Localized Appreesh

Localized Appreesh: Sunbeam Rd.

0

Localized Appreesh is our thank-you column to the musicians that make the Bay. To be considered, contact emilysavage@sfbg.com

I’m a lover of past treasures. I like my music vinyl, and I like my mail snail. Sure, I download thousands (millions would be hyperbolic, right?) of tracks a year, send hundreds of emails a day, tweet with the rest of them, and then some. Technology is still my friend, but vintage pleasures will always be my lover. Hence, my delight with the arrival of a colorfully confetti’d physical postcard from psychedelia-minded local fuzz-pop trio Sunbeam Rd., announcing the group’s 50th show.

The  San Francisco band’s debut LP, Breathers, came out last October, and I slept on it then, so I’m not making the same mistake twice. And while its psychedelic guitars, tender melodies, and fuzz-layered pop hooks may be blissfully of another era, Sunbeam Rd. also knows how to harness modern technology – it raised enough money through Kickstarter last year to press the record on vinyl. 

The band is made up of brothers Trevor Hacker and Clive Hacker, along with Harrison Pollack – all graphic design graduates from California College of the Arts (you might get a sense of that in the cat-filled video for swirling “Lucy”).

Check it out below and then see the trio live this weekend at Bottom of the Hill, celebrating 50 performances on the Sunbeam Rd.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8ziAxlNZa4

Year and location of origin: TREVOR: We formed in early 2009 after setting up a drumset and some amps in the kitchen of the flat where Harrison and I used to live near Glen Park. Our roommates must have hated us.

Band name origin: HARRISON: In the ’80s, NASA was planning to build a big spaceport near the Air Force base in our hometown. It was slated to be like the West Coast Cape Canaveral but NASA pulled out at the last minute for some reason relating to the Challenger disaster, leaving the town in a severe recession.

One time my friend that worked on the base took me to the hangars that NASA built and never used. “The Sunbeam Road” was the nickname give to one of the landing strips, which had been gradually falling apart over the last 20-30 years. It was a super eerie place in contrast to the overly optimistic name. It kind of stuck with me for some reason.

Band motto: CLIVE: Wise men say forgiveness is divine, but never pay full price for late pizza.

Description of sound in 10 words or less: Hook-laden, fuzz-saturated trance states.

Instrumentation: CLIVE: Drums; TREVOR: Vox/Guitar; HARRISON: Bass.

Most recent release: BREATHERS (our debut LP) and BREATHERS Remixed.

Best part about life as a Bay Area band:
TREVOR: Road trips to Mt. Diablo, Big Sur, Point Reyes, and course all of the live music & great record stores.

HARRISON: Close proximity to the Based God.

CLIVE: What Harrison said; Also, it’s certainly never boring being a band in the Bay Area. There’s constantly something new and/or different happening that has yet to be explored.

Worst part about life as a Bay Area band:

TREVOR: It aint cheap!

HARRISON: The feeling that the Based God is so close, yet so far away.

CLIVE: What Harrison said; Also, it’s too easy to be complacent here in San Francisco.  

First album ever purchased:

CLIVE: I believe it was Whatever and Ever Amen by Ben Folds Five.

TREVOR: Blur, Blur.

HARRISON: Smash, The Offspring.

Most recent album purchased/downloaded:

CLIVE:  Acquiring the Taste, Gentle Giant.

TREVOR: Stone Shift, Larry Ochs Sax and Drumming Core.

HARRISON: Jack The Tab/Tekno Acid Beat, Psychic TV.

Favorite local eatery and dish:

CLIVE: #19 on the menu at Evergreen Garden (pho with five-spice chicken). It’s just great!

TREVOR: Little Yangon in Daly City. Pork and sour bamboo shoot curry with coconut rice

HARRISON: Taqueria Vallarta’s street tacos are basically the only things I like to eat.

Sunbeam Rd.
With Halsted
Sun/7, 9pm, $9
Bottom of the Hill
1233 17 St., SF
www.bottomofthehill.com

Localized Appreesh: Swells

0

Localized Appreesh is our thank-you column to the musicians that make the Bay. To be considered, contact emilysavage@sfbg.com. 

When you grow up around surfers (I didn’t), you often hear talk of swells (or so I’m told). The swell conjures dreamy images of magical, mythical, perfectly curled waves and poses struck on glossy retro surfboards with the sunset soft and orangey behind it all. When you hear San Francisco trio, Swells, you might feel the same. 

The relatively new garage rock act may be based in the Mission, but up here (points to brain), the band is forever floating out at Ocean Beach, or likely some warmer coastal region. Check indie love story “Ships Set Sail,” with its bouncy drums, surf guitar riffs, and Strokes-like vocals, or reverby “Lost at Sea” for a peek into that state of mind. 

This week, Swells – made up of vocalist-bassist Ian Bruce, guitarist Diana Salier, drummer Rob Justesen – plays the Hemlock. But first, the band (which, full disclosure, is friendly with recent Localized Appreeshers Magic Fight) took our survey: 

 

Year and location of origin: October 2011, San Francisco.

Band name origin: Rob suggested Swells and everybody vetoed…then he brought it up again and we forgot that we’d vetoed. I think we were almost called Merchants or Polar Ghost. But Swells was a cool blend of our retro thing and beachiness. 

Band motto: “It’s not whatever, but fuck it.”  

Description of sound in 10 words or less: Chilled out garage rock with said retro and beachiness.

Instrumentation: Ian “Dad” Bruce – vocals, bass, soccer mom; Diana Salier – guitar player with mystique; Rob Justesen –  just plays drums.

Most recent release: We wrote a Christmas song called “Xmas Lights” and released it back in December. We’re planning to record some of our newer tunes this spring. 

 Best part about life as a Bay Area band: Lots of great venues to play in a small area. Also Karl the Fog

Worst part about life as a Bay Area band: Planning a West Coast tour is like doing figure eights across state lines — whereas Northwest bands can just straight shoot down to LA and back, and vice versa. 

