DOWNLOAD: Bleached - "Think of You" (MP3)

photos by Tim Griffin

the Clavin sisters (Bleached) @ Mohawk on 10/10

SanDiego.com: How long have you been writing songs as Bleached?

Jennifer Clavin: Me and my sister started writing songs right when we realized we weren't going to do Mika Miko anymore. So that was late 2009. We thought we were going to be able to just start Bleached right away but then other things happened. So now we have a lot of songs that actually aren't recorded yet.

You said that kind of ominously. What sort of other things happened?

JC: I joined this other band Cold Cave. So I was in that for a year. We were trying to do Bleached and I was trying to do Cold Cave at the same time so I moved to New York for a little bit, but then it just wasn't working because I really missed playing my own music and with Cold Cave I just sang.

How did you like living in New York City?

JC: At first I loved it there; before I moved there when I was just visiting. Then I decided to move there and I really did not like it... But then after a year of being there, I came back to L.A. and I was like, 'Fuck now I really miss New York.' So I was trying to figure out if there's an in between kind of place, but I think it's one or the other.

Mika Miko, which played their last show on the first day of 2010, is now split into the Bleached, Dunes, and Cold Showers camps, the latter of which released a single on Mexican Summer. As noted above, Jennifer was also in Cold Cave for a while. Jenna Thornhill-DeWitt also had a stint as a member of the Strange Boys.

Bleached (Jessica and Jennifer Clavin of Mika Miko) also have a release to their name with the Carter 7", out now via Art Fag. Download "Think of You" above and check out its corresponding video below.

Bleached is currently on the road on their way to CMJ 2011 where they'll play a bunch of shows including the BrooklynVegan Day Party at Public Assembly on 10/21 and Fader Fort. More details are forthcoming, but until then, check out pictures in this post from the show they just played (10/10) at Mohawk in Austin with The Carrots & Rayon Beach. More of them, with all dates and previously dicussed stuff, below...

Continue reading "Bleached (ex-Mika Miko) are on tour, playing CMJ shows, played the Mohawk (pics, MP3 & dates)"

Twin Shadow at Webster Hall (more by Vincent Cornelli)

We spoke too soon regarding where Twin Shadow would be next. Now that they've played Webster Hall, it was announced that they'll be around NYC for CMJ too, for at least one show, possibly two or more.

Twin Shadow will headline a Noisey CMJ showcase on 10/19 at Santos Party House, alongside appearances from hip hop group Main Attrakionz (who also play the same venue with Youth of Today), Bleached, Caveman, Inc, Pujol, and Fidlar. The show is FREE with RSVP. More details on the show in the flyer below.

Stay tuned for more CMJ & Twin Shadow annoumcements.

Continue reading "Twin Shadow playing Noisey CMJ show (RSVP is open)"

Cold Cave @ Glass House in Pomona, CA on February 17th (Darryl Leung)

"Eisold led a performance teeming with brooding melancholy and Cold Cave managed to transform Pomona's Glass House into Factory Records' Hacienda in Manchester of the mid 80's. Hits like "Love Comes Close" and "Life Magazine" garnered the expected excitement and thumping feet from the crowd, but the standout performances were "I.C.D.K." and "Theme From Tomorrowland," which displayed Fernow's understanding of the dark wave style but implementing his own take on the genre. Caralee MacElroy Jennifer Clavin's feminine touch to the group adds a touch of delicacy to the tracks, a bit of fragility that singer Eisold mirrored." [OC Weekly]

The band plays the UK in March, China and South Korea in April, and the UK again with Europe this May. All tour dates are below...

Continue reading "Cold Cave add NYC show - updated 2010 Tour Dates "

newest member of Cold Cave (red telephone not included) (more by Rachel Carr)

Cold Cave have canceled the remainder of their Midwest dates as they reconfigure their live setup. Over the past two nights, Cold Cave's performances in Las Vegas and Pomona featured founder Wesley Eisold and Dominick Fernow with an extended lineup comprised of Guy Licata (formerly of Hercules and Love Affair and longtime Bill Laswell collaborator) and Jennifer Clavin (formely of Mika Miko). The same members will take the stage at the Echoplex in Los Angeles tonight (2/18).

