Les Paul

Five Historic L.A. Jazz Spots

Have you hugged a jazz musician today? You should. For the second year in a row, April 30th has been declared International Jazz Day by no less a reputable organization than the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. This year's host city is Istanbul. But why not L.A.? A ... More >>

Fanatics! Henry Rollins' KCRW Show Tomorrow Night: Your Ears Are in Good Hands

KCRW BROADCAST #207 03-16-13 See also: Henry Rollins: Our Constitutional Rights Require Constant Vigilance Fanatics! Is this fantastic or what?! We are back on the radio yet again and this one is going to rock! Last week, we had quite the esoteric affair, especially ending with Free Bird. Perhaps ... More >>

The Best Clubs in L.A., 2012

Our Best Of issue just hit stands! We found our fairy tale, and now we present it to you: 435 of the most fabulous things in all of Los Angeles. From the city's most amazing restaurants to its tawdriest dive bars, from its edgiest art exhibits to the top spots for live music, we've got it all covere ... More >>

Maná Gets Inducted Into the Hollywood Guitar Center's Rock Walk

Mexican rockers Maná made their mark in concrete as the foursome were inducted the Hollywood Guitar Center's Rock Walk yesterday. Like Bon Jovi, The Boss and Guns N' Roses all rolled into one (but from Guadalajara, Jalisco), Maná has garnered dozens of accolades -- including winning eleven Grammys ... More >>

Fanatics! Henry Rollins' KCRW Show Tomorrow Night: One of the Greatest Radio Shows Ever

KCRW Broadcast #170 for Saturday, June 23, 2012 Henry Rollins: The Column! I Love it When the Young Enrage Their Elders Rollins Announces "Capitalism" Tour, Will Hit Each State Capital Fanatics! I think this is one of the greatest radio shows ever constructed! Ok, it is really good and I can't wa ... More >>

Les Paul's Watch -- the One He Got From Sinatra -- Goes For $20,000 at Auction

See Also: Only in LA: Les Paul, W.C. Fields, Groucho Marx and the Invention of Multi-Track Recording Les Paul died about three years ago. He was 94 and still gigging every Monday night in Manhattan. If you don't know much about him other than the guitars that bear his name, know that he was "withou ... More >>

Anthony Wilson, Guitar Pinup, Begins Monthlong Residency at the Blue Whale Tomorrow

Guitarist and L.A. native Anthony Wilson has been a part of the jazz scene since his birth. His 93-year-old father, bandleader/raconteur/legend Gerald Wilson, started swinging before World War II and hasn't stopped, but the younger Wilson grew up in a musical landscape as indebted to Peter Frampton ... 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 >>

Rare Guitars Are His Business, and Business is Good

Norm Harris​Story by David Konow Norm Harris has been in business selling rare and vintage guitars since 1967, before there was there was the term "vintage guitar," and he says he's never had a bad year. Even with the recent economic downturn, Norm's Rare Guitars, which has always been locate ... More >>

Henry Rollins: The Column! Holy Music

Timothy Norris​[The one and only Henry Rollins contributes a weekly column and far-reaching reportage to the music section of the LA Weekly. Look for your weekly Henry Rollins fix right here on West Coast Sound every week and make sure to tune in to Henry's KCRW radio show every Saturday eveni ... More >>

Bob Marley, Messenger

What's Your Favorite Slash Moment? Sunset Strip Music Fest Bands Semi Precious Weapons, Delta Rose, Thick as Theives & Others Share Stories (and One Sex Fantasy) About the Rock N' Roll Icon

Lina LecaroMyles Kennedy, Fergie and Slash perform SSMF 2010​L.A. Weekly's Nightranger Lina Lecaro put it best in her Sunset Strip Music Festival live review: "Whether you're 20, 40 or 60 years old, grew up in Los Angeles or hopped right off the bus a la Axl Rose in 'Welcome to the Jungle,' if ... More >>

Nightranger: Stars, Cars & Guitars

Stars, Cars and Guitars: Gibson GuitarTown Debuts on the Sunset Strip

Lina Lecaro Cherie Currie and son Jake Hays with The Runaways guitar by artist Sonia Lopez-Chavez. ​A drive down the Sunset Strip always promises a few things: flashy billboards, rockin' (usually studded) get-ups, beckoning marquees and maddeningly slow-moving cars. Now there's something fun ... More >>

Music Picks: Circa Survive, Joanna Newsom, El-P, Roots Roadhouse

Also, Scorpions, Viza, the Park and others

Live Review: Paul McCartney at the Hollywood Bowl

Timothy Norris​During the first concert of Paul McCartney's sold-out, two-night stand at the Hollywood Bowl, it was sometimes hard to tell who was having the better time. Was it the fans, who were delirious to see their hero in this historic, relatively intimate amphitheater (albeit at a steep ... More >>

Video Interview: Slash Talks Solo Album Details, Guitar Center Contest, and His New Attitude Towards Frontmen

Erin Broadley"Which guitar do you want me next to: a Les Paul or a Les Paul?"​On any given day you can walk into Guitar Center in Hollywood and see Slash. One can't go more than ten feet inside the mega-retailer without coming across a promotional gear-head display or banner bearing the image ... More >>

Livid's Retro-Futuristic Looking Ohm64 MIDI Controller

Last Friday at downtown party Wham Bam Thank You NAMM, we couldn't help but notice a stylish MIDI controller called Ohm64. Created by Livid, the device has a sleek wood body that screams mid-century modern and LED-lit buttons that give it a cool, futuristic vibe. If someone wants to score Alphaville ... More >>

