Review/Photos: Sonny & the Sunsets, Burnt Ones, Cool Ghouls @ Eagle SF 6/11/13
Thursdays are usually the night for shows at the former Eagle Tavern, now Eagle SF, but last night was a special Tuesday. It was the release date of the new Sonny & the Sunsets LP Antenna to the Afterworld on Polyvinyl and a ton of people came out to celebrate. First up was Cool Ghouls who also opened for Sonny last March at Noise Pop. Their sets tend to start out as tuneful pop in a southern rock revivalist sort of way and then edge deeper into dark and psyched out waters. And it wouldn't be a Cool Ghouls show [...]
Adult Swim and Dr. Pepper released a compilation together and it doesn’t suck
Adult Swim, Cartoon Network’s absurdist older sibling, has released compilations before, like the excellent Chrome Children series with Stones Throw records. But something about the addition of Dr. Pepper combined with the garage rock bandwagon brought doubts. Until I saw the track listing and immediately downloaded that shit. It’s called Garage Swim and there’s fifteen new tracks from Mikal Cronin, King Kahn with the Gris Gris, Weekend, Black lips, and more. Phono del Sol headliners Thee Oh Sees make an appearance as well. You can download it for free here.
SF Popfest 2013 is happening this weekend
This weekend is the latest installment of SF Popfest, the somewhat intermittent, but pretty much yearly, festival inspired by the sounds of the jangly, dreamy, and shoegazy pop ethos spawned from mid-eighties UK labels like Postcard, Sarah, and Creation. A ragtag lil’ festival that could, SF Popfest is the grassroots, punk house party alternative to the Noise Pops and the Coachellas, organized and curated by musicians and music nerds, essentially. People who have nothing else to gain other than putting on shows that they themselves would want to go to, and hope you will too -- and usually at the [...]
Interview: Woodsist's Woolen Men talk Portland and film (playing The Knockout 3/28/13)
In high school I briefly lived on a cul de sac in a suburban development. For some reason, my father wanted to take a crack at suburban living, but it was very isolated and insular -- metaphorically, everything that is wrong with suburbia. (Anecdotal side note: when I was grounded and my friend threw a pack of smokes up to my bedroom window to help a sister out, the nosey neighbors ratted on me, meaning they had nothing better to do than sit at their TV trays and narc out teens.) Luckily we ended up trading Garage Mahal for a [...]
Golden Grrrls share video for “Take Your Time,” play Rickshaw Stop tonight, 3/26/13
Glasgow/London’s Golden Grrrls are not riot grrrls. Can’t even say that they’re tough necessarily; I mean, just look at those doll-faces. If it weren’t for that and the vocal harmonies (all three members sing as sweetly as the Langley School), the uptempo, ramshackle drumming and quirky, hook-laden guitars might hint at a punk toughness, but would more so suggest the influence of '80s pop bands like The Pastels, Feelies, Clean, and Beat Happening. Their new self-titled LP, out now on Slumberland here and Night School in Europe, might just be my favorite new release so far this year. They play [...]
Debauch-A-Reno! #2, March 22-24, 2013
Once the dust from Noise Pop has settled and those of us who caravanned to Austin have returned, look forward to Debauch-A-Reno, presented by Reno’s Slovenly Records and The Sticker Guy in the Biggest Little Shitty in the World. Slovenly owner Pete Menchetti, a.k.a. The Sticker Guy, celebrated 15 years with the first Debauch-A-Reno in 2008 and five years later will celebrate the big two-oh with three times the madness -- three days of garage punk raunchiness on multiple stages in multiple venues with DJs and special surprise guests. The Sonics are reunited, as are The Gories and The Sloths, [...]
Review & Photos: Sonny & the Sunsets, Magic Trick, Cool Ghouls, and Dune Rats @ BOTH 3/2/13 (Noise Pop 2013)
Noise Pop 2013 - Sonny & the Sunsets @ Bottom of the Hill 3/2/13 - photo by Jackie Andrews I was excited to check out Dune Rats, who came all the way out here from Australia to melt ears with their slacker rock, but a single-tracking BART train from the East Bay made me late. Luckily I was able to catch the last half of their set. Self-described as a “budstep” band, they do a pretty good job of channeling the early 90s aesthetic of Ned’s Atomic Dustbin, Nirvana, Wayne’s World, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for starters. In other [...]
Review & Photos: The Thermals, Dirty Ghosts, The SHE’S, Ev Kain @ Rickshaw Stop 3/1/13 (Noise Pop 2013)
Friday’s Noise Pop show at The Rickshaw did not disappoint. From the angular math rock of EV Kain to the Sunny, crystalline pop of The SHE'S, this lineup fell on many pleased ears. EV Kain opened the evening with complicated time signatures and hypnotic drumming while guitarist Brian Belier and drummer Jon Sortland’s vocal harmonies completed the sound -- a heavy reggae-Police vibe, with maybe a touch of AnCo-style psychedelia. The festival tended to name-drop Hella when referring to this band (bassist Jonathan Hischke was a member) but these guys won’t require such prefacing for long. The SHE’S formed when [...]
Q&A: John Vanderslice talks Tiny Telephone's 15th Anniversary Party
It’s been 15 years since John Vanderslice opened Tiny Telephone, his indie recording studio where an impressive roster of musicians like Geographer, Magnetic Fields, Mike Watt, Deerhoof, and scores more have recorded albums. What began as a comfortable space to record his own songs has turned into a world-class musical workshop with acclaimed session musicians (Magik*Magik Orchestra) and accomplished engineers. To celebrate another quinquennial and his clients, John has invited everyone over to the studio -- a veritable museum of vintage mixers, tube amps, and reels of 2” tape -- for a party this Thursday. We touched base with John [...]
Sunbeam Rd. talks new album 'Breathers' and remix collection (Win release show tix and the new album!)
Yes, it’s cold. Yep, everyone’s sick. We hear you and, luckily, The Bay Bridged is all about solutions: crank up the space heater (or if you’re lucky, one of these), pour the hot toddies, and throw on some shimmery and crescendo-ey goodness. Might we suggest a little Sunbeam Rd.? Completely independent of even independent labels, this band has released material entirely on their own, including a couple of cassettes and digital releases to start out, followed by the lovely 2012 Breathers LP -- crowdfunded through Kickstarter -- and their most recent digital release, a Breathers remix album. Apparent Movement by [...]