The OC Produces Another Great Band

The Attic struck again, hitting up the Roxy on Sunset this past Thursday night. As you can see from my previous post 3 wicked, or in more educated terms adroit bands conquered the 36 year old Roxy stage. A stage that has seen many great musicians from, Bruce Springsteen, to the early days of Guns N' Roses'. The Roxy is a mecca for underground talent. This venue houses the eclectic scene that is Hollywood. You will be amidst a very diverse crowd when you visit the Roxy, which makes for an even more interesting time. The first band to grace the stage happened to be the band I was most anxious to see and that was drum roll please (...The Jakes).

Coming fresh off their recent performance at the acclaimed SXSW music festival in Austin, Texas; the Jakes more than electrified the crowd, they moved them (in a can't stop dancing and feeling all the good vibes sorta way lol). Helming from the OC (which by definition most people outside of California already know because of some wack show on Fox that showcased a smidget of reality within that county anyways I digress). The Jakes have a very Maroon 5ish for lack of a better phrase type of sound. Most of their songs permeate with that Cali laid back feeling. Thanks to the magnanimous nature of the Roxy, I and many others were able to snag video and pictures of the performances. The Attic definitely gives a warm two fist pumps and dap to the idea of a venue actually allowing amateur photographers and bloggers to showcase the talent that graces its stage. Here is a two song sample from the immaculate performance by The Jakes.





Moving right along, Lemon Sun was the next band to rock the stage. This band was very surprising to say the least. Their music had a strong undertone of old Beatles and modern soft rock vibes. One of the coolest acts that I have seen thus far had to of been, their song with the added percussion's of a very attractive female tap dancer. This can be seen in the video below. More to come in the coming days. Enjoy for now.

The Roxy an Uncovered Gem

After countless hours of sifting through venue after venue I finally stumbled upon the Attics next review: the Roxy on Sunset. Tonight's performances include Great Northern, Lemon Sun, and The Jakes. The Roxy provides a great backdrop for finding up and coming musicians. You can check out all of these great bands at the links provided above. As always, I will cater to lackadaisical web surfers by posting videos of each band below. Have fun and keep your suggestions rolling in. The Attic is totally unbias in picking its shows, so feel free to suggest anything, from the most obscure African tribal music to artsy pop.

Kina Grannis Videos

The Hollywood Attic proudly brings to you Kina Grannis in the full non-HD bootleg quality video brought to you by yours truly, me :). At least the sound quality is somewhat great minus the drop in one part of the video I think for the Strong Enough video. Still working out the technical aspects but things should be running smoothly in the near future. The Attic will one day be a great place with nothing but HD-quality videos until then bare with me lol. Enjoy.

Kina Grannis @ The Hotel Cafe 3/21/09

Before I dive into how amazing Kina's performance was last night it would be remiss of me not to thank my two dearest com padres, Hamlet and Sebastian. The Hollywood Attic extends a warm thanks with a little dap to both Hamlet and Sebastian for making last night fun. Now onto more pressing matters: Kina's breathtaking performance at the Hotel Cafe.

The moment Kina stepped foot onto the center stage of the Hotel Cafe, I couldn't help but realize how dazzling she looked. Then moments later she captivated the sold out crowd with her angelic voice, sounds from her guitar and her live band. This is common knowledge, but I have the urge to share it anyways, putting a full band behind an already talented musician is like watching Baseball nowadays in this steroid era; the end results are just blood-tingling. Hearing Kina sing alone (as you could see by the youtube videos below) is amazing; now, add a pianist, guitarist, and bassist (who doubled up by playing a mean cello) and you have the blissful sounds that radiated from the Hotel Cafe last night.

Kina also pulled one over on the crowd by allowing her sister Emi to come out and perform. You can see this later in the videos that I was so fortunate to record until I was told that recording was not permitted (got to be more discrete next time lol). I apologize to the Hollywood Attic junkies out there because I was not able to capture one of Kina's best performances of the night, a trio with David Choi on the ukulele and Janet Choi rocking out on the illest of instruments...the xylophone.

To cap things off, the night couldn't have ended any better. I had a fortuitous meeting with Kina after the show. Hamlet was able to provide us with some great pics as you can see. Overall Kina Grannis left her heart on the stage last night. With her soulful and unique blend of contemporary pop mixed with ardent lyrics; Kina Grannis definitely puts on a show. Videos to come in the near future until then enjoy the few pics posted.


"Music can change the world because it can change people."
--Bono

One last Vanessa Post ( I promise lol)

Here is one of my favorite songs Vanessa performed at the Hotel Cafe, the song is titled "Home." I suggest that you listen to the lyrics, I know everyone can relate to such a deep song--anyways, I'm super excited to see Kina Grannis live in concert at the same venue Hotel Cafe. This spot in Hollywood hosts many artistic musicians. Well until my next post enjoy the few songs I have posted from Monday night's Vanessa Carlton concert.

The Start of Something Great?

Kina Grannis, bet you never heard of her. She is a beautiful young aspiring musician, the antithesis of unpleasantly sounding melodies. Her inventive writing and soft voice can only captivate audiences, clearly making her a perfect choice for my next review. If you or anyone you know has nothing to do Saturday night, then might I suggest an intimate evening with the harmonious sounds of Kina Grannis at the Hotel Cafe. Her performance starts promptly at 9pm, however, I would suggest coming early. If you cannot make that (waving fist violently in the air thinking how one could miss such a great young musician) then check out her myspace page at http://www.myspace.com/kinagrannis. Better yet, for those lazy web surfers out there I have provided a few choice videos showcasing the raw talent that is Kina Grannis. Enjoy.

--A painter paints pictures on canvas. But musicians paint their pictures on silence.
~Leopold Stokowski

My Inaugural Address

Last night was arguably the best night of my life in some regards. To preface everything, I have been a loyal follower of Vanessa Carlton since high school so it was natural for me to be ever so enthralled by her recent concert announcements--the first of which included a stop at the Hotel Cafe. Now, I would consider myself a veteran of the Vanessa Carlton concert scene with five concerts under my belt. I have even gone as far as seeing her open for Stevie Nicks (who I knew nothing about at the time). On a side note you should def check Stevie Nicks out lol, anyway, I digress.

One word can sum up the awe-inspiring performance Vanessa displayed last night at the Hotel Cafe and that is....mellifluous. Her music was so breathtakingly inspiring that it moved me to create this blog. Standing and listening to her amazing piano skills made me realize how there is a whole other world out there waiting to be exposed. Hollywood provides a stupendous playground for up and coming artists and musicians that are true to music itself, like Vanessa. It's like a blank canvas, where musicians of all genres can create their expressionist masterpiece.

This post is dragging on but to sum things up, I am taking on a very personal and ambitious project, that is: to discover the undiscovered, seek out artists that are still in the midst of creating their own legacy in music. To do this, I will frequent the copious amounts of small venues within Hollywood and its surrounding cities. Hopefully this project blossoms into something grand, thus providing whoever stumble upon it with superlative sagacity in art and music.

As a final thought I encourage everyone young and old to pick up an instrument and learn how to make music. It is an amazing experience how music can pull and yank at your very core and move you in ways you thought you couldn't be moved before. Oh and look forward to video posts and pics in the coming time. Lastly, I have to give thanks to Vanessa Carlton for inspiring me to do this and more importantly for taking time out after the concert to meet with her fans like myself and sign autographs.

--Go conquer the world one note at a time
Bing