The band will be resuming dates beginning March 6 at London's Engine Shed with the Editors. They hope to reschedule all canceled dates in the near future. [Matador]

You can see the new lineup in the video below taken at their Las Vegas show (with Jennifer on the MicoKorg), or at one of the future (currently all European) dates, which are posted below...

Continue reading "Cold Cave cancels shows, adds new members (Jennifer Clavin from Mika Miko, Guy Licata of Hercules & Love Affair)"

photos by Rachel Carr

The sold-out event, concisely named "No Cancer!" hoped to raise money for Irene Garcia, the mother of a prominent L.A. scenester who was recently diagnosed with what an event volunteer would only call "an extremely rare form of cancer." All proceeds from the daylong festival -- including ticket revenues and merchandise sales -- went directly to the cause.

Organized by local indie promoting giant Sean Carlson and his team at FYF Fest [I HATE ROCK N ROLL RECORDS and VIDEOTHING.COM], "No Cancer!" brought together an eclectic group of well-known and under-the-radar bands from Los Angeles and across the country, with acts hailing from New York and Texas performing over the course of the afternoon. [Daily Trojan]

Continue reading "No Age, Vivian Girls, Abe Vigoda, Best Coast & others played a benefit for Irene Garcia in LA - pics"

photos by Rachel Carr

Mika Miko said goodbye to seven years of being a band with a trio of year-end shows at The Smell in L.A. The three-night run culimated in a final January 1st show, in which the band played for about an hour and a half. Rachel Carr, our photographer who captured the action, described the scene as "constant stage divers, balloons, confetti, glitter, six drummers, handheld fireworks, a stage full of friends (including members of other esteemed LA bands like Abe Vigoda and No Age), and several middle-aged relatives clinging bravely to the monitors."

Two-fifths of Mika Miko will carry on as part of the Strange Boys, who have 2010 shows planned around the West Coast and the South.

Goodbye Mike Miko! More pictures from the last show (1/1/2010) and videos from all three nights (including New Years Eve) are below...

Continue reading "Mika Miko played three final shows @ The Smell in L.A. - here are pics from the last one & video from New Years Eve"

The Strange Boys & girl...

Mika Miko have three more shows, all in L.A., before they break up for good to concentrate on "returns to school, new projects, jobs and relationships." The other half of the story is that Mika Miko drummer Seth Densham and vocalist/sax player Jenna Thornhill-DeWitt (with a new name due her engagement to Cali Dewitt) are now full-time members of the Strange Boys. Both bands played FYF Fest in L.A. this September and Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin this November. Videos from both are below.

Jenna has been playing with the Strange Boys for a while - when the bands toured together last summer she sat in for a song at both their Cake Shop and Market Hotel shows.

The updated Strange Boys are releasing a new record this February on In The Red (US) and Rough Trade (elsewhere). The album, Be Brave, was recorded in September 2009 and will be preceded by a limited edition 7" single of its title track on January 25th (UK) and 26th (US). The song is streaming on their MySpace, and played live, below.

The band heads out on a West Coast tour with Chain & The Gang (Ian Svenonius) this February, and play out-of-town shows up to SXSW, which takes over their hometown of Austin starting March 12th.

Videos and all tour dates are below...

Continue reading "The Strange Boys (w/ new Mika Miko members) have a new album & 2010 tour w/ Chain & the Gang (dates)"

by Andrew Frisicano

Mika Miko @ their almost-last performance at Fun Fun Fun Fest

L.A. punk band Mika Miko announced in October that their set at Austin's Fun Fun Fun Fest (on November 8th) would be one of their last, but that they were in process of scheduling an official "last show" for their hometown at The Smell. They've booked three shows there for December 30th, December 31st and January 1st. The third, with Hello Astronaut Goodby Television, My Little Red Toe and OG Silver Daggers, is sold out, but you can still grab a ticket for the first show (openers TBA) and for the New Years Eve show, with Staring Problem, Ima Fucking Gymnist and DiGiTS. Mika Miko also previously mentioned a new 7" in the works through PPM.

Mika Miko's Jennifer Clavin guest drumming for Best Coast...

