Category Archives: Music

HOLIDAY CHEER: Knock-Out’s Home for the Holidays Saturday, Dec. 21

40 DAYS OF HOLIDAY CHEER | DECEMBER 21

Knock-Out is saying goodbye with one final Home for the Holidays show. (Judd Irish Bradley/Contributed Imag3

HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS

The Mighty Mighty BossTones have the Hometown Throwdown in Boston. The Bouncing Souls always play a string of dates in New Jersey. And Riverside’s Knock-Out has been holding “Home For the Holidays” for a decade.
However, this year’s celebration is bittersweet. It’s the punk and ska-inspired band’s farewell show. They’re promising a slate full of special guests for one more party at The Vibe. Read more about Knock-Out’s farewell.

7 p.m. Dec. 21, The Vibe, 1805 University Ave., Riverside, $10, 18 and older only.
Visit www.facebook.com/knockoutrock for more information.

Other events today:
1 p.m. and 7 p.m., “The Nutcracker,” Lewis Family Playhouse, Victoria Gardens Cultural Center, Rancho Cucamonga
2 p.m. and 8 p.m., “A Christmas Carol,” California Theatre of the Performing Arts, San Bernardino
2:15 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., “Scrooge!,” LifeHouse Theater, Redlands
3 p.m. and 7 p.m., “The Nutcracker,” Old Town Temecula Community Theater, Temecula
5 p.m. A Jazzy Christmas with J. Boykin, Corona Civic Center Auditorium, Corona
7 p.m., Christmas with Elvis and Friends, Europa Village Winery, Temecula

Visit events.pe.com for more events and holiday happenings.

LOCAL FAVORITES 2013: Assuming We Survive

On Friday, Dec. 20, we ran my list of my favorite local music of 2013 in the Guide section of The Press-Enterprise.

If you missed the big spread in the paper, I’ll be posting my favorites over the next week or so. In the seven years I’ve been at The Press-Enterprise, I’ve never heard so much great local music.

assuming we survive ep

Assuming We Survive
“Get Busy Living”

If you like your punk with a streak of melody and some breakdowns thrown in, meet Assuming We Survive. The hard-working band even landed guest stars from A Static Lullaby and Scary Kids Scaring Kids on this EP.

Assuming We Survive has had a huge year, and just last weekend opened X103.9’s Merry Meltdown with Korn, Stone Temple Pilots and more. Look for the band on tour in 2014.

Get to know a little more about Assuming We Survive in a story we ran in last week’s paper.

Learn how to make a free Electronic Press Kit

Visit www.assumingwesurvive.com to learn more about the band.

Want to see who else made the list? Visit the Local Favorites link.

LOCAL FAVORITES 2013: The Dangers

If you pick up a copy of The Press-Enterprise today, Friday, Dec. 20, you can see the whole list of the best in local music for 2013.

I’ll be posting my Local Favorites list for 2013 over the next few days and stay tuned, because I am still compiling a giant list of all of the local releases for 2013 that people have sent my way. This year’s Local Favorites list was really tough since we had more than 100 releases this year throughout the Inland Empire.

Let’s get it started with The Dangers.

The Dangers - Gold!!

The Dangers
“Gold!!”

Forget Arcade Fire and Daft Punk, The Dangers made the album of the year. With perfect melodies, this is power pop at its finest a la Big Star or The Beatles. The eclectic AM radio vibe makes it a fun discovery from track to track from Chris LeRoy and friends. The album moves with ease from a Sergio Mendes + Brasil ’66-inspired bossa nova to telling the story of what happened after The Kinks’ “Waterloo Sunset.” The last four songs get psychedelic and fit together like side two of “Abbey Road,” closing with the powerhouse vocal from Lisa Kekaula on “My Someday.”

The Dangers did a PE Live session with us a few weeks back and we have four performances from “Gold!!”

RIVERSIDE: Catch the last Common Ground of 2013

Noa James performs for PE Live. (Matthew Schoenmann/Freeance Photographer)

There’s one last edition of It’s the Common Ground at The Vibe in Riverside before 2013 is done and it’s happening Sunday, Dec. 22.

The show will include performances from Noa James, Faimkills, Fredo, Gentle Jeff, Grand Architects, Jook the First, A. Cain, Rain Bisou and Lapin Lover.

There will also be a live cypher with Since Day One.

8 p.m. Sunday, The Vibe, 1805 University Ave., Riverside, $5 before 10:30 p.m., $10 after, 18 and older only.

Watch Noa James on a recent edition of PE Live.

RIVERSIDE: Micah Justice and more visit Packinghouse Brewery

Micah Justice will perform in Riverside this weekend. (Contributed Image)

Three local artists will perform at the Packinghouse Brewery in Riverside on Saturday, Dec. 21.

Micah Justice, Matt Wyckoff, who is working on his new solo record, and Geoff Harlow will perform Saturday afternoon.

Expect original music and maybe a few holiday tunes, too.

3-5 p.m. Saturday, Packinghouse Brewery, 6421 Central Ave., Riverside, free, 21 and older only.

Visit www.pbbeer.com for more information.

Here’s a blast from the past, when Micah and her band came in for the Audio File Sessions, which was formerly known as PE Live and is now known as PE Live once again.

UPLAND: Two chances to see music at The Wire

Science Fiction Theater (Vanessa Franko/Staff Photo)

You have two chances to catch shows at The Wire in Upland this weekend before the venue closes at the end of the month.

