With an onslaught of press releases and invites, I have the humble luck of being highly selective with my night time activities. That being said, I can seem to be quite the jaded gal, a retired hipster – party girl, interrupted. How many open bar/energy drink special/free t shirt/ipod dj events can one succumb to … More Foreigner Plays For The Beautiful People – Checkitnsee
This year, South By Southwest was even more of a business trip for me. Not a search and destroy mission of boys, bands, and booze as it was for a lot of my friends. I had notes and cards, I had a freaking power point presentation…would I find the time to enjoy some aural pleasure? … More The Good, The Bad, and The Courtney – A Mini Review of SXSW
SxSw was a (not so hot) mess. If you combined the party hounds from the Super Bowl, Mardi Gras and Spring Break and confined them to a six block radius…and then tried to add some showcasing bands to the mix, you get a pretty good idea of the mayhem. I have a full report on … More South By Skulldiggery – Band of Skulls Continue To Conquer The US
I’m about to keep Austin a little bit weirder as most of the music community lends a helping hand to do every March… I will be giving a seminar this year on how to speak to the press. A few different publications have been kind enough to choose me as one of their picks of … More Working the Press – Intellectuall Intercourse and Interviews at SxSw
Blame it on the Mad Men if you want, but all of a sudden class and style are coming back into vogue in music. With acts like Mayer Hawthorne, Fitz and The Tantrums and Sharon Jones And The Dap Kings bringing 60’s soul back into the groove, it’s high time that the dudes of 90026 … More The Hounds Below – Bringing The Class & Style Of The 60s To Modern Rock
I’ve written many times before about the difference between a legit DJ and the hobbyists who like the idea of having their playlist heard on a Friday night for a little cash in their pocket. If it’s true that ‘Anyone Can Play Guitar’ then it’s even more true that anyone can DJ, especially when you … More Serato Is Not A Pasta – DJ Intervention Starts Now
Forget candy hearts and wilted flowers. The way to really get to the heart of another is through the power of music. If you really want to get laid, or hell even hitched this Hallmark holiday, there are two albums on the scene which will not only help you accomplish this task, but might even … More Two Sonic Love Letters: Findlay Brown & Sade
The 9th annual SF Sketchfest is wrapping up today, spanning three weeks of laugh-o-lympics, led by a mix of the top name comedians and under the radar funny people who are just about to break. I attended the festival this year as both an audience member and a participant. Opening night at the SF Mezzanine … More Funny People…For Reals – SF SketchFest Delivers Comedy For Connoisseurs
The Guitar Center’s 2009 Championship Drum Off’s moved this year to the Wiltern and that wasn’t the only moving on up they did. The contest with the $25,000 cash prize also featured a Tommy Lee headlined Bezerk spectacle, including performances by Max Weinberg (from both Bruce Springsteen and Conan O’Brien fame) playing in tandem with … More Guitar Center Fell In Love With A Drummer
Nike Sportswear and Flux kicked off the new year with a special advance screening of Miguel Arteta’s Youth in Revolt at The Montalbán Theater in Hollywood. Based on the acclaimed novel by C.D. Payne, Youth in Revolt is the story of Nick Twisp (Michael Cera) – an awkward and precocious teen who prefers Sinatra and … More Youth In Revolt – The Anti Ferris
ALI MacLEAN 