Courtney Barnett shares new video "Pedestrian at Best," announces debut full-length

Courtney Barnett shares new video "Pedestrian at Best," announces debut full-length
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
January 30, 2015

Melbourne alternative indie rocker Courtney Barnett has released a new video for her track “Pedestrian at Best,” while at the same time announcing the release of her debut full-length album Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit for Mar. 24 via Mom + Pop Music.

Barnett has blown up the last few years with her impressive live shows as well as her 2013 double EP A Sea of Split EPs. She played the festival circuit last year (including Coachella) and most recently melted faces in Los Angeles at the El Rey in November as part of Red Bull Sound Select’s #30DaysInLA.

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GROUPLOVE cover Beastie Boys' "Sabotage" at intimate Troubadour gig

GROUPLOVE cover Beastie Boys' "Sabotage" at intimate Troubadour gig
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
January 28. 2015


Saturday night, GROUPLOVE performed their first show in three months at West Hollywood’s Troubadour in an effort to generate money for singer and guitarist Christian Zucconi’s cousin John Toomey, who is in need of a kidney transplant.

It was a rare opportunity to see one of indie rock’s fastest-rising bands in a much more intimate setting and they did not disappoint. Along with churning out fan favorites, GROUPLOVE added a song to their encore that wasn’t previously planned — a cover of the Beastie Boys classic jam “Sabotage” (watch the video below). The band mentioned having only played the song at Lollapalooza last year. Both Zucconi and vocalist Hannah Hooper showed their rhyming skills during the inspired performance.

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The Wombats rock Bootleg Bar with a house-party vibe

The Wombats rock Bootleg Bar with a house-party vibe
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
January 26, 2015

Liverpool pop-rockers The Wombats turned the Bootleg Bar into a house party with a mind-blowing energetic set on Friday night.

Performing in front of a crowd mostly of devoted fans, the English trio mixed in a couple of tracks from their upcoming album Glitterbug along with old favorites that fans knew all the words to.

To describe The Wombats’ sound as simplistically as possible — imagine Robert Smith of The Cure had fronted a pop-ska band. Lead singer and guitarist Matthew Murphy’s vocal style so closely mirrors Smith’s it is uncanny. There’s a much more consistently upbeat vibe to The Wombats than there really ever was to The Cure.

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Watch The Vaccines' new video "Handsome" off forthcoming new album

Watch The Vaccines' new video "Handsome" off forthcoming new album
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
January 20, 2015


In 2012, The Vaccines conquered their native England, rising to No. 1 on the charts there off the strength of the full-length The Vaccines Come of Age. They’ve given a preview of what’s in store on their upcoming yet-to-be-named release with a music video of their new track “Handsome.”

You can think of The Vaccines as the UK’s answer to OK GO. It looks as though these West London lads even make music videos as awesome as OK GO. In the video for “Handsome,” they play off the kung-fu genre with a comedic story-arc that sees the band train to become masters at fighting after getting their asses handed to them by some weird alien-fish monster and his crew. Another alien-fish monster thing trains them the ways.

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Listen to Blunda's new single "Surrender"

Listen to Blunda's new single "Surrender"
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
January 15, 2015


Blunda is the solo project of former Fastball and Paloalto guitarist Andy Blunda. The North Hollywood-based musician has released a new single called “Surrender” that is worth a listen — particularly if you’re a fan of the new wave genre that has begun to make a comeback in recent years.

Blunda throws down a song that would’ve fit Tears for Fears quite well on “Surrender.” The song was written after Blunda dealt with addiction in 2010, making the decision to get sober. The song is undoubtedly about making the decision to get clean and “surrender” to that idea.

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Hot Band Alert: From Los Angeles, listen to Rosechild's debut EP "Remedies"

Hot Band Alert: From Los Angeles, listen to Rosechild's debut EP "Remedies"
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
January 14, 2015


Los Angeles-based alternative rock band Rosechild has released their debut EP, titled Remedies.

