n d i e rock takes

its name from " i n d e p e n d e n t , "

which describes both the do-it-yourself attitudes

of its bands and the small, lower-budget nature of the labels that release the music. The biggest indie labels might strike distribution deals with major corporate labels, but their decision-making processes remain autonomous. As such, indie rock is free to explore sounds, emotions, and lyrical subjects that don't appeal to large, mainstream audiences -- profit isn't as much of a concern as personal taste (though the labels do, after all, want to stay in business). It's very much rooted in the sound and sensibility of American underground and alternative rock of the '80s, albeit with a few differences that account for the changes in underground rock since then. In the sense that the term is most widely used, indie rock truly separated itself from alternative rock around the time that Nirvana hit the mainstream. Mainstream tastes gradually reshaped alternative into a new form of serious-minded hard rock, in the process making it more predictable and testosterone-driven. Indie rock was a reaction against that phenomenon; not all strains of alternative rock crossed over in Nirvana's wake, and not all of them wanted to, either. Yet while indie rock definitely shares the punk community's concerns about commercialism, it isn't as particular about whether bands remain independent or "sell out"; the general assumption is that it's virtually impossible to make indie rock's varying musical approaches compatible with mainstream tastes in the first place. . There are almost as many reasons for that incompatibility as there are indie-rock bands, but following are some of the most common: the music may be too whimsical and innocent; too weird; too sensitive and

melancholy; too soft and delicate; too dreamy and hypnotic; too personal and intimately revealing in its lyrics; too low-fidelity and low-budget in its production; too angular in its melodies and riffs; too raw, skronky and abrasive; wrapped in too many sheets of Sonic Youth/Dinosaur Jr./Pixies/Jesus & Mary Chain-style guitar noise; too oblique and fractured in its song structures; too influenced by experimental or otherwise unpopular musical styles. Regardless of the specifics, it's rock made by and for outsiders -- much like alternative once was, except that thanks to its crossover, indie rock has a far greater wariness of excess testosterone. It's certainly not that indie rock is never visceral or powerful; it's just rarely -- if ever -- macho about it. As the '90s wore on, indie rock developed quite a few substyles and close cousins (indie pop, dream pop, noise-pop, lo-fi, math rock, post-rock, space rock, sadcore, and emo among them), all of which seemed poised to remain strictly underground phenomena.

Origins: 1980sCollege rock and noise rockMain articles: College rock and Noise rockThe Jesus and Mary Chain performing in California in 2007In the mid-1980s, the term "indie" began to be used to describe the music produced on post-punk labels rather than the labels themselves.

n th

is e

ra o

f mus

ic a

nd te

chno

log

y, a

nyon

e ca

n lit

eral

ly d

o an

ythi

ng a

nd if

it is

div

erse

and

ca

tchy

eno

ugh,

it

will

cat

ch o

n. F

or I

rela

nd's

Tw

o D

oor

Cin

ema

Clu

b,

an u

ncon

vent

iona

l el

ectr

onic

rock

act

, bei

ng d

iver

se a

nd c

atch

y is

wha

t the

y ar

e al

l ab

out.

The

y ar

e a

youn

g a

ct

that

has

gai

ned

muc

h at

tent

ion

thro

ugh

not j

ust t

heir

mus

ic, b

ut th

eir

enth

usia

stic

live

set

s.

Whi

le o

pen

ing

for

act

s lik

e Ph

oeni

x an

d D

elp

hic,

Tw

o D

oor

Cin

ema

Clu

b h

as a

chie

ved

a

glo

bal

buz

z an

d s

how

n th

ey w

ill b

e ar

ound

for

a w

hile

. The

y ar

e b

and

tha

t m

akes

ser

ious

m

usic

with

out t

akin

g th

emse

lves

ser

ious

ly, w

hich

in th

e en

d m

ay p

rove

to b

e th

eir

gre

ates

t as

set

in s

urvi

ving

in

the

dog

eat

dog

wor

ld o

f m

usic

. I h

ad t

he o

pp

ortu

nity

to

spea

k w

ith

sing

er a

nd m

ain

bea

t m

aker

Ale

x Tr

imb

le. T

ake

a lo

ok a

t m

y in

terv

iew

with

Ale

x as

we

dis

cuss

ed li

ving

up

to a

n Ir

ish

leg

acy,

the

ban

d's

uni

que

sou

nd a

nd s

truc

ture

and

hitt

ing

the

road

with

the

Fran

ce's

favo

rite

new

wav

e ro

cker

s, P

hoen

ix.

