Jamaica

Music Picks: Rhye, Papa and Motörhead

Music Cruises Hit the High Seas, But Who Can Afford Them?

All aboard a tiny, star-packed boat

That Musical About Veganism Starring Jon Secada and Based on the Poetry of Supreme Master Ching Hai, Explained

Kelly Packard "is well known for her acting work on Baywatch," the emcee in a tux told everyone within earshot Saturday afternoon as Packard approached the red carpet, just before the debut of a new musical playing for one day only, titled Loving Silent Tears. The musical's publicity materials said ... More >>

Punch Drunk: On Jerry Thomas' Bar-Tender's Guide

I was looking for a punch. I'm not sure why. I wasn't planning a party, but having just watched the first debate, keeping a recipe on hand that would obliterate all memory of politics and the election seemed like a very good thing. A friend suggested that I consult Jerry Thomas' Bar-Tenders Guide. ... More >>

Whit Stillman Interview

Damsels in Distress, and a director in distress

Why Did Goldenvoice Purchase a Bunch of Land Near Coachella?

See also: Coachella 2012 Lineup Goldenvoice announced Sunday that it has purchased 280 acres of land in Indio, ensuring that the Coachella and Stagecoach music festivals will be enjoyed by generations of girls in spirit hoods and dudes in speedos and fanny packs The purchase includes El Dorado P ... More >>

SoCal Gay Men Arrested For Sodomy During Caribbean Cruise Released

Two Southern California men initially arrested in the Caribbean for having gay sex pleaded guilty today to indecent exposure, reports Associated Press. The men were each fined $900 and driven to the airport. Whew. The duo was identified as John Robert Hart, 41, and Dennis Jay Mayer, 43, of Palm Sp ... More >>

Brenda Holloway Was Motown's First West Coast Artist; Tomorrow She Plays With the Gaylads

American soul music and Jamaican reggae are closer kin than you might think. "Basically every '60s ska and reggae band refers to Curtis Mayfield as one of their biggest influences," says Mark Morales, a concert promoter and DJ based out of Los Angeles. Tomorrow, Morales' Hot Shot Sounds will host a ... More >>

Gangrene Get High, So High

Alchemist and Oh No's label gave them a weed budget

Top 20 Musicians of All Time, in Any Genre: The Complete List

Yeah, yeah, we know. The top 20 greatest musicians of all time, in any genre. Where do we get off? Well, we'll tell you where we get off -- at Accuracy Station. Our team of writers listened to thousands and thousands of hours of music for this list, digging deep into the annals of history and explor ... More >>

Top 20 Musicians of All Time, in Any Genre: #20-16

See also: *Top 20 Musicians of All Time, In Any Genre: #15-11 *Top 20 Musicians of All Time, In Any Genre: #10-6 *Top 20 Musicians of All Time, In Any Genre: #5-1 Yeah, yeah, we know. The top 20 greatest musicians of all time, in any genre. Where do we get off? Well, we'll tell you where we get of ... More >>

Heavy D RIP: The Hip-Hop/R&B Pioneer Dies In Los Angeles

​By Dan Hyman See also: On the Eve of the Grammys, Heavy D Discusses His Nomination, Reggae, Diddy and More Heavy D, the iconic rapper and founder of hip-hop group Heavy D and the Boyz, died today in Los Angles. He was 44. The rapper was reportedly rushed to the hospital after being found un ... More >>

Lil B's Manager Sebastian Demian Is Calmer Than You Are

Nanette Gonzales Sebastian Demian with Lee "Scratch" Perry painting​Sebastian Demian is the director of Dem Passwords, an oddly-named art gallery-cum-music venue that is difficult to find. It's located beneath a West Hollywood hydroponics store, but it's not accessible from the street, so you ... More >>

It's a Kinky Reggae Party

Tomorrow Night: Sun Araw, L.A.'s Modern-Day Psychedelicist, Tackles Brit Power-Pop Classic Bandwagonesque

Ward RobinsonSun Araw​When we asked Cameron Stallones, the fascinating L.A.-based polymath who performs and records as Sun Araw, to cover a favorite album in its entirety at L.A. Weekly's RE:Play L.A. series at the Hard Rock Café in Hollywood, we expected him to pick something like Pink Floyd ... More >>

Eunice Gayle Needed a Blood Transfusion, So Why Wouldn't Princess Cruise Lines Let Her Off the Boat?

​What's a lady gotta do to get off a cruise ship? That's a question Eunice Gayle must have asked more than once, as she desperately tried to seek an emergency blood transfusion while aboard a Princess cruise line voyage through the Caribbean. Stricken with complications from sickle cell anemia, ... More >>

10 Cinco de Mayo Alternatives to the Margarita 2 Cocktail Recipes

Espolón TequilaThe Varnish's Bebida de Puebla ​ Sometimes you just want a quiet place and a well-done cocktail to celebrate the Mexicans' victory over the French in the 1862 Battle of Puebla. Thankfully the cocktail-savvy need not fret, as the following L.A. bars have alternatives for those s ... More >>

Music Picks: Prince, Amanda Jo Williams, Kendrick Lamar, Xzibit, Civet,

Also, Miguel, L.A. Bluegrass Situation, Heidecker and Wood, the Ditty Bops and others

Today in WTF: Lee Scratch Perry Becoms Animated Character for Adult Swim Show!

