Leftover Cuties Live Review

Posted: May 19, 2012 by Esteban in Loud Music
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                When I first heard about Leftover Cuties, admittedly, I was a little skeptical. A ukulele in place of a guitar? Come on now… Nevertheless, my music journalist instinct saw something unique in this five piece outfit – and it wasn’t just the ostensibly adorable lead singer, Sirli McAllen, with whom, by the way, you should read our interview about. On the night of their record release party for Departures, I headed to the small, crowded Hotel Café on Cahuenga to watch them perform.

Arriving just as the opening band was hauling away their gear, I situated myself as close to the cramped stage as possible. As I watched Leftover Cuties set up, I wouldn’t help but notice the arsenal they packed in. The ukulele and accordion had been mentioned to me as a selling point of sorts, but the French horn, the maraca, the trumpet, and cowbell? Now I was excited. Read the rest of this entry »

Film Review – After Porn Ends

Posted: May 19, 2012 by Esteban in Featured Fuck, Preview
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Porn – the four letter word symbolizes a cornucopia of different associations for different people. Be it the stigma of cashing in on God’s anatomical gift or the exhilaration of voyeurism and the forbidden fruit, there is no doubting the explicit virtue of pornography. While many are arguing whether porn is an attribute or detriment to society, the rest of us are jerking off.

“Porn is proof that anyone can get laid” The director quips after the film.

According to Yahoo News, 68% of Americans watch or have looked at porn (and about 30% are liars). While the average pervert may enjoy porn, not a single fuck is given about what the porn star’s do when the cameras are off (stalkers withstanding). Believing in the on-camera persona is surely part of the allure of pornography, but when the clothes come on what are these fuck stars really like? How are their daily lives affected by their career choice? And what on Earth do retired porn stars do? These are just some of the penetrating questions explored in After Porn Ends, an all oral documentary of porn stars who have given up their lust in favor of life.

“Porn stars are people, too.” Shelly Lubben testifies in regards to the message behind the movie. Read the rest of this entry »

A Word With Leftover Cuties’ Shirli McAllen

Posted: May 15, 2012 by Esteban in Interview, Loud Music
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       Leftover Cuties are the only band to ever come out of LA with a ukulele, stand-up bass, drums, and accordion line-up (The accordion player is also sick with a piano and trumpet). Despite whatever imagery that might conjure up for you, they create unique soundscapes and have been since 2009. So unique, in fact, that they decided to do a whole album of other people’s song in their own style. It’s called Departures and you can find it at places that sell music on May 15th. The lovely and talented Shirli McAllen, Leftover Cuties’ singer and all around sweetheart, tells me about it and then some.

Read the rest of this entry »

Leftover Cuties – Departures

Posted: May 15, 2012 by Esteban in Loud Music
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           Every band dreams of doing a cover album. Performing other people’s songs in your own personal style is not only good practice for affluent bands, but just plain fun. While this might typically seem like a fruitless endeavor for a band in their beginnings, you don’t hesitate to put your unique style on display when you have a line-up that resembles that of Leftover Cuties – Shirli McAllen with sultry vocals, Austin Nicholsen on ukulele, Stuart Johnson on drums, Ryan Feves with Upright Bass, and Mike Bolger plays piano, trumpet, and accordion. Read the rest of this entry »

May Contest – Shameful Promotions

Posted: May 10, 2012 by Esteban in Contests
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May is notoriously the month of ambiguity. The kissing cousin of April Fools, May provides us with a chance to confess our would-be ill doings under the thin veil of wordplay.

“Look, man. I may have hooked up with your girlfriend while you were out of town. She may have been drunk enough to smoke through the filter of a cigarette. I may have invited her back to my place under the pretext of playing Jenga. But everything I just said may just be made up, and you may need to stop dating whores.”

Okay, I’m not fooling anyone. I just needed to get hat off my chest. Simply follow @UVulgarSFiend on twitter or like us on facebook and be entered to win this month’s free shit giveaway.

May’s winner will receive a bottle of liquor of their choice. You heard right – Free Booze, yo. And while you’re shitface plastered and leaning up against any blurring object that may or may not support your weight and may or may not be a rapist, whether it’s wandering the city streets or at one of the many upcoming festivals, be sure to take lots of pictures, as they may come in handy for winning next month’s contest (foreshadowing pending).

A grip of runners up will be looking fly in UVSF apparel.

It’s just that easy, folks and fiends! Don’t say the deviants of this world never did anything for you, because we got your back.

