Tim Norris / OC Weekly

Coachella Sahara Tent 2012

Festival season is upon us and that means not one, but two weeks of Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival with enough electronic dance music to keep aficionados fist pumping in their sleep with anticipation. With one of the biggest music events of the year just around the corner, why bother doing anything else all month? Well, for those not willing to shell out the $350 for three days or others who weren't lucky enough to score a ticket before it sold out fear not because there's plenty of EDM shows right here in OC and in LA to get your party music fix. We did all the research for you to ensure you don't miss the five best dance music shows of all genres to ensure you spend your hard earned money on the right events.

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Jena Ardell

311 knows the secret to maintain a loyal fan base for over 20 years: tour nonstop; build a solid online community; then invite fans on a Caribbean vacation. It helps to have a band name consisting of numbers that can coincide with a month and day so your band has an excuse to host an annual (or bi-annual) event. If you haven't noticed, 3-11 Day (March 11th) is considered an international holiday among fans.

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We know Doug would SUPER love to see you there...

KROQ's Kevin and Bean have been doing their part to help raise awareness for charities that are near and dear to their hearts with their annual, "Kevin & Bean's April Foolishness" comedy show that has brought comedic greats to the stage over the years like Bob Saget, Ray Romano, Tim Minchin, Eddie Izzard, Jim Jefferies, and Patton Oswalt to entertain to eager (and often drunk) crowds. This year line-up was just announced for their 2013 event that will be held on Saturday, April 6th, once again at the Gibson Amphitheatre and it's shaping up to be another blow-out night of hilarity.

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Matt Oliver / OC Weekly

Beyond Wonderland 2012

Festival season is less than a month away for the electronic dance music community, and with it comes the time-honored tradition of skimpy outfits, three-day ragers, pool parties and dancing until the sun comes up. Starting in March, a slew of your favorite DJs will be on tour to promote new albums and/or tracks. Add all of the amazing shows right here in OC or a short drive away, and you can find something for every dance-music palate on a weekly basis. We did all the research to find the best EDM shows this month on which to spend your hard-earned cash.

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Drop The Lime, born Luca Venezia

Just when you thought festival season was over and the surge of electronic dance music events had come to a halt, 2013 has kicked off into high gear with sick shows every week. We already know holidays are big for EDM DJs to ensure a gig, but what about during off months like in January? Well let's just say that dance music fans love to party because the amount of shows in OC from now until Winter Music Conference is only growing right here in our own backyard. We broke down a list of the five best EDM shows this month to keep you up to date on all of the bacchanals worth buying tickets for.

See Also:
Five EDM Artists We'd Like to See at Coachella This Year
NYE EDM Festivals in 2012: Which One Was the Best?
Zedd Tells Us Why He Dislikes the Phrase "EDM"

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Shannon Nehls / OC Weekly

The S.S. Coachella was held on the Celebrity Silhouette

See Also:
*Five Things an EDM Diva Learned at Burning Man

*Five Reasons You Should Be Jealous of Our S.S. Coachella Trip

*Coachella Jumps On Board the Floating Festival Trend, But is This New Cruise a Sinker?

Goldenvoice's week-long music festival cruise to the Bahamas and Jamaica titled the S.S. Coachella anchored back in the Port Everglades of Fort Lauderdale Florida yesterday. It was only natural that the Coachella brand would jump ship on the cruise festival trend such as Mayhem Festival, Groove Cruise and Holy Ship and bring the festival experience to the high seas. Just like our OC and LA natives have been making the pilgrimage every year to the Indio desert for a weekend of scorching heat, outrageous partying and music madness since it's launch in 1999, plenty took part in the first ever S.S. Coachella. Sure, we wrote about how the line-up was a sinker a couple of months back, but we still couldn't help having FOMO (fear of missing out) if we didn't join on the inaugural cruise to the Caribbean.

Though it may have looked like hipster hell, it actually was one of the wildest times I've had this year since I lost my playa virginity at Burning Man. In a way the S.S. Coachella was like the Burn with an infinite array of possibilities - the only difference was this adventure took place on one of the most luxurious cruise ships and shared more of the eclectic music tastes of the Coachella crowd (and it's values). The Celebrity Silhouette is a 122,000 ton ship with everything from premiere suites, pools, basketball courts and grass on the top deck (yes both kinds of grass). Throw in some bands, DJs and you have a recipe for a lot of debauchery. We broke down the five highlights from our S.S. Coachella escapade while still nursing a massive hangover and attempting to get over the sea legs.

