Well Mothers day yesterday couldn't have been any better. The day culminated with the always stylish U-N-I Hip Hop duo performing live at the Viper Room. They opened for the legendary Hip-Hop group Kids in the Hall. If you missed U-N-I's performance last night I strongly suggest you hit their myspace page here [U-N-I] and check out their next stops.
To start the recap off you must beware of U-N-I's latest and newest CD The Love Supreme. They performed a good amount of tracks from the aforementioned CD, including my favorite Hollywood Hitatus. Sadly enough I was not able to capture film or even get a chance to snag a patent HollywoodAttic pose with U-N-I. The reason as to why is quite funny actually. The bouncer there happened to recognize me from my last outing at the Viper Room [Last Viper Room Outing] where he had previously kicked me out for filming. So he was keeping tabs on me all night which made filming practically impossible. To make up for it I have provided more treats in the form of You-Tube videos displaying the jovial nature of U-N-I. Lastly visit U-N-I's official website to download their newest album The Love Supreme for a very recession friendly price...FREE!!! Enjoy the vidoes below. Attic Out!!!
Speak of the Devil. I have stumbled upon a quick clip from last nights performance. The track is hilarious. The song you will see below is about Fat Girls. Watch and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
The Attic has been moved yet again by another Hip-Hop duo by the name of U-N-I. I first stumbled upon this great hip-hop group while finishing a long arduous accounting degree at UC Riverside. They provided a great stress reliever between my jam packed class schedule. The most memorable song that they played at UCR had to of been their ode to Fat Girls. That song pretty much sums up what U-N-I is all about, fun light hearted rap.
Bells are ringing kids and their textbook filled backpacks are jostling to their classes. As I finally reach my new class I take a glance down at my schedule, it reads Hip-Hop 101 with Professors "Thurzday & Y-O". I quickly take a seat, while wiping the beads of sweat dripping from my forehead. I can't help but notice the Professors ken sense of style. It's as if they cleaned out a Thrift store and pieced things together to make a flawless outfit. One word can describe their sense of style...retro. Thurzady introduces himself formally as Yannick Koffi and briefly explains his origins from Inglewood California. Y-O follows Thurzday's lead and tells this jam packed class his formal name Yonas Semere Michaels. He again reiterates his origins from Inglewood as well. Thurzday urges the class and viewers sitting in via The Attic to watch the video below. He states "you can see our role in the resurgence of the Los Angeles rap scene in the video below."
Ok enough with a quick short story. You now know and have heard U-N-I. These talented rappers will be performing live at the Vipper Room tonight. Come out and support this already critically acclaimed group. U-N-I has already won a MTV VMA and they aren't even signed yet. They are considered to be LA's Best Breakout Artist based off of the VMA award. If that doesn't get you excited to see them live then hit the video below and make your way to their myspace page [U-N-I]where you can hear more of their soon to be hits. Attic out!!
Last night was another night that reaffirmed the Attic is doing something amazing. You see, one of my focal points with this site is to get out and support amazing singer/songwriters like Michelle Armstrong (pictured above) by sharing their talent not only online but getting friends and random Attic followers to see live shows. It's a simple formula at these smaller venues: the more fans you draw, the nicer chunk of change these very deserving musicians walk away with. Now tell me who is against helping out starving up and coming musicians, especially those that write passionate and soulful melodies.
Now onto a brief recap of the night. It would be remiss of me to first not give an Attic shout out to my surprise guests last night, Alfredo and his very stunning girlfriend Kriss. The Attic thanks you both for coming out and supporting Michelle last night and (Kriss thanks for the Johnny West suggestion). Moving right along, Michelle had a surprisingly stronger performance than I could have ever anticipated. She even amazed the Attic's impecunious sidekick Hamlet (who is a much harsher critic). Michelle had a very rich and mature sounding voice last night. Add a solid band behind her with two members being alumni to the prestigious USC School of Music then you have the making of one captivating show. Unfortunately I was not able to shoot any film of her breathtaking performance but instead I have found this video that displays the sheer talent that is Michelle Armstrong.
Since Mother Day is just around the corner I have to mention how awesome Michelle's Mom and Dad were. They both were manning the merchandise counter selling their daughters (must own Apples) CD. I was fortunate enough to share my new passion of writing and covering talented musicians like their daughter with them. The surprising thing to me was how receptive both her parents were, which reaffirms to me that the Attic is here to stay. Michelle's affable parents made it possible for me to snag a photo and actually mention the blog to Michelle.
Michelle's radiant personality really came through during my brief meeting with her. She was very interested in the site and for that I say thanks. Lastly I hope anyone that stumbles upon this little ole blog stops by Michelle's myspace page or better yet purchase her albums because honestly speaking, she is a true musician at heart. Here's my last parting gift to you Attic readers. Enjoy and more is on its way. Attic Out!!
Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without. ~Confucius
The Attic is back and ready to resume his sentinel role, taking in a unique blend of music tonight, at the Hotel Cafe. This place has become a Mecca of sorts when it comes to undiscovered talent. The multifarious line up tonight includes the following artists: Ernie Halter, Amber Rubarth, Hey Ocean, Cosio, and Michelle Armstrong. You can check out the times each act goes on here [Hotel Cafe]. The Attic’s spotlight artist of the night will be Michelle Armstrong, whom you can check out in the video below.
Now you might be pondering why the Attic chose to showcase Michelle Armstrong as opposed to the other great artists performing tonight; the answer is simple, 90 written songs & two albums Lemons and Apples. Michelle has really shown her ability to grow not only as a musician but as an entrepreneur as well. She has created her own publishing company (Three Penguin Publishing), and has recently completed writing a score for the Off Broadway play (The Things I Wished My Mother Told Me.) Besides being a jack of all artistic trades, Michelle remains a very grounded person. She calls both NYC & LA home, while working on putting out great music like the Attic's favorite The Ending. Hit her link in the Shoutout section to hear all her great songs. Since the goal of the Attic is to help everyone continue to ameliorate musically, then it is my duty to suggest you click the video below. Enjoy and more will be on the way. Attic Out!!!
The Attic is back after another great show in LA. This night was less chaotic when compared to my last outing, at the Hotel Cafe. Fastball provided the climatic end to a very serene night. Tony Scalzo (lead guitarist and pianist pictured above) provided one of my favorite showings of raw talent when he seamlessly moved from playing a piano mid song to a guitar. After their solid performance I was fortunate enough to meet both Tony and Miles Zuniga (lead singer pictured below). Tony and I briefly discussed his musical origins, where he stated the piano was the first instrument he learned. Miles on the other hand, provided Kevin and I with some light hearted conversation. Overall I would say Fastball definitely has some great work ahead of them. Their newest album had some catchy tunes which displayed each members ken sense of music. One of my favorite tracks that they played Saturday can be viewed below. Lastly I beseech you Attic-addicts to take a stroll down memory lane and watch Fastballs' 10,000th live performance of their biggest hit The Way. I will throw in an extra video for you guys once Youtube stops being lame (server maintenance for 2-3hrs wow). Anyways Enjoy the video below. Attic out!!!
Now that Youtube has finally gone back to normal enjoy an extra sampling of Fastball live at the Mint. This one is for all you hardcore Fastball junkies.
The Attic will be killing two birds with one stone this weekend. Checking out a great venue with an awesome lineup headlined by the timeless sounds of Fastball. They will be performing at the always swank Mint in Los Angeles. They go on promptly at 11:30 so buy your tickets here [The Mint]. Now I know there is probably a small group of people pondering who exactly Fastball is; and for those few people you have stumbled upon the right place.
Fastball was created way back in 1994 under their prior alias Magneto USA. They are comprised of Joey Shuffield, Miles Zuniga, and Tony Scalzo. Their first album released under the name Make Your Momma Proud hit stores in 1996. This album wasn't a hit right away thus causing the band to hit the studio and focus their efforts on creating a new sound for their next album. Fastball's second album, All The Pain Money Can Buy included their widely successful song The Way. This album would prove to be Fastball's most successful selling over 1 million copies that year. If you haven't heard of their most successful song then come out from underneath the rock you've been under all these years and click the video below.
Fastball provides its listeners with a unique blend of surfer music and rock. Their laid backrhythms and lyrics are always fun for patrons at these smaller sized venues. They have been quoted by many critics within the industry, to have successfully fused together the sounds of The Beatles with modern day rock. If you love laid back music then give Fastball a try. Here is another video to wet the appetite of you Attic loyalist. Enjoy. Attic out!!!
Hey Attic fans out there. I was fortunate enough to attend the CD Release party last Wednesday for Great Northern. This band is one of the most unique sounding bands I have stumbled upon during my brief Attic stint. Well this was just a quick post to give you Attic followers a heads up on this great bands CD release. April 28th mark that down on your calendars and go out and support this up and coming band. Until the next post Attic Out!!!
PS. I just found these two great finds on youtube of Great Northern. Take a break from your busy days and just chill to these relaxing melodies. Enjoy!!!
The Attic and his one man entourage stormed the streets of Hollywood last night in search of some great music. Our search culminated with an awesome band called The Quiet. The Quiet had one of the most entertaining performances I have seen at this particular venue. Brendon Ryan the lead vocalist and pianist, made sure to get this eclectic Hollywood crowd juiced up and jiving together; all the while maintaining a very comedic vibe about himself. Matt Ferrone ripped the stage with his stunning guitar skills, while the Kaptain brothers (Jeff & Dave) left their hearts on the stage playing the rhythm guitar and bass respectively. To round out this jovial batch was The Quiet's new drummer Dana Deignan, who helped fill this intimate venue with great percussion.
