Tag: Los Angeles

Alright, you’re gonna need to buckle up for this one. For two reasons: 1) Koinonia has a somewhat lengthy history, and the band’s members are/were probably more connected than any other band ever in contemporary Christian music; and 2) they were a jazz fusion band, which is probably not a genre most IVM readers are astutely familiar with. The band formed in 1980 and were active throughout that decade before disbanding in 1991. While the members were Americans, several of whom were of Latin/Hispanic descent, their music was more widely-known in Northern and Western Europe where they often played to sold out crowds.… Continued →

While the alternative rock revolution was exploding all over the 90s, another musical genre was becoming ever more expansive in the same decade–electronica. Faith-based artists were pursuing new subgenres from house to techno/rave to EBM and lots of other styles. One pioneering artist in the house genre was Rhythm Saints, comprised of husband Stephen Nixon and wife Lee-Jane Nixon. Although Stephen was British born, the couple were based in Los Angeles, whence their inspiration for this track emerges. While most of the album channeled house and progressive house sounds, this track (incidentally the only one I could find from their debut via YouTube) dabbles pleasantly in ambient as well.… Continued →

Remember when punk & ska music collided in the 90s? There were all these comps & tons of labels had a punk or ska band or both on their labels. N’ Soul was primarily a dance label & this L.A. band also included a member of Pax217. The demo appears to have been released in ’98 the same year as the N’Soul one. Check it out. … Continued →

One of the larger, more legendary cyphers in Christian hip-hop, L.A. Symphony came to us from where else but Los Angeles. They emerged in the late 90s with a few 12″ singles and a full-length album on member Flynn Adam Atkins’ own independent label Eartube Empire, via which Flynn had also released a full-length solo album earlier. The group’s breakthrough came in the form of 2003’s The End is Now for Gotee Records. I had the privilege of booking/hosting the group for a youth event in Atlanta in the mid-2000s.… Continued →

The most legendary holy hip-hop cipher of them all? Perhaps. Tunnel Rats’ debut Experience (1996) was truly mind-blowing. It’s one of those rare albums where the line between art and artist was completely blurred, if it even existed in the first place. The lyrics (as well as the passion behind them) reflected absolute love of hip-hop music and culture, and absolute love of God and his Gospel. Very few artists, very few albums or artistic endeavors reach that climax of full integration where neither the message nor the artistic medium was compromised in any way whatsoever.… Continued →

The first time I heard this band, I was completely blown away. The year was 1988. I was about 14 years old, and I had just started getting into Christian metal via bands like Jerusalem, Whitecross, and Barren Cross. Sacred Warrior was probably the heaviest I’d heard at the time. Then one night I was listening to KOKF 91FM out of Oklahoma City, a Christian radio station that had a late night metal show. I heard the most intense, loud, gnarly thing I’d ever heard in my life.… Continued →

I first heard of this LA punk band when I was running distro in the early 2000s. They had an EP out on The Legion (short-lived label that only released 3 titles), which I began stocking, and then they put out another release on the upcoming Clumsy Records (also home to Combat Junkies, The Stivs and a few others). I had the chance to catch them live at Cornerstone 2002, which was a fantastic show! In fact, that year was a great year for punk at the festival, as I also saw Huntingtons, The Remnants, One Bad Pig, World Against World, and Headnoise that year among others.… Continued →

If you’re of the opinion that only melodic music can be godly, then you might want to navigate your browser elsewhere. If, on the other hand, you see the possibility of the Spirit working and moving in the new, the avant garde, the experimental, and the downright weird, then Ganglia just might interest you. Sometimes stylized as GÅNGLÎÅ, this one-man project was started by David Smittcamp in Los Angeles in the late 1990s. He took the already experimental genre of grindcore (lightning-fast tempos and ultra-short songs fused into an extreme form of hardcore and metal), and flipped it on its head by utilizing only electronic instruments.… Continued →

Well, we just returned from a wild week at Great Wolf Lodge here locally in So Cal. We spent countless days at the water park and even Knott’s Berry Farm as well as spending precious time with my wife and children. We even had our oldest son Brayden stop by for a bit on last Thursday. Overall, was a great time spent with family and unforgettable memories were had. My wallet still aches but well, what did I expect lol. I have some pics/vids up on my private Instagram so check it.… Continued →

Headnoise was a band I found while thumbing through one of my friend’s CDs back in the early 2000s. They are most def a true hxc punk rawk band but with a twist, Edie Goodwin’s vocals. She can really belt out this genre of music & has been going since 1994. Think Crashdog, The Distillers, dreads, & mohawks. Life was different back then-Lol! You can find their stuff on Glenn Kaiser’s Grrr records as they were part of the Jesus People USA commune for some time.… Continued →

Check out the brand new music video from Heart Like War for their song “Los Angeles”. Fans of Mxpx, Homegrown, Rufio, Allister, will love these guys.… Continued →