Photo: Jay Tilles

“On days like this, do you ever say ‘Yeah, we should rethink the whole suit thing?,” KROQ’s Kat Corbett asks Fitz and the Tantrums’ frontman Michael Fitzpatrick.

“Oh yeah, every summer festival I regret that decision,” Fitzpatrick says.

With their Coachella performance set to start at 4:45PM, in the searing triple digit heat, the band decided dresses down from their normal very business-like attire. Fitz and the Tantrums could be one of the most stylish bands on the road today. “There’s air-conditioning in that vest,” jokes Noelle Scaggs about bass player Joseph Karnes, who’s wearing a vest with loosened neck tie peeking through.

“I’d like to see the Fitz and the Tantrums fashion line, between the dresses, the suits…” advises Kat.

“We’re waiting for H&M to call us,” suggests Fitzpatrick.Fitz and the Tantrums enjoys some TV exposure.

Azaelia Banks (Photo: Faith-Ann Young)

20-year-old Azealia Banks is touted as the “next Nicki Minaj,” but disregarding her impish Barbie doll appearance, old-school Lil Kim vibe, and provocative flow (Banks salts explicit words throughout her rhymes), Banks is something wholly different.

The young Harlem-raised lyricist is a precocious fusion of rapid-fire rhyme spitting, mermaid hair and club-ready fashion, and provides the kind of ’90s rave scene vibe during her sets to back it up.  One could easily imagine Banks being a steady attendant of the Limelight in New York during the infamous Michael Alig/Party Monster days.

Although Banks is signed to Interscope, working with Adele’s producer Paul Epworth, was put on the top of NME’s “Cool List” in 2011, and has hung out with fashion notables like Karl Lagerfield, there is still something raw and untainted about Banks. It might be her ready smile, her Yung Rapunzel moniker, her open sexuality, or her unfiltered usage of swear words and slang in her lyrics.

Despite the conservative adult set, the kids of Bank’s generation are just like banks; not afraid to say the “wrong” words, wear the “wrong” clothes, or dance it out to the “wrong” sounds.  These same kids are listening to hip-hop as much as pop, rock as much as dance music, and combining all genres in their iPod playlists.

Bank on Banks to be the next big star.

Photo: Faith-Ann Young

“We are Kaiser Chiefs. Join us,” announced the gregarious Ricky Wilson, lead singer of  punk-wave indie rock band Kaiser Chiefs from Leeds.  In the mid-day sun, what started off as a sparse crowd filled up when the audience saw the antics of Wilson, gyrating his yellow-clad nether regions into the audience.

During the set, Wilson went into the crowd numerous times, had the audience sing many of the lyrics, got on top of the drum kit (not the drum kit he sold to David Letterman, which they allegedly used at the first Coachella weekend) and jumped off, grabbed the big-screen camera and kissing it, and running off the stage and to the beer garden for a drink–which he declared as “awkward.” Wilson is a master of manipulating the crowd into a frenzy. “No dicking around,” said the frontman. “Let’s go straight to the next one.”

Ricky Wilson is one of rock’s best frontmen.

Photo: Faith-Ann Young

29-year-old Annie Clark of St. Vincent is, as a friend aptly put it, our ultimate “girl crush.” Wearing tights under leather shorts with a black sleeveless collared shirt and bobbing her precious brunette curls in time to the shredding of her electric guitar, Clark, who started her musical career as a member of the Polyphonic Spree, is both delicate and defiant, pretty and punk rock.

And Clark had a maternal instinct. After playing a few songs, the frontwoman checked in with her lively, devoted audience. “Hey Coachella. You guys OK,” she asked. “Like, medically speaking are you OK? Show of hands. I don’t like to ask this question, but it’s not a cheesy rock question. Who amongst you got a third degree tan?…You guys all deserve medals, badges, or just a f**king case of water. You guys get MVP all the way.”

St. Vincent loves their audience. Read more.

Photo: Faith-Ann Young

Day Two of Weekend Two of the Coachella Valley Arts and Music Festival was a relaxed affair starting with youth-friendly genre-transcending acts like Azaelia Banks and Childish Gambino, roping in the 20-something hipster crowd with acts like the amazing St. Vincent and melodic Bon Iver and ending in a spectacle for all ages with Radiohead.

Azaelia Banks Starts A Fire With Her New York-Style Dirty Rap, Burns Down The Gobi Tent With Amy Winehouse & Prodigy

20-year-old Azealia Banks is touted as the “next Nicki Minaj,” but disregarding her impish Barbie doll appearance, old-school Lil Kim vibe, and provocative flow (Banks salts explicit words throughout her rhymes), Banks is something wholly different.

The young Harlem-raised lyricist is a precocious fusion of rapid-fire rhyme spitting, mermaid hair and club-ready fashion, and provides the kind of ’90s rave scene vibe during her sets to back it up. One could easily imagine Banks being a steady attendant of the Limelight in New York during the infamous Michael Alig/Party Monster days.

Get the day in review.

Coachella Weekend 2 Day 2 Photos –…

Photo: Jay Tilles

As far as smells go, you’re like a seven out of ten,” says KROQ’s Styker sitting less than a foot from Max McElligott, Wolfgang’s frontman. “What’s a seven?” he asks… “If ten was mint, you’re a seven.”  “What’s that then in terms of sweets?” “That would be butterscotch,” explains Stryker. “Butterscotch.. I’d settle for that.”