PPM will also be releasing a 7" by from female-fronted lo-fi duo Best Coast. Best Coast join Vivian Girls on a West Cost tour this February. That swings by the Smell on Feb. 6th. Vivian Girls are in UK from the second week of January right up to their performance at the BAM Sounds Like Brooklyn Fest, where they play at Howard Gilman Opera House with Les Savy Fav on January 29th. Tickets are on sale.

Flyers for the Mika Miko shows, a Best Coast clips and all tour dates are below...

Continue reading "Mika Miko playing THREE final shows @ The Smell including New Years Eve (tix), Best Coast touring w/ Vivian Girls"

It's hard to find time to discover new music at Fun Fun Fun Fest because so many bands I already like play (and many of them at the same time), but exploring can still be done, sometimes accidentally and especially in the early hours. That's when I came across Austin's The Black and White Years (who I have since found out were just in NYC for CMJ) (they played Bowery Ballroom on 10/20). The impressive voice of their mustached frontman Scott Butler channels David Byrne and other greats. They have the new wave sound of Devo, and the legendary Ohio band's good looks too.

Before their set was finished I headed to the appropriately named Black stage (aka where Danzig would play later) to see some of Philly hardcore band Reign Supreme who were thrilled to be playing on such a big stage at such a big festival. They sounded good despite the early hour and having just lost their drummer (he quit) (their manager or someone was filling in), especially to the five-or-so floor punchers who must have gotten a good night's sleep the night before.

From there I walked around the grounds a little. The festival, in addition to having four stages of music, has plenty of things to look at and spend money on (food, posters, glass pipes, etc) scattered throughout the park (not the least of which was the mechanical bull which I featured prominently in the pictures of Day One). Then I caught some of Texas post-rock band (think Explosions in the Sky) This Will Destroy You, but not for long because that's about the time it started to rain. The rain didn't stop me from getting soaked for almost the entire rest of the day, but at this early point I decided to take shelter at least until Fuck Buttons came on.

I hoped/thought the rain would stop actually, if not for Fuck Buttons, then definitely for Mika Miko who were up after them. Everyone was optimistic that it was going to pass quickly, but it never really did until right before the end of the day (before Danzig went). I watched Fuck Buttons from various angles, trying to stay dry and get used to getting wet. Read all about their recent NYC show with Growing (who also played Sunday at the fest, but before I got there) HERE. More pictures from Sunday below...

Continue reading "Fun Fun Fun Fest - Day 2 pics (rain & Fuck Buttons) "

The show was outside, in the afternoon, and it was raining. Even worse, the band forgot their telephone mic in LA! Neither of those factors stopped Mika Miko from putting on a great 2nd-to-last (unless they add more) punk show at Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin on Sunday (11/8). "This will be the last time you see us... or maybe the first time..." they announced to the crowd, though I'm sure at least some people in attendance (like No Age for instance) will be at their very last show at the Smell (whenever they have it). As previously posted...

"In sad news for telephone-microphone hybrid fans everywhere, the L.A. art-punk quintet Mika Miko is calling it a day. The group, known for its breakneck rhythms, trashy guitar riffs and the slumber-party romp of its dueling vocalists, will wrap up their career after playing Austin's Fun Fun Fun Festival and, according to a band representative, a last 7-inch single and a show at the Smell."
[LA Times]

Co-vocalist and saxophone player Jenna Thornhill did just fine with a standard microphone, both at this show, and later in the day when she played with her new band, the Strange Boys. Drummer Seth Densham is also now in both bands (but more about that later).

To add to the specialness of the show, many of Mika Miko's friends supported on the side of the stage including both members of No Age (who performed on day one of the festival) (Dean Spunt and Jennifer also happen to be a couple). Mika Miko encouraged everyone to crowd surf. One kid did so with the help of a skateboard. Dean even stage dove - over the security/photo pit, and into the crowd where he watched some of the show from the front row. He returned to the stage in time for the ending though. There were hugs all around and everyone was really wet and muddy. More pictures below...

