Turns out that living somewhere in Long Beach, there is a random quinquagenarian named Kurt Benbenek (according to the internet, he used to play in something called “the Shatners”) who can crank out three or four albums a year of self-written, self-recorded, lyrically dense pop gems with the help of drum machines, more-than-decent guitar skills, and discreet, effective sample-looping. Consider “Shopping Malls and Booty Calls” off his latest album, built around an instrumental break from the beginning of “I Got You Babe,” which has harmonies like “Give me a box of that fruit juice, man!” It’s like an alternate-reality Beck, the kind who’d prefer L. Ron Hubbard’s sci-fi to his self-help. And he cares about things: “Making People Cry for Fun and Profit,” one of my faves, is all imagery about angels and devils in the sky and desert mysticism interlaced with the “bees” and “fleas” of factories and prisons, supported by a mod guitar syncopation and Monkees-esque groovality. He’s critical, yet warm—in “I’ve Got a Flare for Setting Fires,” he even stops his chorus mid-stream, changing “nothing to say” to “wait … everything to say!” It feels good to say that, despite all the talented kids screaming on the floor of Mime School, some of the best music around is made by an old loner in his Long Beach bedroom. And he has a blog!

(Available from Houseplant Picture Studios)

—Dan Collins

The Fling “Wanderingfoot”
(From When Madhouses Appear out now on Lady Monk)

Beta Band and Big Pink meet Black Mountain. “Dry the Rain” is not a cover but a sophisticated late Beatles-esque 12/8 ballad layering harmonies over piano, shaker and an acoustic guitar; “Wandering Foot” shows off drummer Justin Ivey on a deceptively simple beat laced with unexpected syncopation and precise fills. The album achieves that difficult balance between cohesion and contour: that is, each song has its own silhouette, but is clearly part of the same landscape. The lyrics are melancholy— dying (“I’m up here with nothing left to do/so I wait for death to come follow you”) and love (“Creepin’ out the backdoor/do it all again/find a place to hide away from you”). Despite a tendency towards the dramatic, they sound heartfelt and personal—an unfiltered transcript of inner monologues.

—Kristina Benson

As the general public leaves the Night Dive crowd emerges. Grab a drink at our coffee cart or, if you prefer, guests 21 and over can enjoy a cocktail. The entire Aquarium will be available for exploring*, so check out the Aquarium’s nightlife and see how 11,000 animals spend their evenings.
Enjoy the sounds of an eclectic mix of music as DJs will be spinning throughout different areas of the Aquarium, as well as live performances by favorite local musicians. In addition, the Aquarium of the Pacific has partnered with Arts Council for Long Beach to invite local artists to display and sell their pieces.

Performances by:
Lemon Sun
Jail Weddings

Guest DJs: Chris Ziegler (L.A. Record), 
Jesse Gomez
, Secret Affair DJs, 
Lithuanian Prince

When: Friday, Jun 25, 2010
7:00 pm–10:00 pm

Cost: $11.95. Aquarium members get in FREE.

Tickets: You can purchase tickets online for this event. Ages: 18+. Alcohol will only be available for purchase to those 21 and over who have valid ID. RSVP: (562) 590-3100, ext. 0

The Cabeza de Vaca Arcestra continues its exploration of the relationship of sight and sound on Friday night at the Art Theatre in Long Beach as they provide the live score for Häxan, Benjamin Christensen’s eerie Danish 1922 silent docu-drama about “witchcraft through the ages.” Arcestra vocalist (and former Centimeter and current Fancy Space Person) Nora Keyes answers a few questions (and creates many new ones) via e-mail after our initial face-to-face interview was spoiled by ambient noise. Responses printed verbatim. This interview by Tom Child.

