Encore » Upcoming Events

Interview: AFI side project Blaqk Audio returns after five years

KELLI SKYE FADROSKI, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 23:46:55 +0000

They’re best known for fronting the long-running punk rock band AFI, yet for more than a decade vocalist Davey Havok and guitarist/producer Jade Puget have also been hard at work on their side project, Blaqk Audio.

The duo began dabbling in electronic dance music (or EDM) as far back as 2001, writing dozens of songs but not officially releasing anything until their CexCells album in 2007. They played shows in support of it, though soon returned to their main group, with AFI issuing Crash Love in 2009 and embarking on another lengthy tour in support of it. With that wrapped up, Havok and Puget returned to their electronic ways, creating new material for Blaqk Audio’s sophomore release, Bright Black Heaven, dropping Sept. 11.

Several gigs have been planned to usher in the release, including Sept. 8 at Alex’s Bar in Long Beach and Sept. 14 at the Roxy in West Hollywood, both of which sold out almost immediately. As of this writing, tickets are still available for the duo’s shows at the Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on Sept. 7, Ace of Spades in Sacramento on Sept. 10, the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco on Sept. 11, and the Blank Club in San Jose on Sept. 12.

Though the album has been ready for some time, Blaqk Audio went through some back and forth with a variety of labels before Havok and Puget signed with German indie label Superball Music and set a release date. Some of the new tracks began to trickle out as early as February 2010: “Ill-Lit Ships” was played on a few Southern California radio stations, “Bon Voyeurs” was showcased on BPM, a Sirius XM Radio program, while “The Witness” was featured in last year’s Taylor Lautner flick Abduction.

And earlier this year BA toured New Zealand and Australia, opening for Evanescence. “It was fantastic over there,” Havok says during a recent phone interview. “The reaction was really strong. It was nice to see we had a fan base out there, and I got some glow sticks thrown at me, which I always take as a compliment.”

With AFI, Havok and Puget are accustomed to performing in full amphitheaters and arenas, but Blaqk Audio is predominantly playing clubs and the occasional outdoor festival. Puget says the size of the room never matters – it’s the vibe that’s created that he responds to. Havok reminds that there hasn’t been a point during his two decades in the rock biz that he hasn’t played tinier places with one project or another.

“The small venues have never really become unfamiliar to me,” he insists. “Blaqk Audio shows are more of a party than a rock show.”

The duo agrees it’s gratifying to see so much overlap among fans of both groups. “What we’re doing is so musically divergent from what AFI does, so to see some of those fans able to appreciate what we do is very satisfying,” Havok says.

“It’s nice to see that sort of open-mindedness, which is not unexpected at all. AFI fans have been nothing if not open to new music and experiences. I think within the context of both groups, we tend to stray from a particular, distinguishable format or identity, so really in either case, to enjoy the band takes a willingness to step out of musical confines. With Blaqk Audio, we really don’t fit directly into any sort of house music or current definition of electro, either.”

Not only has the EDM scene changed drastically over the last few years, the technology employed to create such music has also rapidly advanced. Puget says his abilities as a programmer have greatly progressed since CexCells; that much is certainly reflected on the new album, which is more modern than its predecessor.

“The tools that are available to someone doing electronic music are just insane,” he points out. “It’s crazy what you can do now and what’s out there. I changed platforms – I went from doing everything in (Swedish recording program) Reason to doing everything in (German counterpart) Ableton – which might not sound like much, but it’s a huge change. It changes the way you write. That has had a huge impact on (Bright Black Heaven), and whatever the third Blaqk Audio record will be, (technology) will have an even greater impact.”

Given how artists like David Guetta, Skrillex, Tiësto and Armin Van Buuren have been gaining mainstream radio airplay by teaming with various pop and rock stars, as well as the success of electronic acts at nationally heralded events like Coachella, Electric Daisy Carnival and HARD Fest, it seems the release of a new BA record couldn’t have been better timed.

