Tag Archives: west hollywood

BLUES BOUND

social-d

SOCIAL DISTORTION HEADLINES H.O.B. 

Fullerton-launched rockers Social Distortion are bringing the band’s crankin’ collection of hard-rock hits to the Sunset Strip’s House of Blues next week, headlining sold out shows December 13 through 15.

HOBSocial D returns to the Strip again for three nights of sold-out shows December 27 through 29.

L.A. fans that couldn’t get tix to any of the December shows can still catch Mike Ness and crew rocking their hits alongside future-classics from Social D’s latest release, Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes,at the band’s January 20 H.o.B. show. Unlike their January 19 concert, fans can still get tix to the January 20 gig via House of Blues’ website.

The band’s series of House of Blues shows is being presented by KROQ, the legendary L.A. radio station that championed the O.C. band back in the day long before the sold-out international tours.

Wow! For those keeping score at home, that’s eight mostly sold-out shows at House of Blues! We’d like to see Bieber try to accomplish that s#%t!

Sunset Soul

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GODFATHER OF SOUL GETS A SHOUT OUT ON THE SUNSET STRIP

jb-500Late music legend James Brown is the newest icon to receive a rockin’ tribute via Sunset Boulevard’s Gibson Guitar Town outdoor art installation of towering hand-painted guitar sculptures that are ubiquitous throughout the famous Strip, from Doheny to Crescent Heights.

Evocative of the iconic rock-and-soul singer’s electric flair, the fab and funky 10 foot tall Les Paul guitar dedicated to JB features a badass monochromatic portrait and colorful splashes of lightning-blue accents that give added radiance to the black and pink guitar body and fret board.

Appropriately, the tribute to Brown, who passed away in 2006, is set on hollowed ground, on Sunset near Horn, in the former off-site second parking lot of the equally legendary but defunct Tower Records Sunset.

Strange Currencies

WeHo Art

SUNSET STREET ARTIST PAYS IT FORWARD IN INGENUITY

A1We noticed the curious graphic above on the back of a Sunset Strip stop sign and thought it was cool. Later, we randomly spotted it again in another format and were truly impressed.

Ingeniously, the mystery artist adhered the graphic to a fence in front of the legendary Sunset Tower hotel, dissecting it so that it organically forms into a cohesive image as you pass by. Priceless! Check it out below.

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art

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L.A. Woman

Becca

STREET ARTIST BECCA MIDWOOD ART-BOMBS WEHO & LEAVES BEHIND SEXY HIPPIE CHICKS READY FOR THEIR CLOSE UP

Austin-based artist Becca Midwood has been busy over the past few months art-bombing her way across the country, gifting cities with some very cool original art, including the large, colorful painting above, which we discovered recently in West Hollywood. The colorful life-size foxy lady covers a door on a shop across the street from the legendary Troubadour, near Santa Monica Boulevard and Doheny.

SAMSUNGWe spotted another original piece by Becca earlier in the summer, when we posted about her smokin’-hot hand-painted art that still adorns the side wall of the Sunset Strip’s Viper Room. Other work — both street art and murals commissioned by the Viper Room — have covered the wall on Larrabee Street over the past few months, but Becca’s sexy image of a scantily clad rocker chick and her tattooed pink pal have remained untouched. Today, it sits beneath a huge mural of ex-Viper Room owner Johnny Depp. Check it out below.

See more of Becca’s L.A. area creations at Unearth Street Art and check out her interview with The Hundreds for the stories that influenced her hip and sexy pop art.

Viper Room

Sunset People

Roxy

‘I LOVE THIS CITY’: WEHO’S ROXY THEATRE GETS COLORFUL WITH BADASS NEW CANVAS BY L.A. ARTIST ANNIE PREECE

The Sunset Strip continues to champion the electric and eclectic work of cool local artists with the latest addition to its ever-changing roster of urban art that dots the world-famous Boulevard.

Los Angeles artist Annie Preece, a San Francisco transplant, explores the esoteric and bizarre side of the City of Angeles in a wild and wonderfully offbeat painting that’s currently rockin’ a wall of The Roxy. See more of Annie’s awesome art here.

Rock This Way

Aerosmith

AEROSMITH AND WHISKY SERVED ON SUNSET

SAMSUNGWe were stoked recently while rolling the Sunset Strip and randomly stumbling upon iconic band Aerosmith rockin’ the Whisky A Go-Go — even if it was only via huge posters that cover the exterior walls of the equally legendary rock club. Spotting the awesome art hyping the band’s latest release, Music from Another Dimension, put a whole new rock and roll swagger in our walk.

Fully Loaded

Warner Drive

WARNER DRIVE DEBUTS NEW SONG, ‘KING OF SWING,’ WHILE GIVING HOUSE OF BLUES A CRASH COURSE IN HOW TO ROCK

Never say Monday nights in L.A. are boring because local buzz band Warner Drive proved that it just ain’t so. The five-piece power-rock band shook the amps at the Sunset Strip’s House of Blues on December 3 with a spectacular set from their arsenal of original arena-ready rock songs. The band also premiered an awesome new track from WD’s upcoming third studio album, due out in early 2013.

