Artist Robert Vargas is currently painting a mural of Eddie Van Halen at the Guitar Center in Hollywood, California. The mural is expected to be completed later today (Sunday, January 17), and it will be unveiled on January 26. Leeza London, on-air host for KXFM 104.7 FM, has uploaded an eight-minute video report on Vargas‘s latest creation. The segment, which includes an in-person interview with the artist, can be seen below. Vargas is a contemporary artist known for his mixed-media portraits, murals and live events. Born and raised in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Boyle Heights, his best-known works include a City of L.A. commissioned mural “Can’t Stop” of legendary SUICIDAL TENDENCIES frontman Mike Muir. He sees his public mural works both in Los Angeles and th...
This article originally appeared in the February 2006 issue of SPIN Jenny Lewis is concerned that she talks too much. She does not directly say this, and there is no evidence to support her fear. But this is her concern. And I know this because of the manner in which she talks about total strangers, which is always the easiest way to admit things about yourself. “Let me tell you what happened to me on the way over here,” Lewis says. We are sitting in a Lower East Side restaurant called the Pink Pony, but neither of us is eating. I am pretending not to ask whether her mom had a substance abuse problem during Lewis’ childhood, and she is pretending not to care. But she eventually says this: “I was walking over from the Howard Johnson’s, where I like to stay, and there was an older...
A week after going viral with an eye-catching cover of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman”, King Crimson founder Robert Fripp and his singer wife Toyah are back with an equally fun rendition of Billy Idol’s “Rebel Yell”. The couple have been putting an eccentric spin on rock classics as part of their “Sunday Lunch” quarantine series for a few months now, but last weekend’s cover of the iconic Metallica tune completely blew up, garnering nearly 3 million views to date. Judging by the pun-filled comments on YouTube and social media, it was Toyah’s revealing choice of attire that made the clip a whopping sensation, even more so than the quirkiness of her singing the iconic metal song while riding an exercise bike. Now, the playful pair take on Billy Idol’s sing-along anthem “Rebel Yell”, with Toyah d...
Phil Spector, the trailblazing record producer and creator of pop’s “wall of sound”, whose career was later tarnished when he was convicted of murdering actress Lana Clarkson, has died at the age of 81. According to TMZ, Spector died on Saturday from COVID-19 related complications. Spector is widely considered one of the most influential producers in music history. In 1961, at the age of 22, Spector co-founded Phillies Records. Over the next several years, the label would release a number of No. 10 singles all helmed by Spector — including Darlene Love’s “He’s a Rebel”, The Ronettes’ “Be My Baby”, and The Righteous Brothers’ “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” and “Unchained Melody”. In 1966, Spector signed Ike and Ina Turner to Phillies Records’ roster, but after the duo’s ...
Phil Spector, the disgraced producer who pioneered the “Wall of Sound” and worked with artists including the Ronettes, the Crystals, the Beatles, Leonard Cohen, the Ramones and the Righteous Brothers, has died at the age of 81. Spector was convicted of murdering actress Lana Clarkson in 2009 and was serving a 19 years to life sentence at the time of his death. According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, he passed away of natural causes in an outside hospital at 6:35 pm PST on Jan. 16, 2021. TMZ had reported Spector died of COVID-19 complications. Born in New York City on Dec. 26, 1939, Harvey Philip Spector was one of music’s first well-known producers. Spector began his career in 1958 with the Teddy Bears and ...
Earlier in the week, Diplo and Mark Ronson teased the return of their Grammy Award-winning side project, Silk City. Not much was revealed in the ten-second video aside from a short musical preview, but it did direct fans to a landing page for “The New Love Club.” Not long after the initial teaser was shared, Ellie Goulding joined in on the fun and shared a cryptic video with a link to the website. Like the original, the video is ten-seconds long and features the same audio snippet. The main difference, however, is that the visual component shows an eye inside a heart instead of the Silk City logo. Check out both posts below. It’s unclear precisely what “The New Love Club” is, but fans have begun to speculate. Some believe it’s a new album ...
