Indie News

Marston Hefner and Hugh Hefner attend FilmDistrict's World Premiere of 'The Rum Diary,' at Bing Theatre at LACMA, Los Angeles, on October 13, 2011 Authorities say Hugh Hefner's 21-year-old son has been arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor domestic violence in Pasadena.

Long-running Omaha indie rockers Cursive will soon release their noisily ambitious new album I Am Gemini , a concept album about the two mythical twins who gave the album its title.

NELSONVILLE, Ohio- Stuart's Opera House is thrilled to announce the lineup for this year's 8th annual Nelsonville Music Festival on May 18-20 at Robbins Crossing on the campus of Hocking College in Nelsonville, Ohio.

Nicki Minaj's "Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded" release, which had been scheduled for Tuesday, was pushed back to April, but we'll still see new releases from Amos Lee and Tennis .

Seattle rock quintet Minus the Bear is set to headline a free show presented by Jack Daniel's Studio No.

Turns out closing the Beach Post Office , in a way, opened up two more. Already most Postal Service packing and sending options were available at an Island Estates facility .

SALT LAKE CITY - Utah artists are reacting to Whitney Houston's sudden death. They described her as a chameleon.

"My friends @ColdPlay and I will be sharing the stage for a performance at this years Annual Grammy Awards! #BONKERS," RiRi tweeted earlier.

In anticipation of the band's latest LP, "Port of Morrow," The Shins announced this week that they will be bringing their trademark indie rock sound to North America as part of a 2012 summer tour.

To illustrate her point, she has a quick stab at one of Eric Clapton's most famous guitar licks, but it's a gesture that fails to convince a sceptical audience.

Planning a trip out of the country soon? Do you have your passport? The U. S. Postal Service will be helping by hosting Passport Fairs during the week of Feb.

When the band played in Boise in September, it opened for Explosions in the Sky at the Egyptian Theatre.

WHITNEY Houston's ex-husband of 15 years, Bobby Brown, is said to be "beside himself" at the news of his former wife's death.

Motley Crue were one of the most influential hair metal bands of the '80s, boasting a striking visual presence and hedonistic reputation rivaled only by Guns N' Roses.

LADYHAWK and JULIE DOIRON and SLOW LEARNERS as part of MATTYFEST at Parts and Labour, Friday, February 10.

Reporting for a sputtering Puerto Rican newspaper in 1960, boozy Paul Kemp must sort out the phonies while finding his writing voice.

The Sunrise Ocean Bender sets sail every Friday morning, 3 - 6 a.m. on WRIR lp 97.3 FM, to find something for your ears, and something for your head ... From psych to prog to pop and whatever tributary we can find on the way ... and right back around again.

This Feb. 16, 2011, file photo shows Ron Barber, one of the people wounded in the attack on Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, backed by County Attorney Barbara LaWall and Tucson Mayor Bob Walkup, in Tucson, Ariz.

Sedona, Arizona certainly has it all, the spiritual and the scenic, the magnetic and the majestic.

We all know about love at first sight, and the dangers that can entail. Just ask Kris Humphries and Kim Kardashian or Renee Zellweger and Kenny Chesney or every other member of a celebrity marriage that expired faster than a tub of butter. There’s obviously less of a risk with love at first listen, and what you gamble on a newly discovered band depends on what you spend: $20 for a concert, $15 for a CD, 99 cents per MP3 or five to 10 minutes to check out a few streaming tracks. I’ve had some real let-downs in my day. Cornershop caught my ear and won my heart with the brilliant “Brimful of Asha,” which recalled late-period Velvet Underground and featured a sweet video with a little girl jamming out to the song’s 45 rpm record. Of course I ran out and went all in and bought the album that contained the track, “When I Was Born for the 7th Time,” and guess what? It’s a steaming pile of dung. Never could get through it. The Canadian band Sloan, The Shins and every Matthew Sweet album got me the same way. Thinking about all that now I want to recreate the “You are tearing me apart, Lisa!” scene from the 2003 flick “The Room.” Google it. So it was with great trepidation that I considered further investigation and investment in the band Honeychurch after getting completely blown out of the water by their gorgeously gut-wrenching song “Miko II.” It’s almost as if George Harrison got in a time machine and wound up at the session for this song somewhere in Bucks County, Pa., circa 2011, instead of going into the studio with Phil Spector and Badfinger to record the title track to “All Things Must Pass.” I don’t want to get into hyperbole here, but it’s that good, thanks to the combination of the shades of “All Things” and husband and wife Shilough and Larissa Hopwood’s vocal harmonies. And since it was that good, I bit the bullet and delved a little deeper into this band’s catalog. The news is good: There’s more good stuff, especially on the forthcoming album “Will You Be There With Me.” There’s more dabs of Fab, as some of the guitar fingering from “Dear Prudence” shows up in “Work Suspended,” which in all actuality is more of an indie-rock track that recalls Lou Barlow and Sebadoh. The boot-stomping “Tennessee Valley,” meanwhile, recalls The Jayhawks. Could I have gotten through this without comparing Honeychurch to a slew of awesome bands from yesteryear? Sure. But without those references, would you have even considered checking them out at the risk of getting burned? I dare say no. The band is at Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., Philadelphia, on Sunday. The Explorers Club and Roomtone open at 9 p.m. (doors open at 8). Tickets are $10. Visit www.ticketfly.com.