The two sit just inches from each other on a couch under a canvas root, shading them, but not shielding them from the searing 107 degree Coachella Valley heat.

With two Coachella performances under their belt, the band’s next big feat is opening for Coldplay on one of the U.S. legs of their upcoming tour.

McElligott is excited to open for Coldplay.

Photo: Jay Tilles

On this 107 degree afternoon, one Brit and two Americans take to the couch with KROQ’s Stryker. Cory, Davey and Chris, members of Suedehead are eager to chat about the biggest festival they’ve ever played.

“I like the air condition,” were the first words out of Chris’ mouth. Considering the blistering desert heat, the rented mansion’s cool air and glittering pool easily grabbed their attention.

“Let’s talk about your work down in the Hurley Studios down in Costa Mesa.What kind of gig did you have there?,” started Stryker in his interview with Suedehead.

“Well, basically, with my old band,” singer Davey Warsop began, “We were playing the Hurley stage at Warped Tour. Hurley was giving us clothes and we play a lot of Hurley events; we just made a very strong connection with those guys.”

“I ended up working with Greg Teal down at the recording studio there. We have all kinds of bands come in; we help out young bands, we sponsor battle of the bands. We’ve had bands like Alkaline Trio, Weezer, NOFX, Social Distortion, all kinds of acts, big and little just coming to do cool stuff in our studio. I ended up doing some demos for Social D’s latest record.”

Davey explains the band’s big break.

Photo: Jay Tilles

All eyes on Warner Bros. Records’ newest shining star, Gary Clark Jr. Hailing from Austin, Texas, Gary has no shortage of music coursing through his veins.

Clark’s first weekend at Coachella created so much buzz that his performance for Weekend two pulled in more onlookers than the 5,000 person capacity Gobi Tent could handle. Magazines like Rolling Stone called Clark the “Best Young Gun” and only a few months ago Clark Jr. played the Red, White, and Blues event at the White House.

Upon pulling into the KROQ Coachella House, Clark Jr. was diverted to the gifting suite where he paused for a fitting of a new pair of Dr. Martens. After weaving his way though the vendors, Clark Jr. relaxed under the hot summer sun with KROQ’s Nicole Alvarez and reflected on his big weekend in the desert.Gary Clark Jr. describes his blues inspirations.

Photo: Jay Tilles

After having played two successful sets in the massive Mojave tent, The Head And The Heart are riding high on adrenaline.

Sitting down with KROQ’s Nicole Alvarez, the explained how they found their band mates in Seattle’s open mic night scene.

Josiah Johnson, the band’s most vocal member, was first to respond, “Well, they’re [open mic nights] definitely hit and miss. Anyone can get up on stage, not everyone’s good. So that’s difficult sometimes. But when someone good does play, like when this guy over here (pointing to Jonathan Russel, the band’s lead vocalist) hit the mic, it’s like, ‘I need to know that guy. Those songs are actually good. He’s got a good voice.’ I’d moved to Seattle and sworn off bands for a little but because we’d been in a few band ones. ”

“So, we moved to Seattle and were just writing songs and open mic is where you can play it without having to form anything so we met there and stared playing acoustic shows together with this rotating cast of people,” continued the Head and the Heart. “We met Kenny and Charity. We didn’t go out and post and ad on Craigslist. People kind of came to us as we were writing and playing songs.”How does playing Coachella make them feel?

Photo by Faith-Ann Young

It was the first day of Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival on weekend number two and one thing was evident; the band’s didn’t change much in the caliber of their skill. Unfortunately, the desert pulled a cruel trick on us. It went from 64 degrees to a blistering 104 degrees in one short week.

While people were complaining about the cold last week, there was no shortage of complaints about the heat today, but it was a temperature that the Coachella kids were used to.

And so what ensued was massive amounts of good vibes, partying, and lots of sweet, sweaty hugs. Over the course of the day and a dozen water bottles later, we got to check out bands like Kendrick Lamar, Gary Clark Jr, Grouplove, the Rapture, the Black Keys and more.

Check out more on Coachella Weekend 2, Day 1.

Rather than presenting a question that’s been asked of Carney a billion times, KROQ’s Stryker opted to play the same The Newlywed Game that he played with Dan Auerbach last weekend. The goal was to guess what their band mate’s answer was.

He posed the question: “If you could have any housekeeper, would you take Alice from Brady Bunch, Mrs. Garrett from The Facts of Life or Mr. Belvedere?” Carney was quick with his answer, “If Dan didn’t say Mr. Belvedere then he’s wrong.

Stryker holds up a piece of paper with a hand-written Mr. Belvedere. “Amused, Carney points out “I didn’t like Alice’s attitude.” “She acted like a third parent,” adds Stryker.

The Keys apparently share more than just their taste in music: Bad ’80s sitcoms. Carney decidedly goes even deeper, “I would actually go with the housekeeper/butler from Soap.”

The cops pay Patrick a visit…

Coachella Week 2, Day 1 Photos –…

Photos by Faith-Ann Young and Cody Black.