Real Music Alternatives

Few bands survive the reboot Alice In Chains launched in 2008, six years after the death of its troubled powerhouse singer, Layne Staley. Guitarist Jerry Cantrell admits the idea of reemerging from stasis with a new vocalist, William DuVall, felt like a gamble. The result was Black Gives Way To Blue, a work worthy of standing alongside the band’s masterpiece, 1992’s Dirt. Though few would have predicted such a return to form, the album was certified gold, topped scads of best-of lists and launched two full tours. The new The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here stays true to the Alice In Chains sound, a dense shroud of gloom occasionally lifted by soaring harmonies and delicate riffs. For every dirge stomp like “Pretty Done” and the menacing creep of “Lab Monkey,” there are echoes of Jar Of Flies’ haunted acoustic beauty (“Voices,” “Choke”) or the filthy groove of “Stone,” the album’s second single. DuVall will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our brand new Alice In Chains feature.

DuVall: For all the Angelenos in the MAGNET-sphere, finally there’s a real-deal juice bar in Studio City for those times when you just can’t (or don’t want to) schlep over the hill into Hollywood to get your fix. Royalty Cafe is a family-run place with all of the inherent care and personal charm that brings (free samples, eagerness to please, attention to detail, good vibes, etc.). Tony, Anna and their daughter Annete are some of the nicest people you could meet. Their café is tiny but filled to the brim with the most beautiful organic fruits and vegetables, which they use to serve the finest made-to-order cold-pressed juice I’ve had yet in the city of Los Angeles. They also make really good sandwiches, wraps, homemade soups, fresh salads, smoothies and the best almond milk I have had anywhere. Another remarkable thing is how happy, polite and good-natured all of the customers are to one another, despite the close quarters. In all the times I’ve been there, I have yet to catch one whiff of the usual L.A. rat-race-me-first bullshit that one so often encounters in this town. It’s as if everyone is so happy this place exists that they check their nonsense at the door. Royalty Café is the sort of spot that you almost hesitate to tell people about for fear that word will spread far enough for it to eventually be over-run by the Douche Brigade. But we’re all friends here, right?

Few bands survive the reboot Alice In Chains launched in 2008, six years after the death of its troubled powerhouse singer, Layne Staley. Guitarist Jerry Cantrell admits the idea of reemerging from stasis with a new vocalist, William DuVall, felt like a gamble. The result was Black Gives Way To Blue, a work worthy of standing alongside the band’s masterpiece, 1992’s Dirt. Though few would have predicted such a return to form, the album was certified gold, topped scads of best-of lists and launched two full tours. The new The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here stays true to the Alice In Chains sound, a dense shroud of gloom occasionally lifted by soaring harmonies and delicate riffs. For every dirge stomp like “Pretty Done” and the menacing creep of “Lab Monkey,” there are echoes of Jar Of Flies’ haunted acoustic beauty (“Voices,” “Choke”) or the filthy groove of “Stone,” the album’s second single. DuVall will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our brand new Alice In Chains feature.

DuVall: One of the first boutique film companies and, in my view, still the best. Between the quality of presentation (and restoration, where needed), the often-fascinating bonus material, the liner notes, packaging and the overall level of care and scholarship applied to every film they take on, Criterion remains the state of the art. I will take a chance on a film I’ve never heard of simply by virtue of it being given the Criterion treatment. It’s introduced me to dozens of incredible movies I would have otherwise never experienced and made me look at many of my old favorites in a whole new way. I can’t think of a stronger endorsement than that.

Video after the jump.

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