“I love pretty much everything that’s going on in electronic music,” Puget says. “That’s how it’s always kind of been for me. It’s always spoken to me as a style of music, whether it be industrial, electronic, progressive, drum-and-bass or dubstep – I like it all. It’s all an attraction for me.”

Havok, who grew up listening to bands like Erasure, the Human League, Pet Shop Boys, Skinny Puppy and Ministry, say he’s stoked to see a new wave of electronic music invading the scene.

“In the ’90s I got into the Chemical Brothers, the Crystal Method and Fatboy Slim, and later it was the Prodigy and Aphex Twin. Now I’m mostly into mainstream house like David Guetta, Kaskade, Deadmau5 and Afrojack. I like a lot of the stuff you can hear on pop radio now. A lot of producers who are working with some of the current pop stars really appeal to me.”

He and Puget will continue to tour as Blaqk Audio through 2013, preferring to keep their work with AFI completely separate. They plan on crafting new material with that band after they’re done touring.

Havok, not exactly a recognizable face to those who don’t follow modern rock, recently had a moment of surreal celebrity when he was caught off-guard by some excited TMZ photographers in Los Angeles and later appeared in a quick segment on the gossip site’s syndicated television show.

“It’s strange, at a time when I’ve been least in the public eye and the must unexpected person to talk to, to receive such recognition,” he says with a laugh.

“Spending a huge amount of time in Hollywood, that culture is prominent and it’s very much evident everywhere I go. The swarms around the Château Marmont are constant and it’s an omnipresent presence that always brings to mind what a difficult life it would be … to have the level of fame of a Johnny Depp or a Miley Cyrus. On one hand, there are so many perks to it, but on the other, it would seem stifling not to be able to go anywhere in the world without having someone being interested in what you’re wearing or who you’re with.

“Those TMZ moments for me are novel and flattering, but I can easily see that if it was an occurrence every 10 minutes, it would be upsetting.”

Havok, who admits he’s always been one to spend more time than he should looking in the mirror and fixing his hair before he leaves the house, says he was thankful the paparazzi caught him on a good day and not one of the rare occasions when he walks out of the gym in sweaty clothes.

“Now we live in an era where people can’t go a second without taking a photo for their Instagram, candid or otherwise, which is upsetting to me on many levels. But I guess I was prepared for that without knowing it.”

Blaqk Audio plays Sept. 8 at Alex’s Bar in Long Beach and Sept. 14 at the Roxy in West Hollywood. Both shows are sold out.

Photo courtesy of Blaqk Audio.

Follow the Encore Blog on Facebook at Facebook.com/encoreOC for more music news, contests and giveaways!

The latest from Encore:

Interview: AFI side project Blaqk Audio returns after five years is a post from: Encore

Music News: The Danvilles, Echo Echo and more host benefit at Constellation Room in Santa Ana

KELLI SKYE FADROSKI, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 23:32:56 +0000

The Danvilles, Echo Echo (pictured, right), Jarrett Killens and Man the Station are hosting a special benefit show at the Constellation Room in Santa Ana Thursday, Sept. 6 to raise funds for the family of 30-year-old Santa Ana resident Andre William Gheysen-Jones who took his own life on Aug. 19.

The family started a FundRazr.com account to help come up with the unexpected burial and funeral costs which total about $9,000.

Doors open at 8 p.m. and the show is free, however donations of any amount will be collected and given directly to Gheysen-Jones’ family.

Follow the Encore Blog on Facebook at Facebook.com/encoreOC for more music news, contests and giveaways!

The latest from Encore:

Music News: The Danvilles, Echo Echo and more host benefit at Constellation Room in Santa Ana is a post from: Encore

Music News: 2013 OC Music Awards submissions now open

KELLI SKYE FADROSKI, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 22:59:10 +0000

The submissions for the 2013 OC Music Awards showcase series, best music video, best youth and the people’s choice award are now open online at ocmusicawards.com.

Submissions for the showcase series will remain open through Monday, Oct. 1. Best Music Video and Best Youth submissions will be open through Thursday, Nov. 1. The people’s choice submissions will be taken through Friday, Feb. 15.

