DIGITAL JOURNALIST
(Contributed Image)
Riverside rock band Inertia is celebrating the release of a new EP with a show at Romano’s Concert Lounge in Riverside on Friday, July 19.
The other bands on the lineup are Echo Echo, Eleventy and Puerto Aereo.
9 p.m. Friday, July 19, Romano’s Concert Lounge, 5225 Canyon Crest Drive, $5, 21 and older only.
Visit www.facebook.com/TheBandInertia for more on the band.
Sick Puppies will perform at The Glass House on Saturday, July 20. The band’s new album, “Connect,” will be released Tuesday, July 16. (Myriam Santos/Contributed Image)
Sick Puppies return with new album “Connect” on Tuesday, July 16 and the hard rock band is celebrating with an X103.9 FM-sponsored show at The Glass House in Pomona on Saturday, July 20.
The band, which formed in Australia but is now based in Los Angeles, has played a number of shows put on by X103.9, including repeat trips to the Merry Meltdown. The group shot to Internet stardom when the video for song “All the Same” went viral six years ago. Now at nearly 75 million views on YouTube, the video features Juan Mann offering free hugs in a shopping area in Sydney.
While the ballad is the lighter side of Sick Puppies, the band can rock with the best of them, with the single “You’re Going Down,” off the band’s 2009 album “Tri-Polar” going gold. The rocking “Tri-Polar” spawned the “Polar Opposite EP,” which helped inspire “Connect.”
Sick Puppies frontman Shim Moore took the time to talk about the band’s new album, in an email interview.
Q: Shim, you’ve described “Connect” as “more musical” than your previous albums. How is it more musical?
A: A lot of the songs took an older song writing approach in the chord progressions and melodies. More Beatles and beach boy progressions. But played by a punk rock band.
Q: The “Polar Opposite” EP gave a different life to some of your songs. Did that project influence the new album at all?
A: We definitely incorporated as many elements from that as we could.
Sick Puppies performs during the Merry Meltdown concert at Citizens Business Bank Arena Sunday in Ontario, CA. December 16, 2012. (2012/File Photo)
Q: You wrote more than 100 songs in the last year. Were the songs on “Connect” among those or are any of the songs older and finally found a home? Did the writing process change at all for this album?
A: The one song that had an old element was the title track “Connect” . That is one of my oldest riffs.
Q: Did any themes start to emerge when you were writing/recording the new songs?
A: A little more about trying to elevate the music and take risks.
Q:What songs do you think fans will connect to most with “Connect”? Which songs do you connect with the most?
A: I think once people hear the whole record they will find their own songs to love.
Q: What was it like to work with Desmond Child?
A: It was a privilege and an eye opener. I learned how much there is left to learn.
Q: You’ve played a number of shows in the Inland Empire with San Bernardino radio station X103.9, including their annual holiday show. What keeps you coming back to the Inland Empire?
A: I know it sounds cliche but the fans. We have the most fun with them.
Also of note: Reverend Crow, which features Nate Barcalow from Temecula’s Finch, will open the show, as will Sederra.
7 p.m. Saturday, July 20, The Glasshouse, 200 W. Second St. Pomona, $15, all ages. Visit www.sickpuppies.com for more on the band and www.theglasshouse.us for more on the show and tickets.
Here’s the video for the acoustic version of “You’re Going Down.” If you want to hear the band’s new track, “There’s No Going Back,” you can check it out on YouTube (Warning: There is explicit language in the lyrics).
What Hands Are For will perform at the DIY Music and Fashion Fest in Pomona on Aug. 31. (Contributed Image)
The D.I.Y. Music and Fashion Festival started three years ago as a new outlet for Inland rapper Noa James and Lesa J., who have helped promote and build the Inland hip-hop scene with events throughout the area, including the long-running Sunday “It’s the Common Ground” night at The Vibe in Riverside.
The event brings independent music and fashion together from local artists at the Glass House in Pomona on Aug. 31.
The lineup boasts a huge slate of well-known Inland performers, including Speak, Noa James, What Hands Are For, Stevie Crooks, Curtiss King, Pheo, Awukii, Ill Camille, First Dirt, Waju, Slay Squad, D’zyl, Cam Gnarly & DCXDCXDC, Hawdwerk, Yung Miss, Da Flatlynerz and Gypsy Mamba.
The event is all ages. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door.
Visit www.Bricktoyaface.com and pick up tickets at Ticketfly.com.
5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 31, The Glasshouse, 200 W. Second St. Pomona.
The Big Papa 3, of Big Papa and the TCB, stopped by PE Live. (Contributed Image)
I am so excited that we were finally able to get Big Papa and the TCB into our studio for PE Live, even if it was technically the Big Papa 3.
Sign up for the PE Live newsletter
The band has shared the stage with some huge acts, thrown their own blues festival and created some fantastic blues music.
Here’s another favorite from the band’s PE Live session– “A Thin Line Between Love and Hate.” Watch and enjoy. If you let the video play you will see everything from the PE Live session. You can see all of the PE Live sessions at http://x.pe.com/PE_Live. Support local music: watch PE Live and tell a friend!
Jaxx Sessions will appear at the Hip Kitty on Wednesday, July 17. (Contributed Image)
Rancho Cucamonga-based Live on Analog Records has been hosting a monthly night of local music.
Every third Wednesday the open jam will happens at the Hip Kitty in Claremont.
