Ok, I'll be honest. I'm a little bitter about not going to Coachella this year.  Having gone the past two years, I'm no stranger to that pre-Coachella feeling: in a few weekends I'll be yearning for the desert sun, the overpriced food, the kick-ass people, and, most importantly, the kick-ass music.  So, while I'm busy resenting enthusiastic Facebook status updates and you're busy galavanting about the Empire Polo Grounds, I ask of you only one favor: go see Sleeper Agent.

You might've heard of Sleeper Agent from their recent hits, "Get It Daddy" and "Get Burned."  "Get It Daddy," an upbeat, dance-around-in-your-room kind of track, was an iTunes free single of the week and was #14 on Rolling Stone's 50 Best Singles of 2011.  Furthermore, they were featured on Rolling Stone last summer as a Band to Watch. The band hails from Bowling Green, Kentucky and made their way up through the rankings by playing loud, noticeable sets at SXSW.  They eventually caught the attention of Matt & Brad Shultz of Cage The Elephant and ended up touring the US with the band (not to mention making some hilarious videos). So, with that kind of publicity, it's safe to say that these Kentucky-bred kids are on their way to rock stardom. And the next stop on that road? Playing Coachella, obviously.

In case you didn't read my review of Brian Lopez's recently released album, Ultra, go now, oh foolish one, and read it.  There. Well done. Thus, in case you didn't notice, Brian Lopez is, indeed, awesome. And now, as you arrive at the top of this interview, you, in the privacy of your own mind, are tirelessly thanking me for bringing you more about this wonderful man and lovely album. You're welcome, dear reader. But I have one more request: after you read this, go and listen (oh, listen!) to that album (if you haven't already), that buttery voice! And you will smile, and all will be right in the world.

Yeah.  Also, get stoked L.A. because tonight and tomorrow night Brian will be playing shows in town--tonight at the Echoplex, tomorrow night at The Hotel Cafe.  Details and more tour info below!

Claire Gallagher: So, Brian, you’re from Tucson.  Has growing up there influenced your music at all?

Brian Lopez: As i've gotten older I've realized exactly how bizarre Tucson is. The desert is such a weird place - humans have no business living here.  It's a desperate environment filled with dwellers and survivalists. At the same time, there is an exotic beauty that is exclusive to the Sonoran Desert. Desolate, desperate, yet beautiful. In that sense, I feel my music is parallel.

CG: Who are some of your biggest musical (or other) influences?

BL: I have a lot of songs that are about, or stem from Barcelona, Spain. I lived there when I was 21.  Best time of my life. Its a fascinating place -- vibrantly colorful and vivacious.  Also, any poetry from Tucson poet, Shelly Taylor seems to get my tongue wrapped in an inspiring way. 

CG: What made you decided to pursue a solo career outside of your other band, Mostly Bears?

BL: I actually just started playing solo acoustic gigs on guitar and piano as a way to make extra cash. I didn't want to have to get a real job. I'd play at resorts and clubs, and people seemed to really love it.  I added an upright bass eventually...then strings...then I started getting offers to play larger shows.  Sooner than later, I had a damn solo project to nurture.  Coincidentally (or perhaps not so coincidentally), around the same time, Mostly Bears was deteriorating. And it hasn't been until recently, that I have been able to focus exclusively on my solo project.

CG: What has been a personal high and a personal low about your musical career so far? Any particular moments of awesomeness or embarrassing blunders?

BL: I feel like right now, having struggled with music for over a decade, I am experiencing my personal high .  Having had a promising young rock band and seeing it all fall apart before your eyes--coming close many times, only to fail--well, now I'm here under my own birth name, a bit older and wiser, writing and recording music that I wrote, myself.  And people are paying attention more than ever. THAT feels good. And it seems like more than ever I'm being asked to collaborate with other artists. I just played with Instituto Mexicano de Sonido in Mexico City, as a hired guitarist.

CG: What was the recording process for Ultra like?

