LIGHT FM, FUTURE GHOST, AND DANTE VS. ZOMBIES ON FRIDAY DEC. 17TH AT SPACELAND, 1717 SILVERLAKE BOULEVARD, LOS ANGELES. 8:30PM/ $7/ 21+.

WHITE ARROWS, SUPERHUMANOIDS, STONE DARLING, MODERN TIME MACHINES, VANAPRASTA, HANDS, THE FRANKS, THE HOLLOYS, LIGHT FM, FUTURE GHOST, NIGHTMARE AIR, TWILIGHT SLEEP, SUMMER DARLING, AND GLISS ON FRIDAY DEC. 10TH AT THE GLASS HOUSE, 200 WEST SECOND STREET, POMONA AND ALADDIN JR., 3161 NORTH GAREY AVENUE, POMONA. 6:00PM/ $12/ ALL AGES.

Kim Grant alerts us: Redwood bartender Laura Ann Masura was involved in a serious motorcycle accident in September and is facing thousands of dollars worth of medical bills, so Josiah from Light FM has put together a benefit including performances by Billy Corgan with members of the Electric Prunes and Ancient Chinese Secret plus Syd Straw, the Pity Party, the Happy Stars (Posies + Fountains of Wayne) and tons more—even fortune-telling by the Grammy-nominated Madame Pamita! Corgan will also be auctioning off the drum set used on Gish and the bass used at the first Smashing Pumpkins show. Show is at 4:30 PM on Sun., Nov. 8, at the Echoplex and tickets are $12. More info below and best wishes to Laura!

LOS ANGELES, CA—Dozens of musicians will perform a benefit concert Sunday November 8 at the Echoplex in Echo Park for fellow musician Laura Ann Masura. Masura, a former member of Evil Beaver, Motorhome, the Prescriptions and Dime Box Band, suffered a motorcycle accident in September that almost resulted in the amputation of her foot. As she heals at her Echo Park home, friends and fellow musicians have banded together to raise money for costs that Masura’s health insurance doesn’t cover.

Josiah Mazzaschi of the band Light FM has organized an impressive line up for the concert, which starts at 5 PM and costs a mere $12 per ticket. (ALL proceeds go to Laura Ann. This ain’t UNICEF. The Echoplex’s Liz Garo has generously donated use of the venue.) To appear: The Happy Stars (Brian Young from Fountains of Wayne and Joe Skyward from The Posies), The Pulsars (Dave and Harry Trumfio), Tim Rutili (Red Red Meat, Califone), Syd Straw (Golden Palominos) Pity Party, Light FM, and The Backward Clock Society, featuring Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins, Kerry Brown of Ancient Chinese Secrets and Mark Tulin of the Electric Prunes. Rotary Rachel (Rachel Lichtman of luxuriamusic.com) will emcee and DJ between band sets.

JAM FOR LAURA ANN is more than a concert. There will be items raffled all evening long; a fortune teller (none other than Madame Pamita from cult all-girl surf band the Neptunas); and a BBQ in back of the venue. Jars of Laura Ann’s Jams, made artisanally by Laura Ann this past summer, will be for sale. (In fact Laura Ann was on her motorcycle, en route to a farm for strawberries for the jams, when a car hit her.)

Laura Ann Masura, a respected drummer and founding member of the bands Evil Beaver, the Prescriptions and Motorhome was a major presence on the Chicago music scene. Moving to Los Angeles several years ago, she quickly became a favorite personality on the East Side. A lifelong gourmet, she began making artisanal jams from local ingredients for friends and a few local restaurants. Word got out, and customers at the Redwood, the downtown bar where she worked, would ask to buy jars. The hobby was growing into a business (see lauraannsjams.com) until the accident put a hold on everything.

Leading up to the November 8 event, two very special items from the early days of the Smashing Pumpkins will be auctioned off starting this Wednesday without reserve via Ebay to help defray Laura’s medical bills from her accident. The first item up for auction is the drum kit that Jimmy Chamberlin used on the Smashing Pumpkins’ influential and platinum Gish album in 1991 and subsequent tour. The kit will be signed by both Jimmy and Billy. Billy will also be auctioning off the original Smashing Pumpkins bass guitar that he played at the band’s very first show (it is also the bass that he used for the early demos). Both items will be available for bidding via the official Smashing Pumpkins memorabilia ebay site: http://shop.ebay.com/officialspmemorabilia/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p3686.

Despite surgery scheduled for October 29th, Laura Ann will attend the benefit show—“Even if we have to wheel a bed in!” she says. People unable to attend the event may donate to Laura Ann’s recovery fund (no amount too small!) at lauraannsjams.com.

PLEASE NOTE: JAM FOR LAURA ANN IS AN EARLY SHOW!
Sunday, November 8th
Doors: 4:30 Showtime 5:00 Tickets: $12
purchase in advance: http://www.ticketweb.com
The Echoplex, 1154 Glendale Blvd. Los Angeles, CA, 90026

Light FM, the brainchild of front-man Josiah Mazzaschi—who started the band while living in Chicago but has since re-located to Los Angeles—played the hell out of their new self-released record Let Their Be Light FM, which was not a surprise but was an impressive feat seeing as Mazzaschi only recently solidified his backing band, having played all of the instruments himself during the album’s recording. The five-piece, who have only played together for a few shows, were unbelievably tight, and seemed completely comfortable (albeit hot and maybe a little sweaty) playing underneath Spaceland’s multi-colored lights.

Speeding things up early on with totally radio-ready anthem “Friends Aren’t Friends,” Mazzaschi set a cheerful tone for the show, letting the lyrics fly over the crowd, who bopped along in that way only the driving melody of a pop song can make you bop (particularly one man in the front, the aforementioned Converse dancer, who perhaps bopped along harder than the rest of the crowd). Following “Friends Aren’t Friends” with “Black Magic Marker” from the band’s previous album, the crowd began to sing along and I realized, suddenly, that this was one of this first shows I’ve been to in a while where it seemed as though everyone in the venue was actually watching the band play with rapt attention, not looking around for people they might recognize, drunkenly making puppy eyes at a cute lady or gentleman, or some similar pursuit of the only semi-connected reveler. Each song jammed along harder than the last, and the combination of Sophia Male’s spacey, happy-go-lucky pop synths; Mazzaschi’s high, classic indie rock vocals; Nicole Fiorentino’s tight bass; and Byron Reynolds’ near-perfect drums, made for one of the best pop shows I’ve seen in a long time.

The polished performance combined with Mazzaschi’s casual stage presence, singing each song flawlessly and giggling while talking to the crowd, made it feel as though Spaceland was filled with his entire family and closest friends, while also feeling like we were in the presence of a band that really knew its stuff. The performance seemed incredibly earnest despite the musicians’ obvious mastery of their craft—which often leads to musicians coming off as disaffected and their performance seeming off-the-cuff and careless. Instead, Light FM revealed themselves as the best kind of band to see live—genuinely talented and committed to playing their songs well, but also fun and filled with youthful energy. It was clear that all five members of Light FM put their hearts into it, and the crowd certainly did the same. All you had to do to was look towards the front row, where you would find the most enthusiastic pair of dancing Converse in all of Los Angeles.

—Maud Deitch

Light FM “Black Magic Marker” @ boardners 10.21.08
Video by: elainelayabout