Hi Nora. It’s Tom from the interview the other night. Just wondering if you’d be willing to answer a few more questions. Apologies for the e-mail interview format. I know at times it can feel like a school test.
Nora Keyes (vocals): No! I am Tom. You are stupid. Maybe even retarded… although I do find you rather attractive. in fact, I love all people of Sports.
Your vocal work can feel so otherworldly and temporally unfixed. What are some aspects of life in contemporary Los Angeles that inform your music? What other kinds of things inspire you when you are singing or writing music?
Nora Keyes: I’m so glad you ask me that questions; I want introduce my new family—it’s weird beautiful flowers! Their body is all swell, and opening mouth and talking something mmm…aaaa～ They loves warm and now out side is still cold; so i care them so much. so cute guys! I want show you!
Has anyone ever been so unnerved by your vocals that they were subsequently nervous to meet you? Have you ever been substantially unnerved by your own vocals during improvisation?
Nora Keyes: I will kill you. With a special rose-flavored syrup. Then you will die.
What are some things that you find unsettling and why? Are there any musicians whose work makes you uneasy in a primal sense?
Nora Keyes: I don’t understand why all of you music journalists are so obsessed with this sort of thing lately; I mean, who gives a shit, pardon my Enochian… ya know? Sweet Saint Germaine, I mean, really… no offense. Actually I do want to thank you for that great outing the other day to the Pit at the Bottom Of The World. I never knew that glazed donuts could be so tasty, or that pigs only went into the slaughterhouse, and never came back out. I was sad at first, but after a while I felt a little bit like one might fancy a sensible, regular person awaiting the return of the Elder Gods might feel, ya know? RL’YAH, C’THUL’U F’TAGN!!!!
What do you enjoy most about working with the Arcestra? How is singing with the Arcestra different from your solo work or your work with other groups?
Nora Keyes: Wow… Well, I’m sure you know just how very personal this question is to me—and to my career. Wait—are you aware that every second we’re alive means we’re two seconds closer to death? Oh—you knew that? Well, whatever. You don’t have to totally humiliate me in front of everybody just because we had all that ridiculous ‘sexting’ that one time when I thought you were my doppelganger.
I read your interview with Rich Polysorbate for No-Fi in which you talked about waking up as a child and seeing miniature hurricanes traveling around the bed.
Nora Keyes: For one thing, I never woke up as a child, so I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about here.
Do you have any other stories of the unexplained or paranormal that you would be willing to share?
Nora Keyes: Yes. Quite a few, actually.
If you could pick one movie to re-score yourself, which film would it be and why?
Nora Keyes: As my mother always said, ‘AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA—AAAA GRRAAAGGGHHHHFFFFTHHAAAGH!!!’
Thank you very much for talking with me the other night, Nora. I know you’re busy so I really appreciate your time. See you on Friday!
Nora Keyes: YOU AND YOUR EVIL STALKER THREATS HAVE BEEN DULY NOTED.

THE CABEZA DE VACA ARCESTRA PERFORMS A LIVE SCORE TO HAXÄN ON FRI., FEB. 19, AT THE ART THEATRE, 2025 E. 4TH ST., LONG BEACH. MIDNIGHT / $10 / ALL AGES. MONDOCELLULOID.COM.

Download: Magic Lantern “At The Mountains Of Madness”

(from the self-titled LP out now on Woodsist!)

Get you this now! From Magic Cameron:

FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS:

In the run-up to the PLATOON release (it’s coming, peeps…at the plant), WOODSIST has repressed the LANTERN self-titled LP with new full-bleed artwork, extending the POWER of these VIBES. they are also selling the record digitally and including a bonus track to sweeten that deal…and outtake from the PLATOON sessions called BANYAN SHRINE.

ORDER VINYL HERE

BUY DIGITAL HERE

PEACE OUT

LOVE,
SUN ARAW

All the info for tomorrow’s Party Weirdo fest in Long Beach!

Download: Gangi “Commonplace Feathers”

(from A out now on White Noise)

L.A. RECORD cover alum Gangi (now with drummer Chris Hathwell from Moving Units/Festival of Dead Deer) join fellow L.A. RECORD graduates Dead Meadow, Restavrant, 60 Watt Kid, Rainbow Arabia, Scotty Coats and more at Long Beach’s first-ever Party Weirdo fest this Saturday! We’ll be DJ-ing the main stage in the evening and then enjoying the rest of the fest and especially looking forward to Pubes dropping in from orbit for an obliterative finale. All ages until 10 PM so please come and visit if you can!

L.A. RECORD is happy to team up with the Academy, WESC and Crush Brothers to present this all-day-til-last-call event in downtown Long Beach at the Basement with L.A. RECORD alums like Dead Meadow, Rainbow Arabia, Restavrant, 60 Watt Kid, Scotty Coats and our superhuman Cha Cha buddy DJ Pubes plus many more! Stay tuned for more updates and info and hope to see you there!

Download: BASTARD “Deflecting Bullets (With The Power of Rock ‘n’ Roll)”

BASTARD is from East L.A.—born and raised in the San Gabriel Valley. They are a force to be reckoned with—deflecting bullets with the power of rock. The sound is a mix of influences from kids who stayed true to their punk and metal roots, reminiscent of early Motorhead with a little bit of the Stooges mixed in. This interview by Taeil Kim.

