I was initially planning to dedicate a few paragraphs here to the London Grammar show I attended last night at the House Of Blues, but Hannah Reid and her band are going to need more than a couple of paragraphs. Look for that tomorrow. For now, here are a few, cool music-y things that you may want to know about.
• El Cajon’s iconic ‘The Boulevard’ gateway sign is having a 25th anniversary and the city is having a party to celebrate. There will be an unveiling ceremony, food from local restaurants and an awesome music line-up that includes the Amandas, Daniel Jackson, Robin Henkel, Bart Mendoza, Gregory Page, Miss Erika Davies, Stephen Rey and El Vez & the Little Richards. It all goes down April 4 at the Lafayette Hotel and you can get more info here.
• The Vinyl Junkies Record Swap is back. The 6 hours of record power returns to the Casbah on April 5 and they’ve got some pretty cool guest DJ’s lined up. In addition to SoundDiego’s very own Daye Salani and Robin Roth, Brian Karscig of the Nervous Wreckords and Mitch Wilson of No Knife will each play selector. Dale Crover of the Melvins will close it out with a special 2-hour shift.
• Are you broke? Do you like Big Head Todd & the Monsters? If you answered "yes" to both of those questions, this one’s for you – Rock Bottom Brewery in La Jolla is hosting a free event with the band on April 2 at 4 p.m.. The Colorado quartet will be playing songs from their new album, as well as doing a Q&A with the audience and giving stuff away.
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• San Diego alt-rockers Danny and the Tramp just got their song, "Chase That Bunny," featured in an episode of MTV’s Real World. You can check it out when the episode airs on Wednesday.
• Local rock trio Boondock Brothers just landed a gig at SDSU’s Open Air Theatre. By winning the college’s recent student-band search competition, they’ll be opening for a national headliner at the upcoming Greenfest. Last year Macklemore & Ryan Lewis helmed the sustainability-based festival, and this year’s big act will be announced on April 7.
• Record releases this week: The Belle Brigade, Boy George (US), Caetano Veloso, Future Islands, Grieves, Johnny Cash, Liars, London Grammar (US), Miles Davis, Owls, the Bad Plus, the Hold Steady and Tokyo Police Club.
Pick of the week: Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks at the Casbah on Saturday. I’m not a huge fan of their January-released Wig Out at Jagbags, but the ex-Pavement frontman has a great band and always brings it live (even without Janet Weiss). Speedy Ortiz opens and, as you’d expect, it’s sold out.
Blogger Scott McDonald covers music in San Diego for a few different publications and is the editor of Eight24.com
