Creating music together for nearly nine years, the Rancho Cucamonga-based alt-hip-hop/funk/soul collection, Tha Boogie, prides itself in self-expression. Not only does the outfit transcend typical genres in music, but the members themselves express their own personalities through eccentric attire. Their ability to think outside the box piqued not only the interest of legendary artist/producer Raphael Saadiq, but Rolling Stone magazine as well. In the past few years, Tha Boogie has been busy touring and writing music, resulting in the release of Love Tha Boogie in 2009, which can be downloaded for free here, and the release of their next EP, Good Luck Charlie Vettuno, set for a January 2012 release. The group’s singer/songwriter/rapper/producer (the list continues), Nu-School, was nice enough to talk with me about “Tha Boogie Down Movement;” his experience with Rolling Stone, and why it’s so important to be honest in music writing. If you live in the LA area, be sure to check out Tha Boogie Wednesday, January 25 at The Roxy.

KN: One of your influences is The Super Friends clique. How have you adapted that model into your own music?

NS: The Super Friends really serve as our combined foundation of music; we learned how to arrange songs from listening to their work, and the principal that they seemed to hold do strongly in regards to pushing the envelope and not being afraid to be creative.

KN: Who all is involved in “Tha Boogie Down Movement?” and what do you strive to achieve with this?

NS: Tha Boogie Down Movement was created as a clique of individuals who worked together on music, it later progressed in to what you see today in our lineup. We do have a tendency to use it every now and then for our supporters and fellow musicians in LA that we have really good rapports with.

KN: Your music is an mélange of hip-hop, rock, R&B, soul, funk (the list goes on). What do you feel is the importance of producing music beyond genre constraints?

NS: It’s very important, art is suppose to be a form of self expression, and as people there are things that resonate with us that transcends genres, labels or categories, and it’s ultimately important to allow yourself to create in a way that is most true to you, despite any restrictions.

KN: Do you feel this is beneficial or hindering as far as “making it big?”

NS: Well there seems to be two sides to that. You can make it big and lose a mass amount of creative control over your music and image, but what ever you do you get to touch a larger audience, which ultimately can be both beneficial and hindering.

KN: Aside from producing music without boundaries, your group is also known for its original/eccentric style. How do you feel this affects your image and/or music?

NS: To be completely honest, it seems like other people notice it more than we do. We never felt pressured to try and deliver some type style or fashion sense in regards to our image. What you see us wearing might be hand me downs from our parents, some vintage clothing items or even something we picked up waiting in line at a grocery store. What is heard in our music and seen from us visually is just a continuum of the same self-expression.

KN: When can we expect a full-length album?

NS: Ahhh that’s another tough one, well we can say that we do get bored easily and quickly so with that being said when ever that happens a full-length will be sure to follow Good Luck Charlie Vettuno.

KN: Early last year, you were part of Rolling Stone and Atlantic Records' “Do You Wanna be a Rock Star,” competition. How was this experience.

NS: We had never participated in a competition like that before, and one of the most important things that we gained from that was a glimpse in to what could be achieved from simply being true to your self as an artist and who would take note of that. The fact that we were sought out by Rolling Stone Magazine to participate in competition was really flattering.

KN: In 2009, you had the opportunity to tour with Raphael Saadiq. Was that your first national tour?

NS: The tour with Raphael was our first tour, we were so excited it was a first for us visiting and performing in a lot of the places we did. It also marked our first visit to New York, which was priceless.

KN: Have you toured since then?

NS: We have been working on lining up another one for this year following the release of Good Luck Charlie Vettuno.

KN: What was your highlight of the tour?

NS: There had to have been two shows that really stood out for us and that was the show in New York and the show in Atlanta those two were some of our best performances and the crowds were amazing.

KN: Any interesting stories from the road?

NS: [laughs] The most interesting story was us losing a bag of clothes worth a lot of money that was just given to us right after we performed at the Filmore East in NY. Someone “Left the bag in the taxi,”  so sad. That story will never be forgotten, even Raphael still tell people about that story.

KN: What can we expect from Tha Boogie in 2012?

NS: Well look out for Good Luck Charlie Vettuno, as we said you can look forward to see us on the road. We will be preforming at The Roxy Theatre on sunset with Def Jam recording artist John West who is an amazing artist and person. Looks like we’ll be at SXSW this year all the cool things new bands think about plus leaving room for some serendipity never hurts.

