tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375137698788237272024-03-05T05:45:33.612-08:00The Monrovia RenaissanceYour guide to the exploding monrovia music sceneFrancishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12175487067714891521noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537513769878823727.post-71014702317545378062012-03-24T02:32:00.006-07:002014-06-15T17:18:36.660-07:00Finally, from the King of Trash Pop
Nearly a decade into his ambitious project Dance America Dance, Monrovia's musical mad scientist Desmond Thesman, 25, has finally let slip a bit of his progress. The title track, featured here, is not strictly new. Though this is the first time it's been released, the song was among the first Thesman conceived when he began planning his genre-bending assessment of the state of music in Francishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12175487067714891521noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537513769878823727.post-65851974932671885562012-02-16T18:37:00.000-08:002012-03-27T08:34:08.223-07:00Fresh Sounds: Jared Valenzuela's "Sleepless Nights"Winter seems to have just woken up and grabbed its coffee, and yet some are already anxious for summer to amble over once again (though The Heepers probably aren't among them). This seems to be the sentiment behind the new track "Sleepless Nights" from six-stringer Jared Valenzuela. A supporting member of his previous band Toma, which was a crowd favorite at the most recent Monrovia High Battle Francishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12175487067714891521noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537513769878823727.post-85702246037738910452012-02-08T01:33:00.000-08:002012-02-08T01:33:25.430-08:00Monrovia Nightlife: Mystery Alley
For the crowd that filled a nook of apartment buildings deep in the heart of Monrovia on the 4th of February, the night was nothing short of pure, unfiltered joy. Those gathered had the great fortune of being a part of what could be described as a "life-changing experience" or "really cool." This was the second performance by the presently-titled Mystery Alley, a collective that may prove Francishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12175487067714891521noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537513769878823727.post-35914576370618103182011-11-19T14:27:00.001-08:002011-11-19T15:12:15.430-08:00State of the RenaissanceMy fellow tune-addicts, keyboard ticklers, twangers, boppers, hipsters, hopsters, headphone heroes and all the rest, I assure you:
the Monrovia Renaissance lives on.
I owe you an apology, dear readers, as I had ceased updating my humble blog without notice or, until now, an explanation. My love of music in all its wild forms has carried me away from my hometown once more. For two months now, I Francishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12175487067714891521noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537513769878823727.post-6511493608030140402011-09-14T19:17:00.000-07:002011-09-16T13:40:02.841-07:00Sounds From the Little World
As sad as it can be to have a good friend go well out of reach, it makes it that much more exciting when that friend sends you a bit of their craft. Such is the case with the little demo we received from Monrovia's own musical knight-errant, Jee Wallis. Jee's wild spirit brought him infamy among the town's more traditionally-minded (some would say "closed-minded" or, better yet, "boring") Francishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12175487067714891521noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537513769878823727.post-41995835577881414882011-09-06T15:16:00.000-07:002011-09-06T15:16:02.037-07:00Post-Teens With HEEPS Of Talent
Summer is just about over, and that means it's time to start packing away the sunshine melodies and bring out the sad stuff. Luckily, a new band has just the thing to slap a wistful look on that sunburnt face. The Heepers, made up of guitarist/vocalist Ethan Felding, Jr., bassist Lenora "Lenny" Walker, and drummer Cameron Culan, weave tales of woe sure to leave you with bittersweet longing. Francishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12175487067714891521noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537513769878823727.post-81633668850326340762011-09-02T23:28:00.000-07:002011-09-05T23:16:03.819-07:00Into the Planisphere: The Tale of Freak Funk
You cannot call yourself a true Monrovian if you have not heard the wild, infectious rhythms of the genre taking our beautiful city by storm: freak funk. For several years now, our young ne'er-do-wells have been feeding rock and roll to the dog to make room for an exciting, imaginative dessert. Freak funk began with The Star-Town Troubadours, one of the most famous bands to flourish in the Francishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12175487067714891521noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537513769878823727.post-43433287723536846272011-08-22T01:11:00.000-07:002011-09-05T23:16:03.769-07:00Our Own Little Music Fest
The Monrovia Renaissance is proud to present our very own (hopefully annual) summer art and music festival: Jam Time! Most festivals are ridiculously long, some taking up whole weekends, and can cost hundreds of dollars. The Jam Time musical extravaganza will compress all that fun and excitement into just a few golden hours and will only cost zeros of dollars! Wowee zowee! Jam Time 2011 will Francishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12175487067714891521noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537513769878823727.post-68322389671610182282011-08-20T01:06:00.000-07:002011-09-08T23:44:50.441-07:00It Came From The Record ShopWhen I walked into Family Affair Music, Monrovia's landmark record store, I had no idea of just how life-changing my trip would be. I was there on a mission: to find the legendary bootleg 7" of Grape Grape's first and only concert, which took place at the Library Park bandshell in 1995. Searching the shelves got me nowhere, but I had a very reliable source tell me the bootleg was here. I decided Francishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12175487067714891521noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537513769878823727.post-52196004163085765182011-08-14T22:49:00.000-07:002012-03-28T11:58:47.325-07:00Check 'em Out: Sleepy Chameleon
