The last few years have seen Summer Darling chart a different direction. With the addition of Loop Haro on drums and a more group-oriented approach to song crafting, 2008’s “Health of Others” is the first of 3 digital EPs to be released this year, representing a new dynamic style. On it, Summer Darling explores the relationship between infidelity and retribution. The songwriting focuses on a more band-oriented approach, resulting in a more dynamic and symphonic sound.

“Good Feeling” is the second of 3 digital EPs to be released in 2008 via Origami Music, all of which will be collected on a full-length vinyl and digital release at year’s end. “Good Feeling” tells the semi - autobiographical story of a devout believer’s struggle with alcoholism and disillusionment in the modern corporate church. While certainly Summer Darling’s most pop oriented release to date, the sonic undercurrents portray a startling disconnect. From the cloud of voice-noise behind the piano ballad “Young Forever” to the searing guitar lines of “Ride This Wave of Good Feelings,” “Good Feeling” showcases the band’s ability to tell a story with music as well as words. [ioda]

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SESSION TRACKS
1) Ride This Wave of Good Feelings | itunes | e-music
2) Barren Womb | itunes | e-music
3) Math is Everywhere | itunes | e-music

“OPEN GRAVE”

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I gave up on us a long ago after a lifetime of unannounced program changes and undelivered phone-in requests. You need to stop hounding me with your incessant repeating whiny musical cycles and inane banter, not to mention following me around the city in my car. The worst was when you changed personalities and played commercial dance music for a year straight. I’ve now filed a restraining order to keep you and your antiquated medium away for good.

Where did all it go wrong FM? Will you ever had anything intelligible to say, and will I always have to wait until odd hours for anything good to come out of my speakers? I often felt you only were relegating key content to those random hours just to string me along and make you look better. I loved your occasional community spirit and NPR ways, but it became next to impossible to wade through the morass of advertisements, and corall your goddamn morning zoo. I don’t know about you, but for me this is the clearest channel for making my voice heard.

I now have multiple partners who are always there when I need them, and I can pick and choose where they are from regionally at will. I’m no longer confined to one stale market. Not all are professionals, but they have loads of independent friends that they bring along for sessions as well.

Just look at all these damn fine local specimens below that I brought this time FM. Hell yeah, hot:

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FEATURED TRACKS
1) The Black Watch - Steve Albini (clip) | itunes
2) Esquimaux - Dosvidanya | itunes
3) The Black Watch - Icing the Snow Queen
4) The Weepies - Hideaway | e-music
5) Pic Vicious - L.A. Dreamer
6) Chase Frank - Some Friend You Are | snocap
7) The Ruse - Beautiful is Gone
8 ) Fuji Minx - But No No No | e-music
9) Matt Ellis - Hey Mr. | itunes
10) The Muslims - Bright Side
11) Kaitlyn Anderson - So Much Better
12) Faded Paper Figures - I Fell Off My Name
13) The Orphan Factory - A Liar and a Thief
14) Mighty Six Ninety - Mistakes Like These | itunes

BACKSTAGE ACTION
MLC PR
LA Podcasters
Indie Radio Chattanooga
Bounce Radio
The Weepies Video Challenge
Yarrr! PR
Mighty 690 (Wikipedia)
Hummingfish
Juice Newton Video!

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Friend and classy wordsmith of “The Black Watch”, John, told me that his band will be cracking into a fresh show at the Echo, and naturally I was surprised to hear his troubadours will include Steve Schayer (Ex- The Chills/Clay Idols).

All three groups performing have new albums that just released or are about to drop, and we are also very excited to present the following gems excavated from our audio spelunking:

LINEUP….UP….Up….up….
1) The Black Watch - On Another Plane
2) Port O’Brien - Five and Dime
3) Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - I Think I Wanna Die

Artist online stores: TBW | POB | SSLYBY

Manny Motta… motta.. motta…

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Bandmembers Travis Knight and Hugh Price came together in 2004 in Florida, then eventually teamed up with Grammy winning producer/mixer Paul McKenna to create their first LP entitled Sharpes Ferry Road. This LP had guest appearances from LA based Oliver Future and Rose’s Pawn Shop members, whom you may have heard on Insomnia Radio in the past. Jonah David (Matisyahu) also rounds out their new bill!

We are proud to bring you a new demo track that the band recently put the final touches on, and which they passed onto us recently out in Texas. The track is called ‘Elegant’ and is apparently planned for release on their next album.

The other two tracks, ‘Sidewalk Diving’, and ‘Agent Orange’ are available on their MySpace site through SnoCap.

SESSION TRACKS
1) Sidewalk Diving
2) Elegant (demo)
3) You’ve Been Had By Agent Orange

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UPCOMING SUMMER RESIDENCY
5/15/08 - House of Blues Parish Room
6/19/08 - House of Blues Parish Room
7/17/08 - House of Blues Parish Room

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Today’s session is basically one continuous experimental half-hour long electronica track, crafted by someone not from the region, and with material apparently taken from the Los Angeles Police Department during the April 29th ’spawned’ L.A. Riots back in 1992.

