If you haven’t noticed things have gotten a little stale here on IFAN without any explanation, and that is because for the past few weeks I have been hard at work launching the website for the new project I am involved with with a couple of the guys from LA Record, called White Noise. White Noise is a new LA-based record label working with mostly LA and Orange County-based bands (Blue Jungle, Audacity, Jail Weddings, The Blank Tapes, Gangi and Tweak Bird) and focusing on just digital and vinyl releases.

That being said, in the time that I have taken off from IFAN I’ve come to two realizations; 1) I don’t have enough in my life for this blog in it’s current state, White Noise, my day job and a personal life. Something has to give, and that something will be IFAN and it’s current state, which brings me to reason 2) This blog has become a hassle, I have thought of abandoning it before, but really it wasn’t until I read about what Steve Rubel has done, that I decided that I need to reevaluate what I want to do with this space. Innovate or die, this blog needs a jump start.

So moving forward, there will be new design coming soon to IFAN that will turn it into kind of a central hub for what I want to share with anyone who visits. But not a lifestream. Mostly it will be information and thoughts delivered in nuggets as I come across and think about them, still focusing on the Los Angeles music landscape, but also adding my perspective on the digital shift in the music industry and the news surrounding it. I was never a good writer and the time I spent editing myself needs to be spent on other things, ie; White Noise and our artists, the woman I call almost already my wife and my day job that will soon see me putting in some heavy duty time learning Drupal, and not necessarily in that order.

So bands, publicists, people who have duped bands into thinking they are publicists and digital marketing firm lackeys, you can continue to send me emails, just don’t be offended when I don’t respond, if I like it, I will probably write about it or link to it. I just don’t have time or the patience for the back and forth. Oh, and one more thing, if you have sent me 100 or something emails about a band and I have never written about them or expressed any interest at all, stop sending me press releases about them, you are just a spammer… I am looking in your direction people who work Manchester Orchestra.

Division Day 'Visitation' out August 18th

Dangerbird Records announced this morning that they will be releasing Division Day’s new full length album, Visitation, on August 18th. You can listen to two new songs from the album, “Visitation” and “Devil Light”, on Division Day’s MySpace page and read a more in-depth write up on this morning’s announcement over at Buzzbands.la.

VoicesVoices photo by Jesse Plume

LA’s VoicesVoices played their first show back in Los Angeles last night at Spaceland since returning from New York City where they spent two weeks recording with Guillermo Scott Herren a.k.a Prefuse 73.

When I read that VoicesVoices recorded with Prefuse 73 in NYC, I got pretty excited, I can’t think of a better combo. So to fulfill my own personal curiosity of how the recording went, I pushed the band for a comment.

Recording was amazing! For two weeks Guillermo slept on the couch, and he gave us his bed. We laid down some new vocals and reworked some of the songs on from our Sounds Outside EP. They are pretty much all new songs now, along with a couple brand new songs we recently wrote. Guillermo worked like a mad-man mixing and recording, and he’s just the coolest, most down-to-earth, making-it-happen kinda guy. The songs sound great, and we can’t wait for it to be released on Manimal Vinyl around late August – or September. We fell in love with NY and can’t wait to go back on work on the full length. But we just can’t afford $10 packs of cigarettes in NY, so we’ll probably be smuggling them across the american-canadian border.

VoicesVoices recording in NYC May'09 w/Prefuse 73

Also, Guillermo posted a quick update on his blog shortly after VoicesVoices announced via tweet that they were in NYC with him, where he explained why he decided to work with Nico and Jenean.

1. I have a hard time understanding how a band that sound so sick on just a raw live recording can still be selling e.p.s out of their trunk.

2. I want them to not have to sell e.p.s out of the back of their car, so I said I’m down to help them
produce their music and take it wherever they want to take it as far as my studio is capable.

3. I like the way they do business. There is no business. No money involved allows me not to be on the phone with a label dude.

