Guitar Hero

How USC Grads Freddie Wong and Ryan Coogler Became the Future of Filmmaking, Via Two Very Different Paths

Fruitvale Station was a hit at Sundance, while Video Game High School has millions of teen fans

Testament's Chuck Billy on the Time He Performed a Scalping

Chuck Billy is the six-foot-four singer of veteran thrash metal band Testament, who play House of Blues tomorrow night. You do not want to piss him off; he once laid down some serious vigilante justice, and he's no stranger to hanging with felons. (More on that in the interview below.) See also: Te ... More >>

Classic Rock Is Actually Amazing, You Jerk

So, a certain editor of this blog think classic rock is totally bogus, huh? See also: Classic Rock Is a Cancer on Our Society The point of his argument is that folks from our generation need to have their own taste, not be stuck in the past. But one can't deny that the music which emerged from th ... More >>

The Five Best Concerts in L.A. This Weekend

Friday, January 4 Los Cincos, Silver Daggers, et al, at The Smell's Quinceañera THE SMELL When a truly DIY, all-ages space lasts for 15 years, you don't celebrate a birthday -- you celebrate a victory! So let's salute L.A.'s Smell, which has survived and even thrived to become a hometown instituti ... More >>

Music Picks: Lord Huron, Matthewdavid, Smell 15th Anniversary Party

Rock Prodigy, Harold Lee's App That Can Tell If You're Playing Guitar Correctly

Startups is a new column about new companies, big ideas and bold discoveries happening in the L.A. area. Harold Lee was a guitar player who dropped out of music school and found himself handling the marketing for a guitar store chain while he worked toward a business degree. One night, he watched h ... More >>

Crissy Moran, Former Porn Star, Has a New Life and Is 'Fasting' From Men

Crissy Moran holds a pair of drumsticks, her long, slender fingers clanking off-rhythm as she looks up at a monitor above, following along to the directions of Guitar Hero.Eyes smoky, lips pouty and dark brown hair flowing over her shoulders, Moran, flanked by an all-girl band, shreds "With or W ... More >>

The Pixies - The Music Box - November 19, 2011

Andrea Domanick​The Pixies The Music Box November 19, 2011 If you're just learning that indie rock deity the Pixies were in town last night, there's no need to cry -- most folks didn't know about the gig either, as it was announced exclusively in emails to fans through the band's website. T ... More >>

Super Mario Brothers in the Style of Norman Rockwell? Five Works that Modernize the American Master

Courtesy of the Muckenthaler Cultural CenterAaron Jasinski's Super Mario Brothers​ If Norman Rockwell were alive today, would he be painting kids playing Super Mario Brothers? The show "American Nostalgia," currently running at the Muckenthaler Cultural Center in Fullerton, shows new artists ... More >>

Video Games Live: The E3 Event That's Open to the Public

Marcin Wichary, Creative Commons via WikipediaTommy Tallarico playing Video Games Live in 2009​Today is the first day of E3, the annual event where video game companies unveil their latest products. There's a lot of hype surrounding the three-day show, but, unfortunately most people won't be a ... More >>

EXCLUSIVE Interview: Dave Grohl on Cutting the New Foo Fighters Album's Master Tape to Pieces--and Giving Them Away to the Fans

add caption​Imagine our surprise when we received the advance CD of the Foo Fighters' new album, Wasting Light, and we noticed the following sticker copy: Recorded Entirely On Analog Tape in Dave's Garage. A piece of the ORIGINAL MASTER TAPE included in this package. Upon opening the cardboa ... More >>

Guitar Hero is Dead, Long Live the Top 10 Songs to Play on Guitar Hero!

