DIGITAL JOURNALIST
The Coachella set times have been posted and here’s a surprise–Sean Penn is doing something in the Gobi Tent at 2:10p.m. Sunday.
I really hope he sings “Woolly Bully” like he did in “Fast Times At Ridgemont High.” That would totally rock.
Check out the set times:
I think the theme of this week can officially be “Festival Overload.” Coachella starts on Friday, Stagecoach starts next Friday, look for a Rock the Bells announcement on here today and I just got the details on the Temecula Music Fest.
The Temecula Music Fest has announced its lineup.
There are a ton of really great local artists on there. Here’s an excerpt from the press release:
This year’s festival will feature over 35 bands and acoustic performers, multiple different visual artists and vendors. Amazing bands Cetas Aspire, Jupiter, Robert Holts Orchestra, Guilty Conscience, Starving for Gravity, Opus Humanus and Peachcake will be this years headliners. For a full list of performers visit http://www.TemeculaMusicFest.com, as well you can find a couple of different versions of our festival flyers, venue and ticket info.
The fest happens May 16 to May 18. Once I can catch my breath from last-minute Coachella prep, I will get some more details for you.
In the meantime, keep your eyes on here this afternoon for Rock the Bells info.
Last week I had the chance to talk with System of a Down’s Daron Malakian and John Dolmayan about their new project, “Scars on Broadway,” which is playing at Coachella this weekend.
I wrote a piece that ran in today’s paper, but here are some tidbits that didn’t make the story:
First off, I just want to say how cool these guys were and that they are really dedicated to Scars on Broadway.
The band actually did a surprise show at the Whisky A Go Go in Hollywood on April 11 and Malakian was stunned by the reaction of the fans.
“The kids were responding like they’ve known the songs forever,” he said.
He said the Whisky show was a bit nerve-wracking, playing with new people for the first time with a new project.
“I kind of got those little butterflies out,” he said. “Now it’s just the everyday show jitters.”
As for the music, both explained that Scars on Broadway is not where System of a Down left off. There are electronics involved. Malakian said he’s hoping some more of his 1970s influences bleed through, but the songwriting process isn’t much different, he said.
“I write for the band, I don’t just write for me…in this case it was different instruments,” he said.
“One thing Daron is really good at is creating melody,” Dolmayan said.
Malakian and Dolmayan both said one of the toughest things in putting the project together was whittling down songs for the debut album. There are just shy of two dozen recorded and selecting the songs has been a challenge.
Dolmayan talked about the importance of finding the right balance of songs on a record.
“You want to provide the listener with a roller coaster,” he said.
And while there won’t be any cross-pollination between Scars on Broadway’s set and System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian’s solo set on Friday, don’t be shocked if you see the members at each other’s performances.
“He’s a friend first,” Dolmayan said.
Environmental group Global Inheritance is returning to the Empire Polo Field again this year for Coachella and Stagecoach.
The Energy FACTory debuted at Coachella last year, showing the power of renewable energy.
From the press release:
“Live DJ’s, live TV, and numerous activities and extras–all powered by wind, solar power, human-generated power, biofuels, and ethanol. The whole FACTory–located just inside the main entrance to the venue, will be towered over by a massive wind-powered 40-foot clock. “
There’s 40-foot-tall wind powered clock involved. That is just crying out for a wind-powered Delorean, isn’t it?
Can solar energy take you back to the future?
Anyway, it should be pretty cool–last year these guys had a cell phone charger powered by riding on a bicycle and a Jiffy Pop tree.
Anyway, Carpoolchella is back.
From the press release:
“For the great many fans still driving, remember Carpoolchella, which offers those riding four or more to a car the chance to win lifetime VIP passes to Coachella, plus tons of other cool prizes. This year, we’ll be picking winners every hour, so go to http://coachella.com/event/Carpooling to print out your very own Carpoolchella window sign.”
A spokesman said that Global Inheritance will be at Stagecoach, too.
British band Swervedriver is getting back together and you can see the band April 27 at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
For some reason, when I first heard this I was like–wow, Coachella is going all in with the television tie-in, because I confused Swervedriver with Drive Shaft, the fictitious band of recovering junkie Charlie on the ABC show “Lost.”
