Most folks I talk to who’ve seen TOMMY SANTEE KLAWS play live do not forget the experience. It’s not an easily described sensation, because there is so much truth, pain and beauty in this music and because it arrives to your ears so completely free of any artificial artifact: the bittersweet joy/sorrow you’ll feel may be unsettling. If you’re one of those brave souls looking for something that will deeply move you I suggest you make it an imperative to see this show.

But, hey, you don’t even have to take my word on this, Ted O’Neill at GROUPEE says: “folk-rock that sounds a little spooky, a little twisted and sad.  With his wife and brother in the band, it’s definitely a family affair; many of the songs benefit from the tight vocal harmonies featured. The songs themselves are hushed, cathartic tales that seem both otherworldly and personal.”

OK: maybe that’s not enough to get you out tonight (seriously? what’s wrong with you?) but it’s not all. Just last week I was raving away about AMANDA JO WILLIAMS and I’m far from the only one suggesting you give a listen…
“Amanda Jo Williams’ combination of personalities and skills results in the most compelling roller coaster I’ve ridden in years—from the depths of a miniscule cracking whisper weaving tales of trauma, to the soaring heights of elongated elated instrumental breaks, Amanda Jo Williams will stop your heart, show you the light, then bring you right back again.”- L.A. Record

MORIS TEPPER : “Tepper, you’ll recall, was Captain Beefheart‘s chief guitar vivisectionist in the Magic Band Phase II period that created the essentials ‘Shiny Beast’, ‘Doc at the Radar Station’, and ‘Ice Cream for Crow’… he followed up with several albums and tours for Tom Waits… but that doesn’t tell the whole story, which has to do with how Tepper’s very own music is a wholly unusual and self-made little-big world… “- LA Weekly

All these folks (plus BIKOS) will be playing the CINEMA BAR tonight.

3967 Sepulveda Boulevard
Culver City, CA 90230
music starts: 8:30 pm
The Cinema is one of the oldest, smallest, funkiest dive bars on the Westside and consistently has some of the best music. I have seen some of my favorite-ever shows in this tiny oasis of cool culture. I have a feeling tonight might just top ‘em all…

Amanda Jo Williams at the Unknown Theater

“Country girl from outer space” Amanda Jo Williams has been winning over Angelinos with her uncanny ability to project an unfiltered open heart through her cartoonishly vulnerable voice and her spare elemental compositions. She also comes across as disarmingly endearing in many of the bizarre videos on her myspace page. You can see her for free tonight, Thursday Aug 26th at the Mountain Bar. Live shows feature her freaky tribal hilbilly folk band careening through her simple rollicking  country grooves with wild unfettered abandon while Amanda sits centerstage with her tiny guitar and big drum unselfconciously doing her thing. Paper Magazine describes a show saying,”Williams strummed A-minor for fifteen minutes straight while her band stomped rhythmically around her backwoods muppet ballideering.”

It’s the emotional whallop her music delivers that makes her more than just another freak in the freak kingdom.”Listening to Amanda Jo Williams’ rough-shod country-folk is like eating a squirrel stew supper before falling into bed,  her primal music is an open maw to the mysteries and fears of the world. With a twang-heavy voice that sometimes breaks into manic gibberish, she sounds like an unruly, sometimes lonely little girl left to her own devices.”says the L.A. Times

“My music is basic and simple”, Williams says in her interview with  Daiana Feuer on Tumblr, “I do stuff that’s more from space, channeling how aliens would tell us to be when we’re more evolved. Anything is possible. You can see what you want to see when you want to see it, when you are ready to see. When your will is aligned with the universe and what you are born to do, when those things are aligned, you can find the place where you belong.”

"People need music where the artist is honest and themselves."- Amanda Jo Williams

Jeffertitti’s Nile will also bring their “hypnotic river of sound” to Chinatown on the same bill, providing some riffy Beatlesque melodicism and heavily effected sonic extrapolations.

also a live set by Latin Meds (josh charney of le switch is in latin meds)

and DJ  Hey Okay!

The Mountain Bar

it’s a DRAMATURGY production

Jeffertitti's Nile

The Fumes from Sydney, New South Wales Australia

The roar has returned to Homework Mondays at Cranes Hollywood Tavern!

Tonight at 1611 El Centro in LA you can see The Fumes from Australia for free, baby. Uniquely Australian… “hard rock’n blues” with swagger and style. Their live presence is powerhouse, highly and frequently praised.

