World Premiere of RE:GENERATION A catalyst for musical innovation, RE:GENERATION MUSIC PROJECT is a new documentary, produced in association with Grammy’s and presented by Hyundai Veloster, that examines music’s past, present and future, while yielding five revolutionary collaborations in the process. Directed by award-winning documentarian, Amir Bar-Lev (The Tillman Story, My Kid Could Paint That), the documentary follows five electronic DJs/producers as they re-imagine music collaborating with influential artists from each genre. In the film, The Crystal Method, DJ Premier, Pretty Lights, Mark Ronson, and Skrillex use technology to mix musical styles and generations for the creation of five original tracks that are nothing short of magical.

In the film, current GRAMMY®-nominated artist Skrillex heads into a Los Angeles studio with members of the iconic rock band, The Doors, to collaborate on a new song, “Breakn’ A Sweat.” Meanwhile, The Crystal Method touched down in Detroit to work with Martha Reeves of The Vandellas and The Funk Brothers on the R&B number, “I’m Not Leaving.” Mark Ronson created a southern brew of New Orleans jazz in “A La Modeliste” that boasts a veritable all-star cast of Erykah Badu, Trombone Shorty, Mos Def, Zigaboo Modeliste, and Members of The Dap Kings. DJ Premier tapped NAS and Boston’s very own Berklee Symphony Orchestra for his “Regeneration,” and the documentary culminates in Nashville on the dusty intergalactic twang of Pretty Lights’ “Wayfaring Stranger” featuring vocals from LeAnn Rimes and Dr. Ralph Stanley. RE:GENERATION MUSIC PROJECT will enjoy a unique nationwide, one-night only theatrical release in select cities and venues on Feb. 16, 2012, with encore screenings on Feb 23.

In the seven years between the Transplants’ last live show and their February 11th performance at the Roxy, the band survived what’s cracked other groups to pieces. Band members worked on other projects; drummer Travis Barker defied death in a plane crash and while his body recovered, the loss of their friends who didn’t make it continue to mark the Transplants; members left; new ones came on. Friday night none of it mattered. The Transplants sold out the Roxy and left their excited, sweaty audience begging for more.

The Transplants were on point, knocking over mic stands, spitting beer and dripping sweat into the crowd, front man “Skinhead” Rob Aston screamed in between verses. The crowd was a mixed bag, with some younger fans solely there to gander at superstar drummer, Travis Barker. Yes, some hysterical women even got manhandled off the stage and escorted out of the club for charging the drum set. Barker showed off his chops, and the band performed “Saturday Night,” a song off his recent album “Give the Drummer Some.”

Rancid fans were stoked to see Tim Armstrong squinting into the spotlight. While the Transplants’ sound subverts generic paradigms by borrowing from punk rock, hip hop, gangsta rap and more tender rhythms at times, they enjoy a strong punk fan base complete with crowd surfers, mosh pits, pushing and shoving.

The best news of the night came near the end, when “Skinhead” Rob affirmed that a new Transplants record will be the soundtrack to this summer, and no, they won’t wait another seven years to play again.

Hot off the recent 2012 Grammy nomination for the album Rocket Science, which landed Bela Fleck & The Flecktones in the Best Instrumental Category, the group’s original lineup is reuniting for a performance at the historic Orpheum Theatre on March 9.

It feels a little strange to call an album so noteworthy for its leader’s banjo prowess “Rocket Science,” but Fleck and his merry men, which is an outfit that also includes Howard Levy (piano/harmonica), Victor Wooten (bass) and Roy “Futureman” Wooten (percussion/Drumitar), take Americana music to a whole new futuristic level with a sound that somehow incorporates classical, jazz, bluegrass, African music, electric blues and Eastern European folk dances into a completely unique sonic stew. It’s guaranteed that if you catch Bela Fleck & The Flecktones at the Orpheum Theatre, you won’t see anything else quite like them all year long. That statement isn’t any pseudo rocket science; it’s the truth.

