NAMM 2012

The National Association of Music Merchants (aka NAMM) is the mother-load of music trade shows which calls more than 90,000 exhibitors, buyers and visitors out to play, party, and display at the Anaheim Convention Center. Being High Voltage Magazine's virgin NAMM Show voyage it was a bit overwhelming. Chelsea & Trina represented to the best of their ability within "the city sized Guitar Center" to quote Mike Walker of up-and-coming indie rock band NO. Here's their recap:

NAMM is damned fine prep/training for South By Southwest (SXSW). In terms of sheer leg power alone, the quads, hamstrings, and calves are put through their paces as you attempt (and attempt is what you do) to move through all of the exhibitions halls, levels, and surrounding grounds expediently, dodging wandering moguls-in-training, gear, displays, and the occasional 100-person long line waiting for an autograph and photo op with their rock and roll idol. - Trina N. Green

Once again, the power of all things social media showed itself for the indispensable tool that it is, because otherwise how the hell would we have known that Jackson Browne and Lee Roy Parnell were mini-jamming upstairs in the Gibson Guitars booth? Scheduled? I think not, but someone at Gibson tweeted the happening and that was all she wrote. The two chicks that you saw hauling ass up the escalators to get to the third floor? Yeah, that was us. Many exhibitors have been utilizing social media like Twitter for all that it’s worth during NAMM; contests, giveaways, announcements. You’d do well to follow suit. - Trina N. Green

The business that can be done is only as limited as your imagination: sourcing out gear for your band, laying eyes and ears on the “next big thing” and gaining product knowledge, determining what product would be a good fit for your retail business and your customers, retailers meeting their dealers and manufacturers, staring down the competition, putting faces to names that you’ve done business with for years via email, locking product endorsements. Boom. You’ve been NAMM’d. - Trina N. Green

NAMM isn't just limited to merchant business though, it's truly a music haven for the music geek. As you drool over new amp models, advances in tuning technology, and the unveiling of new signature guitar models like Billy Morrison's (pictured to the left) - you could also meet your musical heroes. Signings at booths included: Duff McKagan, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Orianthi, Lita Ford, Dave Navarro, Vivian Campbell, Grace Potter, Tommy Lee, and even the Playmate of the Year (2011)! Or spot your hero casually testing gear out around NAMM like Stevie Wonder, Dave Rude (Tesla), Anders Bo Jespersen, Tony Beliveau (Crash Kings), John Mayer, Matt Sorum and many more. - Chelsea Schwartz

Then there's the music discovery aspect. Looking for a new drummer to your indie rock band? Well whose that jamming over at Zildjian right now? Or maybe you were looking to brand your product with a band endorsement. Personally I followed the sweet sounds coming out of Fender's amusement park for the guitar lover type booth and discovered Uh Huh Her, a band whose name I was aware of but whose music I had not yet listened to. A new fan was born; they were fantastic! - Chelsea Schwartz

The noise. Cacophony. Harmonic discord while every novice to legitimate guitar hero cops a shred on a Gibson or the next John Bonham shatters the eardrums crashing on Zildjian or Supernatural Cymbals. Hey, wasn't there an earplugs booth around here somewhere? And yes, there was! Ear Filters are leading the way with their sponge-like filter, not plug, so you can hear. This filter takes out 15db instead of 22-30db like most over the counter plugs. Perfect!

So as experiences go, this 2012 NAMM was quality. From the eye candy that was the Kurt Cobain line of Fender guitars to attending the NAMM U sessions such as "The Music Instinct: Science and Song" or "How to Measure Your Social Media Results in 10 Minutes" to the abundance of familiar faces that we ran into with no planning, this was a trade show of enormous - if not overwhelming - proportions that proved its value on the first day. The overall energy felt positive and enthusiastic from new exhibitors and veterans, alike, and attendees seemed just as open to new with this year's theme, "Make It Count,” this NAMM Show focused on innovation in the form of apps and technology products designed to make playing music more accessible and easier than ever for consumers.

Other highlights included Rock N Roll Relics (handmade custom-built guitars), the new DT25 from Line6, and Gibson's Robot Guitar.

