“When they play live, THE INTERNET is a band.” That’s the closest thing to a description of The Internet’s music they have currently published, with a minimalist website and only slightly more descriptive facebook page. Formed originally from the partnership between former Odd Future members Syd Tha Kyd and Matt Martians, the band also includes Patrick Paige II, Christopher Smith, and Steve Lacy. The combination is something that I would best describe as sultry R&B with clear Brainfeeder-style funk and hip-hop influences, generating catchy grooves and sexy personal narratives of love and lust.
Perhaps qualifying The Internet as a band when they play live makes sense, specifically due to their emphasis on each member as an individual artist. Their current tour, “The Internet presents: The Internet” focuses as much on their solo work as their most recent album, Ego Death, to mold together a whopping hour and forty-five minute set with no opener. It’s the first group that I’ve seen so confidently support each other’s solo efforts as much as their collaborative work, almost marketing themselves as a super group than a band of their own.
Thus, seeing them in the incredibly intimate, 400-person-capacity New Parish in Oakland never felt like a regular show. Something in the air--between the amicable and down-to-party crowd and the simultaneously confident and personable band members—made being in that room feel like an absolute privilege. Their set revolved around their best-known songs from Ego Death, starting with “Special Affair” and threading songs like “Girl” and “Get Away” between mini-sets devoted to each members solo work. Steve Lacy’s set was my personal favorite, the peak of which featured a personal serenade to an audience member who was celebrating her 20th birthday. Syd Tha Kyd also of course deserves a special mention, who’s cool composure and humble leadership perfectly complimented her soothing, sultry vocals. At just twenty-four years old, she has experience from Odd Future, The Internet, and her solo work, and thus absolutely glows with swave confidence on stage.
Overall, the show is one that could easily draw in a crowd twice the size that The New Parish can fit. The group gelled together with well-rehearsed cohesiveness, pounding out jam after jam and making it so that the crowd never stopped dancing despite their lengthy set. The members each connected personally with the crowd, signing shirts and jackets thrown on stage, responding to comments from the audience, and singing directly to individual fans. Thus, though tickets are selling out incredibly fast at almost every venue, the chance to see The Internet, specifically this tour, cannot be missed.
Photo Credit: Est. 1987
All water on earth has always been here. Every drink of water you've ever had was once dinosaur urine. If you come out to Hunnypot Live you know urine for an amazing time. Monday night Hot Tub Johnnie roared right in to a killer set of curated music. Jeff Miller guest DJ'd and dug deep in to the mantle for his musical past. Stephen Day Chakra'd the stage, Susy Sun sang with new day solar rays, Reverie partied hard, Mario Jose let his soul music glow, Amy Guess left us with no questions about talent and the world famous dance party book-ended our "epoch" party. 3/06/2017
Jeff Miller is the senior city editor of Thrillist LA, one of the stars of Travel Channel's "Trip Testers," the guitarist/frontman for Black Crystal Wolf Kids, and a longtime music journalist: his byline has appeared in the LA Times, Rolling Stone, Spin.com, and Billboard. Jeff got his start in music in the promotions department at Interscope before seguing into the journalism world, and has covered major music events all over the globe, from Coachella to SXSW to the Red Bull Music Academy in South Africa. He's also dabbled in music management, working on building small local bands' base, and booking, with successful nights at LA venues like The Mint and the Satellite. You can often find him at a show or a new restaurant or a comedy show, where he's always identifiable by a huge laugh -- and a huge beard.
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Sarod player, singer / songwriter and composer Stephen Day writes songs and compositions inspired by his many music tours around the world.
Born in California, and raised in Canada and France, Day began as a guitarist, then studied sarod in India with world-renowned award winning sarodist Amjad Ali Khan.
Day describes the 21-stringed fretless silver-necked sarod as being like the ‘granddaddy of all guitar like instruments’ and playing it as being ‘like taking a rocket ride for the inner soul’.
After India, Stephen spent time touring in Europe and America where he played premier venues including the Kodak Theater in L.A. and Town Hall in N.Y. He then settled in Los Angeles and began to write music for TV and film. His body of work now contains music in 7 films, 4 music libraries, 4 albums and hundreds of television shows.
In 2007 Stephen organized and performed in a concert at the United Nations where his music was featured as a uniting force for ancient civilizations and modern countries in the East and in the West. A return visit is pending.