First album ever purchased: Ian — Tom Petty Greatest Hits; Led Zeppelin II (on the same day); Diana — Green Day, NimrodRob — Outkast, Aquemini.

Most recent album purchased/downloaded: Ian — Mike Hurley, First SongsDiana — Beach Fossils, Clash the TruthRob– Local Natives, Hummingbird.

Favorite local eatery and dish: St. Francis! Ian — hog cakes; Diana — two egg breakfast+coffee; Rob — country breakfast.

Swells
With Torn ACLs, Sunrunner
Thu/21, 8:30pm, $6
Hemlock Tavern
1131 Polk, SF
www.hemlocktavern.com

 

 

 

Localized Appreesh: Magic Fight

0

Localized Appreesh is our thank-you column to the musicians that make the Bay. To be considered, contact emilysavage@sfbg.com.

Magic Fight has got fangs. More precisely, the newly formed Oakland “post-indie” band — led by Florida born singer-ukulele player Alex Christopher Haager — just released its very first single, “Fangs” off its forthcoming debut album, Wooden Swords & Stolen Echoes.

And if the first single is any indication of what’s to come (and I think it might be), this record is going to be one to watch. The charming indie pop song begins with a few Casiotone twinkles and a youthful sample, followed by shakers and shimmering harmonies, and the lyrics, “I showed you my fangs and my animal ears/You showed me your scar and your Hollis tattoo/I wanted a bit more than I could chew/So what else is new?”

It’s the kind of song that instantly grabs ahold of your pleasure center, then shakes your shoulders a little to let you know it’s real. 

Magic Fight recently recorded a Daytrotter session (so keep an ear out for that) and will play the Brick and Mortar Music Hall this week, opening for the Lawlands, but first it sprinkled some magic spell dust on Localized Appreesh:

Year and location of origin: 2012 Oakland, California!

Band name origin: I had this name floating around in my head as far back as 2008 but I didn’t have a proper project to put it to. I think it was supposed to be some sort of electro-dance band at some point. Apparently there is still a Myspace page under this name with weird, random demos I made when I was living in Berlin.

Band motto: I wouldn’t say we have a motto as such, but when we are practicing and playing, we end up just saying “Yeah!” a lot. So I suppose that could be a motto of sorts. Constant positive self-affirmation?

Description of sound in 10 words or less: Tender-footed rumblesongs overheard escaping a polychrome cabin overlooking the sea.

Instrumentation: These songs and this band were formed around the combination of sounds produced by amplified ukulele, singing human voices, distorted casiotone keyboards, bass, drums and other random percussive items.

Most recent release: We just released a single called “FANGS” that is taken from a forthcoming seven-song album that will (likely) be called WOODEN SWORDS & STOLEN ECHOES. As of this moment, we are planning on self-releasing the album.

Best part about life as a Bay Area band: Aside from the fact that it simply means that we are living in such a great place on Planet Earth, I would say the best thing about it is that there are actually really great musicians and song-makers doing really great things in the Bay Area.

Worst part about life as a Bay Area band: The worst part is that it is often difficult to find those musicians and song-makers. Also everyone seems to be kind of high most the time, which doesn’t always result in high ambitions.

First album ever purchased: The first cassette I was ever given was the self-titled debut from glam gods Winger. But the first album I remember buying for myself was Sense Field’s 1996 record Building. So I have seen my way around the genre-block a few times, to say the least.

Most recent album purchased/downloaded: A good time for this question, because after personally waiting for about 16 years, I downloaded the new LP from My Bloody Valentine a couple weeks ago. Worth the wait. I think. It’s quite lush and good, in any case.

Favorite local eatery and dish: At this moment, I would say the most exciting food I have had recently was at St. Vincent in the Mission and the most exciting beer I have had was at Social Kitchen & Brewery in the Inner Sunset. 

Magic Fight
With the Lawlands, the Disposition
Thu/14, 9pm, $5-$8
Brick and Mortar Music Hall
1710 Mission, SF
www.brickandmortarmusic.com

Localized Appreesh: The Dandelion War

0

Localized Appreesh is our thank-you column to the musicians that make the Bay. To be considered, contact emilysavage@sfbg.com.

Sigur Rós, Explosions in the Sky, Radiohead, the Antlers – Oakland’s the Dandelion War has received some outsized, and crazy positive, comparisons and reviews during its four short years of existence, particularly thanks to 2012’s excellent, ambient We Were Always Loyal to Lost Causes (Deep Elm) LP.

All of it’s accurate, by the way. The Dandelion War makes mood music for the brain. The post-rock five-piece boasts the build ups and crescendos of Explosions, the alien echoing otherworldliness of mid-career Radiohead, the pleasing falsetto and hypnotic soundscapes of the Antlers, and tiny pulsing heartbeat and cave-deep reverb of a dewy Sigur Rós.

Check tracks “Drifters” and “The Devil’s Black Wool” off We Were Always Loyal to Lost Causes.

So now you need to see it live, right? The Dandelion War plays an enviable opening slot for the final Noise Pop show of this very Noise Poppy week, with Caspian at Bottom of the Hill Sun/3. First up, it took the Localized Appreesh challenge:

Year and location of origin: 2008, San Francisco (currently based in Oakland).

Band name origin: the name was taken from the title of a book by Richard Rosenthal.

Band motto: Good enough for government work.

Description of sound in 10 words or less: “It’s dreamy, shoegazey, and brimming with pathos: in short, lovely” (stolen from Inforty).

Instrumentation: Vocals (Larry), Guitar and Keys (Jeff), Guitar (Mikey), Drums (Julius), Bass (Chris).

Most recent release: We Were Always Loyal to Lost Causes (Deep Elm, 2012).

Best part about life as a Bay Area band: The Bay Area has some incredible local bands and we love being part of that scene.

