March 2015 | Music Junkie Press

LA Music teacher, Lanita Smith wins the Guitar Center Singer-Songwriter4 competition. By Patrick O’Heffernan

March 7, 2015

Recent LA-transplant Lanita Smith, a music teacher originally from Memphis TN, took last night’s top prize in the Guitar Center Singer-Songwriter 4 finals Friday night at the legendary Troubadour club in Los Angeles. Competition judge, superstar producer Don Was told the packed – and heavily female crowd at the venue that this was a very tough decision, noting that New Yorker Joe Marson took best command of the stage with his two songs written for the competition, “My Luck Stays the Same” and “Someday Soon” but that his favorite song for the night was Kat McDowell’s “A Little Rain”. However, it was Smith’s heartfelt lyrics and emotion-loaded voice and lyrics that took the grand prize – $25,000 cash, a spot on the Jimmy Kimmel show, a 4-song EP with Don Was, a songwriting session with Colbie Caillat and a truck load of music hardware. The other finalists won $10,000 in music equipment and album distribution plus the honor and publicity of being one of the five to emerge from thousands of entries from around the [Read More]

Sick of It All unleash a fierce live video for Get Bronx

March 7, 2015

Sick of It All have just kicked off their South American tour yesterday with a show in Mexico. They will be unleashing their high energy sets on the crowd and to get you ready, check out their new video for their song, Get Bronx: Drummer Armand Majidi about the song and video: “‘Get Bronx’ is a hard-hitting groove with a message of defiance against the modern powers of oppression. This video serves to show people across the world that as gritty and unpretentious as hardcore music is, it still translates to the big stage and doesn’t need a tiny, intimate atmosphere to work. When a big club pulsates like that, the spirit of hardcore is kept alive.“ Upcoming Tour Dates: South America: 06.03.2015 (MX) Mexico City – Sala Puebla 08.03.2015 (CO) Bogota – Teatro Las Vegas 10.03.2015 (CL) Santiago – Arena Recoleta 11.03.2015 (AR) Buenos Aires – Teatro Flores 13.03.2015 (BR) Rio De Janeiro – Teatro Odisseia 14.03.2015 (BR) Sao Paulo – Clash Club 15.03.2015 (BR) Curitiba – Music Hall North America: 20.03.2015 (USA) [Read More]

Crying and dancing: the magic of Steps of Doe’s debut album, “On Returning” by Patrick O’Heffernan

March 7, 2015

Take two talented California women in a summer program at Cambridge university, add guitars, mandolins, dulcimers, banjos and laughter and you get Steps of Doe, also known as Keena Batti and Molly Falck. Harking back to the high point of American folk rock in the 60’s, Steps of Doe deliver a magic music with lush harmonies, rock guitar riffs and electronic sophistication so good, you can’t tell it’s there.. Sometimes they sound medieval with fast-picked dulcimer and mandolin strings that paint images of castles and unicorns. Sometimes they bring in some funk and rock rhythms and distortion unicorns have never heard. Their debut album, “On Returning” pulls all that together into an achievement that will catapult them into the first ranks of folk and rock. The 8-songs on On Returning often sound as if they started in 12th century England and ended up on stage at the Roxy in Los Angeles last week. Each song has deep harmonies sung in a perfect fifth deftly embroidered with modern rhythms, guitar riffs, pop hooks and minor keys [Read More]

The Dreaming and Die So Fluid deliver a night of spine tingling performances

March 7, 2015

Thursday night was quite an evening for us as we headed to the DNA Lounge in San Francisco for one of our most anticipated concerts. The Dreaming and Die So Fluid were on the bill and we have been counting down the days to this show. Well, with all that anticipation, we can tell you that The Dreaming and Die So Fluid blew us away and exceeded all of our expectations and delivered spine tingling performances. There is something surreal when you go to a concert and you leave feeling completely invigorated as you have just had your soul recharged to face the world another day. That is exactly how it was for us. We started the night off with a great interview with Die So Fluid which we will be bringing to later this weekend. It was exciting to hear that this was their first time performing in San Francisco. They have traveled the world, performed at major festivals and have a huge overseas following, so it was amazing to catch them perform [Read More]

LIVE 105BFD turns 21 this year, check out the lineup!

March 6, 2015

This year Live 105 BFD will turn 21 and the lineup is awesome! Check out the details below and mark your calendars for June 6th: LIVE 105 BFD 2015 Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View Saturday, June 6, 2015 11:00 AM – 11:00 PM General on-sale is Saturday March 14 at 10am at LiveNation.com. Prices: Lower Reserved Seating – $69.50 Upper Reserved Seating – $49.50 Lawn/General Admission – $37.50 MAIN STAGE: Modest Mouse | Of Monsters And Men | Panic! At The Disco | Cold War Kids | Atlas Genius FESTIVAL STAGE: Twenty One Pilots – Death From Above 1979 – Best Coast – The Kooks –YelaWolf – MisterWives – Sheppard – The Orwells – Cathedrals – Meg Myers – WATERS – In The Valley Below SUBSONIC TENT: GTA – Robert DeLong – Vicetone – K.Flay – Mystery Skulls – The Limousines –Aaron Axelsen – Slaptop – Dyloot – MyKill LOCAL BAND STAGE: Beta State – The Family Crest – Picture Atlantic – Panic Is Perfect – Eyes on the Shore – Andrew St. James [Read More]

Check out the new video from The Devil in California for Black Hand

March 4, 2015

One of our favorite Bay Area bands, The Devil in California have released a new music video and it is BAD ASS! It is for their song, Black Hand which is a straight up heavy dose of Southern Rock that will have you begging for more. Check it out here: The song is off their newly released debut album, Longer Ride Down which was released last month. You can head over to iTunes here and pick it up! These guys are incredible and you may just have found your new favorite band. In addition,they have a superior live performance and and always get the crowd riled up and ready to rock. They deliver a fresh Southern Rock vibe complete with heavy drums, fierce guitars, powerful vocals and a commanding stage presence. Being an opening band is always a hard slot to fill but The Devil in California has everyone making sure to get there in time so they don’t miss their set. They bring their infectious high energy rock to life as they hit the [Read More]

Tomorrow night The Dreaming and Die So Fluid take over the DNA Lounge

March 4, 2015

Get ready Bay Area! Tomorrow night is the night to be at the DNA Lounge in San Francisco. You don’t want to miss The Dreaming as they bring their Rise Again Tour into SF and will include Die So Fluid. It will be a warm welcome for The Dreaming as it is the exact place that I first saw Stabbing Westward perform many years ago. Talk about coming full circle as I have loved Stabbing Westward and now I have a new (well, somewhat new) love! The Dreaming. For tickets and show details visit https://www.dnalounge.com/calendar/2015/03-05d.html. The Dreaming reunites Stabbing Westward’s Walter Flakus (keyboards, programming) and Christopher Hall (lead singer) and they are set on reawakening everyone’s love for Stabbing Westward with their new band. The Dreaming also features guitarist Carlton Bost (Orgy, Deadsy), bassist Franccesca De Struct and one-time Stabbing Westward drummer Johnny Haro. They have just released their incredible new album, Rise Again last month and I don’t think a day has gone by that I haven’t listened to it. Check out the tour dates: The Dreaming have released [Read More]