His latest album, Namaste, a collection of songs about adventure, mysticism and the road less traveled, is produced by two-time Gold Disc Award winner Matt Forger (Michael Jackson, Stephen Spielberg, Paul McCartney), and Shenkar (John Mcglaughlin, Peter Gabriel, voice of NBC's smash hit “Heroes”). It features musical appearances by Matt Malley (Counting Crows), Daryl Jones (Miles Davis, The Rolling Stones), Satnam Singh (Nikka Costa, Hans Zimmer), and Vishwa Mohan Bhatt (Ry Cooder) among others.
Stephen is the founder of “Ombience” a 501 c3 non-profit organization dedicated to self-reflection through the Arts. In addition, he co-founded Arts & Entertainment Radio (AER), the most listened to station in the IBS network of over 45 mostly college radio stations, with well-known broadcaster and musician John Tesh.
Stephen currently resides in Los Angeles where he composes, records with his band and launches music tours.
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Susy Sun road trips South to find her new sound in sunny Los Angeles. From drizzly Seattle to the Golden State, Susy Sun's self-titled EP is a compilation of songs fueled by love lost, a move to California and a newfound sense of freedom. For this project, Sun dropped her traditional classical piano roots, and partnered with LA producer Benjamin Greenspan to create a pop masterpiece that's as catchy, as it is whole-hearted -- From "Girls", a peppy feminist piece, to "Selfish Love", a satirical beachy throwback, to "Pretty Baby," a heart break piano ballad, don't be surprised if, while listening to Susy Sun, you find yourself whistling and shedding a tear all at the same time.
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A San Francisco Bay Area native Mario Jose is a seasoned singer/songwriter, session vocalist, and true entertainer.
Mario has had the privilege to share the stage and studio with music icons including John Legend, Pentatonix, Prince, Meghan Trainor, Justin Bieber, Michael McDonald, Philip Bailey (of Earth, Wind & Fire), John Elefante (of Kansas), Jim Peterick (of Survivor), Bill Champlin (of Chicago), Paula Cole, Lalah Hathaway, Ben E. King, Post Modern Jukebox and many more!
Mario released his first EP of original music ‘Heart Of Gold’ in October 2016 and has just finished as emcee and featured vocalist on Post Modern Jukebox’s US winter tour.
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The family moved to Las Vegas when Guess was 12. She played the lounges in cover bands and landed a job as a singing gondolier at the Venetian Hotel while still in high school.
One of the demos she made using karaoke tracks got the attention of Darren Sher. He produced her first album, Coming Up for Air, a collection of rock tunes that got local attention, but she was already moving on. “I wanted to blend EDM and pop to write songs with a big, emotional sound.”
A meeting with producer Rusty Varenkamp led to “Moonlight,” the single that put her on the map. They began working on Ten Times Out of Ten soon thereafter. Guess will spend most of 2017 on the road with her band, touring to support the EP.
Were you unlucky enough to miss our Sampling Sessions on January 23rd 2017 at the Mid City Music Lounge? Our event was co-hosted with Hey Jackpot and featured products from sponsors Sensi-Chew, Evoxe Labs, Califari, and Verde Essentials. Watch this teaser shot by Jeano Brooks and Ryan Taalbi (Media Liberated) and edited by Jeffrey Perez de Leon to catch up on some of the action.
For inquiries about future events, head over to our contact page!
Seeing temples on stage reminds me of how I imagine a 70s British rock band to look—the band members spread the stage all standing tall and lanky with eyes half hidden behind variously styled mops of hair, oozing cool composure with every note. Their visuals consist of the classic liquid light shows that my lyft driver said he remembered from his childhood weekends spent at the Fillmore and Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, and their stadium-scale lights were all at once exciting and blinding. You could feel the fuzzy bass vibrating through the floor.
Their newest album, Volcano, follows in the same self-produced vein of their previous work, but with much more evolved, beefed-up tone than their debut album, Sun Structures. They had previously been described to me as “Tame Impala light,” but, after seeing them live, I might say Tame Impala is “Temples light.” Their sound live is surprisingly grittier and more drum heavy than I expected, making the show feel like an old-school rock show. The audience was clearly on board too, each dressed in modernized flare leg jeans, denim jackets, and braided, flower-filled hair.
Playing the Chapel as the first night of their “Desert Daze” tour, the production was definitely scaled up compared to the previous bands that played. Having been there since 7:00, it wasn’t until Temples came on at 11:00pm that I really felt like I was at the festival Noise Pop 25 tries to be. The crowd transformed from that just chatting with friends, having drinks, and watching some music to one that had all their attention focused on the stage.
