Localized Appreesh

Localized Appreesh: the Cosmo Alleycats

Tony Robles
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10

Localized Appreesh is our weekly thank-you column to the musicians that make the Bay. Each week a band/music-maker with a show, album release, or general good news is highlighted and spotlit. To be considered, contact emilysavage@sfbg.com.

Snap your fingers – jazzy San Francisco swingsters the Cosmo Alleycats have officially released their debut album, The Late Late Show. It’s the kind of story you love to hear: talented local band makes good, a group that formed as a weekly venue houseband makes the leap to fully-realized recording act. And that record beams with tinkling piano, hearty sax, the thumping backbone of upright bass, and a mix of soulful jazz numbers, vintage R&B, and poppy upbeat swing. 

Celebrating their new retro-tinged album this week, the Cosmo Alleycats play two local release shows; one at Le Colonial, at which they were hatched, and then another at Blondie’s Bar & No Grill – there’ll be a special “Alleycat Cosmo” cocktail available at the second event, here’s hoping there’s good booze contained within.

Year and location of origin: January 2010 on Cosmo Alley in SF
Band name origin: Mike: Booze & lack of foresight. Steve & Emily: A couple of us were asked to pull together a band to fill in for Kim Nalley at Le Colonial while she was on vacation for a month. Assuming that there would only be four performances, we wanted the band name to reflect the venue location. Since Le Colonial is on Cosmo Alley, “The Cosmo Alleycats” seemed like a natural fit. Soon after, we were hired as the full time Wednesday night band and started doing gigs all around the Bay Area. The name just stuck.
Band motto: Steve: Get people dancing; Mike: Don’t ask Noam about his hair; Emily: Create fun!
Description of sound in 10 words or less: Emily: Modern vintage R&B and boogaloo swing – we defy classification!; Mike: twang, honk, bang, thump, tinkle, hum.
Instrumentation: Vocals (Emily Wade Adams), Sax (Pete Cornell), Piano (Noam Eisen), Upright Bass (Steve Height) and Drums (Mike Burns). The album also features Nick Rossi on guitar and David Kellerman on keys.
Most recent release: The Late, Late Show (2011)
Best part about life as a Bay Area band: Emily: Loyal, enthusiastic, supportive fans (many of whom wow us with their secret swing dancing skills) and the opportunity to play a range of excellent venues from fun dive bars to hallowed music halls, awesome festivals, and gorgeous winery weddings; Steve: There are so many people here that love seeing live music and are tremendously loyal to bands that they enjoy; Mike: Playing in my home town.
Worst part about life as a Bay Area band: Steve: Bridge traffic; Mike: DJs; Emily: Trying to park to load in!
First record/cassette tape/or CD ever purchased: Mike: Herman’s Hermits; Emily: Oh God. My first tape was either Madonna’s “You Can Dance” or George Michael’s “Faith”. First CD was Soul II Soul’s Club Classics Volume 1. When I was three, I’d listen to the Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour record over and over, looking at all the pretty pictures in the booklet that came with the record and wondering why all these old dudes were dressed up in costumes. I had no clue that drugs were involved until I was about 20.”
Most recent record/cassette tape/CD/or Mp3 purchased/borrowed from the Web: Emily: Other than our own? The latest releases from Amy Winehouse and the Black Keys; Mike: Arann Harris and the Farm Band.
Favorite local eatery and dish: Steve: Le Colonial’s brussels sprouts; Mike: Cordon Blue, California @ Hyde, menu #5; Emily: Where to begin? The food trucks at Off the Grid are ridiculous. I’m addicted to Curry Up Now’s chicken tikka masala burrito. Also, the veggie burger at the Plant Organic is to die for. And I love my Thursday night ‘liquid dinners’ with the band at Blondie’s Bar & No Grill.”

Cosmo Alleycats
Wed/21, 7-10 p.m.
Le Colonial
20 Cosmo Place, SF
www.lecolonialsf.com

Thurs/22, 9 p.m.-12:30 a.m.
Blondie’s Bar & No Grill
540 Valencia, SF
www.blondiesbar.com

Localized Appreesh: Mental 99

Tony Robles
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0

Localized Appreesh is our weekly thank-you column to the musicians that make the Bay. Each week a band/music-maker with a show, album release, or general good news is highlighted and spotlit. To be considered, contact emilysavage@sfbg.com.

Between them, local guitarist Joe Gore and drummer Dawn Richardson have played alongside some heavy-hitters: Tom Waits, PJ Harvey,  Tracy Chapman, Eels, DJ Shadow, Courtney Love, Four Non-Blondes, and a whole lot more. Together, the duo plays lush instrumental rock’n’roll in their new band, Mental 99. How lush? With just two (albeit two considerably talented) musicians, the band showcases a densely layered sound – the strength  you might expect from say, a quartet – thanks in part to its live looping skills.

Check out Mental 99’s killer cover of classic Joy Division tear-jerker “Love Will Tear Us Apart” (video below). Yep, just the two of ’em, no vocals necessary; the power of the emotion-inducing song bleeds through. Next, catch the band live this weekend at the Make-Out Room. But first, read up.

Year and location of origin: 2010/San Francisco
Band name origin: “Crack Spackle” was confusing people, so we resorted to Plan B. We were thinking more 1899 than 1999.
Band motto: “How much damn noise can two people make?”
Description of sound in 10 words or less: Instrumental. Cinematic. Eerie. Beautiful. Funny. Virtuosic. Catastrophic. More adjectives, please.
Instrumentation: Guitar, drums, and sheer optimism.
Most recent release: Mental 99. Your basic eponymous debut album.
Best part about life as a Bay Area band: Global beacon of tolerance and innovation. Plus good pizza.
Worst part about life as a Bay Area band: Legitimate sasquatch sightings are few and far between.
First record/cassette tape/or CD ever purchased:
Dawn: Sonny and Cher Live (yep, it was on vinyl)
Joe: Enrico Caruso’s Celeste Aida (yep, it was on Edison cylinder)
Most recent record/cassette tape/CD/or Mp3 purchased/borrowed from the Web: Joe: Skrillex’s Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites is real fun.
Dawn: Bustin’ Loose – Chuck Brown & the Soul Searchers.
Favorite local eatery and dish: Joe: Iwashi (sardine) at Tataki South (Church and 29th).
Dawn: It’s hard to go wrong in SF – so many good places to eat. But the veggie burrito at Taqueria Cancún is pretty tasty – and close by, especially if you just played El Rio.