Top 10 Songs to Play on Guitar Hero

Was the Death of Guitar Hero Inevitable? Slash, Star of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, Answers Here

Slash, guitar icon. And some dude, guitar hero. ​Our inner 13-year-old boy cried yesterday when news broke via Rolling Stone that video game company Activision was officially pulling the plug on popular music game franchise, Guitar Hero. The game that made plastic kiddie guitars cool and launc ... More >>

Guitar Hero, RIP (2005-2011)

The game that stunted the growth of a million actual-guitar hero careers: Guitar Hero​ Rolling Stone is reporting the impeding demise of guitar-with-buttons videogame Guitar Hero: The Guitar Hero video game franchise is officially dead. According to publisher Activision, which will close its ... More >>

Brigitte Burdine, Top Video Game Director, Killed By Hit-And-Run Driver In Marina Del Rey

FacebookMarina Del Rey video-game director Brigitte Burdine was killed by an at-large hit-and-run driver last night​Updated after the jump with another picture of Burdine, a video clip and messages from friends, family and co-workers. Originally posted Dec. 29 at 7:30 p.m. R.I.P. Brigitte Bur ... More >>

Sofia Coppola: Lost at the Chateau Marmont

From party girl to Oscar winner, a journey to the stripped-down Somewhere

Nightranger: REBEL, REBEL(S)

Why is Soundgarden Trying to Kill Their Fans? [UPDATE: To Sell Them Guitar Hero???]

This poor man was almost killed by his favorite "grunge" band​[UPDATE: 9/28. Apparently the "secret show" fans risked their lives too was a big commercial for the Guitar Hero videogame. Protip: the longer you spend with the little colorful buttons on that toy guitar, the less you're likely to ... More >>

Over the Weekend: Heart at the Gibson Amphitheatre

Nancy Wilson gets crazy on you​On Wikipedia, the band Heart pops up in search results before the blood-pumping organ does. From the ecstatic beer and arm swaying rapture rattling the Gibson Amphitheater Saturday night, it's possible that over the last 35 years, Ann and Nancy Wilson have become ... More >>

Queens of the Stone Age to Release Deluxe Edition of Classic 'Rated R'

Queens of the Stone Age to Reissue Deluxe Edition of Classic 'Rated R'

Nightranger: Gamer Gauche

Photo of the Week: Air Guitar Hero or Air Guitar Zero?

Timothy NorrisThe Caplickster​ Meet The Caplickster, one of the contestants at the Air Guitar Los Angeles Regionals held at The Troubadour. Air Guitar Hero or Air Guitar Zero? Let us know what to think. For many more amazing shots from this strangely popular event, see the LA Weekly's slide ... More >>

Not the Usual Haunts

DJ Hero: From AM to Z-Trip

L.A. DJ takes on music ed Randall Roberts in Vegas

Z-Trip Demos DJ Hero in Las Vegas, Honors DJ AM at Friday Night Residency Debut

Thursday, October 15, 6:50 p.m. Landed in Vegas, am on way to Palms Hotel from airport. In a half hour, the DJ Hero battle will begin: West Coast Sound vs. Z-Trip. Focus. I've had ten years to learn Technics technique. Countless hours in front of the decks, matching beats, absorbing breaks, tweakin ... More >>

It Might Get Loud: Davis Guggenheim’s Guitar Heroes

In director’s new documentary tribute, Jimmy Page, the Edge and Jack White talk axes, licks and other euphemisms

Last Night: Jay-Z, Eminem, and the Celebrity Cult of the DJ Hero

The economy isn't entirely moribund, it's just that the real money's in wish fulfillment. At least that's the logical conclusion gained from last night's star-scarred Jay-Z and Eminem concert promoting DJ Hero, the latest sure-to-be-blockbuster installment of the Guitar Hero Franchise -- an event th ... More >>

Rattling the Underground With Nosaj Thing and Low End Theory

SXSW: Who Would Leave Metallica for Black Cobra? Our Man in Austin

Randall Roberts Finds Himself in the Studio With the Silversun Pickups

Screw Metallica: Southern Lord Showcase Kills at SXSW

Randall RobertsPelican rips it at the Southern Lord Records showcase I'm sure Metallica was great. They were good when I saw them at the LA Forum a few months back, where the dudes in the pit were in their typical testostero-frenzied state. And the indulgent 45-minute soundcheck that preceded their ... More >>