On Friday night, I was treated to a night of youthful energy, served up by the contagiously vivacious punk quartet from Oakland, CA: Emily's Army.  This group of kids--seriously, they're still in high school--lit up The Roxy in Los Angeles and outshined the bright, colored lights beneath which they performed.

Walking in to the dark venue, I was immediately struck with color and energy, despite it being only partially filled.  I was also instantly aware of the age and vibe of the crowd: about 13-16 years old (mostly girls); dressed in pajamas or bright animal prints or Hot Topic brands; hair frizzy from straightenings and dyed with blue and green and red streaks; eyes heavily lined with an inky black.  Despite the attempted "ruggedness" of their look and the almost adorable efforts at moshing, the girls were screaming through it all like ribboned Bettys at a Beatles concert.

Now, where most of the time this crowd would annoy the life out of me, I found myself just as enthusiastic as Emily's Army's army of scene girls.  I almost envied their blissfully ignorant devotion and pure adoration, and I found myself quickly (and somewhat creepily) falling in love with the four spitfires on stage.

Beyond the surrounding fans, I managed to focus on the group and their musical abilities.  The group, made up of brothers Cole and Max Becker, Travis Neumann, and Joey Armstrong rocked. They could play the hell out of their instruments, and are very creative as shown in their songs and song structures.  They were loud, fast, and confident; had catchy melodies and riffs and an effortless cohesion.  This resulted in a maturity of sound and performance, which was unbelievable--almost hilarious--to see coming from four hairless baby faces who's first full length is titled Don't Be A Dick.

Emily's Army by Adeline Records

Overall, this was one of the more fun concerts I have attended in some time.  Emily's Army not only plays a killer show, driven by upbeat and carefree yet technical and well-practiced punk rock, they make you feel young again in the best possible way.  I laughed and danced and headbanged and woo-ed. I left inspired, blissfully unaware of papers due or bills to be paid, into the cool night hanging above a world run by vibrant youth.

All photos (c) Clair Gallagher

Picked By: Kelly Knapp

Who: Rabble Rabble

Where: Glasslands, Brooklyn, NY

When: Tuesday, August 9th at 8pm

Cost: $12

Age Restriction: 21+

***

Picked By: Laurel Kathleen

Who: Vetiver

Where: The Troubadour, Los Angeles, CA

When: Wednesday, August 10th Doors open at 8:00pm

Cost: $13-$15 adv

Age Restrictions: All ages

***

Picked By: Jesse Diener-Bennett

Who: Cut Copy as part of Celebrate Brooklyn 2011

Where: Prospect Park Bandshell, Brooklyn, NY

When: Thursday, August 11th at 5:30pm

Cost: $35

Age Restrictions: All Ages

Picked By: Claire Gallagher

Who: Family of the Year with Seasons, Heartstop, Golden State, and Miracle Parade

Where: The Roxy Theater , Los Angeles, CA

When: Thursday, August 11th at 8pm

Cost: $10-13

Age Restrictions: All Ages

***

Picked By: Daniel Kohn

What: Outside Lands

Where: Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA

When: Friday, August 12th - Sunday, August 14th

Cost: Single Day Sunday Ticket - $85.00 (Limited Availability); Single Day VIP ticket: $185.00; VIP Three-Day Ticket: $450.00; Otherwise sold out.

Age Restrictions: All Ages

Picked By: Daniel Kohn

Who: Yael Naim

Where: The Hotel Café, Los Angeles, CA

When: Monday, May 16th at 8pm

Cost: $20

Age Restritions: 21+

Picked By: Kelly Knapp

Who: Warpaint

Where: Brooklyn Bowl, Brooklyn, NY

When: Wednesday, March 30th at 8pm

Cost: SOLD OUT

Age Restrictions: 21+

Start your weekend off with a selection of music by artists featured this week on BestNewBands.com.

“Outside the City” - Young Galaxy

Kelly Knapp caught this stellar act at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn last weekend.

Kelly wrote, “Young Galaxy’s set was pretty entrancing in a danceable way. This was a band with original synth beats, intriguing rhythms with tempos speeding up to bursting breakdowns in the songs. McCandless and Ramsay trade off vocals - his being dreamy and melodic, and hers somewhat low and menacing. They balance each other out with these qualities, and it’s an interesting paradox their music has of somehow being haunting yet comforting at the same time.

