Floating Away

826LA Benefit at Largo

I hated reading as a child.  It was a chore and I felt I was constantly being told what to read by grown ups who didn't take my interests into account when picking books.  High School came and went and I rarely read a book cover to cover.  It was only until college when I realized what a library can be really be.  I could take classes on what I wanted and professors assigned books that I actually liked.  I couldn't stop reading.  I actually enjoyed reading.  It was a bizarre change for many (including my parents) to come to terms with.

During my senior year, Dave Eggers released "A Heart Breaking Work of Staggering Genius" which I consumed in one sitting.  Upon completeing it, I thought it was an incredible book that was one of the best things I had ever read.  (The other day, I was thinking about this and tried to find my original copy, but couldn't.  I am not sure how amazing I would think it was now, but still think it holds up pretty well).  Through Eggers, I learned of McSweeney's (his publishing company/quarterly magazine), the Believer (a monthly literary magazine) and 826 Valencia.   

As many of you know, 826 Valencia is an after school writing and tutoring program based in the Bay Area.  The 826 program has since grown to LA, NY, Chicago, Ann Arbor, and Seattle.  826LA, based in Venice, is incredible.  They do wonders for the students of LA by providing a safe haven for kids to learn, explore and expand their writing.  They also do a great job of putting on great fundraisers. 

Over the summer, the Revenge of the Book Eaters tour stopped at UCLA and raised a boatload of money.  The night featured an perfect combination of comedy, music and literature.  Any Richter, Jenny Lewis, Aimee Mann, and Sarah Vowell all performed and put on a great show.

A few months back, they did it again at Largo.  Only this time it was an incredible night of music featuring Fiona Apple, Jon Brion, Mike Elizando and others.   The show was such a success (it raised $1800) they have worked with Largo to do three more of the next three months. 

The first is next Wednesday and, like The Book Eaters show, it will feature a night of Music, Comedy and Literature.  Word on the street is that night one will be Ben Lee, Aimee Bender and a comedian to be named later (Margaret Cho is no longer confirmed) .  Tickets are $25 and all the money goes to 826LA.  Please call Largo and reserve a table for this great show. 

The Airborne Toxic Event @ The Echo

As many LA Bloggers have told you, the Airborne Toxic Event has the Monday residency in March at the Echo.  Coming off of the strength of Rolling Stone's top MySpace Bands, this band has been on a tear.  They have had a great review at Kevin Bronson's Buzz Bands Blog as well as love from the usual hipster crew of tastemakers. 

And rightfully so, these guys (and gal) are great.  Their three song EP is way too short and the complaint that one can have is that you want more.  They delivered more Monday night and they delivered it in full force. 

On the surface, the band reminds me of the Arcade Fire: They have five members, one of which is an adorable girl who plays the violin.  They all play each others instruments and jump around and leave everything they have on stage, but they are  a very different band.  They have a very diverse sound and explore their instruments in wonderful ways.  How many violin/electric bass duets do you hear in indie bands these days? As you can see above, both were played with a bow. 

Next Monday, the band will be playing an all acoustic set brought to you by Radio Free Silverlake.  I am very curious to see what these guys can do without all their accouterments.  So, I might be back to these guys again.

Here are a couple of tracks from their EP.  Last time I checked, Sea Level had a handful in there.

MP3: Does This Mean You're Moving On - The Airborne Toxic Event
MP3: Wishing Well - The Airborne Toxic Event

Also, my apologies to Radars to The Sky.  I got there late and missed their set. 