You

hai

l fr

om

Ire

lan

d,

the

lan

d o

f U

2, T

he

Po

gue

s, O

scar

win

nin

g s

on

gw

rite

r G

len

H

ansa

rd o

f T

he

Sw

ell

Se

aso

n a

nd

Th

e F

ram

es.

Do

yo

u fe

el

any

pre

ssur

e a

rriv

ing

in

A

me

rica

be

ing

an

Iris

h b

and

an

d h

avin

g to

live

up

to th

ose

be

fore

yo

u?W

e te

nd n

ot to

take

not

e of

any

pre

ssur

e. T

hose

act

s ar

e ve

ry d

iffer

ent f

rom

us

too.

I th

ink

we

fit in

to a

diff

eren

t are

a. T

he P

ogue

s fit

into

the

very

Iris

h in

fluen

ced

cat

egor

y, G

lenn

Han

sard

fit

s in

to a

mor

e fo

lky

cate

gor

y an

d U

2 fa

ll in

to th

e b

orin

g a

nd p

red

icta

ble

cat

egor

y.W

he

re d

oe

s th

e n

ame

Tw

o D

oo

r C

ine

ma

com

e fr

om

? A

re y

ou

all f

ans

of fi

lms

and

go

ing

to

the

the

ate

r?Its

nam

ed a

fter

a ci

nem

a ne

ar w

here

we

live

calle

d th

e Tu

dor

Cin

ema.

It c

ame

abou

t afte

r Sa

m m

isp

rono

unce

d th

e na

me

of th

e p

lace

. It s

eem

ed to

stic

k so

we

chan

ged

the

spel

ling

to

suit

it! W

e're

all

pre

tty b

ig fi

lm fa

ns a

nd g

oing

to th

e ci

nem

a is

alw

ays

a g

ood

act

ivity

for

a d

ay o

ff on

tour

!T

he

so

und

an

d s

tyle

of t

he

ban

d is

re

ally

un

ique

, wh

o a

re s

om

e o

f yo

ur in

flue

nce

s?T

his

is a

rea

lly h

ard

que

stio

n fo

r us

. I a

lway

s sa

y an

ythi

ng a

nd e

very

thin

g w

hich

sou

nds

like

a b

it of

a c

op o

ut a

nsw

er b

ut it

s g

enui

nely

true

. Eve

ryth

ing

we

do,

see

and

hea

r ha

s an

effe

ct

on o

ur m

usic

.

Than

ks f

or

the

comp

lime

nt b

ut

we a

lrea

dy h

ave

a li

ve d

rumm

er...

Who p

rogra

ms a

ll th

e beats

into

the M

ac?

That's m

e!

Do you b

elieve

now b

ecause

you d

o not hav

e a real p

erson ham

me-

ring aw

ay at t

he beats

during yo

ur sets

and studio

tim

e, tech

nology

will re

place

real m

usicia

ns in th

e com

ing ye

ars?

Ha. No.

At the m

inute, te

chnology ca

n't matc

h up to th

e feel a

nd the flar

e

of a re

al m

usician

and I

doubt it ev

er will.

Unless

we g

et som

e genu

ine

Artificia

l Inte

lligence

hap

pening in w

hich c

ase I

think

we'll end u

p

running in

to a

Term

inator t

ype situ

ation.

You a

re h

ittin

g the ro

ad with

Phoenix

this

year,

that b

and ble

w up

(finally

) aro

und the w

orld la

st ye

ar. Do y

ou feel a

ny pre

ssure

ope-

ning fo

r them

?

No. Lik

e I said

, we d

on't let p

ress

ure g

et the b

etter o

f us.

We se

e play

ing

with b

ands t

hat we lo

ve an

d resp

ect, lik

e Phoenix, a

s a ch

ance

to le

arn

and to

get b

etter o

urselve

s.

After y

our tour w

ith P

hoenix y

ou will

be d

oing a

small

headlinin

g

tour i

n the U

S. Is

it odd to

go fr

om openers

to headlin

ers in

just

a few

weeks?

They're

very

diffe

rent ty

pes of s

hows a

nd we ta

ke d

iffere

nt things a

way

from

each. It

used to

be st

range ju

mping fr

om one to

the oth

er but w

e're

more

used to

it now

and w

e know

what

to expect.

Alth

ough I think t

he US

will be a

differe

nt thing al

l togeth

er!

You hav

e been d

oing yo

ur fair

share

of rem

ixes f

or act

s lik

e Phoenix

and Chew Li

ps. W

ho would

you li

ke to re

mix

your m

usic?

