If you weren't able to make it to the Muckenthaler Cultural Center in Fullerton for the opening reception of Don Normark: A Retrospective last month, another gallery tour event awaits you tomorrow night. Normark, as faithful readers will recall, is an acclaimed photographer whose work spans from snapping shots of the close knit neighborhoods of Chavez Ravine before eviction cleared the way to construct a stadium for the Doyers to the more recent South Central Farm saga.More >>

John Scarpati

The story of Fishbone, the alternative band that formed out of Los Angeles in 1979, deserves to be told far and wide. The "disparate, all-black oddball crew" emerged to blend punk, ska, funk, soul and rock musical influences achieving its high water mark of commercial success during the late 80's and early 90's. Coming from South Central, five of the six original members were bused to school in the San Fernando Valley as youth helping, in part, to explain the formation of their quintessentially LA sound and evolving leftist, anti-racist politics.

By the time "Everyday Sunshine" off of their 1991 release The Reality of My Surroundings hit radio stations and MTV, all the diligence of their hard work was starting to pay off, but soon things would begin to fall apart. This came to a dramatic head when bassist Norwood Fisher faced kidnapping charges stemming from a failed intervention in 1993 to bring a troubled guitarist Kendall Jones back into the fold of the band. Through the following years of changing lineups and treading forth without major label support, Fishbone continues on to the present day.
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​Sixty years ago, folk balladeer Woody Guthrie penned "1913 Massacre," a solemn song about a Christmas Eve tragedy in Michigan. The recording, much like the labor history behind it, is not as well known as it deserves to be. Hoping to bring both to greater attention, filmmakers inspired by "1913 Massacre" have completed an in-depth hour long documentary going by the same title as the song.More >>

​Bret McKenzie, one half of New Zealand's "4th most popular guitar-based digi-bongo acapella-rap-funk-comedy folk duo" Flight Of The Conchords, has been busy making the rounds promoting The Muppets movie, which featured several tracks he penned, including Oscar nominee "Life's A Happy Song."

A few days ago, perhaps encouraged by the success of the Muppets soundtrack, he announced that a FOTC movie is in the works. Says McKenzie: "We're going to try and do a movie. We just need a story."

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Sini Anderson's forthcoming documentary on musician and activist Kathleen Hanna, The Punk Singer , has raised about $46,000 via a Kickstarter campaign to finish the film. She's met her $44,000 goal, which will be used for editing. Additional funds raised will be used for color correction and sound mixing. Rewards for supporters include copies of Kathleen's old zines and a chance to have a room in your home redesigned by Hanna.

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​An official trailer for The (R)evolution of Immortal Technique was released on YouTube this week by the rapper's Viper Records label. The new documentary charts the transformation of the rebel wordsmith from an incarcerated youth into a conscious performer before a global stage. More >>

​The New York Times Arts' section reported today that independent film company River Road Entertainment is in the process of making a biopic about the life of troubled rock-maestro Brian Wilson (a.k.a. most relevant Beach Boy). River Road is currently garnering accolades for its involvement in the production of cinematic maestro Terrence Malick's latest film, The Tree of Life. 


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​Chilean film director Andrés Wood is summoning up his country's past once more in his latest project Violeta se fue a los cielos. The forthcoming major motion picture centers around the life of Violeta Parra, a legendary folk singer in Chile and throughout all of Latin America. Audiences in the United States may know her best by the song "Gracias a la Vida" that she sang and composed and that has since been covered numerous times over by many musicians including Joan Baez.More >>

Groups like The Beatles and Led Zeppelin have demonstrated the volatility of creative partnerships with their dramatic break-ups. They each defined a decade of American music before disbanding and are now remembered as part of a developing rock canon. Hip-hop has had a shorter history than rock, but it does have its share of groups whose music demands a similar canonization. Few acts have avoided the sophomore or late-career slump like A Tribe Called Quest, whose five albums released across the '90s lack the kind of gradual decline often experienced by groups with a long history.More >>