The Happy Hollows @ Bordello

The Happy Hollows

Sarah Negahdari - guitar and vocals
Charlie Mahoney - bass and vocals
Chris Meanie - drums

photo by PICKSYSTICKS

Considering its Halloween, what better way to celebrate than to catch “The Happy Hollows” at Bordello last Wednesday night. And for the special occasion, they took the stage dawning their costumes. Sarah sported a cute pirates outfit. Chris dressed up as a red-spotted mushroom from Super Mario Brothers. And Charlie did his best as an indie-rocker bass player.

What comes to mind when listening to The Happy Hollows for the first time? It’s a sound that can only be found in an edgy fantasy land of Red Bull rivers, clouds made up of Crest Winter Fresh Mint Strips and where endless rainbows act as freeways. Basically, what I’m trying to say is that it’s cool, refreshing and adds a little color to your life whether you like it or not. Sort of like walking out of a friend's performance art show and wondering what the hell you just watched. You didn’t understand it but you know you liked it.

photo by PICKSYSTICKS

Led by Sarah’s energetic guitar riffs and cotton candy voice, she gives this power/pop trio an eclectic yet frenetic sound. She’s allowed to roam free with her buzz-inducing sound in such songs as "Meteors" and "Trolls." If Sarah represents one extreme then Charlie, who also shares vocal duties with Sarah, would be the other. Unlike most bands where the bass player if often delegated to the background, Charlie is allowed to shine, cementing the group with his groovin’ base guitar. Where the Happy Hollows can get wild and out of control, Charlie keeps it super cool and controlled, keeping Sarah’s inner wild child from breaking loose. Rounding out the group is Chris Meanie playing a ‘mean’ set of drums beats. All three put together create a common ground that is The Happy Hollows.

Their live set this night was purely aggressive and unapologetic. Their songs such as “Vietnam” and “Colors” are messy arrangements that clash into beautiful music. And in songs such as "My Wet Tongue," only Sarah can make her, often times quirky but fun lyrics enjoyable. They ended their furious set with their newly unreleased song, “Monster Room” a frenzied in your face song that left the audience screaming for more.

All in all, The Happy Hollows delivered what you’d expect from an indie rock band and even more. Their songs were catchy and contagious. If The Happy Hollows were a disease, you’d definitely want to catch it. Check out the rest of the photos from that night HERE.

Wendy Darling to play Red Cross Relief Benefit Concert

photo by Carmen Grande

Wendy Darling is playing a Red Cross Relief Benefit Concert Nov. 3 & 4 at O'Connell's Pub in San Diego.

The show is 21+ The proceeds from the show will go directly to benefit Red Cross National Disaster Relief Fund. There will also be a silent auction for some items donated by musicians, artists, and other sponsors. Raffles will be held throughout the weekend. Food will also be on sale at the show. The daily line up will be announced very soon and daily capacity for this event is very limited (approximately 200). Advance tickets will be on sale this weekend through O'Connell's, or by contacting Haunted Ball & Chain directly. The ticket price is a minimum donation, but donations are greatly appreciated. This event will sell out very quickly, and no additional tickets will be available.

To find out more info and other bands that are playing check out the official site at: www.myspace.com/hauntedballandchain

LAVENDER DIAMOND NEWS!

First off - You can catch LAVENDER DIAMOND at THE ECHO this Thursday, October 18th! Click their myspace siteHERE for more details! Or their offical website here at www.lavenderdiamond.com .

Secondly - There's a very cool Lavender Diamond article in "Arthur Magazine." To read the entire article, click HERE!

Here's an excerpt:

Imagine Our Love, Lavender Diamond’s debut full-length, was released earlier this year to the kind of divided response the band has often received live. Stark’s Lavender Diamond persona is unique: think of a cosmic grade school teacher, or maybe Mary Poppins, returned to talk to you later in life, heartbroken at first to have to remind her former pupils about the importance of sharing and respect for Nature, but happy to encourage you to do better, using music, humor and imagination. When Stark sings “You broke my heart” over and over, pointing her finger directly at specific audience members, it’s a loaded—transgressive, even—move in a culture built on evading responsibility; you can see how it might not fly with every jaded urban hipster. But Lavender Diamond’s music is for the entire school, not just the kids too cool to be there. It’s pop music for peace, simple songs pitched somewhere between Linda Ronstadt, Jefferson Airplane and Yellow Submarine. Or, as Stark says, “It’s lovesongs to the world.”

Read the rest at ARTHUR MAGAZINE.

And finally - What better way to start off the week than with a Lavender Diamond video for...

THE VIDEO OF THE WEEK!

Here's their very fun video for their song, "Open Your Heart." Enjoy!!

NICO VEGA @ La Cita

photo by 405east

405 EAST has a cool review of Nico Vega's recent gig and video shoot at La Cita in Downtown L.A.! Read the whole review HERE!