CMJ 2011: A Road Trip w/ Manic Monkee

Hi, Manic Monkee (aka Allie Shaw) hollering at you. My first entry in the Road Trippin series I'll be bringing to High Voltage takes us to New York City for CMJ 2011. Picture SXSW for the East Coast but instead of it all be located in one generalized area it’s in all the boroughs. So many taxi’s and subways are involved and instead of all the BBQs and Lonestar beer, it's all about finger foods and wine at these parties. But if you are coming for the music, it’s well worth the miles you will travel. CMJ is a music festival & conference; I won’t bore you with the details of the conference, I get it, you’re here for the music. However, yours truly did speak on a panel this year about touring for performers in an economic climate. It was packed with line waiting outside to get in, just saying.

Lets get on with the good stuff.

The 31st annual CMJ festival started off with the Conflict Of Interest party on Monday night, The Syndicate’s annual party at Rebel NYC. Bands like Chiddy Bang, Walk The Moon and the Young Evils graced the overly packed venue. It was refreshing to see NYC get out and support the fest. Now, I’m not gonna do the usual day-by-day blah blah blah, I’ve decided to pick out the stuff I liked. Although, to be honest, a lot of the music started sounding the same. So much watery electronic music and those echoey vocals that seem to follow me in every venue. But, there were a few apples ripe for the picking...

Let me just say that my guilty pleasure this year is a band called Wallpaper out of LA. They played at 3am at Tammany Hall and revived this tired Monkee with their contagious music. A Hip Hop/Dance band whose music is just as addicting as their live performance with diddies about being too drunk to drive and having the best song ever, you’ll find yourself pushing repeat.

Over at the Australian BBQ, I came across a lovely singer named Grace Woodruffe, who had a beautiful blend of deep rootsy sounds that transitioned well into the crowd. Somehow I promised myself I was not gonna go to Brooklyn. The whole we are a band from Brooklyn thing is so overplayed... Yea, I get it, Brooklyn’s "cool" like it’s the new 'we are a band from Seattle', but yet, I still ended up there atop a roof to watch an amazing band called Vanaprasta I was freezing my ta-ta’s off, but when they started playing it occurred to me that I may be listening to the new Kings of Leon on the block. They have an amazing psychedelic energy that made me think if Radiohead and Kings Of Leon had a child the result would be Vanaprasta.

Perez Hilton, honestly to me, has no taste in music and has no business even having music centric parties. He throws one at CMJ and one at SXSW every year and usually it's dance crap, sorry. This time the line-up appeared more soul-oriented so I thought, alright, soul, sweet. His party, let me think, bombed. He had Boyz II Men and Mary J Blige, two amazing acts in themselves but singing their music to tracks! It felt like a lip synch contest more then an actual performance. It was a waste of two great talents. Pony up Perez and brings the bands in to back up the singers, cheapo.

So, I could talk about The Dum Dum Girls, Neon Indian, Portugal The Man (whom I do love), The Lonely Forest, Ziggy Marley, En Vogue, The Delta Spirit and so many more who played there, but you can read about them on every blog. I am a champion for the underdog, the one’s that are still undiscovered but that I believe won’t be for long. Here is what's next: Shinobi Ninja, Free Energy, A House For Lions, The Barr Brothers, Chelsea Wolfe, Boy & Bear, People Get Ready, The Parlotones, Zola Jesus, and The Kin (at least from my perspective).

Honestly, I found a great band waiting around in the Subway called Heth and Jed - they called to me as I was waiting for my train - a blend of fusions think Santana meets Gypsy Kings.

So many parties, so much music, it’s a blur. A definitive haze for the indie crowd surfing to discover new music. I’m not gonna say I discovered anything that blew my socks off or anything that left a major lasting impression as I ran from venue to venue. Subway and taxi hopping takes a toll... Although unlike it’s big brother counterpart, it’s easier to see music at this festival as the lines at SXSW are outrageous and CMJ has still hung on mostly to what it was founded on, independent music. You can’t really call yourself an indie fest when you have bands like Lady Gaga, Kanye West, Robert Plant and Muse playing, ahem SXSW.

Go check the bands at http://www.cmj.com discover for yourself. Manic Monkee gone bananas, I’m out.

