Author Archives: Vanessa

PE LIVE: Get to know The Higgs

The Higgs are interviewed on PE Live. (Matthew Schoenmann/Freelance Photographer)

If you like jam bands, you will love The Higgs. If you don’t like jam bands, you will still love The Higgs. The Orange County outfit is just that good.

We caught up with the band recently at a PE Live taping at Hangar 24 in Redlands, where they played some fantastic music.

Check out The Higgs performing “The Right Way” at Hangar 24.

Want to know a little bit more about the band? Watch the PE Live interview with The Higgs.

Speaking of PE Live, you should come out and see a taping. We’ll be filming the Chase Walker Band on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 6 p.m. You will be awed when you see how talented this group of teens is.

Stick around and catch the blues-inspired rock of My Own Holiday, too.

6 p.m. Nov. 16, Hangar 24 Brewery Tasting Room, 1710 Sessums Drive, Redlands, free.

Visit www.chasewalkerband.com for more on the band and www.hangar24brewery.com for more on the show.

Watch My Own Holiday perform “On the Floor Blues.”

COACHELLA 2014: Signs point to Arcade Fire as festival headliner

Arcade Fire performs on the Coachella stage during the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Grounds in Indio. (2011/File Photo)

It’s a special double-edition of Coachellaology today. Earlier I posted about Lorde and Flogging Molly, but this afternoon is an update on a Coachella favorite.

Arcade Fire announced a bunch of arena tour dates for the summer and guess what area is suspciously absent? That’s right, Southern California.

Also, if you look at the dates, you can see a big gap between a date in Austin on April 10 and a date in Denver on April 23. The 2014 twin editions of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival are set for April 11-13 and April 18-20 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio.

The band has performed at the festival multiple times, most recently as a headliner in 2011. View the performance of “Wake Up” to see what happened during the headlining set.

Arcade Fire was my prediction for a headlining spot back in May when Coachella promoter Goldenvoice announced the 2014 dates. If you want to read even more about why Arcade Fire makes sense for Coachella 2014, check out this post I wrote at the end of October.

Many thanks to my Facebook friends Nate Hutchinson and Brian Blueskye and Twitter buddy @RJThomps for the tip-off on the tour announcement.

If you’re not planning to see the band at Coachella, I think the San Francisco date on July 30 will probably be near a SoCal date. I am personally hoping the band plays the Hollywood Bowl again because it was one of the bets concerts I have ever seen.

What do you think? Does the tour mean Arcade Fire is a lock for Coachella or will there be a big surprise?

Think I’m on the right track or totally off in my predictions? Sound off in the comments below. Flip through the interactive timeline or click the links below to read my other predictions.

I’ve covered the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and the Stagecoach Country Music Festival since 2007. All of the Coachella prediction posts here are tagged with Coachellaology.

For more Coachella news, photos, interviews and information, visit the iGuide Coachella page. If you want to follow me on social media, I’m at @vanessafranko on Twitter, the Audio File on Facebook and on Google+.

Nov. 14, 2013: Flogging Molly, Lorde
Nov. 5, 2013: Mogwai, The Dismemberment Plan
Oct. 25, 2013: Arcade Fire, The Naked and Famous
Oct. 7, 2013: The Pixies
Oct. 2, 2013: Paul McCartney, Luscious Jackson
Aug. 2, 2013: Neutral Milk Hotel
June 16, 2013: The Replacements

REDLANDS: Bands battle for Hawaii show at Splash Kingdom

Inland bands will face off for a chance to play in Hawaii at Splash Kingdom in Redlands. (File Photo)

One Inland band will be headed to Hawaii to open for Everclear next month and who it is will be decided by two upcoming battles.

On Friday, Nov. 15, Splash Kingdom in Redlands will host a round of performers, including Dead Moves, Kitty Carloff, Valiance’s Band, Heroes and Thieves, Box of Roxx, Gypse Rose, The StillWinter, Inside Wriot and Berdoo.

From there, five bands will move on to the finals at Stinger’s Bar and Nightclub in San Bernardino on Nov. 23.

The winner will be flown to Hawaii for the Honolulu show and will also get other prizes.

6 p.m. Friday, Splash Kingdom,1101 California St., Redlands, $15 at the door, all ages.