Worst part about life as a Bay Area band: Cities on the West Coast are so spread out that it’s really hard to tour.

First album ever purchased: (various answers from various band members, names withheld to preserve our dignity) A Hard Day’s Night by the Beatles, Burn Out by Slick Shoes, Appetite for Destruction by Gn’R

Most recent album purchased/downloaded: (same) News from Nowhere by Darkstar, Optica by Shout Out Louds, Glowing Mouth by Milagres

Favorite local eatery and dish:
 Fonda (Albany) for duck tacos, Babalous Mediterranean (Walnut Creek) for the deluxe falafel, El Novillo Taco Truck (Oakland) for the chicken torta

The Dandelion War
With Caspian, Native, Boyfrndz
Sun/3, 5pm, $12
Bottom of the Hill
1233 17th St., SF
www.bottomofthehill.com
www.noisepop.com

Kacey Johansing goes walking with her ‘Ghosts’

0

Singer-songwriter (and former Geographer member) Kacey Johansing released her stunning sophomore album, Grand Ghosts, today. And how grand it is. Lush, moody, and dreamy, too. You can stream it now on her Soundcloud.

Along with Geographer, Johansing was also once a member of Honeycomb, and is currently one-half of experimental folk duo Yesway. Or, you might remember San Francisco’s Johansing from the Localized Appreesh column last fall, in which the Kalamazoo, Michigan-born, Colorado-raised musician told me: “I love it here so much and am incredibly grateful to be a part of such insanely talented, creative, and supportive musical community.”

There’s a welcome maturity to Johansing’s voice (oft favorably likened to that of Joni Mitchell and her kind), a confidence that glides over twinkling piano and subtle, far-away strings, in tracks such as album opener “River” and title track “Grand Ghosts,” the latter opening with a more somber, Amelie score-esque tinkling of the organ keys. In that track, Johansing sings of her wise grandparents and tales of Lake Michigan that build beautifully to a repeated promise “And in the end/if we can’t go on/we will carry each other home.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mo6kfV-2TUk

Johansing’s expert blend of classical, jazz, and folk influences comes together well on “Out to Sea,” with the subtle sound of fingers moving over downbeat acoustic guitar meeting Johansing’s melancholy, “I don’t want you to go/but I want you to be true/what’s best for me is not what’s best for you.” Even her harmonized “oh, oh, ohs,” sound emotive here, giving the sweetness a little gut-punch.

The haunting album as a whole pays tribute to loved ones that died during the making of the record (actual ghosts), along with her current Bay Area home, and her upbringing in Colorado (emotional ghosts), and features accompaniment by other local notables including Robert Shelton (of DRMS) on keyboards, Andrew Maguire (Honeycomb) on vibraphone and percussion, James Riotto (the Moanin Dove) on bass, Jeremy Harris on guitar, pianos, and string arrangements, and Ezra Lipp on drums.

The LP is available for purchase/download on her Bandcamp page, here.

Her next show is part of Noise Pop, of course:
Kacey Johansing
With Thao and the Get Down Stay Down, Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside, Before the Brave
Sat/2, 8pm, sold out
Great American Music Hall
859 O’Farrell, SF
www.slimspresents.com

Localized Appreesh: Adios Amigo

3

Localized Appreesh is our thank-you column to the musicians that make the Bay. To be considered, contact emilysavage@sfbg.com.

What began life as a side-project for Il Gato drummer Johnny Major has grown into a hyper melodic, can’t-miss, feel-good group to know. Or as I breathlessly wrote after catching an early show at the Hemlock: Adios Amigo is pure indie-pop bliss, in the vein of Broken Social Scene and the Shins. 

In this one, Major leads as singer-songwriter-guitarist, backed by guitarist Rahi Kumar, bassist Alex Coehn, drummer Stephen Wills, Claire Grinton on keys and fiddle, and percussionist Catalina Atria – along with warm multi-part harmonies put forth by all those involved.

The band released Dos last year, and starts 2013 off right with a headlining gig at Cafe Du Nord. Learn more about Adios Amigo below, but first check out the video for plucky “Chicken” and see how long you can hold out without cracking a grin.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4X7QxfE2jw
Video Credit: Caitlyn Adkins

Year and location of origin: 2011, San Francisco

Band name origin: Sitting in a cubicle in SOMA, dreaming of escaping to South America, I came up with the name.  It means ‘Goodbye Friend’.

Band motto: “¡Hasta la victoria siempre!” – “Until victory, always!”

Description of sound in 10 words or less: Grandiose, jangly, guitar-driven, harmonic psych-pop

Instrumentation: Two Guitars, one bass, one keyboard, one drum set.

Most recent release: Dos EP – June, 2012.

Best part about life as a Bay Area band: Living in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, being a part of one of the best music scenes in the world, playing awesome venues, great food, liberals.  

Worst part about life as a Bay Area band: The rent.  Too high.

First album ever purchased: Green Day’s Dookie, or the Forrest Gump soundtrack.

Most recent album purchased/downloaded:
 Tame Impala, Lonerism.

Favorite local eatery and dish: The Little Chihuahua — Garlic Shrimp Burrito. Everyday.

Adios Amigo
With City Tribe, Ghost Tiger
Thu/17, 9pm, $10
Cafe Du Nord
2170 Market, SF
www.cafedunord.com

Localized Appreesh: Coo Coo Birds

1

Localized Appreesh is our thank-you column to the musicians that make the Bay. To be considered, contact emilysavage@sfbg.com.

Music should be fun. We forget that little factor, those of us drenched in so many layers of irony we can no longer differentiate between sounds. Lest we draw another blank, I present Coo Coo Birds.