When Cultures Collide….Saturday Edition

Since you've been waiting with bated breath for this, here you go:-).

Saturday rolled around which meant a fresh new day of music as well as searching for more buttons, especially the highly elusive one from New Zealand (we’re sensing a conspiracy here). The fest suffered a few cancellations that hurt the heart: UK’s Isobel Campbell and USA’s Pubes. Pubes, folks. I wanted to see them strictly for the name, alone.

You Say France & I Whistle

Anyhoo, like the troupers that we are, we all rolled on and who knew that the Swedes had so much infectious party power? That’s what Sweden’s You Say France & I Whistle  were all about during the happy hour at Taix. Silly name? Yes. A Van Morrision song? Uh huh, but it was pure as the sunshine goodness and fun with more stuffed animals on one stage than should be legal.

Little Hurricane

Having been moved from the Co-op to The Echo with a set time one hour earlier that originally scheduled, I caught San Diego’s Little Hurricane,  yet another two-piece ala The White Stripes: grimy blues/rock comprised of the ridiculously pretty CC on drums and her cohort Tone on the axe. Good shizz, folks. Later came a very punkish, lively, and inspired set from local yokels, Henry Clay People.

Worship at the church of rock and roll? Yes, and literally as I sat in the pews at Echo Park United Methodist Church to be blown away by what was obviously Iceland’s version of Explosions in the Sky: the quartet For a Minor Reflection. Dramatic, all instrumental, and at times thoroughly mesmerizing with deep stretches of propulsive jam which left me totally hooked. Definitely High Voltage approved. 

USA’s Matthew and the Arrogant Sea from Texas didn’t seem terribly arrogant at all (yay for that), and The Elected…perhaps another show from them will leave a better impression. Sitting in a low-lit church watching a bunch of dudes, all of whom are seated, dole out alt indie with a country-ish twang with little energy isn’t a good recipe for staying awake. Amen.

Over at Echoplex, De Staat from The Netherlands was raucously rocking the stage, giving me that fine Electric 6 feel. We caught them yesterday at Taix for the Dutch Impact party, but here at Echoplex they had bigger stage to play with. It’s brash and funky rock, a party in your pants, if you will, and folks got their “\m/” on.

Alright, one more day of festival activities on the horizon. If you’ll be there on the streets of Echo Park, I hope to see your smiling faces. If not, keep up with us here and on Twitter for the some action!

~Trina

When Cultures Collide….Friday Edition

Good day, music friends. I’m currently doing two things that I really dig: having tea and talking about music. Here’s a mini-recap of this girl’s highlights.

The Friday edition of Filter Magazine’s Culture Collide music festival bore some good musical fruit to the ears despite the venue and time changes, and partner-in-crime Chelsea and I are kicking ass on the festival’s button collection-fest, Pin It To Win It game. Oh yeah, that iPad is mine:-).

Pass the Dutchie aka Dutch Impact @ Taix

Laura Jansen

Laura Jansen: This lovely and pixie looking Los Angeleno apparently has Dutch DNA going on (born in The Netherlands) making her a fine local representative for the Dutch party. A singer/songwriter who took the stage with her stellar band and her keyboard following two highly electric, guitar driven bands, Jansen held her own and never lost the attention of the crowd. Clean and pure vocals, melody-driven tunes, fun and interactive personality, and songs about dating a douchebag. #winning!

Guineafowl

Always a sucker for the down-under since the days of Crocodile Dundee, I made it a point to catch Australia’s Guineafowl at Origami Vinyl. Pop on the indie side, danceable, fun with a little folk underneath, the 5-piece band made all of us happy even if we had to crane our necks the entire set.

*FYI…if you’re still in LA on Monday, feel free (“free” being the operative word) to catch Guineafowl at Bardot’s in Hollywood along with San Diego’s amazeballz The Silent Comedy. Part of Bardot’s It’s a School Night series, RSVP HERE and I’ll see you there. Dancing shoes are not optional.

Black Box Revelation

Ahhh, but the rock and roll kicker came by way of Belgium and Black Box Revelation who I’d been looking forward to all day. Two guys who prove that you just don’t need a lot of hardware, software, tweaks, or technology in order to make a good noise. Jan Paternoster (vocals, guitar) and Dries Van Dijck (drums, percussion) made many heads do that rock-roll/headbang thing (I saw them) because theirs is a brand of bluesy, garage rock with enough snarl to be sexy, yet still a shit ton of fun and I’m sad that their part of the festival is done.

