July 18, 2009
El Chicano
Upground
July 25, 2009
Paula Cole
James Lee Stanley
August 1, 2009
Gene Loves Jezebel
Naked Eyes
August 8, 2009
Steve Forbert
Chris and Thomas
August 15, 2009
The Motels
King Washington
August 22, 2009
Toad The Wet Sprocket
The Janks
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July 18, 2009
EL CHICANO
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El Chicano (whose Spanish name means "the Chicano" or "the Mexican-American") play unpredictable mixture of rock, soul, funk, jazz, blues, and Afro-Cuban salsa. After creating a buzz in East L.A. in the late '60s, El Chicano signed with MCA in 1970 and recorded its debut album, Viva Tirado. The instrumental title song reached number 28 on Billboard's pop singles chart and number 20 on its R&B singles chart. In 1973 the band had another national hit with soul classic "Tell Her She's Lovely". "Do You Want Me" was another chart topper in 1983. El Chicano spent the '80s & '90s raising families and doing studio projects with renowned Latin and Rock musicians. The band has been on tour regularly since 1998 when they released a long overdue CD, Painting The Moment.
Upground
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Upground is the young vibrant East L.A. band that has developed a huge following throughout the Southwest. They have performed with or shared the same stage with artists from Ozomatli and Los Lobos to The Killers and played at universities cross country. Upground has transformed into one of the most sought after young bands in the Los Angeles music scene.
July 25, 2009
PAULA COLE
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Paula Cole was one of the female singer/songwriters who rose to prominence in the mid-'90s in the wake of alternative's commercial breakthrough. A Grammy award winning artist, her first big break arrived when Peter Gabriel invited her to perform on his 1992-1993 world tour. In October of 1996. the album This Fire, and its accompanying single, "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?," became word-of-mouth hits. Cole participated in the first Lilith Fair in 1997 and in 1998, won the Grammy for Best New Artist. That same year she scored with the single "I Don't Want to Wait," popularized as the theme to the television hit Dawson's Creek. Pershing Square’s Downtown Stage will be Ms. Cole’s first performance on her west cost tour this summer and she has graciously donated this performance to the good people of Los Angeles.
James Lee Stanley
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He has been hailed as one of the few all time greats and undisputed geniuses among singer-songwriters. His remarkable ability as a vocalist and composer allow him to create truly great songs, each accompanied by his amazing guitar orchestrations.
August 1, 2009
GENE LOVES JEZEBEL
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Gene Loves Jezebel is a gothic rock band from the early 1980s founded by twin brothers, Michael and Jay Aston. The band released two singles in 1983 before their debut album Promise peaked at number 8 in the U.K.’s indie charts. In 1984, the group toured America with fellow Welsh artist John Cale. At this time, the group also found heavy rotations on college and countercultural radio stations across America. The band slowly turned their attention to dance music. The slick and catchy guitar hooks of singles “Desire” and “Heartache” leapt to #6 and #72, respectively, on Los Angeles’ infamous New Wave station, KROQ. Currently the band is on tour with throughout the U.S as part of an 80’s Flashback tour and finished an MTV special.
NAKED EYES
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A British synthpop band that first became popular in the 1980s. The duo is known for their singles: a cover of the Burt Bacharach/Hal David standard "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me", and their subsequent hits "Promises, Promises" "When The Lights Go Out" and "(What) In The Name Of Love. Naked Eyes consisted of childhood friends from Bath, England: Pete Byrne on vocals and Rob Fisher on keyboards. On 31 July 2007, Naked Eyes, featuring Byrne, released Fumbling With The Covers, which consisted of covers of Bob Dylan, The Beatles and Elvis Costello songs, along with Naked Eyes hits. In the summer of 2008 Naked Eyes completed a U.S. tour along with Belinda Carlisle, ABC and Human League. Currently, Naked Eyes is working on 'Piccadilly', its first album of original songs in more than 25 years.
