LA.CityZine brings you band, The Pity Party as a part of our Know Your LA Bands series. These two people, who are too good looking for their own good, can be compared to a Rilo Kiley pair. However, that’s just at a first glance. Forget the red hair comparison. The Pity Party brings you music that is moody, punk, pop and rock all at once. With both members playing multiple instruments (Heisenflei on drums, keys and vox and M on auto orchestra/electric guitar), this party is nothing to pity. Creating a sound that is almost ahead of our time (definitely not for those teeny boppers, but maybe for hipsters who have good taste and aren’t snobby about it), the Pity Party brings us music that is unfamiliar yet addictive.

The Pity Party has already gained critical acclaim as LA Weekly’s “Best Band in LA” in their weekly reader poll of 2007, Number 1 MySpace find by Supersweet Magazine, and NME’s Radar Band of June 2008. Being asked to play abroad isn’t unusual for bands in the states but The Pity Party is increasing their fan base in the US with each day as their multi-tasking inflict awe on their audiences. Don’t be fooled by all those instruments being set up on stage. There’s only two of them. If you want to get a taste of this futuristic punk as f*** band, head on out to the Echo Curio tomorrow on Thursday, July 3rd at 8:00 PM. The red hair, all their multi-tasking limbs and eerily fascinating Silverlake sound will be there. If you can’t make it out, make sure to purchase their first EP, Orgy Porgy, which is available through their myspace. The EP is eco-friendly and comes with 7 different covers featuring very lovely creatures designed by Ronald Dezerigian. Photo credited to Timothy Norris.

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Method Man - also known as The Panty Raider, Ghost Rider, The Long John Silver, Johnny Blaze among other things, and last but not least, Clifford Smith is not only an accomplished hip hop artist, record producer and actor, he’s also got quite a charming personality on him.

In “The Wackness,” which ironically contains many of the hits he wrote, produced and performed, with the The Wu-Tang Clang, Method Man plays Percy, a Rastafarian drug lord who supplies Josh Peck’s character, Luke Shapiro, with weed to sell on the streets of New York.

Recently, Method Man sat down with Los Angeles CityZine at the press junket for “The Wackness” to discuss his role in the film, his thoughts on current artists, new projects, including a comic book and how it was like working with Sir Ben Kingsley.

How do you think this move reflected that era in New York and is it pretty accurate?

Yeah i think so, as far as Josh’s point of you, I didn’t know they had it that hard, I thought the white kids was rollin’. It was pretty spot on, the whole Giuliani thing, even down to blowing the Nintendo cartridge.

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A simple idea…Get a band to play an acoustic set in a low-key outdoor environment. Make it a party and invite some friends to come down and watch. Have the band talk about their songs and themselves a little bit. Now, film the whole thing and what do you get?

In June, Southern California band Francisco the Man! was the first guest in the The Garden Party series. Lead singer Scotty Cantino writes deceptively simple tales of love, faith and drifting under diamond skies. The band dresses these tunes up in gorgeous harmonies that you could cut with a knife and a backbeat as steady as the freight trains that roll through the Inland Empire.

LA Cityzine presents Francisco the Man! in The Garden Party #1. [ Read The Full Story -> ]

Nichole Palumbo
The best-dressed restaurant hostess in the west by day, Professional Dancer and Choreographer by night

- What is L.A. street fashion to you?
Combining different elements of the city (music, grafitti, the rich & the famous, grunge) and creating a style all your own. Mixing genres, sharing ideas, making it by hand, and making it your own.

- How has this city changed your style?
I think it’s changed anyone who lives in Cali’s style. If you lived in Hicksville you wouldn’t really care about fashion. We live near L.A. We’re obligated to have some kind of style. This city has influenced my style by its sheer versatility. You like to people-watch? Go to L.A. You’ll see bums strung out on coke, millionaires in their Rolls Royces, entire families J-walking to catch the bus, starving artists and musicians, hole-in-the wall coffee shops, and mile high corporate buildings. What more inspiration do you want, right?

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When Ben Kingsley walks into a room, no introduction is needed. His grace and presence cancel out the Sir in front of his name. Kingsley is one of the best of the best. He is in the top of his league. With Ghandi, Sexy Beast, Bugsy and The House of Sand and Fog under his belt, Kingsley has not only made it, he’s surpassed all.

In Jonathan Levine’s The Wackness, Kingsley plays Dr. Squires, a therapist badly in need of therapy himself who befriends a teenager to soon find out that they’re more alike than they both previously thought. Recently, Kingsley took time out to speak to LA.CityZine for his latest release The Wackness.

When you first heard about this project, did you have any advanced knowledge of this, what attracted you to the script, what made you want to do it?

What attracted me to the script was its perfect symmetry, it is a great comedy but it also has a heart, and of the heart it is this perfect symmetry of once upon a time there was a boy who had no parents, once upon a time there was a father who had no children. I love the way, if you start your story like that, the universe, in the story, finds a way of bringing these people together.

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Forever The Sickest Kids were one of my favorite acts at Ventura’s Warped Tour. Aside from teasing me about my inability to work my own microphone, they were funny, nice, and talented! No wonder they’ve gotten so big in the two years they’ve been around. I had a chance to speak with Austin (bass and vocals), Kent (Keys), Jonathan (lead singer), Marc (guitar), Myke (drums), and Caleb (guitar and vocals), the whole group about playing Warped Tour, their favorite bands, and even TRL at one point. La.CityZine brings you Forever The Sickest Kids…

Winnie: Your new album, Underdog Alma Mater, was released almost 2 months ago. How do you feel the reaction has been to the new album, whether it be with the music world, or with your fans?