The latest band to set off our radars is the hip and happening Sleepy Chameleon. We're not yet sure if dance-friendly bands with animal names are this year's trend, but we can guarantee that this group's sounds are out of this world. Sleepy Chameleon's music lies somewhere between the DJ set for the club in a daydream and the ambient sounds played in an extraterrestrial day spa. While the firstFrancishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12175487067714891521noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537513769878823727.post-48148243878378327582011-08-10T18:58:00.000-07:002011-09-05T23:16:03.777-07:00Fancy Guppy Gets Mean, Not ReallyJust an amount of time ago, Fancy Guppy released a new space-age track from their upcoming EP, With Soul and Vile. "Four Eyes" is certainly the most bubbly of the bunch, with its rudimentary backbeat and playful keyboard melody. Add a mood-twisting, eyebrow-twitching ending and what you have is the makings of a possible album-opener. The latest news from the Gup is that these releases are Francishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12175487067714891521noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537513769878823727.post-86818267369308288912011-08-02T20:56:00.000-07:002011-09-05T23:16:03.867-07:00Breakfast In Song With Boy CragoeMonrovia's notoriously bearded balladeer, Will Cragoe, joined us in our studios this past Sunday to record what would become the next installment in our Monrovia Renaissance Singles Series. Though better known as the force of nature behind the controlled chaos of Sunscribe, the faithful renderings of Toma, and the brutal blues of Skip, Cragoe is also a noted acoustic doodler, delighting in Francishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12175487067714891521noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537513769878823727.post-8443502408189673532011-07-29T11:25:00.000-07:002011-09-05T23:16:03.829-07:00Table Salt's Katie Gray Is Definitely KosherA couple of videos posted on Facebook caught the ever-attentive eye of the Monrovia Renaissance recently. They featured energetic cover songs by none other than Monrovia's own impressive songbird and key-tapper Katie Gray. One of Monrovia's more underground musical talents (though thankfully not for much longer), Katie recently began performing as one-half of the absolutely dynamicFrancishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12175487067714891521noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537513769878823727.post-38600119654178182822011-07-17T22:51:00.000-07:002011-09-05T23:16:03.742-07:00For Your Listening PleasureAnd now, the most anticipated announcement of the summer: the official introduction of our Monrovia Renaissance Singles Series! You already trust the Renaissance to bring you the most timely and exclusive information on the hottest Monrovia bands, and though this makes for an impressive resume, we refuse to stop there. Click on the "Singles Series" link above to to listen to rare recordings you Francishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12175487067714891521noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537513769878823727.post-69004764352752547822011-07-09T11:33:00.000-07:002011-09-05T23:16:03.810-07:00David Dirks Shows Off His SteezEasily the most eclectic of Monrovia's mental mavericks, David Dirks has been involved in countless, varied projects. The man's creativity seems to have attention deficit disorder as he shifts from more traditional band formats and music production to outrageous yet awe-inspiring performance art at the firing of a neuron. After his tenure as one half of Francishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12175487067714891521noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537513769878823727.post-40552972485853573252011-07-04T08:12:00.000-07:002011-09-05T23:16:03.757-07:00Ex-Monrovia Band Seeks Female VocalistThere's a saying in Santa Cruz, California that you can't leave without experiencing three things: the boardwalk, the falafel, and the frequent shows. Making its mark upon the latter is a band that got its chops here in Monrovia. Time Machine Modulus is the most wild and uncompromising group of young gentlemen ever to declare war upon the eardrums of the Monrovia masses, and their move Francishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12175487067714891521noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537513769878823727.post-24451192356980536372011-06-21T10:07:00.000-07:002011-09-05T23:16:03.735-07:00Fancy Guppy Spills Some "Miller"A few weeks ago electro-dance mystery men Fancy Guppy gave us a taste of their upcoming EP With Soul and Vile when they dished out “Brunch,” a soul-thudding, thrill-sputtering, and deceptively short aural adventure. Following close behind that release was this weekend’s leak of a brand-new and apparently unfinished track. Suggestively titled “Miller,” the song is closely related to its Francishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12175487067714891521noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537513769878823727.post-39358646667875896392011-06-18T11:58:00.000-07:002011-09-05T23:16:03.749-07:00Sunscribe: Out Of Hiatus?2010 saw the rise of many awe-inspiring bands, and foremost among them were notorious post-surf rockers Sunscribe. The brainchild of guitarist Will Cragoe, backed by brother and drummer Ben, and "bassist" Jeff Sizemore, these brutal bricoleurs were capable of summoning impressive blasts of sonic joy. Sunscribe was perhaps notable for winning 3rd place in the Monrovia High School 2010 Battle of Francishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12175487067714891521noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537513769878823727.post-63470484905225456632011-06-08T20:15:00.000-07:002011-09-05T23:16:03.794-07:00Dapper Lad Interview, Album DetailsMonrovia Renaissance recently sat down for an interview with Dapper Lad, DJ for sunny rap weirdos Jr. Planet League. The occasion for this cosmic chat is JPL's announcement that they have entered the studio to begin recording their self-titled debut album. This record has been highly anticipated ever since this duo - consisting of Dapper Lad and the quippy MC No Name -&Francishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12175487067714891521noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537513769878823727.post-84905898624008935162011-06-02T12:37:00.000-07:002011-09-05T23:16:03.849-07:00Delicious New Fancy Guppy
This week saw the release of a white-hot track off of Fancy Guppy's new EP With Soul and Vile. The song is called "Brunch" and showcases the mysterious group in fine form. For those unfortunate enough not to have seen this electro-orchestra's wild performances, this track serves as a perfect introduction. With its stuttering space-bass opening giving way to a thudding world percussion stomp, andFrancishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12175487067714891521noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537513769878823727.post-85350783709938732332011-05-28T22:10:00.000-07:002011-09-05T23:16:03.858-07:00The BeginningFor years now, an impressive cultural movement has exploded in the small Southern California city of Monrovia without recognition. Until now.
Monrovia's daring artistic revolution can no longer be kept a secret. An immense amount of creative energy is contained within the city's many marvelous musical acts, each of them pouring their very souls into their well-tempered craft. Now it is a crucialFrancishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12175487067714891521noreply@blogger.com1