Shameless Loves: Apartment 3

This awesome boutique on LaBrea offers very affordable new up-and-coming designers and authentic vintage for both guys and girls. The decor feels like you could be shopping in your friend's living room, and the fact that you might be greeted at the door by one of the employees' dogs adds to the hominess.

Check it out next week at their special pre-Valentine's party:

Shameless Reports: The Police Part Deux

It's confirmed - they're reuniting! This is way bigger than Roth and Van Halen. They're emphasizing that they've only committed to opening the Grammys on Feb. 11 (anyone know where they'll be after-partying, and can you get us in? Pleeeeease?), but who do they think they're kidding? We're putting out money down on a summer tour.

Shameless Reports: Noise Pop Lineup Announced

Kicking off February 27th, San Francisco's Noise Pop Festival promises performances from over 100 acts, including:

The Actual
Aqueduct
Autolux
The Bent Mustache
Black Fiction
The Bird And The Bee
The Botticellis
Boyskout
Brightblack Morning Light
Built For The Sea
Cake
The Changes
Vic Chesnutt
Clinic
Comedians Of Comedy
The Coup
The Dandy Warhols
Death Of A Party
Dios Malos
The Donnas
The Dwarves
Elephone
Earlimart
Erase Errata
Roky Erickson And The Explosives (13th Floor Elevators)
The French Kicks
The Gray Kid
Gris Gris
Hella
Jolie Holland
Honeycut
Love Of Diagrams
Lyrics Born
Ted Leo And The Pharmacists
Willy Mason
Midlake
Minipop
Money Mark
The Morning Benders
The Mumlers
Alexi Murdoch
The New Amsterdams
The New Trust
The Oohlas
Oranger
Patton Oswalt
The Ponys
Pop Levi
Brian Posehn
Josh Ritter
Zach Rogue
Scissors For Lefty
Sea Wolf
Sebadoh
Simon Dawes
Spinto Band
The Submarines
Richard Swift
Tartufi
John Vanderslice
The Watson Twins
Women And Children
and more...

more info and the complete linup available at www.noisepop.com.

Shameless Mourns: Pretty Girls Dig their Grave

This is your last chance to catch Pretty Girls Make Graves live, so don't blow it! Drummer Nick DeWitt is already gone, and after their upcoming tour, the remainder of the band will go their separate ways.

Shameless Doesn't Play: Mando Diao

I got the advance of Mando Diao's new project and was excited to review it. But I didn't really like it. The first track sets it on the right foot, but the remainder is bland and way too wannabe-Mod for my taste. There's just nothing new going on to move that sound into the 2000's, and I'm just not excited by it anymore. So there - that's your review.

Shameless Gets Out: Filter Issue 24 Release Party!

Shameless Reports: Liquid Experience?

What's next? Is Mick Fleetwood going to have his own line of Wine? Carlos Santana a line of shoes? Oh right, they already do. Well I guess if Paul Newman can have his own line of salad dressing...wait no...still NOT ok with it.

Jimi Hendrix energy drink in works

01/24/2007 10:44 AM, AP


A new energy drink doesn't promise to give you the juice to play guitar like Jimi Hendrix, but it does hope to give you a "Liquid Experience."

Beverage Concepts says its nonalcoholic "Liquid Experience" drinks, named for Hendrix's breakthrough album, "Are You Experienced?" will debut in April.

The concept is irking some Hendrix fans, many of whom still consider him the greatest guitarist of all time.

"To see his image and the beautiful feelings it has created during my lifetime cheapened by base advertising... is very disappointing to me," said bassist Michael Balzary, better known as Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

The image of Hendrix, who died in 1970 from a drug overdose in London, has been licensed for products including baby clothing, an air freshener, lava lamps and a Christmas ornament. Portions of royalties have gone to several educational causes, including the United Negro College Fund, said Bruce Kuhlman, director of licensing and brand development for Authentic Hendrix, the Seattle-based company that controls use of Hendrix's name and images.

Beverage Concepts Chief Executive Josh Glass said his company would honor Hendrix's memory by donating some of the profit from the Liquid Experience to an unidentified music education foundation.

Shameless Reports: The Prodial Gigolo Returns

Start practicing your splits and scissor kicks! David Lee Roth is rejoining Van Halen (literally now, as Eddie's son Wolfgang - only 15 years old! - is taking over the bass) for a summer tour, according to Billboard online. You can check out the whole story if you want, but we just told you the important part.

Men In Tights

No Hon! Your butt does NOT look big in those tights uhmm... I mean leggings.

Seriously?

Apparently the man purse was not enough, thanks to Fashion Week (showing the Fall 2007 collections) in Milan we have learned that leggings are not just for the female hipster anymore...

Add to the list of guys I wont date:"Leggings Guy"

[uh? yeah, they weren't kidding and neither are we... view the story here.]

Shameless Plays: Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? [Of Montreal]

"There's the girl that left me bitter, won't you pay some other girl to just walk up to her and hit her," Oh Yeah!

