Author Archives: Vanessa

AUDIO FILES: Listen to The Movielife, Thursday

Vinnie Caruana was the lead singer of The Movielife. He will perform at The Wire in Upland on June 28. (Contributed Image)

With Vinnie Caruana and Geoff Rickly headed to The Wire in Upland on Friday, June 28, it got me thinking about their former bands, The Movielife and Thursday, respectively.

There was a time when The Movielife seemed to be opening on every pop punk tour that came through Boston back in 2000. My favorite song the band did was off “The Movielife Has a Gambling Problem” EP and it’s called “Walking on Glass.” It looks like Caruana has been playing it at his solo acoustic shows, so hopefully he’ll play it on Friday.

When this song pops up on my iPod it still makes me smile and think of the sweaty clubs on Lansdowne Street in Boston back before I retired from the mosh pit.

Also playing on Friday is Rickly. Thursday wasn’t nearly as poppy, but they were game changers when emo turned to screamo. “Understanding in a Car Crash” is still one that stands out to me.

ROCK THE BELLS: Fest adds Action Bronson, Girl Talk and more

Action Bronson performs at the Coachella Music & Arts Festival, Saturday, April 13, 2013. (Charlotte Bray/Freelance Photographer)

Rock the Bells promoter Guerilla Union has added more stars to its lineup for the festival series’ 10th anniversary this year, including some big names in electronic dance music.

In addition to hip-hop artists Action Bronson, Big Daddy Kane, Slick Rick & Doug E. Fresh, the lineup also includes mash-up master Girl Talk and Pretty Lights.

While Rock the Bells has always featured some of the biggest names in hip-hop, the festival has always stretched its legs to include other genres, such as when Rage Against the Machine headlined in 2007.

Locally, the festival will be held at San Manuel Amphitheater in Devore on Saturday, Sept. 7 and Sunday, Sept. 8 (sadly, without Pretty Lights for us). There are also dates set for San Francisco, Washington, D.C. and New York.

Other artists announced for the festival at the press conference in New York on June 24 include Deltron 3030, Freddie Gibbs, Freeway, J. Cole, KRS-One, Rapsody & 9th Wonder, Riff Raff, Sean P, Smoke DZA, Wale and YG.

Previously announced artists include the Wu-Tang Clan, with aims of bringing O.D.B. back to life via hologram, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, with a hologram Eazy-E, Earl Sweatshirt, Immmortal Technique and more.
Read about the initial release of the 2013 Rock the Bells lineup.

Tickets for the San Manuel Amphitheater stop are on sale via Live Nation. Tickets are $165 and $375 before fees. With fees, they’re up to $208.50 for general admission and $421.50 for VIP.

Visit www.rockthebells.net for more information.

PE LIVE: Watch Curtiss King perform ‘Ratchets Still Jockin’

Curtiss King performs on PE Live. (Vanessa Franko/Staff Photo)

Since the PE Live video series keeps growing, I wanted to take a look back at some of the music that has come out of our video sessions and focus on individual songs.

The thing I love about PE Live is the intimacy of it and the totally different versions we get of the music. Usually it’s the artist, myself, the spectacular Angel Ortiz from our video team and the occasional friend/family member of the artist who see the performance.

San Bernardino’s Curtiss King, along with all of the other artists on Black Cloud Music, is one of the hardest working artists in the Inland Empire.

His album “Atychiphobia” was one of my favorites of the year and elevated his work to the next level.

Here’s one of the tracks from that record, “Ratchets Still Jockin,” in PE Live form. Let the video play to watch more performances, as well as an interview with King.

Click below to learn more about King and see more of the videos from PE Live.

AUDIO FILES: Listen to Empire of the Sun

Empire of the Sun performs at the Outdoor Theatre during the 2011 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Grounds in Indio. (2011/File Photo)

There’s been a lot of buzz about the new Empire of the Sun record “Ice on the Dune.” The Australian purveyors of electro pop put on of the most memorable Coachella Festival sets in my tenure of covering the festival back in 2011. I hope they’ll be back in Indio in 2014–I had to leave the set a little early to make sure I was at the main stage in time for Arcade Fire.

Anyway, it was unlike anything I had ever seen–like Prince meets the Solid Gold dancers from outer space.

“Walking on a Dream” still holds up.

Here’s the new single “Alive.”

SAN BERNARDINO: Tips to survive a blistering Mayhem Festival

The crowd listens to Straight Line Stitch perform on the Extreme Stage during the Mayhem Festival at the San Manuel Amphitheater in Devore. (2011/File Photo)

If you’re headed to the kickoff of the sixth edition of the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival San Manuel Amphitheater on Saturday, June 29, you will need to be prepared–it’s going to be a hot one.

When I say hot, I’m talking triple digits. As of this morning, Devore, where Glen Helen Park is located, looks like it might hit 104 degrees on Saturday, according to Accuweather.

I’m working on my story about Five Finger Death Punch, who have worked their way from being on the side stage of the fest to being one of the big ticket main stage attractions, and I talked to bassist Chris Kael about his festival tips.

Kael boiled it down to three mandates:

1. Wear sunscreen.

2. Stay hydrated.

3. Pace yourself.

“You’re gonna miss Rob Zombie if you’re drinking that much,” Kael said. “I don’t care how much you want to see Rob Zombie, you’re drinking that much and not drinking water all day, you’re gonna miss the show,” Kael said.