Do you guys consider Echo Park and Silver Lake the Eastside anymore?
Dana (vocals/bass): East Side of what? East L.A. you mean?
Well, yeah—wait, is this the first interview for you guys?
Daniel (drums): Pretty much.
Dana: We did an interview with Flash Rock. We played a show at the Dragon Fly and they were interviewing all the punk rock bands there.
You guys aren’t necessarily a punk rock band, though.
Dana: We have the influence, you know. The rawness of punk rock. The rawness of the Stooges.
So would you consider Echo Park the Eastside?
Fernando (guitar): Oh, as in ‘East L.A.’? Yeah, I guess. Kind of sort of. There’s that hipster scene out there now but if you go further east there’s that scene of punk and hardcore coming out of there.
Dana: I don’t think we even tried much to get shows out there. We should. We played a show at Highland Park but I don’t know if it’s considered that part of the area.
Fernando: We play a lot at Mr. T’s Bowl but we don’t play at all in that area. You kind of have to know somebody to get in those type of clubs [in Echo Park].
Daniel: We have a lot of great bands out here but it’s all kind of spread out you know. The rock ‘n’ roll scene is always spread out [in the Southland]. I notice the gloomy rock stuff is coming back though—real slow stuff. But we play fast.
First there was this huge trend of ridiculously fast bands. All these grindcore bands like the Locust were out. Then now there’s this scene of thrash revival bands but you guys stand out because you don’t have that retro thrash sound. What got you guys going with this?
Dana: I was in a band called Rocky Dennis. It was a grindcore band and when that fell apart we had this band called Jesus the Conqueror. It was Dan on drums and Fernando on guitar and I was doing vocals strictly. I got on bass and just crushed that band to get Bastard started.
Fernando: Me and Big D were playing in a full on metal band with double bass drums and we wanted someone with ‘Aaaahhhhh’ vocals. [Starts to scream like Rob Halford.] So when Dana got in the band he didn’t want to rock the mic. He kinda was like, ‘Fuck it’ and started playing bass. So it kind of went from being metal to more rock ‘n’ roll.
Dana: I’m from Rosemead, Daniel’s from South Rosemead, and Fernando’s from San Gabriel.
Fernando: We all met up through skateboarding and smoking weed. I guess we all hung out because we liked smoking weed and drink beer together pretty much. [laughs]
You know that entire Spazz-Charles Bronson-thrashcore scene seemed to have a following for a little bit, but they never had any real press. But I noticed kids all over the East side were into it. Was it all built up through word of mouth?
Fernando: When we first started we were all part of the same scene so a lot of what we got into was through word of mouth, or you know—we saw a sick-ass random band playing the show.
Did you guys read any zines? Do you guys even have a place in Rosemead to pick up a copy of L.A. RECORD?
Dana: Uh, no. We don’t have any real record stores out here in Rosemead so alot of music and zines weren’t available to us. We got the Montebello Mall here with a music store but it sells shit.
Fernando: They got Mercyful Fate. I mean, they got some good old stuff. But you just can’t find good new shit.
Do you have a network of guys you play with outside of L.A. County?
Fernando: Oh hell yeah. We’re down with the guys in Nihilist. They’re thrashers just like us out of Carlsbad. They’ve hooked us up with shows playing out there in San Diego.
You guys grew up with the hyperfast thrashcore scene, but you guys have more of the old school speed-metal sound like Motörhead.
Dan: We fucking love Motörhead. We’re waiting for our Lemmy figurines—we got them through mail order along with our Russian brides.
Who designed the band logos?
Daniel: I do most of ‘em. I go to ELAC. [laughs] It’s a UC for poor kids who live in East L.A. [entire band is now laughing] I do my shit with Photoshop and these guys don’t do shit.
Dana: I don’t do shit but write the music.
Fernando: I’m computer illiterate.
Where do you guys like eat around here?
Dana: Oh, I know what this guy likes to eat at. [points at Daniel] It tastes like shit. Daniel likes to eat at this restaurant only drunk people would go to. It’s called J & S and it tastes horrible. It’s his favorite restaurant.
Daniel: My rebuttal to that is Dana lives off half microwaveable-half cooked hot pockets and poorly crafted corn-dog bites.
Dana: Fuck you, that was only today.
Are Buds your favorite beer? I noticed that’s all you guys are drinking.
Dana: No. Economy-wise, it is our favorite beer. But we have an array of beers we would like to drink over this.
Such as?
Daniel: Beck’s. Germany’s fourth best.
Fernando: Fuck you guys. We don’t drink that green bottle shit. I’m down with Keystone.
Dana: Pabst.
What’s the shittiest of all beers?
Daniel: Non-alcoholic.