4. They sang “Happy Birthday” to me the other day. That pretty much ruled in itself.

5. They kill it live. I can’t even categorize their music based on how they make it. It can be listened to in so many different ways.
————————————–
O.K. – I don’t what else to say besides the fact that I’d never produce someone’s record when I’m in the middle of my own shit storm if I didn’t think it was already amazing as it is

I can’t wait to hear what Nico, Jenean and Guillermo have cooked up in NYC, I still listen to the totally hypnotic Sounds Outside EP all the time.

Eagle Rock, CA’s Princeton have announced that they have signed with the NYC based label, Kanine Records, run by the husband-and-wife team, Kay Quartararo and Lio Cerezo. Kanine will release Princeton’s debut full-length album, Cocoon of Love, later this fall.

Catch Princeton opening for Au Revoir Simone this Thursday, June 11th, at the El Rey Theatre and check out their current EP, Bloomsbury, that Scott reviewed last year.

UPDATE: The Soft Pack have been added to the bill…

I’ll be at a wedding, but really, one shouldn’t typically pass on a Night Marchers gig…

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros - Desert Song

This shit is like The Fountain, but set in the desert, and if you are like me and couldn’t follow that film or this video, the crib sheet is below.

Part 1: “Desert Song” is about singer Alex Ebert’s reckoning with the middle name his father secretly wrote on his birth certificate – a Native American name which means ‘Devil’ or ‘Demon.’  The opening footage is of his father chanting in Monument Valley – shot by his mother.

Eleven more of these bad boys are on the way, all part of a feature-length movie musical that is being leaked out in the lead up to the release of debut album from Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Up From Below, that will be available on July 14th.

I caught Band Of Skulls last night at a packed 3 of Clubs for Future Sounds “Rumble” night (Pete from Mad Men was there!). The band had played earlier in the evening at the Viper Room, but you wouldn’t have noticed, as they delivered a finely tuned set that sounded as good as they do on their debut, Baby Darling Doll Face Honey.

I just watched the tail end of Band Of Skulls live performance on KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic, I think they are little tired now. You can watch it later too I think.

Also I just learned that they will be playing Hotel Cafe tomorrow night and opening for Metric on Monday at the Wiltern, so if you are interested, you still have a couple of opportunities to catch Band Of Skulls before they head back across the pond.

More on both Band Of Skulls and Apteka later, but know this, both bands new albums are a great listen and both are playing tonight for free at the 3 of Clubs (1123 Vine St.), which is where you will find me tonight, hopefully celebrating a Lakers win.

MP3: Band Of Skulls – Blood
MP3: Apteka – The Sheet

If you thought you missed Magic Lantern’s final show on Monday night at the Blue Monkey, don’t worry, they did too, which is why they’ve scheduled this last minute show tonight (so last minute, they aren’t even on the flyer) with Pocahaunted, Vibes, and Pizza! at the Museum of Neon Art in Downtown LA.

Maybe you are wondering why the Lantern had to bail on Monday’s show?

Hey Friends

Due to some babies about to be born, the MAGIC LANTERN show tonight is now canceled. So sorry, but then again, not really, Chip’s about to be a father. DOOOPE.

SEE YOU AROUND!

Cameron

As I reported earlier, the Lantern are about to enter a “live performance” hiatus (Phil is moving, babies are being born, you know life and shit), but that doesn’t mean the creative output will decelerate right away. Scheduled Magic Lantern releases for the rest of 2009 include a split with Ben Nash, a live tape compiled of unreleased songs/psychosis, another tape of early Underwater Dynasty-era recordings and most significantly, a full length vinyl follow up to High Beams that should be released late-summer or early fall on Not Not Fun and will include a bonus 7″.

Wednesday, June 3rd: Pocahaunted, Magic Lantern, Vibes, Pizza! @ Museum of Neon Art (136 W. 4th St.) | All Ages | $10 donation | 8pm