BL: I wanted to make an album that was filled with my DNA.  Not forced or contrived or artificially clever.  Something that had a “timeless” quality about it and would endure sea changes.  Something that is “forever” as opposed to “of the moment.” And Ultra is what I came up with--it has been the easiest musical venture I've ever taken part of in my life, by far. I had been listening to a lot of Roy Orbison, Patsy Cline, and Sam Cooke at the time and wanted to emulate some of the “timeless” qualities in their music.  We recorded all of the drums, bass, piano, and rhythm guitars live, for example.  So there is an organic vibe due to that.  Also i made it a point to NOT use any digital instrumentation. No drum samples, no vocoders, midi synth....nothing that you would hear in almost every single modern recording these days. NO! It all had to be analog.  All organic.  Even the church bells on the album are real! This is something that I felt really strongly about --it is my way of saying “fuck you” to the current indie rock climate and all of the gimmick-ery that ensues.

CG: Was there any tension between balancing Ultra's young, indie feel and the more traditional, classic, Latino elements?

BL: No, not all. I just wrote what I liked and recorded it how I wanted to hear it. I did it all for me…I'm selfish!  Nothing is contrived or calculated. There was no feeling in the room of "this song needs to be more latin" or "this song needs to appeal to the hipsters in Silverlake" etc, etc.  It is what it is--music that is filtered through my personality and background. Es lo que hay.

CG: What do you think you would be doing right now if you weren’t a musician? What did you want to be when you were a kid?

BL: I certainly would be a teacher or educator of some type if I wasn't doing the music thing.  In fact, I'm a certified substitute teacher and have been teaching at Job Corps the past 2 months (I'm answering these interview questions at school, SHHH!). Anyhow, I LOVE teaching. Not middle schoolers though -- those kids are assholes. Only high school or college age.

As for when I was a kid ? Well, I come from a basketball playing household. My dad was a college head coach here in Tucson, so you can bet my brother, sister, and I were all into sports growing up. I was pretty good baller too--when I was a kid I had grand visions of playing ball professionally, sure.  But as I got older and didn't get much taller or bigger, basketball became less of a reality.  I took a 4 year music scholarship at University of Arizona rather than accepting any of the junior college basketball offers i had at the time. And now, here I am.

CG: How do you feel about being described (in your bio on funzalorecords.com) as “a musical octopus, fluid, ambidextrous, and adaptable”? Is being an octopus (at least being compared to one) a cool thing? (I imagine it would be…)

BL:  I actually don't like that quote. I'm going to send my label an email and have them update that shit.

CG: What’s next for you?

BL: I have shows lined up throughout the summer between the U.S. and Europe. Lots of touring.  In between time I will be writing and recording and perhaps making a cameo appearance here and there as a substitute teacher....for good measure.

 

Show and Tour info:

April 3rd (tonight!) at 8:30pm, opening for Heartless Bastards
The Echoplex
$15.00 adv; $18.00 day of show; $19.00 walk up day of show
18+

April 4th at 9:30pm
The Hotel Cafe
$10-$12.50
21+

Other U.S. dates*:

04/05/12 - The Fillmore - San Francisco, CA
04/06/12 - WOW Hall - Eugene, OR
04/07/12 - The Media Club - Vancouver, BC
04/08/12 - Aladdin Theater - Portland, OR
04/09/12 - The Crocodile - Seattle, WA
04/11/12 - Neurolux - Boise, ID
04/13/12 - Belly Up - Aspen, CO
04/14/12 - Bluebird Theater - Denver, CO
04/15/12 - Santa Fe Brewing - Sante Fe, NM

*with Heartless Bastards

Click here for more details, links, and European tour dates!

Leave it to Zac Pennington and his bizarro freak-pop troupe Parenthetical Girls to entitle their tour, the “PG-13 Tour” (parents strongly caution). The Portland-based group embarked on its risqué road voyage on Wednesday, March 21^st, and plans to make the rounds through North America, beginning in California and ending up in Seattle in mid-May.  Pennington’s first words about the tour were these: “Awake in beautiful SAC-RA-MENTOOO, California. ‘This is what you chose to do with your life. These are the people that you chose to do it with.’  ‘What are we doing? Why are we doing this?’ are the competing mantras. We’re all very excited.”

Anyone who has seen Parenthetical Girls play live should be as excited as the band members themselves. The charismatic Pennington is a show all in himself, engaging the audience with jokes, anecdotes, and random thoughts between songs. And as soon as the music starts, he transforms into a raucous, flamboyant performer known to wrangle his band mates in microphone cords, waltz through the crowd mid-song, and virtually devour his microphone (let’s hope he brings his own).  This band’s live show is truly a spectacle.