Mental 99
With the Anita Lofton Project
Fri/16, 7:30 p.m., $8
Make-Out Room
3225 22nd St., SF
(415) 647-2888
www.makeoutroom.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MNy5-tCT04

Localized Appreesh: Uni & Her Ukelele

Tony Robles
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0

Localized Appreesh is our weekly thank-you column to the musicians that make the Bay. Each week a band/music-maker with a show, album release, or general good news is highlighted and spotlit. To be considered, contact emilysavage@sfbg.com.

This is the time of year when sparkly holiday affairs are everywhere. Depending on your current state of mind, these tinsel-coated, candy-caned, dreidal-spun affairs can stink like commercial biz abominations, or warm like twinkling, nostalgia-inducing winter shindigs. With San Francisco act Uni & Her Ukelele opening up for the Yule Logs (a band that just released an album called You Ruined Christmas) at Amnesia, the evening is bound for greatness. It’s the seventh annual “Christmas is the Best” show, and both holiday-loving acts play clever and folky power-pop with tongue-planted-firmly-in-cheek sweetness.

Uni & Her Ukelele can’t avoid the sugar, given the doe-eyed, oft-frilly skirted uke mistress at the band’s helm, Heather Marie Ellison. She writes songs (and records) like 2006’s “My Favorite Letter is U” and a covers album that includes “Tonight You Belong to Me” (which brings to mind the best ever use of uke in film   – Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters strolling the beach in The Jerk). She even uses her signature sign-off (Ding!) to end emails. It’s giving me a toothache.

Year and location of origin: 2005. Uni & Her Ukelele began in Hollywood.
Band name origin: Uni is short for Unicorn.
Band motto: Light Rock Less Talk!
Description of sound in 10 words or less: Dreamy, melodic, folk-pop that is emotional and melancholy, but also funny.
Instrumentation: Vocals and ukelele, although on the album there’s a full band.
Most recent release: I’m doing a Kickstarter right now to finish my fourth full length album, Lover’s Cliché.
Best part about life as a Bay Area band: There are many places to play and good bands/acts to share the bill with.
Worst part about life as a Bay Area band: At the end of the show, it’s hard walking away without money.
First record/cassette tape/or CD ever purchased: Wham Make It Big.
Most recent record/cassette tape/CD/or Mp3 purchased/borrowed from the Web: I just bought Tom Petty’s Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
Favorite local eatery: Green Chili Kitchen.

Seventh Annual Christmas is the Best
Uni and her Ukelele
With Yule Logs
Sun/11, 9pm, $7
Amnesia
853 Valencia, SF
www.amnesiathebar.com

A tender portrait:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJArwBjWoEc

Localized Appreesh: Symbolick Jews

Tony Robles
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0
Localized Appreesh: Symbolick Jews

Localized Appreesh is our weekly thank-you column to the musicians that make the Bay. Each week a band/music-maker with a show, album release, or general good news is highlighted and spotlit. To be considered, contact emilysavage@sfbg.com.

I must admit, the first thing that endeared me to Symbolick Jews was the name. It’s a good name. But when I actually took a listen, I was still hooked – and amused. Good name, good hooks, good sense of humor.

The weirdo experimental San Francisco band has a handful of tripped out releases, including American Masters Volume 5, which came out this month. With dragging bass and creepy, haunted voices matched to high pitched squeals piping up from nowhere, there are jumbly moments of Mr. Bungle greatness seeping in often.

Take a solitary hour and listen to everything that’s happening on the release – there’s much to contemplate. Then get up and check out the Symbolick Jews show; live music waits for no thought process. The Jews play the Stork Club tomorrow night. Get to know them first below.

Year and location of origin: Late 2009, San Francisco.
Band name origin: We flipped through a dictionary and the first word we put our finger down on was, “Chumbawumba,” so we just went with Symbolick Jews. The additional ‘k’ is for ‘kindness.’
Band motto: “Are we getting paid tonight?”
Description of sound in 10 words or less: The fear of God.
Instrumentation: Adam – Vocals, Brian – Drums, Jasper – Guitar/Vocals, Burd – Bass/vocals, Paul – Guitar/vocals, Vanessa – Keyboard/vocals
Most recent release: Slave to Love
Best part about life as a Bay Area band: Everyone in the Bay Area loves our music and won’t stop talking about us.
Worst part about life as a Bay Area band: Living in the shadow of Third Eye Blind and Flipper.
First record/cassette tape/or CD ever purchased: Weird Al Yankovic, Bad Hair Day.
Most recent record/cassette tape/CD/or Mp3 purchased/borrowed from the Web: Robert Anton Wilson Explains Everything.
Favorite local eatery and dish: The Philly cheese steak at Mission Kitchen is forged in the fires of gastro-intestinal hell, and I stand by its superiority over any other cheese steak in the city. 

Symbolick Jews
With Dimples, Grandma’s Boyfriend, Curse Words, Burgers
9:30 p.m., $5
Stork Club
2330 Telegraph, Oak.
(510) 444-6174
www.storkcluboakland.com

Localized Appreesh: G-Eazy

Tony Robles
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0

Localized Appreesh is our weekly thank-you column to the musicians that make the Bay. Each week a band/music-maker with a show, album release, or general good news is highlighted and spotlit. To be considered, contact emilysavage@sfbg.com.

With his razor-sharp cheekbones, stiff pomp, and creamy skin, it’d be easy to hate on East Bay-bred producer G-Eazy (see what I did there?). But musically, what’s to dislike? In his most recent release, the appropriately titled Endless Summer – available free on his website – G-Eazy samples classic doo-wop and mixes it well with bouncy beats, layering it thick with casual cool flow and lyrics that make it once again pop.