BASTARD WITH TYRANIS ON SAT., SEPT. 19, AT FERN’S COCKTAILS, 1253 E. 4TH ST., LONG BEACH. 9 PM / FREE / 21+. MYSPACE.COM/FERNSCOCKTAILS. VISIT BASTARD AT MYSPACE.COM/BASTARDROCKSYOURLAMEASS.

Download: Farmer Dave Scher “Bablone Nights”

(from Flash Forward To The Good Times out now on Kemado)

Farmer Dave Scher is almost the Chris Darrow of his day—he’s got the cosmic aplomb and the cheerful versatility to put him in collaborations with Elvis Costello, Jenny Lewis, Nobody and the Mystic Chords of Memory, dios, Miranda Lee Richards and more. He now lives in Venice, where he listens to KXLU—where he famously used to DJ—and where he is basking in the happy after-effects of his new solo album Flash Forward To The Good Times. This interview by Thomas McMahon.

Did you consider having the album be just ‘Farmer Dave,’ or did you need to have your last name on there to distinguish from other Farmer Daves?
Farmer Dave Scher: It just landed. It’s weird if you have a nickname—like the ‘Farmer’ nickname has been around since I was up at KXLU. I think that the last name sort of landed in the present a little more. Sort of like tethered the balloon somewhat.
Do you still listen to KXLU?
Farmer Dave Scher: Yeah—now that I’m living in Venice, I hear it much better and I’m excited. I couldn’t hear it when I was in Highland Park, and I was also on the road a lot the last few years. It kind of was like coming full circle to be able to hear it because that time at the station was pretty much what blew my mind—got everything going the way it is.
You give Long Beach a couple of shout-outs on the album.
Farmer Dave Scher: Yeah, I’m from there. I went to the high school downtown—Long Beach Polytechnic. Snoop Dogg was there, just a few years ahead. Sublime were playing in backyards at keg parties. And so it’s definitely always been on my mind, the LBC and all that. This particular record, I wanted to have a little fun like that—shout things out. The last record I made was a little more under the microscope, so this one I wanted to have a little fun with it like that. But, yeah, I’m stoked on Long Beach. I think I’m going to go play down there a bit. My friends have asked me to do something at the end of September. And then I used to work at Fingerprints down there when I was a young guy, so I might go play there, too. Either way, I like that city. When I would come home from tours the last few years, I would go there to chill out. It’s closer to beaches with good waves, and my family is there, and it’s relaxing. And it has good clubs and bands, and it’s happening a little bit.
Another place you mention is San Miguel de Allende.
Farmer Dave Scher: That’s in Guanajuato, Mexico, and my dad lives there. But if you ever look into it, it’s a beautiful town, and old colonial town that’s still pretty intact. Especially at the center of the town—it’s got the plaza and the church and the cobblestone. There’s also a lot of American expatriates there. A lot of GIs after World War II went down there and studied art or just chilled out. My grandfather went to Instituto Allende and studied fine arts for a bit in the ’60s. And then my dad moved to Cabo San Lucas and ran a boat, kind of like a catamaran that gave people margaritas or something. And then he moved down to San Miguel, and he met a lady and got married, so I have a rad family there. I put in as much time there as I can. When I was playing with Interpol, we played in Mexico City, and my family all rolled down to that. So that was exciting. I know there’s a lot of cool stuff going on in Mexico City, so I’m hoping to get into that. I’d also like to make some of these songs into Spanish language. But I kind of want to do it the right way. I think I’m going to go down over Thanksgiving and work with a couple of my cousins. My cousin and my aunt are actually these hip young ladies, so I think they can help me.
Are you talking about doing the whole album in Spanish?
Farmer Dave Scher: At least a few of the songs. I don’t think all of them are built for it, but I know a couple of them would be really fun. And here we get some records once in a while where people are using English as a second language, you know? Even ABBA or Shakira or Nico. I think it could be a little bit charming if my Spanish isn’t perfect. But yo puedo hablar Español un poquito—you know, I can do it.
Would you say that ‘We Have a Way’ has a sort of Motown vibe?
Farmer Dave Scher: It does. I had some friends over to visit. One of them was ‘Z’ [Elizabeth Berg], who has that band the Like. She sang a little bit on a song, and then when I played her that, she pointed out that I absorbed a lot of vibes from my neighbors. This part of Venice I’m in, the family next door is African-American. They’ve lived there for fifty years. I wasn’t surfing as much when I made the record in the winter, but I’d ride my bike every day. And I think that they were always playing really good soul music, and I think it gave that song a little extra of that mood than I had thought at the beginning. I didn’t want to copy anything specific. 92.3 has that guy Art Laboe, who plays really good soul music at night, and then he does the dedications. I think that might have spun it a little bit. Aside from loving Motown a lot, the musicians on that song are also really proficient. If I had played the instruments myself, it probably wouldn’t have made it to that destination.
