Premiere: Owl Paws live video for “Keep On” with Native SF
Bay Area favorites Owl Paws have a busy spring lined up, kicking off with the premiere of their Native SF video for "Keep On." Lead singer/songwriter Derek Ted told me the band had to trek pretty far out, with instruments in tow, to capture this easygoing stunner of a performance. The video is the latest from Native SF, who document emerging artists set amongst beautiful San Francisco scenery. Check out the magical clip below, filmed live on location at Fort Funston. "Keep On" is from Owl Paw's forthcoming EP Smoke Rings & Diamonds, which will be released by Urban Scandal [...]
‘Making Ways’ podcast: Letterpress artist James Tucker goes beyond show prints
Making Ways is a new podcast exploring the unexpected paths to creative careers. Each episode, I talk with a guest from the world of art, music, technology, marketing, or design about the winding roads they have traveled to get to where they are. In this episode, I sat down with letterpress printer and artist James Tucker, the owner of San Francisco’s The Aesthetic Union, to get a closer look at the process of letterpress, hear the story of how the historic Hatch Show Print opened his eyes to a new creative world, and the uncharted waters he's navigated as a [...]
Behind The Song: Miss March premiere “Dark Corner”
Welcome to the second installment of Behind the Song, the illustrated series where we talk to Bay Area artists and get the backstory to your next favorite song. If the first days of April have you longing for months gone by, we've got you covered. Today we are premiering a new track from San Francisco's Miss March. Lead singer and songwriter Edward Burch recounts the creation of the song — which he recorded last month with bandmates: Jonathan Gaiser, Ryan Schwartz, and Jeffrey Schmidt. Listen to the premiere of "Dark Corner" from the band's upcoming EP, and see the story [...]
Rose Droll emerges with “A Little Blue,” plots shows, debut EP
(photo: Greg Edwards) The first time I heard Rose Droll was on Instagram. When I saw my friend Valerie’s post, I stopped dead in my tracks. I only heard a few seconds of music, but it left an oversized impression. Last month, I had the chance to see Rose perform a set of new material at Amnesia along with her friends Travis Vick and Taylor Vick of Boy Scouts. It’s hard to express the feeling of hearing music that simultaneously sounds like you’ve known it forever and is completely new. I remember the chills I felt when I saw Arcade [...]
Rogue Wave dazzle with ’80s ‘Cover Me’ album at Rickshaw Stop
Rogue Wave (by: Debra Zeller) Hometown heroes Rogue Wave returned to the stage last night to celebrate their recently released Cover Me (an album of reinvented 1980s songs) and transport the sold out Rickshaw Stop back a few decades to the hairspray-laden, synth-heavy pop perfection of the '80s. The show was presented by Popscene and Noise Pop — the landmark San Francisco festival now in their 25th year. Before Rogue Wave enraptured the crowd with a great set of inspired nostalgia, DJ and Popscene co-founder Aaron Axelsen spun indie and well-known tunes from the era that brought us hair metal and [...]
Go behind the song with Owl Paws’ premiere of “Keep On”
Welcome to Behind the Song, our new illustrated series where we talk to Bay Area artists and get the backstory to your next favorite song. For our first installment, I spoke with Derek Schultz, lead singer and songwriter for Owl Paws. Listen to the premiere of "Keep On" from their upcoming EP Smoke Rings & Diamonds, and check out the story behind the song below. Rob Goodman is a writer and artist in San Francisco.
Guitarist Richard Osborn to celebrate new album at Stranded Records
Discovering new music is always a thrill, but when you have the chance to uncover a brilliant musician, right in your backyard, who has returned to the craft he helped define — it's truly a moment of magic. San Franciscans will have the chance to (re)discover the critically-lauded guitarist Richard Osborn this Friday night, 7pm at Stranded Records on Valencia Street. Just last month, Osborn released his new solo album Endless on Tompkins Square Records and last week opened up for Bill Callahan at Sweetwater in Mill Valley. The in-store performance this Friday will celebrate the release of Endless and [...]
Owl Paws premiere “Fade Into You” for LMSFN compilation
While San Francisco's own Owl Paws has been touring the country in support of their debut album Reservoir and ramping up for the release of a new EP titled Smoke Rings & Diamonds, they made time for a special compilation from LMSFN called Group Effort Volume 1. The album features Owl Paws and more Bay Area bands, including: Mall Walk, Buddies, Toner, Pardoner, Dick Stusso, Never Young, Jay Som, Baus, Plush, and Crush. The musicians deliver a stellar set of covers, from Fleetwood Mac to Prince and No Doubt, with Owl Paws closing out the record with their raw, spot-on [...]
Gravid Water delivers a sidesplitting performance at SF Sketchfest
The premise is simple...but twisted. Take an actor who has memorized and rehearsed a scene from a play and pair them up with an improviser who has no idea of what is about to unfold. Let them sort it out on stage, live in front of an audience, and let the hilarity ensue. Gravid Water, the long-running Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) Theatre show, came to the Brava Theater in the Mission District this past weekend. It was the show's 5th time returning to San Francisco for the city’s annual Sketchfest comedy festival. Gravid Water would be a complete trainwreck in [...]
Leah Dou visits the US, brings her tripped-out pop to Hotel Utah
One of my favorites genres from the late '90s and early '00s was the trip hop era. Modern rock radio was filled with the blissful jams of Sneaker Pimps, Portishead, and of course, Massive Attack. In recent years, it seems like trip-hop is seeping its way back into the mainstream. Look no further than Lorde's 2013 debut Pure Heroine, which went on to sell 5 million copies worldwide. And since then, Son Lux, Banks, and FKA Twigs have amassed a legion of adoring fans. All this is to say, the wave of trip-hop resurgence may just be getting started. Enter [...]