The next one will be on Wednesday, July 17.
Among the artists performing are Jaxx Sessions (pictured) and Sean Amato. Get there early for a chance to get involved in the open jam.
8 p.m.-midnight, Wednesday, July 17, Hip Kitty Jazz and Fondue, 502 W. First St., Claremont, 21 and older only.
Visit www.liveonanalog.com for more information.
Big Papa and the TCB perform at The Press-Enterprise for PE Live. (Vanessa Franko/Staff Photo)
We just posted the brand new episode of PE Live featuring Big Papa and the TCB, a jump blues band that has been making people dance since 2006, and you can even see them live tonight (Thursday, July 11) in Riverside.
The band is playing Vino Veritas at 8 p.m. It’s free and open to those 21 and older. Vino Veritas is at 285 E. Alessandro Blvd. in the Mission Grove neighborhood of Riverside.
Big Papa and the TCB make fantastic music and their latest “Six Pack of Cool,” which was funded by fans, is their strongest yet in a string of really great albums.
Sign up for the PE Live newsletter
Check out some of the songs from the album in the PE Live session and hear the guys talk about how the band and album came together.
With Big Papa and the TCB we’re up to nearly 60 videos of performances and interviews from Inland Empire musicians. You can watch all of the artists we’ve had so far at the PE Live homepage at http://x.pe.com/PE_Live.
Here’s “Drink Drank Drunk” from our PE Live session. Keep it rolling to see the interviews and the other performances from the band.
Riverside’s Summer Twins have recently released the new EP “Forget Me.” (Summer Twins’ website/Contributed Image)
Riverside’s Summer Twins are headed out on a summer tour, but before the band heads down and up the Pacific Coast, their dreamy indie pop will be at Hangar 24 in Redlands on Wednesday, July 17.
Starting with Riverside sisters Chelsea and Justine Brown, the band has been growing a huge following, and even had a major tour in Japan earlier this year.
More recently, the band released the new EP “Forget Me,” which you can check out on the Summer Twins’ Bandcamp page.
Check out the new video from the band of the title track, directed by Summer Twins’ incredibly talented longtime photographer Joy Newell.
Swiss Alps will open the show at 6:30.
8:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 17, Hangar 24 Brewery, 1710 Sessums Drive, Redlands, free, all ages, but must be 21 to drink.
Visit www.summertwinsmusic.com for more on the band.
Fans enjoy Fender Benders performance during a Kids Rock Free program in The Rhythm Lounge at Fender Center in Corona. (2011/File Photo)
My colleague Peter Fischetti just broke the news of the sale of the Fender Center of the Performing Arts in Corona, which housed the Fender Museum, to the city of Corona.
Here’s the good news: The Kids Rock Free program, which offers low-cost and free music lessons to kids, will continue.
Here’s the bad news: We’re losing a venue for live music. The Fender Center hosted major talent such as guitarist Steve Miller and Bad Company singer Paul Rodgers, both of whom raised money for the aforementioned Kids Rock Free Program with concerts on the outdoor stage. Those concerts were more of a one-a-year event, but the Rhythm Lounge, which was on the ground floor of the facility, next to the museum, hosted regular entertainment.
Venerable blues band Big Papa and the TCB (who will be featured on tomorrow’s new batch of PE Live videos, coincidentally) recorded their first album, 2007’s “Nice ‘N’ Greazy,” there.
Lukas Nelson and the Promise of the Real, The Legendary Mustangs (a band that features Riverside County Supervisor John Tavaglione) and local artists such as Castle Pines have also performed at the venue. That doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of the performances from the in-house bands made up of the students in Kids Rock Free.
I’m hoping with the Kids Rock Free program moving to the Civic Center in the future and the plans for the current site to be a community center, we can have sorely needed venues for live local music in Corona.
Musicians and fans in the Corona area–did you ever play at the Rhythm Lounge?
Just a note, the Fender Museum is separate from the Fender corporation’s Visitor Center, which is down the freeway a bit at the Fender factory in Corona and opened in 2011.
Cromwell will release a new CD, “Oceans,” on July 16. (Contributed Image)
Rialto’s Cromwell is finally releasing the follow-up to their fantastic 2010 EP “Daniela” and they’re celebrating with a show at The Glass House in Pomona on Friday, July 12.
The new album, “Oceans,” will technically come out on Tuesday, July 16, but you will be able to get a copy at the show.
Get to the show early to catch a number of other Inland Empire bands worth checking out, including Assuming We Survivem The Anix and The Hollowed.
6:30 p.m. Friday, July 12, The Glass House, 200 W. Second St., Pomona, $10, all ages.
Visit www.facebook.com/cromwellmusic for more information on the show.
Agent Orange is playing San Bernardino on July 13. (Contributed Image)
If you love sophomoric SoCal punk and bands that are big in Japan, Stinger’s in San Bernardino has a show for you on Saturday.
Classic Cali surf punk outfit Agent Orange headlines a show at the club on Saturday, July 13.
Plus, D.I., Hemet punkers The Walking Toxins and Section 242 are on the bill.
And there’s a special treat in the form of Japanese punk band Kingons
6 p.m. Saturday, July 13, Stinger’s Bar and Nightclub, 194 W. Club Center Drive, San Bernardino, $12 via Ticketweb, 18 and older only.
Visit www.ticketweb.com for tickets and more information.