There’s a certain enjoyable ’90s alt-rock sound to this four-piece band. Only three songs in length, Rosechild’s first EP leaves you wanting more. The songwriting is superb and lead singer Haile Meirow’s voice is reminiscent of ’80s and ’90s rockers Edie Brickell (particularly her big hit “What I Am”) and Natalie Merchant. There’s a Warpaint aspect to the band, though Rosechild isn’t as jam-driven and is much more traditional in its song construction.

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Foo Fighters make live rock n roll history with four-hour set joined by legendary rock stars at The Forum

Foo Fighters make live rock history with four-hour set joined by legendary rock stars at The Forum
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
January 11, 2015


It is hard to guess how the Foo Fighters could ever top what they did last night at The Forum to celebrate lead man Dave Grohl’s birthday. Billed as Dave’s birthday bash, the show that was announced Thursday saw nearly a dozen special guests show up and play with the Foo Fighters. They played nearly four hours and totaled 31 songs (view the entire set list at the bottom of the page), an unbelievable show that will be hard to top for the best of 2015 – and we are just in January.

Things kicked off with Paul Stanley of KISS joining them for “Detroit Rock City” and “Do You Love Me.” Slash and Tenacious D came out to help with Queen’s “Tie Your Mother Down” and Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” as balloons rained down on the stage (scroll down to watch the videos).

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Oakland's G-Eazy lights up Fox Theater Pomona, joined by Too $hort

Oakland's G-Eazy lights up Fox Theater Pomona, joined by Too $hort
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
January 8, 2015


After witnessing his performance Friday night at the Fox Theater in Pomona, one thing has become abundantly clear: Oakland rapper G-Eazy has arrived.

Beginning a tour that will return to L.A. with shows Feb. 3 and Feb. 4 at The Wiltern, G-Eazy put together a fantastic and memorable hour-and-a-half long set, with some help from his friends.

G-Eazy has built quite a cult following over the past few years. Students from Cal Poly SLO drove the few hours out for the show, as well as many from the Bay Area, where G-Eazy first started making his name. Security told me that people had been waiting since 1 p.m. to get the wristbands to get onto the main part of the floor, which was packed like sardines.

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Foo Fighters announce show Saturday Jan. 10 at The Forum

Foo Fighters announce show Saturday Jan. 10 at The Forum
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
January 7, 2015

The Foo Fighters have announced that they will be playing a charity show on Jan. 10 at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif.

Arguably the No. 1 American rock band going right now, the Foo Fighters have some September dates lined up at the Honda Center and The Forum as part of their Sonic Highways world tour, but will be playing a special show this Saturday. Tickets are $50 + fees (totaling $65.30) on Ticketmaster and are on sale at 7 PM PT on Jan. 7, with some of the proceeds going to the Rock School Fund.

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Forecast: 13 Los Angeles Artists and Bands to Watch in 2015

Forecast: 13 Los Angeles Artists and Bands to Watch in 2015
Mark E. Ortega and Sandra Burciaga
GrimyGoods.com
January 6, 2015

Our great city of Los Angeles is gem for discovering new music. Many of the artists and bands that make the City of Angels their home quickly work their way up from playing small venues and underground shows, to selling out famed venues and going on large tours and playing music festivals. Last year, as predicted in our 2014 forecast for artists to watch, we saw it happen with Banks, Lo-Fang, Death Valley Girls, The Moth & Flame and many more L.A. based acts. This year we’ve selected a new crop of talented and promising Los Angeles artists and bands who are sure to create quite the excitement in 2015. While we are aware that there are plenty more bands who are just as promising, these our selections for the 13 Los Angeles Artists and Bands to Watch in 2015.

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Former Giants coach Allie Sherman dies at age 91

Former Giants coach Allie Sherman dies at age 91
Mark E. Ortega
NFL.com
January 6, 2015

Former New York Giants coach Allie Sherman passed away peacefully in his home Saturday at the age of 91, the team confirmed.

Sherman was an undersized left-handed quarterback whose vast understanding of the game kept him on the Philadelphia Eagles' roster as a backup quarterback in the 1940s, particularly due to his knowledge of the T-formation.

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