred, when a pedestrian was struck by a car.

The police were certainly out in full force; the city made it quite clear that they were going to amp up their police presence with the raver task force and not tolerate a lot of the shenanigans that were routine at EDC (i.e. teenagers doing ecstasy). As a result of concentrating police efforts on eradicating drugs from the concert going experience (has that ever worked?) the city's boys in blue just weren't patrolling street traffic. Maybe if the cops spent more time doing what they had done at EDC (direct traffic) and less time fulfilling the calling of the raver task force (make drug related arrests), the victim of this accident wouldn't have been carried away on a stretcher. While I understand the motives for the city to make a strong showing against underage drinking and drug consumption in light of the death at EDC, I'd prefer to see the city direct the resources toward a problem they can actually control (traffic congestion and pedestrian foot traffic) than one that they cannot (drug consumption).

Once I finally got inside the venue, I b-lined to the alcohol area because it had been a good two hour ordeal just to do the damn thing and I felt like celebrating. I drowned my sadness over missing The Twelves and Breakbot with a little bit of hoppy nectar and sought to find some good photo subjects and a good vantage point for Diplo.

The alcohol control was admittedly a lot more under control than it had been at EDC, so props to the HARD organizers for keeping the tweener set away from the booze for the most part. Inside the tent, I had the pleasure of bumping into some cats from the Jungle Riddim and Media Contender camp. We chopped it up while indulging in Diplo at the main stage - who was creating some impressively hard dubstep that I did not expect from him.

As the sun faded down, I thought it would be wise to see what was up at the dubstep stage. Meandering through the sea of candy flippers, girls in yeti boots, rolling rollers and teenagers womp stepping, I stumbled into John, better known as the rising star 12th Planet.

A Rolling Roller

12th Planet (yellow & black plaid)

Benga

After kicking it over some drinks with 12th, Benga and the entourage, and absorbing the electro-dub-compositions of Flying Lotus (his set was spectacular and J Dilla inspired), I felt a bit of a need to get my dance on. Luckily for me - this girl in the pink had the same idea and we battled (check out my dougie!).

Boom D dance off

After turning heads with wicked dancing in the alcohol tent, I ventured out to the teenage zone to see if I might have other challengers or another b-boy-esque cypher to join. With attendees focused on the LED screens and the headlining acts, I didn't find the competition I was looking for. But, I made a handful of new friends, saw some shining faces and ended the night with some fantastic music (Soulwax).

Can only hope the rest of the tour goes off as it did on Saturday and that the next HARD LA event has as interesting of a line-up...