MusicFridayLive | Music Junkie Press

Kris Angelis: acting, music, and making the world a better place. Winner of the 2013 LA Music Critics Award for Best Female Album

May 8, 2016

(Los Angeles) Kris Angelis is a high energy, hardworking, super talented phenomenon. Her very first album, The Left Atrium, won the 2013 LA Music Critics Best Female Album Award – no mean feat. She also acts in film and TV, raises money to rescue child soldiers, brings music to at-risk teens, and performs in venues on both coasts. She has toured with Songs & Whispers, opened for Tyler Hilton, performed at the prestigious New Orleans House of Blues, made the finals in the Belk Southern Musician competition, played at Sundance, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, SXSW and NAMM 2016. Whew. If that was not enough, she has just released her newest project, the Heartbreak Is Contagious EP. She took a break from her busy schedule to talk with us. Patrick. So, Kris, do you ever sleep? I don’t see how you can, given all that you do. Kris. Yes I do, sometimes. I find time. Patrick. The new EP is a bit of a new path for you. You collaborated with a couple of songwriters. how did that come [Read More]

Jessica Rotter debuts Plains with a sky high party and a “Purple Rain” tribute.

April 26, 2016

(Hollywood) Jessica Rotter launched her first album Friday night with a sky high party and a “Purple Rain” tribute to the late artist, formerly known as Prince. The party, produced by BalconyTV’s Cindi Avnet atop the W Hollywood Hotel, was packed with friends, family and fans, all well warmed up in advance by the lively LA-based countryish-rock band, Bjorn and the Sun. Flanked by her uniquely curated ensemble of musicians — a mandolinist, a percussionist/rapper, three backup singers, a bass/slide guitarist, drummer, violinist and cellist — the TV actress/singer took the stage and without introduction opened with “Flying Off” from the new album Plains. It took the noisily happy crowd a minute to quiet down, but once they did, Rotter’s magnificent voice and warm stage manner made the connection and they were hooked. It wasn’t long before they were singing along. She gave us 11 songs, most from the album but she threw in a couple of surprises and mashups – “because everybody loves mashups” she told us. Songs ranged from the bass-led pop [Read More]

Los Auténticos Decadentes stop by LA en route to Mexico for a fun night of wild music.

April 21, 2016

(Los Angeles). The explosive Argentine arena band Los Auténticos Decadentes stopped by Los Angeles’s restored Belasco Theater Wednesday night on their way to Mexico. Los Auténticos Decadentes fit right into the venerable DTLA show palace opened by Edward Belasco in 1926 with its over-the-top fusion of Churrigueresque, Spanish Renaissance, Moorish, and Gothic details. Their over-the-top wild dance tunes swirled around the Belasco’s stunning dome and landed in our ears with the precision of a venue built for music, enhanced by an excellent sound system. The party began on time with a hot Latin Rock warm up band (never clearly identified in the publicity from producer Live Nation nor from the stage) that resonated with the youngish, mostly Hispanic crowd still filtering in. These guys worked! Jumping, running, spinning on stage while keeping up a very high octane music had the sweat streaming down all the band’s faces. The audience reciprocated with conga lines and cheers. The experience was heightened by excellent lighting and engineering work by the Belasco’s staff, who I understand had [Read More]

Irene Diaz premiers “This Cannot Be”: a new standard for songs from our most desired and dangerous emotion.

April 18, 2016

(Los Angeles) The line stretched out long before 7:30 pm, starting at the locked door of a non-descript office building on a ready-to-gentrify section of South Broadway in Los Angeles. They came from all over the sprawling city and far beyond: downtown, EastLos, Mt. Washington, the Valley, Hollywood, Pasadena, Santa Monica, Boyle Heights, Pacific Palisades, Koreatown, Orange Country, Long Beach. One woman drove the 130-mile round trip from Santa Paula with her 6 year old daughter; another came up from San Diego. There were beaming abuellos and tias, giggling high schoolers, hipsters, Latinos, gringos, Asians, African Americans, straight and gay couples and young people still figuring it out. And many, many children. They clutched tickets that read “Premier of This Cannot Be. Next to them on the sidewalk was another line of people with no tickets, hoping to get the few reserved for walk ups. They were all there for the same reason: love. The object and the source of that love was Irene Diaz. Diaz sings love songs; she’s a modern day torch [Read More]

Music Friday Live

La Santa Cecelia’s Buenaventura: confidence, message, and sheer joy.

April 6, 2016

I have been listening to the new album, Buena Ventura, by the Latin Grammy winning band La Santa Cecelia’s since it was first sent to me a month ago. LSC is a hometown LA band and I wanted to hear them do the songs live before writing about them. LSC is more than a band, it is a community and an inspiration and a performance delight; seeing them live gives wider context to the recording. I saw LSC live last week at the 2200-seat Walt Disney Hall in concert. That performance confirmed everything I heard in the recording; La Marisoul (aka Marisol Hernandez) and the entire band have matured and notched up the talent level while holding tight to the core joy and energy that brought them from street busking 8 years ago to debuting at #1 on iTunes Latin albums last month. Each of the ten songs on the bilingual album is crafted with precision gained not only from hard work in the studio but from the experience of touring [Read More]

Kawehi at the Hotel Café: smiles, trash talk and a loop machine.

March 30, 2016

(Hollywood) When Kawehi comes on stage it is her smile that first grabs you. It’s a friendship smile…she is happy to be there and she is happy to be there with you – yes, you. This is not just a gig supporting her new Kickstarter-funded album, Interaktiv; this is 250 friends kicking back and having a great time with their favorite artist in a sold-out concert at the Hotel Café Friday night. Kawehi navigated her way around various pieces of musical equipment and technological gear as she came onstage, but all the while she kept that smile. After getting settled in front of her keyboards, loop machines and computers, she greeted friends and fans with waves and shout outs. We were hooked, even before she played the first note. When she did play that first note, we were more than hooked; we were ecstatic. She set the hook with “Smoke Screens”, launching a trap beat and then dancing around the stage, checking the connection to her guitar, putting her magic hands on the [Read More]

Interview

Eric Zayne interview. The new album, women and hibernating in the studio.

March 25, 2016

I first met Eric Zayne at a pre-Grammy concert in LA over a year ago and took to him immediately. Open, honest, friendly, high energy and an explosive talent for song writing, performance and concepts that makes him unique, even in this town of highly talented people. . Originally from the Congo, he settled in Canada after fleeing violence in his home country and then in 2013, dived into the huge pop and rock scene here in LA. Next thing you know out came the hit singles “Spin the World” and “Maneater”, a knock out video and an EP — plus killer performances both here and abroad. Now he is back and about ready to release a new album. He sent me a few of the finished songs and they are dynamite. He stopped by for a chat before going back into the studio to get the new album out by April. Patrick. Eric, what have you been doing since we talked last…where have you been? Eric. Oh my god. I can’t remember [Read More]