Best of 2008!

2008. What a year. The residencies, the shows, the after parties, the blogs, the looks. 2008 is the year it really got hot in here!!!

Thanks for keeping it real, faithful East Siders.

LAESIRC would like to honor those who advanced the cause of indie rock on the East Side in 2008. Hold on to your hat cuz here comes LAESIRC's first annual AIRBORNE awards!

LA EAST SIDE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD:

AIRBORNE TOXIC EVENTS

After over a decade in the trenches paying dues and keeping the flame alive, 2008 was the Year of the Toxic Events! These guys have done more to put the EAST SIDE on the map than anyone since BECK, which is why LAESIRC has chosen to name our awards in their honor! And in 2008 we watched them overcome the heartbreak of a scathing 1.7 review in Pitchfork by hauling in boatloads of cash with some seriously posh placements (NBC, Lexus, Rolaids).

• • •

The AIRBORNE for BEST BAND 2008


Tie for First!

Henry Clay People
Le Switch
Monolators
Sweet Hurt
Seasons
Flying Tourbillon Orchestra
Hectors
Death To Anders
Rademacher
Radars to the Sky
Light FM
Fol Chen
Divisidero
I Make This Sound
Marvelous Toy

The AIRBORNE for BEST BLOG 2008

Tie for First!

Classical Geek Theatre
Web In Front
Radiofree Silverlake
Rock Insider
LA Buzz Bands
Feed Your Head Today
LA East Side Indie Rock Connection

The AIRBORNE for BEST EAST SIDE INDIE ROCK BOWLING ALLEY VENUE 2008

Tie for First!

Mr. T's Bowl
All Star Lanes

• • •

All right, guys -- get set for another HOT year on the EAST SIDE! In the words of our brand new slogan, INDIE 2009 - DON'T COUNT US OUT!!!

INDIE GOSSIP CONNECTION - Blogger & Singer Together??

IS A NEW INDIE COUPLE TAKING THE EAST SIDE BY STORM????

YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST!

KEEP READING FOR MORE FRESH, HOT INDIE ROCK GOSSIP BROUGHT TO YOU EXCLUSIVELY BY LAESIRC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!???????????

RADIOHEN / LIONS TOUR DIARY FINALE!!!

Last Night, Santa Barbara:

At this point in the tour I am in a perpetual state of exhaustion, even though I do almost nothing all day other than abuse the juicer in catering. I am so drained by the monotony that I lay down under the table in the green room before the show.

The last few shows have been in South California, so I've gotten a flood of requests for backstage passes. Here's a little secret about backstage: it is a spirit-sucking black hole of fun, combining the worst aspects of motels, convention centers and the waiting room at your dentist's office. If that sounds like your idea of a good time, please feel free to stay the fuck away from me on Halloween.

Before tonight's show I finally have a (very) brief conversation with RADIOHEN's Tom York, who I'm pleased to report is as tiny as I am. After the show, everyone hugs backstage and we get in the big white van one last time, setting our course for the EAST SIDE...

[Backstage Party Action, 2008-style]

[Ed's Pedal Board. Or Collin's. Not sure.]

How many bands IS IT OK for one Indie Rocker to play in????

JUST HOW FAR CAN ONE INDIE ROCKER GO?

LAESIRC went to the streets of the LA EAST SIDE to ask this question: HOW MANY INDIE ROCK BANDS CAN ONE INDIE ROCKER HANDLE?

With band member cross-overs such as The Monolated/Tiger Lilies/Shirley Holes, Flying Turdilon/Ladies and Genitals/Mother Soap, Full Chin/LIARS/Bathroom Walls, I Make This Fart Sound/The Damn Sells, Le Bitch/Le Bitch, Latemart/Mt. Everest, we wonder just how these indie rockers keep shit straight!

The answer is vague. Our Psych sources tell us Indie Rockers have issues with low self esteem, making them vulnerable to over commitment (problems saying NO!--which can also lead to teen pregnancy and other unwanted situations).

Keep questioning everything. Keep it INDIE! Stay tuned for the next Indie Rocker analysis brought to you exclusively by LAESIRC....

DAY 6- LOS ANGELES !!!

"At the Hollywood Bowl security is tight, meaning that you have to negotiate a human minefield of fake cops laboring under the notion that if they don't check your badge for the 100th time, JFK might get shot again. We play in broad daylight to a....erm..."modest" crowd, due in part to the fact that most people are still sitting in traffic. The first fifty rows are almost empty, except for the young couple in the front row on my side of the stage enjoying what appears to be a gourmet pizza.

"During Radiohen's set I meet up with the weird guy who used to run Sea Limit, the record store in Echo Park, and members of Silverstone Hiccups. Ultimately, I decide that security isn't so bad when one of the younger team members recognizes me from my current EAST SIDE band, Full Chin."

(FULL CHIN's Samuel Bing @ The Hollywood Bowl)

TOUR DIARY - DAY 5555555555

PORTLAND cont'd:

Radio Heads skipped straight from Seattle to San Francisco, so LIONS headlined last night's show at an INDIE club in Portland. It was like being back on the EAST SIDE! Within reason, of course. Nothing Portland has to offer can compete with Monday nights at SPACELAND, or Thursdays at SILVERLAKE LOUNGE or the delicious sting of a $3 Dewars on any night at THE ECHO. However, it was endearing to see the Portland Indie kids trying to create a real "scene." So cute!! Like witnessing a sickly baby deer trying to stand on its weak, spindly legs and walk like a healthy robust fully grown deer--so adorable!!

Anyway, when we had the day off, the drummer Julian and I watched Kindergarten Cop and a reality show about trying to work for Diddy in our room at the SF airport Days Inn.

In SF, we play a show with Tom Petty.

-S. Bing

(Angus from LIONS - INDIE style)

TOUR DIARY - DAY 4 - PORTLAND