The group’s track “All They Reign” has made it through two rounds in the rock category of the annual contest and the group has collected more than $8,000 in prizes, including studio equipment from brands like Roland, Boss, Audio-Technica, Gibson, Epiphone and Propellerhead.

The band was notified on May 1 that it would go up against artists in the 11 other genre categories for the Song of the Year award, which would score Red9 $20,000, an Avid prize pack, a mixer and pair of studio monitors from Mackie, plus a $1,000 scholarship to the Digital Media Academy.

“We found out we won the first round the day before the OC Music Awards in March,” vocalist and bassist Jeff Lyons says. “We knew we had no hope of winning anything at the awards based on the competition, so receiving that was awesome and made everything OK.”

Check out Red9′s video for “Fanatico” in the player below.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Lyons, along with guitarist Paul Frislie and drummer Giovanni Fuentes, will find out if they’ve won in July.

Red9 also participated in the 2012 OC Music Awards’ best live band showcase series that began in January. Though the band didn’t make it to the finals – ultimately won by Huntington Beach heavy rock outfit Railroad to Alaska – Red9 was nominated for best rock (they lost to Thrice) as well as best music video for the track “Fanatico” (but Young the Giant’s “Cough Syrup” took home that prize).

“We were just happy to be nominated,” Lyons says. “Yeah, everyone says ‘it’s good to be nominated,’ but it really was for us. Our name is out there, someone recognized us and decided to put us in the competition … so we can’t really complain.”

Lyons met Frislie in 2005 after answering an online ad placed by a band in search of a drummer. The pair bonded over a mutual love of Alice in Chains, Nine Inch Nails, Soundgarden, Deftones and Filter. They played in a local group called Countershock, but after two years that lot disbanded and the duo started over.

They continued writing songs, achieving a personal breakthrough in 2008 when Lyons recorded some key vocal tracks and sent them to Frislie. It was decided from then on that Lyons would move from drums to bass and assume the role as lead vocalist.

“I was kind of happy about it,” Lyons recalls, “but I didn’t want to be tied to the mic stand for an entire show. We kept looking for a singer and we never found anybody, so I kept doing it and no one said to me, ‘Hey, you suck, so stop it.’”

Later that year they dubbed themselves Red9 (a somewhat obscure Star Wars reference) and released an EP, 1 of 9. After a year and a half of more writing and performances, the group finally secured a full-time drummer and Fuentes joined up during final sessions for its full-length debut, The Host. In November, Red9 issued a second, self-titled album, this time with all three members participating fully in the process.

“We batted around all kinds of title names and pulled words from lyrics and all of that, but this album really felt like our first album,” Lyons explains. “Gio was barely involved in the first album because he had just joined the band, so he didn’t have an opportunity to help in the writing; a lot of the songs were created in our first band. We reworked them but it was kind of like cleaning out the closet.”

The guys have managed to book gigs steadily – most recently, they were able to play shows at House of Blues Anaheim and on a couple occasions have been added as support for one of its influences, Filter, including at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano.

“That show was cool because they hung around afterwards and we got to talk to them and it was a pretty intimate show,” Lyons remembers.

By day, these self-proclaimed computer geeks hold down regular jobs: Lyons is a graphics and web designer, Fuentes works in an IT department, Frislie is a traffic engineer. They don’t have any shows on the books in the next few months, as Frislie and his wife are expecting their first child in mid-June. But the band will play the OC Fair in July.

Hopefully by then they’ll have received word about whether they’ve won $20,000 from the songwriting contest.

“I mean, we’re up against the children’s category, pop, Latin, jazz … so who knows?” Lyons says with a laugh. “We’ve just really got our fingers crossed.”

Photos by Franklin Tay.

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But now I gotta wonder: Is it really fair to keep playing major shows under that modified moniker when there’s only one genuine member of Sublime left in the group?

Yes, SWR still sounds spot-on, arguably more than it ever did in the past. Josh Freese is a superb substitution for departed drummer Gaugh, just as he is for Devo and Weezer. Yet, now that Rome Ramirez has established himself as a Brad Nowell heir with some growth potential, why not just forge a new identity?

Surely Gaugh would prefer that: since leaving the group, he’s admitted to having never wanted to tour as Sublime with Rome in the first place.

Anyway, Pseublime or whatever you want to call it will still headline another big bash at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine, on July 28, and they’re getting considerable help: Cypress Hill, Pepper and HB Surround Sound will open.