Tadasana Yoga and Music Festival Review

Posted: May 7, 2012 by Esteban in Events - On the Town, Loud Music
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[photos coming soon]

It is difficult to find a scene which compares to the serenity of the beach if one wishes to calm the mind, body and soul. Well, maybe a fat bong rip, but all the same the Santa Monica beach is infamously a den of tranquility for yuppies and yogis (one who practices yoga; not to be mistaken for a bear) alike yearning to enhance their calm.

Enter Tadasana fest (Ta-Da-Sauna), the first year of this soon to become annual gathering of yoga fanatics and new age music lovers, both of which there are plenty of on the Westside. While celebrity hippies and progressive musicians are abound along with the many intensive workshops and insightful lectures, we set out to discover what drives this emerging force of positive karma citizens. Why exactly does the yoga community have such a deep seeded desire for abundance in comparison to the average all-consuming Joe – to selflessly aid the community, local and abroad – what motivates the internal activism which manifests a cultural creative?

Not quite new age and far from hippies, this inclusive community is not rooted in spirituality, although many practice Taoism, Buddhism, Atheism, Christianity, and beyond. Allegedly improving external society begins with improving the internal self, seemingly the focal point of yoga; when coupled with optimal healthy eating it seems like a recipe for universal improvement. Who is to say what is selfish and what is selfless, be it wanton acts of hedonism or the mental masterbatory act of blogging… oops! Read the rest of this entry »

Guest Column – Recession Prompts Businesses to Shed Tabboos, Clothes

Posted: May 7, 2012 by Esteban in Featured Fuck, Shit Sucks News
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Nudity Has Long Offered Lucrative Edge, Historian Says

by Michael & Barbara Foster

As the economic recovery slogs from the worst recession since the Great Depression, businesses struggle to innovate, or else risk bankruptcy. Case in point: The Fawlty Towers Motel in Cocoa Beach, Fla. is allowing guests to take it all as of May 1.

After years of declining revenues, owner Paul Hodge was in a “make-or-break situation,” he told Florida Today. Rather than lose his motel, he was able to convince his wife that going nude was the best option.

Hodge hired a lawyer and consulted the American Association of Nude Recreation. He found nothing prohibitive in his state’s laws. In Texas, however, a nudist maid service had to reclassify the business as “sexually oriented,” which requires a permit. Read the rest of this entry »

Lucidity Festival – How to Fuck Up a Festival [Photos & Review]

Posted: May 3, 2012 by Esteban in Events - On the Town, Loud Music, WTF
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In the heart of the luscious Santa Barbara foothills, bass reverberates through fields of mud, creating a sticky, grime glazed dance floor embraced by all. Ran simultaneously with the first weekend of Coachella, it feels like a majority of would-be Lucidity denizens were absent. Although stacking the two events side by side is akin to comparing film and theater, committed attendees at either event were blissfully oblivious to music outside the confides of their event of choice. (See our Coachella Live Review coming soon!) Still, you think that would be something to factor in while planning a 3 day event. Pooling the resources of several similar neighboring communities – notably Grateful, Elevate, Enclave, Walkabout Woods, Dirty Beetles, and far too many more to list – creative minds converge as Lucidity takes on a unique shape during the weekend’s progression. Read the rest of this entry »

Cinco de Mayo Event Guide

Posted: May 1, 2012 by Esteban in Events - On the Town
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Whether you’re a vato ‘stache toting patriot or an alcoholic looking for any excuse to drink before noon, everyone loves Cinco de Mayo, (unless you are French, in which case, celebrate a day of sacrifice and lament). Getting drunk on Cinco de Mayo is as Angelenian as circumventing federal legal policy to purchase drugs from”licensed doctors”. Sure, you will likely go way over your party budget and end up hooking up with any number of muffin-topped minges, but it’s all in the honor of our hermanos who gave their lives for a country where the drugs come easy and the whores are cheap. Oh, we should also be celebrating Mexico, shouldn’t we? As if LA needs a reason to celebrate tacos and tequila more than we do on a daily basis, here are your top 5 fiestas around town. Read the rest of this entry »

Faux Pas Review

Posted: May 1, 2012 by Esteban in Grubbing Grounds
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“We don’t take ourselves very seriously.” The bartender says as she slides a guava and jalapeño mimosa my way.

“So all of this pretentiousness I am sensing, it’s all fake?”

A shit ton of rum + fruit = fruit punch + diabetes (diabetes sold separately)

She smiles genuinely. The glint in her eye washes the sarcasm from my words, turning my question into a statement.

Clad in an oaken décor, Faux Pas nestles itself comfortably off of a corner in Fairfax. Suits and sequenced dresses penetrate the red carpet entrance and mingle within. The terrain is diverse: with the bar in the center, the bistro sports a patio front, sunken seating by fireplace, numerous booths, and elevated tables with ambient lighting.   Read the rest of this entry »

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