Localized Appreesh is our weekly thank-you column to the musicians that make the Bay. To be considered, contact emilysavage@sfbg.com.
There are plenty of socially constructed gender division duos out there in pop music (Matt and Kim, Mates of State et. al.). One boy, one girl, how cute, blah blah blah. Street Eaters – bassist John Mink of Fleshies and drummer Megan March of the Younger Lovers – needn’t worry about such fluff. In fact, they don’t seem to busy themselves with any sort of fluff, mainstream expectations or extra, unnecessary background instrumentation.
The East Bay act makes minimalist, yet noisy punk with great sing-along potential (they both sing) – and they seem to have a sense of humor about it all (check the video for “Useless Eyes” below). The result is two distinct voices rising over thick, distorted bass lines and tight, hard-hitting drumming. Punk that’s bounce-worthy.
Tonight, Tuesday, Street Eaters open for Burger Records’ Audacity and touring headliners Screaming Females. Skateboard to the show and get there early.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBV4rFAhf6o
Year and location of origin: 2008, Berkeley, Calif.
Band name origin: A coffee-induced hallucination in which a huge monster starts terrorizing the land, eating streets until stuffed then falling asleep on the last BART train and waking up in Pittsburg/Bay Point.
Description of sound in 10 words or less: Secret Punk. Abrasive euphoria. Minimalism, maximized. Lyrics with meaning. Basement.
Instrumentation: Megan – drums, singing … John – bass, singing.
Most recent release: “Rusty Eyes and Hydrocarbons” our first LP on Bakery Outlet and Plan-it X Records
Best part about life as a Bay Area band: Seeing your friends from around the country when they tour here. Perspective is hard on this one because we both have lived in the East Bay pretty much our entire lives.
Worst part about life as a Bay Area band: Getting stuck in traffic on the way to a show.
First album purchased: We each bought a couple albums at the same time for our first purchases: REM (Out Of Time), Devo (Freedom Of Choice), Breeders (Last Splash), Metallica (Master Of Puppets). Who bought what shall remain a mystery.
Most recent album purchased/downloaded: The new Screaming Females record!
Favorite dish: Revenge (served cold).
Street Eaters
With Screaming Females, Audacity
Tue/24, 8pm, $10
Bottom of the Hill
1233 17 St., SF
www.bottomofthehill.com