Best known for her work as lead singer and bassist in the ’80s and early-’90s alternative rock trio Concrete Blonde, Johnette Napolitano is also a poet, social activist, soundtrack composer, and sculptor. Born in Hollywood on September 22, 1957, Napolitano lurked on the fringes of the Los Angeles punk and new wave scene, working at the legendary Gold Star Studios until she formed the duo Dream 6 with guitarist Jim Mankey. The pair recorded a self-titled 1982 EP produced by Jim’s brother Earle Mankey (like Jim, a former member of the first lineup of Sparks, and at the time one of the hottest producers on the L.A. new wave scene), which attracted the attention of IRS Records boss Miles Copeland. With a new drummer in Chicago transplant Harry Rushakoff and a new name supposedly bestowed by R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe that was supposed to connote the band’s mix of hard and soft elements, Concrete Blonde released their self-titled debut in 1987. This was quickly followed by Free, Bloodletting (featuring the group’s biggest hit, “Joey”), Walking in London, and Mexican Moon, before Concrete Blonde split in 1995. Napolitano then moved on to two short-lived projects, Vowel Movement (a collaboration with Holly Beth Vincent of Holly & the Italians) and Pretty & Twisted (with the late Marc Moreland, formerly of Wall of Voodoo), as well as occasional Concrete Blonde reunion albums. Following this, Napolitano began a second career as soundtrack composer for small and medium-budget indie films such as Wicker Park and Underworld. She also released a pair of largely improvised and mostly electronic albums, Sketchbook and Sketchbook 2, in 2002 and 2006. Johnette Napolitano’s first proper solo album, Scarred, followed in the spring of 2007. - Stewart Mason, All Music Guide
Going.com and Snocap have teamed up to present a night that’s truly one of a kind, starring: The Octopus Project, 8MM, Pedestrian, and Pink and Noseworthy. Blending pop and experimental elements, it is a combination of digital and electronic sounds and noises (including drum machine, keyboard, synthesizers and other strange devices) and analog equipment (including guitars and live drums). To check out this unique night of music, check out Going.com and RSVP.
You’ve heard opera, and you’ve heard rock—but you’ve never heard opera rocked like the East Village Opera Company. The East Village Opera Company —a powerhouse five-piece band, a string quartet, and two outstanding vocalists—brings the towering emotion and timeless musicality of opera into the 21st century on its Decca/Universal Classics debut with its inventive, hard-hitting arrangements of the music’s “greatest hitsâ€â€”including “La donna è mobile†from Rigoletto, “Habanera†from Carmen, and “Nessun dorma†from Turandot — performed at full length and in the original languages.
The concept of the East Village Opera Company is totally fresh, but not unprecedented in pop. In 1985, for example, former punk-rock impresario Malcolm McLaren released Fans, an album of “hip-hopera†that brought funky beats and electronic programming to the works of Puccini and Bizet. But EVOC is a whole new thing: an integrated, eleven-strong working band dedicated to rocking the opera and electrifying the classics, as the ensemble has been doing to spectacular effect ever since its New York stage debut in the spring of 2004.
The East Village Opera Company is coming to The Roxy on Wednesday, September 19th. Tickets go on sale today at 11:00am at Ticketmaster or through the Roxy box office.
What do you get when you mix a bold, modelesque, mohawked chick with a boys name and an electro-funk-soul, uber-hip robotica boy with a name fit for a girl? What happens when you blend 1-part Electronica, 2-parts Soul, and a sprinkle of Funk and Hip-Hop? What do you think evolves when you take a little bit of yesterday, a little more of today, and a whole bunch of tomorrow and throw it in a boiling pot of magic musical fusion? Continue reading ‘Ca$$ette is Back!’
Born in Black Rock City at the world-renown Burning Man Festival and incubated in Los Angeles’ tribal-techno underground, The Mutaytor combines 100 thundering drums, live improvisational electronica, live horn section, breathtaking fire performers, sensual hoop dancers, warrior princesses, chinese lions, mutants, dazzling aerial stunts, various forms of modern and bellydance and giant video projections. It’s a multi-media experience blending high energy music with amazing performance art. Continue reading ‘Burning Down the Rox’
With a diverse array of influences, eclectic twosome J*DaVeY — female vocalist Jack Davey (b. Brianna Cartwright) and producer Brook D’Leau — deliberately evade the narrow categories of what urban music should sound like, not to mention that they defy normal conventions of pop music. Drawing equally from neo-soul, new wave, funk, and hip-hop, their melting pot of electronic soul and dance have made music-goers try to classify them somewhere between neo-soulstress Erykah Badu and new wave punks Talking Heads. Continue reading ‘J*DaVeY: New Food for the Malnourished Musical Soul’
The eldest son of an immigrant family relocated to Virginia Beach, Kenna began to express an interest in music upon receiving a copy of U2’s The Joshua Tree. More records by influential artists such as The Beatles, Stevie Wonder, The Cure and The Cars followed, and remain as inspiration and influence of Kenna’s music today. His debut album, New Sacred Cow, co-produced by Chad Hugo of The Neptunes, is difficult to place in a single genre, containing elements of electronica, synth pop, post rock, and house music. Two singles, “Sunday After You” and “Freetime” followed the release of the album; the music video of the latter, along with “Hell Bent”, appeared sporadically on MTV2.
His new release, Make Sure They See My Face, drops August 21st, 2007.
THE ROXY Show Dates:
Filter Magazine Presents Revenge of the Sunset Strip - July 19th 2007
With a diverse array of influences, eclectic twosome J*DaVeY — female vocalist Jack Davey (b. Brianna Cartwright) and producer Brook D’Leau — deliberately evade the narrow categories of what urban music should sound like, not to mention that they defy normal conventions of pop music. Drawing equally from neo-soul, new wave, funk, and hip-hop, their melting pot of electronic soul and dance have made music-goers try to classify them somewhere between neo-soulstress Erykah Badu and new wave punks Talking Heads.
THE ROXY Show Dates:
Filter Magazine Presents Revenge of the Sunset Strip - July 26th 2007
Ca$$ette LA with The Gray Kid / Gold Chains - August 23rd 2007