The band – made up of singer-guitarist Jonny Cat, producer-bassist Charles James Gonzalez, and singer-drummer Ryan Zweng – is connected to the Convent arts collective (hence the song, “Convent Girl”), and seems to have a real good time making music together. It dropped full-length debut, Don’t Bring You Boyfriends, in September, quickly followed that up with the forthcoming Psychedelic Warrior, and have another release already on the horizon: Sultan of Cats, due February 2013.

So far, the tracks have been about things like rock and roll animals, sake babies, and marshmallow pies, sonically mixing in swishy psychedelia, swinging 1960s pop, and the band’s professed love of rock’n’roller Link Wrap, and the Kinks.

And the Birds have some pretty fun musician friends too: Steve Mackay of Iggy Pop and the Stooges, who lent some tenor sax to Coo Coo Birds’ first release; fellow locals and Localized Appreeshers Brand New Trash, and legendary song-man/ex-Modern Lover Jonathan Richman, who recently gave them a Big Star boxset, and invited them to open for him at the Great American Music Hall this weekend.

Also, a note for the not-so-distant future: the band will perform as the Order of the Holy Coo at the First Church of Sacred Silversexual’s Very Bowie Glampocalypse blowout Dec. 21 at Cafe Du Nord. So you’ll be able to spend the last night on earth in style. 

First, get to know the Coo Coo Birds, the rarest of the species:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xT6srRZcEiE

Year and location of origin: November 2011 at the Condor Strip Club in San Francisco.  That was when we first played together and felt something extraordinary.  At that moment Coo Coo Birds were born.

Band name origin: A film maker who now lives in New York named the band after who knows what.  We just like the sound of it so we kept the name.
Band motto: Don’t Bring Your Boyfriends.

Description of sound in 10 words or less: The Sound of Coo Coo Birds is 1 part LINK WRAY, 1 Part KISS, and 1 part T-REX.

Instrumentation: All band members sing behind a wall of guitar, bass, and drums.

Most recent release: Our first LP, entitled Don’t Bring Your Boyfriends was released in Sept. 2012.

Best part about life as a Bay Area band:
Girls, drugs, fun and very loud music.

Worst part about life as a Bay Area band:
Girls, drugs, fun and very loud music.

First album ever purchased:
KISS ALIVE II with the cutout corner. Things were never the same afterwards.

Most recent album purchased/downloaded: BIG STAR box set on vinyl. Jonathan Richman gave us a copy a couple weeks ago. I guess that counts.

Favorite local eatery and dish: Coo Coo Birds have regular band meetings at Da’ Pitt BBQ on Divisadero and Grove in SF.  We usually order a rack of Ribs, with mac & cheese, collared greens, white bread and hot sauce on the side.  We always wash it down with 32oz bottles of Coors (Banquet) beer.

Coo Coo Birds
With Jonathan Richman
Sun/2, 8pm, $16
Great American Music Hall
859 O’Farrell, SF
www.slimspresents.com

Localized Appreesh: Golden Void

1

Localized Appreesh is our thank-you column to the musicians that make the Bay. To be considered, contact emilysavage@sfbg.com.

Another blog this week declared Golden Void “the Bay Area’s best new psych band,” and I’m not about to quibble. The band, named after a Hawkwind track, features members of Earthless, and Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound, and just released a mind-bending, fuzzy guitar-bursting beaut of a debut album, out now on Thrill Jockey.

The self-titled LP clearly showcases the band’s love of 1970s psych, proto-metal, and space rock, dipping into Black Sabbath (vocally) and yes, namesake Hawkwind territory throughout. Check out the acid-laced video for “Virtue” below, then check the band’s answers to the Localized Appreesh questionnaire. Once you pick yourself up off the ground, make it out the band’s album release party Friday at the Hemlock Tavern.

Year and location of origin: 2010 in San Francisco.

Band name origin: Song by Hawkwind.

Band motto: Did you see the Giants game?

Description of sound in 10 words or less: Herds of buffalo running through the open plains.

Instrumentation: Bass, drums, keyboards, guitar and vocals.

Most recent release: Self-titled album November 2012 on Thrill Jockey.

Best part about life as a Bay Area band: The Giants, The A’s, redwood trees and great bands to play with.

Worst part about life as a Bay Area band: Cant complain, really.

First album ever purchased: Grateful Dead’s In the Dark.

Most recent albumpurchased/downloaded: Witchcraft’s Legend.

Favourite local eatery and dish: Escape from New York’s “You Say Potato” slice and their mushroom slice.

Golden Void
With Joel Robinow Band, Phil Manley
Fri/23, 9:30pm, $7
Hemlock Tavern
1131 Polk, SF
www.hemlocktavern.com

Localized Appreesh: Brand New Trash

0

Localized Appreesh is our thank-you column to the musicians that make the Bay. To be considered, contact emilysavage@sfbg.com.

Brand New Trash is a new “trash pop” (more on that in a second) band from Buxter Hoot’n’s SF-via-Indiana brothers Vince and Jimmy Dewald. The group, rounded out by two drummers – Kevin Alan Walters and Ebony Towner, who also doubles on keyboard – is about to release its debut self-titled LP.

It’s a record rooted in raw rock’n’roll Americana, with dreamy roadtrip sing-along melodies, hence the “trash” and the “pop” that make up the band’s sound. The album is mostly original tunes, but one of the more surprising turns would be the group’s solid, harmonica-peppered cover of Tupac’s classic “Brenda’s Got A Baby” – definitely worth a listen; and it’s certainly not done in a kitschy-krappy Karmin way. Instead, it’s a Tom Petty-reminiscent mouthful of a tribute, showcasing the boldness of the original lyrics, wrapped in a noisy roots rock package.

Brand New Trash’s last local live appearance of 2012 – at Bottom of the Hill this week – also happens to be its release party for that brand new album.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJ12emzwy-I&feature=youtu.be

Year and location of origin: 2011, San Francisco, but the band’s roots go back to the late ’90s in northern Indiana where three of us grew up and played in a band together.
 
