Come find your corner of Clifton’s

Russell Scott with Scott Bruce & Travis Daggett – 10pm
A Clifton’s Debut of a legend of the California Roots Music Scene!

DJ Nuria Swamp Beat in the Forest Glen – 8pm
DJ Lee – 10:30 in the Monarch Bar

An evening of Guaranteed Curiosity!
Clifton’s
648 S Broadway,
Los Angeles, CA 90014
www.cliftonsla.com

Those who live in Southern California, Seattle and Honolulu are in for a treat – Don Tiki will be coming to help us celebrate the holidays, Hot Lava style with shows on December 15 in Honolulu (sorry that one is sold out), December 17th in Seattle at Benaroy Hall (info and tickets) and December 20th in Los Angeles at Walt Disney Concert Hall ( info and tickets ) – and, SOCA peeps –  here’s a link for discount tickets at the Disney show!

Fans can expect the band’s signature tunes such as “The Natives Are Restless” and “An Occasional Man.” “Even though we’re tiki-worshipping Pagans, we’ll drop six new  holiday songs to get into the spirit of things,” says producer Lloyd “Fluid Floyd” Kandell, who was one of Anthony Bourdain’s drinking guides when the food impresario visited O’ahu for his series No Reservations. Bourdain came away raving, “Tiki supergroup Don Tiki knows the world, the subculture of tiki…it really doesn’t get much better than this!”

Though the band has lost their beloved lead singer Delmar deWilde, to whom the shows are dedicated, they will carry on with their multi-talented cast and a few added guests. The Don Tiki troupe consists of band leader and composer, Kit “Perry Coma” Ebersbach on keyboards, bassist and purring song stylist Hai-Jung, Charles Degala and Tei Tatafu, Jr. on virile vocals, vocalist, dancer and comedienne Sherry Shaoling, percussionist Lopaka Colón, who continues his illustrious father Augie Colon’s jungle and bird call tradition, tenor ace Tim Mayer on reeds, multi-talented Abe Lagrimas, Jr. on vibes and percussion, tribal drummer Jason Segler, space-age Ryoko Oka on keyboards and t’rung (a Vietnamese bamboo xylophone), exotic dancer Violetta Beretta plus special guest artist Frank Orrall of Thievery Corporation and Poi Dog Pondering. Don Tiki is also honored to bring to the stage special guest artists, legendary SOCAL tiki-shaman Crazy Al, rising Brazillian star Tita Lima and Brazil’s golden tambourine, Carlinhos de Oliveira.

The group has just released their Hot Lava Holiday Songs disc which is available on iTunes and will be for sale on CD at their shows.

Those of us who saw them at Tiki Oasis 10 were knocked out. We are certainly looking forward to seeing the group on their first Los Angeles appearance!

EVFA & ARTDONTSLEEP PRESENT: “HOMAGE”

Performance by ROY AYERS (Full Band) featuring PETE ROCK. Opening Performance by THUNDERCAT (Full Band) and DJ J.ROCC.

Thursday November 17th, 2011, 8 PM to 2 AM
Exchange Los Angeles
618 S. Spring Street,
Los Angeles, CA 90032
http://homage.eventbrite.com

“Homage” is a music series that pays respect to the musical giants that have forever altered the way we listen, sample and love music. We pay our esteem to Roy Ayers for his amazing impact and contribution to hip-hop, R&B and neo-soul. One of the most heavily sampled artists, Roy has  We pay homage to Roy Ayers in pairing him with the legendary Pete Rock, performing live with Ayers and his band. J.Rocc is the house DJ and Thundercat, and band, will open the night with a set. Spinning records in the lounge is Anthony Valadez, Clifton Weaver, Destroyer, Lee Joseph and Marlon Fuentes with KCRW’s Garth Trinidad hosting the festivities.

This event is being held at the historic “Exchange Los Angeles” 618 S. Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA 90032. Tickets priced as follows: Early Bird Specials $20, Presale $25 and General Admission $30. Admittance is 21 and over. To purchase tickets, visit: www.homage.eventbrite.com

Roy Ayers was born in Los Angeles, California and grew up in a musical family. At the age of five, Lionel Hampton gave him his first pair of mallets, which led to the vibraphone being his trademark sound for decades. The area of Los Angeles that Ayers grew up in, now known as “South Central” but then known as “South Park” was the epicenter of the Southern California Black Music Scene. Ayers is responsible for the highly regarded soundtrack to Jack Hill’s 1973 Blaxploitation film, Coffy, starring the illustrious Pam Grier. In 1977, Ayers produced an album by the group RAMP, Come Into Knowledge, commonly and mistakenly thought to stand for “Roy Ayers Music Project.”  That Fall, he released the soulful and funky hit “Running Away.” In 1980, Ayers released “Music Of Many Colors” with the Nigerian Afro-beat pioneer Fela Kuti. Roy made a huge impact in the world of Hip-Hop and RnB. Artists have sampled and covered him, ranging from Erykah Badu, Mary J. Blige, Mos-Def, Digable Planets, DJ Shadow, Nas, Madlib, Ice Cube, Public Enemy, Common, The Pharcyde, Pete Rock, Jill Scott and many more.