The 2013 awards ceremony will be held at City National Grove of Anaheim on Saturday, March 9.

More OC Music Awards coverage:

OC Music Awards Video Series: Catching up with the Dirty Heads

OC Music Awards Video Series: Reel Big Fish unleash ‘Candy Coated Fury’

OC Music Awards Video Series: Railroad to Alaska at Warped Tour 2012.

Follow the Encore Blog on Facebook at Facebook.com/encoreOC for more music news, contests and giveaways!

The latest from Encore:

Music News: 2013 OC Music Awards submissions now open is a post from: Encore

Music News: Micah Brown’s ‘The Isle of Her’ drops today

KELLI SKYE FADROSKI, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 17:43:01 +0000

Local folk artist Micah Brown’s latest album “The Isle of Her” debuted today on iTunes. Brown will be celebrating with an official album release party at the Constellation Room in Santa Ana on Saturday, Sept. 1.

Click here for photos from Micah Brown’s Constellation Room Residency in March.

Tickets are $10 and available at ObservatoryOC.com. This show is all-ages.

Photos by Jenavieve Belair, for OrangeCounty.com

Follow the Encore Blog on Facebook at Facebook.com/encoreOC for more music news, contests and giveaways!

The latest from Encore:

Music News: Micah Brown’s ‘The Isle of Her’ drops today is a post from: Encore

Music News: The Offspring sets Palladium gig with Neon Trees and Dead Sara, Joss Stone at Wiltern

BEN WENER, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER — Sat, 25 Aug 2012 16:38:38 +0000

It’s almost like the Sunset Strip Music Festival in miniature.

Didn’t get to see the Offspring play the conclusion of that West Hollywood takeover last weekend? No problem: You’ll be able to see Huntington Beach’s favorite punk rockers at the other end of Sunset Boulevard on Oct. 5 when they headline the Hollywood Palladium, with Neon Trees and another SSMF alum, Dead Sara, set to open. Tickets, $37.50, go on sale Saturday, Aug. 25, at 10 a.m.

English soul star Joss Stone never seems to be too far from Los Angeles, but on Oct. 24 she’ll play her biggest local show in a while, at the Wiltern, behind her just- released re-re-re-introduction, The Soul Sessions Volume 2. Tickets, $30-$45, are on sale Friday at 10 a.m.

Following his solo and festival appearances in spring, M. Ward is back in full-blown mode to headline Oct. 21 at the Orpheum Theatre, $30, on sale Saturday at 10 a.m.

More choice stuff has been added to the Observatory’s calendar, including Freelance Whales with Geographer on Oct. 14, $15; Barcelona rock band Jarabe de Palo, Oct. 2, $22; long-running punk groups Guttermouth and the Queers on Oct. 3, $15; two surefire hip-hop sell-outs, Yelawolf on Oct. 6, $20, and A$AP Rocky on Oct. 27, $28.50; and metal bands Municipal Waste and Napalm Death, Nov. 14, $16.

Most of those go on sale Friday at 10 a.m., as do two new ones in the venue’s Constellation Room: Chris August, Sept. 26, $15; and David Bazan Band playing Pedro the Lion’s third album Control, Dec. 8, $15.

Get more music news and reviews on the Soundcheck Blog.

Photo by David Hall, for the Orange County Register

Follow the Encore Blog on Facebook at Facebook.com/encoreOC for more music news, contests and giveaways!

The latest from Encore:

Music News: The Offspring sets Palladium gig with Neon Trees and Dead Sara, Joss Stone at Wiltern is a post from: Encore

Slideshow: Fatlip and friends bring old-school hip-hop to Fullerton

DAVID HALL, FOR THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER — Sat, 25 Aug 2012 15:56:13 +0000

Fatlip of the hip-hop group the Pharcyde performed at the Slidebar Rock-N-Roll Kitchen Thursday night with the Speech Impediments and IAMOMNI.

Click here for more photos from Fatlip’s performance.

