Scene Swap is an exciting new feature in which we partner with artists and fans across the country to exchange musical recommendations in order to shine the spotlight on those bands who haven’t yet broken out beyond the confines of their own local scene. In this installment Matt Adams of California three-piece Blank Tapes was kind enough to give us some West Coast bands to that he recommends checking out. Blank Tapes, who play a uniquely warped version of the 50’s pop sound, will be performing at the Turf Club this Friday (2/7). They are currently touring in support of their latest record, “Vacation” which is out now on Antennae Farm Records.
Matt Adams:
Matt McCluer & The Sweet Sweet Things have been rocking Costa Mesa for well over a decade now. Some people even call him the “King of Costa Mesa.” We used to play in each other’s bands back in the day and you can definitely hear some of his songwriting influences on our earlier records Landfair & Daydreams.
Sugar Candy Mountain is my old drummer Will Halsey’s psychedelic beach pop project out of Oakland. It’s as if Brian Wilson produced the Flaming Lips. He also produced his girlfriend Ash Reiter’s last albums. Soooo good, check ’em out!
Mystic Braves is one of my favorites of all the 60’s sounding bands going around now. The main thing that separates them from the rest is that their songs are catchy as shit and they can sing some great harmonies. They all have amazing psychedelic clothes too.
Magic Leaves is my old bandmate Josh Bruner’s old project from San Francisco. From whimsical folk/pop to heavy garage rock drenched in psychedelia. He recently moved down to LA and has been writing and performing under JJAAXXNN. Check out his 1 man show!
Joel Jerome AKA Babies On Acid has been recording up a storm for over a decade now. Starting back in the day with Dios & then Dios (Malos), I remember catching there set at Coachella back in the day.. They’re also one of the busiest local bands around, playing a few nights in LA almost every week! ps- we recorded our song “Early Birdy” at Joel’s studio.
Tall Tales & The Silver Lining is Trevor Beld Jimenez’s ever growing LA band, currently up to about 8 members! His songs go down nice and easy just like his personality. Good times all around with these solid dudes (and girl).
FpodBpod is Sean Olmstead’s tripppy baby from San Francisco. Me and Sean played in each other’s bands for years back in the day and were constantly influencing each other. One of these days we plan on collaborating on an album. Try to guess what the name stands for, hint, it’s an acronym.
Tomorrow’s Tulips is Alex Knost’s awesome Costa Mesa surfer band. He’s such a humble and nice dude I sometimes forget he’s a famous world surfer. McCluer did some drumming for them recently too.
The Allah-Las are doing things sooo right! I’ve never heard a band dial into a sound more than these guys. Do I even have to say how catchy there songs are and how vibey their recordings sound? They Boiled the 60’s down to perfect pop nuggets. Can’t wait for the new record!
Thanks to Matt for his recommendations. Once again, don’t forget to check out the Blank Tapes at the Turf Club on Friday, February 7th. Tix here.
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