What pop punk band was named KIIS FM’s breakout star in 2010, then continued to rise to fame by having one of their songs chosen as the title track on VH1’s hit reality show Saddle Ranch? It’s Later Days.

Originally from Naples, Florida but they have become a staple in the Los Angeles radio rotation and are only of the few bands to play intermission at a Kings hockey game. The four members of Later Days (Mike Wassef, Derrick Peltz, Paul Martello, and Robert Curtin) embody the rock n’ roll party lifestyle of the Sunset Strip and instill that attitude in their music. This is why Universal Citywalk has asked Later Days to be the first band in their “Plugged In” concert series and the first band to EVER perform on their new Five Towers Stage.

The band hits the stage on Friday, July 1st at 8pm. It’s a free concert so I should see everyone there rocking their face off to some kick ass punk music!

Here is a sneak peak of what you will experience on Friday:

This is actually 3 articles in one; one part Dunkxchange, one part Diamond Crew, and one part Pusha T. Your getting your moneys worth on this one folks [not that you usually don't get your money’s worth, but I digress].

I got back to the office this past Saturday night after hanging at the DXC in DTLA. If that sentence had too many acronyms let me break it down. The DXC, or more commonly know as the Dunkxchange, was an event created by Gary Hugh and Curtis Brown. The show caters to the sneakerhead cult phenomenon. It’s a venue where you can check out, buy, trade and sell some of the rarest kicks on the planet. Kids stand in line for hours to be the first into the venue and stay into the late hours of the evening.

 Originating in Orange County, CA , the show started as a way for few dozen local enthusiast to come together and talk sneakers… 6 years later it’s a evolved into a whole different monster. The Dunkxchange now has venues that pack over 3000 kids a show, touring across the country year round, booking big name musical performances like MURS, Pusha T, GZA just to name a few. To paraphrase a popular Diamond Crew mantra, it’s more then just sneakers, it’s a culture! 

 This is probably what drew us to the DXC 3 years ago. Diamond Crew’s first public event/show was actually at DXC’s 3 year anniversary. The Dunkxchange is still giving streetwear & lifestyle brands the platform to showcase their hard work. Popular brands like Bobby Fresh allow fans to get some of their new products on pre-sale, where other first time brands like Major Made see if they can make their dreams a reality. 

 We have considered Gary & Curtis close professional and personal friends since we all met 3 years ago. But as much as we where glad to see them, we were as excited to hang backstage with PUSHA T and watch him kill it on stage.

Jay Ward & PUSHA T Backstage

Before their show at the Viper Room Kingsley was gracious enough to allow me to interview them. I had no idea what I was getting into once the interview started. They immediately thought that the best way to do the interview was to answer every question with another question. Luckily, it did not go down that way. My conclusions are; this band may be alternative rock as defined by Itunes but they are fresh, creative, and electrifying on stage. Their concert left me wanting more.

S/M: Okay guys, lets start with the basics. Why Kingsley?

Nadir: Why Kingsley? Because he [Brandon] was living in the past on Kingsley Street.

Brandon: I lived on Kingsley drive. I wished there was something more magical about it like I had this dream about standing on a mountain and a bird came down laid and it opened up and it said Kingsley. But, no I lived on the street. I did, I don’t live there anymore. [So sorry Brandon stalkers you will have to look on another street for Brandon]

Ian: People like to think that there is a lot that goes into a band name but it’s just trying to think of something that no one had.

S/M: How did you meet?

Brandon: I met Stephen at a mutual friend’s party and we were talking about like Classical piano and stuff. And then Steve found Nadir on Myspace dancing to a Michael Jackson video. I actually had met Ian before when his group of friends and my group of friends got in a fight, and we actually stopped the fight.

Ian: Yeah, we were cool.

