Valley Circle is a two man band, made up of a drummer and a guitar player. What’s interesting about this band is that they play a style that you wouldn’t expect to hear when you think of the word band. Guitarist Raffi Hammasian and drummer Manuk Avedikyan are the heart, soul and creators of Valley Circle. They played to a packed crowd Saturday night at the Troubadour. The set started off great and for the next 30 to 45 minutes,… Read more

Ani Chakiryan On Wednesday, Feb. 17, the House of Blues opened its doors to The Dear and Departed, Cursive and, the band that everyone was there for, Alkaline Trio. The doors opened at 6:30 p.m. Slowly but surely the venue fills up — not to the point where there’s nowhere to move or breathe, but it gets pretty packed. The show is running on time, and exactly at 7:30 the projector screen lifts up and the first band of the… Read more

Ani Chakiryan It’s Saturday night at the Wiltern. I’m standing up front, all the way in the front, at the point where I can extend my  hand and touch the speakers on the stage floor, I hear nothing but bass and subwoofers and drums. I feel my entire body shaking. It says something about the acoustics of the place. Walk to the back, go outside into the lobby or go upstairs to the balcony, and I can actually hear the… Read more

The second performance ends, the stage screw comes on stage and prepares for the next band; the audience is shifting from one foot to the next, people are buying drinks and looking around, the lighting crew fiddles with the adjustments to make sure everything is right. People are getting excited that the band is coming on but to their disappointment not yet. The red lights take the stage; fog rises and covers the stage creating a sense of anticipation, excitement… Read more

Truth is … listen to the lyrics,” said Mike Eddie, a performer in the Music Industries group’s Artist of the Year Finalist Showcase. Where other schools offer music business courses and degrees, CSUN incorporates music into the business lessons so the students get more than the just the business side of music; they get what they asked for. Music majors, in the Music Industry Studies (MIS) program, graduate with more knowledge, experience and a wider variety of job opportunities and… Read more

Honestly, what drives us to do any of the things that we decide to do? Why do some of us play music where others don’t? It’s simple really; it’s passion. It’s also passion that drives those who love music to make it their entire life. Carl Verheyen is a great poster child for this. Just your average off the block kid who grew up in Pasadena, California and got his first guitar on his 10th birthday, in 1965, and then… Read more