FMLY FEST 2011- the D.I.T Music and Arts Festival- Dec. 29th and 30th

YES- I feel like a total douche neglecting the love of my bloggy life- American Pancake lately but my work life has barreled over me and, after all, one does have to pay thy bills. It is time to de-stress, and what finer to chill and go crazy- then to attend the third annual FMLY FEST 2011!! Check out the video- check out the site and for sure, download the free mixtape. YES, I said free and stuffed full of 27 songs from the participating artists.


FMLY Fest 2011 from FMLY on Vimeo.

MUSIC
Pangea :: Pregnant :: So Many Wizards :: Lovely Bad Things :: Truman Peyote :: Vacation Dad :: Philip Seymour Hoffman :: Emily Reo :: Birthdays :: Jack Littman :: VerBS :: Professor Calculus :: Twin Steps :: Stay Cool Forever :: Kid Infinity :: FIDLAR :: Oregon Bike Trails :: Yohuna :: M31 :: Gothic Tropic :: DUDES :: Oh Fortuna :: Blackbird Blackbird :: Dream Panther ::  Gibbons and the Sluts :: W-H-I-T-E :: Ana Caravelle :: Geoff Geis :: Halloween Swim Team :: Dark Sea of Awareness :: POWERAXE :: Kid Static :: VISION QUEST :: Cosmonauts :: TRMRS :: Kynan :: Ahkiyyini :: Gangi :: Michael Parallax :: TGRBLD :: NRK Collective :: Steffaloo :: Messy Sparkles :: Cab 20 :: Lady Lazarus ::


ARTISTS AND COLLECTIVES
Mickey Mickey Rourke :: Centaur Collective :: Broom Factory :: No Kings :: Complicated Dance Steps :: LA Zine Fest
WORKSHOPS BY
HM157 :: Synchronicity House :: Sean Carnage :: RAC ::
FOOD BY
Food Not Bombs :: RAC (Revolutionary Autonomous Communities) :: Midnight Dinazz ::

DAY 1 (Dec. 29th)Catnap (1726 N Spring Street Los Angeles, CA 90012)
start at 1
STAGE 1
 3:10 Habits
3:50 Geoff Geis
4:15 Jack Littman
5:40 Gangi
5:05 Gothic Tropic
5:35 Steffaloo
6:05 Kynan
6:35 Ahhkiyyini (Stage 2)
7:10 Poweraxe (Stage 1)
7:45 Professor Calculus (Stage 2)
8:10 Yohuna (Stage 1)
8:45 Stay Cool Forever / Dudes (battle on floor) (Stage 2)
9:35 Twin Steps/So Many Wizards (battle) (Stage 1)
10:25 Truman Peyote (Stage 2)
11:00 Philip Seymour Hoffman (Stage 2)
11:35 Pregnant (Stage 2)
12:05 TRMRS/Pangea/FIDLAR (round robin) (Stage 1)
1:15 Kid Infinity (Stage 2)

chillout tent - No Kings
3:00 - Jon Barba
4:00 - Andrew Felix
5:00 - Steven Flato
6:00 - Airsign
7:00 - Sleepwalkers Local
8:00 - Derek Rogers
9:00 - Tiger Stripe
10:00 - Kevin Greenspon
11:00 - Heatwave
12:00 - Lady Lazuras

DAY 2 (Dec. 30th)
Chucos (1137 East Redondo Boulevard Inglewood, CA 90302)
Doors at 2
4:20 Gibbons and the Sluts (stage 1)
4:45 M31 (stage two)
5:20 Ana Caravelle (stage 1)
5:55 WHITE (stage 2)
6:30 Blackbird Blackbird/Dream Panther (battle on stage 1)
7:20 Verbs (stage 2)
8:00 Kid Static (stage 1)
8:40 Cosmonauts/Cab 20/Lovely Bad Things (round robin on stage 1)
9:40 Messy Sparkles (stage 2)
10:15 Emily Reo (stage 1)
10:50 Vacation Dad
11:10 Dark Sea of Awareness
11:45 Michael Parallax
12:20 TGR BLD/NRK Collective (battle)
1:10 Oh Fortuna

chillout tent - Complicated Dance Steps
4pm : DJ SET
5pm: Maximino
6pm : Drone Meditation Set Live
7pm : Magical Mistakes
8pm : Faraday Trippers
9pm : Ten Stairs
10pm: Tom Hall
Acoustic stage:
7:00 Salvador
7:30 Li Daiguo
8:00 Avi of Avi Buffalo
8:30 This Machine Kills Zombies
WORKSHOPS
both days
5:30 How to throw a DIT (Do It Together) event by Sean Carnage
6:30 TBA by Cindy

American Pancake- 20 BEST SONGS of 2011 -

American Pancake is not yet a year old but proudly (and with much fanfare) releases our 20 BEST SONGS OF 2011 (super boffo) LIST as compiled by our own lovely and talented Alyssa Holland. 

