JEFF CROSBY (in between sets acoustic on patio) @ Echo

8:30pm / Free for 21+; $7 under 21 / 18+

Olin and the Moon||Listen|| Watch
Just because you’re not an overnight sensation doesn’t mean you can’t be sensational. So it is with Olin & the Moon, the quintet that has scrapped, scrambled and scraped by in the four years since brothers David and Travis LaBrel and Marshall Vore moved to Los Angeles from Idaho and hooked up with Brian McGinnis and Kyle Vicioso in search of the perfect folk song.

The band’s new album, “Footsteps” (out today), is the stuff of spilled emotions and swilled beer, and while that’s hardly a left turn from 2009′s “Terrible Town,” Olin & the Moon have proved again you don’t need to reinvent the wheel to keep things rolling. From the rambunctious churn of “Repeat” to the boy-girl charm of “Escape” to the simple chord progression of “Gonna Make You Mine,” “Footsteps” admittedly doesn’t take many chances. Then again, there aren’t many missteps.

The album, which features contributions from Kenneth Pattengale and Leslie Stevens of Leslie Stevens and the Badgers, was recorded in fits and starts and late-night sessions in the studio where frontman David LaBrel works. His aching tenor is again the centerpiece of the fivesome’s arrangements, honed after a year that included plenty of touring. The material itself? “There are a lot of songs about girls,” LaBrel says, smiling. “I seem to keep going back to that.”

MAXIM LUDWIG and the SANTA FE SEVEN || Listen || Watch
In California, Maxim Ludwig lives surrounded by the ghosts of the “Gone West” migration. Though barely broken into his 20s, Ludwig embraces folk music of eras past, and his songs seem drunk-honest in their depiction of an uncertain life in a temporary town. He was born in New York, but spent time in Germany frequently where he first started playing blues harmonica live in beer tents at age 9. In h…is teenage years, Ludwig began writing and playing in bands in Los Angeles until he spent a year in college in New York, working on his songwriting. After leaving the Hudson Valley, Ludwig settled in Silver Lake where he finished his self-produced debut album.
When asked about the name of the band, he says, “None of them are from Santa Fe and there aren’t seven of them, which is why they’re called the Santa Fe Seven”. After playing with a cast of revolving characters, Ludwig set out to find what he refers to as “a balance between the Stray Gators and Booker T. & the MGs”. He then teamed up with Los Angeles country music veteran and bassist Ben Reddell from Texas, a staple of the mid-west music scene, pedal steel player and guitarist Chris Vos from Wisconsin, and LA drummer Travis Popichak. Together they make a hard, reckless, dust-laden sound.
His deeply personal and wild live shows that mix his influence of early rock and roll, classic soul, and songwriting craftsmanship have earned him comparisons to Bob Dylan, The Band, Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Presley and caused the Los Angeles Times to label him as a “brash maverick” who “views rules as something to be broken, not followed”. An intense showman, Ludwig’s narratives follow the tradition of Leonard Cohen, Lou Reed, and Kris Kristofferson.
Whether he is crooning over lap steel, piano, or violin, the young musician’s lyrics channel the feelings of rambling desperation that inspired such greats as Hank Williams and Tom Waits. Hard living and rock n’ roll tradition aren’t the only places he finds his inspiration. Ludwig is a voracious reader and disciplined scholar who admires the works of Robert Creeley, Walt Whitman, and John Cassavetes. Confessing, “I became heavily obsessed with words,” Ludwig’s songs unveil themselves like good literature, and string the listener along with equal parts suspense and intrigue. Buzz Bands LA

Darin Bennett & The Requiem || LISTEN
Darin Bennett is redefining the mantle of singer/songwriter/guitarist with his combination of slide guitar driven, gritty delta blues, elements of eclectic modern rock and soul, and a powerful voice that rises from a mysterious whisper to a raging growl. His influences range from Tom Waits, Eric Clapton and Chris Whitley, to Son House, Otis Redding, Nick Cave and Tennessee Williams.

Performing in Los Angeles clubs since before he was a teenager, he was continuously smuggled into clubs by older, seasoned musicians who often brought him on stage to play. He spent most of his teenage years and early twenties sitting in with or opening for artists such as Hubert Sumlin, Chuck E. Weiss, JJ Holiday, Joe Sublett, and a long list of esteemed blues and rock artists. After years of watching and learning from his heroes, he has discovered his own voice and style.

Darin wrote, produced, and performed the score for the film ‘Small Change’ (MNC Productions) and has had his songs featured on television shows for ABC, Imagine, Disney, and Warner Brothers. His music has also been featured on KCRW’s ‘Brave New World’ among other radio broadcasts worldwide. In addition, he collaborated on a Delta-blues side project with Michelle Shocked.

His debut album as a solo artist is entitled ’20 Scarlet Monkeys’

He is now at work with his new band DARIN BENNETT AND THE REQUIEM, which includes bassist Gerrod Miskovsky, guitarist Redbone, drummer Cosmo Jones, and an impressive lineup of wandering musicians including Geoffrey Michael Brandin and Eugene Toale. A multi-media, swampy blues-rock opera is also in the works for 2012 with writer/creative director Tiffany Winget in cooperation with Mumbella & Co. Productions.

Flora & Fauna || LISTEN || WATCH
Flora & Fauna are an independent rock band of LA natives, though time spent on the east coast differentiates them from their sunny peers. They write pop hooks tempered by intensity and skepticism derived from long winters spent listening to New York records like Marquee Moon, Fear of Music, and Sound of Silver. Flora & Fauna are making a record in LA. The songs marry willful obscurity to heartfelt directness, and you can dance to them. This is beach music for people with a sense of dread. Most of the words are probably about girls.