August 8, 2009
STEVE FORBERT
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An American pop music singer-songwriter, he is best known for his song "Romeo's Tune", which reached #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart . Anointed "the new Dylan" upon his recording debut, folk-rock singer/songwriter Steve Forbert was born in Meridian, MS, in 1955. After learning guitar at age 11, he spent his high school years playing in a variety of local bands before quitting his job as a truck driver and moving to New York City at the age of 21. There, he performed for spare change in Grand Central Station before working his way up to the Manhattan club circuit. Forbert debuted in 1978 with Alive on Arrival, which earned critical acclaim for its taut, poetic lyrics. The follow-up, 1979's Jackrabbit Slim, was his most successful outing. He spent much of the 80’s in Nashville, where he continued honing his songwriting skills and performed regularly throughout the South. In 1988, he signed to Geffen, where the E Street Band's Garry Talent produced his comeback album, Streets of This Town. Forbert moved into independent territory for his next albums including Any Old Time (a tribute to country music legend Jimmie Rodgers) in 2002 and Just Like There's Nothin' to It (a collection of new songs) in 2004. During this period, Forbert also released two compilations of rare and unreleased material, Young, Guitar Days and More Young, Guitar Days, as well as several live recordings. Steve is currently touring and recording new material.
Chris & Thomas
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Combining American roots instrumentation with soothing vocal harmonies, the duo’s rustic sounds and heartfelt songs are filled with thoughtful lyricism. Chris and Thomas' music has appeared in film and television. Their first CD, "Land of Sea" won best album in the Americana category at the Independent Music Awards, and has achieved critical acclaim in the US and the UK. The duo's big break came in 2006 when Nic Harcort of LA's influential KCRW invited them into the studio for a live performance. That single appearance, along with a few shows at Hollywood's storied Hotel Cafe, created a musical shock wave that resonated throughout Los Angeles and Southern California.
August 15, 2009
THE MOTELS
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Martha Davis began writing songs at the age of 15. Born and raised in Berkeley, CA. she moved to Los Angeles in the early ‘70s, along with the first incarnation of The Motels. The band reformed in 1978 and was immediately signed to Capitol in 1979. In 1981 their album Careful, went Top 50. Then, in 1982, the Motels released All Four one…the smash single ‘Only The Lonely’ rocketed into the Top 10. The group dominated the music scene and was voted Best Performance for ‘Only The Lonely’ at the 1982 American Music Awards. Capitol has just reissued an expanded and remastered edition of the legendary All Four One album, which contains previously unreleased bonus tracks. In the Fall of 2000, lo The Motels Anthology, a first ever double disk of rarities, b-sides, soundtrack cuts as well as live performances was released. The Motels tour regularly and in addition to music Martha Davis recently concluded a publishing deal with DreamWorks SKG.
King Washington
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This British influenced band consist mainly of styles from the 60’s such as the Beatles, Kinks, Zombies, and the Who while incorporating touches of current “Brit. Heads” heroes the Talking Heads and Radiohead. That’s not to say that they don't appreciate modern 'American' music, rather they are merely attempting to bring back styles of music that made the sound of pop a world wide phenomena.
August 22, 2009
TOAD THE WET SPROCKET
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Named in honor of a sketch by the Monty Python comedy troupe, Toad the Wet Sprocket became one of the most successful alternative rock bands of the early '90s, boasting a contemporary folk-pop sound that straddle both the modern rock and adult contemporary markets. After honing their sound in local bars, the band mates entered a nearby studio in 1988 and recorded their debut LP, Bread and Circus. Originally sold as a homemade cassette in Santa Barbara record stores, the album eventually made its way to the Los Angeles offices of Columbia Records. Toad the Wet Sprocket's commercial breakthrough followed with 1991's Fear, as the single "All I Want" -- quite nearly left off the album -- became a Top 20 hit. Another single from the LP, "Walk on the Ocean," fared similarly well, and the combination pushed Fear to platinum sales. Three years later 1994, Toad returned with Dulcinea, which generated a third Top 40 hit with the single "Fall Down." Toad the Wet Sprocket's scored another hit with the acoustically mellow "Something's Always Wrong." In 1995 "Good Intentions," was included on the popular Friends soundtrack and yielded another chart record. "Come Down" was their last hit in 1997 before the group split in July 1998, with the compilation album P.S.: A Toad Retrospective surfacing in 1999. In a rare live concert performance at Pershing Square Toad the Wet Sprocket celebrates over ten years of chart toping music.
The Janks
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The Janks have a penchant for telling tall tales in varying proportions of folk sincerity and unbridled guitargasm. They are dynamic melody makers experimenting with some heartfelt words, a loose canon and a few ideas that slipped out of Tom Waits' hat after attending a Radiohead concert. The band's front men have developed a singular voice with power and range that tribute the talents of McCartney, Dylan and Robert Plant. A Janks show keeps you guessing and wanting more.