This year involved me being attacked by a shitload of bands releasing new, amazing albums. I’m still in awe, and I’ve comprised a list of my favorites, that I couldn’t stop listening to all year. It was hard to narrow it down to these, but they’re undeniably great songs from wonderful albums and artists. However, I now have zero dollars because of these releases.

In no particular order::

“Walking Two By Two” by The Strange Boys –This song is as relaxing as a Spring day on the prairie. All of The Strange Boys’ albums are very different. It is hard to say which sound is better, but they are all akin by the term “I’m a little bit country, I’m a little bit rock n roll.”

“I Need a Doctor” by The Drums –When I saw these boys live with their endless energy and eccentric bowl cuts, I fell in love with this song. The lyrics bring out the psycho lover in all of us, and the therapeutic music compliments it perfectly.

 “Bad As Me” by Tom Waits –Tom Waits, you bad. Amy Winehouse would have loved this jazzy soulful, dark song. The entire album, Bad As Me was well worth the wait, Waits.

“Rumour Has It” by Adele –Sing it, girl. If you listen to this song directly after breaking up with an unfaithful rat, you will either come out stronger or kill him. I can’t shake this bluesy soulful hit, and I admit it makes me feel badass to be a woman.

“My Ma” by Girls –Girls’ sound changed dramatically for the better this year (holy shit), and gave me good vibes of classic rock and a new thing entirely. This song hits me in the gut, and makes me sway with a smile on my face.

“Little By Little” by Radiohead –Don’t kill me, but King of Limbs is nothing compared to Hail to the Thief, or any of Radiohead’s previous albums for that matter. This song reminded me of their true sound, which is why it is my favorite off of the album.

“I Heard You Say” by Vivian Girls –The recording quality of Vivian Girls’ music improved greatly, and that’s enough to get them on this list. On top of that, this song contains beautiful harmonizing, and dreamy music.

“Taken For a Fool” by The Strokes –I didn’t expect this random new album to be very good, since The Strokes were on a seemingly forever hiatus. Yet this track was a good example of their new sound, with a hint of their old funk.

“Otis” by Kanye West & Jay-Z –An ode to Otis Redding, this song combines the classic soul of Otis with the new age soul of the powerhouse team of Kanye and Jay.

“Smile” by Smith Westerns –Although I initially bashed Smith Westerns for trying to sound like T. Rex, this song is a good resurrection of Marc Bolan. I think he’d like this song; it makes me (cosmic) dance at least.

“Eyes” by Peter Bjorn and John –These three Swedes are the nicest men I have ever met. My brother’s cat Kevin will probably live forever, because Bjorn touched him with his beautiful funky bass slapping hand.

“Shameless” by Man Man –Even though this song is quite lengthy, I can never skip it. It goes through slow dramatic sounds to loud, fast, and powerfully emotional.

“Mr. Driver” by Black Lips –Although the Black Lips can be childish punks, they are hilarious and soulful musicians. “Mr. Driver” is the sexiest song they’ve given to me this year, and I adore it.

“You Should Close The Door” by Craft Spells –This song is the definitive 80’s song of 2011. Craft Spells, you kill it live. I hope that their album Idle Labor is the first of many more.

“Face It” by Beach Fossils –I will listen to this song every day (or atleast every few days) for the rest of my life. If you haven’t heard it, hear it.

“Breakin’ the Law” by The Babies –I guess I love Cassie Ramone enough to put her music on here twice. She’s a modest musical genius, combining punkass riffs with “woman problem” lyrics.

“Millennium Dodo” by Atmosphere –I’ve been an Atmosphere fan for a long time, and I’ve devotedly collected all of their albums. They are artists that truly grow with each release, but it is somehow never definable as “what’s better, new or old?”

“Drinking Problem” by Surfer Blood –I was drawn to this song off of Surfer Blood’s four track EP Tarot Classics because of the name, and it is terribly catchy as all of their music is. I saw them live twice over a span of about 7 months, and they’ve improved greatly. Keep it up.

“Future Starts Slow” by The Kills –I’ve never seen The Kills live unfortunately, but I’d imagine that they are often told to keep it down. They’re so fucking loud, and it’s beautiful.

“Shake the Shackles” by Crystal Stilts –I literally listened to this song every single day for about 3 months after it came out. It truly is addictive, and disgustingly catchy.

