THE GUIDE

2 DAYS OF MUSIC ; a rundown of all acts at the festival

CATHY MAESTRI
THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE
3,223 words
25 April 2003
The Press-Enterprise
BB04
English
Copyright (c) 2003 Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved.

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival offers a variety of Genres

BOTH DAYS

BLUE MAN GROUP New York Experimental indie rock/VENUS HUM Nashville Electronica/pop: The visual/sonic performance-art troupe unveils the new rock production (with staging by Pink Floyd's production designer) for its new album, "The Complex"; collaborators Venus Hum will make a guest appearance on reworked disco classic "I Feel Love."

* * *

SATURDAY

HIP-HOP

BEASTIE BOYS New York Hip-hop: They started out as bratty punk-rappers and have evolved into outspoken activists -- without skipping a single phat beat. Working on a new album, the Beasties' only scheduled appearances are tonight's Jam Master Jay benefit in Las Vegas; Coachella; and the Tibetan Freedom Concert in Taiwan.


BLACK EYED PEAS Los Angeles Socially conscious hip-hop: The
musically diverse outfit -- they rock hard enough to have done
the Warped tour -- will debut new music and a new member, female
singer Fergi.
MASTERS AT WORK New York Electronica/hip-hop: A rare live


appearance by house producers Little Louie Vega and Kenny "Dope" Gonzales and their own reggae/Latin/hip-hop blend of Nuyorican Soul.

N*E*R*D Virginia Beach, Va. Supercharged hip-hop: A brilliant side project from the Neptunes' Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams -- who just happen to be pop music's Midas-touch producers (Snoop Dogg, TLC, Justin Timberlake, B****** S*****, Nelly et al).

PEANUT BUTTER WOLF San Jose DJ/JAYLIB Oxnard Hip-hop/Wildchild Oxnard Hip-hop: PBW is a pop-culture-devotee DJ, producer and owner of Stone's Throw Records. Jaylib is a collaboration between Stone's Throw artist Madlib and Detroit native Jay Dee; they merge hip-hop and classic jazz on "Shades of Blue: Madlib Invades Blue Note," due June 24. Madlib produced the latest solo album from Wildchild, "Secondary Protocol" (both are also members of Lootpack).

SPEARHEAD San Francisco Socially conscious hip-hop: Former Beatnig Michael Franti was half of the influential polticial-rap duo the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy; his rootsier, eclectic Spearhead worked with Sly & Robbie on "Everyone Deserves Music," due Aug. 19.

TALIB KWELI Brooklyn, N.Y. Socially conscious hip-hop: The highly respected rapper is the son of teachers (his name translates as "the seeker or student of truth or knowledge") and he and high-school buddy Mos Def turned a failing Brooklyn bookstore into an education and culture center; "Quality" is his second solo album.

THA LIKS Los Angeles Hip-hop: The popular West-Coast party-rap trio trimmed their name from Tha Alkaholiks for 2001's "X.O. Experience" (and an accompanying movie).

ROCK

BEN HARPER & THE INNOCENT CRIMINALS Pomona Acoustic indie rock: Ben Harper was a local legend, practically growing up in his grandparent's Folk Music Center in Claremont; now the passionate singer/guitarist is an international star, lives in Los Angeles with girlfriend Laura Dern and still hangs out at the shop he now owns in Claremont.

BEN KWELLER Greenville, Texas Indie rock: The much-touted teen rock prodigy had a busted-up (Radish) and a few DIY solo projects before becoming the next big thing -- again -- at the tender age of 20; last year's anti-folk charmer "Sha Sha" is finally living up to BK's billing.

GOMEZ Sheffield, England Indie rock: Three of the five members take turns on lead vocals; they won the prestigious Mercury Music Prize with their debut, 1998's "Bring It On," and will preview brand-new songs this weekend.