His words tend to reflect his personal story (touring/performing) and an appreciation of pop culture. On the title track he makes mention of chopping up the Beach Boys and making it into a jam, and later drops that he’s inspired by Yeezy, Keith Haring, the Beatles, Banksy, Jean-Michel Basquiat, the Meters, and Johnny Cash, all in one couplet.

In a style that is very much his own, G-Eazy’s played shows with Girl Talk and Chiddy Bang, and toured with the likes of megastars Lil’ Wayne, Big Sean, and (juuust right?) Drake. While he currently is “chilling” in New Orleans, he was born and raised in raised in Oakland and Berkeley. Tonight, he opens up the Independent.

Year and location of origin: The back row of my 9th grade geometry class. I realized I liked writing raps better than taking notes
Name origin: My friend suggested the name. He actually sat next to me in that same class. I needed a name, he suggested it, and it stuck.
Personal motto: Do what you love and love what you do.
Description of sound in 10 words or less: A vintage pop sound, modernized and put into a rap formula. Oops that was 11.
Instrumentation: Well when I’m not playing with my 18 piece band, I’m playing with a DJ. When I’m not playing with a DJ I’m playing with my awesome drummer who also cues the track and does it all himself. I actually haven’t ever played with an 18 piece band, but that would be dope!
Most recent release: The Endless Summer.
Best part about life as a Bay Area rapper/producer: The Bay Area can be really supportive of our own. We have a strong local scene here.
Worst part about life as a Bay Area rapper/producer: The fact that it’s such an isolated, unique market – kinda makes it hard for some rappers to make it out of here and gain recognition elsewhere.
First record/cassette tape/or CD ever purchased: Yellow Submarine. It’s the greatest.
Most recent record/cassette tape/CD/or Mp3 purchased/borrowed from the Web: A$AP Rocky’s project. It’s ok.
Favorite local eatery and dish: Gordo’s on College Ave in Berkeley, without a doubt.

G-Eazy
With Shwayze & Cisco Adler, Mod Sun
Tues/22, 8 p.m., $20
Independent
628 Divisadero, SF
www.theindependentsf.com

Check the video for his reworked version of “Runaround Sue.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-dxZ3_3oBs&feature=player_embedded

Localized Appreesh: The Spyrals

Tony Robles
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0

Localized Appreesh is our weekly thank-you column to the musicians that make the Bay. Each week a band/music-maker with a show, album release, or general good news is highlighted and spotlit. To be considered, contact emilysavage@sfbg.com.

You remember using spirographs as a child — drawing endless, satisfying colorful curves with your extensive color pencil collection? You could probably bust that out again and give the Spyral’s Sunflower Microphone seven-inch single (released today, a precursor to the upcoming 2012 album) a spin. The wave-like reverb of garage guitar meets a lower 13th Floor Elevators-y howl here, a surfy psychedelic dream. Check out Side A on the Spyrals’ Bandcamp page.

Also, give a listen to the San Francisco psych-pop trio’s output from earlier this year Clouds, equally mind rolling, equally appropriate for an afternoon spent lazily spinning creative circles. And then, even further back, there’s the entrancing song “Soul,” from 2009, and its captivating video, laced with surf and war imagery (see the vid below).

To celebrate the release of Sunflower Microphone this week, the Spyrals play Hemlock Tavern on Thursday.

Year and location of origin: 2009, San Francisco
Band name origin: Time being a never ending spiral. We’re trying to capture a time, good or bad, and share it with the people.
Band motto: It’s gotta groove.
Description of sound in 10 words or less: Best shit you heard in a long while.
Instrumentation: Guitar, vox, bass, drums
Most recent release: Single comes out November 15. Album out early 2012.
Best part about life as a Bay Area band: There’s no shortage of people doing interesting stuff.
Worst part about life as a Bay Area band: There’s no shortage of people doing crap.
First record/cassette tape/or CD ever purchased: Digital Underground Sex Packets.
Most recent record/cassette tape/CD/or Mp3 purchased/borrowed from the Web: Downloaded the Gories I Know You Be Houserockin the other day.
Favorite local eatery and dish: That’s a tough one. Probably Los Compadres. It’s a family owned Taqueria in South City, near where we rehearse. Damn good carnitas.

The Spyrals
With Michael Beach, Hypatia Lake
Thurs/17, 9 p.m.,$6
Hemlock Tavern
1131 Polk, SF
(415) 923-0923
www.hemlocktavern.com

Vintage Spyrals video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNXvaKymGz0

Localized Appreesh: TurbonegrA

Tony Robles
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0
Localized Appreesh: TurbonegrA

Localized Appreesh is our weekly thank-you column to the musicians that make the Bay. Each week a band/music-maker with a show, album release, or general good news is highlighted and spotlit. To be considered, contact emilysavage@sfbg.com.

There’s a sizable difference between a cover band and a tribute band. TurbonegrA is a thrashing, slashing, spit-in-your-eye tribute to legendary Norwegian punk band Turbonegro.

I first learned of the original, Turbonegro, not through its death-rock music, but on a huge patch neatly stitched to the back of a jacket with these words: Turbojugend.  Turbojugend would be the Turbonegro Army, not dissimilar to the Kiss Army, but a whole lot sleazier. To find there’s an all-female testimonial to that kind of debauchery in our very own city of San Francisco, it’s a devilsend. Plus, with the originators currently without SF show dates, TurbonegrA is your only chance to catch the guitar-shredding theatrical doom live, for now at least.

The ladies in leather play next at Bottom of the Hill will fellow band-fans, Ancient Mariners (Iron Maiden tribute) and Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers (ultimate ZZ Top worshipers). Should be a fist-pumping night.