Soul Brother No. 1., also known as, Pete Rock, rose to prominence in the early 1990’s as one half of the critically acclaimed group Pete Rock & CL Smooth. After the duo separated ways, Rock continued with a solo career garnering worldwide respect. Along with groups such as Stetsasonic, A Tribe Called Quest, The Roots and Gang Starr, Nas and Notorious B.I.G., Talib Kweli and the late J Dilla, Rock played a major role in the merging of elements from jazz into hip-hop music (also known as jazz rap). He is widely recognized as one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time and is often mentioned alongside DJ Premier and RZA as one of the strongholds of 1990’s East Coast hip-hop production.

Stephen Bruner is Thundercat, the dominant bassist rising within the ranks of R&B, rock, hip-hop, jazz, electronic and beyond. The mystique behind the man named for his favorite cartoon seemingly hides an introspective, ambitious, and fearless young artist whose solo debut album is finally emerging in front of the vast catalog of experience he has amassed in collaboration with the likes of Erykah Badu, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, Shafiq Husayn, Suicidal Tendencies, Stanley Clarke, and Flying Lotus, his closest partner and head of the Brainfeeder movement. Stephen is joined by a serious cast of jazz cats!

One of the original turntablists, J.Rocc founded the Beat Junkies in 1992 with Melo-D and Rhettmatic, but has done just as much on his own as in a group setting. He began DJing in the mid-’80s with a California group named PSK. Soon after forming, the Beat Junkies became a seminal force in the rise of instrumental hip-hop, including core member Babu plus future stars Shortkut and D-Styles. In addition to numerous mixtapes and his own production for Stones Throw releases, J. Rocc has been the DJ for Madlib’s live shows since the early 2000’s, was the 3rd member of Jaylib (Madlib & J Dilla) during the group’s live events, and collaborated with Madlib on Beat Konducta Vol. 5-6: A Tribute to J Dilla.

ArtDontSleep is a Los Angeles-based production company founded by Andrew Lojero. For the last 7 years, ArtDontSleep has promoted and produced some of Los Angeles’ most memorable events. Over the years, ArtDontSleep has brought the community a variety of special events. Andrew Lojero also runs Creative for Plug Research Records rooted in Los Angeles, CA. From the Walt Disney Concert Hall to UCLA’s JazzReggae Festival to afterhours in downtown loft buildings, ArtDontSleep shares the torch of great music and extra-ordinary happenings.

Edgar Varela Fine Arts (EVFA) and its managing director Edgar Varela has long been associated with the conceptualizing, programming and execution of cultural events. Driven by art and music, EVFA discerningly curates art and music festivals, concerts, art exhibitions and sponsor-driven specialty events that are relevant and provide economic development for blighted areas and the enrichment of culturally vibrant areas. Edgar Varela also operates two project spaces and produces over myriad events a year, with an education in Business & Marketing and an events-production background, he has earned a reputation in the Los Angeles cultural events world.

On Saturday, March 26, our friend, Redwood booker and multi-band drummer Roy Morgan celebrates his birthday with a night of straight up loud punk, garage and rock ‘n’ roll! The lineup features Donovan’s Fairies in what appears to be their last show. The group which includes former Bomp! Records publicist Paul Grant on vocals, Dionysus Records’ Lee Joseph on bass, Backbiter’s Jonathan Hall and Heath Siefert on guitars and birthday boy Roy Morgan on drums, have been announcing last shows since 1985 and have once again confirmed that this IS it. No, really!!! Also, tearing up the Redwood stage will be Pat Todd and The Rank Outsiders, The Super Bees and The Neurotics . All proceeds from the door will be donated to (a yet unannounced) charity to help with Japan’s tsunami relief.

The madness takes place on SATURDAY, MARCH 26, 2011, 9 pm – 2am at  The Redwood Bar and Grill: 316 West 2nd St # 202, Downtown Los Angeles. $5 cover, 21 and over.

Donovan's Fairies (will be appearing sans makeup...)

Pat Todd and The Rank Outsiders

The Neurotics

Our artist pal and fixture in the Downtown Los Angeles (and beyond) art and social scene, Jerico Woggon, is putting on a Cocktail Party, Cocktail Napkin Art Invitational and “Ode to the Lounge Lizard” at the e3rd Steakhouse and Lounge on February 27 featuring Dionysus Records’ DJ Lee and DJ Dan Moses of The Dynotones, a blacklight art installation by Jerico and a VJ. Come join us for a night of music, visuals, booze and good people. Dress to impress!

Jerico Woggon has assembled large-scale installation art at Burning Man and many other events, and will be doing this year’s art installations in the window of Bert Green Fine Art on the corner of 5th and Main. Check out his website at www.cherrymeltdown.com