Is it possible to have your mind blown multiple times at a show by two amazing bands? The answer is yes, yes, and yes!!!! The show with Alpine and Crystal Fighters was so incredible it was definitely a double headliner. The crowd was captivated and fully in the moment during each band’s performance. Alpine started it off strong with their serene dreamy vocals that compliment their smooth and sexy tunes. The sounds that come out of their instruments and the melodies with their vocals are so incredible and to top it off they bring the energy out in their live performance while dancing and singing on stage. The massive crowd was dancing from all sides and thoroughly enjoying each song. Their set included Seeing Red, Softsides, Forever, Hands, Too Safe, Gasoline, and Villages. While it is difficult for me to choose a favorite because all of their tracks stand so strongly on their own, I would say my top 3 from the night were Softsides, Too Safe, and Gasoline. Their recordings are wonderful but their live performance is phenomenal. The same can be said for Crystal Fighters who were on next. Finding a way to replicate their recorded tropical sounds on stage with loads of percussion instruments and each member doing more than their part makes for a successful sound. A sound that not only had the whole crowd singing and dancing along but set the tone for happiness. Crystal Fighters sing about happiness and love and that was the entire vibe in the El Rey that night. Some memorable tracks from their set included Champion Sound, LA Calling, Follow, I Do This Everyday, Love Natural, Wave, and You and I. They followed up their set with an encore that started off with I Love London. This British/Spanish alternative dance band had everyone moving the whole time and repeatedly expressed their love for LA, let me tell you the feeling was mutual. To be at such an amazing show was so memorable and Alpine represented Australian musicians well. I really hope both bands come back to LA soon. There is no doubt that both of these artists will be doing more amazing things soon so keep your eyes out for them!!!!
- DJ Zomb-E

Frank Rote is from a small Slovenian community in upstate New York. He currently lives in Alta Loma. He plays both button and piano accordion. He is in charge of many of the activities at the Slovene Hall in Fontana and is the leader of the Fontana Button Box Accordion Club, a local button accordion band. He also has his own Polka band, The Frank Rote Orchestra.

Fred Mlakar is also of Slovenian heritage and came from a Slovenian community in northern Minnesota prior to moving to Southern California. He also plays both button and piano accordion. He is the son of Joe Mlakar who is also a well-known button accordion player. Fred’s band is called The Fred Mlakar Orchestra.

Jon Miller is originally from Michigan and now lives in Anaheim. He plays many instruments, from banjo to bagpipes and is “on call” with several local Polka bands, as a banjo, guitar, and bass player.

James Koci is Fred’s nephew and the grandson of Joe Mlakar. He plays guitar and bass guitar and is in a rock and roll band. Of course, given his heritage, he also plays Polka music, usually accompanying on his bass guitar.

Troy Sampson is Skip’s son, and played rock and roll and blues until one day SKip convinced him to come out to the Slovene Hall in Fontana for one of their Polka music jam sessions. They didn’t have a drummer and Skip knew he could fill in and he has been ever since.

Strawberry Hill (Hoyer Trio)

Patricia’s Waltz (Hoyer Trio)

Castle Rock (Ray Champa)

Sailing Sailing (Ausenik Quintet)

Glacier Polka (Joe Mlakar)

Just Because (arr. Frank Yankovic)

John Proulx (pronounced “proo”), singer, pianist, arranger, educator, MAXJAZZ recording artist, and Grammy award-winning composer will be a guest on DJ Larry the Fox’s show “All that Jazz” at 6:00 pm on Saturday, May 25 (rebroadcast at 2:00 am on Sunday, May 26). John’s an amazing talent and he’ll share his interesting background and experiences in this interview. Don’t miss it!

Pomona College student band the Dirty Boys performed a live set on the Basement with Justyna. Strings galore!

Rye Shuffle

My 2 Cents

You Don’t Love Love

Heavy Hands

Run

Another New World (Josh Ritter)

Green Rocky Road (traditional)

Musicians Louis Gallardo, Max Kelly, and Keith Shacklett brought a Fender Rhodes and a great set when appearing on All that Jazz with Larry the Fox, which you can hear Saturdays from 5-7pm. The Fender Rhodes was enormously popular in the 70′s and 80′s in the genres of funk, rock and jazz and is built very similarly to a piano with a small twist: instead of hammers hitting the strings, they hit tines (similar to tuning forks) which are amplified by pick-ups. Check out their set below!

Lady Bird (Tadd Dameron)

All Blues (Miles Davis)

Autumn Leaves (Joseph Kosma)

Oh Green -Canto de Ossanha (Baden Powell de Aquino)

Blackbird (The Beatles)

Nardis (Miles Davis)

Spain (Chick Corea)

Bad Lip stops by for an in-studio on Lost at Sea with DJ Maru. You can find more of their music here!

By DJ Zomb-E

Or at least this local band should be. I had the pleasure of having Veteranse of Future Wars on my radio show in the fall. This dynamic duo is definitely on my list of bands to watch. They are an instrumental band that features sick drums, brilliant beats, and all sorts of electronic fun. The collaboration between Ray and Casey provides the perfect soundtrack for dreams and random adventures. They also have a trumpet player who joins them on certain tracks. It is clear that instrumental music is making a comeback. The live performance can’t be justified by the recordings but even so the recordings are wonderful. They put a lot of dedication into what they do and you can really tell by the music they create. Keep your eye out because these guys will blow up. It is only a matter of time . They were kind enough to send KSPC an exclusive track so fresh off the press is their track called “Results May Vary”

Their links can be found below

http://veteransoffuturewars.bandcamp.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/VeteransofFutureWars
https://www.facebook.com/veteransoffuturewars
vofwars@gmail.com

TOP 30!

 

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KSPC Underground Music Department
88.7fm, kspc.org