Continue reading "Mika Miko's almost-last show was @ Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin - pics (Dean Spunt stage dive included)"

Liturgy @ Market Hotel on Halloween (more by Andrew Frisicano)

tonight in NYC
* Sunday Best @ The Bell House
* Vijay Iyer Trio @ Jazz Standard
* Monsters of Folk @ Beacon Theater
* Nana Grizol, Golden Ghost @ Cake Shop
* Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band @ MSG
* Gary War, PC Worship, Liturgy, Florida @ Death By Audio
* Iron Lung, Mind Eraser, Brain Handle, Nomos @ Cake Shop
* Wolfmother, The Heartless Bastards, Thenewno2 @ Terminal 5
* 'In C Remixed' w/ GVS New Music Ensemble @ (Le) Poisson Rouge
* The Mary Onettes, The Art of Shooting, Coyote Eyes, Werewolves @ Mercury Lounge
* Liquor Store, Americans In France, Lame Drivers, Sentence Diagrams @ Silent Barn
* Devil Makes Three, Mymns, Spirit Family Reunion, Spitzer Space Telescope @ Southpaw

Mika Miko play one of their last shows ever today at Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin. MM videos and full FFFF schedule below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Sunday?"

by Andrew Frisicano

Mika Miko @ Market Hotel in June

As you may have heard, it looks like Mika Miko's NYC shows they played in June will be their last in the city. The band told L.A. Times that they plan on breaking up after playing Fun Fun Fun Fest, which take place in Austin November 7th and 8th.

"There's no bad blood at all, we're all still really good friends" said guitarist Michelle Suarez. "We've just been a band since high school and all of us are ready to move onto different things. We started the band for fun and wanted to end on a positive note."...But Suarez cited returns to school, new projects, jobs and relationships as things that being in a touring act might thwart. "We finally realized it was just taking too long for us to make music," Suarez said. "And business-wise, everything is so hard to coordinate."

As just noted, Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin will be one of their final shows. Want to see it for free? We have a pair of tickets to giveaway for the whole weekend. Details on how to win, with some videos, including some classic Nardwuar, are below...

Continue reading "Mika Miko breaking up, playing Fun Fun Fun Fest (win tix) "

FYF Fest: Save Our State Parks is happening this Saturday, September 5th at California's L.A. State Historic Park. Tickets for the fest are still on sale (as are limited VIP passes).

The one-day-fest's lineup is a combination of bands that are coming to NYC soon (Black Lips, Kurt Vile, TNV, Cold Cave, to name a few) and bands that hopefully will be coming back to NYC sometime soon (Dillinger Escape Plan, Fucked Up, Mika Miko, "Tim & Eric Special Musical Performance"). The full schedule and more is below.

Continue reading "FYF Fest in LA Saturday - final 2009 lineup & set times"

by Andrew Frisicano

DOWNLOAD: The Strange Boys - Heard You Wanna Beat Me Up (MP3)

Strange Boys...

The Saturday, June 13th show at the Market Hotel seemed to be running pretty closely on schedule. Unfortunately, that meant I missed the sets by Fiasco, Germs (MIA) (a Germs cover band) and most of Atlanta's Coathangers. What I did hear from that last band was loud and brisk and definitely put them on my must-see list for the next time they're in town.

Closing the night were Austin's The Strange Boys and L.A. band Mika Miko, who have been on tour together since the beginning of June (they also played a show on Sunday at Tilden Beach - more pics HERE, and later Sunday night at the Cake Shop, and travel together through the month).

The Strange Boys clicked through a set of blues-tinged garage rock that filtered its sound through the sun-baked expanses of the South. Singer Ryan Sambol's voice croaked through the band's twangy guitars and distorted swampy ambiance. The guys played a straight-ahead cover of Creedence's "Lodi," which garnered catcalls throughout the set for more CCR. At one point, Jenna from Mika Miko jumped in for a sax solo that squonked clean through the roar of the band.

Beer flew through the air for Mika Miko's set. Even before it started, someone spilled a beer on Michelle Suarez's guitar amp, forcing her to borrow another. Shortly after the band kicked things off, someone in front blew their foamy Bud into the crowd, covering most of Mika Miko and those around. Not taking any shit, singer Jennifer Clavin confiscated the offending drink and took a swig. Besides the beer, there was also a lot of sweat in the room, which lubricated the room's moving bodies. On stage, Mika Miko inflected garage punk forms (mined minutes earlier) with the flavor of post-punks like Wire and SoCal trio the Minutemen (who themselves covered CCR). Mic troubles were certainly forgivable in the context (lots of people falling on the stage) -- you can't really tell what they're saying anyway. An encore finished out the night.

