If you're the kind of person that likes to get your rap, rock and metal all mixed up into one bone-crushing package (probably saves time), then (hed) p.e. are waiting with arms (and mosh pit) wide open for you. The Huntington Beach bred five-piece recently launched their third round of U.S. shows with industrial metal band Mushroomhead. The Hed2Head3 Tour (we see what they did there) is rumbling into the City National Grove of Anaheim on Saturday, May 30.More >>

Moostache

Huntington Beach four-piece Moostache have just released their anticipated album entitled, Anything, Alone. Featuring 11 tracks produced locally by Jon O'Brien (including 2 bonus tracks produced by Billy Mohler and Jimmy Messer), the album is nothing short of exuberant. Right out of the gate, the impressive range and vocal control of Patrick Wardell is thrust into the spotlight full force with "Guarded Place." Comparable to a tranquil version of The Mars Volta frontman Cedric Bixler-Zavala, it might take some getting used to depending on your musical tastes. Either way, the controlled chaos that is Wardell's vocals is astounding and not over-bearing through out the remainder of the album.

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Bone Thugs-n-Harmony

Last night, the folks at Guerilla Union announced the lineup and dates for Rock the Bells 2012 and a couple new surprises to its format.

In an obvious attempt to capitalize on the popularity of Coachella's decision to clone itself, this year's Rock the Bells will be expanding its lineup to two consecutive days in its three host cities.

Check out a full list of performers after the jump!

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Anthony Jeselnik carried a confident air about him long before he became a favorite for his hilarious appearances on the Comedy Central Roast of Donald Trump and Charlie Sheen. He has a gift of dishing out jabs that are cute with a devilish grin that lets you know, it's OK to laugh at anything; no matter how awful you are for doing it. This Thursday through Sunday, Anthony is headlining at the Irvine Improv so leave your uptight friends at home because nothing is off limits. Nothing. OK, you've been warned.

OC Weekly (Ali Lerman): I love the dry delivery you have with your jokes. Is that something you were born with?

Anthony Jeselnik: It's a little of both. You know my whole family actually talks like this a little bit, kind of with weird pauses where you shouldn't really have them. I always enjoyed it. I love the way Christopher Walken talks and he was an influence too. I just thought it was a cool way to do things and sounded cool. When I am on stage it helps to hide the punchline of the joke a little more. Instead of having to say things in straight sentences, I can break it up more. I think the more I do it the more natural my delivery gets.

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Few things stab us in the gut like watching a celebrity try to cut up tracks on a laptop or a pair of turntables. Sure, we'd like to give them the benefit of the doubt that their musical aspirations might be met with some actual practice and soul searching vision. And to those celebrities with actual talent, we're sorry that Paris Hilton is ruining it for the rest of you.

On Tuesday, it was confirmed that Hilton will indeed be releasing a house record and will be getting behind the decks to for a one-hour music festival in Sao Paulo, Brazil on June 23 with more bass-thumping gigs to follow. Apparently dating Dutch producer Afrojack has given her the confidence to step into the spotlight. But one doesn't have to go far back in her past (i.e. the bizarre video for her woozy track, "Drunk Text") to see why celebutantes and music careers don't mix.

With that in mind, we tracked down a few other horrible DJ ventures that sound worse than a needle scratching across the record.


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'Philm Harmonic'...get it?

Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo's side-project Philm is defined by its ability to explore new horizons of metal-based soundscapes from a 'less is more' musical philosophy. That experimental ethos even extends to the Cubano's legendary kit which is whittled down to a four-piece set that still blisters with fury. The LA-based power trio rounded out by Gerry Nestler on guitar and vocals with Pancho Tomaselli on bass have carved out full spectrum dominance with today's release of the band's long-awaited debut Harmonic by Ipecac Recordings.
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Deke Dickerson, the lightning-throwing roots-rock guitarist and champion of those old honky-tonking tunes your grandfather boogied to, plays tomorrow night at Big's Grill in Fullerton.More >>

Mike Meza

Douglas and the Furs

Eclectic Roots Festival

Irvine Lake

May 12, 2012

It's rare to find a spanking-new local event with as much potential as the Eclectic Roots Festival that planted itself  at Irvine Lake last Saturday. After all, it's not often we get to see a smorgasbord of young upstarts from Orange County and L.A.'s echo-drenched, psychedelic rock scene inspire more crowd surfing on the stage than in the audience. As the sun set on a back drop of still water, mountain ranges and parked RVs, some intrepid fans decided to show their appreciation for the last bands of the night by forming a dance mob to climb past the stage monitors to surround them in a sea of bodies.

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Andrew Youssef

Flight To Mars
The Constellation Room
5/14/12

Generally, opening nights of tours are when the small kinks that audiences don't notice are worked out. It could be the sound is off or that the band is a bit rusty after having not been on-stage in a while. Flight To Mars had a built-in excuse on top of whatever opening problems could have occurred: this was their first ever performance outside of their native Seattle. As we highlighted in our feature last week, the Mike McCready-led band has been playing one-off shows in the Emerald City for the past nine years in order to raise money for the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation. In honor of their 10th year performing, the group decided to take the show on the road.

Naturally there were some spotty moments, but all in all, Flight To Mars kicked some serious ass. Throughout their 75-minute set of UFO covers, McCready treated the nearly- packed room to the same energetic and excitable solos that he's been known to do in much larger venues, providing a treat to the diehard Pearl Jam fans in attendance. I'm not sure if they noticed, but the solo in "Rock Bottom" felt eerily similar to the one in "Porch," which shows that if you dig deep enough into a rocker's roots, you could find hidden gems in unexpected places.

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Daniel Kohn

As the dust settles from last month's double weekend extravaganza known as Coachella, why not build up some hype for next year's event, even if it is a mere 11 months away?

Today, Goldenvoice announced that advanced passes for next year's event, which again is slated to be a two weekend affair (April 12-14, 2013 and April 19-21, 2013), will go on-sale Thursday at 10:00 am PDT and will only be available for one week. General admission tickets are $349 and includes all taxes and fees.

If you didn't have enough of this year's festival and are planning on going next year, then this is your opportunity to get tickets before the rush (or maybe not). The lineup won't be announced until the next year, but hey, when has that stopped people before?