Year and location: 2007, San Francisco
Band name origin: Female version of Turbonegro
Band Motto: ( Ich bin geil)
Description: An all-girl tribute to the infamous boys of Oslo.
Instrumentation: Hanky Panky – Amanda Guilbeaux ( lead vocals), Eurogirl – Shelley Cardiff ( lead guitar), Commander Col Pot – Katie Colpitts ( guitar and vocals), Happy Jom – Millie Clip ( bass), Ms. C’ass – Cassie Jalilie ( drums).
Most recent release: Shetox – 2011 and we also have a full length on Wolverine records in Germany titled – L’ass Cobras.
Best part about life as a Bay Area band: Fleet week
Worst part about life as a Bay Area band: Fleet week
First record purchased: I actually bought 12 records at once for only a penny!
Most recent record purchased: Uncommen Men from Mars ( France) – we had the honor of playing with them on our recent European tour. Locally we have to say we are big fans of Death Valley High.
Favorite local eatery : Esperpento. It’s cheap and fast – like us!

TurbonegrA
With Ancient Mariners, Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers
Weds/9, 9 p.m., $10
Bottom of the Hill
1233 17th St, SF
www.bottomofthehill.com

A rendition of “Self Destructo Bust” performed, coincidentally, at Bottom of the Hill
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaJQk3d4-8I

Localized Appreesh: The Sandwitches

Tony Robles
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0

Localized Appreesh is our weekly thank-you column to the musicians that make the Bay. Each week a band/music-maker with a show, album release, or general good news is highlighted and spotlit. To be considered, contact emilysavage@sfbg.com.

The Sandwitches are all about high highs and low lows. The vocals of Heidi Alexander and Grace Cooper (both former back-up singers for Fresh & Onlys) defy the bounds of San Francisco garage, piping up from low and fuzzed out to high-pitched and near theatrical. The music strays similiarly from convention, with an underlying garage-pop root that sometimes hits close to country-folk, other times lends itself more toward dewy trophy love song/doo-wap. It’s a sound that takes a minute to digest – and that’s a good thing.

You can check it out for yourself. The trio’s upcoming seven-inch single The Pearl is streaming now, here. And then you can go see it live. The Sandwitches will fill the opening slot of a pretty righteous show this week at the Fillmore, with headliners/Australian indie poppers Architecture in Helsinki and lo-fi American rockers DOM.

You may protest, “but that’s not how you spell sandwiches!” Yes, spelling wizards, it’s a play on words. Sand-witches. Witches of bread. Meaning sourdough with warts, or something less gross. Spooky PB&J? Bubbling cauldrons of BLT? Or as you’ll see below, the name simply came from “a process of elimination.”  It’s also way easier to Google.

Year and location of origin: 2009, Frisco, baby.
Band name origin: A process of elimination
Band motto: “More feeling”
Description of sound in 10 words or less: dingy, pingy, bumpy, pumpy, lumpy, brash, sophisticated, and smooth.
Instrumentation: Mexican telecaster, Mexican stratocaster, drum set
Most recent release: The Pearl/Benny’s Memory Palace 7″, Hardly Art
Best part about life as a Bay Area band:  The buds [ed note — double entendre?]
Worst part about life as a Bay Area band: The fog?
First record/cassette tape/or CD ever purchased:  Queen Greatest Hits I & II, Blue Beatles hits collection on tape.
Most recent record/cassette tape/CD/or Mp3 purchased/borrowed from the Web: Jackie Gleason, Music for Lover’s Only.
Favorite local eatery and dish: Chevys and fried chicken.

Sandwitches
With Architecture in Helsinki and DOM
Thurs/3, 8 p.m., $20-$29
Fillmore
1805 Geary, SF
(415) 346-6000
www.livenation.com

Localized Appreesh: Debbie Neigher

Tony Robles
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0

Localized Appreesh is our weekly thank-you column to the musicians that make the Bay. Each week a band/music-maker with a show, album release, or general good news is highlighted and spotlit. To be considered, contact emilysavage@sfbg.com.

This week’s Localized Appreesh is the lush-vocal’d Debbie Neigher. She’s a stunning jazz-tinged singer-songwriter, who recorded her recently released self-titled LP with John Vanderslice at his Tiny Telephone Studios, along with the backing orchestral help of Minna Choi of the Magik*Magik Orchestra.

Neigher, a transplant from New Jersey, has the kind of effervescent voice that transcends time.  She’s youthful (just 24), yet her voice is strong and conveys a wise understanding of past, similar to Michelle Branch or Fiona Apple. Her lyrics often dive into difficult topics, particularly on dramatic tracks like “Cathedral.” And her intricate piano work on the album soars.

The talented songstress plays the Haunted Hoedown at Bottom of the Hill this Friday, Oct. 28. She’ll be premiering a new song, and will be backed by guest musicians on bass, lap steel, drums, violin, guitar, and sax.  The event includes costume contests, free treats, and a rather creepy concert poster.  Get spooky. 

Year and location of origin: I started performing my original songs when I was 15 back in my hometown in New Jersey in 2002.  I wasn’t even legally allowed in half of the bars I played!

Personal motto:  If you are lucky enough to figure out what truly moves you, it’s your responsibility as a human to stop at nothing to pursue it.

Description of sound in 10 words or less:  Intricate/lush piano, jazz vocals, and painfully honest lyrics.
Instrumentation:  I sing and play the piano and have an absurdly talented crew of drummers (Jason Slota, Ezra Lipp, Andrew Maguire) and bassists (Jamie Riotto, Jesse Cafiero) that I call on for live shows.  We usually have lap steel (Jesse Cafiero) and guitar (Phil Pristia) as well.

Most recent release: I just released my debut full-length record (self-titled) this past July.  I had the honor of working with John Vanderslice (Spoon, The Mountain Goats) as my producer and the Magik*Magik Orchestra (Death Cab for Cutie, The Dodos) on the project.
Best part about life as a Bay Area musician: The warm, welcoming, and collaborative nature of the music community here.  I’ve never met so many talented players with such humility – I’m grateful to know these people every day!

Worst part about life as a Bay Area musician: I work a full-time job and teach piano lessons on top of writing/performing music to afford the rent in our fair city!