“The quintessential rock band. This album is just absolutely hell bent on being sensational.” Four & a ½ stars -elevenmagazine.com sez about their second studio album ‘Sundancer’

Sons of August and the Downtown Train are up as well, and of course Ned Casual will be pulling tracks from his stacks of wax (that guy spins only the coolest roots, rockNroll and vintage RnB).

Hey, ya might also wanna take note that Mister Nervous will return to Cranes on September 20th.

Tonight at The Mint:

Wells of Rickett
will be folking up the joint backed by the powerhouse playing of percussionist Nick Miller (the pounding pulse behind The Monthlies).

10pm  @ THE MINT -  6010 West Pico Blvd  – Los Angeles, CA

Wells of Rickett

TONIGHT 8/21:

THE MONTHLIES have not been seen a lot lately but tonight they are gonna be right at the very edge of the Sunset Junction thing doing a FREE 9pm show.

Wes O’Lee sez:

“Should be fun and stuff. BYOB and anything you may want to BBQ!”

Sounds right neighborly, don’t it?!?!

The Living Room Parking Lot

3531 Sunset Blvd.

9pm

HolloH are back out there again so if you missed ‘em at The Cat Club or The Old Town Pub recently you can see them TONIGHT out in the summertime air at Farnsworth Park (568 East Mount Curve Ave. Altadena, Ca 91001)

John from HolloH sez:

“we’ll be going on around 8:30PM at the Amphitheater on the hillside.
There’ll be food, refreshments, live music & fun stuff for everyone!”

FACEBOOK has more INFO HERE

TOMORROW 8/22

Mark’s On The Move Fundraiser Benefit

Mark drums for The Sundowners. He needs a little help from his friends. Let’s help him!!!
He’s moving and so he’s throwing a fun and entertaining party to raise some $ for the move.

Mark’s Place:  411 W. Altadena Dr.,   Altadena, CA

3 Bands! 3pm!

The Sundowners
Happy Dwarf
HolloH

Special performance by Satina & Novella
Timothy (Artichoke)
Todd Nicodemus
& John Hartman (Vise Versa)
Comedy with “The Liam Show”
DJ SOLO1
Grab bag for all bake sale
$1.00 jello shots & more!!!

Please bring any snacks to share and extra beer and booze don’t hurt!

$10.00 donation if you have it. If you don’t come out anyways.

opening the show at the very beginning of

The Sundowners’ & Friends’ 3rd Tuesdays of the Month Residency

at the gorgeous Bordello Bar in Downtown Los Angeles!
We’ll be  hittin’ the beautifully appointed stage at 9pm

(so even the early birds among you folks should be able to tolerate the hour this time)
We’d sure love to see you there!

BORDELLO: 901 E 1st St , Los Angeles CA 90012

$5   -   21+

Join us Tuesday, August 17, 2010 at 9:00 as we kick off this glorious night with:
OGOD @ 10 www.myspace.com/overgainoptimaldeath
The Sundowners @ 11 www.myspace.com/thesundowners
Opus X @ 12

We're playing at 11pm Monday July 12 here

Well we just accepted a show at the venerable Viper Room and we’ll have a free unlimited guest list so come on out, y’all!

Hit us for a spot on the list here:

misternervous@gmail.com

We’ll be on at 11pm. ..Awww, c’mon, you can do it!

earlier bands that night include:

Non Ultra Joy at 10pm, No Tomorrow at 9pm, Kiss and Tell at 8pm

!!!NEW!!!

Lydee took some pix of this show

HERE THEY ARE

Spirit Vine (photo by Karri Bowman)

SPIRIT VINE conjures a retro-future where folks still read The Doors of Perception, seek enlightenment in shaman directed spiritual sweat-lodges and go Bathing at Baxters.

They’re bringing their reverb drenched tribal love rock to Spaceland Thursday May 6 along with Roughed Up Folk – My Pet Saddle – and members of Dios performing as Special K & Flying J (who will be performing songs from an upcoming Beck covers album).

Spirit Vine’s GOLDEN ep has been getting some well-reviewed attention, and the band is working on a full length album while weathering some changes. I had a chance to interview their dynamic lead vocalist Jacquelinne and here without furthur comment  is our conversation:

WES (Mister Nervous):

You guys have come a long way as a band since I first saw you at 14 Below, but right away I was impressed with the message you were trying to get across in the music and words. Could you try to describe the intention, the message that drives your music?