Next at Slidebar: The Funeral Pyre, Aug. 27; Aceyalone, Aug. 29; Cheap Girls and the Drowning Men, Aug. 31; the Iron Maidens, Sept. 1; Pigeon John, Sept. 2.

Photos by David Hall, for OrangeCounty.com

Follow the Encore Blog on Facebook at Facebook.com/encoreOC for more music news, contests and giveaways!

The latest from Encore:

Slideshow: Fatlip and friends bring old-school hip-hop to Fullerton is a post from: Encore

Music News: ROQ N’ Surf concert series continues at the District this weekend

KELLI SKYE FADROSKI, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 19:20:45 +0000

KROQ 106.7 FM’s ROQ N’ Surf summer concert series returns to the District at Tustin Legacy this weekend with free shows Aug. 25 and 26 from 1-4 p.m. Sinizen, Badfish and Headshine performs on Saturday and We Are/She Is, Fellow Bohemian and Italian Japanese take the stage on Sunday.

More from KROQ’s ROQ N’ Surf Summer Concert Series:

Slideshow: KROQ ROQ N’ Surf July 14-15

Slideshow: KROQ ROQ N’ Surf June 10-11

Photo of We Are/She Is courtesy of Photography Kid

Follow the Encore Blog on Facebook at Facebook.com/encoreOC for more music news, contests and giveaways!

The latest from Encore:

Music News: ROQ N’ Surf concert series continues at the District this weekend is a post from: Encore

Orange Pop: Local bands rally for ‘Turkey’

KELLI SKYE FADROSKI, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 23:07:30 +0000

Steve Guzman awoke and was surprised to see CHP officers, paramedics and firemen surrounding his car. He was dazed, confused, desperate to remember what had happened – how he went from cruising down the 5 freeway in Anaheim to suddenly being at a dead stop with authorities attempting to assist him.

It was Monday, May 14, about 4:30 p.m. The 27-year-old had just worked his first full day at CAPC in Whittier, a nonprofit organization that works with adults with disabilities, and he was on his way back to his Santa Ana home when the accident occurred. He lost consciousness and control of his 2005 Scion xB and drifted from the fast lane through moderate afternoon traffic and into a wall on the opposite side of the freeway. He avoided hitting anyone else but the impact totaled his vehicle.

He doesn’t remember any of that.

“They asked me my name and I couldn’t remember,” Guzman said during a recent interview, sitting comfortably on the couch in his parents’ family room almost three months after the accident. You can tell he’s still searching for answers about what happened that day, his eyes squinting slightly as he tries to recall all the details.

“I couldn’t remember who I was or what I was doing. In the ambulance they asked me what day it was and I said really fast, ‘May 14th!’ I kept saying ‘May 14! May 14!’ It was the only thing I could remember because it was my first official day at that job and I was actually going to be paid. I was so looking forward to it for such a long time, so that was the first thing to come back to me. Then they asked my name and I said: ‘Steve!’ I could remember my name.”

Dealing with Change

Doctors told Guzman he had suffered a multiple sclerosis-related seizure; he had been diagnosed with the disease in 2005, when he was 20. He had started to notice that he was feeling weak and sometimes dizzy, and the symptoms soon grew worse. His eyes would uncontrollably flutter. He experienced numbness in his fingers and toes, which eventually spread throughout his entire left side. He lost the ability to taste food.

One day at work he fainted. Later that night he went searching for answers on the internet. “It could have been anything,” he says, “from something as simple as a summer flu to a brain tumor.”

He finally saw a doctor who assured him it was just a flu bug that had been going around and he’d be fine. Guzman and his family had their annual trip planned to Yosemite the next weekend and he was determined to go, whether his body was falling apart or not, he says. But once in Yosemite, his condition worsened. He couldn’t move, was fatigued and in pain, so his family immediately drove him to St. Joseph Hospital in Orange.

“That’s when I saw a neurologist and after a CT scan, an MRI and blood work, he told me that it was either one of two things: MS or a brain tumor. Then he said, ‘The better thing would be if you had MS.’”