IDLEWILD Edinburgh, Scotland Indie rock: A far classier and more sensitive version of dime-a-dozen American post-grunge bands; huge in the UK, the band ought to gain notice here when it opens for with Pearl Jam.

THE MOONEY SUZUKI New York Indie rock: Columbia re-released last year's raucous indie R&B/rock album, "Electric Sweat," and MTV2 put them on the just-ended Advance Warning tour.

THE MUSIC Leeds, England Indie rock: One of Britain's most hyped young bands, their debut album, "Take the Long Road and Walk It," comes on like a hurricane; they've already toured here with Coldplay and are now on the road with the Vines.

QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE Cathedral City Indie rock: Hard and heavy without sacrificing melody, the Queens have found international fame, if not fortune; former Kyuss members Josh Homme and Nick Oliveri play what's practically a hometown festival for the second consecutive year, though this time without drummer Dave Grohl.

POP

BADLY DRAWN BOY Manchester, England Folksy indie pop: The prolific, shambling BDB (aka Damon Gough) became a household name in the UK with his first album, 2000's "Hour of Bewilderbeast," which won a prestigious Mercury Music Prize for best album; since then, he's done the soundtrack for (appropriately enough) "About A Boy" and released his proper sophomore album, "Have You Fed the Fish?"

BLUR Colchester, England Indie pop:

HOT HOT HEAT Vancouver, Canada Indie pop: Irresistible, bouncy, boisterous pop --it's a good thing "Bandages" has one of those hooks that get stuck in your head, since radio stations started avoiding it once the war began.

JOSEPH ARTHUR Akron, Ohio Acoustic indie pop: Discovered by Peter Gabriel, Arthur's bittersweet, low-key music has won widespread critical acclaim -- "Come to Where I'm From" was Entertainment Weekly's top album of 2000; his latest is "Redemption's Son."

SOUTH London Atmospheric indie pop: The trio, finishing work on a new album, blends electronics and a trippy Manchester sound with lush, orchestral pop.

SPYMOB Minneapolis Indie pop: Sunny, piano-driven pop reminiscent of everyone from Steely Dan to Ben Folds to Split Enz and Jellyfish; the first band signed to the Neptunes' StarTrak label ("Sitting Around Keeping Score" is due July 22), they double as N*E*R*D's tour band.

STEREO TOTAL Berlin Electronic indie pop: French singer Francoise Cactus and German singer/synth player Brezel Goring combine for campy Euro-lounge electro-pop.

DJs

D:FUSE Austin, Texas Progressive trance DJ: Texas doesn't seem like a likely place to find a hot DJ, but there's no denying the former industrial musician; he's toured with Paul Oakenfold, and after releasing a disc for electronic label Moonshine, he moved to V2 (home of the White Stripes) for last year's "People."

AMON TOBIN Rio de Janeiro/Montreal Jungle/ambient/jazz DJ: Brazilian-born Tobin spent time in the UK and Portugal before relocating to Canada; he originally recorded under the name Cujo.

CHRISTOPHER LAWRENCE Los Angeles Trance DJ: With the Chemical Brothers taking a year off and Perry Farrell saving himself for Lollapalooza, Lawrence will become the only performer to participate in all four Coachella festivals; he'll also appear in the film "A Midsummer Night's Rave."

C-MINUS Los Angeles Mix-and-match DJ: One of the hosts of Power 106's Mass Distortion on Sunday nights; he's worked and/or toured with Korn, Queens of the Stone Age, Papa Roach and Limp Bizkit.

DARREN EMERSON London Techno DJ: Now on his own, during his decade with Underworld he transformed the group from post-new wave to techno pioneers; he's done remixes for Bjork, the Chemical Brothers and Fatboy Slim.

DILLINJA & LEMON D London Jungle/drum 'n' bass DJs: Chiefly known as producers, the pair (Karl Francis and Kevin King) formed the Valve label to release their harder-sounding tracks.