Band name origin: Our sound just kind of spawned the name. We are also big Crazy Horse fans and Neil Young saying “Here’s some more trash for ya,” on a live album has always stuck in my mind.
 
Band motto: “Tell the story and keep it trashy.” A lot of the songs on our debut are first takes. This is a big part of “trash pop,” being ready for the moment and delivering something raw and uncensored. There are no put ons with this band, allow for the unexpected and let the music tell a story.
 
Description of sound in 10 words or less: Trash Pop – raw rock with stick-in-your-brain melodies.

Instrumentation: We do a lot of switching instruments and we all sing because we all write songs. Mainly, brothers Vince and Jimmy Dewald share the bass and guitar duties. Kevin Walters and Ebony Towner share the drums and Ebony also plays keys.

Most recent release: Debut album, Brand New Trash out November 20, 2012.

Best part about life as a Bay Area band: The general freedom in the Bay. We did a lot of touring with our first band, Buxter Hoot’n, and you just don’t find that everywhere.

Worst part about life as a Bay Area band: Getting to the rest of the country for tours is a big undertaking

First album ever purchased: Run-D.M.C, Run-D.M.C. “It’s Tricky” still pops up in my head, probably the first song I ever memorized.

Most recent album purchased/downloaded: Kurt Vile, Smoke Ring For My Halo.

Favorite local eatery and dish: Underdog-“The Organic Sausage Joint”, half of the band gets “Let’s Be Frank” half goes for the Vegan Dog.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFgNZqdm5Gs

Brand New Trash
With Jonny Cat and the Coo Coo Birds, Sufis
Thu/15, 9pm, $10
Bottom of the Hill
1233 17th St., SF
www.bottomofthehill.com

Localized Appreesh: The Parmesans

1

Localized Appreesh is our thank-you column to the musicians that make the Bay. To be considered, contact emilysavage@sfbg.com.

That’ll teach me to judge a book by its cover; or better yet, to judge a whole lineup by its headliners. I first caught the Parmesans opening up for Buffalo Tooth, Poor Sons, and Uzi Rash at Elbo Room this summer, so I naturally assumed they’d be in the same thrashy vein, or at least, they’d play some variation on the loud rockn’roll theme. Untrue: they lined up, strumming guitars, banjos, a mandolin, a stand-up bass, and the like, and launched into a fun set of bluegrass, folk, and Americana ditties, some covers and some originals.

Since then, I’ve been casually following along, occasionally checking their band page for upcoming shows and releases. Turns out, they’re doing one of those Halloween shows I love (bands costumed as other bands, c’mon, I’ve talking about it all week) and they have another record release coming later this month. Get in on the Parmesans early, check them out as the Kinks tonight at Thee Parkside, and read up below: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekQ8iC3i4yc

Year and location of origin: 2012, San Francisco

Band name origin: After partaking in the Devil’s lettuce, it seemed like a good idea. 

Band motto: [none]

Description of sound in 10 words or less: Something new and something old. 

Instrumentation: Guitars and mandolins and basses and banjos and trumpets. 

Most recent release: Uncle Dad’s Cabin and Horse Crumbs were released back to back earlier this year.

Best part about life as a Bay Area band: [none]

Worst part about life as a Bay Area band: Being poor. 

First album ever purchased40 Dayz and 40 Nightz by Xzibit 

Most recent album purchased/downloaded: Plumb Restless by Hungry Hands from Brooklyn, NY.

Favorite local eatery and dish: Friday lunch buffet at the Gold Club in SOMA. 

Hallorager at Thee Parkside 

With Glitter Wizard, Twin Steps, Meat Market, the Parmesans

Wed/31, 8pm, $8

Thee Parkside

1600 17th St., SF

www.theeparkside.com

 

Localized Appreesh: Kacey Johansing

0

Localized Appreesh is our thank-you column to the musicians that make the Bay. To be considered, contact emilysavage@sfbg.com.

I first learned of Oakland’s Kacey Johansing through another post here at Noise headquarters. The singer-songwriter – who also has played with Geographer and Yesway – played a private mini concert for SFBG videographer Ariel Soto-Suver’s occasional feature, Telegenic Band Check.

Johansing’s sweet, jazz-inflected vocals are what drew me in, they give the folk-pop singer an edge that makes you picture her in a dark nightclub, sidled up next to glossy baby grand, one arm dangling carelessly over the edge of the piano, while a crowd full of admirers sets down dry martinis on cocktail napkins to clap after each dazzling performance. But back to reality; in the Telegenic Band Check video she’s merely strumming quietly in sunny Douglass Park, accompanied by actual chirping birdies, and still manages to make an impact.

Now that she’s about to release her second LP – the moving, piano-tickled Grand Ghosts – it seemed like the perfect time to give her the Localized Appreesh quiz.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQDXaAFyiKQ

Year and location of origin: 1984 Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Personal motto: You don’t need to take those drugs to enjoy the concert.

Description of sound in 10 words or less: Underwater Dance Party.

Instrumentation: Kacey Johansing-Guitar/Voice, Jeremy Harris-Guitar, Rob Shelton/Keys, Ezra Lipp/Drums, Jamie Riotto/Bass, Andrew Maguire/Vibraphone.

Most recent release: Grand Ghosts LP

Best part about life as a Bay Area musician: Three Guitar Centers! No, just kidding, I love it here so much and am incredibly grateful to be a part of such insanely talented, creative and supportive musical community.

Worst part about life as a Bay Area musician: It’s easy to feel stuck inside of the “bubble”..not that it is a bad thing to feel content where you are, but I think it is difficult for great local bands to think outside of The Bay and venture outward.
 
First album ever purchased: Queen, Best Of.

Most recent album purchased/downloaded: Moody Blues To our Children’s Children’s Childrens on cassette. My dad’s favorite band of all time..listened to this tape more than just about anything growing up.  

Favorite local eatery and dish: Pizzaiolo in the East Bay, best best best housemade gin and tonics.

