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Free For All Fest Issues Open Call to Aspiring Bands, to Feature Akron/Family, Frank Fairfield, Active Child, Langhorne Slim and more

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The Free For All fest, featuring Akron/Family and more

by Olivia Forman

Funny Ha Ha’s Chris Martins will join the judges panel for the Free For All music festival, casting his vote for which band will open the August 15 event at the Echoplex in Echo Park.

The festival is the brainchild of Jody Orsborn–creator of When You Awake, L.A.’s leading indie roots music blog–accompanied by fellow promoters Bobby Kittleman and our friend Phil Eastman, a member of folk crew Hi Ho Silver Oh, who will be taking the stage for the show. The creators of Free For All are aiming for “a pay-what-you-want, ticketless music & arts experience… [to] help bridge the gap between fans and bands with as little money being lost between the two as possible.”

Also on the esteemed panel of judges:

  • Jason Bentley, KCRW Music Director
  • Justin Gage, founder of Aquarium Drunkard and Autumyn Tone
  • Chris Ziegler, editor-in-Chief and co-founder of LA Record
  • Neil Schield, owner of the always awesome Origami Vinyl
  • Judy Miller Silverman, owner of PR firm Motormouthmedia

The protocol? Bands submit music to an open vote online and the five public-determined favorites are judged by the panel, with the winner opening the festival. Already confirmed are Akron/Family, Langhorne Slim, Active Child, Old Man Markley, Frank Fairfield, Bad Weather California, Dustbowl Revival, Hi Ho Silver Oh, and the Smart Brothers.

The results will be announced August 2. Plus, in the spirit of the festival’s name, a donation of your choice will be taken at the door instead of tickets, so be sure to be there when it all goes down.

News: M.I.A. + Yorke Guest with Major Lazer, De La Rocha Mystery Shows, Best Coast + Kid Cudi

Major Lazer gets collaborative.

Quick bloggy bits from around the L.A. underground (and up). Share ’em.

  1. FEATURED: M.I.A., Yorke, and More on Major Lazer EP*
  2. De La Rocha’s One Day as a Lion Plays Mystery L.A. Shows
  3. MP3: Dâm-Funk Goes Gangsta with Compton’s MC Eiht
  4. Watch: Best Coast, Cudi, Vampire Weekend’s Batmanglij
  5. Free Download: Calexico’s ‘Live in Nuremberg’ LP

(all stories via West Coast Sound, via L.A. Weekly)

* M.I.A. guests with Diplo, her one-time lover and longtime producer, on his’ new EP as Major Lazer, while Thom Yorke remixes “Jump Up.”

Music Returns to Funny Ha Ha, via SoundCloud

The music hath returnedeth!

Oh, rejoice! At long last, the gift of sound has returned to Funny Ha Ha. You’ll find a super sweet SoundCloud player in the right-hand gutter over there. It’s bright orange green and kinda less ugly, but it’s chock-full of fresh tunes, many almost all of which are downloadable. We’ve also added the ability to subscribe by RSS feed. We’re slowly, surely, catching up with the times.

We’re almost as excited as Yosemitebear was when he saw the double rainbow!

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Feature: Valley Boredom Inspires Baths to Great Heights on His Anticon Debut, ‘Cerulean’

Baths contemplates a cerulean sky.

So we’ve really made no attempts to hide our enthusiasm for Chatsworth producer/musician/singer Baths, a.k.a. fresh Anticon signing Will Wiesenfeld. We’ve previewed his gigs, big-upped his ambient works as Geotic, talked about the young star on the radio, and basically become dude’s personal documentarian via news updates (a couple of those below).

Finally, things may cool down a bit.

This isn’t so much because anything’s cooling down for Wiesenfeld, a rising star in indie music, but because we were able to do a lengthy feature on Baths for L.A. Weekly, dubbed, “The Great Escape.” Wiesenfeld was kind enough to donate a few hours to the cause, which meant lunch at the estimable Islands, and hang-time with him and his mom at the family home in Chatsworth.

So if you haven’t already, go to L.A. Weekly to read that.

Further listening/reading:

(both stories via West Coast Sound, via L.A. Weekly)

News: New Abe Vigoda Song, We Are the World Video, Plus Baths, What Laura Says, Big Search

Abe Vigoda, not throwing shade

Quick bloggy bits from around the L.A. underground (and up). Share ’em.

  1. FEATURED: Abe Vigoda Goes All ’80s On New ‘Crush’ LP*
  2. Baths Guest for Fol Chen Record Release at The Echo
  3. We Are the World channel Manson in New Video
  4. ‘Lambhair McDaniel,’ by Devendra Banhart Favorite
  5. Popieluch of Foreign Born and Fool’s Gold as Big Search

(all stories via West Coast Sound, via L.A. Weekly)

* The press release for Crush promises “glassy shards of ‘cold wave’ pop, with synthesisers, sequencers and altogether broodier beats.”

TOP POSTS: N.E.R.D. Still Sucks, New Wavves, Peanut Butter Wolf’s Faves, OK Go Loses to Muppets, Superhumanoids Rule

N.E.R.D. kick it with Clifford (so Team Jacob)

We’re finally, truly all caught up on two weeks of intense blogging for West Coast Sound. We’ve saved best for last — here’s the highlight reel expressly designed for your reading (and viewing, and listening) pleasure.

  1. FEATURED: Can Yeasayer Save N*E*R*D from Totally Sucking?*
  2. New Wavves Album, ‘King of the Beach,’ Streaming Now
  3. MP3: ‘Simple Severin,’ by Echo Park Pop Stars Superhumanoids
  4. Peanut Butter Wolf’s 5 Favorite Stones Throw LPs
  5. OK Go Loses Drummer to the Muppets in Staring Contest

    6. (all stories via West Coast Sound, via LA Weekly)

* Can a Yeasayer RMX save the Virginia Beach-born, Hollywood-bred band from it’s nearly decade-long obsolescence? “Hot-N-Fun,” featuring Nelly Furtado, is neither of the things that its title suggests.