No Age
The Smell—a grotty, all-ages music venue/rec room/incubator on the east side of Los Angeles—has produced several notable acts since opening its doors in 1998, but the poster children for its DIY ethos would have to be the prolific guitar-and-drums duo No Age. Dean Spunt and Randy Randall, both native sons of Southern California, initially connected as members of the hardcore band Wives; when that group dissolved, they formed No Age and began to generate the riveting, reverb-heavy sonic compositions that have won accolades from hip websites like Pitchfork, as well as more rarefied publications such as the The New Yorker. In 2007, they blanketed the scene by releasing five EPs on five different labels on the same day, and Sub Pop promptly signed them. A year later, they released Nouns, a wildly acclaimed album that snagged a Grammy nomination for Best Recording Package (in addition to their musical prowess, Spunt and Randall take a serious interest in graphic design). In September 2010, No Age released their sophomore effort, the equally vaunted Everything in Between. The band's current tour of North America winds up in January 2011.
Randy Randall (left) and Dean Spunt. Photos by Todd Cole, Los Angeles, 2010