(You can also enter to win two tickets + boat fare to see Pepper on Catalina Island on June 16 here).

Tickets go on sale Saturday (May 19) at 10 a.m., and at least they’re reasonably priced for that much stuff: $19.50-$49.50. Elsewhere: Nicki Minaj isn’t the only one to quickly announce a follow-up after an appearance at last weekend’s Wango Tango. Pitbull, another of the KIIS-FM fest’s top attractions, will return Aug. 8 at headline Gibson Amphitheatre. DJ Havana will warm up. Tickets, $25.50-$99.50, are on sale Friday at 10 a.m.

Also at the Universal CityWalk venue and on sale at that time: virtual-turned-real metal band Dethlok with Lamb of God and Gojira, Sept. 14, $35-$57.50.

And here’s another Wango Tango (and Coachella) star scheduled for a solo spotlight soon: Childish Gambino, who ought to slay ‘em Aug. 10 at the Hollywood Palladium, with an opening set from Schoolboy Q, $29.50, also on sale Friday at 10 a.m.

Finally, the Wiltern has added two gigs, including Lyle Lovett & His Acoustic Group (he’s leaving the Large Band behind this time), July 3, $37.50-$79.50 … and Citizen Cope, Sept. 28, $35. Both of those go on sale Friday at 10 a.m.

See this post in its original form, and read more on Soundcheck.

Photo by David Hall, for the Orange County Register.

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Music News: Sublime with Rome plans big Irvine show is a post from: Encore

The annual Hootenanny returns to Oak Canyon Ranch in Irvine on July 7th featuring Bay Area punk rockers Rancid and fest staples Reverend Horton Heat. Now in its 18th year, the Hootenanny is helping Rancid celebrate its 20thanniversary along with performances by Lucero, the Bouncing Souls, the Growlers, the Supersuckers, Lee Rocker, 3 Bad Jacks, Old Man Markley, Roger Alan Wade, Chris Shiflett & Dead Peasants, Goddamn Gallows, Seven Seconds and Sandbox Bullies.

Through the years the festival has brought together the biggest names in rockabilly and psychobilly, Americana and country, punk and even Celtic rock. Hootenanny has also hosted more than a few legendary artists including Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry and Little Richard. Other highlights have come from next-generation heroes like the late Joe Strummer, Chris Isaak, X, the Blasters, the Cramps, Stray Cats and Social Distortion.

Click here to see a photo slideshow of past Hootenanny festivals.

Click here for video + photos of Hootenanny fashion.

Hootenanny is basically a gigantic Fourth of July-style barbeque with music, lots of pin-up girls, classic cars and ice-cold Pabst Blue Ribbon to quench the thirst as temperatures soar into the 100s in the canyon.

Tickets are $39.50 for general admission, $99.50 for VIP passes and are available here.

Sullen Clothing and the Sullen Angels will also be hosting the Miss Hootenanny beauty competition and entry forms are available here.

Check out video of Rancid celebrating 20 years in the clip below.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Click here for a slideshow of the weekend happenings at Pechanga.

Silk has a $20 cover. For VIP tables, contact Eric at 951-595-9476. The guest list is free before 10 p.m., just RSVP by 5 p.m. the day of the event via the Silk Facebook page, or e-mail your full name to eromo@pechanga.com or text your full name to 951-595-9476.

For upcoming music and comedy events, check out the events calendar here.

The dress code (stylish and elegant club attire) is strictly enforced: No hats, no T-shirts (long or short sleeved), no shorts, no tennis shoes and no athletic apparel. Management reserves all rights to enforce this dress code.

By Derek Hackett, for Pechanga.com.

More photos from Pechanga performances.

Slideshow: Ice Cube and Tony Martinez take over Silk is a post from: Encore

“We are excited to announce Coachella 2013 will again be held over two consecutive weekends,” reads the brief announcement on the festival’s website.

The dates, which also were easily surmised, are April 12-14 and April 19-21.

But here’s what some longtime Coachellans might not have anticipated: Advance passes go on sale this Thursday, May 17, at 10 a.m.

That sale, which ends the following Thursday (May 24) at 10 p.m., “will be the only opportunity to take advantage of the Coachella Purchase Plan,” the site states. “New for 2013, the price you see is what you pay — prices reflect all fees included. The general on sale will happen early next year. ”

How much? General passes are $349, VIP access is $799, with a minimum 20 percent down payment required to take part in the purchase plan. Click here for all manner of camping and parking prices, plus a lengthy FAQ that should answer any queries you have.