I lov

e rem

ixes s

o I hav

e a few p

eople I'd lo

ve to

hav

e a go at

our s

tuff!!

Daft P

unk, Xinobi, C

hrom

eo, St. P

auli t

o name ju

st a f

ew!

eng i

pe situ

atio

with P

hoenix

orld la

st ye

ar. Do y

don't let p

ress

ure g

et the b

et

we love

and re

spect,

like P

hoenix

er ourse

lves.

our with

Phoenix

you w

ill b

e doin

g a s

e US.

Is it

odd to g

o from

openers to

headline

very

diffe

rent ty

pes of s

hows a

nd we ta

ke d

iffere

nt th

re v h

It use

d to b

e stra

nge jum

ping from

one to th

e other b

m eac

h. I o it now

and w

e know

what

to expect.

Alth

ough I think t

more

used to

i ent thing al

l togeth

er!

will be a

differe

ndoin

g your f

air sh

are of r

emixe

s for a

cts l

ike Phoeni

You hav

e been d

o ho would

you li

ke to re

mix

your m

usic?

and Chew Li

ps. W

ho ve a

few people I'd

love

to h

ave a

go at o

ur stu

ff!!

I lov

e rem

ixes s

o I hav

e meo,

St. Pau

li to nam

e just

a few!

Daft P

unk, Xinobi, C

hrom

Leave No Trace

After many tours following the release of their self-titled debut, the once sizeable collective

organically evolved into a tight-knit five-member “Band,” featuring vocalist/bassist Luke Top, guita-

rist Lewis Pesacov, drummer Garrett Ray, multi-instrumentalist Brad Caulkins, and percussionist

Salvador Placencia. Confident, focused and much more personal, this new line-up allowed for the dyna-

mic of the group to blossom, redefining and sculpting their sound for their sophomore LP.

An obvious distinction in the new record is that it is sung predominately in English. This was an intuitive choice, much

in the way the debut album leaned towards Hebrew. “Singing in Hebrew on the first record allowed me to find my voice; it

helped me to come out of my shell and push myself into letting go, both as a performer and songwriter” says singer Luke

Top. “As the words and themes for this record started to take shape, I knew I had to express them in English, my

first language. Being that this is a far more personal and nuanced collection of songs, it was important to

me that my ideas were expressed as clearly as possible, both to myself and to the listener.”

Discography

[edit]Studio albumsFool's Gold CD/12" (IAMSOUND Records, 2009)Leave No Trace CD/12" (IAMSOUND Records, 2011)[edit]Singles"Surprise Hotel", Limited Edition 7" (IAMSOUND Records, 2009)"Nadine", Limited Edition 7" (IAMSOUND Records, 2010)

ool's Gold is a Los Angeles collective that weaves together Western pop aesthetics with African rhythms and melodies.[1] The group started as a side project of musicians Luke Top (a vocalist and bassist) and Lewis Pesacov (lead guitarist), who set out to explore their shared love of various forms of African music (specifically Congolese, Ethiopian, Eritrean and Malian), Krautrock, and 1980s dance influenced pop music.FormationThe band was formed initially as a collaboration between Top and Pesacov in 2007. Top had immigrated to Los Angeles from Israel at age three, while Pesacov earned a degree in classical music theory and composition while studying underneath American composers Mark Randall-Osborn and Franklin Cox. Joining their cultural and musical back-grounds, the two began writing songs together, many of which would eventually appear on their self-titled debut album in 2009.Top has said that the band's name came from a trip he and Pesacov took to Northern California in which a mutual friend described a time when she found fool's gold in the ocean.[2]Fool's Gold expanded to a sizable band composed of numerous accomplished and unique musicians. Among the members joining Top and Pesacov were Garrett Ray, Jimmy Vincent and Matt Popieluch of Pesacov's other band, Foreign Born; Latin American pop star Erica Garcia; former drummer for The Fall, Orpheo McCord; Michael Tapper, formerly of We Are Scientists as well as several other percussionists, musicians and vocalists.In late 2009, the band was chosen as of one Beyond Race Magazine's 50 Emerging Artists, resulting in a spot in the publication's #11 issue, as well as an exclusive Q&A for the magazine's site.[3]Fool’s Gold fiery live shows have earned them invitations to The Hollywood Bowl, The Summerstage in Central Park NYC and The Black Sessions in Paris. Fool’s Gold have played events such as Glastonbury, Reading, Leeds, Oya, Austin City Limits Music Festi-

val and London Calling Fest (Amsterdam).