GROOVE ARMADA London Electronica DJs: "Superstylin' " got them a Grammy nomination, but "I See You Baby" is more familiar, thanks to a car commercial; rather than just DJing at Coachella, Tom Findlay and Andy Cato will do a full-on live set.

HERNAN CATTANEO Buenos Aires, Argentina Progressive house DJ: One of Latin America's most prestigious DJs, he's been championed by Paul Oakenfold and released "South America" on the latter's Perfecto label.

ROGER SANCHEZ New York House DJ: The Ibiza-scene regular and syndicated radio DJ has done production work for everyone from Diana Ross and Basia to Michael and Janet Jackson; more recently, he won a Best Remix Grammy for No Doubt's "Hella Good."

PUNK

THE HIVES Fagersta, Sweden Indie punk: The Stooges-inspired Swedes were together eight years and "Veni Vidi Vicious" released twice in order for them to become an overnight sensation; this is their only scheduled US appearance this year.

THE DONNAS San Francisco Punk-pop: Their aliases and irreverent attitudes owe a debt to the Ramones; their rowdy role-reversal offers a bit of fun as well as a point well taken -- especially by young female fans.

THE LIBERTINES London Indie punk: A British paper called them "the cherubic-faced link between Noel Coward and the Clash"; the latter's Mick Jones produced "Up the Bracket."

THE RAPTURE San Diego/New York Indie punk: The band released its first album on San Diego's Gravity label before moving to New York and Sub Pop for an EP; they were the first release on the DFA label with last year's "House of Jealous Lovers."

ELECTROCLASH

FELIX DA HOUSECAT Chicago Electroclash: Also known as Aphrohead, Sharkimax, Wonderboy, Thee Maddkatt Courtship, one of 2 Black Ninjas and plain old Felix Stallings Jr., he paired with the fabulous Francophile Ms. Kittin (among others) for the vampy, trend-setting "Kittenz and Thee Glitz."

LADYTRON Liverpool, England Electroclash: With members are from Bulgaria, Scotland and Hong Kong, one writer described their highly structured, kittenish synth pop as " . . . a teasing glimpse of how B****** S***** might have sounded, had she been born in the GDR and a heroin addict."

LATIN

KINKY Monterey, Mexico Latin electronica: A mix of sultry Mexican grooves, funky breaks and wocky electronica, their self-title debut was nominated for a Latin Grammy.

ELECTRONICA

PARTICLE Los Angeles Live electronica: A techno jam band for Deadheads and heavy-riff lovers (they like to call it "space-porn funk"), the quartet is working on its debut album.

* * *

SUNDAY

HIP-HOP

EL-P Brooklyn, N.Y./AESOP ROCK, New York/RJD2, Columbus, Ohio/MR. LIF, Brighton, Mass./MURS Los Angeles Hip-hop and rap: El-P (El Producto) was asked to work on former Rage Against the Machine singer Zack de la Rocha's solo album; the others are all forward-thinking rappers on El-P's Definitive Jux label.

ROCK

WHIRLWIND HEAT Grand Rapids, Mich. Indie rock: Not only are they the first band signed to Jack White's new label, Third Man, but he produced "Do Rabbits Wonder?"

22-20S Lincoln, England Indie rock: The UK's answer to the White Stripes (with a little Strokes thrown in), they're the hottest unsigned band in Britain.

CAFE TACUBA Mexico City Latin indie rock: One of the major players in the rock en Espanol movement, the Grammy winners will preview material from "Cuatro Caminos," due July 1 and their first studio album since 1999.

IMA ROBOT Los Angeles Indie rock: Featuring several FOBS (friends of Beck), Justin Meldal-Johnsen, Alex Ebert, Tim Anderson, Oliver Goldstein and newest member Joey Waronker have just finished recording their debut for Virgin Records.

PRIMAL SCREAM Glasgow, Scotland Indie rock: The band fused its bluesy indie pop with electronic dance on 1991's "Screamadelica," paving the way for techno's advance into alternative music; its new album, "Evil Heat," contains both as well as appearances by My Bloody Valentine's Kevin Shields and supermodel Kate Moss.

RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS Los Angeles Alternative rock: The Chili Peppers have been blending rock, funk, hip-hop and whatever else they could get their hands on for 20 years. Their latest album, "By the Way," has already gone platinum; this is their first Southern California show since a millennium New Year's Eve show.

SONIC YOUTH New York Indie rock: Still moving forward after more than two decades as a band, the experimental rock outfit's studios were a few blocks from Ground Zero; their latest album, "Murray Street," reflects 9-11 New York and is one of their best yet.

THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR LIVES Gothenburg, Sweden Psychedelic indie rock: It took years and several evolutions to become an overnight sensation, at least in the U.S. and UK, but they've made it; "Behind the Music" was nominated for a Grammy in the alternative category.

TORTOISE Chicago Atmospheric indie rock: The instrumental outfit that sometimes sports not just one but two vibes player dabbles in everything from ambient music and avante-garde jazz to electronica and Germanic sounds.

THE WHITE STRIPES Detroit Indie rock: Some critics swear Meg and Jack White are saving rock 'n' roll, and they might not be too far off -- "Elephant" debuted at the top of the British charts and a healthy No. 6 on the Billboard album chart, and the minimalist duo is the biggest deal in town.

POP

G. LOVE & SPECIAL SAUCE Philadelphia Indie pop: G. Love is going out of his way -- from an Australian tour, to be precise -- to bring his laid-back, sloppy/funky blues sound back to Coachella.

ROONEY Los Angeles Indie pop: Pure, summery pop and named after the principal in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," their first show was at the Troubadour as openers for Phantom Planet -- which just happens to feature singer Robert Carmine's older brother, actor Jason Schwartzman. Their debut will be out this summer on Geffen.

BEN FOLDS Winston-Salem, N.C. Acoustic pop: The sensitive, sarcastic piano man disbanded the Ben Folds Five (OK, it was acutally a trio) and struck out on his own, releasing the solo "Rockin' the Suburbs" and a live recording of the subsequent tour.

EISLEY Tyler, Texas Indie pop: Four young siblings (three of them girls) with a friend on drums, the pop band with spiritual undertones has signed with Warner Bros. .

INTERPOL New York Moody indie pop: Frequently compared to Joy Division -- but with nice suits. They're playing a French festival on Saturday and flying back to the States just for Coachella.

JACK JOHNSON Oahu, Hawaii Acoustic indie pop: The former pro surfer and sometime indie filmmaker's lazy blues/pop found an audience with help from friends like G. Love (who recorded "Rodeo Clowns") and mentor Ben Harper; "Brushfire Fairtales" sold a million copies, and his soundtrack for "September Sessions" was released while fans wait for "On and On" to come out May 6.

THE POLYPHONIC SPREE Dallas Choral indie pop: See story, page XX.

JOHNNY MARR & THE HEALERS Manchester, England Indie pop: Marr heads his first band since breaking up the Smiths; it features Who drummer Zak Starkey (son of Ringo), ex-Kula Shaker bassist Alonza Bevan and the chiming guitar of Marr -- who turns out to be a perfectly capable, if initially reluctant, singer.

MOUSE ON MARS Dusseldorf, Germany Electronic indie pop: The experimental ambient duo's new CD was composed as a film score, but the dense instrumentals were rejected by the director; "Glam," starring Tony Danza and Ali McGraw, was subsequently rejected by the studio and went straight to video.

DJs

DJ IRENE Los Angeles House DJ: She was the progressive-house DJ at Arena for 13 years, having sold nearly 300,000 mix CDs makes former UPS employee Irene Gutierrez the nation's most popular female DJ.

