Whisky a Go Go

Esther Gutierrez: Mother of the Thrash Scene

By Jason Roche More than 1,000 fans are expected at this year's Thrasho de Mayo festival, drawn by rising upstart local metal acts and some of the genre's heaviest hitters. But no one expected it to get so big. Particularly not Esther Gutierrez, a housewife who put the first one together at the Wh ... More >>

A Night on the Sunset Strip With Matt Sorum, of Guns N' Roses

[Editor's note: Soon-to-be-award-winning gonzo music journalist Danielle Bacher prowls the late late night scene for West Coast Sound. For this installment, she hit the town with drummer Matt Sorum of Guns N' Roses, the Cult, Velvet Revolver and Camp Freddy.] 10:10 p.m.: Sugar Ray singer Mark McGra ... More >>

Local Promoters Raw Put Bands in Front of Audiences -- For a Fee

A Los Angeles-based company called Raw would like to give your band a show. And also, possibly, an award. In exchange, it would like a few dollars. Raw's clunky, full moniker is RAW: natural born artists -- it's not an acronym but rather references "unpolished" performers. It puts on parties in mo ... More >>

Music Picks: The Weeknd, That '70s Soul, Power of the Riff

Music Picks: Lamb of God, Miike Snow, and Hanni El Khatib

How the Wolf Survived

On the 20th anniversary of seminal album Kiko, a look back at Los Lobos' early days

Van Halen's Babysitter

The band's record label assigned Ted Cohen to go on tour with them in their glory years. Here's what he saw

Still a Malcontent

A midlife crisis spawns Keith Morris' new band Off!

Music Picks: Soweto Gospel Choir, Garbage, Neon Trees, Jennifer Leitham

Also, Kitty, Slaughterhouse, James, Chairlift and others

Music Picks: Coldplay, Estelle, Joss Stone, Lana Del Rey

Also, Enuff Z'Nuff, Gizzelle, Goliath and others

Glen Palmer Makes Clothes for Rock Gods

Living on Tom Petty's Malibu Estate, He's Tailored Duds for Everyone From Bob Dylan to Fleetwood Mac

L.A. Woman Was the Doors' Bluesy Masterpiece, and Jim Morrison's Kiss-Off to L.A.

Sonia Leigh on Country Music In L.A. (Yes, It Exists)

See also: *If You Don't Like Country Music You're A Blue State Elitist *Olin & The Moon: Cigarettes, Coors, And Startlingly-Sincere Alt-Country Atlanta-based artist Sonia Leigh is a master storyteller, whose truly-American songs are about the struggles and joy of daily life. Her sound melds classic ... More >>

Nic Adler On Balistyx And The Genesis Of Grandmaster B

Kevin Scanlon​See also: Bud Bundy's Rap Career?! Hear David Faustino's Music Our cover story this week "Bud Bundy, Original Gangsta" focuses on David Faustino and his Balistyx party, which ran for two years in the early '90s and helped bring hip-hop to the west coast mainstream. Faustino's me ... More >>

Bud Bundy, Original Gangsta

David Faustino parlayed his Married ... With Children fame into a hugely influential hip-hop party. Now he wants back into the scene.

Paul Stanley, Lita Ford, Kip Winger -- Playboy Mansion -- 11/12/11

Eric Charbonneau, Le StudioPaul Stanley and friends​See also: Paul Stanley Analyzes KISS's Success: "I don't want to buy a t-shirt with a guy on it who looks like my neighbor." If you're like most folks, your rock star fantasies require nothing more than a pair of tight jeans, an air guitar, ... More >>

Music Picks: India.Arie, Merle Haggard, Endangered Blood, Little Dragon

Also, Lupe Fiasco, Yelawolf, Miguel Migs, Chad VanGaalen and others

Music Picks: Esperanza Spalding, Elbow, Toro Y Moi, Blink-182

Also, Glen Campbell, the Smashing Pumpkins, Lanie Lane and others

Tales of the Whisky Bathroom: Nikki Sixx's Favorite Sunset Strip Memories

​Born on the Sunset Strip in 1981, Mötley Crüe and their debauched rock, flamboyant style and tempestuous off-stage antics have been with us for three decades now. Their near-death experiences, TV-show stints and famous women made them poster children for hair metal's hedonistic heyday, but ... More >>

