The Eagle Rock Music Festival Was Awesome

I know I already posted about the festival, but I figured in case anyone didn't get to go I'd do a little follow up. For those that missed out, you REALLY missed out, because this year was great! There was tons of food, performances, live music, and entertainment. I had a few particularly entertaining experiences with strangers, which is always a staple at these kinds of things. Other highlights include the extraordinarily delicious pineapple tamale I had, a great performance of a New Orleans-style band from the balcony of the Welcome Inn, and the little boy (seriously, I think he was probably 7 years old) who started a dance circle and out-jerked EVERYONE who challenged him.

Another band that I saw that I'm really excited about was a sort of old-time folk-blues orchestra called The Dustbowl Revival. They consist of an upright bass, drums, a trombone, a trumpet, a guitarist (who simultaneously plays the harmonica), and a washboard percussionist. The vocals were duets between the guitarist and frontman Zach Lupetin, and washboard player Caitlin Doyle. According to their website, they sometimes have even more instruments like the banjo, tuba, and clarinet. These guys were so much fun, they just have that awesome attitude that makes you want to jump up and spontaneously swing dance (yes, in this scenario you suddenly know how to swing dance). They characterize their sounds as "merg[ing] old school gypsy rhythms with bluegrass, gospel, jug-band, jump blues and the hot swing of the 1930’s to form a spicy roots cocktail." Check them out, you can listen to their music on their myspace (http://www.myspace.com/znlupetin), or find out where their next performance is on their website (http://dustbowlrevival.wordpress.com/about/).

Music on a Friday Afternoon

The Occidental College Music Department
presents


Music On a Friday Afternoon

Friday, October 1, 2010
Bird Studio
4:30-5:30 p.m.
Free Admission


Students will be performing musical selections by:

Franck, Faure, Ellington, Beethoven

Vocalists:

Sienna Beckman, Zoe Rudman

Instrumentalists:

Alyson Melzer, violin, Andrew Chang, piano

Accompanist: Galina Barskaya

Teebs-'Ardour'

There's a newcomer to Flying Lotus' Brainfeeder label, and right now he's king of the hill. His name is Teebs, and his first album, 'Ardour' is about to drop. For anyone new to the burgeoning L.A. electronic scecne, (as of yet unnamed but still they try... "beat music" "bass music" "spiritual electronica" "L.A. dubstep" etc...) Teebs' record is a perfect entry point. Flying Lotus, the grandaddy of this musical community, creates very dense records which can be offputting to the casual listener. 'Ardour', however, needs no sugar to go down. It is a lush, and viscerally beautiful album which sounds like a space jungle. Teebs is a master of establishing a musical enviroment, and he restrains the impulse to fill those enviroments up. The result is a very satisfying listen for anyone interested in hip-hop, dance music, neo-soul, dubstep or more. Anyone who drives around Los Angeles at night should definitely cop this gem.

Share Your Art With Oxy CatAList

So I, through no fault of my own, was recently bamboozled into hosting my own segment on Oxy's new "television show," CatAList. Each week, a group of student filmmakers puts together a 15-20 minute show that explores the diverse array of interests, talents, and quirks within the Occidental community. My segment focuses on Oxy's hidden artists, from painters to singers to filmmakers, and everything in between.

Check out the first episode of CatAList right here, right now!!

CatAList Episode 1 (Sept. 20th) from CatAlist TV on Vimeo.

Do you consider yourself an artist? Do you not consider yourself an artist but have your friends tell you that you are one all the time? Do you have any artistic abilities whatsoever? Do you, in fact, have no artistic abilities whatsoever, but still maintain an extensive doodle collection in your class notebooks? Then email me at cpardo@oxy.edu for a chance to be featured on my segment. You can screen your short film, display your proudest painting, play us a song, or throw on some bunny slippers and a cape and show us your interpretive dance. We'll take it.

Support your community, share your talents, express yourself. CatAList. Do it.

Eagle Rock Music Festival on Oct. 3rd!

The Eagle Rock Music Festival has been going on for 12 years now, and it's back again!
The 12th Annual Eagle Rock Music Festival is produced by , the Eagle Rock Center for the Arts, one of the last remaining City of Los Angeles general arts and cultural programming non-profit organizations in Northeast LA. The event aims to stimulate local business and provide a fun and enjoyable experience for all ages.

There will be multiple stages spread out across Colorado Boulevard, where notable LA-based acts are set to perform. In between and along the way there will be stands selling food, art, clothes, and anything else you can find on Colorado Blvd. There is always some amazing street performances and dancing (last year XTC Gym put on a SICK Capoeira demonstration). Here is the lineup:

A Bountiful Harvest of Music

Hey Gang! Official nerd-in-residence here, gearing up for for Fall Season, which I would definitely rank among my top four favorite seasons. I've always had a soft spot for the changing seasons, probably for the same reasons that I like themed dress-up parties; I feel part of a tradition, a larger collective... plus I get to decorate my room and go shopping for new clothes. Win-win.

Anyways, in honor of the Autumn Equinox which occurs officially today in Australia (Sept. 22nd for us in the Northern Hemisphere), I thought I'd provide you with some Fun Fall Facts and Autumn-themed music to get you in the mood. So throw on your favorite knit sweater and hop on over to the pumpkin patch to celebrate the season!!

KOXY!

I just had my show yesterday, so I feel the need to plug KOXY.In case you weren't aware, KOXY is Oxy's much under-appreciated radio station. The term radio may be a bit deceiving; KOXY doesn't actually broadcast on a radio frequency since we have neither a tower nor the technology for such a feat. Shows actually stream live online at www.koxyradio.com. At the moment, you can only listen to the stream if you are on campus (something to do with firewalls, etc. Ironically, last year you could only listen if you were off campus.).

This is an outlet for students to play exactly what they want, and say whatever they want. I personally pride myself on my request policy: if you want to hear a song you have to send it to me and if I decide I like I will play it on the following week's show. I put a great deal of thought into my shows and I refuse to play something that doesn't necessarily fit in with my theme, or if it's just music that I don't like. Shows range from all genres of music, to sports talk, to just pure entertainment. So tune in!