Will it be the same lineup both weekends? Presumably … though seeing as that point hasn’t been addressed in this announcement, anything is possible. Seems like that’s an FAQ that won’t be answered until next year.

See this post in its original form, and read more on Soundcheck.

For more Coachella coverage, click here.

Photo by Kelly A. Swift, for the Orange County Register.

Music News: Double-header Coachella will return in 2013 is a post from: Encore

But you would be assuming that I was talking about the current post office, and not the city’s original post office from the 1920s.

Click here for a photo slideshow of the District Lounge in Orange.

If you walked into the historic building that housed the early 20th century post office, you would find yourself in The District Lounge, which delivers on many fronts, but not the mail.

The District is a dance-and-DJ hot spot Thursdays-Saturdays, and offers one of the county’s only seven-day-a-week happy hours (2-7 p.m., with an extended happy hour on Thursdays to 10 p.m.). Regrettably, the bar has no food discounts during happy hour, but makes up for that with its popular Monday-night “Build-your-own-burger” offering, and the Tuesday “All-you-can-eat” tacos for $5.

The former post office (the original vault is now used for liquor storage) has taken on the look of a speakeasy lounge (lots of red velvet and framed photos of pin-ups on the wall), and the menu has undergone some serious renovation.

Most of your favorites are still there – it’s a burger, burrito, sandwich and salad kind of place – but they have been raising eyebrows and tantalizing taste buds with some interesting variations on a theme, including beer-battered burritos, potato tacos, potato bacon cheddar spring rolls, Irish nachos and the eye-popping “Lava Burger,” in which the cheese is infused inside the burger.

Photos and story by Barry Koltnow, the Orange County Register.

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Click here to see a photo slideshow of Wango Tango 2012.

Read a full review of the event on the Orange County Register’s Soundcheck Blog.

Photos by Kelly A. Swift, for the Orange County Register.

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Slideshow: Fans live it up at Wango Tango is a post from: Encore

Click here for a photo slideshow of the flashy burlesque event.

The CEO of Classic Glamour Dolls is competing against several other candidates for the title of 2012 Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Man & Woman of the Year. The candidate that raises the most money via various fundraisers in a 10-week period will be awarded that title. All of the money raised from each candidate goes directly to blood cancer research.

Those wishing to contribute to Vergara’s fundraising campaign can donate directly via her LLS donation page here.

Photos by Jenavieve Belair, for OrangeCounty.com

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Slideshow: Leukemia & Lymphoma Society burlesque benefit at Big’s Bar is a big success is a post from: Encore

The Latin pop trio featuring Idol‘s Paula Abdul replacement, Julio’s son and the Puerto Rican reggaeton duo have added extra dates to their respective O.C. and L.A. arena stands — so now it’s Aug. 11-12 at Honda Center, $29.50-$199.50, and Aug. 16-17 at Staples Center, $29.50-$250. All shows are on sale now.

Meanwhile, the Top 10 finalists from Season 11 of Idol — in alphabetical order: Deandre Brackensick, Hollie Cavanagh, Colton Dixon, Heejun Han, Skylar Laine, Joshua Ledet (go Joshua!), Phillip Phillips, Jessica Sanchez, Elise Testone and Erika Van Pelt — make two local stops this summer: July 23 at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live, $32.50-$68.50, and July 25 at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, $32-$69.

Both shows go on sale Friday, May 11, at 10 a.m., as do two more Nokia attractions: Train with Mat Kearney and Andy Grammer, Sept. 29, $39.50-$59.50, and Revolucion del Corrido, with Noel Torre, Regulo Caro, Jorge Santacruz, Nena Guzman and Grupo Escolta, Aug. 11, $35-$125.

Find more upcoming on-sale acts and dates on the Soundcheck Blog. 

Photo: Yandel of Wisin y Yandel, Jennifer Lopez and Enrique Iglesias pose for a photo after announcing their joint tour on April 30. By: Jason Merritt, Getty Images

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Music News: Enrique & J.Lo add more, ‘Idol’ dates going on sale is a post from: Encore

Click here for a photo slideshow of the fans and performances.

Photos by Jenavieve Belair, for OrangeCounty.com

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Slideshow: Jeramiah Red turns up the volume at Detroit Bar is a post from: Encore