On Friday, Dec. 20, Science Fiction Theater, Chasing Legacy and Picket Fence Cartel will perform at the all-ages club.

Science Fiction Theater recently released a new album, “The Happy Sadness.”

Here’s one of the songs from the band that we filmed for PE Live, called “Dark Clouds.”

Then, Scatterbrain, Tomber Lever, Good San Juan and The Enwoods will perform on Saturday, Dec. 21.

7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 20 and Saturday, Dec. 21, The Wire, 247 N. 2nd Ave., Upland $10, all ages.

Visit www.thewire247.com for more information.

MUSIC: The Maxies share a contemporary carol

The Maxies have released a new Christmas song. (Vanessa Franko/Staff Photo)

The masked men of The Maxies want to wish you a merry Christmas, from the bottom of their hearts.

The band, which has a back story of moving to the Inland Empire from Greenland, includes friend Bipolar Bear Tom in their video for “Feliz Navidad.”

The Maxies will tour Japan with the Kingons in 2014, but you can catch them on tour with Reel Big Fish before they go. They’re playing the House of Blues in West Hollywood on Jan. 2, the House of Blues in Anaheim on Jan. 3 and the house of Blues in San Diego on Jan. 4.

RIVERSIDE: The Barn at UCR announces winter 2014 lineup

Islands will perform at The Barn at UCR in January 2014. (Contributed Image)

The Barn at the University of California, Riverside has announced its schedule of shows for the winter series and the lineup includes some big names.

The shows kick off Jan. 22, 2014 with Of Montreal, an indie pop band that has played the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, and Wild Moccasins. The latter will have a new album, “88 92,” out on Feb. 4. General admission tickets are $17.

On Jan. 29, Islands will headline a show at The Barn with openers Haunted Summer. Tickets are $12.

Black Uhuru and and Indubious head to the venue on Feb. 5. Tickets are $15.

Hellfyre Club, which features notable hip-hop artists Busdriver, Nocando, Open Mike Eagle and Milo, will be having its debut show at The Barn on Feb. 12. Tickets are $12.

As always, the series ends with the popular KUCR Comedy Apocalypse. Now in its 10th editio,n the series nets performers from Comedy Central and the Def Comedy Jam. The comedians have yet to be announced for the Feb. 19 show, but tickets are $12.

General admission tickets can be purchased at both Ticketmaster and the UCR Fine Arts Theater box office. Students/staff/faculty can get discounted presale tickets for $5 per show. They can only be purchased through the UCR Theater Fine Arts Ticket Office and will not be available at the event.

Backpacks and cameras aren’t allowed into the shows and the doors open at 7:30 p.m. for the events, which are open to all ages.

The box office’s hours are Monday- Friday 10 a.m.- 3 p.m. The number is 951-827-4331. Parking for the show is an additional $5, payable on site in cash, at Lot 6. Visit www.fineartsticketoffice.ucr.edu for tickets and more information.

Now it’s time to dance along with Of Montreal’s “Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games.”

SUICIDE SILENCE: Mitch Lucker memorial show CD/DVD gets released Feb. 18

Suicide Silence will release a new CD/DVD with the memorial concert honoring late singer Mitch Lucker. (Contributed Image)

Inland Empire-based metal band Suicide Silence posted the news that a CD/DVD of the memorial show for late singer Mitch Lucker will be released on Feb. 18, 2014.

Lucker, who grew up in Riverside, was killed in a motorcycle accident on Nov. 1, 2012.

The band held a memorial concert for Lucker on Dec. 21, 2012 at the Fox Theater in Pomona.

The guest vocalists for the show included some of the biggest names in heavy metal, including Randy Blythe of Lamb of God, Max Calavera of Soulfly/Sepultura, Danny Worsnop of Asking Alexandria and Robb Flynn of Machine Head.

The show also featured Eddie Hermida of All Shall perish, who has joined Suicide Silence at the group’s new singer. The band has been working on new material with Hermida.

Here’s a preview of the DVD trailer for the memorial show for Lucker.

RIVERSIDE: The Fox snags ‘The Sing-Off’ tour

A tour featuring groups from NBC’s reality show “The Sing-Off” will come to Riverside in March 2014. (NBC/Contributed Image)

If you love a cappella and reality television competitions, the Fox Performing Arts Center in Riverside has a show for you.

The winning a cappella group from NBC’s “The Sing-Off” will lead the show’s first ever live tour and it hits the Fox on March 28, 2014.

The tour will also include other finalists from the competition, with individual sets from each act with hits from the show, group numbers, sing-offs and more.

Tickets go on sale Friday, Dec. 20 at 10 a.m. at www.singofftour.com, but prices have not yet been announced.

The Fox has also added two other shows to the 2014 calendar.

Mexican TV host and comedian Adal Ramones will perform on Saturday, March 8. Those tickets are on sale now and are priced at $21-$61, before fees at www.livenation.com.

Also, multimedia Pink Floyd tribute act The Pink Floyd Experience will bring its flying pig to the Fox on Sunday, March 16. Those tickets are also on sale and are $21 before fees.

The phone number for the box office is 951-779-9800 and it is located at the theater at 3801 Mission Inn Ave. in Riverside. You can get more information online at www.foxriversidelive.com.

The box office is open Monday through Friday from noon to 6 p.m. and on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is also open on all show days until show time.

These are among the first shows entertainment company Live Nation has announced since taking over the operations at the city of Riverside-owned venue Dec. 1.

Other shows the live entertainment producer announced for the Fox in 2014 include comedians Bill Engvall and Wayne Brady.