Six-String Heroes: Iconic Photographer Neil Zlozower Talks New Book, Mr. Musichead Launch Party, and Making Friends with Rock Stars

Neil ZlozowerEddie Van Halen​"Talking rock n' roll with Zloz is like discussing tan lines with Hugh Hefner or escort services with Charlie Sheen," boasts the Van Halen fans in the David Lee Roth Army (yeah, that's right, army). Not like we'd want to pick a fight with Diamond Dave's soldiers an ... More >>

Interview: Slash Talks LAYN Rocks Benefit Concert, Reveals Surprise Guest Steven Adler

Erin BroadleySlash... not on a jet to Vegas​There's an old photograph in Slash's autobiography of him and actor Charlie Sheen on a private jet, where they're probably headed to Las Vegas. Sheen wears the guitar legend's signature black top hat and mugs for the camera, while Slash, Heineken in ... More >>

Best of L.A.: Places

Back When Quentin Was Behind the Counter

Les Paul, 1915-2009

W.C. Fields on the legendary innovator: “The music you’re making sounds like an octopus. Like a guy with a million hands”

Guitar Legends: Slash Remembers Friend and Mentor Les Paul, A Total Fuckin' Maverick

Yesterday after learning of Les Paul's death at 94 years old, L.A. Weekly caught up with Slash, a guitar legend in his own right, for an exclusive chat about the loss of not only a brilliant musician and innovator, but also a friend and mentor.

Only in LA: Les Paul, W.C. Fields, Groucho Marx and the Invention of Multi-Track Recording

A few years ago, longtime LA Weekly writer John Payne interviewed Les Paul, who died yesterday, as part of a comprehensive overview of his career. We'll be publishing Payne's remembrance on the guitar and recording innovator in next week's paper. Below is an excerpt of that piece. ​ He was w ... More >>

Short Attention Span Dinner Theater: Your Week in Food, 8/9 - 8/14/2009

In which we highlight the past week in food, either at home or abroad. "Designing a menu for Mars is simply a scientific problem to be solved like any other." This is not Buzz Aldrin's Astronaut Food. "We should be able to live largely disease-free lives until we are well into our 90s and ... More >>

Guitar Legend Les Paul Dies: Raise Your Forks and Bake an Electric Guitar Cake

Sweet Retreat Cakes, www.sweetretreat.caEdible Rock​Les Paul, the guitar legend who created the prototype for the first solid-body electric guitar, died today at the age of 94. Though he was perhaps best known for his guitars, Paul was one of the greatest jazz guitar pickers of his time. The ... More >>

Remembering Les Paul's Sound and Vision

Remembering Les Paul's Sound and Vision

Ten Great Cover Songs from Coachella 2009 (and a few extras)

Timothy NorrisEven the machinery was flashing the horns. Nothing says "I love you" like a cover song. Artists at Coachella like to acknowledge their influences, love to thrill the crowd with a surprise singalong. This year bands drew from music of many genres, from ragtime to post punk to hip hop. ... More >>

Timewarp: Where Old Instruments Go to Live Again

Back to the bylophone

Guitar Icon Slash Talks Les Paul, Thievery and Action Figures at Sam Ash Music

Hanging out in the back room of the Gibson tour bus. Click on the image for the entire slideshow. Sitting inside a parked Gibson tour bus behind Sam Ash Music in Hollywood, Slash peers over his sunglasses and through his tumble of curly hair that threatens to catch fire with every Marlboro he ligh ... More >>

For Those Who Stand Long . . . A Led Zeppelin Reunion?

Checking out the rumors at the Sunset Marquis' Gibson Through the Lens reception

Guns N' Roses: Appetite for Pastrami

A deli owner's obsession with Axl and company begets the definitive behind-the-scenes account of the band's rise

Another guide to LA Bands at SXSW

Here's a list of LA bands/songwriters to chase down at SXSW in Austin next week. This is a tipsheet for those of you with $$$ in your eyes. Looking for a band to break, license, co-opt, manipulate, convince to sell out? Here are some tips. Abe Vigoda Gender: Four men Their MySpace descriptive: "Tr ... More >>

Devendra Banhart, Orpheum, 10/13

Devendra Banhart Orpheum Theatre, 10/13 By John Curry In every generation of pop music, someone comes along with a fabulous persona to wrap generously around their art. Not since Ziggy has there been anyone as wonderfully camp and exploitive as Devendra Banhart. The songs he played from the new rec ... More >>

Band of Horses and Dinosaur Jr.

Band of Horses and Dinosaur Jr. at the Wiltern, September 8

Music Picks

For the week of September 1-7

Born in the USA

Killers summon their inner Springsteens

Jon Brion's Amazing Musicquarium

The Nowhere/Everywhere man on Kanye West, Fiona Apple, Frank Sinatra, quantum physics, Roxy Music, acoustic alchemy, God and extreme coffee drinking

Rock & Dance Club Listings

For February 3 - 9, 2006

Melancholy Baby

Daniel Lanois on Brian Eno, Mexican jukeboxes, and his gorgeous new Belladonna

High On Fire, Drunk On Jack!

Metal’s heaviest sludgesters just don’t give a [fudge]

Eyes Opened Eyes Closed

Two CalArts-sponsored mash-ups celebrated MOCA's "Visual Music" exhibit

The Body Electric

Lick My Detox

At work and play with rockaholics the Sharp Ease

Knick Knack Paddy

From the Motherland

Getting on track with Mali's Super Rail Band

One Band, Under God

High Culture, Low-Def

Mockin' Bird

Patti Page comes out swinging