More pictures and tour dates below...

Continue reading "the Strange Boys, Mika Miko @ Market Hotel, Brooklyn - pics "

photos by Zach Stern

Mika Miko

IM // UR: Is the reason why you chose to go for a punk sound because you're not formally trained in playing your instruments?

Jenna from Mika Miko: We have been formally trained in punk music and we got christened at the Church of Satan.

How do you guys cope with touring? Who's period comes first (the dominant female always goes first and the rest align with hers)?

Jenna: We cope with touring by trying to relax very deeply whenever we can, sometimes cracking each other's backs and drinking kava kava, and organizing the van so that everything is like a Tetris maze, leaving us the most room possible (not very much). Also Seth gets his period first, and it stinks.

We read somewhere that you're all pretty vinyl crazy; how does this make you feel about the whole blog evolution and what how that whole scene has affected music?

Jenna: I myself am uninterested in music blogs because I think most critics have shitty opinions. I like when people share music with people that they think no one has heard, because that's useful and sweet.

Continue reading "Mika Miko, The Strange Boys, X-Ray Eyeballs, Silk Flowers @ Cake Shop in NYC - pics"

Amanda Blank

tonight in NYC
* DANCE
* Youssou N'Dour @ BAM
* Buke and Gass @ Sycamore
* Phish @ Jones Beach Theater
* Transit @ Issue Project Room
* Dark Meat, Disappears @ Cake Shop
* Lee Fields & the Expressions @ Southpaw
* Tribeca New Music Festival @ Flea Theater
* Charlie Hunter, Elysian Fields @ The Stone
* Holiday Shores, Doctor Ready @ Shea Stadium
* Amanda Palmer, The Lisps @ Highline Ballroom
* Dave1 from Chromeo (DJ), Viking @ Webster Hall
* Shannon McNally, Jones Street Station @ 92YTribeca
* Eric Friedlander, Colin Stetson @ Abrons Art Center
* Rooftop Films w/ Bottle Up & Go @ Open Road Rooftop
* Detachment Kit, Goes Cube, The Thin Man @ Union Hall
* Amanda Blank, The Freedom Party @ (Le) Poisson Rouge
* James Yuill, True Widow, Field Recordings @ The Annex
* TV on the Radio, Dirty Projectors @ Central Park Summerstage
* Pink Mountaintops, Quest for Fire, Hard Drugs @ The Bell House
* Endless Boogie, Five Dollar Priest, Electroputas, Coconuts @ Fontana's
* Love Is All, Right on Dynamite, Sean Bones @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Rosetta, Architect, The Handshake Murders, Hot Cha Cha @ Death By Audio
* Family Band, Parkington Sisters, TK Webb & Friends @ Dam Stuhltrager
* Screaming Females, No Courage, The Eskalators, Michael Jordan, No One & The Somebodies, more @ Hillstock Music Fest
* Shellshag, Passive Aggressor, Stupid Party, Ukebox, Fiasco, Grass Widow, Pregnant, Querent, Little Lungs @ Don Pedro
* Art Brut, Jeffrey Lewis & the Junkyard, Keith TOTP & his Minor US Indie Celebrity All Star Backing Band @ Mercury Lounge

Friday and Saturday are your last chance to see Cirque du Quoi?!? at the House of Yes.

Amanda Palmer at Highline. Amanda Blank at LPR. Blank is also opening for Santigold on the tour that includes Tuesday's show at Terminal 5.

It's raining like crazy. Dirty Projectors go on at 6:30 (or maybe 7:00).

This weekend is the Fangoria Convention.

Saturday is the Roots Picnic in Philly.

Screaming Females are touring with The Dead Weather.

In the Vivian Girls video interview with Nardwuar, you can see at bit of the interview he did with Mika Miko. That entire interview is below...

As BB pointed out, Sex Vid is here Saturday. A short video clip of them playing at Dad's house, below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Friday?"