COACHELLA 2014: Lineup predictions with Flogging Molly, Lorde

Flogging Molly performs at the 2011 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival. (2011/File Photo)

With Coachella prediction season warming up, I got an interesting email from reader Jay Neal about Flogging Molly.

He saw the band’s tour dates posted and noted there were no SoCal shows on the calendar (the band hits Oakland on March 14, Las Vegas on March 15 and Tempe on March 17) for the 10th annual Green 17 tour. Side note–Flogging Molly started the Countdown to St. Patrick’s Day themed tour after fans clamored for them to perform in their town on St. Patrick’s Day.

So Jay made a comment “No SoCal shows could it be another appearance at Coachella!” and mysteriously his comment vanished.

Given the timing and no SoCal dates, I could definitely see Flogging Molly headed back to Indio. The band last performed at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in 2011 and before that in 2008, so if it’s every three years that they appear in Indio, 2014 makes sense.

However, I haven’t heard anything about new music from them, so that weakens the case slightly for me.

Flogging Molly fans out there, what do you think? Do they usually hit SoCal on the Green 17 tour? Does the absence of SoCal shows mean Coachella for you?

Will Lorde perform at Coachella 2014? (Garth Badger/Contributed Image)

Moving on, Coachella always seems to get that one artist with the big crossover radio hit. In 2012 it was Gotye with “Somebody That I Used to Know;” in 2013 it was Alex Clare with “Too Close.” My prediction for 2014 is Lorde, the New Zealand teen who has been everywhere with the song “Royals.”

(This gets a tip of the hat to Twitter followers @Bham32 and @JBowen72 who have both mentioned this one.)

The teen phenom hasn’t announced any U.S. tour dates for 2014, but she is doing a run of West Coast radio holiday shows, including KROQ’s Acoustic Christmas, in December.

I like her chances for the fest unless she gets picked up by a big arena tour. Do you think she will be the Gotye of Coachella 2014?

Think I’m on the right track or totally off in my predictions? Sound off in the comments below. Flip through the interactive timeline or click the links below to read my other predictions.

I’ve covered the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and the Stagecoach Country Music Festival since 2007. All of the Coachella prediction posts here are tagged with Coachellaology.

Nov. 5, 2013: Mogwai, The Dismemberment Plan
Oct. 25, 2013: Arcade Fire, The Naked and Famous
Oct. 7, 2013: The Pixies
Oct. 2, 2013: Paul McCartney, Luscious Jackson
Aug. 2, 2013: Neutral Milk Hotel
June 16, 2013: The Replacements

TEMECULA: Band Wars continues Nov. 15 and 16

The Rare (2012/File Photo)

Band Wars kicked off last week at The Vault in Temecula and strikes back with a double feature this weekend.

The popular homegrown band battle series will include performances from Shaufrau, Friday Best, Imagery and Sticks N Stones on Friday, Nov. 15.

For the third installment of Band Wars, on Saturday Nov. 16, Twenty LB Sledge, The Lulu, Firing All Cylinders, Snakes N Reindeer, The rare and For All That’s Forgotten will perform.

The venue will also host SoCal’s Zebrahead (“Playmate of the Year,” “Get Back”) on Friday, Nov. 22 and Smile Empty Soul (“Bottom of the Bottle) on Saturday, Dec. 14.

6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 15 and Saturday, Nov. 16, The Vault, 41607 Enterprise Circle North, Temecula, $10, all ages.

Visit www.thevaultconcerts.com for more information.

RIVERSIDE: Celebrate record collecting on Saturday

The Inland Empire Record Collective will be hosting events on Saturday, Nov. 16. (AP Photo)

Back in the day before everyone listened to music on their phones, before there were iPods, or even the Discman or Walkman, there was vinyl.

Thankfully, the warm, rich tones are still around (and even thriving) and the Inland Empire Record Collective is celebrating the wax platters this weekend in downtown Riverside.

The party is happening from 10 a.m. until sundown on Saturday, Nov. 16 in parking lot 16 behind Worthington’s Tavern, Back to the Grind and D-Dogs in Riverside.

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There will be record vendors selling vinyl of all kinds and live music and DJs, including main stage sets from Juice Won, Redbeef, Fn1, Mando the DJ, Mano, McGutter, DJ Inform and FunkFreaks.

Inside Worthington’s, there will be open turntables from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and a whole bunch of other performers.

There’s also an after party inside Workthington’s with The Egyptian Lover and others.

