Bethany Cosentino

See also:
*The Branding of Best Coast
*Our Best Coast cover story from 2010

Our music feature this week focuses on indie-pop duo Best Coast. They're a band with a lot of fans and a lot of critics -- some of whom don't approve of their increasingly-symbiotic relationship with Urban Outfitters, and some who believe their new album isn't as strong as their debut. One thing's for sure, the new work The Only Place isn't going to go unnoticed. Here are some excerpts from our interviews with members Bobb Bruno and Bethany Cosentino that didn't make the story.

Cosentino on designing a line of clothing for Urban Outfitters:
"I feel like it's every girl's dream to design something that you can see someone walking down the street wearing."

Cosentino on the clothing in the line:
"One of the dresses I designed is inspired by the movie Clueless. The girls that come to my shows always have such great style."

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Aaron Farley

See also: Still a Malcontent: A midlife crisis spawns Keith Morris' new band Off!

In this week's music feature we get inside the heads of punk rock "supergroup" Off! on the eve of the release their self-titled debut album. (They hate that term, btw.) The group, which is led by former Black Flag and Circle Jerks frontman and Keith Morris, was spawned from the disintegration of the Circle Jerks. Below are excerpts from our conversation with Morris -- at Carousel Restaurant in east Hollywood, where Off! was first conceived -- that didn't make the article.

On working "day jobs":
"I come from working class, so it's not that big of a deal. Not a big deal to get up at eight in the morning and chop up some fruit and some vegetables and ask people what they would like to drink ... [Friends] would look at me and go: 'Why are you working here? You're a rock star - you should be out playing the coliseums of the world.'"

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Fearless Records

At the Drive-In

See also:
*At the Drive-In Speaks! Why They Finally Reunited (Hint: It Wasn't the Cash)
*Coachella Preview 2012: Everything You Need to Know About the Performers

Our At the Drive-In profile yesterday focuses on the reunion of the seminal post-punk legends, who dissolved in 2001. Before they hit the stage at Coachella this weekend, we tracked down members Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, Jim Ward and Tony Hajjar to find out why they finally decided to get the band back together. They also talk about their favorite ATDI songs, their new record label and getting heckled by So Cal fans in the early days. Here are excerpts from our interview that didn't make the story.

On brotherly love:
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez: I grew up with those guys. We became adults together in a tiny van. We lived in that van from when we were 17, when your hormones are all over the place, until our mid-'20s. We found love together, we lost love together, we lost friends together we found new friends together, and we came up together. That's what that experience is, that's what playing with those guys again is.

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Drew Denny

See also: Ashley Huizenga is an academic-minded singer and performance artist. She wants to get you off

Our music feature this week focuses on Ashley Huizenga, an L.A. musician and performance artist known for her academic-minded -- and also quite filthy -- shows under the guise of her alter ego Actually Huizenga.

Trained as a classical pianist, she creates epic '80s inspired dance scores that feature wailing guitar solos, shimmering synth sounds, and sexy lyrics like "You're top's off/Mine's coming off/You're giving it/I'm taking it/Who's driving this car?" Having recently shot the latest installment of her video series "Soft Rock" - in which she is literally boffed on camera -- she spoke with us about her monthly show at Cheetahs strip club in Hollywood, her upcoming solo album, and much more.

On her Kickstarter campaign:
I asked all my YouTube subscribers to donate to my Kickstarter. I tried to make each message personal but their name is a screen name so it's like "dear big cock xoxo help me make my dream come true."

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Suzy Poling

See also: Seth Bogart Wears Red Lipstick in a Black & White World: Hunx and His Punx frontman speaks for lonely gay kids in the Heartland

Our music feature this week is on Seth Bogart, Hunx of Hunx and his Punx. Bogart is too much man for one story. He talks a lot, as any hairdresser worth his salt should, and almost everything that comes out of his mouth is hilarious, raunchy, and fascinating. And sometimes it's even a little sad. Below are excerpts from the interview that didn't make the final story.

On his experiences as a hairdresser:
"Everyone's gotta make a living somehow and Hunx ain't exactly paying my bills. I went to beauty school when I was 19 because I thought it seemed funny, not because I thought I'd be good at it. I was terrible at first. I gave a girl a perm and she cried. I was cutting this man's hair and he grabbed the clippers outta my hand and finished the haircut himself! But eventually I got really good at it. Being a hairdresser is really fun, especially if you don't work at a stupid rich-lady place. You basically just get paid to hang out and talk with a bunch of cool weird ladies and help them with their looks."  

