Eclectic feel in Costa Mesa
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Young Chang
Ever heard of a group called Minibar? How about Trespassers
William? Or a form of music called shoegaze?
No? Never? Well, you’re not the only ones.
Nic Harcourt of 89.9 FM KCRW is joining with the Eclectic Orange
Festival to help Southern California musicians without record company
contracts rise out of obscurity. Called “Unsigned Indies,” the free
Sept. 28 concert will feature performers selected by Harcourt, host
of KCRW’s “Morning Becomes Eclectic” and musical director for the
station.
Acts include singer, songwriter and storyteller Gary Jules;
vocalist Julianna Raye, Orange County band Trespassers William and
pop-rock group Minibar. The concert will be held at Town Center Park
in Costa Mesa as a precursor to the six-week Eclectic Orange
Festival, which officially starts Oct. 11.
“Unsigned Indies” was first held last year at the Getty Center in
Los Angeles. Harcourt remembers about 6,000 people attending,
thousands more than organizers expected.
“Hopefully it’ll be a good opportunity to expose our music to the
people in our hometown,” said Matt Brown, a Costa Mesa resident and
guitarist for Trespassers William. “With KCRW’s backing, I think it’s
going to get a lot of right people there.”
A good percentage of the tunes that get air time on KCRW are by
unsigned, independent artists. Harcourt said the station’s audience
expects to be challenged with new and different music. Artists to
perform at “Unsigned Indies” have all had their music played on the
radio station.
“It’s a big part of what we do,” Harcourt said. “We’ve already
supported their music in one way or another. But to be quite honest
with you, apart from that, it’s a subjective decision.”
Harcourt will feature Gary Jules for his talented song writing and
his intriguing observations on living in Los Angeles.
Trespassers William, a folk/indie-rock/shoegaze band, was tapped
for its sultry and evocative sound.
“It kinda reminds me a little bit of Mazzy Star and I thought they
would just be a great band to have on the bill,” Harcourt said. “It’s
a diverse range of music and everyone’s going to be playing about 30
minutes.”
Band members will officially release “Different Stars,” their
second album produced without a record contract, at “Unsigned
Indies.”
“KCRW has built a reputation for always being on the cutting edge
of music, and their mission being so similar to ours it’s really a
natural fit because KCRW has ‘Morning Becomes Eclectic,’” said
Craddock Stropes, spokesperson for the Philharmonic Society, on why
the fourth annual festival is joining with the radio station.
The Philharmonic Society sponsors the Eclectic Orange Festival,
which will host 55 performances in six weeks at several different
venues. The centerpiece of its schedule -- known for its artistic
diversity -- will be performances by the equestrian troupe Theatre
Zingaro.
KOCE-TV’s television crew will be on site to air “Unsigned Indies”
live on their weekly show “Sound Affects.” The program will be
broadcast Oct. 12 through 26.
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