His first reaction: “Wait, this was the best-case scenario? Are you serious?”

A spinal tap finally revealed Guzman did in fact have MS, though initially he was diagnosed with the progressive form and told his symptoms would never get better, only slowly and steadily get worse.

“The doctor basically said to forget about my job, forget about school – that this was going to be my new life and I was going to have to start getting used to it,” he recalls, pausing to shake his head slowly before continuing. “I was like, ‘No, I’m not going to get used to this. Ever! I’m going to be OK.’”

Three months later, most of Guzman’s symptoms seemed to miraculously subside. He went back to the doctor for more testing and this time received the correct diagnosis: He suffers from relapsing-remitting MS, where the condition will worsen and then improve repeatedly.

Facing such a lifelong affliction led to a series of changes for the budding filmmaker. Initially required to inject numerous medicines daily via small needles, he began looking for alternatives, starting with a change in diet to organic vegetarian foods and a new exercise regimen. Both had a profound and almost immediate effect.

“It was like magic,” he says. “I don’t mean to preach about it or anything, but I have a strong feeling that working out and becoming a vegetarian had a lot to do with – if not had everything to do with – why I got so much better.”

In 2008, a healthier Guzman decided to quit his pattern of “9-to-5, office-cubicle day jobs” and go to school to pursue his passion for filmmaking. Even in kindergarten, when kids wanted to be firemen or astronauts, Guzman would tell people he wanted to make movies.

“I was obsessed with films and cartoons and I loved telling stories,” he says. “My neighbors and all the kids would come around and ask me to tell them my stories and I would make up the most random stuff. I always had a wild imagination and I knew they entertained people, so that’s definitely what I wanted to do.”

Guzman began attending classes at Orange Coast College, where he and friend Hannah Barnick created the short film Greener, loosely based on their own experiences, leaving “safe” jobs to pursue dreams and to see if the grass is greener on the other side. It earned acceptance into the Newport Beach Film Festival and was screened there in 2009.

That has been followed by several other short films, a documentary and a music video, for “Not Enough” by local pop artist Stacy Clark, that was nominated for best video at the 2011 OC Music Awards. His most recent work, the Spanish-language effort Claudio, Maura y Yo, will be featured at a festival in Mexico later this year.

The Turkey and His Friends

Not long after getting his diagnosis straight, Guzman and his friends organized the nonprofit Turkey and Friends, Turkey being Guzman’s nickname. How he got it, he says, is boring, but he assures it has nothing to do with “Thanksgiving, the animal or the country.”

He and a handful of friends began collecting donations from neighbors, acquaintances and companies to donate to the MS Society. Eventually they started staging charitable events like fashion shows, gallery fund-raisers and benefit concerts featuring local acts.

Through word-of-mouth the nonprofit grew, doubling in membership year after year, until different chapters were launched in other cities and even countries, including Mexico and Ghana. The group also has focused on hosting benefits for other resources: the American Cancer Society, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Children’s Hospital of Orange County and Orangewood Children’s Foundation.

Each year Turkey and Friends hosts toy drives around the holidays where local bands perform for the cost of one or two new unwrapped toys. Acts like Honeypie, Micah Brown, Jameson, Stacy Clark and more have all participated in such Guzman-driven benefits.

So when Honeypie vocalist Trisha Smith heard of Guzman’s May freeway accident, she asked his permission to host a benefit to help raise money for his medical expenses. Currently without insurance, Guzman’s bills have climbed to more than $10,000 in the last three months. He just received notice that he’s approved for MSI benefits, which will help in the future, but for now he’s left in debt. Without a car, a driver’s license – it was suspended for six months following the accident due to medical reasons – or a job, his income is limited.

“When Trisha asked me to do the show, I was like, ‘Can we just do it for something else and I’ll help you?’” Guzman says. “(But) she likes doing shows for people who need help, and she said ‘right now you need the help.’ I do need it. I would be lying if I said I didn’t. But it was hard for me to accept.”