Lead singer James Bagshaw and drummer Sam Toms carry the show, the first of who’s slightly cocky attitude commands respect while Toms smashes away and provides a driving beat set that drives the band from one song to the next. Thomas Warmsley and Adam Smith carry up the sides of the stage, both giving more introverted but still incredibly cool and laid back performances. Overall, the band glows the ultra-hip personality I would expect of a British psychedelic rock band, serving up enjoyable and agreeable fare for their attendees. Fans who have bought tickets to their tour certainly have something to look forward to.
Photo Credit: Alexander Sosnowski (@snows_sounds)
Noname is known for her chill, easy beats, wise and rambling verses, and a somber attitude that Pitchfork describes as showing she’s “seen a lot of death and change.” She’s a rapper that I love on tape, but was nervous about seeing live. After all, how enjoyable could her show be if she really is as nonchalant in person as she is in her music?
But, from the get-go, the energy in the room proved to me that this show would be nothing but boring. Even before the opener started, the crowd was getting down to the transitional background music like they were instead spending their Saturday night at the club. When the divine and entrancing Ravyn Lenae came on stage, the couple next to me cheered at the top of their lungs, even though they admitted to me they only knew her from her feature on Noname’s song, “Forever.” Given, Lenae no doubt deserved exactly the amount of praise she received. She was beautiful, composed, confident, and sang with the preciseness and effortlessness of a veteran jazz singer. Her sassy dance moves and silly clap backs to teasing fans had me listening to her album, Moon Shoes, the whole next day.
Surprisingly, Noname played up the production value even more, preceded by a jazzy intro from her seven-piece live band. She started the show rapping from the wings, popping in and out as if she was playing peek-a-boo with the crowd. The people around me immediately started pounding their feet on the ground, cheering her real name, Fatimah, and taking video. When she trotted on stage she was absolutely beaming with a smile that let you know she’s an artist who really loves to perform.
On stage Noname is confident and breezy, rapping as if she were confiding in a close friend. She rarely speaks between songs, taking the spare time instead to run off stage and grab a pink sequined cape, or to let the band solo and jam. Though the audience’s energy never fell, she still managed to hit points of heartfelt intimacy, almost bringing me to tears with “Casket Pretty.” Overall, the show evoked such a feeling of unity that I left feeling somehow unified with everyone who had attended. She was charming, comfortable, and seemed to just glow. It’s a show I would recommend to anyone looking for a breath of fresh air.
Photo Credit: Rollingstone
When life gives you lemons, suck it. Hot Tub Johnnie kicked off Hunnypot Live #360 on the 1's, 2's, 3's and 4's. Thomas Golubic returned to be king of Hunnypot guests and updated us on the latest news at SuperMusicVision, musical discoveries while in South Africa and his set started the dance party early. North By North tore the roof off for direction, Atomic Walrus dropped funky music bombs, Downtown Brown gave us schizophrenia in song(s), h2the gave us laser music and the night finished with another famous Hot Tub Johnnie Hunnypot Live! dance party. 2/20/2017
Thomas Golubic is a Los Angeles-based music supervisor, DJ and Grammy-nominated record producer. His music supervision credits include the AMC series Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, Better Call Saul and Halt and Catch Fire, the Netflix series Grace and Frankie and Love, the Showtime series Ray Donovan, and the HBO series Six Feet Under among many other film & television projects. He is a founding and board member of the Guild of Music Supervisors, and is currently the head of their education committee. The Guild twice awarded Thomas with “Best Music Supervision in a Television Drama” for his work on Breaking Bad.
He was twice nominated for Grammy awards for producing volumes 1 and 2 of the Six Feet Under soundtrack album, and with former partner Gary Calamar was responsible for the use of Sia’s “Breathe Me” in the final scene of the series. It is considered one of the most memorable uses of music in television, and launched Sia’s music career in America. Thomas is also responsible for producing four soundtrack albums for The Walking Dead, the Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul soundtracks, and has assembled various remix projects for EMI-Capitol Records and MGM, including reinterpretations of Peggy Lee, The Beach Boys, Henry Mancini’s Pink Panther theme and EMI’s Christmas Classics remix compilation ‘Merry Mixmas’.