DEEP DISH Washington, D.C. Progressive-house DJs: Accidentally booked to play the same place at the same time, Ali "Dubfire" Shirasinia and Sharam Tayebi soon teamed up; they've done well as solo artists and were nominated for a remixer Grammy in 2001 for work that included Madonna's "Music"; they won the following year, when they did Dido's "Thank You."

DJ DB London/New York Drum 'n' bass DJ: Helped popularize breakbeat music in the U.S.; now a co-owner of Breakbeat Science store/label.

FC KAHUNA London Acid-house DJs: The DJs-turned club entreprenuers-turned label owners decided to go back to the boards, and their output has been used in Humvee commercials and TV's "CSI"; this is their first American appearance as a live band.

RICHIE HAWTIN Detroit Acid DJ: Though born in England and raised in Canada, Hawtin (aka Plastikman and F.U.S.E.) is a vital part of the Detroit scene; he co-owns the Plus 8 label.

TIMO MAAS Dusseldorf, Germany Trance DJ: The producer/DJ's "Music for the Maases 2" comes out May 6 and features remixes of Garbage, Fatboy Slim, bt, Moby and Placebo tracks as well as an original, "Unite."

PUNK

THE VON BONDIES Detroit Indie punk: Formerly known as the Baby Killers, they toured Europe with neighbors the White Stripes; they're getting a record ready for the Sire label.

IGGY & THE STOOGES Detroit Proto-punk: The inspiration for generations of raw rock and self-inflicted wounds, drugs and slow album sales led to their dissolution in 1974. Iggy Pop went on, eventually, to a successful solo career; surviving Stooges Ron and Scott Asheton started playing Stooges songs with bassist Mike Watt (standing in for the late David Alexander) a while ago. Pop invited them to play on his upcoming album; Coachella will be their first public performance together in 28 years.

THE KINISON Oblong, Ill./Pedley Indie punk: The Illinois band set up shop in Riverside to hone an explosive, emotional sound and delivery that makes Rage Against the Machine sound restrained and At the Drive In look calculated.

THE MARS VOLTA EL Paso, Texas Indie punk: Cedric Bixler and Omar Rodriguez formed the incendiary Mars Volta after the demise of At the Drive In in 2001; their album has been pushed back to June 17, but in the meantime they'll tour with the Chili Peppers.

S.T.U.N. Los Angeles Indie punk: Shorthand for "Scream Toward the Uprising of Nonconformity," they opened a recent Jane's Addiction show in Riverside and are scheduled for this year's Warped Tour; their debut, "Evolution of Energy" will be out July 8.

ELECTROCLASH

FISCHERSPOONER New York Electroclash: Like it or not, they're the glamourous electroclash poster troupe, combining hard-edged electronic dance grooves, extravagant visuals and purposely bad lip-synching; NME called them "the best thing to happen to music since electricity."

ELECTRONICA

THIEVERY CORPORATION Washington, D.C. Electronica DJs: Their latest album, "The Richest Man in Babylon," encompasses world-beat music and their penchant for warm sounds; at Coachella they'll do a live set.

DIRTY VEGAS London Electronica: The trio had a record deal waiting before they had a name (Dirty Harry had lawyers on their trail, so they settled on Dirty Vegas) and a familiar song even before it released its self-titled debut -- "Days Go By" got loads of exposure in a Mitsubishi commercial.

UNDERWORLD London Electronica: Karl Hyde and Rick Smith were a one-hit wonder as Freur (the hit being "Doot-Doot"); then they formed Underworld and, with Darren Emerson onboard, became techno legends. Their first album without Emerson, last year's "A Hundred Days Off," still bore their trademark sound.

PHOTOS; Caption: EMPEROR NORTON ; ladytron ; JULIAM SCHNABEL ; red hot chili peppers ; Bestie Boys ; Badly Drawn Boy ; The Hives Whirlwind Heat ; G. Love ; DJ Irene ; The Von Bondies ; Fischerspooner ; Thievery Corp.


[Edited on 26-4-2003 by Phobiac]