Until then, check the out at their myspace page (myspace.com/matherlouth). The stand-out tracks on their myspace player are “Fever Jane” and “Walkin’ After Midnight.” “Fever Jane” is similar to Nick Cave’s “Stranger Than Kindness,” but a little more dangerous, and a lot more sultry. Mather drawls out lyrics to this song beautifully and deliberately, giving the listener time to sink into the velvety aural texture. “Walkin’ After Midnight” is a noir-ish take on the original, Mather and Radio Noir twist the song into the psychopathic trip that the lyrics always suggested.  Catch Mather Louth & Radio Noir when they’re back in LA and let them entrance you!

They’ve toured since forever with The Bouncing Souls, US Bombs, H2O, Voodoo Glow Skulls, Subhumans, Dead Kennedys, Pennywise, NOFX, and my own punk band back in the day! It is indeed the best feeling in a musician’s life to share the stage with a band that they’ve loved since their days of teenage rebellion. And Union 13 puts on a great show – they’re veterans to the punk stage and they’ve got the energy of a napalm bomb. They shred through their set, and weave Mexican and Central American musical influences into their crashing drums and screeching guitars. They’ve been working on their fifth album in 2009, and they’re celebrating on April 3 at The Blvd Café (2631 Whittier Blvd). Don’t be embarrassed to relive your old punk days – Union 13 will have you moshing in no time!

Rock n’ Roll Fantasy Camp is like a Disneyland for all the rockers at heart, whose life had lead them away from the stage. For a week, they get to live the rock star life (the non-newsworthy parts), playing in a band, living in hotels, recording, writing songs, and being mentored by varying levels of professional rockers. At the end of the camp, each band (comprised of campers and maybe a rock counselor) performs at a legendary rock club (this time  – Key Club; next time – The Whiskey) to all their adoring family and friends.  You had your CEO types in ripped jeans rocking out to AC/DC, tone-deaf housewives, and those younger ones who thought they might get discovered that night. The whole point is for everyone to get their 15 minutes and come together with other musicians from all walks of life and of varying skill, and share the primal joy of rocking! For more info check out rockcamp.com.

Their album “Cocoon of Love,” describes the happy little cocoon of love that kids – some kids – grow up with.  Expect song lyrics like, “I love you, let’s shout it out.” The band is tight, but the problem is that they sound like too many other bands.  Their original compositions don’t really stand out as different, exciting, or new; at least for me. It’s as if Pulp took a handful of sedatives and pressed record. I didn’t hear any hints of the “Next Big Thing” in Princeton, but according to everyone else, they’re all the rage. Have a listen and decide for yourself.

Cover bands tend to get a bad rap, especially from “real” musicians who play their own original music. Every original band hates to get booked on the same night as some cover band; somehow it cheapens the whole night. Enter Waterfront Concert Theater, safe haven for cover bands and protection from bitter musician animosity. The worst cover bands are the ones who try to keep it painfully real (yipes, David Lee Roth #2 of Fan Halen). The best are the ones who just want to sing the songs of their favorite band over and over, outside the confines of their car.

You can’t forget the joy of cover band names. You can catch True-2-Crue, Fan Halen, Bonfire (AC/DC…I didn’t get it at first either), Aeromyth, No Duh (No Doubt), and Rolling the Stone (The Rolling Stones) all at the Waterfront. Naturally, it’s only a matter of time before Mini Kiss, By Jovi, Nowaysis, and the Red Stripes (a reggae White Stripes!) play there too.

I’ve always seen Warner Drive in dive bars in Los Angeles and Vegas, and that’s where they really let loose. They’ve got this crazy energy on stage that at first seems a little too explosive for the venue, a little …too big, but they suck you in with that energy and eventually you find yourself screaming and moshing right along with the veteran Warner Drive fans. Compared to other dive bar bands, Johnny Law and the Warner Drive crew bring it like a band who should be headlining nationally bring it. Soon you’ll be able to pay enormous amounts of money to see the show, but for now, catch their wild, over the top show at 14 Below in Santa Monica on March 12th at 10pm.

However, metal standards of success aren’t really based on Billboard charts and platinum records – success is found in the talent of the band and the loyalty of the fans. The rotating line-up is baseline extremely talented; you have to be to play with Dave Mustaine, nominated best guitarist in the Revolver Golden Gods Awards. As for loyalty, being a fan of Megadeth is pretty much a signal to the world that you know what’s what among metal bands. You can’t be a casual fan of Megadeth like you can with Metallica. This concert will cause metal fans to come crawling out of the cracks and re-embracing their metalness wholeheartedly. Get ready to see your IT guy and your upstanding father-of-four uncle to rock out like it’s 1989.

You can check out them out on MySpace, but you have to see them live. No, it’s not a shock-rock show or a Lady Gaga circus of weird. It’s a regular rock show, with regular guys (and gal). They play with a raw kind of soul I haven’t seen in live music in a long time. In their signature song, “Vampire of Emotion,” they hit hard, wailing and whispering the whole way through, taking you on an intense emotional roller coaster for a full six minutes.

They’re playing at Mr. T’s Bowl in Highland Park on February 26th @ 9pm, so go see them! Let Push to Transmit rock your socks until regular ol’ indie is a thing of the past!