Austin: I think [the reactions] have been really good, we put some of the EP songs that we did on the full length. We kind of juiced them up and everything. All we’ve really heard has been good responses, and every time we play shows, they’re always shouting new songs that we should play, so it’s cool.
Kent: I agree with Austin.
Jonathan: I’d like to say that I agree with Austin.
Kyle: I agree with Jonathan.
Caleb: I agree.

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LA.CityZine brings you artist, Merlinmoon, as part of your Know Your LA Bands series. Alex Deep, formerly a DJ, decides to take a different spin on genres. With more psychedelic rock, you can’t help but call his music groovy for today. To help him fill out peaceful jams, Bradley Greenberg (drums), Payvand Salehi (bass), and Michael Wise are additional band members to Alex’s solo project of mystical tunes.You can catch Merlinmoon play at The Roxy tomorrow, July 2nd. The show is a late one, so if you’re too busy during the day, you have no excuse! Alex and his band take the stage at 11:00 PM. Who knows. You may meet your special someone to make your own flower child. Check out the interview below to read about Merlinmoon’s Alex and his travels around the world, his favorite quotes, and his thoughts on Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata.” [ Read The Full Story -> ]

While many of you are most likely pealing away the dead skin from your sunburn and slowly regaining hearing in your ear, we’re here to help remind you why you put yourself through that in the first place, for bands like Valencia. Luckily, LA.CityZine got a chance to catch up with these boys backstage and ask them some questions about the show, touring, and of course what it’s like playing Warped Tour.

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The Color Fred took the Hurley Stage at Ventura’s Warped Tour on Sunday, and played to a large crowd of eager fans. Afterwards, I had the wonderful opportunity of speaking to Fred Mascherino, vocalist and guitarist of The Color Fred (Previously of Taking Back Sunday).

WJ: So tell us about basics about The Color Fred!

FM: My name is Fred Mascherino, and I have my own band called The Color Fred, which I play guitar and sing in. It started as a solo project, but it’s quickly becoming a band as we tour more and more.

WJ: Your new album, Bend to Break, was, in essence, a solo album – you did all of the instruments except the drums, you sang, played guitar etc. How has the journey been to recreate that with a full band while you’re on the road?

FM: It’s been pretty cool because Matt Fleischman, my guitarist, is from back in Pennsylvania where I grew up, and I’ve known him for so long that playing with him is like playing with another guitarist like myself. Anything that I play, he’s good at picking up right away. With all the guys, I try to pick guys that would play the way that I hear it in my head. So when I play the bass line on the record, I know that Chris Paulsen, our bassist, is going to play it well, and if I have two guitar parts, there’s Matt, and Steve Curtiss, who’s my live drummer, is the one who drummed on our record as well.

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“In L.A. they call me Boston. In Boston, they call me bossy…”
Sahra Nguyen (UCLA student, activist, artist, mover, and shaker)

Sahra Nguyen hailing from Boston, residing in Santa Monica, and shot-calling worldwide, took some time out of her hectic schedule to tell LA.CityZine what’s good with street fashion in the City of Angels.

What is L.A. street fashion?

To me, L.A. street fashion means, “I don’t give a fuck” about what anybody else thinks. The beautiful thing about L.A. is that it’s the biggest conglomerate of culture within a city I’ve ever seen, and culture is defined by the distinctiveness of individuals. So individualism really is timeless. From what I’ve seen, L.A. street fashion is more than just a trend…it’s a fucking lifestyle! You wear what you do because you rock it with confidence. Coordinating—not matching—is so key. I hate it when people wear red on red on red and think they’re the shit. That kind of matching requires no creative eye. So, coordinating means being creative with how different colors, patterns, shapes and accessories match, contrast or compliment each other. And if we’re talking about street fashion, I also believe it’s about complimenting your environment. How are you gonna stand out as an individual from everyone around you? How do you wanna make yourself pop out against the concrete jungle?

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LA.CityZine brings you, The Fling, as part of our Know Your LA Bands series. With a psychedelic groove to their tunes, The Fling brings you mind tripping harmonies spread upon raw folk rock jams. Brothers, Graham and Dustin Loveli, and their band members Justin Ivey and Scotty Cantino hand us a different vibe to cheers our beers to. Think Elliot Smith, The Beatles and the Beach Boys going into the rainforest on acid and returning as one collective group - The Fling. These boys from Long Beach produce a sound that contains a mist of nonchalance yet presents serious musicianship.

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Recently, LA.CityZine was given the opportunity to speak with Scott Klopfenstein from Reel Big Fish, an American Ska punk band from Huntington Beach.

For all their LA fans, they will be playing at the Warped Tour in Ventura on June 22nd at 11:30am, then in Fresno August 14th at 11:30am, and then finally in Los Angeles August 17th again, at 11:30am.

Lucky for you, we had the opportunity to ask Scott about their recent album, stalker stories, Warped Tour, showering, and divulging secrets…

WJ: So your new album Monkeys for Nothin’ and the Chimps for Free came out a little while ago – it was your first independent album after being released from a major record label. What were the challenges and/or benefits of recording without a major record label?

SK: One of the challenges to doing the album ourselves is that it’s an expensive process to record and put out a record. But if you put the positives and negatives on a scale, the positives definitely outweigh. I mean, we didn’t have to get songs approved by anybody; we could do anything we wanted, which was nice. But even with We’re Not Happy ‘Til You’re Not Happy, we still had to submit demos to Jive. Like we hadn’t proven ourselves to sell records and make great albums and be okay. So that was always frustrating.

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