Jacquelinne (Spirit Vine)

Anything that inspires, helps people grow, transforms, pulsates, makes people imagine…I am really into cycles right now…death and rebirth, moving out of the past and keeping your intentions as honest as possible.

WES:

Your recent GOLDEN ep has been getting some very positive write-ups online lately and you’re still recording new stuff. Are you planning to release a full cd in the future?

Jacquelinne:

Hell yeah! We are in the midst of writing it right now….so amazing to see how the sound evolves…like watching a baby grow in front of your eyes….the process will be a little different too….we used to record in a back house/Wooden Ship in Echo Park…now we have graduated to Kelly’s farm in Silverlake…we will also be in good hands with Anthony Caruso who will be recording this record…everything else is a secret

WES:

Three of you were in Wake Up Incinerate (I still play that cd sometimes) and Spirit Vine is a very different thing. What prompted you to form Spirit Vine?
Jacquelinne:

Honestly, Gabe and I started smoking a lot of weed…we were definitely opening doors of perception…we got really into old Pink Floyd, Syd Barett, Bob Dylan ( I know, I know I started my Bob Dylan phase later…at least I admit it) Memphis Jug Band, and a bunch of old blues. We started writing in a style that felt really honest and coming from the soul and knew we were flying in the right direction.

WES:

How do you compose your songs? Is it individuals bringing complete songs to the band or is it more of a democratic group effort?

Jacquelinne:

There is no format…it started as Gabe and I writing a lot and then became whatever feels good…whatever is good for the tune

WES:

Do you think the “album” era is really over (full cd’s over 30 minutes often produced to be consistent in theme and sound) or is there still interest in longer works by artists?

Jacquelinne:

Oh no…I hope not! I love collecting records and if money served me right I would collect a lot more….one of my favorite things is the smell of old vinyl and geeking out to all of the cool artwork, lyrics, thank yous, who played what on this record, blah blah blahs

WES:

People have tried to describe your sound but is there a way you like to characterize it?

Jacquelinne:

Maybe if Mazzy Star had a drug problem and had a love child with Keith Richards who was also sleeping with Stevie Nicks who then injected Howlin’ Wolf and Sun House into the veins of Lennon’s imagination, Lou Reed’s swagger and Iggy Pop’s fist….phew!

WES:

Do you guys do a lot of reading? What is it you’re reading recently?

Jacquelinne:

Uh yeah! My mom always jokes that I am exactly like my dad…enjoying myself in a room full of books…it is so weird it is hysterical….right now I am reading Crime and Punishment, Jazz, The Sorcerer’s Way and well How To Read the Tarot….Gabe is currently working on Cash by Johnny Cash and onto Joseph Campbell…again and again and again and again

WES:

You have been playing some more high profile venues lately like the Hotel Cafe, what do you think has been the most responsible for the band’s rise in visibility?

Jacquelinne:

Weed

WES:

The band is going through some changes recently and it looks like you’re going to have a new bass player. Is there anything you’d like to say about that?

Jacquelinne:

Yeah anyone wanna join us? No, really, we are pretty sad about it…we are loosing an OG member and the backbone to the sound….he always has a place with us.

WES:

What’s your favorite food (or if you prefer what is your favorite color)?

Jacquelinne:

Pizza and salsa and tacos and avocados and… wine… I don’t care that it is not a food!

WES:

Is there anything you want to add, or something you’re just aching to say?

Jacquelinne:

We ain’t dead…yet

The LA FOLDAWAYS are finally entering intense rehearsals in May. A side project from the Mister Nervous band, Wes and a dedicated crew of misfits will be pulling together a repertoire of “classic” rockNroll including numbers from The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Chuck Berry, The Kinks, Van Morrison, Shocking Blue (!), The Who… and more stuff including some interesting takes on old blues and RnB songs. A core trio is working as the lynchpin – and a large pool of  singers and players will rotate as the “front” or songleaders in many performances.

Not quite a tribute, “Classic Rock” or jam band – more a combination of all three. Shows will often feature completely different band line-ups, as available players will work in different combinations making each show completely unique. The LA Foldaways mission: to treat many of our favorite vintage songs as vibrant living things to be joyously jammed (as opposed to reverently copied).

We’ll let you know more soon.