Brandon: So through friends…and he’s [Ian] good looking. He has high cheek bones so we decided to put him in the band. We all meet through other people and other friends that is what LA does. Stephen called me and said you have to check out this video because we were auditioning drummers. He [Nadir] didn’t even play drums in the video. It was just him dancing in a monkey mask. We met him at Mel’s Diner he looked like he was straight from Italy and was Guccied up. He was walking down the street and some hot chick walked by. Then he stops and follows the girl, then turns to us and says “I love the pussy, man.” We were like this guy is ridiculous. Then we auditioned him and he was an amazing drummer.

Nadir: It was one of the words I knew at the time.

S/M: What are your Influences?

Stephen: I come from a Classical background but I really started getting into modern rock circa 2000. I really like bands like Muse and Neon Trees. I really like Radiohead. Actually what band has a keyboard in it and I got something to learn from it.

Brandon: I really like the Beatles. That’s cliché but they are the best ever. I like everything and anything with a beat. From James Taylor to Neon Trees to Muse. I love Muse. We kind of sound like them so I will say them. I can tell you what acoustic Jazz Folk people I like and at the same time like everything.

Ian: I am influenced by Michael Phelps, Dr. Phil, and Ryan Dunn. Those are my big three.

Nadir: Coming from Europe, a lot of Italian music and obviously European music. I grew up with a bit of everything from Grunge to Metal to pop to rock. Then I moved to funk to jazz and Latin jazz. It is important for a musician to have skills in every sector of music.

S/M: What is in the pipeline for Kingsley?

Brandon: We are working on new shit. We just did this festival in Vegas and I didn’t know it was a competition and I found out when we were leaving that we won it. So we got a lot of microphones and studio time. So we are going to take that studio time and just work on our new demos. We got like six new songs and we are probably going to take the best three and like kill em’. I think within a month we should have some new recordings done. We are looking for touring. The best thing we do is play live so we want to maximize it.

Ian: We will have new recordings done by the end of the summer. So by then we plan on touring in the Fall.

S/M: How do each of you celebrate YOUR celebrity:

Brandon: I cook. I try weird shit, like pancetta wrapped salmon. I cook and make guitars.

Stephen: You know what I do, I go out and I dress up like I’m Tom Brady and I try to lose all control. After that I usually NEVER want to drink again.

Ian: What do I do? The funny thing is there is a line like cool we are in a band and there are certain expectations like partyin’ and all this stuff. But at the end of the day the nice thing is when you can break from that. I like going to baseball games, going to dive bars, and eating in nice restaurants. I think that is how I enjoy being in a band is those times when I’m not in a band.

Nadir: I like to chill. I like camping. I enjoy nature because coming from a small town in Italy with lakes and mountains, when you live in LA it is such a chaotic city and my favorite thing is to go camping 2 or 3 hours away from LA.

Ian: I think that is the point. It’s when we can get away from all this stuff that we can really celebrate it… ROCK ON Kingsley!

High Voltage Magazine knows how to throw down. Usually, when I look forward to a show with as much anticipation as I had for this show there is bound to be some disappointment. Not this time High Voltage Magazine’s June 22nd show at the Mint was EPIC!!

The show began with The Cold Chills setting the bar. They had an amazing set to get everyone in the mood to rock. The bar was shattered by the high energy set of the Toy Bombs. Cole has some of the best moves on stage that definitely inspired the crowd to dance along with him.

Eli James took the stage with his LED drum set. It immediately reminded me of the showmanship of Bowie mixed with the modern aesthetic of Brian Eno. His shirts said “Who the fuck is Eli James?” after his set I doubt anyone will forget.

Hell & Lula brought down the house and took the crowd’s energy to critical mass. Everyone danced to their songs whether they knew the lyrics or not. Not only are the amazing musicians but they are part of the whistle blower campaign to bring fair elections and to raise awareness of the constant civil unrest in the Congo.

Shout out to Chelsea Schwartz for putting together an amazing kick ass night. You know it was a great concert when you leave with more energy than you initially had. I can’t wait to see what high voltage magazine will do to top this night.

Hell & Lula - Set the World on Fire

Toy Bombs - Fall Down