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Courtesy of James Moriarty

AZARI & III

On Saturday November 10th, "Sonar On Tour"--Barcelona's international and world-renowned festival of electronic music and new media art-- ends it's eight day circuit at the Shrine Expo Hall in Los Angeles. While the tour had an abrupt cancellation due to the impact of Hurricane Sandy at the New York Roseland Ballroom, the Spanish mega festival creators have been making their way through the East Coast and Canada with stops at the Chicago Congress Theater to the Metropolis in Montreal. Boasting a mix of live acts and DJ sets from Die Antwoord to Nic Fanciulli we decided to talk to the Sonar head of international media Georgia Taglietti and one of the bands on the tour AZARI & III about their coming to America.

"You already have a lot festivals in America so we choose to bring a tour to see how the public reacts and get a feel of how you perceive our brand," shares Taglietti the EA to the directors of the Sonar Festival brand. "What we bring on tour is a microcosm of what we do in Barcelona, which is 100,000 people over a three-day weekend for night and day parties." Established in June 1994 by the same three directors today, Sonar's principles were to blend artistry with entertainment while honoring the avant-garde and experimentation that comes with the possibilities of electronic music and it's culture. Hosting four outdoor stages, "Sonar by Day takes off pure entertainment and the feeling you get from learning about new music, media and art exhibitions," explains Georgia. "Sonar by Night goes into a 25,000 person venue which has a stage set up that supports our live acts as well as our DJ sets."

See Also:
Damian Lazarus Plays Music For 24-Hour Party People...Literally
Orbital Tell Us How to Make it in the EDM Scene
Top Five Worst Places to Get Your EDM News

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Halloween debauchery gets one more horrifying gasp tomorrow in downtown Los Angeles when the city is swarmed by electronic dance music fans attending HARD Day of the Dead. In an attempt not to compete with the many dance music festivals going on Halloween weekend, the HARD Haunted Halloween Festival has now been transformed into HARD Day of the Dead, or Dia De Los Muertos for you non-gringos. This Latin celebration is usually held on November 1st and 2nd to coincide with the Catholic All Saints Day and All Souls Day in remembrance of those friends and family who have passed. Starting tomorrow afternoon you can expect lots of kids dressed in Day of the Dead get-ups with a lot of face paint and very little clothing. Boasting four different stages, a Ferris Wheel and even a Holy Ship, the HARD brand has really stepped up it's game after being bought by Live Nation. With a stacked line-up featuring Major Lazer, Knife Party, Tommy Trash and more we put together a list of five must see acts you can't forget about under the Los Angeles city skyline and booming beats.

See Also:
*Top Five Best and Worst Parts of Escape From Wonderland - NOS Events Center - October 27,2012
*Major Lazer - The Observatory - October 18, 2012 [with VIDEO]
*Boys Noize Talks New Album, Working With Snoop Dogg and Skrillex

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Burning Man

See Also:
The Fantastic People of Burning Man
FYF Fest 2012: A Complex Punk Portrait of the SoCal Music Scene
Insomniac Donates $115,000 From EDC Sales

Burning Man is an annual event and temporary community based on radical self-expression and self-reliance in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada. Having conquered every other major music and arts festival in the US from Ultra Music Festival, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival to Electric Daisy Carnival it seemed only natural that I was ready to embark on the journey to take on the 26th Annual Burning Man pilgrimage. On top of being a community of over 60,000 music and art aficionados it is a spiritual refuge where burners gather to reflect on their lives and mourn the loss of loved ones or other obstacles with the burning of the man (a giant wooden effigy in the shape of a man) and then the temple so beautiful it rivals many churches.

Burning Man takes place on a dry lake bed, a vast flat expanse of alkali salt called the playa. Two girl friends and I made the nine-hour drive to meet our three guy friends who drove an RV all the way down from Vancouver and another close girl friend who flew into Reno, Nevada. All sharing journeys of overheated cars and electrical problems on planes, I wish someone would have told us the journey to the playa would take an entire day. But we were finally together, brought some bad-ass army and Indian tribe outfits and stocked way too much vodka and beer with not enough tequila and Four Lokos. Living on an RV in Black Rock City made us the closest hippie family and taught us plenty of valuable life-changing lessons.

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Lilledeshan Bose / OC Weekly

Fans outside a Brian Wilson album signing at Fingerprints

See Also:
*Milo Greene - Fingerprints - 7/16/12
*Top Five Hits: Fingerprints in Long Beach
*Brian Wilson Visits Fingerprints Records

For as much of a Long Beach institution as Fingerprints has become, it wasn't until the record store announced their latest weekend sale that we realized how long it's been since owner Rand Foster sold his first piece of music. Starting Friday, the store is celebrating its 20th anniversary by offering it's biggest discount ever.

For the most part, the weekend event is major boon for diggers of the bargain bin. Starting today, all used CDs are 30 percent off, progressing to a 40 percent discount on Saturday and 50 percent off on Sunday. Those of you still rocking CDs better get over there. In addition to used stuff, every other category--new CDs, LPs, DVDs, books-- are 15% off all weekend. And in case you're not completely broke next week, Monday offers a 25% discount on all used vinyl.
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