Was ‘Our Love Is a Wave’ inspired by a wedding?
Farmer Dave Scher: Yeah! I guess it’s like a composite of two different weddings, but it’s actually made for a third. I first started to think about that for my friend’s wedding a long time ago, but I never finished the words, so it sat there. Then other friends got married on a cliff by the ocean in Malibu, and me and the two violinists who played on my record, Paz and Ana Lenchantin—Paz is on the cover of L.A. RECORD right now; she’s in Entrance. So Paz, Ana and I were playing in a little trio at this wedding, so when they walked off, we played this really sad music. That was the second wedding. And then a third wedding up in Big Sur, also on a cliff. They got lucky—there was no fog, a full view north to south, like, panorama. So I started thinking about that and also the fairy tale aspect. I’m single as hell right now, but someday I feel like I’ll be ready to do that. That song is my kind of hopes for that mood, you know?
In one song on this album and a few of your earlier songs, you’ve mentioned ‘ghost dance.’ Are you referring to the Native American ritual?
Farmer Dave Scher: Yeah. From what I’ve learned about those ghost dances and what I imagined was just a lot of motion, transcendence—it seemed to be their last hope to make it to a new plane. But I get motion and color when I think about it. When I just think about it, I can hear sounds. Kind of like a little maelstrom. If you’ve ever really stirred up your chi or just tried to get something really cooked up, you get in this kind of frenzied spot. The Whirling Dervishes did it; the Sufi mystics would get into that. A lot of cultures—even Americans, even a rave. If you dance enough, you get to another spot. To me, the idea of a ghost dance is just even a little more fantastic. I feel like there’s something that’s hard for me to describe to you that’s just pushing on the edges of everything that you consider a daily reality. Even that scene in that Doors movie when he’s got the kid in the car and he looks out the window, and they put the Indian music in there, and they drive past an accident or something. I’m just trying to figure out a way to explain that mood I get. I start to hear these kind of sounds. And I just like the idea of it, of this particular kind of a dance. And I’m actually making another song about it with the Beachwood Sparks guys. We got together, and we’re writing.
What do you guys have in the works?
Farmer Dave Scher: Well, I think that we’ve got a good shot to make a record. It took a while, but I think that everybody’s in good form. I went up to Santa Cruz and wrote with Chris [Gunst] and Brent [Rademaker], and we hope to take the ideas and get them ready. I’d like to record at the end of the year if possible, but we’re taking it comfortably.
How has the music scene in L.A. changed over the years that you’ve playing?
Farmer Dave Scher: When I got out of college and moved to Echo Park for the first time, it was 1998, so I’d say that I’m not really a fit candidate to say how it’s changed. Because I think a lot of people at my age probably don’t go to shows the same. I used to be out at Spaceland every night, and when I was in my 20s, I was completely steeped in it. And then Beachwood Sparks—the version that we formed eventually that went off and started touring, and then you start to notice when you come home maybe you don’t want to get as involved, you know? It’s like different levels of activity. So I don’t think I really know a lot of what’s going on. But I will say that I’ve been on the road for about five years playing the hired-gun kind of a thing, and I would like to plug in more again and see for myself. I’d like to get more involved in a lot of the projects that are going on. I would say that dublab for me is really rad. I like to see the events that they’re teamed up in. This Silent Movie Theatre that I’m going to play at is very exciting. It seems like a chance to gather a lot of really interesting visual media and just have another approach to what a concert should be.
Are you still selling the Hot Nuts?
Farmer Dave Scher: I hung up that business when I started playing. But I had it based on an aunt’s recipe. And Danny Preston from Rainbow Arabia used to run a supermarket up in Malibu at Point Dume. So I’d go up there and use an FDA-approved oven, and I sold them at the Echo, Little Joy, Sea Level Records and a few other spots. And I sold them to the catering for that show The O.C. [Laughs.] That was a good one. So, yeah, now that I’m home and have a little more free time, I think I definitely have to revive the nuts.

‘AN EVENING IN THE FARMER DAVE ZONE’ WITH FARMER DAVE SCHER ON TUE., SEPT. 15, AT CINEFAMILY AT THE SILENT MOVIE THEATRE, 611 N. FAIRFAX AVE., LOS ANGELES. 8 PM / $13 / ALL AGES. CINEFAMILY.ORG. FARMER DAVE SCHER’S FLASH FORWARD TO THE GOOD TIMES IS OUT NOW ON KEMADO. VISIT FARMER DAVE SCHER AT MYSPACE.COM/FARMERDAVESCHER.