Jonny LawFrontman Jonny Law, sporting a NOFX T-shirt, set things off with the melodic rocker “Ok K-Go” from WD’s latest release, K-Go!, and immediately had the packed venue moving and grooving with a frenzied fervor of rock and roll ecstasy that would make Fat Mike proud.

Confident that they have the chops to keep the crowd amped for the band’s entire set, Warner Drive choose to crank up its signature song, “The Scarecrow,” early in its set, and judging by the audience’s enthusiastic reaction and sing-along, it was apparent that most of the crowd was here for WD, which was opening for Steel Panther.

kgoWarner Drive rounded out its set with nearly a half-dozen tracks from K-Go! and a few more from the band’s 2005 debut, Fully Loaded, before showcasing a rockin’ new tune, “King of Swing,” which Law penned as a tribute to his dad, who, he mentioned, recently passed away from leukemia.

“But this isn’t a sad song,” Law said before launching into the anthemic rock jam whose chorus promises that “everything is gonna be alright” and proves that Warner Drive – which also includes bassist Elvis James, drummer Jonny U and guitarists Ryan Harris and Candice Levinson —  is only getting more awesome with each gig.

Warner Drive’s ‘House’ Party

Warner-Drive

SUNSET STRIP FAVES WARNER DRIVE TO ROCK H.O.B. WITH SURPRISE SHOW & PRE-PARTY WITH FANS, DEC. 3

Great news for L.A. music fans looking for something a bit more exciting than sitting around listening to stale Christmas carols and re-watching It’s A Wonderful Life for the zillionth time on Monday night. Instead, why not get your face rocked off by some full-throttle, straight-forward original rock and roll by local faves, Sunset Strip refugees Warner Drive?

261178_391071537639587_588980207_nFrontman Jonny Law and the band have just confirmed a last-minute gig filling in as the opener for Steel Panther at West Hollywood’s House of Blues on Monday, December 3. Warner Drive is slated to rock the main stage at around 9:30 p.m.

Fresh off its first European tour, the L.A. band is working on its third studio album and will be showcasing some new tunes from the 2013 release! (Although, we’ll never get tired of hearing “The Scarecrow” or “OK K-Go” from WD’s latest album, K-Go, and the badbass ballad “Broken” and “Viper Room” from their debut, Fully Loaded!)

Plus…it gets better! The House of Blues is hosting a pre-party for Warner Drive in the club’s upstairs VIP lounge, the Foundation Room. Fans can inquire about the pre-party when they show up and will be directed to the WD bash. Doors open around 8 p.m.

Check out Warner Drive’s Facebook page for all the details. See you at the show!

In Bloom at Roxy

CYRCLE FLEXES FLOWER POWER ON THE SUNSET STRIP

Prolific and stellar street artists Cyrcle have covered the side wall of the  Sunset Strip’s Roxy with a very cool, colorful political statement. Or maybe they just like flowers. Either way, congrats to Cyrcle on another very cool addition to the Sunset scene.

Sunset Strip Shot o’ the Day

SUNSET PEOPLE

A slick street artist — and apparent fan of Poe, A Clockwork Orange, Rob Zombie (maybe) and everything Goth — has added some cool pavement art to the Sunset Strip in front of the Viper Room in West Hollywood.

Marilyn Manson Bringing ‘Dope Show’ to SSMF


MARILYN MANSON, OFFSPRING TO HEADLINE SUNSET STRIP MUSIC FEST!

If you’ve attended the past Sunset Strip Music Festivals you know how awesome it was seeing Motley Crue, Ozzy, Slash and Smashing Pumpkins rock the Sunset Strip. But now comes news of something even more stellar: Marilyn Manson has been announced as this year’s headliner! Plus, Orange Country rockers The Offspring are also on the bill, along with a tribute to iconic L.A. band The Doors!

Bad ReligionAnd just when you think the lineup couldn’t get any better…badass L.A. rockers Bad Religion (right) are also scheduled to bring the band’s timeless classics to the Strip! This is quickly shaping up to be SSMF’s most incredible lineup yet.

See all you headbangers at the fest! Stay tuned to SunsetandClark.com for more details as they unfold!

Walkway to Heaven

WEHO SHOWS ZEPPELIN A WHOLE LOTTA LOVE. AND A TYPO.

Mom always says to keep your head up, but sometimes it pays to glance down now and again. Case in point: We spotted this random and rockin’ sidewalk etching tribute to Led Zeppelin on Hancock Ave., just south of the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood.

Sure, it’s misspelled, but, you know, it’s only rock and roll — and we like it!

Remembering River

Viper Room

SIDEWALK TALK

Nearly 20 years after River Phoenix died on the sidewalk outside of West Hollywood’s Viper Room, fans still leave tributes to the late actor-musician at the infamous site. The former Aleka’s Attic frontman and iconic young star of My Own Private Idaho and Stand By Me was 23 when he overdosed on Oct. 30, 1993.

Every year in late October, the walkway in front of the rock club is beset with candles, photos, hand-witten notes and other memorials. A fading graffitti message, shown above, is scrawled on the pavement outside the venue’s side entrance.