I’m glad I was wrong.
Swervedriver is a much more rockin’ band.
Take a look at this video from a 1993 live performance:
So a couple of weeks ago I had the chance to chat with Jason McGerr, drummer for Death Cab for Cutie, and he was totally awesome, and on his way to band practice at 10:30 a.m.–seriously, what band do you know that practices that early?
“We’re like that. We have blue collared shirts for practice,” he quipped.
The story is on the Monday cover for the Your Life section, but he had some interesting things to say that didn’t make the story.
On the industry:
A few weeks ago, the band was filming the video for “I Will Possess Your Heart” in a fish locker in Los Angeles and the owner brought his two daughters by to the shoot. McGerr never assumes that someone has the band’s last record so he asked the girl and she told him “I only have one song.” It was “Soul Meets Body.”
“People stopped listening to full albums and records a while ago,” McGerr said.
He said the conversation he had with the girl is happening more and more, but he likened it to the 1950s and 1960s, when a hit could make a band.
But there are still people who like the experience of listening to an album and he compared the work of an album to that of a written work.
“You can’t pull out a chapter and say, ‘That’s a really good book,'” he said.
On the new album:
The band’s sixth album, “Narrow Stairs,” is due out in May.
“It’s got a lot more electric guitar–a lot more teeth,” McGerr said.
While “Plans” was an all-digital album, “Narrow Stairs” was done on tape, which, McGerr pointed out, while some people think it’s new and usual, it’s been done for decades, even with recent discs like the new Raconteurs record and Wilco’s “Sky Blue Sky.”
McGerr said the album is different than “Plans” partially because the band took off for a time after touring before heading back into the studio.
“In taking a year off from playing we were able to reset the clock,” he said.
Death Cab guitarist Chris Walla was also at the helm of producer this time around.
The only addition Will Markwell, the band’s front of sound house guy, who worked on engineering the record.
“It was good to have an extra set of ears to be aware of what we’d do well,” McGerr said.
On Coachella:
Coachella is going to be the band’s first big show in over a year, according to McGerr.
“Having the sunset crowd at Coachella–that’s going to be awesome,” he said. “How could you have a bad time at a festival like that?”
Goldfrapp has gone less electronica and more pop with their latest album, but I don’t think it’s really hurt their cred among the hipster set.
They will be at Coachella on Friday, April 25 (two weeks away!).
Here’s what you might see live:
We are 15 days away from the first notes of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival–and organizers have big things planned for the campers.
On Thursday, April 24, early bird campers will get to check out Experience Visual Symphony and Laserium.
From the press release:
Visual Symphony is a multi sensory experience told through images, lights, and lasers set to music in two seamless acts. The first act features visual veejay mixing and tells the story of a character Weeble in animation, projectors, video wall and lasers. The second act brings out the grandfathers of visuals, LASERIUM. The amazing visual laser show is brought to Coachella for one night for all to experience the original show they performed during the 60 and 70s as they worked alongside legends like Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin.
Enjoy the stories as its presented above you in the sky and on a 90ft long screen in front of you. The lasers are so powerful the beam can actually hit the moon! http://www.visualsymphony.us
Yes, but will the beam hit the dark side of the moon?
In case you haven’t heard, his royal badness, a.k.a. Prince and formerly a.k.a. that symbol nobody could pronounce, is playing Coachella.
What has two thumbs and is uber-excited?
This girl (I say, pointing to myself).
Anyway, I am thinking up a dream set that Prince should play. I mean, I’d want to hear “Darling Nikki” but I don’t think he does that one anymore. “Let’s Go Crazy” is by far my favorite Prince song, but I know business blogger Kim Pierceall is hoping for anything from the “Batman” soundtrack.
What do you want to hear?
Prince has been added to the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival lineup.
The R&B superstar, who currently has a show at the Rio in Las Vegas, will headline Saturday, April 26, festival organizers announced today.
The festival takes place at the Empire Polo Field in Indio April 25-27 and features fellow headliners Jack Johnson, Roger Waters and
Portishead.
Tickets are on sale through www.coachella.com and are $269 for a three-day pass.