Thomas’ formative years, musically speaking, were spent as a DJ, music programmer and on-air host for tastemaker LA radio station KCRW 89.9 FM. After ending his 10- year residency at KCRW, he turned his attention to music production and live audio/video DJ work. He formed The Arbiters, a music collective creating mash-up music and video productions, free-released two EPs, and created audio and video mash-up productions for clients including Google, YouTube, Microsoft and Levi’s. Thomas has also become known as an innovative club DJ spinning broadly eclectic music sets, often with live synchronized visuals. His SYNCHRONIZE re-score project, featuring live DJ re-scores of classic films has been featured at the Sundance Film Festival, Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, Luminato Festival in Toronto, Dubrovnik Film Festival, U.S. Comedy Arts Festival, various residencies in Los Angeles, and has been profiled on Turner Classic Movies.
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Atomic Walrus is a Los Angeles-bred band best known for their high-energy live shows featuring a unique blend of rock, hip-hop, and funk. Formed after the band's guitarist and drummer collided in a mosh pit in the backyard of a UCLA co-op, Atomic Walrus cut their teeth playing college house parties before expanding to venues all over LA, from the South Bay to Silverlake. Since then, the band has self-produced and released music, toured CA, and performed for 10,000 people at the Hermosa Beach Summer Concert Series.
Atomic Walrus is currently in the studio writing and recording their next EP, due in 2017.
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Exploding from (the suburbs of) Detroit rock city in 2001, and venturing to the absolute bottom of the rabbit hole by 2015, Downtown Brown (DTB) has carved a unique saga over their 14-year existence. Jamming a mutant style that splices together punk, funk, metal, rock, and hip-hop, DTB is a band impossible to categorize. People tend to either love them, hate them, or are just generally puzzled by their often politically incorrect, outrageous, satiric lyrics coupled with genre-hopping technical skill.
After nearly a decade of independently releasing media (4 full-length albums, a live album, and multiple dvds) and touring (100+ shows a year), Downtown Brown amassed a loyal following due to their infectious, energetic and ridiculously entertaining live show.
They signed with DC-Jam Records in 2010 to release their 5th studio album ‘Grabbleton’s Beach’, a concept piece that had critics scratching their heads due to its musical A.D.D. and lyrics ranging from childish absurdity to tongue-in-cheek satire. All confusion aside, the album helped propel DTB’s popularity to new heights and remains a fan favorite to this day.
In 2011, DTB caught the attention of Fishbone founding member Norwood Fisher, who soon after signed on to manage the band. Since Fisher’s involvement, the band has secured numerous endorsements, played multiple festivals, and toured with bands like The Adicts, Dead Kennedys, Peelander-Z, Fishbone, Psychostick, Andrew W.K., and even Insane Clown Posse (with whom they recorded a hilarious duet with in 2012).
DTB recorded and released their 6th full-length album ‘Masterz of the Universe’ in 2013. Produced by Fisher, ‘Masterz’ is the band’s first attempt at a ‘serious’ rock record. Although some of the material echoes DTB’s previous recorded lunacy, most of the album is comprised of tightly focused compositions written from a sincere state of being. The lyrics chronicle band leader Neil P.'s internal battles; dishing with brutal honesty about depression, love, chemical dependency, the state of the world, and staying true to the band's artistic vision against all odds. In true DTB fashion, the music remains incredibly diverse, provocative, fun, and possesses undeniable pop sensibility.
2015 finds Downtown Brown thriving in a world full of easy-to-define, cookie-cutter music. Combining metal grooves, spastic funk, catchy riff rock, and all-over-the-place vocals, DTB’s broadly enjoyable sound and incomparable live show has captured the attention of a global audience. In the Summer of 2015, the band will release their 2nd live album and will continue to tour relentlessly, spreading their warped gospel to unsuspecting music fans across the land.
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From producer, Diwon (Bonhom, Dreams in Static, Tyrone Gosling, etc) comes a musical project known as ‘h2the‘, which merges 80s synths with the walls of sound that make up the drum layering that have become Diwon’s signature. This is Synths + Beats for the Birds. h2the make their live debut on the Hunnypot stage.
Whether she’s roller skating in a tinsel wig, roaming amongst cacti in the desert, or dancing in a formal gown on a bathroom floor, Angel Olsen is captivating, romantic, and haunting all at once. With her latest album My Woman, Olsen sinks into a less distorted and more mature sound while still managing to capture the same raw emotion we saw before with Half Way Home and Burn Your Fire for No Witness. In fact, the album’s combination between lovesick, clear vocals and crunchy guitar leads might make it my favorite of 2016.