Today's release of Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? features 12 songs done in the typical dance party on the verge of a catfight style that only Of Montreal can pull off. This follow-up to their 2005 hit The Sunlandic Twins (which featured Requiem for O.M.M.Z and Wraith Pinned To The Mist and Other Games that had us all having "bizarre celebrations") is a little darker and I dare say even a little funkier. This is being called a concept album due to frontman Kevin Barnes having created an alter-ego (a large black transvestite named Georgie Fruit - For some reason Big Momma's House popped in my head?) while putting together the record.

Perhaps we'll see Georgie Fruit "Suffering for Fashion" during the big Of Montreal invasion hitting LA this weekend! Oh and yes..."The Past Is a Grotesque Animal."

mp3: Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse

Shameless Reports: Major Label 101 + 1

BBC News reported this morning on a new aggregator service called Merlin, which launched this past Saturday. Merlin, an agency established by independent labels worldwide, will make deals for mp3 downloads with cell phone services and download sites on behalf of the indie labels it represents. Its agents have even claimed that the service will be the "fifth major", vying on the level of Universal, Sony BMG, EMI, and Warner Music.

Read the full story here.

Shameless Loves: Elmer Ave.

If you think men's fashion consists of worn jeans, sneakers, and a baseball cap... or maybe the slightly more "hipster" look of fake vintage tee, blazer, and skinny jeans over chucks, you obviously haven't seen Elmer Ave.









[pics of last week's fashion show in conjunction with GenArt, Exile, and Flaunt]

Truth in Music

I recently came across a story in the Washington Post blog entitled: Exposing Fake Bands: The Truth in Music Bill. I was so excited! Were they finally going to make it illegal to create bullshit, manufactured, talentless pop acts who embody nouveau riche tastelessness once they achieve overnight success? Are we finally protecting America's youth and encouraging true creativity, talent, and personal expression as a national policy?

Nope.

It was about all those stupid fake bands in Vegas billing themselves as "The Platters" or "The Coasters" or "Celine Dion" (I kid! I kid!) when there are no original members of those bands actually performing the advertised shows. Okay, I guess they need to stop that kind of false advertising, too, but wouldn't it be great if I had been right?...

Shameless Gets Out: Performance Art Opening

PERFORMANCE
a photographic exhibition
featuring the work of Donald Cammell and Nicolas Roeg
January 20- February 24, 2007

Opening Reception Saturday, January 20th 7-10pm









Drkrm. Photo Lab/Studio/Gallery
2121 San Fernando Road, Suite 3
Los Angeles, CA 90065

(Complementary Valet Parking)

Shameless Plays: Say No to Being Cool, Say Yes to Being Happy [The Softlightes]

In a conspiracy to keep us dancing Modular Records (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, WolfMother, MSTRKRFT) brings us their soon to be latest release Say No to Being Cool, Say Yes to Being Happy by The SoftLightes, which debuts on February 13th. Although not having seen them live as of yet makes it a little hard to accurately describe the pairing of their soft vocals with dancey happy background music, their self description of Indie Electronica mixed with Folky undertones seems to be right on. One thing I can definitely say is that although having no initial desire to play the part of lead vocalist in a band, their sing-along friendly music video for Heart Made of Sound had me singing all the words regardless of not having heard the song ever before (although it should come with a warning label: beware of sudden flashes of bright color or side effects may include burning of your retinae to prepare you for some of their choices of close to neon shades of green and pink incorporated into the video).

After my eyes recovered I made a quick visit to their MySpace Page, where I discovered we will have many chances to catch them in the near future as they will be the Thursday night residents for the next few weeks at the Silverlake Lounge as part of Scott Sterling's Fold Night. They also have a KCRW Presents Album Release Party at Tangiers Feb.9th and at The Beauty Bar in San Diego where attendees will have the chance to obtain advance copies of the CD.

Although my favorite SoftLightes song has to be the mellower Microwave Song, check out the MP3 below for The Robots in my Room Were Playing Arena Rock which seems to be everyone else's pick.

The SoftLightes will be playing The Silverlake Lounge this Thursday the 18th with Dead Ponies (Jason Hammon's - formerly of Midnight Movies - new project), and Chicago-based The Changes, where together we'll find out if they make the cut.

Visit the Fold Website for more info.

mp3: The Robots in my Room Were Playing Arena Rock, the Softlightes

Shameless Alert: SXSW Here We Come

Although the "Official" 2007 SXSW list of performers is yet to be released many of us did recieve an email earlier this month directly from the SXSW organizers announcing the following acts as confirmed

The Stooges
Interpol
Lily Allen
Bloc Party
Devin The Dude
Hoodoo Gurus
Matt & Kim
Ghostland Observatory
The Watson Twins
Stax 50th Anniversary Soul Review
Ozomatli
Turbonegro
Cold War Kids


However, after much research and deliberation the Austinist compiled their own list of performers who will very likely be gracing a SXSW stage in Austin this year. Their list includes Morrissey, Amy Millan (of Canadian indie-group Stars fame), Badly Drawn Boy, Castanets, The Frames, The Walkmen, and Thunderbirds Are Now, among many others. They go as far as to declare 95% accuracy.