Continue reading "the member of Vivian Girls who dated a member of Japanther stole Mika Miko's pants "

Sunday June 14th @ FORT TILDEN BEACH
:: FREE ALL AGES UNAMPLIFIED ACOUSTIC BBQ 2009
:: each year we throw an informal, quiet party in a beautiful public place, w/
:: many diverse musicians playing two or three songs w/ no amplification
:: this year, it's on Fort Tilden Beach in the Rockways! best beach in NYC! [Todd P]

Continue reading "Todd P's UNAMPLIFIED ACOUSTIC BBQ 2009 (at Fort Tilden)"

by Andrew Frisicano

DOWNLOAD: The Strange Boys - Heard You Wanna Beat Me Up (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Mika Miko - Capricorinations (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Fiasco/Banzai split EP (ZIP)

The Coathangers @ Pianos (more by Faith-Ann Young)

Mika Miko, the Strange Boys, the Coathangers and Fiasco all converge in New York City for a Saturday, June 13th show at the Market Hotel.

I say converge because that show is part of the Mika Miko/Strange Boys tour that'll be cutting across the US in June. The Coathangers share the bill on some dates. That's until July, when the Strange Boys switch ships and continue on the road with just the Coathangers. All details below.

The Coathangers, who releaed their third record, Scramble, on Suicide Squeeze in early April, also play another NYC show on Sunday, June 14th at Brooklyn's Glasslands Gallery with Ex Humans, K-Holes, DJ Aliz. The same Sunday, Mika Miko and the Strange Boys will venture into Manhattan for a show at the Cake Shop.

Both mentioned Brooklyn shows happen during the Northside Festival.

Strange Boys' debut record, And Girls Club, came out in March on In the Red. Mika Miko's newest, We Be Xuxa, is coming out May 5th on Post Present Medium.

Fiasco doesn't have a new record -- though in January '09 they did release a free, split, two-song EP (with NYC band Banzai) called Fabulous Bozo, where both bands cover the NYC band Snuffy. It's available courtesy of Beautiful Records for free (zip file above). Fiasco is also playing this year's Citysol Festival at Stuyvesant Cove Park on Tuesday, July 7th in July. Carebears on Fire played Citysol in 2008.

All tour dates, with videos of all four bands at SXSW '09, below...

Continue reading "Mika Miko, The Strange Boys, Coathangers tour (dates), play together w/ Fiasco @ Market Hotel"

The 2009 Capitol Hill Block Party takes over Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood July 24-25. The Block Party is an annual music festival that draws upon and showcases the best indie and underground rock in the US, with a special focus on its Northwest artists. Launched 12 years ago, the Block Party has evolved into Seattle's most anticipated outdoor party. With over 40 bands on 3 stages, great food, and plenty of cheap beer, this is by far the best party of the summer.

Continue reading "Capitol Hill Block Party in Seattle - initial 2009 lineup"

a catch up post...

photos by Elizabeth Weinberg

F Yeah Fest took over LA's "Echo, EchoPlex, Rec Center + surrounding locations" at the end of August. Elizabeth was there and took some pictures...

Continue reading "a set of pics from F Yeah Fest 2008 "

No Age @ Bowery Ballroom, NYC - May 6, 2008 (more by Leia Jospe)

Now that the Bowery show is in the past, it has been confirmed that No Age will be playing a free show at South Street Seaport on July 11th. Abe Vigoda and Telepathe are opening. All tour dates below....

Continue reading "NO AGE, Telepathe & Abe Vigooda playing South Street Seaport, other 2008 TOUR DATES, Mika Miko, High Places"

DOWNLOAD: Marnie Stern - Every Single Line Means Something (MP3)

Xiu Xiu @ Blender/Gramercy Theatre, NYC - Oct 17, 2007

Xiu Xiu, The Mary Timony Band, Marnie Stern, and Mika Miko each played sets at the Gramercy Theatre in NYC on Wednesday night for the Kill Rock Stars 2007 CMJ showcase. Edwina Hay took some pictures. M, M, M, More below....

Continue reading "Kill Rock Stars -- Xiu Xiu, Mary Timony, Marnie Stern, Mika Miko -- @ Gramercy Theatre, NYC (CMJ)"

DOWNLOAD: Mika Miko - Capricorinations (MP3)

Actually these girls from LA don't have much of a tour left at this point - just tonight (Aug 31, 2007) at Death By Audio w/ High Places, and then a show tomorrow in their hometown at The Smell.