Temple of doom
Local. Music. Gossip.
A few weeks ago, we wrote about Light of Doom—five hard-rocking boys (ages 12 to 14) from Escondido competing in the Fox reality show The Next Great American Band. Light of Doom was one of 12 bands selected to compete on the show out of more than 2,000 applicants. Last we reported, the band had made it through the first round. Now, after seven eliminations, Light of Doom is among the final five bands.
Each week, Light of Doom has performed an original song plus a song by a legendary rock icon. For Bob Dylan week, the band performed “All Along the Watchtower.” “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting” was the song for the Elton John/Bernie Taupin week, and they picked “The Stranger” for the week dedicated to Billy Joel. During the Leiber and Stoller week (celebrating two of Elvis’ most prolific songwriters), Light of Doom sailed through “Jailhouse Rock” but struggled the following week with The Rolling Stones’ “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.” The band stayed alive—thanks to votes from viewers—and finished off last week’s episode with a rocking rendition of Rod Stewart’s “Infatuation.”
The winning band gets a contract with 19 Recordings. The next episode of The Next Great American Band airs Friday, Dec. 7, on Fox at 8 p.m. MS/lightofdoom.
Notes from the smoking patio
Touring bands inevitably run into problems on the road. If they’re lucky, the worst is an overheating engine or a broken air conditioner. If they’re not, they’re The Locust, whose van was burglarized during a recent tour stop in St. Louis. Thieves made off with cash, computers and pretty much anything else of worth. The band managed to limp back to San Diego and will play a homecoming show on Dec. 5 at the Epicentre, thanks, in part, to donations from fans and other bands. A web page has been created to collect donations for the band (www.threeoneg.com/relief), and donations will be accepted at the show.
More and more bands are including blogs on their websites. For instance, Switchfoot’s Jon Foreman has been posting frequently about the band and the staggered release of his four solo EPs. The first of the four, Fall, was released digitally last week with the rest to follow in early 2008. Tristan Prettyman has been keeping readers updated while recording the follow-up to 2005’s Twentythree. The new album, set for release in 2008, was recorded in England. Sara Watkins of Nickel Creek recently blogged about the final Nickel Creek shows in Nashville before the group calls it quits to pursue personal projects. “I went to my first ever hardcore show last night to see my friend’s band and I crowd surfed!!,” Watkins wrote. “DANG! I surfed all the way to the stage and the security guard had to let me over the railing.” One can only picture Watkins—usually seen singing sweetly with a violin in hand—as she discovered her inner punk. Watkins plans to tour after recording a solo album in early 2008.
Damo Suzuki of German art-rock band Can, will be backed by local musicians at his Dec. 5 show at Che Café—Rafter Roberts (Rafter), Dan Wise (Kill Me Tomorrow), Andy Robillard (Tell Mama), David Wightman (Powdered Wigs), Topher (SKU*Modal) and Zack Wentz (Kill Me Tomorrow). www.checafe.org.
The final San Diego Music Foundation workshop of 2007 will take place at the Lafayette Hotel on Dec. 8. The seminar, postponed from Nov. 17, will focus on “The Digital Age of Music” and feature panelists talking about how the Internet has changed the music industry. The speakers at the free seminar will include Mike Halloran (94/9), Anya Marina (musician, DJ), Mark Balanky (SignOn San Diego), Tobin Watkinson (MySpace.com). www.sandiegomusicfoundation.com.
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Published: 12/04/2007
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