Hanni El Khatib
Album: Will The Guns Come Out (June – 2011)
Label: Innovative Leisure
Hanni El Khatib – Build. Destroy. Rebuild.

Related Posts:
Artist To Watch – Hanni El Khatib (click here)
Rollo & Grady Interview with Hanni El Khatib (click here)

Gary Calamar hails from the Bronx, NY, and grew up a constant presence in local record stores. When he moved to LA in the early 80s, he got himself behind the counter, managing stores and nourishing the flourishing culture of the record store. In April 2010, he released the book “Record Store Days,” inspired by both his life and tastes as a consumer and connoisseur of vinyl.

Calamar is of course much more than a consumer and author. A KCRW volunteer and DJ since the mid ‘90s, Gary hosts a Sunday night show (9p-12m) on the station that not only showcases emerging music, but looks deeply into the roots of Rock, Country, Jazz, Blues, and Soul.

In 1998, Calamar got his break into the world of music supervision, placing music with Marq Roswell for the movie, Slums of Beverly Hills and in 1999, again with Roswell, for Varsity Blues; this latter soundtrack earned him a gold record. His work with partner Thomas Golubic on Six Feet Under (HBO) became strongly influential, making a case for placing indie music in television. Gary went on to found Go Music with Alyson Vidoli. He currently places music on True Blood (HBO), House (Fox), and Dexter (Showtime), and was recently nominated for a Grammy for the True Blood II Soundtrack.

In all aspects of the music business, Gary Calamar’s focus is broad and considerate; he remains abreast of all new movements and grounded in the history that makes them compelling, meaningful, and fun.

Last minute addition to SXSW Festival:

Fader Magazine just announced that Justin Vernon’s pre-Bon Iver collaboration with Megafaun, DeYarmond Edison, will play the Fader Fort on Saturday, March 19th at 8PM. To RSVP to the event click here.

MP3: DeYarmond Edison – Dead Anchor

We are heading to Austin tomorrow for SXSW. If you are interested, we will be updating Twitter regularly. You can follow our updates by clicking here. We can also be reached at rollogrady@gmail.com.

DJ Booka Shade – Contact (Brigitte Bardot Remix)

A couple weeks ago, our boys from Futurebirds gave us a stream to their beautiful cover of Stevie Nick’s “Wild Heart.” This week, we premiere a new Futurebirds cover, “Wicked Games” by Chris Isaak, which is on Futurebirds’ forthcoming EP, Via Flamina, out April 1st.

On April 19th, the band plans to release a remastered version of their self-titled debut EP, which will be released digitally by Autumn Tone Records. Be sure to check them out this week at SXSW.

The Airborne Toxic Event – Goodbye Horses (Q Lazzarus Cover – Live)

SXSW is upon us once again. Beginning this Wednesday, March 16, thousands of people and musicians will take over Austin for one of the best music festivals in the world. Over 2000 bands will participate in this year’s festival. There is no question that some of the world’s most talented and up-and-coming artists will be in Austin.

The SXSW organizers did bring out the big guns: Cee-Lo Green, Kanye West, Queens of the Stone Age, Odd Future, TV on the Radio, and The Strokes. If you are unable to get in to these gigs, don’t worry – there are so many great music options every night. This year, Bandcamp and the SXSW mp3 sampler made our lives easier as far as previewing the artists; we didn’t have to use Myspace to sample their music. After sampling roughly 1700 artists, we selected 20 that have bright futures.

At SXSW, in addition to listening to evening showcases, you can catch all of the artists at daytime parties at Paste, Fader, Pitchfork, Gorilla vs The Bear, and parties around town. Have fun and be safe. If you’re not attending the festival, enjoy the music below and support these bands when they come to your town.