Chris Martin and company will be performing a benefit concert for Los Angeles Youth organizations February 8th, 2012 at Nokia Live. Coldplay will perform a special concert at Club Nokia to benefit two Los Angeles-based youth charities. Earnings from the concert will be donated to A Place Called Home and Youth Mentoring Collection.

The Grammy award-winning band has paired with iHeartRadio for the February 8th show. The band will play tracks off their latest album Mylo Xyloto, as well as some of their classics. Tickets went on sale Thursday, Jan. 19, at 10 a.m. exclusively for club members of KIIS-FM, 98.7 and MyFM 104.3. Remaining tickets became available the following day (Friday, Jan. 20) at 10 a.m. via Ticketmaster. Given the cause and nature of the venue, ticket prices do not come cheap. Prices range from $100-300. Do not miss the opportunity to catch the U.K. legends live and support the work of two great local organizations that directly impact the Los Angeles community.

Metal-core band Attack Attack! will have plenty to celebrate when its tour arrives at The Glass House in Pomona on February 10th. This Westerville, OH act will be promoting its third album This Means War, during a trip logically titled the “This Means War Tour” and presented by www.Merchnow.com. Supporting the group on this cross country trek will be The Ghost Inside, Sleeping With Sirens, Chunk! No Captain Chunk! and Dream On Dreamer. Perhaps, with Chunk! No Captain Chunk! along for the ride, they should have called this the Exclamation Mark Tour!, instead. It would have been even crazier if the Welsh band Attack! Attack! had been added to the bill. (It also would have been more than a little confusing). The tour begins in the outfit’s home state of Ohio, at Newport Music Call, and concludes in Poughkeepsie, NY, at The Chance/The Loft.

The band’s new Rise Records album consists of ten tracks, with each song title containing the word “The” at the beginning. It opens with “The Revolution,” and closes with “The Eradication.” The first single, “The Motivation,” dropped in December. The album was produced by vocalist Caleb Shomo in his home studio. New songs once again present the band’s unique sound, which combines metalcore and post-hardcore with electronic influences. This Means War Tour promises big fun for Attack Attack! fans.

When Matthew Good plays a February 14 date at the Hotel Café in support of his fifth solo album, Lights Of Endangered Species, you might say he will also be revealing his kinder, gentler musical side.

This newest recorded endeavor includes songs with more of a lush sound, highlighted by horns, strings, piano and other acoustic instrumentation. Good’s music may still be uncharted territory for many U.S. music fans, but back in his home country, Canada, he is a legitimate rock star. His band, the Matthew Good Band, won numerous Juno Awards – that nation’s equivalent to the Grammy Awards – and his prior solo album, Vancouver, earned him the Juno for Rock Album of the Year. Although Good’s longtime producer, Warne Livesey, stocked this latest album with beautifully layered arrangements, the singer/songwriter will arrive in town relatively naked — instrumentally speaking — with just his quivering voice and a trusty guitar. Nevertheless, it’s all Good.

Lana Del Rey is the best indie pop artist on the scene right now. She is the embodiment of the 50’s dream girl; one who likes to be bossed around and calls her lovers “daddy”, but still has a youthful innocence. This is refreshing, especially when compared to the in-your-face raunchiness of Ke$ha, Lady Gaga, and Nicki Minaj. Her heavily anticipated album, Born To Die, was released on January 30th.

To promote her album, Lana Del Rey is performing for free at Amoeba Records on February 7th at 6pm, with autographs being signed after the show. Hopefully, this won’t be a repeat of her terrible Saturday Night Live performance, but either way, you will definitely be entertained. The line will form on Ivar side of Amoeba starting at 4pm. Be sure to bring money to buy plenty of cool posters, records, and CD’s, as you will want to explore Amoeba’s unbeatable catalogue.

It’s that time of the year again!