There you go, lovelies, another solid day of musical goodness in the books. Oh, but we're not done yet. Stay tuned for words about Saturday...

~Trina

Culture Collide: Day 1 & 2

Culture Collide started off to a slow rhythm-less start on Thursday with a happy hour sponsored by Canada & Switzerland where two Swiss bands, Disco Doom & Kassette, performed without a bassist. Both acts were talented, but the music wasn't producing enough excitement to help inspire us for the weekend of worldly music ahead. This pattern would continue until inspiration was awoken at The Echo where Handshakes was about to take the stage. A five-piece power pop rock outfit that was just foot-tapping enough to arouse musical motivation & discovery for the weekend ahead.

After Thursday's misfires, Friday was approached cautiously with arrival at Taix for Don't Panic! We're from Poland's happy hour where Indigo Tree caught my eye. A three-piece mellow indie semi-electronic act full of harmony, but not so full of instruments. A guitar was present onstage accompanied with what looked liked a modern day DJ set-up but probably just a laptop/mixer full of effects - and that was it. The sheer uniqueness of this set-up kept me around longer than usual as the music was quite inviting.

Following Poland's shindig, the Dutch invaded. Let's just say the Dutch know how to rock! Three not-to-miss acts in a row: Death Letters, De Staat and Laura Jensen. Each act different from the last but extremely lively in personality, showmanship and musicianship. More specifically on De Staat later as I'm heading to their full set tonight at Echoplex (8pm). You'll want to be there too.

Guineafowl held things down from Australia during their in-store at Origami Vinyl with some delectable indie pop complete with infectious hand claps and booty-shaking rhythms. If you enjoyed Free Energy's b-side "Something In Common" then Guineafowl is right up your feel-good dance-your-butt-off musical alley. Their music video for "Little Fingers" is worth checking out as well.

And finally, Belgium's The Black Box Revelation brought down the house with their raw Black Keys-esque style rock n roll. However The Black Box Revelation takes their jams to 11 (and then some)! Needless to say, Friday's line-up excelled in all areas. Even The Postelles soundcheck was better than your average's bands actual set. Looking forward to Day 3 kicking off here in a bit... More to come!

Chelsea

Filter Magazine's Culture Collide Fest 2011

Back for a second year, Filter Magazine's Culture Collide Festival kicks off this evening in Silverlake, CA. High Voltage is on the scene all weekend to bring you the latest in music from around the world. See you where the music is!

The Essential SSMF 2011

What do you mean Sunset Strip Music Festival 2011 is already over? Whoa, that went by quickly. I suppose time really does fly by when you're having fun and what fun we did have!

Starting Thursday night, August 18th, I arrived at the House of Blues on Sunset to kick things off with the tribute to Motley Crue where Nikki, Tommy, Vince & Mick were being honored with the Elmer Valentine Award. Definitely well deserved! The red carpet looked ravishing but the icing on the cake were the guest speakers: Ray Manzarek of The Doors, comedian/actor Dane Cook, author Neil Strauss (who co-write, The Dirt -- Motley's book), and my personal idol (the man I call my godfather of Rock N Roll) David Johansen of the New York Dolls! Wow, wow, WOW! Then to kick off the musical weekend, High Voltage's Top Pick of the Year in 2010 Crash Kings closed the night out ending their set with a cover of Black Sabbath's "War Pigs".



Friday night was equally as entertaining as the night prior. Bouncing between two solid line-ups at both The Viper Room and The Roxy all evening, I started the night off with Taylor Locke & The Roughs. Their joyous blend of rockin' guitars, delightful harmonies, and foot-tappin' grooves always leaves a smile on my face. Then I raced off to catch the tail end of Dead Sara at The Roxy, a band so wonderful that Grace Slick (of Jefferson Airplane) has become their number one fan. Dead Sara owned that stage, the crowd, and might have been one of my favorite performances of the festival... until Taddy Porter (who followed them at The Roxy) performed their cover of I Want You (She's So Heavy). Well, I should say Taddy Porter's entire set won me over from the first lick as I'm a sucker for that southern rock flavor a la Black Crowes.