Debut albumThe songs for the band's self-titled album Fool's Gold were mostly recorded live over a two-day session at the Sunset Lodge recor-ding studio in Los Angeles in 2008; tracks were later completed in various apartment living rooms in the early parts of 2009. Top and Pesacov collaborated on the music, written over a three-year span.The album was released on September 29, 2009 through Los Angeles label IAMSOUND Records on both 12" vinyl and compact disc formats; it was subsequently released world-wide on January 25, 2010.

Foster The People Open Up About Their New Album, Gun Violence, And Bungee Jumping On Stage At Coachella.

Lead by the witty yet wiry-thin songwriter and synth addict Mark Foster, Foster The People are young, boisterous and responsible for the infectious track “Pumped Up Kicks,” that is now on KROQ’s Top 10 Most Played lists and fast becoming one of 2011 s summer anthems.While KROQ’s Nicole Alvarez interviewed frontman Foster last month in the back of KROQ, we followed up with them as they kicked off their national tour – already sold out in most major cities – on March 8th at Soho in Santa Barbara.As the live set now boasts 5 people, we chatted with the original three: Mark Foster, drummer Mark Pontius, and bassist Cubbie Fink about their much-anticipated album, Torches, due out May 24th and snapped some live shots of their ener-getic, gear-heavy live show.Our main take-away? Their live-set ‘fosters’ a fun, fist-pumping dance party, (during “Pumped Up Kicks” they had the crowd singing along.) But underneath Foster The People’s jolly, synth-pop exterior, the band members have depth and wit. They’ve also managed to retain modesty and refreshing down-to-earth laid back humor despite the crazy track their lives have taken since the band formed October 2009.So listen close to the lyrics of “Pumped Up Kicks,” and read the interview below, and you’ll realize there’s more to FTP than meets the eye….And be sure to check ‘em out at SXSW, Coachella, or outside of Cali, in a city near you!

KROQ: You are soon releasing your first full-length album on May 24th. What’s your favorite track?Mark Pontius: A track called “Call it What you Want.” It’s the one we did with Paul Epworth (producer of Bloc Party, Adele and Cee-Lo Green.)Cubbie: Me too. But the cool thing about that album is I think it really represents who we are as a band. We all have very eclectic music tastes and have spent our lives exploring different genres. In a lot of ways, the music is fresh, but at the same time it has a weird familiarity; it feels like you’ve heard it before because it’s pulling from some many different places.KROQ: You are often compared to label-mates MGMT, Phoenix, Peter, Bjorn & John, etc. How does that feel?Mark Foster: (slightly rolls his eyes) I mean, it’s awesome but when you are a new face, you fall under whoever was before you. But next year, people will be comparing another new band to Foster The People.KROQ: Where there any unexpected muses then musically for the album?Foster: Aphex Twin. A lot of my programming chops come from growing up on Aphex Twin. As for the other stuff? There’s a lot of soul, a lot of Motown. A lot of influence from Brian Wilson. I’ve lived a lifetime of listening to music. When I write songs, it’s pulling from bits and pieces of whatever is floating aroundHow did it feel when he first heard his song on the radio? Next

KROQ: When was the first time you heard “Pumped Up Kicks” on the radio? And how did it feel.Foster: Two months ago, on the way to the rehearsal, we heard “Pumped Up Kicks” playing on the KROQ. It was cool because the DJ talked about it afterwards, saying “This is my favorite song on KROQ right now.” It was wild. (He grins wide.)KROQ: The beat in “Pumped Up Kicks” is almost misleadingly uplifting – while the lyrics are surprisingly morbid. Is that a typical song-writing trait of yours?Mark Foster. I wrote the music first. So that is probably why the music and the lyrics have their own identity. But there’s definite irony. I like to undercut the music with something that is ironically opposite. With music, you can communicate different layers of a story depending on where the music and the melody go. You put a certain melody under a certain word; you can make that word mean a million different things.KROQ: But the lyrics about a kid with a 6-shooter gun walking into school is surprisingly dark territory……especially for a pop song. Is this an issue you feel close to?“To me the epidemic isn't gun violence; the epidemic is lack of family.”Foster FOSTER: I kind of wrote the song to bring awareness to the issue. That sort of thing keeps happening more and more in our country; it’s kind of turning into an epidemic. To me the epidemic isn’t gun violence; the epidemic is lack of family, lack of love, and isolation – kids who don’t have anywhere to go or anyone to talk to and that’s what makes them snap.When a 13 or 14-year-old kid brings a gun to school and does something, sure, you blame them for making that choice….. But at the end of the day, he or she is still just a kid and there’s a lot of other things that led up that moment that should have changed.