Hailing from where else, WPB, the local trio Lavola has built a lot of momentum in a relatively short amount of time, opening for the Silversun Pickups and Against Me! less than 6 months after their first live performance, playing shows all over the tri-county area, and releasing their latest EP last week with a wild performance at Propaganda. And let me say, on my first listen, their EP blew me away.
Like a finely tuned elevator pitch, track #1 The Queen Is Dead on the band’s Leaving Paris EP immediately drew me in with its clear At The Drive In-esque vocals and shoe tapping beat. In fact, the opening track might be the strongest first tracks I’ve heard in 2011. That’s not to say that the rest of the EP isn’t stellar though. The next 4 tracks might be less aggressive, but they successfully showcase the band’s range of emotions and versatility. And just when my heart rate reaches an acceptable level, the title track picks up the pace again and offers a worthy grand finale to an all-around excellent release by the frenetic ensemble.
I have yet to behold these guys in action, but word-of-mouth from everyone whose been to one of their shows, these guys are a big ball of kinetic activity — some might even say their shows are like a volcanic Lava-ola eruption (fail?). Bad wordplay or not, I wouldn’t miss the next time these guys play a venue near you (hint hint, look at the italics at the bottom of the post).
Stream the The Queen Is Dead below and download the EP by clicking the album art on the left sidebar or the link below (pay what you want, $0 to infinity dollars).
The long anticipated opening of the new Ft. Lauderdale joint Laser Wolf occurred this past Friday, and the FTLC is happy to report our fair city has a cool new triangular-shaped alternative to check out. Laser Wolf is sure to become a top hangout for Broward artists, musicians, and other people making this city cool (like bloggers). Co-owners/brothers Chris and Jordan Bellus’ new tavern features a beautiful hand-constructed bar, 6 taps pouring craft beers, with another dozen or so craft brews available in bottles or cans, a good list of imports and another 5 or 6 quality domestics. Do not plan on drinking watered down American macro-brews at Laser Wolf, as the selection was hand picked to satisfy even your most annoying beer snob friend. The beer list will be changed periodically, and prices range from 3 to 6 bucks with the majority being either 4 or 5. Wine and sake are also available.
The decor features local artwork, murals by professional skateboarder/artist Kris Markovich and local artist Erick Arenas (one of the murals is in the bathroom so be sure to drink enough beer so that you can’t forget to check it out), a set of antique doors, and portraits of Ronald Reagan as far as the eye can see. Guess which part of the foregoing list is untrue.
An outdoor patio in the back has several tables and is adjacent to a grassy courtyard around which several business are located. All of the neighboring businesses are open daytime only, so there is pretty much unlimited outdoor space. It will be interesting to see how all that space is utilized in the future.
The music situation has the bar controlling the tunes played over its system, which is a good thing, because when a cool bar has a jukebox with a poor selection, patrons are doomed to listening to the same Top 40 songs all the freaking time (bars, you know who you are). This correspondent did not hear a single Black Eyed Peas tune all of Friday evening. Live bands and DJs will also be featured from time to time.
For Ft. Lauderdalians seeking a laid-back bar where one can socialize with cool people, listen to great tunes, imbibe some of our country’s finest beers, and, most importantly, just hang out and have a good time, Laser Wolf delivers.
Laser Wolf is located at 901 Progresso Drive, Suite 101, Ft Lauderdale, FL 33304
Back in June, REBEL headlined our official launch party Under The Hood with a raucous performance. Since then, I’ve been fortunate to witness the band’s kinetic live performances multiple times at various venues from Palm Beach to Dade (most recently their epic show at The Vagabond for their INTRCPTR EP release party). With a new energetic bassist, a commitment to playing shows all over South Florida, and the September release of their hook laden EP, this Miami rock trio seems to get better with every gig . After listening to a handful of their catch anthems (start with Stampede or Warning Sirens), it begs the question — how the hell are they not signed already.
Come watch one of South Florida’s best unsigned talents this Thursday at The Green Room in Revolution for the weekly indie music event Digital Love. As usual, no cover, $2 PBRs/$5 Jack Daniels shots, and 3 DJs spinning indie/electro/new wave. Stream some of their songs below or go to their website to stream the new EP in it’s entirety.
Side note: REBEL might have the most bad ass band website I’ve ever seen. I definitely recommend checking it out, even if you’re too lazy to stream their music. Props to lead singer Migue Fedez for the website design.