Now that you know who The Quiet are onto describing how last night was EPIC. When I say Epic I mean a night filled with its quintessential highs and lows, for lack of a better euphemism. For starters, Seb and I were very fortunate to meet Veronica; a long time (3 years to be exact) fan of The Quiet. Veronica would be a life saver by providing us with a pic of Seb & I with 3 members from the awesome Quiet band. On a side note the I-phone is definitely clutch seeing that she took the pic above with hers; since my camera died earlier that night. Anyways the Hollywood Attic wants to extend some South Central Daplol to Veronica for being so damn clutch :) Oh and enjoy my first video of the night below.
Ironically my graduating from a little known school in a smog congested city aka UC Riverside was actually a bonding point last night. Majority of The Quiet are from Riverside. Seb and I found this out while conversing with the lead guitarist Matt (who had a brief 2 year stint at UCR). This provided us with some hilarious Riversidian conversations. Turns out the Quiet use to perform at Tremers (spelling?) and anyone from Riverside knows that this is a rough part of town. I'm glad to see they have come up in the world because these guys are talented. It was awesome sharing our experiences of the 90-NASTY (copyrighted by Veronica I'm not that creative to come up with such a phrase haha) with this great group of guys. These moments all helped make last night super memorable in a good way. Before I jump to how the night turned into a clip straight out of a horror movie gone wrong, enjoy a song from last nights The Quiet performance.
An EPIC night could not be EPIC without moments of vagary. To preface and add a note of advice, never drink a bottle of Sailor Jerry's between yourself and another light weight haha. That was mistake number 1. To begin the night Seb and I murdered a bottler of Sailor Jerry's, needless to say we were pretty much gone the rest of the night. After all the highs from meeting everyone throughout the night comes a huge blow to my ego and wallet......I had lost my keys during my highly intoxicated state. Now a new timorous feeling was creeping in, thus ruining what had already been an amazing night. Naturally when you lose your keys you backtrack and hope to find them during your peripatetic state, which is what Seb and I did. This included asking the bartenders at the Hotel Cafe whom displayed their solicitous manner by actually searching the venue for them. Thanks for that. Fast forward 30mins to an hour later, Seb and I finally throw in the towel. We go back to my car anticipating making that AAA phone call to have my car towed. At the last possible second something told me to ask the parking attendant if anyone had found keys. To my and Seb's surprise someone turned in my car keys to him. Now I'm not one to be religious but the moment he handed me my long lost keys was frankly cause for me to bow down and say "Thank You Jesus". He was promptly rewarded with a 10 spot courtesy of Seb.
Overall last night was a night to be remembered. It was definitely one of those Hollywood nights lol that will go down in infamy. Hope you enjoyed the post and feel free to drop me some comments I'm lonely up here in the Attic. Until the next post. Attic Out!!!
The Attic has been MIA for a while and what better band to bring it out than The Quiet. I found out about this band by randomly snagging one of their demo cd's at the Vanessa Carlton concert a month ago. To my great surprise, they were actually really good. By the pulchritude of their sounds, The Quiet were a clear-cut choice for the Attic's next post. If you like the Beatles, Led Zeppelin or Radiohead then I suggest you visit their myspace [The Quiet] and check out a small sample of this talented group. My suggestion is to hit the song titled Change Your Heart first, great piece. You know a band is great when their first album is titled The Quiets Greatest Hits. They have loaded their debut album with 14 different songs, each showcasing the different talents within the group. This album can be enjoyed by any music aficionado. If you like pianos, guitar riffs, drum solos then this is your band. Enjoy the two best youtube videos of The Quiet below. And the Attic is getting a little lonely drop me some comments it's open to the public. Oh and if you see me randomly feel free to give me a shout-out or better yet buy me some food lol. Attic out.
Last Thursday night was EPIC!!! Ok, let me settle down I'm still hyped from Diz's performance at the Viper Room last Thursday. If you don't know Diz then you don't know what's brewing in the underground. To be frank, Diz flawlessly merges east coast vibes and rhythms (produced by the illest and realist Moonshine) with his own unique Cali flavor that ends up creating a 'fun get up and get your Harlem Shake on sound.' Oh, and for your viewing pleasure you will see the Attic's poor attempt at trying to get his swagger in the video below. By the way, please feel free to leave any comments on how great my moves were, I know Chris Brown has nothing on The Attic.