Kacey Johansing
With Bart Davenport, Anna Ash
Fri/28, 9pm, $9-$12
Brick and Mortar Music Hall
1710 Mission, SF
www.brickandmortarmusic.com

Localized Appreesh: Permanent Collection

0

Localized Appreesh is our thank-you column to the musicians that make the Bay. To be considered, contact emilysavage@sfbg.com.

What began life as the solo side project of Young Prisms’ Jason Hendardy is now a fully functioning local shoegaze operation. Permanent Collection, just last month released debut full-length Newly Wed Nearly Dead on San Francisco’s Loglady Records (another entity Hendardy is a part of).

Swathed in hazy guitars with on-point murmuring vocals, Newly Wed Nearly Dead is a package that should be presented to angsty teens upon puberty. Here, listen to this and then go back to study its influences from the late 1980s for a map of underground pop and the origins of shoegaze.

Also, doesn’t the below video for “It’s Alright” kind of weirdly remind you of a modern San Francisco version of Smashing Pumpkin’s video for “1979?” Just me? Either way, it’s a fun shoot, the band cruising through the rain-slick city, drinking 40s and stopping by local diners (It’s Tops?) for fried food and condiment slurping.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnTJ3U_hdeo

Clearly, the band’s off to a good start. Now go see it live. Permanent Collection plays the daytime street party, Rock Make this weekend and Milk Bar with Ringo Deathstarr next Wednesday, Sept. 19. But first, it gave us the rundown on a few favorites (MTV in ’93, California girls, free sunday barbecue at Molotovs) and the things it could live without (the San Francisco garage rock bubble).

Year and location of origin:
Late 2010 as a single person band, 2011 as a full band.

Band name origin: A name to make songs under.

Band motto: No one likes it when bands play more than 25 minutes.

Instrumentation: Jason – Guitar/vocals, Megan – Bass, Brenden – Guitar, Mike – Drums.

Description of sound in 10 words or less: 
Jason – some kind of pop songs.
Brenden – MTV in ’93.
Megan – drowning in the ocean.
Mike – Loud.

Most recent release: Newly Wed, Nearly Dead.

Best part about life as a Bay Area band:
Jason – Everyone is an artist.
Brenden – California girls.
Megan – Weather.
Mike – Learning about the awesome Bay Area bands that came before us.

Worst part about life as a Bay Area band:
Jason – Everyone is an artist
Brenden – The San Francisco garage rock bubble
Megan – Tourist
Mike – It’s getting hard to set up house shows in SF

First album ever purchased:
Jason – Please Hammer Don’t Hurt Em by MC Hammer on cassette from Tower Records.
Brenden – Nevermind by Nirvana.
Megan – Crazy Sexy Cool by TLC.
Mike – I think it was Green by REM.

Most recent album purchased/downloaded:

Jason – Beyond Living by Milk Music.
Brenden – Love Tara by Eric’s Trip.
Mike – S/T by Happy Noose.

Favorite local eatery and dish:
Jason – Tacos from La Taqueria on Mission.
Brenden – California Burrito and a Budweiser from Los Coyotes Taqueria.
Megan – Free sunday BBQ at Molotovs.
Mike – Pizza from Serrano’s.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnTJ3U_hdeo

Rock Make Street Festival with Permanent Collection, John Vanderslice, Exray’s, Burnt Ones, Metal Mother, and more
Sat/15, noon-7pm, $3-$5 donation
Treat and 18th Street, SF
www.rockmake.com

Localized Appreesh: The Mallard

0

Localized Appreesh is our thank-you column to the musicians that make the Bay. To be considered, contact emilysavage@sfbg.com.

The Mallard seems to be everywhere right now; opening up shows for Shonen Knife or Hot Snakes, topping MTV Hive’s list of “overlooked garage rock albums of 2012.”

Which, yeah. We somehow overlooked the band’s record, Yes on Blood (Castle Face Records), at first too. It’s a Nuggets-worthy, hair-shaking gem ran through a modern fuzz machine. And live, it’s even better. The so-called “inside-out-echo-laser-garage-psych-rock” four-piece takes elements of the past and tweaks them like they’re unspooling a tape, letting elements of retro sound slowly drop away and bunch up on the floor. So here we are, jumping on the bandwagon with our tail between our legs, not to mix idioms or whatever.

So in that Hive shout-out, there’s a mention of some similarity to another local garage rock act: Thee Oh Sees. Just so happens that the Mallard is opening up for that Dwyer-led band this week at the Uptown. But before the Mallard, led by long-hair Greer McGettrick, plays alongside yet another awesome act, McGettrick took the Localized Appreesh challenge. Turns out, her first album was Nirvana and she doesn’t care much for food.

PS: The Mallard also plays the totally free Rock Make Street Festival in the Mission next weekend (Saturday, Sept. 15) alongside John Vanderslice et al. See? Everywhere.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoZ9hsJdJYw

Year and location of origin: 2010, San Francisco.

Band name origin: it started in my head, I said it out loud, and then wrote it down.

Band motto: “just don’t get caught.”

Description of sound in 10 words or less: 160-200 BPM, 110 dB, 4/4, echo, reverb, distortion.

Instrumentation: bass, vocals, guitar, drums, guitar, vocals.

Most recent release: Yes On Blood, February 2012 on Castle Face Records.

Best part about life as a Bay Area band: Thriving, ambitious, and supportive music scene.

Worst part about life as a Bay Area band: boring weather.

First album ever purchased:
Incesticide.

Most recent album purchased/downloaded:
Head Full of Steam, the Go-Betweens.

Favorite local eatery and dish: I don’t really like food.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiieNHFb-AE

The Mallard
With Thee Oh Sees, Sic Alps
Sat/8, 9pm, $12-$15
Uptown 
1928 Telegraph, Oakl.
(510) 451-8100
www.uptownnightclub.com

Localized Appreesh: The Seshen

0

Localized Appreesh is our weekly thank-you column to the musicians that make the Bay. To be considered, contact emilysavage@sfbg.com.