- Alyssa Holland

Girls @ The Galaxy Theater 12-07-11 LIVE Review

Girls has come a long, long way from their 2008 vinyl release of "Lust for Life"- gone is the stripped down lo-fi sound born out of bathroom or garage recordings. Christopher Owens love sick compositions may have become a little less intimate but the grander productions also have increased their emotional weight. At the Galaxy in Santa Ana, California- Owens and bassist / producer Chet White surrounded themselves with talented musicians and 3 back up singers equipped with amazing voices and energy. Evan Weiss from Slang Chickens / Papa on guitar and his drummer brother, Darren from Papa have been a constant on this tour and it was a kick for me to see them lending such wonderful musical support as I have been a long time fan of their own bands.

From the opening song, "Laura" (which felt so large and lively it felt like a Christmasy Phil Spector produced number) - Girls did not give the appreciative audience much time to do any thing else but eat them up. "Hellhole Ratrace" and "Vomit" were absolutely stirring although I would of loved to hear "Lust for Life" as it's former lo-fi self. Besides that wish- the show was awesome. "Honey Bunny" induced crowd surfing and "Heartbreaker" compelled someone (you know who you are) to brave the Galaxy's crack security and successfully stage dive. Kudos to Evan Weiss for sending chills up and down my spine with his lead work on "Myma." After ending their set with "Love is like a River" - the crowd wanted more. Girls encored with "Morning Light" which churned up the mosh pit even more and another successful stage dive (you know who you are again). Two more songs and the evening came to a close.

Papa opened up for Girls on the main stage and Burger Records staged a show in the Constellation room featuring Tomorrow's Tulips, The Lovely Bad Things and Salsa Chips. I was able to catch almost all performances and all the bands involved played great sets and were well received.

You can check out some of the performances below- and check back as we still have more videos to post up on our YouTube Channel Americanpancakelive.

Enjoy---!!

Random AP video of the night-- BUSINESS CATS

American Pancake has uploaded 199 videos on our youtube channel. From time to time we will pick a random video using a random number generator at Random.org. Tonight it hit 169 which is The Business Cats. Enjoy!!

Low Roar - "Give Up" video - directed by Ali Silverstein

Low Roar - Give Up from Tonequake Records on Vimeo.

Having recently reviewed Low Roar's self titled debut album it was nice to see the video for "Give Up". Among a vast and open landscape, the camera captures beauty, loneliness and the quiet resolve of an old man's life well worn. - Adler Bloom

"The Scene of Allen Young"- What does this mean???

Yes, the title of this OC Weekly article is gratuitous and may or may not reflect the comic hyperbole intended by those who uttered it in the first place and yes, the Lovely Bad Things are not going to release a 45 inch vinyl (although I would like to see one of those), and, yes, YES, these interview snippets (so well conducted by Taylor Hamby) that ended up on the cutting room floor are very funny but I don't care! I mean, I do not give a shit about any of that. What has gotten under my skin, deep in my cross word puzzle brain is the "Scene of Allen Young." Apart from the fact that this would be a great name of an indie band, what the hell does this mean?

Let's step back. For those of you who haven't read the aforementioned article, this guy.... um, NO... let me stop here. Go read the article while I go brew some hot tea, then come back and read on. LBTS Almost Murdered.

(10 minutes later)  Ok, ok I had a cup of tea and a freshly made double chocolate brownie. Now that you are up to speed, what in God's name is that stranger referring to? I decided to go where all dicks go, (as in detective... although some have referred to me as such in a non investigative manner) straight to Google of course. A cursory look reveals a couple of good prospects. William "Allen Young" is an actor who did have a recurring role on CSI Miami. CSI obviously stands for Crime "Scene" (get it) Investigation who, I might add, would be called if you did, indeed, MURDER someone and the murduree / victim was found. Viola! Put that in your pipe and smoke it! Why would the strange man refer to this particular actor and not the buhzillion other actors who have been on CSI? Why did he not say "Scene of David Caruso or Emily Proctor"-?? I DON'T KNOW.

A deeper Google Search leads me to an Allen Young who is a journalist living in the Frisco area which, I MIGHT ADD, is a mere 900 miles from Tacoma. Hmmm, hmmmm... AND he reports on the goings on in government, which, I MIGHT ADD are replete with cover ups and besides he looks a little too much like Jim Carrey! Why is this pertinent. I DON'T KNOW but it could get pretty annoying having paparazzi following you around people asking for your autograph at every turn. This could, quite possibly, drive you nuts and find you driving around in a van with 3 girls and creeping out indie bands on the side.

(This really is Allen Young- Freelance Journalist: http://allenyoung.net/ - NOT Jim Carrey)

Anyway, this dick is tired. I need another brownie.
- Adler Bloom