For a band whose name describes their striving to reach beyond the bounds of the local Bay Area music scene, Facing New York has done pretty well for themselves. In addition to numerous support slots throughout the country for bands like Cursive and Coheed and Cambria, their unique brand of progressive and post-rock has brought them as far as Japan to tour with Eastern Youth in 2006 and across all of Europe with RX Bandits in 2007.

On April 18^th, the Bay Area boys were a little closer to home (376.9 miles from home, give or take) as they played at the Troubadour in Hollywood along with Los Angeles brethren The Outline and veterans of the KSCR concert series, Division Day. This was guitarist (also on Rhodes and vox) Matt Fazzi’s last Southern California show as a member of Facing New York.

The band, also comprised of lead vocalist Eric Frederic on keys and guitar, bassist Brandon Canchola and drummer Omar Cuellar, announced just weeks ago that Fazzi was leaving Facing New York and would be playing his last shows in Los Angeles and San Francisco. His reasons for leaving, though not fully disclosed, relate to an opportunity that recently presented itself to Fazzi, which “he’d be a damn fool to pass up.” FNY has assured fans that they are parting ways cordially and these shows would not be Fazzi’s last time on stage with them. This is not the first time fans or members of Facing New York have seen a founding member leave. Just two years ago, Rene Carranza went back to school at UC Berkeley, leaving Fazzi and Frederic to fill in on keys, and leaving Facing New York as a four-piece. Carranza joined his former band mates for the encore of Fazzi’s last show, in San Francisco the night following their Hollywood show.

Now as a three-piece, the band plans to begin recording in May, for their upcoming album – the first since their self-titled full-length release in 2005. As the band’s lineup and influences have fluctuated through the years, the next album promises to reflect the evolution of Facing New York and present new sounds and structures which they’ve been eager to share with their fans - and did so that night at the Troubadour.

Facing New York opened the show humbly with Frederic explaining, “We usually don’t do big intros.” Instead, they let the music speak for itself, beginning with syncopated hand-clapping and their signature duet of dueling drum kits as they introduced their fans to “All a This,” a song which they’d not yet played live and just recently debuted the demo of on their Myspace page. Similarly, I won’t say much more about the song or their performance of it and let the live footage speak for itself. I should warn you, however, that the video has the slight potential to cause nausea as well as seizures. You have YouTube user mojoerose and the fine lighting technicians at the Troubadour to thank for that. But for those not particularly sensitive to light or motion, click play and enjoy.

Another highlight was fan (yours truly included) favorite, “Full Turn,” which had the audience hanging on every beat, note, and riff. For much of the song the audience stood still, wide-eyed and open-jawed, anticipating parts of the song they knew so well, yet sounded and felt like a new experience live. And the rest of the time? Well, they rocked the hell out, of course.

Facing New York returns to Los Angeles on May 20^th opening for Subtle at the Knitting Factory, before their US tour with RX Bandits and Portugal the Man.

Meanwhile, you can catch Eric Frederic’s solo side project, Wallpaper. fresh from Coachella and playing gigs EVERY night this week all over Los Angeles, at hipster faves Check Yo’ Ponytail and Club Moscow among others.

Settle or be sued. These are the two options given by the settlement letters that many college students have received. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) recently sent out its thirteenth batch of settlement letters and of the 401 notices, 50 target USC students.

Most will probably settle, whether through the RIAA’s p2plawsuits.com or otherwise, but what happens if someone actually decides to go to trial?

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In the age of the iTunes playlist, making a mix is easier than ever and in my opinion, there isn’t a better gift. If the best presents are from the heart, even better presents are musical.

Not only do my mixes display my preferences in music, but they also relate to what moves me emotionally. They are stained-glass windows into my personality and each song is a colorful piece of who I am.

Indeed, every time I create a new playlist, I change into a something of a safari guide to a Sahara of new music (minus the crazy hat and shorts). It’s not an in-depth analysis of my iTunes library, but it is a quick and adventurous tour of the landscape.

Even more rewarding is when the listener actually enjoys my mix. Positive feedback is more than just a compliment. Not only does it show that they like who I am musically, but I feel like each appreciated song becomes a new bridge between us.

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At first glance, MTV’s celebrity-offspring singing competition Rock the Cradle doesn’t seem like much more than a third-rate American Idol knock off. The dueling karaoke numbers of these celebrities-by-default isn’t helped much by the ludicrous over-hosting, the asinine judging panel, and the contestants’ syrupy vows that they have what it takes to “make it” on their own (except, you know, for being the child of someone famous and getting on the show in the first place).

This glorious train wreck of a television show does have one saving grace–the parents. Some of them have a bizarre synergistic relationship with their kids, as if it’s another way to extend mom or dad’s fame just a bit longer. Witness: the Dee and Jesse “Blaze” Snider tag team…

Many of the parents appear at the live show taping to appraise their progeny’s talents after they have been harshly judged by a blue-ribbon panel that includes Avril Lavigne’s choreographer and the lead singer of the Go-Gos. And nearly all of them star in completely natural and fluid staged video packages, dispensing essential rock-star parental advice with varying degrees of verisimilitude.

But at least everyone seems to genuinely care about each other amidst the wackiest jet set talent show ever conceived. It’s nice to see Bobby Brown on TV again outside the context of an E! True Hollywood Story. Particularly sympathetic is Crosby “Son of Kenny” Loggins, who possesses a disarming humility (on silver spoons: “I used to get a lot of crap for what my dad did. I didn’t care. ‘Danger Zone’ put food on my table.”) that is incredibly out of place in RtC’s world of whiz-bang presentation and contrived verbal sparring. Surely MTV knows this too and has prescribed some of the least convincing cockiness and the most unexpected bleep in TV history to give the family Loggins more “edge”:

Soft rockers don’t swear! But at least they’re setting a better example than Lil B. Sure! (son of obscure R&B veteran Al B. Sure!):

There is a world of cuisine outside of Figueroa fast food, Viztango, and Malibu Subs. I know that the busy slump sucks and the lure of cheap, quick food is hard to resist. Venturing further away from campus involves temporal, monetary, and logistical constraints. Luckily, with proper planning, you can beat these obstacles and get to eating some delicious ass food.

Masa - Echo Park Bakery & Cafe boasts a relatively large menu, but is known for their Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza. A large pizza easily feeds four people, and at a rate of $22+ for a large, you can leave well fed for about $7. Or, if you’re only in a twosome, get a small pizza and you’ll still achieve some serious expanding of your waistband. Deep dish pizza takes about an hour to make, so they welcome you to phone in your order beforehand. I also highly recommend their garlic bread, salads, and desserts. You can BYOB with no corkage fee, so make it a classy night and bring along some two-buck chuck.

Large Deep Dish Pizza with Roasted Red Pepper and Sausage

Now you’re wondering how the hell you’re going to get there. (This map I made shows you how close the bus stop, the restaurant, and the Echo are to each other.) Well, it just so happens that 200 Metro Bus goes directly from USC to Echo Park, whence you will get off at Sunset and only walk a few short blocks East to get there.