Music Picks: Of Montreal, Kristeen Young, Sofia Gubaidulina,

Also, Federico Aubele, Fancy Space People, Golden State and others

Bob Dylan Turns 70

An L.A. Weekly birthday tribute

Music Picks: Talib Kweli, Pete Yorn, Lucy Schwartz

Also Rise Against, Piney Gir, Deradoorian and others

Music Picks: Liz Phair, DeVotchKa, Peter Murphy, Fergus & Geronimo

Also Whitechapel, Motorhead, Juanes and others

Music Picks: Haroula Rose, Jimmy Webb, Adler's Appetite, Nikka Costa

Also, The Melvins, Graf Orlock, Dudamel/Mahler 9th, Lissie and others

Music Picks: Nicole Eva Emery, Hard NYE, Peter and the Wolf,

Also, Jesus Makes the Shotgun Sound, Octavius, Cosmologic and others

The heel's guide to L.A. tail: 1974's America's Best Pick Up Spots!

​ Each Monday, your Crap Archivist brings you the finest in forgotten and bewildering crap culled from basements, thrift stores, estate sales and flea markets around Los Angeles. America's Best Pick Up Spots! Author:Eric Weber & M. Rob Frazier Date: 1974 Publisher: Eric Weber Press, Tenafl ... More >>

Music Picks: Ooh La La Fest, Pavement, Beach House

Also, Kris Kristofferson, the Black Keys, Bettye Lavette and others

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

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

Music Picks: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Bridget St. John, Bad Astronaut, Kings of Leon

Also, Lilith 2010, Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, Smokey Robinson, Antibalas and others

Music Picks: Goldfrapp, Concrete Blonde, Sally Seltmann, Black Francis

Also, Electric Daisy Carnival, the Adicts, Lou Barlow and others

Music Picks: Baaba Maal, Snuffaluffagus & Rats, Carlene Carter and Friends, Country Throwdown

Also, Freestyle Fellowship, Bebe Buell, Billy Joe Shaver and others

Music Picks: Buzzcocks, Diana Ross, Isis, the xx

Also, Compton Metal Night, Health, Thao and Mirah

Music Picks: Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars, VoicesVoices, Peter Gabriel, Jakob Dylan

Also, Ane Brun, the Melodians, Kate Miller-Heidke, Ian Whitcomb and others

Music Picks: Neil Innes, Korean Music Festival 8, Avi Buffalo, Lupe Fiasco, Coheed and Cambria

Also, No Age, Sheila E & the Escovedo Family, Greg Laswell and others

Down on the Strip

REMEMBER WHEN THE STRIP WAS HIP?

Last Night: Sam Bradley Takes Over Hotel Cafe, Draws the Paparazzi (and, of course, Twilight Fans)

Liz OhanesianSam Bradley outside of Hotel CafeSam Bradley's only album is a six-song EP that he recorded four years and has no plans to reprint, despite selling the last copy for $5 at the Hotel Cafe last night. His MySpace page features demos of songs that probably won't be released until later thi ... More >>

Morning Sixpack: A News Roundup

Fewer Freshmen at UCLA The University of California confirms that, in a system already tightening the number of freshmen admissions, UCLA has the toughest 2009 entrance rates with the fewest number of new students admitted. L.A. TimesSupes Want Park The L.A. County Board of Supervisors approved desi ... More >>

Rock Picks: Sunset Strip Music Festival, Neil Innes, Cheap Trick

Also, Nikka Costa, Willie Nile, We Are Scientists, and more

Tom Petty's Los Angeles

Bookworm in a Tequila Bottle: 2007's Most Intriguing Music Books

Oh, those bed-wetting, penis-injecting, 43-person gangbang days of yore

Freedom's Just Another Word for Arty Videos, the Doors and Sippy Cups

What to do in Los Angeles this week

Venue Directory

Life in the 31st Century

Matt Groening: Past, present, Futurama