Ring in the holiday season with three Bay Area legends
An abundance of data has emerged recently showing that contract work is starting to catch up to full-time employment as the norm, especially for young adults. If you're not a contractor or freelancer yourself, you can probably six-degrees-of-Kevin-Bacon your way to someone in your personal network who is. Which means that a lot of us are getting kinda stiffed on things like health insurance, job security, and company-funded holiday parties. If you're not lucky enough to score an invite to a lavish tech firm blowout this year, procure yourself a ticket to Sleep Talk Winter Wonderland next month with Shannon [...]
Noise Pop: Dick Stusso dripped with charisma at Cafe Du Nord
Dick Stusso (photo: Ria Burman) Noise Pop Fest presented Dick Stusso at Cafe Du Nord with sweet support from Mall Walk and Grace (from the Sandwitches)'s extracurricular endeavor, Grace Sings Sludge. Dripping with charisma, Stusso brought his rich-toned vocals and raw, real lyrics to the night. Bringing a '50s country-rock and blues vibe, Dick Stusso changed tempos and mixed genres, cranking the distortion high and disappearing into the heavy carnage of rock and roll, only to surface with a gentle tenderness The heavy rock and the soft roll of Dick Stusso's style each complemented the other greatly, with a ferocious [...]
Noise Pop: Modern times aren’t ready for Dick Stusso
(photos: Jordan Martich) From now until the start of Noise Pop, we'll be profiling some of our favorite artists playing the festival this year. Step into the dual realities of Oakland's Dick Stusso before seeing him at Cafe du Nord. From the cover image of his new record In Heaven, out March 2 on Hardly Art Records, it’s hard not to wonder if something has gone horribly wrong for ol' Dick Stusso, Oakland's stoic purveyor of country-fried gloom rock. The beaming face of Nic Russo, Dick Stusso's foothold in reality, seems filled with joy, but the longer you look, that [...]
Live This Month: February 2018 — an audio guide to upcoming Bay Area concerts
Download: Live This Month: February 2018 (Podcast #422) In Live This Month, we sample some of the great local and out-of-town bands performing in the coming month in the San Francisco Bay Area. This month's episode features a whole bunch of artists performing at the 26th annual Noise Pop Festival, which will be taking over local venues from February 19th through the 25th. There are so many great shows happening during Noise Pop 2018 that our picks barely scratch the surface, but enjoy new and recent music from Noise Pop performers Dick Stusso, Cuco, Sudan Archives, and Shamir. There are [...]
Oakland’s Dick Stusso signs to Hardly Art, shares “Modern Music”
Photo provided by Billions Corporation Until two years ago, Oakland's Nic Russo was a talent known mostly among his close circle of friends. He'd played in bands since high school, but had never taken it too seriously; most of his music still lived at home, in half-finished demos on an old four-track. His friends on the other hand, took note. One had accumulated a hard-drive full of Russo's music, from shared demos to live recordings, and another had recently started his own tape label, Vacant Stare Records. With some encouragement, Russo put together enough songs that they agreed to split [...]
What’s Happening This Weekend? A Guide To Shows Around The Bay, Sept 15-18
Sarcastic-but-sweet country queen Kacey Musgraves plays two nights at The Fillmore this weekend. (photo: Daniel Kielman) Thursday, September 15 Travis Hayes, M. Lockwood Porter, Vandella @ Great American Music Hall Travis Hayes, M. Lockwood Porter, AND Vandella? We can't decide whom we are more excited to see. Flying Lotus, Funkadelic featuring George Clinton, Shabazz Palaces and more @ The Fox Theatre Legendary artists from across genres heat up The Fox. Dick Stusso @ The Depot Our Phono Del Sol friend Dick Stusso puts on a free show for students at SFSU. Friday, September 16 Highasakite @ Rickshaw Stop Cool and [...]
The Bay Abridged: Aug 3 – 16
(illustration: Cassidy Miller) In this recurring feature known as The Bay Abridged, our staff writers provide short, witty recaps on shows they attended around the Bay Area. A scene check, a heat check, and sometimes more — stop by every other Wednesday for the most comprehensive and concise recap of the Bay Area concert scene. Bryan Ferry, LP at The Masonic (SF) Aug. 9. Bryan Ferry and his ensemble came out like a steamroller. They leapt into a set that included deep cuts from the Roxy Music archive, dug into his extended solo career, and threw in several covers of [...]
Join us for a free show with Dick Stusso at Optical Underground this Friday
We're officially kicking off our Phono del Sol festivities this weekend with the first of our two Pre-Parties. This Friday, we bring An Intimate Show with Dick Stusso, the moniker which Oakland-based Nic Russo performs his country-folk-rock music under. The story is vaguely nostalgic to music lovers who have imagined the music business to be one of desperate and broke artists who are looking for the right way to have their art be heard. His debut release Nashville Dreams/Sings The Blues takes that story and turns it into the narrative of an artist with love for rock n' roll and the [...]
Announcing the 2016 Phono del Sol Pre-Parties and After-Party!
Our 6th annual Phono del Sol Music and Food Festival is only over a month away (have you bought your tickets yet?) and while the festivities only last from 12PM-7PM on July 9th, this year you can enjoy some taste of Phono BEFORE the festival and AFTER! Along with our best line-up yet (which features Chairlift, Alvvays, Born Ruffians, Mr Little Jeans and more), we'll be bringing our official Phono del Sol Pre-Parties and After-Party! Scroll down for more information. Phono del Sol Pre-Parties Don't want to wait until the festival to start celebrating? All good! Come get a taste [...]
Dick Stusso partners with Billions
Dick Stusso (photo: by Matt Sorenson) The universe of Dick Stusso is expanding, and its big bang echoed throughout music industry inboxes and across excited friends' Facebook pages last month — the 29-year-old Oaklander has signed with booking agency Billions. Nashville Dreams/Sings The Blues by Dick Stusso As the songwriting alias of singer-songwriter Nic Russo, the Dick Stusso world is a place where hopelessness and desire waltz on a bleak stage with cheap country props and few other actors, but a special intimacy pervades, and despite nihilistic inclinations, desire leaves the most lasting impression. "Nashville Dreams/Sings the Blues" is an album that bookends the [...]