7 Unconnected Thoughts, Ideas and/or Links

1. Tonight's residency at the Echo will be great.  Can't wait to finally check out Airborne Toxic Event and hear some Radars to the Sky and Happy Hollows while I am at it. 
2. The pilot episode of Rob Corddry's new show, "The Winner" was incredible.  I was dying laughing.  The next episode wasn't as great, but still strong.  It's an amalgam of 40 Year Old Virgin, Arrested Development and How I Met Your Mother.  Not a bad combination
3. This is a fun way to pass 10 minutes.  I got 48 and felt dumb when I realized which ones I forgot.
4. Last Friday night at the Natural History Museum was a lot of fun.  I highly recommend it to anyone looking for an interesting night out.  I caught an interesting lecture, saw a pretty good 20 minute documentary, and watched Ghostland Observatory go crazy in the Hall of Mammals.  Next month features The Submarines and Plaid with a DJ set by DNTEL.  I went straight from work and didn't bring my camera, but this much needs to be said: Ghostland Observatory puts on one of the best live shows around. 
5. I read Rob Sheffield's Love is a Mix Tape over the weekend and it was quite good, but also incredibly sad.  There is a ton of music in there and I look forward to going through it again with a legal pad and a writing utensil.
6. I also ordered this book to be my next read.  I am scared it will hit home a bit too much. 
7. The photo above is by Eugene De Salignac and you can read his story here (from the New Yorker).  There is a short, but incredible slideshow to accompany.  Highly recommended. 

February 07 Mix

[In an attempt to keep my few readers abreast of what I am listening to, The Monthly Mix Series is a monthly post featuring music that found its way into my ears over the course of the past month.]

Here is the second mix of 2007 and again, some of the same themes are present in the January Mix.  I am still enjoying old Destroyer, The Broken West and the Parson Red Heads.  I added some more LA bands to the mix this month (particularly the Deadly Syndrome who I keep talking about and The Airborne Toxic Event who I can't wait to see this month at the Echo) and can't stop listening to Maia Hirasawa's "I Found This Boy".  Thanks to Swedesplease for this one. 

Tracklisting:
1: I Hope I Become  A Ghost: The Deadly Syndrome [MP3]
2: Come and Get These Memories: Martha Reeves and The Vandellas
3: The Church of What’s Happening Now: Sia
4: Wishing Well: The Airborne Toxic Event   
5: Pata Pata: Miriam Makeba   
6: Mossback: The Parson Red Heads   
7: Canary in a Coalmine: The Police   
8: Streethawk I : Destroyer    
9: And I Found This Boy: Maia Hirasawa [MP3]
10: Yea Yeah: Matt & Kim [MP3]
11: Brass Ring: The Broken West    
12: The Thanks I Get : Jeff Tweedy   
13: Story Problem: The Envy Corps
14: My Sword Hand’s Anger : Apostle of Hustle   
15: The Lucky One: Au Revoir Simone
16: Long Walk Home: Radars to the Sky [MP3]
17: Hope Less: Brad Cohen
18: Asa Branca: Forro in the Dark w/ David Byrne

DOWNLOAD MIX

DOWNLOAD ARTWORK

Los Angeles' Finest

Heads up on a great night of LA music: The Little Ones, Sea Wolf and Great Northern at the Troubadour on April 4.  Tickets on sale tomorrow at 10 am. 

Matt and Kim @ The Cooperage, UCLA

I stopped by UCLA on the way home last night to check out Brooklyn duo Matt and Kim destroy The Cooperage (does this win the award for oddest venue in LA?).  Matt and Kim apparently had some trouble with the Jet Blue check in guy, so they were without a drum kit, but openers No Age were nice enough to let them borrow their drums.  Matt and Kim and No Age are both playing the Noise Pop Festival tonight in San Francisco. 

If you have heard their music, Matt and Kim are everything you expect them to be.  Total fun.  Nothing but smiles. Great energy. Great rapport between the two.  Personally, I was totally enamored by Kim.  She has some much fun on stage and so much energy that it's really hard to take your eyes off of her. 

The crowd was a whos who of UCLA hipsterdom.  I felt incredibly old, but in hindsight, they did make the show a lot of fun.  There was a mini-moshpit and a kid even crowd surfed! I can't even remember the last time I went to a show when a kid crowd surfed. The highlight of the night was of course their wonderfully catchy single, "Yea Yeah". If you haven't seen their video for this song, watch it here.  It's a lot of fun and there's a huge payoff at the end. 

More photos after the jump . . .