Ok, enough boasting, on to the more serious side of things: The Attic's last outing at the Viper Room. If I had to pick one word that best summed up the night it would be....frisson. Now you're probably wondering why or what that is, let me elaborate. The gist of the night was pretty much myself and the homie Hamlet showing up 2 hours early lol. Thus, what better to do than socialize with the few other people that were there, who happened to be a part of Diz's entourage. Diz's DJ that night was a pretty chill guy and provided us with the following link [The Spliff LA]. This guy was coming off the SXSW tour where he DJ'ed for a couple of artists out there, so big ups on that. After chatting it up with the DJ, I got a lucky ass meeting with Diz himself. Check the photo below lol. Diz is definitely one laid back rapper. After chatting it up a bit and exchanging contact info it was onto meeting the legendary and critically (VIBE Critics that is) acclaimed producer Moonshine. Each of these fortuitous meetings all had their own sense of thrill and moments of excitement. This occurred spontaneously throughout the evening which made frisson the best description of the night. The Hollywood Attic is going back to school, possibly MBA, thus great time to expand my vocabulary right (I know that GMAT test is a bitch). Here's a pic with the always eccentric Moonshine. Lastly, the night couldn't have ended any better. After schmoozing with the Bouncer and the "house" photographer, Hamlet and I got thrown out due to our video recording, great right! lol. To cap things off, the Homie Hamlet got a 40 dollar parking ticket (little advice in a down economy: put change in meters, Cali is broke like a mother). Anyways, I'm peacing out, this has become a long winded rant. Enjoy the pics and the video provided above. Attic out!!!
Thanks to all of you who voted in this past poll. Seems like there was a tie, so being resourceful I took it upon myself to break it. The two choices were The Viper Room and The Whisky A Go Go, both great venues I might add. Anyway, heads = Viper Room and tails = The Whisky. The Viper Room won. So, tomorrow night I will be taking in the rapid cadence that is Diz Gibran.
School is officially in session, and the Attic would proudly like to introduce to you Khalil Bernard Kinsey aka Diz Gibran. Hit this link [The Vibe] to see why many insiders in the rap game consider Diz to be the next Kanye. Having a more light-hearted and less gangster vibe makes it easy for critics to draw the Kanye comparisons. Be the judge for yourself and check out the video below. The song is titled "Stereo" enjoy that shit lol. More to come, the Attic is out.
Here is the deal, the Attic will be conducting a very scientific poll where you help me decide on my next venue. In order to give you an educated vote I have supplied info for each venue; because we all know an uneducated vote is like believing that Michael Jackson is actually sane and OJ didn't do it makes no sense.....right?
The Viper Room is your first choice of venues. It would be totally remiss of me to not elucidate you Attic loyalist, as to why the Viper room is such a unique venue. For starters, the Viper room was created and owned by Johnny Depp, in 1993. Sadly to all you Johnny Depp fans he relinquished ownership in 2004 after an extensive legal battle with then co-owner Anthony Fox. On a brighter note, Depp has been known to make an occasional appearance from time to time. Due to his celebrity, Depp was able to attract music legends like, Johnny Cash, and Tom Petty (who happened to be the Viper Room's inaugural performance). Now the Viper room has ushered in a new era of music. They have brought forth such pop icons as the Pussy Cat Dolls. There is a lounge within the Viper Room that is named after the aforementioned pop group, that houses the sounds and melodies of different artists. If you want to check out what is happening at this always happening spot hit the link here (The Viper Room) and who knows you might run into some celebrities like Sean Penn, Jennifer Aniston, and better yet the Attic himself lol.
"As long as there has been a Los Angeles rock scene, there has been the Whisky A Go-Go"
Next up on the list is the historical Whisky A Go Go. This spot is an excellent place to have a soiree, if I may be so candid. This Rock N Roll venue has been in existence for well over 40 years. The Whisky has had a helping hand in ushering in each generation of Rock N Roll music.As a matter of fact, many celebrated musicians had their humble beginnings performing at the Whisky. Such bands as, The Doors, Led Zeppelin, Metallica, and Nirvana have graced the Whisky's stage. Inside you'll find a great venue that houses two levels to view the happenings on the main stage. The bar provides you an endless supply of liquor and booze. If you are a rock aficionado then you have to check out the Whisky. Visit the site here (Whisky A Go Go) to check out the latest euphonious rock n roll up and comers.
Last but certainly not least is The Mint. Located on the outskirts of Hollywood, right on Pico Blvd and Crescent Heights to be exact; The Mint has been a historical music venue for get this, well over 70 years. It was actually created way back in 1937. It typically is home to a more jazzy crowd. Artists like Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, and more recently Ben Harper and Macy Gray owe thanks to The Mint for providing a great place to display their musical talent. The Mint regales patrons with an exquisite tapas style cuisine and an extensive beer and wine collection. If you're into smooth mellow music then The Mint is the place for you. The Mint also provides a great setting to sit back have a few beers, or if you're feeling a little more sophiscated and your wallet isn't empty like mine; (yes the recession has officially hit the Attic) then order yourself some aged wine and enjoy the show. To check out upcoming shows hit the link here (The Mint) and I hope to catch you there someday.