She has an aesthetic to match, too—her band wore coordinating light blue-grey suits while Angel wore a tight, tan satin mini dress reminiscent of what she might have worn to her high school prom. In person I also became much more aware of the Missouri-raised singer’s old-school country and folk influences, making her appear almost like a revamped, rocker-girl Patsy Cline. With bold monochrome lights and the Fillmore’s beautiful crystal chandeliers, Angel Olsen and her band could not have made for a prettier picture.
Even better, her performance was just as angelic as her name suggests. Angel Olsen was heartfelt and precise in her live performance, focusing on her carefully polished vocals and baring her soul in such a way that a hush, almost tangibly, fell over the crowd. She really does sound just like the record if not better, hitting every wailing high note and then immediately after growling through notes an octave lower. Of course, right as her previous song might have brought you to tears, she makes some sarcastic joke about how it was the day after valentines day, or that she’s about to play some real “dark shit.” She embodies her music’s romantic image no doubt, but is also refreshingly real in a way that demands respect and attention. Plus, she plays a fulfilling 90-minute set, covering songs across all her albums (something I don’t find often amongst her indie-rock peers).
Though I thought I would leave the show somewhat sad given the content of her music, I instead left feeling refreshed and at peace. I cried, danced, swayed, and laughed with all the equally captivated audience members around me. However, after a four-song long jammy encore I felt restored, and haven’t gotten ballads like “Heart Shaped Face” or “Intern” out of my head since.
Photo is a still from the video "Intern," Written and Directed by Angel Olsen.
Newcastle Upon Tyne duo Those Who Burn’s debut self-titled album released last October. This subversive rock album starts off with “Replicant Replicate,” a catchy song full of energy and trance like vocals. Now, imagine a massive, countryside landscape. Maybe somewhere in Europe. It’s got misty hills, green fields, and plenty of trees. Pan left. You can see the ocean beyond some awesome craggy bluffs. This is “Investigation Noir,” chill and intricate, something you might listen to when high so that you can appreciate each note.
The third track “Brassai” possesses the largest vocal presence yet, coupled with hypnotic music. It leads, then, into “Delia” a track straight out of some futuristic, space video game soundtrack. The album picks back up with “Cheap Speaker Reaper” perhaps the heaviest song on the album. It’s more abrasive than its fellows, faster paced with gripping riffs. “Vantablack” returns us to “Investigation Noir”’s tone. This time, we’ve got a lone hero wandering our European landscape, coming home from some far-flung war. The titular track comes next, ramping up to an industrial groove that takes you on a journey to unsettle your expectations. It features futuristic elements and sudden stops. You’ll never know if the song is really over until it flows into “Loppe Cirkus,” a creepy, droning song best fitting a scene from American Horror Story or Rob Zombie movie montage.
The penultimate track, “Non-Aquatic” is a gentle denouement, another track with a stronger vocal presence. Its protesting nature and natural flow from sharper notes and words to a lulling tone and vocals help complete the album, ending in “Are You Now”’s breathy vocals and quiet, entrancing power. It’s almost seductive, something out of an independent movie or HBO series with lots of nudity. The album as a whole is great for chilling, smoking, or whenever you need a vibe that feels like a super awesome out of body experience. It reminds me of Nine Inch Nails’s 2008 project, Ghosts I-IV, especially in that they both set the backdrop to an experience, a mood.
Visit their Hunnypot artist page for links to download the full album and more information about the band!
If you’ve been up to date on your Hunnypot from the past few months, you’ll know about our rapper from Seattle, Michete! Even if you don’t, this is the perfect opportunity to get to know them from our interview at Hunnypot Live #351 on October 3rd, 2016. In this interview preceding Michete’s first Hunnypot performance, John and Jeff sit down with the gender-queer rapper to talk Pacific Northwest, high school experiences, and of course, the music.
John points out all the love Michete has been getting from SPIN magazine and other publications, for Cool Tricks and Cool Tricks 2, which features Hunnypot favorite “Come Get It, Daddy.”
Watch to learn Michete’s thoughts on growing up “weird and gay” in Spokane, visiting LA, the great Uber VS Lyft debate, and the burgeoning Seattle rap scene. Gain some insight into the process of making the catchy tunes we like so much.
Thanks to Justin Martin (Editing), Media Liberated (Cameras) and Hot Tub Johnnie (Hunnypot)!
Listen to the full Michete Interview and live performance here.
Michete Website
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Never forget a new song again! Hunnypot is back again in 2017 with our BEST OF Spotify Playlist! If you come home from Hunnypot and find yourself humming a tune or singing a few lyrics but just can't remember what they're from, you'll find it here. Keep track of this year's freshest jams, updated regularly, so give us a follow!