Inland Empire Record Collective event, 10 a.m.-sundown, Saturday, Nov. 16, parking lot 16 behind Worthington’s Tavern and Back to the Grind, off Orange between Mission Inn and Uninversity Avenues, Riverside, free.

The Egyptian Lover, 8 p.m. Saturday, Worthington’s Tavern, 3587 University Ave., Riverside, 21 and older only, $10 before 10 p.m. , $15 after 10 p.m.

Visit www.facebook.com/TheInlandEmpireRecordCollective for more information.

HEMET: Casey Abrams, Lee Rocker head to Historic Hemet Theater

Casey Abrams will perform in Hemet on Nov. 16. (Fielding Buck/Staff Photographer)

Two prominent bassists will be making their way to the Historic Hemet Theater in the coming weeks.

On Saturday, Nov. 16, Idyllwild’s musical icon and former “American Idol” contestant Casey Abrams is playing at the venue, where he had a evry successful show a few months back.

On Dec. 7 Lee Rocker, of the Stray Cats, will perform at the venue.

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There are two tiers of tickets available for the shows. The VIP ticket is $45,before fees, and gets you a reserved seat, a meet and greet and one drink ticket. You also get to enter the show an hour earlier.

The general admission tickets are $25 each, before fees.

You can pick them up online at www.goldencrownproductions.com. Both ticket types will be upped by $10 if you purchase at the door on the day of the show.

6 p.m. for VIP, 7 p.m. for general admission, Saturday, Nov. 16, Historic Hemet Theater, 216 E. Florida Ave. , Hemet, 951-658-2411.

RIVERSIDE: Catch Naive Thieves at ProAbition Nov. 12

Naive Thieves will perform at ProAbition in Riverside on Tuesday, Nov. 12. (Contributed Image)

Naive Thieves is one of the most promising bands out of Riverside and the group will be playing ProAbition’s new service industry night on Tuesday, Nov. 12.

The band has been making a name for itself with some notable shows in Los Angeles and beyond.

We’ll be on hand to film PE Live on Tuesday night, too.

The band’s 2011 release, “Le Sheik Rhat,” was produced by Casey Crescenzo of The Dear Hunter. Earlier this year they released a new single, “Anxiété.”

Visit www.naivethieves.com for more on the band and www.proabition.com for more on the show.

8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 12, ProAbition, 3597 Main St., Riverside, 951-222-2110, 21 and older only.

PE LIVE: Watch The Fingers perform ‘Old School Disguise’

The Fingers perform at Hangar 24 Brewery in Redlands (Matthew Schoenmann/Freelance Photographer)

Every week, we post brand new performance and interview videos with Inland Empire artists in our video series PE Live.

This week we were joined by Redlands jam band The Fingers for a very special holiday PE Live (trust me, we’re not going all Christmas on you just yet.)

Check out “Old School Disguise” by The Fingers below.

Don’t forget to subscribe to PE Live.

PE LIVE: Get to know The Fingers

The Fingers (Contributed Image)

It’s another week so it’s time for another PE Live.

This week it’s a very special edition with The Fingers. We filmed the jam-inspired Redlands band at Hangar 24 on Halloween and they played some of their new material for us.

Watch the PE Live interview with The Fingers.

Check out “Never Alone,” too.

We have two PE Live sessions coming up and it would be great to see you there.

First, on Tuesday, Nov. 12, we are filming Naïve Thieves at ProAbition in Riverside.

Naïve Thieves are one of the breakout indie rock bands in the region. Their 2011 EP, “Le Sheik Rhat,” was produced by Casey Crescenzo of The Dear Hunter.

Visit www.naivethieves.com for more on the band and www.proabition.com for more on the show.

8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 12, ProAbition, 3597 Main St., Riverside, 951-222-2110, 21 and older only.

Then, on Nov. 16, we’ll be at Hangar 24 Brewery in Redlands to catch the blues magic of the Chase Walker Band.

Walker, a teen guitar phenom, was a finalist in the John Lennon Songwriting Competition earlier this year.

He and his band will perform at the show and then will be followed up by previous PE Live guest, My Own Holiday.

6 p.m. Nov. 16, Hangar 24 Brewery Tasting Room, 1710 Sessums Drive, Redlands, free.

Visit www.chasewalkerband.com for more on the band and www.hangar24brewery.com for more on the show.