I’m going to add a couple of my own to this one:

-I know it’s a metal fest, but San Manuel Amphitheater is a big open area. There’s not a lot of shade inside the venue grounds. I wouldn’t wear black. If you’re going to wear black, at least let it be loose-fitting clothing. Leather pants are a REALLY bad idea.

-Keep some extra water bottles in your car. After a long day of being in the sun, you will still be thirsty, even if the water is a balmy 98 degrees at midnight. Also, anyone who has been to San Manuel Amphitheater knows that leaving can take a while. I don’t know how well a cooler would work in the heat, but it might be worth a try.

What are your tips for surviving Mayhem in the heat?

Other artists playing the show include Amon Amarth, Machine Head, Mastodon, Children of Bodom and more.

Gates open at 1 p.m. Saturday. San Manuel Amphitheater is located at 2575 Glen Helen Parkway in Devore. Tickets are still available for the show and range from $35.50-$75, including the fees. You can pick them up at LiveNation.com.

UPDATE: Here’s the link to more from my interview with Chris Kael from Five Finger Death Punch about Mayhem.

PE LIVE: Watch Black Bear perform ‘Native Ground’

Black Bear, of Black Bear and the Cheyenne Autumn Band, performs for PE Live. (Vanessa Franko/Staff Photo)

Here’s one more song from our PE Live video series with Black Bear, of Corona’s Black Bear and the Cheyenne Autumn Band. This is the moving “Native Ground.”

The band just posted their brand new song, “They died with Their Boots On,” over at their website www.bbcab.org.

On July 5 the band will be at The Colony at Loft 24 in Claremont.

You can watch all 50 of the PE Live videos we’ve posted over at the PE Live home on PE.com.

AUDIO FILES: Listen to songs from Disneyland

Brochure for the 50th anniversary of the Enchanted Tiki Room at Disneyland. (Vanessa Franko/Staff Photo)

Happy 50th birthday to the Enchanted Tiki Room at Disneyland. It’s my favorite attraction, but I’ll admit that I drive Charming Husband and the family a little nuts when I decide I need to sing the song repeatedly.

Since I went to Disneyland to celebrate the Tiki Room’s 50th birthday, I thought I’d throw in some of my favorite songs you hear at Disneyland. And if you love Disneyland and all other SoCal theme parks, check out Fielding Buck’s Theme Parks blog.

Another one of my favorites is “Grim Grinning Ghosts” from the Haunted Mansion. Here’s the Dapper Dans version.

And you can’t talk about Disneyland music without channeling your inner pirate.

What’s your favorite Disneyland song?

CORONA: Watch Black Bear perform ‘Rollin’ Train’ on PE Live

Black Bear, of Black Bear and the Cheyenne Autumn Band, performs for PE Live. (Vanessa Franko/Staff Photo)

I mentioned in yesterday’s blog that with the release of the videos of Corona’s Black Bear, of Black Bear and the Cheyenne Autumn Band, PE Live has hit 50 videos since our reboot in March.

I can’t thank everyone enough for supporting this project. It’s really important to me to get our Inland Empire talent out there. Thank you so much to our video team at The Press-Enterprise for putting these projects together, the performers for taking the time to come down and talk to me and play some music and everyone who has spent a few minutes watching.

Each video we’ve put together (including the original PE Live and later, Audio File Sessions) have been so rewarding in their own ways.

I love the inspiration behind Black Bear and the Cheyenne Autumn Band’s music and lyrics. Here’s “Rollin’ Train” and the interview and other performances from Black Bear’s visit to the studio. Just let it keep playing and you’ll see them all.

Every week we post new videos on the official PE Live page at PE.com. You can also see all 50 videos in the playlist below.

If you want to know more about PE Live, you can email me at vfranko@pe.com. If you want to follow me on social media, I’m at @vanessafranko on Twitter, the Audio File on Facebook and on Google+.

RIVERSIDE: Spend a metal Monday at The Vibe June 24

The Vibe Bar and Grill in Riverside. (2008/File Photo)

Combat that case of the Mondays with a night of heavy metal at The Vibe in Riverside on Monday, June 24.

Think of it as your Mayhem Fest warm-up. (Mayhem kicks off its 2013 run at San Manuel Amphitheater in Devore on Saturday, June 29).

Be ready for a night of amazing band logos and some shredding with Ossification, Iniquitous Deeds, Abhorration, Paroxysmal Butchering and the band most likely to give you nightmares with its name, Fetal Disgorge.

The show is open to those 18 and older and it’s $5 to get in.

The Vibe is located at 1805 University Ave. in Riverside. The show starts at 8 p.m. Visit the event Facebook page for more info.

AUDIO FILES: Listen to Ghost B.C.

Ghost B.C. performs at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on Sunday, April 14, 2013. (Charlotte Bray/Freelance Photographer)

Ghost B.C. was one of my favorite sets at the 2013 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. I love the theatrics, the costumes and most of all, the metal.

Papa Emeritus II and the Nameless Ghouls are bringing the fun back to metal. I interviewed two of the Nameless Ghouls during the first weekend of Coachella. We talked about ABBA and Dave Grohl.

Here’s the band’s take on ABBA’s “I’m a Marionette” and the original “Secular Haze.”

And here’s “Prime Mover” from the second weekend of Coachella 2013.