As is often the case these days, the Seshen grabbed attention with a video. The Bay Area band’s first official music video – for its song “Oblivion” off the self-titled LP released earlier this year –  has gained more than 10,000 views since it went up in June.

The black and white clip is like a mini art film, with a fuzzy countdown clock ticking off cerebral scenes of shadowy figures, singer Lalin St. Juste in an abandoned alleyway, and close ups of blinking eyes.

And then there’s the song itself, a beat-driven pop song, with these echoing, soulful vocals, bouncy keys, and hypnotic layers of electro effects. Given all those harrowing echoes, you could picture the song (which has a sort of Little Dragon meets Erykah Badu feel) featured in horror flick, as the heroic female lead tears away from the chaos, running to safety. 

This week, the Seshen plays for a good cause in Oakland: a fundraiser for the Women’s International Fund for Education (W.I.F.E).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOkubxzD4gY

Year and location of origin: March of 2010 in El Cerrito, Calif. We all met or re-connected at Aki (bass player and producer)’s and his girlfriend Lalin (lead singer)’s house parties in El Cerrito. Lots of like minded musicians jamming in their basement led to the first incarnation and lineup of the Seshen.
 
Band name origin: Egyptian for blue lotus, a symbol of the sun and creation or rebirth. That, and it also sounds like “session”.
 
Band motto: In the absence of an official motto, we’d say “Roast Beef”.
 
Description of sound in 10 words or less: Beat driven electronic music that balances pop and abstraction.

Instrumentation: Vocals, keyboards, bass, drums, percussion and samples. Almost everybody has some kind of MIDI device or effects pedal in order to reproduce the layered electronic sounds of the studio album in a live situation.
 
Most recent release: Our self-titled debut dropped on February 28, 2012. It streams for free here.
 
Best part about life as a Bay Area band:
Eclectic audiences, amazing musicians, great venues, different scenes (East Bay vs. San Francisco).
 
Worst part about life as a Bay Area band: Trying to be heard and remembered amongst all the other awesome musicians the Bay produces.
 
First album ever purchased: (Aki) I think the first album I purchased was Green Day’s Dookie, which I got in the 5th grade.
 
Most recent album purchased/downloaded: (Aki) The last album I downloaded was TNGHT by Hudson Mohawke and Lunice.
 
Favorite local eatery and dish: In the year and a half it took to record the first album, we ordered the large veggie from Americana Pizza and Taqueria in San Pablo probably a million times. Honorable mention to the multiple bottles of Sriracha we topped them with.

Seshen
With Fast Piece of Furniture, DJ Black
Fundraiser for Women’s International Fund for Education
Fri/24, 9pm, $10-$20 sliding scale
Geoffrey’s Inner Circle
410 14th St., Oakl.
www.wifeducation.org

         
            

Localized Appreesh: Seatraffic

0

Localized Appreesh is our weekly thank-you column to the musicians that make the Bay. To be considered, contact emilysavage@sfbg.com.

On the new seven-inch, Crimes, the persistent flow of Seatraffic feels like it’s washing over you like warm bath water. The San Francisco electronic pop duo takes a page out of the 1980s synth playbook, and executes it with a shiny modern gleam, incorporating dreamy reverb, and heavy, shoe-gazing beats.

If you climb over some sandy rocks at Corona Del Mar State Beach down in Southern California, you can jet down to Little Corona, a more secluded plot of warm sand and water with craggy little caves surrounding it. And if you should ever visit, I suggest playing Seatraffic’s Crimes on your portable record player, and bringing along edibles.

This is because vocalist Mark Zannad and drummer Brandon Harrison created cavernous atmospheres pressed on small white vinyl, just the right speed for a languid dip. It’s Seatraffic’s first physical release, and limited to 300 copies.

The band will perform live from the new release at a DJ-studded Project One gathering this week.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPOMr-u15q0

Year and location of origin: We formed in summer of 2010, in San Francisco. It was more or less an agreement that one day we’d start making music, we actually didn’t get serious until about six months later.  I (Mark) had been working out a few songs and when Brandon heard them he thought it would be really unique to bring live drums into synthy music.  We gave it a shot and the first time we made music together it just felt right.  Despite having very different musical backgrounds we meshed really well and most of the songs came a long with little stress.

Band name origin:
The word Seatraffic, is suppose to be like Air Traffic, but we like boats better than planes. We had hundreds of names written down, most of them very bad. Seatraffic just sounded right to us, later our writer friend suggested we make it into one word.

Band motto: Never really thought of having a band motto, but if we had one it would be “Stay different, know your Identity”

Description of sound in 10 words or less:
Dreamy blend of whirling synthesizers, organs, bass, and heavy drums.

Instrumentation: Mark Zannad: Vocals, Organs, Synthesizers; Brandon Harrison: Drums, Percussion

Most recent release: Crimes 7-inch (2012).

Best part about life as a Bay Area band: The best part of being a band in the Bay Area is how open minded and diverse music enthusiasts are here.

Worst part about life as a Bay Area band: The worst thing about being a band in the Bay Area is that it is a very saturated place for music, it can be difficult to be heard locally.

First album ever purchased:  Mark: Lion King soundtrack on Cassette; Brandon: Astro Lounge by Smashmouth

Most recent album purchased/downloaded:  Mark: Ariel Pink’s Mature Themes; Brandon: Ty Segall Band’s Slaughterhouse.

Favorite local eatery and dish: This may be the most difficult question we have ever been asked because the food in SF is just so good. Mark: a mini-burger (don’t let the name deceive you) from Super Duper Burger; Brandon: Carne Asada Burrito from Farolito.