First record/cassette tape/or CD ever purchased: Oh god I just asked my mom and her guess was a New Kids on the Block cassette.  In an attempt to redeem myself, I also distinctly remember having Nirvana’s Nevermind CD and Bush’s Sixteen Stone CD when I was little.

Most recent record/cassette tape/CD/or Mp3 purchased/borrowed from the Web: Local Natives “Gorilla Manor”
Favorite local eatery and dish:  Plantain black bean burrito at The Little Chihuahua.

Haunted Hoedown
With Debbie Neigher, Owl Paws, Rin Tin Tiger, and Please Do Not Fight
Fri/28, 8:30 p.m., $10

Bottom of the Hill

1233 17th St., SF
www.bottomofthehill.com

Localized Appreesh: Violet Hour

Tony Robles
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0
Localized Appreesh: Violet Hour

Localized Appreesh is our weekly thank-you column to the musicians that make the Bay. Each week a band/music-maker with a show, album release, or general good news is highlighted and spotlit. To be considered, contact emilysavage@sfbg.com.

An album release is always cause for celebration. The Bay Area act Violet Hour’s Cowardly Loins EP release extravaganza goes down tomorrow night at Bottom of the Hill. The somewhat illusive indie rock act, supposedly led by Le Duc Violet (along with other equally ostentatiously named creatures) and said to be influenced by Bowie and French surrealist painter Yves Tanguy, brings to mind playful,  glam 90s post-punk. Check out the band’s description of its own sound below, it’s pretty magical.

Also check the deceivingly sweet intro’d song “Whatever It Takes” –  as the guitar line wobbles and grows more frenzied, the vocals follow, building to the chorus  “we all make the same god damn mistakes/whatever it gives/whatever it takes.” The reverb rises, voices blur, and out oozes melancholy. It’s like throwing a rock through an ex-lover’s window on a solo midnight bike ride; the build up and release, the instant regret.

But hey, snap out of it. Stop by the band’s live show on Wednesday, there also are some great  local openers.

Year and location of origin: Berkeley , Calif. 2007
Band name origin: A subsection of TS Eliot’s “Fire Sermon” in The Waste Land.
Band motto: The deadly serious business of rock’n’roll.
Description of sound in 10 words or less: Like a peregrine falcon overhearing an angel’s orgasm.
Instrumentation: Guitar, vocals, bass & drums, keys and crazy stuff Adam invents.
Most recent release: Cowardly Loins EP October 2011.
Best part about life as a Bay Area band: So many excellent venues, so many passionate and diverse music fans.
Worst part about life as a Bay Area band: It’s so fucking expensive to live here I’m gonna cry.
First record/cassette tape/or CD ever purchased: The Simpsons Sing the Blues
Most recent record/cassette tape/CD/or Mp3 purchased/borrowed from the Web: Stephen Malkmus Mirror Traffic
Favorite local eatery and dish: Sausages at Rosamunde’s on Haight

Violet Hour
With Myonics, Symbolick Jews, and Arms + Legs
Wed/19, 9 p.m., $8
Bottom of the Hill
1233 17th St., SF
www.bottomofthehill.com

Live Shots: Gardens & Villa and Waterstrider at Bottom of the Hill

Tony Robles
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1

Rarely, if ever, do I see such unbridled joy at shows these days, at least not in the way I saw it last night for every band at Bottom of the Hill.

Even for barefoot Berkeley Afropop openers Waterstrider (this week’s Localized Appreesh) – not that the band isn’t excellent, because it is – but when was the last time you witnessed ecstatic masses losing their shit and screaming for “one more song” during the opening set of a Thursday night rock show? Perhaps it was the uncharacteristic heat. (Strange how strange it is to see San Franciscans out at night wearing little more than a strappy sundress or stretched-out tank top.) That kind of warmth and freedom does something to your endorphins. But I also chalk it up to the ‘Berkeley co-op factor.’ Waterstrider mentioned the co-ops (where it was spawned) and got a rousing reply. Like a hippie frat.

My show companion reminded me halfway through the night that one of our earliest visits to Bottom of the Hill was for Pretty Girls Make Graves, Your Enemies Friends, and Atom and His Package. Don’t jump to protest, the music of these bands and last night’s bill cannot compare sonically (the former was during the post-rock Aughts, a time when I was the one with the ‘X’ scrawled on my hand). But the youthful energy, and excitement, this is what triggered such memories. The kids throwing their hands in the air with abandon. I caught a young woman headbanging, swinging her hair back and forth, last night to music you wouldn’t expect.  And she was all smiles.

That ecstasy continued for touring headliners Gardens & Villa, hitting San Francisco with two stops left before its return to Santa Barbara. Opening the set with shuddering album opener, “Black Hills,” the five-piece began smooth and calm, soon sending the crowd into yet another tizzy with the more anthemic “Cruise Ship.” It moved along through other tracks off the recently released self-titled album, including “Spactime” (heavily profiled in print this week), and broke out a new, more upbeat dancey jam, to boot. The crowd ate it up, like ravenous heat monsters.

 

All photos by Chris Stevens.

Localized Appreesh: Waterstrider

Tony Robles
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0
Localized Appreesh: Waterstrider

Localized Appreesh is our weekly thank-you column to the musicians that make the Bay. Each week a band/music-maker with a show, album release, or general good news is highlighted and spotlit. To be considered, contact emilysavage@sfbg.com.

They seem a plucky bunch: Nate Salman, Alex Siegel, Clayton Ernst, Sean Suess, Brijean Murphy, and Walker Johnson – a.k.a Berkeley’s Waterstrider. The group, which somewhat formed in 2010 (but really got together this year), blends Afro-pop and synthesizers – and yet manages to sound authentic. Perhaps the intimacy of the Berkeley co-ops helped shape the sound; this is a six-person collective that is in-tune with itself, though the current lineup has only been together about a month. What they’ve accomplished in such a short amount of time is the main reason they’re here in Localized Appreesh.