The last year has been an exciting time for the local scene in Fort Lauderdale. Just about every weekend, there’s a new art show, band showcase, or warehouse party that attracts impressive crowds of all types (see New Times’ review of Dialect or snapshots of the last FAT Village’s Art Walk for proof). Well, FTL Collective is proud to announce its latest co-sponsored endeavor to promote the 954’s emerging creative community — Digital Love, every Thursday at The Green Room (the club attached to Revolution). Last week, fellow bloggers Reed Fischer and Courtney Hambright previewed the party on their respective music blogs, County Grind and Mood Vane. If you read their posts, you already know the basic details of the party: residents Andie Sweetswirl and myself (Mig), plus a guest DJ will be spinning the best in indie, electro, and 80s new wave every Thursday at The Green Room. No cover charge for 21 and up. $2 PBRs, $5 Jack Daniels shots. Those details alone should entice any nightlife hungry partier trying to extend the weekend by a day. However, there’s even more details about Digital Love to coerce you from your couch on a weeknight:
Alongside the regular DJs, there will be at least one local band or well known national act. FYI, Miami rock trio REBEL is performing this coming Thursday, February 10th.
Local businesses will be working with the party to promote their services or product. Again, send us an email to digitalloveparty@gmail.com if you’re interested in getting involve.
Expect the same quality music selection at every party, but know that each event will be a little different than the last. This includes (but not limited to): free swag, unique party themes, and major national DJs or bands.
Unlike a lot of parties that fizzle out after a few weeks, the party organizers and the people at Revolution are fully committed to making this event a fixture in Fort Lauderdale for a long time. A major focus is to involve as many creative types in our metropolitan area to help make the event more diverse than just an indie dance party and more like a community-driven event that happens to have consistently awesome music with an amazing dancefloor and cheap suds. Of course, this blog will be the first to announce the details on all the upcoming parties, as well as the official Facebook account. Drop by this coming Thursday and say ‘what up’. I’m not hard to find. Just look for the man with the headphones and laptop with MIG in big letters.
Here’s the official press release for the gathering:
Twilight Notes, Brew Urban Cafe, and Freedom Art Present…
“Dialect”
Thursday, January 27th 8:00pm-12:30am
A Night of Art and Music
Twilight Notes and Brew Urban Cafe are proud to announce the first Dialect event of 2011. We are teaming up with Jose Lopez of Freedom Art who has worked with us to find the best talent in the local art scene and will be curating the event. Dialect is an eve have put together an exhibition of photography, design, painting and more. As always, Twilight Notes has brought together an unbelievable lineup of Dj’s for your listening pleasure. Returning favorites Kent Lawlor, Damask and Dj Esoteric will be playing alongside very special guest Richard Verges of Radio-Active Records. The event is hosted by Rob Negron and Brew Urban Cafe will have their usual specials on beer, wine, and specialty coffee.
Dialect.
This is the language that we speak.
Below is the list of artists and DJs that will be showcasing their skills at the event.
Exhibiting Artists:
Steve Baum
Ev Panigua
Sal Marotta
Dapstilo
Danielle Veit
Brooke Kotzen
Lindsey Grace
Olga Volkus
Willie Morris
Tiffany Tam
John Kissee
Samantha Kondratowicz
Featuring Dj’s
Esoteric
Damask
Kent Lawlor
Richard Verges (Radio-Active Records)
This event is a perfect precursor to a packed weekend that includes intriguing concerts, massive bike rides, and more artist pow wows. Hope to see Broward’s creative community come out in droves this Thursday evening.
A few months ago, Fernando Perdomo of Dreaming In Stereo complained that not enough local DJs or venues are playing genre-appropriate local music in between bands sets. No quibbles here. In my opinion, part of the problem is that South Floridians need easier access to local music. Blogs are a major part of promoting new music these days, and the fact is, there isn’t a one-stop shop for acquiring mp3s from our area’s top bands. With a concerted effort, a laptop DJ can scour sites such as HypeM, Elbo.ws, Off The Radar, Penned Madness, Beached Miami, County Grind, and Crossfade to download local tuneage from some of our more blog-friendly bands but in reality, that rarely occurs because it’s a pain in the rear end to search those sites for individual artists, especially since most of the searches will end up fruitless. To support the cause, we’ve decided to launch a series of posts that include 5-10 downloadable songs from local musicians that can be downloaded in one convenient file. In this particular post, we’ve grouped songs together that can be easily inserted into any indie dance party setlist. Make sure to comment with your favorite tracks.