Smith was able to organize an evening at Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa on Aug. 30, with a $5 minimum at-the-door donation for performances from several local favorites who have often participated in Guzman’s charity events: the New Limb, Micah Brown, the Ultimate Bearhug and many more.

“I really like all of the bands that are playing that show – I’m actually excited just to go see the show,” he says. “I love this community. Regardless of who you are or what you do, we are all supportive of each other. We’re so united and Trisha is so fabulous for putting this together for me. I’m so incredibly grateful.”

Guzman is also grateful to his parents, Humberto and Raquel Guzman, and his brother Wally and sister Iris, for helping him out physically, spiritually and monetarily during his recovery. In the coming months he hopes to pick up more film projects, search for a job in the nonprofit world and plan more Turkey and Friends benefits.

“I’m really humbled by how everyone is going out of their way to help me,” he says. “I have the best parents, the best family and the best friends ever.”

Come Together for Steve, a benefit for Steve Guzman featuring the New Limb, Jameson, Micah Brown, Honeypie, the Ultimate Bearhug and more, takes place Aug. 30 at Detroit Bar, 843 W. 19th St., in Costa Mesa. Minimum $5 donation at the door, 21-and-up only.

Photo by Justin Aguirre

Follow the Encore Blog on Facebook at Facebook.com/encoreOC for more music news, contests and giveaways!

The latest from Encore:

Orange Pop: Local bands rally for ‘Turkey’ is a post from: Encore

Music News: SOBECA Summer Sounds Series concludes Saturday at the LAB and the CAMP

KELLI SKYE FADROSKI, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 17:51:23 +0000

The SOBECA (South On Bristol, Entertainment, Culture, Arts) Summer Sounds Series concludes on Saturday Aug. 25 with live music and activities at both the CAMP and the LAB. The festivities kick off at Noon at the CAMP with performances by Sarah Nicole Wallace, Diamond Carter, Shaun Canon and Chris Ryan.

At 4 p.m., the music starts at the LAB featuring Lunar Rogue, Well Hung Heart, Green Meadow & the Streets, Bite the Buffalo, Act As If and Emblem III. There will also be a Stone Brewing Company beer garden featuring $3 beers, a DJ showcase in the LAB living room and a group art show in the Artery.

The LAB is located at 2937 Bristol Street and the CAMP is directly across the street at 2930 Bristol Street. The SOBECA Summer Sounds Series is free to the public and will also include activities and promotions to support local arts charities like Sweet Relief Musicians Fund, Music Saves Lives and more.

More from the SOBECA Summer Sounds Series:

Slideshow: SOBECA Summer Sounds Series at the CAMP Aug. 5
Slideshow: SOBECA Summer Sounds Series at the LAB July 1

Follow the Encore Blog on Facebook at Facebook.com/encoreOC for more music news, contests and giveaways!

The latest from Encore:

Music News: SOBECA Summer Sounds Series concludes Saturday at the LAB and the CAMP is a post from: Encore

Music News: Don the Beachcomber hosts 2nd Annual Tiki Highway

KELLI SKYE FADROSKI, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 23:22:53 +0000

Don the Beachcomber in Huntington Beach is hosting the 2nd Annual Tiki Highway event on Sunday, Aug. 26 featuring car, motorcycle, bicycle and art shows, hula dancers, drink specials and live tiki carving.

Click here for photos from the first annual Tiki Highway event.

There will be live performances by the Chop Tops, the Tequila Worms, Jason Lee & the RIP Tides, the generators, Fully Fullwood, Judy Luck, Cece Larue, Murrugun the Mystic and more.

There will be a classic car coast cruise from 9 a.m.-11 a.m. which ends at Don the Beachcomber. The main event is open to all ages from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Admission is free, but proceeds from the event will go to the National Veterans Foundation.

Click here to see a video from Tiki Highway 2011.

Follow the Encore Blog on Facebook at Facebook.com/encoreOC for more music news, contests and giveaways!

The latest from Encore:

Music News: Don the Beachcomber hosts 2nd Annual Tiki Highway is a post from: Encore