Check out “Midnight Moon” off Waterstrider’s recently released EP, Constellation. There are so many audio-treats: delicate shaker, hand-drumming, floating synths, Fools Gold-reminiscent guitar, and lovely vocals, yet it feels inclusive, tight – when it spreads across cultural landscapes, it always spins around back to the core. You have a chance to hear it all live this Thursday, Oct. 13 at Bottom of the Hill – the band opens for pals Gardens & Villa. (If you need more convincing: Gardens & Villa bassist  Shane McKillop described Waterstrider as “Afro-beat meets Fleet Foxes.”)

Nate Salman (lead vocalist fellow):
Year and location of origin: Fall 2010 in Berkeley, but we went through a lot of evolution (and had a lot of changes in instrumentation and members). It really started taking shape around March or April of 2011. Almost all of us met in the co-ops and attended UC Berkeley. Walker, our drummer, is a friend of my older brother and a Cal graduate as well. The current lineup is only about a month old though.
Band name origin: It was a nickname and/or spirit animal that a friend from Santa Barbara started calling me.
Band motto: All we ever need is energy…
Description of sound in 10 words or less: Heavily rhythmic ethereal melodies steeped in surreal, romantic imagery.
Instrumentation: Nate Salman on Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Ukulele. Alex Siegel on Harmony Vocals, Electric Guitar. Clayton Ernst on Bass. Sean Suess on Harmony Vocals, Synth, Flute, Sax. Brijean Murphy on Congas, Percussion. Walker Johnson on Drums.
Most recent release: Constellation on August 1, 2011
Best part about life as a Bay Area band: The people are wonderful! We make some really fantastic friends wherever we play.
Worst part about life as a Bay Area band: We’re pretty optimistic people, so hopefully we will never have much of a problem with the music scene here.
First record/cassette tape/or CD ever purchased: Ray J Everything You Want — It was probably when I was nine-years-old or so. I think I got that cassette after watching Ray J performing a couple songs on an old Nickelodeon show. However, I just looked it up after completely forgetting what it sounded like… some of the production on that album is pretty sweet! Surprisingly funky.
Most recent record/cassette tape/CD/or Mp3 purchased/borrowed from the Web: Little Dragon Ritual Union.Their grooves are fantastically beautiful and Yukimi Nagano’s voice melts my soul.
Favorite local eatery and dish: We frequent Taqueria La Familia. It is the best Mexican food in Berkeley. Their veggie burritos or chile rellenos do the trick for me.

Waterstrider
With Gardens & Villa and Young Man
Thurs/13, 9 p.m., $10
Bottom of the Hill
1233 17th St., SF
www.bottomofthehill.com

Localized Appreesh: The Soft White Sixties

Tony Robles
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1
Localized Appreesh: The Soft White Sixties

Localized Appreesh is our weekly thank-you column to the musicians that make the Bay. Each week a band/music-maker with a show, album release, or general good news is highlighted and spotlit. To be considered, contact emilysavage@sfbg.com.

You know that feeling when you’re aware you’re hearing a song for the first time, yet it feels as though it’s always been there? It’s new-to-you but there’s something familiar, reassuring – it just works right, pinging back and forth through your ear drums and pulsating brain muscle. That’s how I felt when I first listened to the cool swagger of San Francisco’s the Soft White Sixties. The hard rocking quintet, formed by Mexican-American singer-songwriter Octavio Genera, has a real tight grip (full disclosure, “real tight  grip” is a lyric from SWS’s song “Too Late”) on classic Seventies rock’n’roll – with all the shoulder-shaking percussion, the bluesy rock riffs, and Genera’s soul-tinged Southern rock bravado.

The band had a pretty memorable year, performing with pals the Stone Foxes at Great American Music Hall during Noise Pop, hitting SXSW, touring the States, and at the start of summer, appearing at the Harmony Festival in Sonoma and the High Sierra Music Festival. Now summer is officially over, and the boys are back in town. Next up, a show at Bottom of the Hill tomorrow night.

Year and location of origin: 2008, the Haight.
Band name origin: Somebody had a bright idea
Band motto: “Wear it a lot, wash it a little”
Description of sound in 10 words or less: Rock ‘n’ roll, heavy on the roll, dipped in soul
Instrumentation: Guitar, keys, bass, drums, and vocals – and a runaway tambourine
Most recent release: self-titled EP (April 2011) – get it here.
Best part about life as a Bay Area band: The coastal fog and burritos
Worst part about life as a Bay Area band: Bridge tolls and parking tickets
First record/cassette tape/or CD ever purchased:
Octavio: Sound Effects Vol.1 (Track 25, “Car Starting” was a favorite).
Joey: Jodeci.
Ryan: Skid Row s/t (cassette), Wreckx N Effect Hard or Smooth (CD).
Aaron: Probably something like Enema of the State or Punk in Drublic.
Josh: The Simpsons Sing the Blues.
Most recent record/cassette tape/CD/or Mp3 purchased/borrowed from the Web:
Octavio: Black Girl (iTunes single Lenny Kravitz).
Joey: 100 classic French songs for $9.99.
Ryan: Wilco The Whole Love, Belle & Sebastian “The Blues Are Still Blue” iTunes single.
Aaron: Portugal. The Man – In the Mountain In the Cloud.
Josh: Blakroc
Favorite local eatery and dish: La Santeneca(3781 Mission St), best pupusas in the city.

The Soft White Sixties
With Mona and Funeral Party
Weds/5, 9 p.m., $12
Bottom of the Hill
1233 17th St., SF
www.bottomofthehill.com

Localized Appreesh: Dreams

Tony Robles
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1
Localized Appreesh: Dreams

Localized Appreesh is our weekly thank-you column to the musicians that make the Bay. Each week a band/music-maker with a show, album release, or general good news is highlighted and spotlit. To be considered, contact emilysavage@sfbg.com.

