Patrick O'Heffernan | Music Junkie Press

Time Travel by LA transplant Jasmine Jordan. timeless R&B and pop by Patrick Heffernan

February 21, 2015

Jasmine Jordan’s Time Travel is a thing of beauty, past, present and future. Patrick O’Heffernan Jasmine Jordan does something with R&B and pop that is quite unusual. There is the familiar tempo and feel of R&B, but there is also a longing, a maturity, a personal connection and a heart to heart conversation that is rare to find and hard to accomplish. Jordan accomplishes it with what appears to be little effort. When you listen to her EP, Time Travel, you feel you know her with the kind of knowledge that you get from listening to a person talk while you read their face and body language. Time Travel is her first EP, but is moves with the sophistication of a much more experienced artist. She knows exactly how to frame her songwriting and her smooth, precise voice so that, even coming through speakers or earbuds, she creates a relationship with her listeners. The result is a thing of beauty that travels through past, present and future. Time Travel is a spare four [Read More]

Gypset presents promising young talent LEX and Vanessa Zamora for a magic night by Patrick O’Heffernan

February 2, 2015

One of DTLA’s newest treasures (that’s DownTown LA to my non-LA readers) are the Music Showcases produced by Gypset Magazine at 333Live in partnership with the Cosmica Music Agency, BMI and others. Gypset’s editors are dedicated to presenting outstanding rising artists, often in the Latin-Gringo Rock space, giving them an opportunity to reach a new audience and giving LA music lovers an opportunity to see future stars on the way up in an intimate venue. The cozy side room at 333 Live features a low stage, very good sound system, couches, upholstered sitting blocks with low tables – some only a few feed from the stage – and friendly bar far enough back that its sounds rarely intrude on the music. In short, an ideal venue for the kind of show that Gypset curates. Last week’s show was no exception. The evening opened with LEX, an all women band creating fantasy synth sounds, incorporating live electronic performance with art, fashion, design & technology – a perfect choice for a room full of stylishly dressed hip [Read More]

Militia Vox’s seductive new EP BAIT: once is not enough by Patrick O’Heffernan

January 31, 2015

Militia Vox has said that if you are going to do a cover song, you need to do it different from the original or better, or preferably both. In her new EP of cover songs, BAIT, she does both. Bait is the foreplay to her forthcoming full album Villainess, introducing a new audience through familiar songs so they will later succumb to her original work. Militia Vox (also known as MilitiA) has been called the Dark Diva, the Metal Goddess, ferocious, badass, loud. And she has also been called honest, existential, hardworking and beautiful. She is all of those things and more. The founder and front woman of the Judas Priestess tribute band, a producer of fantastic events, an actress, model and businesswoman, she is multimedia genius with a message of power, confidence, rebellion and of being true to who your are and what you love. And by doing so she has blazed trails, opened doors, inspired thousands and made a lot of very, very good music. This EP is a perfect demonstration of her [Read More]

A conversation with Zach Villa of Cylvia and the debut EP, “CYLVIA”. By Patrick O’Heffernan

January 11, 2015

Patrick O’Heffernan Cylvia is a seven member alt rock/funk/blues/pop band created by actor and musician Zach Villa after a move across the country from New York City to LA – a move prompted by getting tired of dragging his amps and guitar through the subway to gigs. It was a great move. He knew exactly what he wanted – a front woman co-lead, three guitars, a highly skilled drummer and keyboard player and well-blended backup vocals. He got the singer in Lindsay Claire. Quickly joining them were rhythm player Steven Hood, bassist Justin Gagno, lead guitarist Manny Grijalva, drummer Eric Grivalva and keyboardist actress/musician Amy Landon. Onstage and in the studio, the “magnificent musical seven” move together like a single living organism with Villa at the controls. Zach joined us at Music FridayLive! for a conversation. Patrick. Welcome to Music FridayLive!. When I first saw you and the band onstage I was blown away with how good you were. How did you get to be so good so quickly. It has only [Read More]

CYLVIA by the band Cylvia: a midnight ride at full throttle in a musical Lamborghini by Patrick O’Heffernan

January 9, 2015

Joyful, sophisticated, dense, funky, intelligent, addictive, crazy-quilt soaring rock. I never thought I would write a review with that combination of words in it, but they all describes, CYLVIA, the debut EP of Cylvia, a band that just might be best new LA band of 2015. Listening to this album is like getting behind the wheel of vintage Chevy convertible and discovering that it is really a Lamborghini and you are coming down the PCH at full throttle. Cylvia was carefully assembled by Zach Villa whose instincts for music and talent are on the money. Seven superb musicians move together on this record like a single, living, breathing, rocking organism. The effect is almost scary if it wasn’t so much fun. Front woman Lindsay Claire is the very definition of fire and ice. She morphs from punk to blues to white-hot burning rock with a personal touch honed from her work in theater and her family of musicians and performers. She blends perfectly with the diverse creations of founder Villa and the precisely [Read More]

We Are Twin: earns XTRA LOVE in new release by Patrick O’Heffernan

December 31, 2014

There are probably enough alt rock bands on the scene in LA that, if you laid them end to end, they would reach at least to Austin and maybe even to Nashville. Which is why it is so hard for a new band to get noticed. They have to be not only outrageously creative and spectacularly good technically, but they have to have something different – genuinely different, not a gimmick. We Are Twin meets all of those requirements – outrageously creative, spectacularly good technically and something genuine and different. Their debut release, XTRA LOVE displays their creativity, their technical chops and most – but not all – of what makes them stand apart. For that, you have to see them in person. The core of We Are Twin is the Sri-Lankan-German multi-instrumentalist Nicholas Balachandran and New York singer/songwriter Gabi Christine. The duo added the equally talented Zack Smith on bass, keys and vocals and the terrific Justin Frazier on drums and vocals to shift them from duet harmony to alt rock energy [Read More]

MITRE. Music that transcends language

December 20, 2014

By Patrick O’Heffernan, Host, Music Friday Live! There is a world of south-of-the-border Spanish-language music that many English speaking fans are unaware of. Along with the traditional cumbia, and mariachi and banda, Latin popular music includes rock, rap, Mexican ska, pop and electronic, among other forms. A generation of Latin artists is emerging who are creating endless combinations of traditional and modern, singing in both English and Spanish, blending old-country and contemporary music forms into a new genre, Latin-Gringo rock. There are a few musicians in this emerging generation – a very few – whose songwriting and performing transcend language – who can strike you deeply whether or not you can understand the lyrics. Such an artist is Mitre, whose eponymous album was released this week at a celebration held in the Gibson showroom in Beverly Hills accompanied by the band Posadas De Los Muertos. Mitre blends the color and form of Mexico with modern instrumentation and sensibilities, moving effortless from traditional to current in a new genre, MitreMusic. Mitre brings these traditions together through his astonishing voice, [Read More]