Check out their full list or predictions.

Only 55 days til we see you in Texas!

Shameless Reports: Your Odds of Getting Signed to V2 Just Got Slimmer

Out with the old, in with the new

In this case that saying may be a little backwards...

According to the Music Box:

V2 Records announced a major restructuring that will find the label focusing on catalogue sales rather than new releases. President Andy Gershon and 35 others lost their jobs on Friday as part of the deal. V2's COO Michael Olsen will manage the company from its Nashville office, and artists from The White Stripes to Moby will be left without a home. The label initially was meant to emphasize catalogue sales, so in a sense, this is a back-to-basics move.

No news yet on which artists, if any, will be kept on the roster. Members of the V2 family included The Adored who now list their label info as "formerly V2 Records," UK faves The Rakes, as well as L.A.'s own Cold War Kids, who are on the verge of releasing their new EP Hang Me Up to Dry the 29th of this month.

While waiting to hear the news of who is left label-less, or if you happened to be one of the unlucky ones unable to score tickets to one of Cold War Kids' "back to their roots residency" shows in LA or NY this month, sit back and enjoy their video for the title track Hang Me Up to Dry off their upcoming CD.

Shameless Reports: R.I.P. TRL

Could it be the career launcher of the "sensitive but tough" guy groups (*NSYNC , Backstreet Boys, 98 Degrees ), Pop-Punksters like Blink 182 and Pop Princesses (Britney Spears , Christina Aguilera) and not to mention original host Carson Daly is coming to an end? But where else would we go to watch music videos only to be interrupted every 5 seconds by a shrieking fan (more often than not a young tourist from the mid-west visiting Times Square for the first time) from declaring their undying love for the video's artist?

The New York Daily News is reporting that this is indeed a fact. Apparently the ratings for MTV's Total Request Live (TRL) have hit an "all time low" averaging only approximately "300,000 viewers" according to Nielsen Research.


The reportedly "voluntary" ousting of MTV former president Michael Wolf last Thursday may have been a sign of big changes to come.

I blame this on technology! Thanks to sites like You Tube and My Space fans can watch videos from their favorite artists/bands any time they want. There is no need for them to wait around each day to request them. Not to mention games like
Guitar Hero...today's youth (and many of my own 20-something and 30-something friends) is too busy playing the part of a musician to stop and watch any sort of live musical performance! Heck pair up any of the video hosting sites with a cell phone, and they can shoot their own video!

Quick!!! Someone find Lou Pearlman and tell him we need to create a boy band on the double to prevent this from happening!!!!

Read the full story here.

Andrea LaBarge Photography featured on NeuBlack.com

Check out this awesome site - to put it in their words: "Neu Black is the starting point for discerning buyers and the design savvy." Apparently I made the cut, because they just included an entry about my work!

www.NeuBlack.com
Andrea LaBarge Photography

Shameless Reports: Dial Neon Bible Toll Free!

Of all the ways to promote an indie release, this has to be one of the most interesting:

Arcade Fire's highly anticipated Neon Bible will be released on March 6. Finally! In addition to driving fans to the band's website, they've created a concept site specifically for the album - www.NeonBible.com - which includes a preview of the first track, "Black Mirror." Okay, so that's not so unique. But they're also promoting a toll free number for the release, as well! That's right, call

1-866-NEON BIBLE

for some poor quality sound bites. Don't let that deter you - it's actually kind of interesting, and an idea that we might see much more of in the future. And I give them 100 points for creativity!

Shameless Loves: deeep

A couple of weeks ago I went for a much-needed haircut. As usually happens, the stylist asked me what kind of products I use because my hair was so dry. No wonder it hasn't been growing out well - it just keeps breaking! Although I use the Bumble and bumble thickening line on a regualr basis, I was damaging my hair by dying it with home kits... I probably could have guessed that was happening.

She recommended what has since become my favorite hair product ever: Bumble and bumble deeep conditioner. I figured I would have to do 3-4 weekly treatments before seeing much of an improvement, but I was so wrong. I've only used it once so far, and my hair is sooooo much softer! I couldn't believe it! I thought for sure after a couple of days of styling products and blow drying it would be back to its brittle-ended self. Nope! This conditioner accomplishes major repairs immediately, and now I just have to do an occasional maintenance treatment every so often. Magic in a tube.

Shameless Reports: Viva La Shortlist!

The New Pantheon has crumbled and is being replaced this year with its predecessor, The Shortlist award. This award was given out each spring since 2001 to notable under-the-radar musicians and groups, as decided upon by a panel of "Listmakers" - past listmakers have included Beck, Perry Farrell, Pharrell Williams, Massive Attack, and The Cure, to name a few - but it was replaced by the now-defunct New Pantheon award in 2005. It makes its return this year with new plans just now being announced.

See the whole story at VH1.com

and check out the Shortlist official site for more information.