The voice of Billie Holiday blended with a drop of folk and an electro-infused ka-pow of Afro-pop. It’s the stuff of dreams, isn’t it? Sort of. Dreams, besides being the mind’s subconscious porthole, is a new East Bay indie supergroup. Lead by Emily Ritz (of Honeycomb and Yesway) and keyboardist Rob Shelton (of the Moanin Dove) and backed by steel guitar, vibraphone, and a hand-held rhythm section (along with drums), the group skips through genres, time, and traditional percussion expectations.

It’s been a pretty big month for the seven-piece act. First, it was featured as one of the first bands on Porto Franco Records’ new video series (see vid below), then it released its first single, and this week, Dreams plays a magical musical single release extravaganza: Thursday at Beatbox. The show, which includes a free copy of the single for the first 30 attendees, will also have some fun non-musical elements. The band invited artists and projectionists to add visual elements. And the release warns, “Expect mimes.” Also, how weird is it that scientists may now be able to recreate scenes from our subconscious using imaging technology?

Year and location of origin: Rob: Emily and I started experimenting with sounds and writing songs together in 2009, but we didn’t really settle on the full band with all the members until we started recording earlier this year. We first started playing in the converted basement of a 1906-era emergency shelter in Oakland, Calif.
Band name origin: I had the idea to create this band while traveling in Ecuador and Peru in 2008, and was originally going to call it Los Suenos, but since none of really speak Spanish, I thought it would be better it in our native tongue. When I first presented it to the band, we weren’t really sure if we wanted to use it, so we’d show up to rehearsal and just sit there spitting out out band names for hours. Some of the losers: Goodie Bag, Boyfriend, Chimera, Blood Orange.
Band motto: Lush
Description of sound in 10 words or less: Electric Afro psych popscicle (faux pop).
Instrumentation: Rhodes and synth bass: Rob Shelton; Vocals and Jawbone: Emily Ritz; Drums: Jake Nochimow; Vibraphone, Percussion: Andrew Maguire; Percussion, Vibraphone: Geneva Harrison ; Bass, Lap Steel Guitar: Jesse Cafiero; Electric Guitar: Zac Rubin-Rattet
Most recent release: We’re doing our first release on September 29. An A & B side single entitled “With You,” which has Thao Nguyen guesting on back-up vocals. We’ve been recording at San Francisco’s Tiny Telephone studios on and off for the past four months, and it’s really exciting to finally be releasing something.
Best part about life as a Bay Area band: Being around such a vibrant and diverse music scene and being able to collaborate with all different types of artists.
Worst part about life as a Bay Area band: We’ve got it pretty good here, and almost the whole band is living in Oakland now, which makes it easy to rehearse. Probably the worst part is that BART doesn’t run super late, so when you’ve got fans coming from Oakland to SF, everyone’s catching that 12:20 train back under the bay, sometimes in the middle of your set.
First cassette record/cassette tape/or CD ever purchased: Embarrassing, Twenty Eight Teeth by Buck O’ Nine. I used to be in a ska band.
Most recent record/cassette tape/CD/or Mp3 purchased/stolen from the Web: Purchased –  Age of Adz by Sufjan Stevens. Stolen/Borrowed: Laughing Stock by Talk Talk
Favorite local eatery and dish: Shakin’ Jesse at Rudy’s Can’t Fail Cafe. Guinness, espresso, and ice cream – can’t go wrong with that.

UnderCover Presents: Dreams Single Release Party
With Tartufi, and Debbie Neigher
Thurs/29, 8:30 PM doors, $10 cover
BeatBox
314 11th St, SF
www.beatboxsf.com
Facebook: Event

Porto Franco Records captures Dreams:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ebe0gbOcc6Y: 

Localized Appreesh: The 21st Century

Tony Robles
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0

Localized Appreesh is our weekly thank-you column to the musicians that make the Bay. Each week a band/music-maker with a show, album release, or general good news during those seven days is highlighted and spotlit. To be considered, contact emilysavage@sfbg.com.

Last fall, eclectic new folk act the 21st Century was given the opportunity of a lifetime: a chance to record with legendary producer Stephen Short  (the former owner of Trident Studios who has worked with David Bowie, the Clash, Paul McCartney, Queen, Echo and the Bunnymen et. al.). The Bay Area eight-to-nine piece was thrilled but too broke to cover all the costs of making the album, plus, there were travel commitments (Short is based in Texas).

The forward-thinking futurists harnessed modern technology: they set up a Kickstarter page. With the $10,000+ funding in place (thanks to 187 backers), the band recorded late last  year, and the album will be released in November. Before that release, however, the 21st Century will play a show as part of the ongoing Mission Creek Music and Art Festival.

Year and location of origin: 2010, SAN FRANCISCO/OAKLAND/BERKELEY
Band name origin: The name originates from a few different places. One is ambition. We’re an eight (and occasionally a nine) piece with orchestrated horns and four part harmonies and a couple of kitchen sinks so we wanted to name ourselves in a way that reflected that bold and without limits musical attitude. We also felt that we’d spent much of our lives hearing our times and our generation defined for us in ways that we didn’t relate to so we thought why don’t we take a stab at it and have a say in the matter. Hence THE 21ST CENTURY. Oh and I also remember hearing Elvis Costello saying that he named himself after the two largest acts he could think of — a pretty gutsy move. I thought — now that’s a good idea, but let’s raise him one.
Band motto: Unofficially, it’s probably ‘What would Bruce Springsteen Do?”
Description of sound in 10 words or less: Intricate arrangements, colorful harmonies, brass, lyrical surrealism and off-beat pop sensibility.
Instrumentation: Electric, Acoustic and bass guitars, drums, keys, horns, lots of percussion and lots of singing.
Most recent release: THE CITY, Coming Soon…November 2011.
Best part about life as a Bay Area band: People want to be friends.
Worst part about life as a Bay Area band: The bars and clubs close too early. 2 a.m.? Come on.
First record/cassette tape/or CD ever purchased: The single of “Under Pressure” by David Bowie and Freddy Mercury. I thought I was getting Vanilla Ice.
Most recent record/cassette tape/CD/or Mp3 purchased/borrowed from the Web: Wilco’s The Whole Love & Girls Father, Son, Holy Ghost.
Favorite local eatery and dish: Al Pastor at El Metate–dynamite.And the Cold House Noodles at Yamo.