​Jamaican god-level genius Lee "Scratch" Perry has been kind of an amazing cartoon character for decades now, but soon you'll be able too the "kind of" from that statement. Cartoon Network has commissioned and is currently test-screening footage of a new show based on the Major Lazer project ... More >>

Top 4 Soft Pretzels: Happy Oktoberfest

J.KoslowLa Brea Bakery fresh pretzels​ Celebrating its 200th year, Oktoberfest officially kicked off this past Friday, as it does mid-September every year in Munich. And although it may be confusing -- you'd think the event would take place in, well, October -- Bavaria bases the timing on a ... More >>

Music Picks: John Lee Hooker Jr., Faun Fables, Tribute to Dolly Parton

Also, Ray LaMontagne, Wait. Think. Fast., Crooked Fingers and others

Eastside Reggae Institution Dub Club Celebrates 10th Anniversary Tonight

​"Reggae fans, they love their reggae," says Jason "Roy Corduroy" Mason. He sees around 800 loyal fans shuffle into the Echoplex every Wednesday night for the party he puts on with Tom Chasteen and Eddie "Dungeonmaster" Rouche. "If there is a reggae club within twenty miles of their house, the ... More >>

Dubstep Is ... Bang!

Today Los Angeles, tomorrow the world for U.K. bassman Rusko

The Zombie: A Cocktail of Epic Proportions And Mindless Effect

Mark StegerZombie Effects​With a swing and muster that recalls Luc Sante's Low Life hoodlums, David A. Embury was a practicing lawyer in the 1940s when he wrote a book called The Fine Art Of Mixing Drinks. In it, he describes The Zombie as "the most overadvertised, overemphasized, overexalted ... More >>

Kid Cudi's Weird Week in Los Angeles: Handcuffs, GaGa Blowoffs, Tonight Show Let-Downs, Kanye Cameos and All

Those of you just returning from Jamaica, the French Riviera, Dubai or Missouri may have missed the interesting Christmas that singer/rapper Kid Cudi had last week during a media blitz in LA. Timothy NorrisKudi had an interesting week in LA​ On Monday, December 21, he and his entourage were ... More >>

Johnny Cash, Joe Strummer, Antonino D'Ambrosio and Shepard Fairey at Subliminal Projects: Bitter Tears, Fury, and Politics

By Barbara Celis Art is the antidote. This timeless truth became clear once again on Saturday night when Subliminal Projects, the Echo Park art gallery owned by Shepard Fairey, hosted a politically- and musically-charged event that celebrated artists as activists and art as a way to agitate conscio ... More >>

Producer/DJ Switch Interviewed: On M.I.A., Santigold, Major Lazer, Amanda Blank and 'Fidgit House'

British-based Switch is one artist who lives up to his name. Known in the super-club world for his left-field, tech-flavored up-tempo sets, the DJ born as Dave Taylor has also become a certified name-brand pop producer, having working with the likes of M.I.A., Diplo, Santogold and up-and-coming rap ... More >>

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: The Wailers, Thelonious Dub, Halfmonk, Mike Watt & the Secondmen

Plus, Good for the Jews, Legowelt, Resistant Culture, and others

Beards, Blazers, Bluntless: Lee Perry Defeats The El Rey's Draconian Droogs

Record Reviews: Whitesnake, Pyramids, Greeley Estates

Also, Santogold, Sumatran Folk Cinema

Scott Ritter and The Mission (Accomplished)

Empire and its discontents

Movie Reviews: College Road Trip, CJ7

Also Girls Rock!, My Name is Albert Ayler and more

Jessie Evans with Toby Dammit at Bordello, 1/31/08

“Are we ready?” was the question Jessie Evans put to her drummer Toby Dammit right before she dropped her heavy, black winter coat to the Bordello stage floor, causing the crowd to inhale collectively at the sight of her costume underneath. (all photos by Rena Kosnett) Never has a country- ... More >>

Rock Picks

For Sept. 28 – Oct. 5

Here and There and Back Again

With The World�s Fastest Indian, Roger Donaldson comes full circle

How can you have a Neil Diamond concert that�s neither cheesy nor sincere?

Do You Know What It Means to Be Poor and Black in New Orleans?

A fortunate son on the old country

Aurelito & Shakespeare, Aural Tradition

The Last Picture Show

Of Los Angeles� great archival double-bill theaters, only Sherman Torgan�s New Beverly Cinema remains. Can this revival house be saved?

Genteel L.A.: Life on the Lawn

Among the Wretched

Geoff Dyer on Ryszard Kapuscinski

Kid AAAA

Working on the Fringe: A Local Runt Wows the Scots

Rhythm & Belief

African America calls across the water

One Toke Over the Line

Cannabis vs. the courts

The Gadfly in the Grove

Cinema Tech

Thom Mount and the Los Angeles Film School

Naked Brunch

Packing light for Palm Springs

Version Therapy

From remix to revelation