For close to a decade, Lindsey Stirling has been weaving her masterful violin melodies with electronic beats to create a unique sound that’s propelled her to the forefront of the crossover scene. Wasting no time in 2021, she’s teamed up with Mako to release their collaborative single, “Lose You Now.” In addition to the song’s release, fans were treated to a poignant music video from the duo to help set the scene for the story. Written in memory of Stirling’s late father and best friend, “Lose You Now” arrives over a month after the release of Mako’s sophomore album, Fable. As attentive fans may have noticed, the song is actually a reimagining of Stirling’s instrumental track “Guardian” from 2019’s ...
Bandsintown has introduced a new streaming service focused on exclusive livestreamed performances. Dubbed Bandsintown Plus, the new program will give subscribers access to over 25 virtual concerts each month. The service costs $9.99 a month and each show will be exclusive to subscribers. In addition to the performances, the platform will host members-only Q&A sessions and interviews with artists. Considering the fact that performances will be live and exclusive to the platform, there will be a monthly schedule of artists taking the virtual stage. The new program features a wide range of genres, so those with diverse musical palates will be excited to hear something new during each broadcast. For example, in the inaugural month, subscribers will be treated to music from Flying...
Although most of us weren’t able to check out a concert or drunkenly stumble around the city spend quality time with our friends for New Year’s Eve, plenty of artists and organizers hosted virtual events to provide a safe way to celebrate. One notable event came from the festival giant Tomorrowland. Those who might have missed the broadcast are in luck after Dutch superstar Martin Garrix‘s entire set was uploaded to Apple Music. Running just over an hour, the mix is made up entirely of Garrix’s originals, remixes, collaborations, and tracks from his STMPD RCRDS label. Some may remember that earlier in the month, it was revealed that the mix included 10 IDs. Fortunately, seven of those tracks are included in the Apple Music recording and can be l...
YouTube’s Black Voices Class of 2021 Representing the Afro-Latin community and Puerto Rico, Myke Towers has been named part of the inaugural 2021 class of YouTube’s Black Voices. The program kicks off with the #YouTubeBlack Voices Class of 2021: A group of 132 creators from across six countries. Through the program, YouTube plans to directly invest in 500 creators total by the end of 2023, with the goal to equip Black creators with the resources to succeed on the platform. “These creators and artists have been doing this work already and are known by their communities, but we’re really excited to invest in them, and we believe that they can and will become household names with this support,” said YouTube vp, responsibility Malik Ducard. Selena Gomez&...
William DuVall has paid tribute to Sylvain Sylvain, one of the founding fathers of punk rock as guitarist of legendary band the NEW YORK DOLLS, who died on Wednesday, January 13 at the age of 69. He had battled cancer for two and a half years. On Thursday (January 14), the ALICE IN CHAINS frontman took to his social media to write: “I idolized the NEW YORK DOLLS as a kid. Along with the MC5 and the STOOGES, the DOLLS were like superheroes to me. “I remember being in 7th grade in 1979 writing fictional short stories for school that had Johnny Thunders as the main character. Fast forward sixteen years and somehow I struck up a fast friendship with Sylvain Sylvain circa 1995-96. He was living in ATL then and I can’t remember how we met but he heard some of the songs I was writing ...
MEMORIAM, the Birmingham, United Kingdom-based death/grind metal band featuring Karl Willets (BOLT THROWER) on vocals, Frank Healy (BENEDICTION, CEREBRAL FIX) on bass, Scott Fairfax (CEREBRAL FIX) on guitar and Spike T Smith (SACRILEGE, CONFLICT, KILLING JOKE, THE DAMNED) on drums, will release its fourth studio album, “To The End”, on March 26 via Reaper Entertainment. Marking the beginning of a second trilogy of albums, “To The End” serves as something of a prologue to the first three MEMORIAM albums. Working backwards and narrating the life story of the leader whose demise was depicted in the first trilogy, the lyrics on the album may play out in a fictional realm, but they incorporate inspiration from real life. A central theme of war is coloured with political ...