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Jennie Warren

Bishop Don "Magic" Juan

See also Big Pimpin': Pimp cups have real players and white kids alike dropping cash

In this week's cover story, we trace the colorful history of hip hop's most interesting accessory, the pimp cup. These bedazzled chalices, popularized by Snoop Dogg and Lil Jon, are actually prayed over by a church-going Chicago lady named Debbie the Glass Lady.

At the center of the story is pimp-turned-preacher Bishop Don "Magic" Juan -- who has some two dozen children, and once had a stable of 11 women. We chatted with Bishop, his "spiritual advisor" Snoop Dogg, and Debbie about the cups; here are the best clips that didn't make the story.

On his friendship with Snoop:
Bishop: "Like I said, it's been something like 12 years now, and me and Snoop been together almost every week ... It become a real tight bond ... It's an amazing relationship and we friends above business. Snoop don't have to call me everyday for me to know I am his main man. I don't have to call him. Our friendship is already something made in heaven. We just have to enjoy it together."

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Jennie Warren

See also our feature story: Fidlar Are Drunk, Reckless and Proud of It

Our print feature story this week focuses on Fidlar, Highland Park-based garage punks who are creating major industry buzz without seeming to give a fuck.

Over the course of a beer-drenched BBQ at their home-recording studio, they shared their thoughts between gulps of Bud Light. There wasn't enough room for all of their choice quotes within the article, so here are the inebriated musings of Zac Carper, Brandon Schwartzel, and Elvis and Max Kuehn:

On growing up with their dad in legendary punk act T.S.O.L.:
Elvis Kuehn: My brother and I grew up playing music. My dad gave Max a drum set for his first birthday and got me a guitar later and was like 'That's what you're each gonna play.'

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Our feature story this week profiles L.A. dubstep hero 12th Planet, aka the Johnny Appleseed of Dubstep. We spent time with him backstage at the Echoplex before a gig with Skrillex and Caspa, and then again at his downtown loft-studio. The DJ-producer has been instrumental in bringing dubstep to the U.S.; here are excerpts from the interview that didn't make the story.

On how dubstep took off in Los Angeles:
"The sheer fact is just numbers. When dubstep started out in L.A., it was more of a 21 and up thing. So, the only way you could get in was if you had an ID. It wasn't branded that well. It was the bastard of drum n' bass...

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Photo by Paul Ferrara/copyright DMC

See also:
*L.A. Woman Was the Doors' Bluesy Masterpiece, and Jim Morrison's Kiss-Off to L.A.
*Surviving Members of the Doors Discuss L.A. Woman, Track by Track

In December we scrambled from the Pacific Palisades to Ojai, interviewing the major players behind The Doors' opus L.A. Woman. The sessions culminated in last month's cover story on the subject, which continues to be widely read. Considering we took some 50 single-spaced pages of notes, there were plenty of interesting details that didn't make the story. Here are the highlights.

On Jim Morrison's substance abuse
Ray Manzarek (organ, keyboard bass): Before L.A. Woman [Jim's self-abuse] hadn't yet affected his literary output or sense of songwriting. It had affected his health. We had a little confrontation at one point and told him he was drinking too much. He was like, 'I know, man. I'm trying to quit.' We were like, "okay, just call us and let us know."

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Jennie Warren

See also: Schoolboy Q's Questions and Answers: He Didn't Know What to Do With His Life. Rap Was the Last Resort

This week's music feature is on Schoolboy Q. Lounging on a couch in his manager's house in Carson, the rapper told us about transitioning from stuffing a baggie of crack in his cheek to selling out headlining shows across the city. Q, who often adopts a slightly unhinged, snarling rap persona, was relaxed and spoke openly about his spirituality, why he won't spend more than 15 minutes in his old hood and the one question he hates. Below are excerpts from our conversation that didn't make the story.

On why he hates some of his songs:
"I hate all the real true songs I have, like 'Birds & the Beez,' 'Blessed.' I haven't listened to 'Blessed' since I made it. All the real true, true, true songs, no lies in them? I make those 'cause I feel like I have to make them. It needs to be done. You have to do certain records so people won't categorize you as this [rapper who talks about nothing]. To make sure they don't say that, you gotta make 'em cry at least once on the album."

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