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2014 GIBSON GUITARTOWN UNVEILED – FEATURNING HOMAGES TO JANE’S ADDICTION, STEVEN TYLER & THE VIPER ROOM

2014 GIBSON GUITARTOWN UNVEILED – FEATURNING HOMAGES TO JANE’S ADDICTION, STEVEN TYLER & THE VIPER ROOM

What is to be the final round of giant art guitar sculptures was recently unveiled at a special launch party event at Hornburg, West Hollywood.  The 2014 installment of Gibson GuitarTown on The Sunset Strip, features works paying homage to this year’s Sunset Strip Music Festival (SSMF) honoree Jane’s Addiction, as well as Day 2 headliner Empire of the Sun, Steven Tyler, Elton John, Freddie Mercury, David Bowie, Prince

THE 411 ON BIG DATA: ALAN WILKIS PROCESSES HIS NEW FOUND SUCCESS

THE 411 ON BIG DATA: ALAN WILKIS PROCESSES HIS NEW FOUND SUCCESS

Currently sitting at the top of Billboard’s Alternative chart with their all over the airwaves single “Dangerous,” Big Data have suddenly found themselves riding a massive “joywave” of success as they gear up to play Day 2 of SSMF 2014.
But before taking the stage in the middle of The Sunset Strip, band leader Alan Wilkis lays down a few do’s and don’ts of festival etiquette, recalls vivid childhood memories of being frightened by Jane’s Addiction and explains how Big Data’s new video is giving some fans a “confused boner.”
 
What other bands at this year’s Sunset Strip Music Festival are you most looking forward to checking out?
There are so many great ones… Excited to see Jane’s Addiction, Big Freedia, Mayer Hawthorne, also Fenech-Soler – I did a remix for those guys a few years ago.
 

THE VIPER ROOM IS FINALLY LEGAL! CELEBRATING 21 YEARS AS A LANDMARK ON THE SUNSET STRIP.

THE VIPER ROOM IS FINALLY LEGAL!  CELEBRATING 21 YEARS AS A LANDMARK ON THE SUNSET STRIP.

Opening its doors on August 14, 1993 with a performance by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, the intensely intimate, 200 capacity Viper Room has hosted thousands of legendary, “arena-sized” shows in its storied 21 year history.  To name a few: Johnny Cash, Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam, Oasis, Hunter S. Thompson, Green Day, Muse, Kings of Leon, Queens of the Stone Age, The Strokes, Smashing Pumpkins, the list goes on…
Offering music fans the chance to see mega-bands like these in a tiny club setting is what The Viper Room has become known for not only in industry circles but worldwide.  And for countless musicians, The Viper stage – given this legacy – holds a sort of reverent ethereal magic not found in any other room.

SATURDAY SAVIOR: FAILURE FOUNDER GREG EDWARDS ON FINALLY BRINGING FANTASTIC PLANET TO THE MASSES

SATURDAY SAVIOR: FAILURE FOUNDER GREG EDWARDS ON FINALLY BRINGING FANTASTIC PLANET TO THE MASSES

Officially disbanding in 1997 on the cusp of a career that was about to skyrocket into the stratosphere, L.A. based underground legends Failure have consistently maintained a mystique and word-of-mouth cult following for the past 16+ years.
In the short nine months since their reunion, the band has already garnered a direct support slot touring with longtime musical brethren Tool, co-headlined two nights at The Greek Theater for Cinquanta, and wrapped their own nationwide headlining tour.
Now in preparations for taking the stage in the middle of The Sunset Strip, Failure and guitarist/founding member Greg Edwards is looking forward to finally giving longtime fans the chance to hear live, the songs they’ve been incessantly playing on repeat for over a decade.
 

THE FAINT BRING THEIR DANSE OF DOOM TO THE SUNSET STRIP

THE FAINT BRING THEIR DANSE OF DOOM TO THE SUNSET STRIP

For almost two decades, Omaha, Nebraska based The Faint have been bringing their darkwave brand of dance rock to the ass-shaking masses around the world.  Now with their new album Doom Abuse, the band is back from a six year hiatus with their best received release since 2001’s cult fave Danse Macabre.
Taking their new tunes to the road, The Faint just recently wrapped a nationwide tour that included three back-to-back sold out shows at The Roxy Theatre.  On the final night of their residency, TSS.com was able to wrangle a moment with guitarist/bassist Dapose, who filled in the gaps, as to what finally brought the band back together to record one of their most poignantly urgent records to date.
 