Tour dates:

3/21 CAFE DU NORD, SAN FRANCISCO CA (21+)*

3/22 BOOTLEG THEATER, LOS ANGELES CA (ALL AGES)*

3/23 CASBAH, SAN DIEGO CA (21+)*

3/24 SOLAR CULTURE, TUCSON (21+)*

3/26 DAN'S SILVERLEAF, DENTON, TX (ALL AGES)*

3/27 LAMBERT'S, AUSTIN (21+)*

3/28 CIRCLE BAR, NEW ORLEANS

3/29 THE EARL, ATLANTA (21+)*

3/30 THE GARAGE AT MOTORCO, DURHAM, NC (ALL AGES)*

3/31 IOTA CLUB & CAFE, ARLINGTON, VA (21+)*

4/1 ALTER BAR, PITTSBURGH (ALL AGES, EARLY SHOW)

4/2 JOHNNY BRENDA'S, PHILADELPHIA (21+)*

4/3 MERCURY LOUNGE, NYC (21+)* SOLD OUT

4/4 THE DEPOT, BALTIMORE (18+)

4/5 GLASSLANDS, BROOKLYN (21+)* SOLD OUT

4/6 IRON HORSE MUSIC HALL,

NORTH HAMPTON, MA (ALL AGES)*

4/7 LE DIVAN ORANGE, MONTREAL (18+)*

4/8 DRAKE HOTEL, TORONTO (19+)*

4/9 ARBOR VITAE, ANN ARBOR, MI (ALL AGES)

4/10 SCHUBAS, CHICAGO (21+)*

4/11 CEDAR CULTURAL CENTER, MINNEAPOLIS (ALL AGES)*

4/13 HI DIVE, DENVER*

4/14 KILBY COURT, SALT LAKE CITY (ALL AGES)*

4/17 MISSISSIPPI STUDIOS, PORTLAND (21+)*

4/18 BILTMORE CABARET, VANCOUVER BC (19+)*

4/19 CROCODILE CAFE, SEATTLE (21+)*

* with Perfume Genius

The LA-native sexy electro-pop troupe, Class Actress, is returning to Southern California this week to play dates at The Echo and Costa Mesa’s Detroit Bar. Led by the seductive Elizabeth Harper, the trio produces pop gems that gleam with 80s-inspired influences such as early Madonna and Depeche Mode.

Beginning her career as a singer/songwriter, Harper transitioned from acoustic songstress to electronic-laden pop queen, and with the help from producer Mark Richardson and engineer/multi-instrumentalist Scott Rosenthal, The now-Brooklyn-based outfit is touring in support of its critically acclaimed debut record (which made it on my “Top 5 Albums of 2011” list), Rapprocher. The blend of Richardson and Rosenthal’s instrumentation and Harper’s seductive vocals is bound to get any audience riled up, and will make for a good dance party. Class Actress plays The Echo on Thursday, February 9. 8:30 pm. $10 adv., $12 dos. 18+, and Detroit Bar on Saturday, February 11. 9 pm. $10 presale. 21+.

Ancient Sky

Descend into the weekend tonight with psychedelic rock band Ancient Sky’s record release show for their latest LP, T.R.I.P.S., at Death by Audio. This album is certainly a trip, and I would expect their live show to be a reverb-soaked trip down the rabbit hole of rock and roll – especially at this well-matched venue. If you’ve ever been to a show at Death by Audio, you know exactly what I mean. Also on the bill is the dark and lovely EXITMUSIC, plus Face Blindness, a band consisting of Radical Dads members.

Ancient Sky is still pretty under the radar, but very much in the vein of what bands like A Place to Bury Strangers and Himalaya as far as sonic composition and loudness goes. These bands create a sonic atmosphere that completely engulfs you to the point that feel nothing else outside of the sound. We’ve already witnessed the atmosphere of EXITMUSIC, so this should be a great night of mental transportation through the smoky haze airwaves. Until then, here is a track of Ancient Sky’s self-titled album from 2009 for you to blast for your co-workers before the end of your day:

Doors are at 8pm, and tix are a very agreeable $7 for the all ages crowd.