The best in Independent Hip Hop join forces with Murs and Guerilla Union to bring you the 2012 Paid Dues Hip Hop Festival. Murs made the announcement via Ustream TV over a month ago and suggested that this year would be the year of the “Crew”. Not only is it a great concept but he delivered an amazing lineup! This year’s Paid Dues festival will feature a classic area of performances starring The Wu Tang Clan, Hip Hop’s newest crew – Odd Future featuring Frank Ocean and the always entertaining Tyler The Creator. Also headlining is Murs’ own crew, Living Legends as well as Harlem New York’s finest “Dip Set“ featuring Jim Jones, Camron and Juelz Santana. Recently added to the lineup are DJ Quick, Kendrick Lamar, Hieroglyphics, Psycho Realm and Dilated Peoples. This is truly a Hip Hop festival that you do not want to miss! The show takes place on Saturday, April 7th at The Nos Events Center in San Bernardino, CA. For more information, log on to paidduesfestival.com.

Goldfinger were a staple of my youth and I still love them today. They’re playing a show tomorrow at Chain Reaction in Anaheim to benefit PETA and Homeless Healthcare Los Angeles. It’s going to be an awesome time, make sure to come out and support. Lead singer, John Feldmann was cool enough to answer some questions…Check them out below.

1. Tell us about the upcoming benefit at Chain Reaction.

King Blues, who are supporting us, it’s their first US show ever. They’re a big UK band, and the singer of that band was homeless for about four years, between ages 13-17 of his life. It’s a really big deal for us to help out anyway we can. PETA has always been a huge thing for me, I’ve been involved with the animal rights movement for the last fifteen years of my life.

2. What has been going on with Goldfinger?

We toured South America a couple months ago, it was awesome…A couple thousand kids a night and just crazy, crazy shows, insane crowds.

3. I heard you have a new album on the way…What can we expect and when?

We’re probably going to be making a record around summer of this year.

4. What bands have you been listening to lately?

Lately I’ve been listening to what my daughter has been listening to, all she’ll let me listen to is Adele. That’s it, so I listen to Adele over and over…and my wife has been playing Christina Perri all the time. If I work twelve to sixteen hours a day, all I’m really listening to are the bands I work with, which lately have been, King Blues, Attack Attack!, Twenty One Pilots, The Used, so thats what I’ve been listening to; what I’ve been working on.

5. What bands should we check out?

Definitely King Blues. Definitely Twenty One Pilots.

6. Favorite places to eat in L.A.?

I love the Veggie Grill, Madeline Bistro, Native Foods, and E Baldi.

7. I’d like to make a few special requests for the Chain Reaction show: Carlita, Too Late, The End of the Day, Not Amused…..Any chance?

I don’t know if any of those requests will happen, I think we’ve played “Carlita” once, yeah “Carlita” we played once at the Whiskey, with Angelo Moore from Fishbone. “Too Late” we played once in Nagoya, Japan. “The End of the Day” we played once, and that was a long time ago…I think at a show with Face To Face. “Not Amused” we’ve never played.

8. Shout-outs, Words of Wisdom?

Follow your dreams and stay true to yourself. Shout-out’s to all of our fans, thanks for being with us for so long.

The Cinema Guild is set to release Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone on February 21st. If you can’t wait that long, though, you can get it as an iTunes digital download beginning February 1st.

Actor Laurence Fishburne narrates this extensive documentary, which tells the tale of a wonderfully unique Los Angeles band. Lev Anderson and Chris Metzler paired to produce and direct the documentary about this veteran band; one that has seamlessly combined punk and funk styles into its politically and socially active music for the last 25 years. The film includes the wisdom and reflections of original punk-funk-er, George Clinton, actor Tim Robbins and contemporaries, like Flea and Gwen Stefani. Primarily focusing on singer Angelo Moore and bassist Norwood fisher, this is the story of a band that has somehow survived against all odds. It’s simply impossible to tell the L.A. alternative rock story without Fishbone.