Then it was time for Buckcherry (still at The Roxy), a band whose career I have followed since 1999 but had yet to see a full set live. Not to mention one of the few bands keeping rock n roll alive and well these days. They played a wide range of material from "Lit Up" to "All Night Long." It was quite refreshing to watch a band enjoy playing any part of their musical catalogue live and to witness a highly energetic room sing-a-long with every song (and LOUDLY). The Roxy's Friday night line-up was the best part of the festival, hands down, but I didn't stop the night there. No, time to bolt back over to The Viper Room for an after-party featuring eli james - phew, what a night!

Now Saturday wasn't a traditional festival day, as it was spent entirely in the media lounge until 7pm when I ventured onto the street for food and a good spot to watch Motley Crue destroy the Sunset Strip. The media lounge was presented by 98.7FM and Musician's Institute and had a plethora of acoustic performances by bands such as The Dirty Heads, Imagine Dragons, Kozmonaut, Deluka and more plus intimate interviews conducted by 98.7FM with artists such as BUSH, Buckcherry and even Nikki Sixx. It was amazing to be up-close-and-personal with so many iconic personalities. She Wants Revenge especially blew me away with their rant on what makes talent.


Now that's what I call a festival!

Until next year,
Chelsea

SSMF 2011 Artist Profile: Imagine Dragons

Las Vegas is known and notable for a lot of things from casinos to showgirls to “The Godfather II” to The Killers. You can add Imagine Dragons to that list of reasons to love the city of sin and to attend the Sunset Strip Music Festival.

Appropriately, the very first time that I saw Imagine Dragons was on a random-ass and very spur of the moment trip with friends to Las Vegas for the Rock and Roll Wine concert at Caesar’s Palace in 2010 where they played with Crash Kings and Jet. A healthy line up, for sure, and could little old Imagine Dragons get the rock and roll party started amid a wine tasting in advance of those two rad bands???

Yes. Yes they could and they did. The wandering, wine-drinking crowd took quick notice of what was going on onstage and zeroed in.

There’s good reason why they’ve been called Vegas’ next big thing since The Killers and were voted “Best Local Indie Band 2010” by Las Vegas Weekly, and are music darlings in their hometown; their synth-based dance/pop/rock is damned deliciously electric stuff and impossible NOT to groove to. It feels good and it sounds good; their three EPs, self-titled, Hell and Silence, and It’s Time snap, crack, and pop with way more hooks and harmonies, heady bass and shiny guitar work than should be allowed from a band so young in creation (since 2008). Songs like “All Eyes”, “Cover Up”, and the soar of “Selene” (love, love “Selene”) are electronica dynamic, brim with the confidence of seasoned rockers, and are crafted with an edge and distinction to set them apart from anyone they may compared to. Even a city as musically jaded, seen it, heard it, bought the merch aka Los Angeles repeatedly eats Imagine Dragons alive when they come to town; the baddest of Sunset Strip venues, The Roxy and The Viper Room, are really becoming a home away from home for the band. We love them. A lot. More and more people love them every day. Their crazy good music makes us shout out, sing loud, and dance. Think I’m kidding? Check out their video for “Tokyo” and see for yourself the affect Imagine Dragons has on people:

Dan Reynolds, Wayne Sermon, Ben McKee, Theresa Flaminio, and Daniel Platzman are the players, and when Dan (singer) plants his feet on the stage, he brings with him an exuberance and unrestrained energy that’s ridiculously infectious, and a throaty howl to let loose with. A fantastic live band they are, as they should be especially coming from a city where “entertainment” is as much lifestyle as it is a noun, and they've blown away audiences at club shows to 20,000 people on a festival stage. Yes, the songs translate from the studio to the stage boldly, perfectly, showcasing the band’s tight musicianship and you ain’t seen nothing until Wayne rips the crowd a new one with that crushing guitar solo in “Clouds”.

Where will I be on Saturday, August 20^th at 4:40pm? At The Roxy watching this amazeballz band kick some Sunset Strip ass. Mine, included.