Mission Creek Music and Art Festival
Ongoing through Sept. 30
Multiple venues through San Francisco and Oakland
www.mcmf.org

The 21st Century
Sept. 28, 9 p.m. $8
The New Parish
579 18th St., Oakl.
Event info

Live at the Starry Plough:

Localized Appreesh: Rank/Xerox

Tony Robles
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0
Localized Appreesh: Rank/Xerox

Some weeks feel so long (thanks a lot Week After Labor Day), you just need another spirited kick in the proverbial ass. So I give you, a second Localized Appreesh this week: Rank/Xerox. The San Francisco punk trio – known for its connections with bands such as Grass Widow (friends/split cassette tape output), and for its other creative endeavors (DIY labels, Web-based videozine Mondo Vision, eye-catching graphic illustrations) – comes from a long tradition of reputable underground punk and arty post-punk, much of which was hatched in San Francisco (Flipper) and London (Wire).

Rank/Xerox is made up of Australian singer-guitarist David West, Jon Shade, who taught himself to play drums for the band, and singer-bassist-illustrator Kevin McCarthy, who, along with Shade, is a former member of the now-disbanded party punk act, Jump off a Building. This weekend, Rank/Xerox celebrates the release of its new self-titled long-player, which was recorded by King Riff and Ty Segall, with a show at Hemlock Tavern.

Year and location of origin: Early 2009 in San Francisco.
Band name origin: Swiped from an old corporate merger, thought it sounded catchy.
Band motto: Stark and dark, bland not grand.
Description of sound in 10 words or less: Antiquated punk junk.
Instrumentation: Jon plays drums, David plays guitar and voice, Kevin plays bass and voice.
Most recent release: Brand new self-titled LP on Make A Mess Records, the Hemlock show on Saturday will actually be a release party of sorts… and a song on the new Maximum Rocknroll all-Bay Area band compilation LP called Noise Ordinance.
Best part about life as a Bay Area band: Getting mistaken for Don Nelson.
Worst part about life as a Bay Area band: Getting mistaken for Danielle Steel.
First record/cassette tape/or CD ever purchased: Jon – Ozzy, The Oz Man Cometh;  Kevin – Cyndi Lauper, True Colors;  David – The Dandy Warhols are Sound (a guess because he didn’t answer).
Most recent record/cassette tape/CD/or Mp3 purchased/borrowed from the Web: Jon – a copy of the Rat Columns 7″ was waiting for me on my bed when I got home, thanks David;  Kevin – Crazy Band Fuck You tape;  David – the Ovens new 7″ on Catholic Guilt (another question unanswered, another guess).
Favorite local eatery and dish: Golden Gate Indian Cuisine and Pizza on Judah. Best restaurant in the city, eat everything but the Italian dishes.

Rank/Xerox
With Kitchen’s Floor, Fat History Month, Yi
Sept. 10, 9:30 pm, $7
Hemlock Tavern
1131 Polk, SF
www.hemlocktavern.com
Facebook event

 

Localized Appreesh: The Jaunting Martyrs

Tony Robles
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1

Localized Appreesh is our weekly thank-you column to the musicians that make the Bay. Each week a band/music-maker with a show, album release, or general good news during those seven days is highlighted and spotlit. To be considered, contact emilysavage@sfbg.com.

The Jaunting Martyrs were chosen for Localized Appreesh because the seven-piece band has a great, thoroughly San Franciscan in spirit, show this week and it could use your attention: Kimo’s tonight (Tuesday) with Fierce Bad Rabbit, Wesley Woo, Halftime Heros.

Plus, have you heard its music? It’s like an Eastern European circus took a folky Appalachian holiday.  It’s both quiet, classical bedtime story and traveling, rambling, carnival party.  The song “Surfin Tzigane” off last year’s self-titled EP is probably the most telling. With initially delicate Spanish-style strumming, it leads eventually to rowdy wet reverb –  not out of place within a true-blue American surf rock Dick Dale track – and, laid over that, Bulgarian drumming and Turkish horn. It’s world traveling from the ground-pillow comfort of your own intimate local music venue.

Year and location of origin: 2008, San Francisco, Calif.
Band name origin: Originally, it began as the random name of the track of space music Justine was sending off in the mail when she met Brendan on the BART train, but has come to mean something deeper, communicated in some of the characters in our songs, such as Mickey, Lila, and Bonnie Blue. Basically, A Jaunting Martyr is one who has moved past anger and angst into acceptance of their plight, and is able to laugh and dance in the face of hopelessness.
Band motto: “Never mind the baby faces, this is a savage band.”
Description of sound in 10 words or less: A sound that tells a story, fluttering from intimate to intense.
Instrumentation: Electric guitar, bass, banjo, mandolin, trumpet, tapan (Bulgarian drum), fiddle, charango, kaval.
Most recent release: A self-titled self-released, self-mixed self-published EP.
Best part about life as a Bay Area band: This is simply the most beautiful, spiritually powerful place in the world. We are all natives here, we all consider it home. (Except for Ivan, he’s from Bulgaria, which I’m sure he digs as well).
Worst part about life as a Bay Area band: Those folks with the tightly crossed arms at shows.
First record/cassette tape/or CD ever purchased: The Mermen – A Glorious Lethal Euphoria.
Most recent record/cassette tape/CD/or Mp3 purchased/borrowed from the Web: Spirits of The Red City – Hunter Moon.
Favorite local eatery and dish: Lucca Foods on Irving and 20th.  Best deli in SF, baby. Get the Billy Filly. (You can only get it when Billy’s working).

With Fierce Bad Rabbit, Wesley Woo, Halftime Heros
Tues/13, 9 p.m., $6
Kimo’s
1351 Polk, SF
www.kimosbarsf.com

Try not to fall in love: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOC31u1GzxU&feature=related

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