OK, So Just What Do They Like?

Two of L.A.’s prescient bookers--Mitchell Frank (Spaceland, the Echo, et. al) and Paul McGuigan (formerly of the Troubadour, now with Goldenvoice)--zero in on hot bands.

Frank

Silversun Pickups. “Indie rock-grunge act with melodies.... I am a person that enjoys good vocals, interesting melodies, good performances, good musicianship, and something a little bit off the beaten path.”

Moving Units. “Postmodern punk rock that updates the Factory Records sound.”

Dengue Fever. “They’re a different kind of band and performance, I can’t describe it.” Cambodian-born Chhom Nimol sings in her native tongue, and the band reworks jazzy saxophones and droning guitars into a fresh version of Cambodian pop.”

Autolux. “They have been getting very big locally--they sell out the Troubadour or bigger venues. I don’t wanna jinx them; they’re just a great band.”

Tyde. “Last year, their record was [among English pop weekly] NME’s top 50 best records, but they got no local play. Some of the members are in the Beachwood Sparks.”

Tape. “They’re just edgy and interesting. They are doing our Monday-night residency in August.”

McGuigan

Autolux. “As a band, I think Autolux is really gonna take off. It’s dark rock, a bit like Jesus and Mary Chain, but not as noisy.”

The psychobilly scene. “It’s mostly bands like Necromantics, from Denmark. It’s a good example of a band that comes over here and gets a thousand kids that you probably wouldn’t see at other kinds of shows, going out really being part of the subculture, really throwing themselves in the scene the way people might have done a few years back with punk. It’s still very underground. Those shows take place in bowling alleys and rented-out spaces, but I see those starting to come into the mainstream a little more.”

The Kinison. “They’re a great, great band. There’s a whole trend of post-At the Drive-In bands--kids who were exposed to that rawness and energy in music. It’s almost the way punk rock was, say, in the ‘70s, when it kind of inspired people to pick up instruments. At the Drive-In inspired a lot of kids, and now that they are gone, there is a slew of bands trying to fill that gap.”