The performer is actually from the Netherlands and goes by the moniker Zero V. This track is called LA Riot [THE LAPD Tapes], a delicious thirty minute epic produced by the Notorious Twins. This soundscape captures the listener in its droning rhythms, bringing back a sense of urgency and recollection of the vivid local imagery broadcast around the world sixteen years ago to the date.

So open the windows, let the heat flood in, breathe in that smoky L.A. air, throw on your headphones, and take a recollective trip back for better or for worse…

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Photo above by Craig1Black

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This musical offering is a long time in coming, and is saturated with some incredible tracks, definitely one of my favorite lineups to date from the Southern California region. The name given to the episode comes from a line in Cerulean’s track and is a just a play on drinking coffee right up to the evening, working hard to get this session out… nothing too deep.

I hope you enjoy our selection of fourteen tracks today. We’ve got some excellent local features from Ill Lillies and The Audiants, as well as our friends Sunday Drivers, Lost in Los Angeles, Joshua Lanes and much more!

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FEATURED TRACKS
1) Mark Silverman - Insomnia Song (clip) | e-music
2) Goldenboy - Summer of the Evening | e-music
3) Cerulean - Far Beneath & Below | e-music
4) How to Win at Life - Peak of My Physical Beauty | itunes
5) The Audiants - The Rest of the Day | itunes
6) Lost in Los Angeles - Pierce the Cold | snocap
7) Manhattan Murder Mystery - I Am Tired of Being a Man
8 ) The Secret 6 - Familiar | snocap
9) Sunday Drivers - The Sweetest Disguise | itunes
10) Mezzanine Owls - Snowglobe | e-music
11) Joshua Lanes - Pink Gloves | itunes
12) Great Northern - Home | e-music
13) Ill Lillies - Baby Diego | last.fm
14) Austin James Band - Time | itunes

CHECK 1 2 3
Major Changes at Insomnia Radio!
Atlantic Wave Radio
Outlaw Punk Cowboy Show
Rock Insider
Suzy (music pusher)
Musket (Davey Latter of Great Northern/Everest)
IODA Promonet
LA Podcasters

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Two slots are open for bands to advance in a chance to win a million dollar contract and to supposedly receive facetime on a reality tv show.

While I normally wouldn’t advocate random voting in online contests, I feel a little jilted after manning five six-hour judging events in where none of the groups from our area advanced. I guess it goes with the territory and anything can happen…but..

Here’s where you come in. If you are interested you can log-into the Bodog site and vote once a day to help two of the following local groups move forward. These are all groups you may be familiar with as we’ve played them on IR: SoCal in the past several months. Bands can be voted for from their individual pages between April 1st and April 30th. Winners will be announced May 4th.

VOTING LINKS:
Cry Havoc
Building a Better Spaceship
Out of State
Paper Thin Walls
Letters Burning
Lo Mass Republic

If you do vote, let me know and I’ll enter you into the running for a new small-sized smoke-free Bodog Battle hooded sweatshirt (runs more into medium size). Just send me a quick note to the e-mail charles (at) insomniaradio (dot) net if interested and I’ll have a draw a name later in the month closer to April 30th.

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In the vein of LA’s Wasted Youth and Bad Religion comes a group originally formed in Shreveport in 2000 and whom relocated to the Los Angeles area several years ago. After releasing a few CD’s and freshly remastering them recently, they’re working on a new EP set for release this month, called "Until the Plantation Burns", whose first song is being featured this week over on Garageband.

Behold, in all of their glory, LA’s "Raised Under Reagan" and check out the psychedelic message from Nanc I hid in the first song. Make sure to visit their website after the face melting has ended. Until then:

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1) Raised Under Reagan - Note in a Bottle
2) Raised Under Reagan - End of the Rope
3) Raised Under Reagan - Igor’s Dilemma

TOURDATES
5/1/08 - DiPiazza’s in Long Beach (8pm)
5/3/08 - Surf City Saloon in Huntington Beach (8pm)

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Just past midnight on Sunday morning, a friend and I had the pleasure of watching the Huntington Beach/LA based group, “Cry Havoc” assault a local crowd with their fiery punk rock ‘Easter hymns’ in the early morning hours. Can I get a witness?

I had seen this group a few times before, as they were in a battle of the bands I had assisted in judging previously, although every single band from our market lost in the end (pending one last round of wildcard results). Um, not my fault man.

I managed to snap several pictures of the night’s events which you can view over on Flickr. Most are hastily taken during the last two songs, which generally sent the assembled crowd and opening groups up onto the stage, culminating in a ripping cover of Face to Face’s “Disconnected”.

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Check these guys out on their way up:

1) Cry Havoc - Ghost Town | snocap
2) Cry Havoc - From the Stars | snocap

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