SxSW Scene: Metallica Sets Up Shop at Four Seasons

View live photos in the "Metallica Thrashes Stubb's" slideshow. On Friday afternoon, the four members of arguably the world's most famous heavy metal band flew into Austin, Texas, from San Francisco to promote a new music video game called "Guitar Hero Metallica." For the press conference, they set ... More >>

Silversun Pickups Record Daytrotter Session at SXSW: A Glimpse from Inside the Studio

Randall RobertsBrian Aubert, in black, seated, and band/crew await their date with Daytrotter. For bands at South by Southwest, there's a lot of waiting involved. Yes, there's hustling, and unloading and reloading the van, and dealing with sound dudes on short notice when everybody's feeling a litt ... More >>

Bug Music's Commercial Zone

Helping to fill the pockets of indie bands now that CD sales have dried up

N.A.S.A.'s DJ Squeak E. Clean: Ready for Liftoff

Teams with Tom Waits, David Byrne, MIA, Santogold, Spank Rock, RZA, Ghostface Killah, Kanye West and others to create The Spirit of Apollo

Rock Picks: Amanda Palmer, Metallica, War Tapes

Also, J.D. Souther, Von Iva, Juliette Commagere and others

Smashing Pumpkins at the Gibson, Night One

Night one of the Smashing Pumpkins at the Gibson (Text by Jeff Miller, photos by Timothy Norris. Click on images for entire Smashing Pumpkins slideshow.)As the Smashing Pumpkins took the stage to a surprisingly funky new song called "Everybody Come Clap" for their first proper L.A. show since reunit ... More >>

Guns N' Roses: Why Chinese Democracy's Fine Print Is Way More Fun Than the Record

Amuse your delusion

It's Only Rock and Roll but I Like It: Music as a Soundtrack to Life

Music is exceptionally - my wife may say irrationally - important to me. I can walk into a store, determined to spend hundreds of dollars, only to turn around and walk right back out if something horrible is playing inside. Music has never been disposable background noise; it's defined me, inspired ... More >>

WORN OUT- Last Minute Halloween Costume Ideas Seen On Sunset Strip And Beyond.

Selling Out With the Foo Fighters and Smashing Pumpkins for Corporate Cash

Visions of Radiohead

Celebrating the 21st century's most interactive band

The Weekend Report: Widespread Panic, The Orpheum, Friday, June 20

Widespread Panic, the Orpheum Theatre, June 20 By Jeff Weiss (photos by Timothy Norris) Sometimes, I think music critics hate jam bands for the jokes. After all, on that endless litany of items capable of inspiring comedic rancor, nothing is easier to mock than hippies, save for maybe George Bush ... More >>

Morello Jam, Smokin' Date, No A-ttitude

David Bazan, Spaceland, 12/11

David Bazan Spaceland, December 11, 2007 By Jonah Flicker The most revealing moment of the man formerly known as Pedro the Lion’s intimate set at Spaceland came just before the end. During one of David Bazan’s question and answer periods, a longtime staple of his live show, someone requested t ... More >>

A Hero for Our Time

Are rocker video games the new MTV — and will they help save the music universe?

Hollywood Schmoozer Meets Internet Geek

Agents 2.0: The new generation of dealmakers at UTA Online

Night Out: We Can Be Heroes

Get in the game at Hyperion Tavern

"Air Guitar Nation" Rocks L.A.

"Air Guitar Nation," a brand-new documentary about the real art of air guitar, winner of the audience award at SXSW this year, is premiering at the NuArt Cinema in Santa Monica this Friday. Later that night, air guitar virtuoso and "Air Guitar Nation" poster boy Bjorn Turoque (pictured above) will ... More >>

When Pac-Man Was God

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