GETTING “AVIATION HIGH” WITH SEMI PRECIOUS WEAPONS

GETTING “AVIATION HIGH” WITH SEMI PRECIOUS WEAPONS

One could say that Semi Precious Weapons made their leap to success here on The Sunset Strip.  The band (singer Justin Tranter, guitarist Stevy Pyne, bassist Cole Whittle and drummer Dan Crean), played their L.A. debut at The Viper Room, practically lived at Duke’s coffee shop and were amongst the headlining acts at the Sunset Strip Music Festival in 2010.
Now after a not-so-brief hiatus, SPW is back with a new album Aviation, featuring a hit single that’s garnering national radio play and has cracked the top 40 on Billboard’s Alternative chart.
Longtime friends of TSS.com, the band recently sat down at Oliver’s Prime – The Grafton hotel’s premiere new steakhouse – to enjoy some eats, drinks (note: Tranter only drank cocktails) and share stories of mischievous misadventure as they “Look to the Stars.”

†††: ASCENSION ON THE SUNSET STRIP

†††: ASCENSION ON THE SUNSET STRIP

Thus far (no pun intended) 2014 has been a big year for ††† (Crosses) – the new project from Deftones frontman Chino Moreno and Far guitarist/producer Shaun Lopez.  The band released their first full length record, which debuted at number 26 on the Billboard Top 200 and just recently sold out The Roxy Theatre on their break between Coachella weekends.
Amidst a crazy mid-tour schedule and a hailstorm of media requests, TSS.com was fortunate enough to snag a few minutes with ††† co-founder Shaun Lopez, who shared with us some “revelations” about the band’s upstart, his first Coachella experience and explains his fondness for a certain rather creepy song from Silence of the Lambs.
 
Give us a quick primer on how this whole project got started and your role in the band?

Steel Panther Comes Home With An ‘All You Can Eat’ Release & Party

Steel Panther Comes Home With An ‘All You Can Eat’ Release & Party

The Sunset Strip’s own spandex sheathed, hair-metal mainstays, Steel Panther, recently held a press conference of sorts at Hustler Hollywood, an oh so apropos location, to announce the release of their new sartorial opus, All You Can Eat.

 

The band, chaperoned by a bevy of booty shorts clad Hustler girls took questions from the “press” before launching into an acoustic set debuting songs from the new record, as well as fan favorites.

 

Later that evening, at the legendary Rainbow Bar and Grill, the guys took a short break from the afterparty to speak with TSS.com and reminisce a bit about the band’s long and storied history with The Sunset Strip.

 

 

2014 SSMF Expanding Street Fest To 2-Days In September, Partnering With Nederlander

2014 SSMF Expanding Street Fest To 2-Days In September, Partnering With Nederlander

The 2014 Sunset Strip Music Festival is getting ready to rock, announcing today that the seventh annual festival will be expanding the street festival component to two days — Saturday and Sunday — and moving to Sept. 19-21.

 

This year’s festival will kick off on Friday, Sept. 19 with its annual evening celebrating an artist or band who has made an impact on The Sunset Strip’s musical history. Last year SSMF celebrated Joan Jett, with previous honorees including The Doors, Motley Crue, Slash, Ozzy Osbourne and Sunset Strip venue founders Lou Adler, Mario Maglieri and Elmer Valentine. Live performances in The Sunset Strip’s venues — House of Blues, The Roxy, Viper Room and Whisky A Go-Go — will follow the celebration. 

 

Moving Units’ Blake Miller: Shaking Assets On The Sunset Strip

Moving Units’ Blake Miller: Shaking Assets On The Sunset Strip

For more than 10 years now, Los Angeles-based Moving Units has brought their brand of fevered indie dance rock to the booty shaking masses. The recent release of the band’s third LP, Neurotic Exotic, finds frontman and Moving Units founder Blake Miller reasserting himself as the sole member of the “group,” having broken away from the other original players.  

 

Speaking with TSS.com, Mr. Miller brought us up to speed on his newly single musical status, reminisced about his teenage Kate Moss infatuation and shared his envious passion for women’s figure skating outfits.

 

 

The recently released Neurotic Exotic is the first Moving Units album sans the other original members. How did the song writing/recording process differ? 

 

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