Here's an excerpt:
...Out of nowhere the crowd separates as the female lead singer, Aja, cuts to the stage wearing a seductive black body stocking over revealing lingerie; an outfit likely inspired by Club Fantasy. The three piece Nico Vega sound is its own turn-on as well. One can listen to them while prying the lid from a can of paint and splattering a room yellow. No bass chords to keep them grounded. Fast drums, high pitched guitar riffs, and raspy vocals start easy and soft until bursting into outrage. Aja has a voice with a lot of wow and flutter, spiking peaks at any moment, then staying redline until the valley end. Nico Vega's "Gravity" track would be a perfect soundtrack for a winding top down arms out drive up the sunny mountainside that suddenly swerves out-of-control off a cliff into a forest crackling tumble that comes to rest near a trickling stream....(read more HERE at 405 East.)

***************UPDATE************
Here's the finished music video from that night for the single "Be Giving."

Chrissy DePauw Reaches a Milestone!!

Celebrating a million plays and staying on the Myspace music charts for over a year, Chrissy DePauw celebrated by playing a free show at the Third Street Promenade Tuesday night. It was also her way of giving back to her fans that made her one of Myspace's Top Indie Artists, selling over 10,000 albums.

You can check out Chrissy's next show on November 27th at Jimmy's Acoustic Courtyard in Hollywood. And you can check out our past write-up and photos on Ms. Chrissy right HERE!

CHRISSY DePAUW MySPACE PAGE @ www.myspace.com/chrissymusic

MISS DERRINGER in LA Weekly

photo by Kevin Scanlon

MISS DERRINGER'S Liz McGrath and Morgan Slade were featured and graced the cover of last weeks LA Weekly. It's an interesting read. To read the full article, click HERE. Here's an excerpt:
*****************************************************
Exiles On Main Street
By LINDA IMMEDIATO
Wednesday, September 12, 2007 - 2:00 pm

Lady McGrath

Upon entering Liz McGrath’s loft you arrive in a foyer, a square room with dark-brown walls adorned with black molding and her signature taxidermy creatures hanging in boxes like gothic sepulchers. It’s small and dark, like the elevator in the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland, but it’s a deceptive introduction to the bright, white and vaulted living space behind it. McGrath, tiny, with an impish smile and bleach-blond hair that is as pale as her skin, and her similarly complected husband, photographer Morgan Slade (who is McGrath’s band mate in the goth-western outfit Miss Derringer), look like a match made by Tolkien. Their space is actually the amalgamation of two lofts. One used to be a gay-porn studio called Chocolate Drop Productions, which eventually got the boot when tenants got sick of feces in their showers and douche bottles littering the floor of their shared bathroom. The other part of her loft belonged to a set director, who left behind the most coveted thing in the Canadian — a private shower and toilet that he had installed himself. Moving into the Canadian was moving up for McGrath...

(to read the rest of the article click HERE)

You can catch Miss Derringer at The El Rey on November 3rd.

VIDEO OF THE WEEK

"BLOODY BUNNIES" Music Video By GRAM RABBIT


Gram Rabbit hailing from Joshua Tree - our neighbors to the east.

OCTOBER SHOWS!!

TUESDAY, Oct. 9

Chrissy DePauw @ 3rd St. Promenade

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 10
Kiss or Kill Club @ El Cid

THURSDAY Oct. 11
New Years Day @ The Knitting Factory

SUNDAY, Oct. 14
Holly Brook @ El Rey Theater

MONDAY, Oct. 15
Rilo Kiley @ Civic Auditorium Santa Monica

TUESDAY, Oct. 16
The Bird and the Bee @ Amoeba Music Hollywood (Free Show)

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 17
Jesca Hoop @ Troubadour

THURSDAY, Oct. 18
Lavender Diamond @ The Echo

FRIDAY, Oct. 19
Go Betty Go @ Old Towne Pub

SATURDAY, Oct. 20
Midnight Movies & The Happy Hollows @ The Wiltern

FRIDAY, Oct. 26
Monsters are Waiting @ The Echo

SATURDAY, Oct. 27
The Donnas & Donita Sparks @ The Roxy
Dragstrip Kitty @ The Cat Club

CLICK HERE TO SEE FULL CALENDAR

R.I.P. LOS ABANDONED!

LOS ABANDONED (from left to right): Dan Verde, Lady P, Vira Lata & Dulce

LA local "Los Abandoned" announced on their website today that after 7 years, they all decided to go their separate ways. Here's their full announcement:

"After 7 years of making music as Los Abandoned, we have made the
collective decision to go our separate ways.

We would like to thank
our families, friends and fans as well as
everyone who worked so hard behind
the scenes to make this band a
success. Thank you for the memories, for
believing in us, and for
helping to make our dreams come true.

It really has been a dream-come-true."

Love Always,
Los Abandoned

***********************************

They'll be dearly missed. Here's their video for "Van Nuys"

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT - ALISON SUDOL ON CSI:MIAMI

In case you missed it. Here's Fine Frenzy's very own Alison Sudol in her acting debut on CSI:Miami.



Check out the CBS press release HERE!

And if you want more of A Fine Frenzy, check out our past review HERE at the world famous House of Blues on Sunset!

NEW NICO VEGA CD OUT TODAY AND ON TOUR!

Nico Vega's new EP, "No Child Left Behind" is out today on Myspace Records!! They kick off their North American tour this Saturday at the DETOUR FESTIVAL in downtown LA.

Click on the image below to purchase the cd and for tour information.



If you're still reading then CHECK OUT THIS AWESOME VIDEO DIRECTED BY BRYAN SIPE.