“They also manage to throw in some socially aware commentary in their lyrics. In ‘Outside the City,’ off their debut self-titled album, McCandless makes the observation, ‘You know, it looks to me / That I am you and you are me.’ Maybe that really is what the power of the cosmos in a young galaxy sounds like – an aware and communal notion of noticing the details. The crowd had a communal call for an encore, but Ramsay came back to tell us ‘That’s all we have right now. We’ll come back with more next time!’”

Read the rest of Kelly’s review here.

Who: Nenna Yvonne

Where: The Roxy, Los Angeles

When: Tuesday, March 29 at 9:30 pm

Price: $12.00

Age Restrictions: 18+

If you find yourself in need of entertainment on Tuesday, March 29th, be sure to pencil in Nenna Yvonne at The Roxy on Sunset.  This singer-songwriter is no acoustic-guitar-playing, eyelash-batting, photo-with-my-cat-Mr.-Fluffles-taking kind of girl; the 21-year-old Nigerian falls more along the spicy lines of Nicki Minaj or Kelis (Nenna Yvonne went to the same prestigious high school as them: New York's LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts). Her beats are fresh, her songs danceable. She is comparable to Rihanna, except she doesn't sound like an animal in heat when she sings (yeah, I went there). So, since Tuesdays are always SO AWESOME anyways, heading out to see this talented up-and-comer will only make the day that much sweeter.

Get a free download of Nenna Yvonne's single 'Go Around' (the AgeVsTron Mix) by clicking and tweeting this link!

There are a few tips and tricks that one learns along the way on how to spot a stellar show- and if something just probably won’t be up to par.  After passing my third “lot full” sign in front of a garage off Sunset Boulevard- I was pretty sure After Midnight Project was about to exceed everyone’s expectations at their record release show at the Roxy that night.  Now aside from the zero parking situation (I made up for my missed cardio session that morning by walking a mile in pursuit of hot music, a thank you note will be sent to AMP post-haste) another indicative factor would be the obscene mob scene in front of the venue.  After countless texts GPS-ing myself and my fellow music partners in crime to the scene of, we were finally navigating our way inside with apparently the rest of Los Angeles, which was pretty much everyone and in some cases, their mothers.  No, seriously.

After about a half hour, and securing viewer friendly spots among the masses the anxiously awaited moment had arrived and After Midnight Project stormed on stage in style, and those that hadn’t already gotten the memo via twitter and other cyberstalking strategies, found out in-person that their socks were about to be rocked right off.

Last November I had the pleasure of attending two nights of Chasing Kings' residency at Silverlake Lounge. Since then, I can't tell you how many times I've heard their name mentioned in passing by new fans, and I even ran into the group hanging out at The Roxy a few weeks ago at a showcase. They seem to be everywhere,  and though they've only released a six-track EP it's clear that the budding SoCal band is on the verge of bloom. It was only fitting that I should meet up with the quartet at (you guessed it) Silverlake Lounge to discuss their past, present, and very hopeful future as a band. Don't miss the free stream of "Maybe It's the Distance" below.

Laurel Kathleen: How did you come together as a band?

Drew Beck (guitar/vocals): Matt and I grew up in Lake Arrowhead, a couple of hours away. We started playing together in middle school in like, concert band. My junior year of high school I moved down to Malibu and met Nick from playing basketball. So then us three started playing together for a bit.

Mike Goldman (bass): And me and Nick played in jazz band together in high school, and then he suggested that I play.

Nick Sandler (drums): We wanted a fourth member, and so we decided to try Mike. We started playing with the four of us, and that was like…four years ago?

Matt Schwartz (vocals/keys): Four and a half years ago. It was just us three, and then Mike came in and made it a band.

Young the Giant

Genre: Alt-rock

If you’re looking for something to do on this potentially stormy Saturday night, head on down to The Roxy on Sunset to check out Young the Giant with We Barbarians and Kitten for an awesome night of in-your-face alt-rock.  I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Young the Giant play an exhilarating set at UCLA (read about that here) and talking to them (such nice gents they were) about their music.  They're definitely a band to keep an eye on--according to their Facebook updates, it seems like they've been everywhere and doing everything.  If you haven't heard of them now, you will hear of them soon.  Furthermore, they’ll be playing the highly anticipated SXSW (check out other artists playing the festival here), as will We Barbarians, so here’s your chance to get a preview!

We Barbarians