Well, this show is already sold out, but can that really come as a surprise? The lineup is impeccably tiered: the much-acclaimed headliner Girls, who are still rather hot off their release second full length which ended up on many best of 2011 lists, preceded by quickly rising Real Estate, who are hard to google but easy on the ears, and up and coming opener King Krule, the deep-voiced crooner from south east London. Take in his accent and minimalist beats on “The Noose of Jah City”

Real Estate has already been previewed, reviewed live, and most recently, their latest LP, Days, was reviewed by our Katrina Nattress, who concluded that “Courtney’s soothing voice and rhythmic chord strums paired with lead guitarist Matt Mondanile’s shimmering, jangly riffs, create a warmth needed on those cool, fall evenings or brisk autumn car drives.” Well, since tonight promises to be one of the coldest nights yet in NYC, that warmth will definitely be put to the test. With King Krule breaking the ice first and Girls taking you into the early morning hours after, this show has to be one of the better reasons to brave through it all.

Again, this show is sold out, but if you managed to score tix, doors are at 7pm at the giant warehouse of a venue that is Terminal 5.

Bestnewbands.com faves Saint Motel today released a free download of their upcoming, super limited edition, 7" vinyl single, "At Least I Have Nothing." Debuting on Rollingstone.com, we're proud to see one of the bands we touted early (and one of our Artists-In-Residence), breaking through to the next level! This brooding, melodic pop tune is a step forward and a sign of maturity for the band, which keeps elements of it's indie-pop, yet explores the darker elements of the genre. Without further adue, click here to get the single and the band will celebrating the release of the single on Friday December 2 with a special in-store at Oragami Vinyl in Los Angeles. Well done fellas!

Halloween weekend sparks the second annual Moogfest, a festival dedicated to Robert Moog, the man whose musical creativity and inventiveness changed the path of music and pioneered the electronic genre. When his first Moog synthesizers were introduced in the 60’s, they were among the first electronic instruments to gain international appreciation among musicians and were capable of producing sounds that had never been heard before. Since then, they have become highly desired instruments for musicians across the globe in all genres of music.

The festival will be hosted in Asheville, North Carolina, the home of Moog’s headquarters as well as the city Mr. Moog spent the last 30 years of his life, until his passing in 2005. Moogfest will showcase live music in a variety of venues in Asheville’s historic downtown, as well as workshops, an art show (featuring 77 million paintings by electronic legend Brian Eno) and even a costume contest.

Although there is a plethora of activities happening during the three-day long festival, the largest draw is the music, and this year’s lineup is pretty damn impressive. Friday, October 28, features Moby, TV on the Radio (shown above) and Chromeo; Saturday, October 29 features The Flaming Lips, STS9 and Crystal Castles, and Sunday, October 30, features Passion Pit and M83, with a full lineup of around 70 acts, which can be found here. And though Moog’s variety of instruments—the Minimoog Voyage, the Little Phatty, the Etherwave Theremin, Moogerfoogers and the Moog Guirar—will play an integral role during the festival, the musical acts are not chosen based on the use of these instruments, but rather for their unique and experimental sounds, creating groundbreaking musical experiences that embody Rober Moog’s creative spirit and help his legacy live on for years to come.

Saturday, October 22 is the last day of CMJ 2011, and things are winding down a bit. Here are our final recommended shows to end the festival on:

Active Child

After you sleep in till late afternoon, head over to Spike Hill to check out Kid Savant at 4pm, with Headless Horseman (ft. special guests) going on later at 8pm, DOM at 11pm, and a last chance to catch the electronic pop of a choir boy with a harp - Active Child, closing out the night there at 12am. This show is Free all day, 21+.

Active Child - You Are All I See by FILTER Magazine

EMA

At 7pm, everyone’s favorite Brazilian electro-pop band CSS takes the stage at Webster Hall, preceded by art/performance collective MEN, and the raw musical poetry of EMA. This one is $20adv/$25dos for non-badge holders, 18+.

The Veda Rays

We strongly recommend heading over to The Delancey, where recent winner of Deli Mag’s Artist of the Month poll The Veda Rays goes on at 8pm, and then later we’ll have the avant-indie lineup of Sea of Bees, Yellow Ostrich, and Monogold. Free with CMJ badge, $10 without, 21+.

The Veda Rays - "All Your Pretty Fates" by Amplifier_Magazine

White Fence

In the front room of Public Assembly the charming southerner Idiot Glee goes on at 9pm, and at 10:30pm in the backroom the White Fence will perform their intriguing psychedelic blues.

White Fence - Mr. Adams (White Fence) by taryninstereo