Seatraffic
With DJs Boyfren, YR Skull, Shaky Premise, and Epicsauce DJs
Thu/2, 9pm, $3 (free beer before 11pm)
Project One
251 Rhode Island, SF
(415) 938-7173
p1sf.com

Localized Appreesh: Rin Tin Tiger

0

Localized Appreesh is our weekly thank-you column to the musicians that make the Bay. To be considered, contact emilysavage@sfbg.com.

San Francisco’s Rin Tin Tiger does it raw. The alt-folk trio just wrapped up recording an organic (no vocal editing here) live album at Tiny Telephone Studios.

The resulting record, Toxic Pocketbook, roars like the soul of a wild cat trapped in a faithful pup’s skin. It scoots along with twangy riffs infused with a rough rock’n’roll edge, and “a good thump” (as the band describes it below), with untouched – and gleefully twangy – vocals pumping up the natural energy. 

In celebration of their respective new releases, the band co-headlines the Great American Music Hall this week with fellow locals Tumbleweed Wanderers. First, Rin Tin Tiger swipes its striped paw across Localized Appreesh’s ruddy cheek.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpIg0x_w808

Year and location of origin: 2011 – San Francisco, Calif.

Band name origin: Kevin wanted to call the band Rin Tin Tin after the dog but the name was already taken.  As a joke Andrew said Rin Tin Tiger.  We brushed it off and then had nightmares about it for eternity.  Thus, RTT was born.

Band motto: Murk as much as possible.

Description of sound in 10 words or less: High energy, lyric heavy alt folk with a good thump.

Instrumentation: Acoustic guitar, electric bass, drums, harmonica, cries, calls & hollers.

Most recent release: Toxic Pocketbook (2012)

Best part about life as a Bay Area band: Being able to busk the streets of SF as well as play all of the amazing venues in the city and the ability to play different markets like the Oakland or San Jose within a 45 minute drive.

Worst part about life as a Bay Area band: Cost of living/Rent.

First album ever purchased: Kevin: N’Sync, Home for Christmas; Sean: Weird Al Bad Hair Day; Andrew: Michael Jackson, Black Or White.

Most recent album purchased/downloaded: Kevin: I’ve been revisiting Underoath, The Changing of Times; Sean: the amazing new releases from local bands Picture Atlantic, Tumbleweed Wanderers, Owl Paws, Loquat and Dogcatcher!; Andrew: Fleetwood Mac, Rumors.

Favorite local eatery and dish: Indian Pizza at Zantes and The Classic cheeseburger at Burgermeister.

Rin Tin Tiger and Tumbleweed Wanderers
With Ghost and the City
Thu/26, 8pm, $15
Great American Music Hall
859 O’Farrell, SF
(415) 885-0750
www.slimspresents.com

Localized Appreesh: Diego’s Umbrella

1

Localized Appreesh is our weekly thank-you column to the musicians that make the Bay. To be considered, contact emilysavage@sfbg.com.

Gypsy punk, that wild pluck-pluck-pluck of flamenco guitar, that bombastic percussion and brass, it all makes for a rather frenetic if sultry affair when bands such as Gogol Bordello do it well. And in our midst, there lives a gifted bunch of musicians – pulled together to form Diego’s Umbrella – that does it well too.

If you live in the Bay Area, you likely already know San Francisco’s Diego’s Umbrella. Perhaps you caught it at Outside Lands last year? Or you’ve heard any of its three peppy previous LPs? If not, here’s a chance to bone up. If so, there’s something new for you too.

The band’s latest, Proper Cowboy – said to be a “futuristic spaghetti western album” – drops today. The dance-worthy record, created in collaboration with San Francisco producers the Rondo Brothers, employs the frenzied Eastern European-influenced flamenco guitar and fiddle, along with analog synth and “an army of tubas” to create a mesmerizing landscape of sound, with images of twirling dancers in flowing red skirts and pirates with long swords held between their teeth spinning through the cliched mind.

The band plays a totally free record release show at New Parish this week. Get to know it here first:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdXRnqyHkgA&feature=youtu.be

Year and location of origin: Tyson and Vaughn have played music together in San Francisco since 2001, but the band as people now know it has been around since 2007.

Band name origin:  From our friend Phil Burnett’s tattoo on his arm of Diego Rivera holding an umbrella.

Band motto: Let’s do this, people!

Description of sound in 10 words or less: Gypsy Rock.

Instrumentation: Vox/flamenco guitar, vox/electric guitar/percussion, electric guitar, violin/omnichord, bass, drums.

Most recent release: Proper Cowboy, released July 2012.

Best part about life as a Bay Area band: The best part about being an SF band is the passion and support from our incredible hometown fans. And we can’t imagine living anywhere else.  

Worst part about life as a Bay Area band: Trying to find parking for our van/trailer.  

First album ever purchased: In Effect Mode, by Al B Sure.

Most recent album purchased/downloaded: Fiona Apple’s latest.

Favorite local eatery and dish: I’ve recently grown quite fond of the ahi tacos at The Bell Tower, and the tea leaf salad at Mandalay is an all time favorite.

Diego’s Umbrella
With Buster Blue, Kate Cotruvo and Friends
Tues/17, 9pm, free
New Parish
579 18th St., Oakl.
(510) 444-7474
www.thenewparish.com

Localized Appreesh: Sun Hop Fat

2

Localized Appreesh is our weekly thank-you column to the musicians that make the Bay. To be considered, contact emilysavage@sfbg.com.

Sun Hop Fat is a local 12-piece inspired by the ecstatic late 1960s Swinging Addis period of Ethio-pop, which itself was at least partially inspired by James Brown. The modern band lays out that inspiration groundwork in each track, building off the legacy and adding its own grooves, coming off like a jazzy Ethio-pop orchestra.


Fronted by vocalist-flautist Krystal Nzoiwu and Bay Area native Daniel Silberstein, Sun Hop Fats’ silky flow, joyously booming brass, and funky rhythm section create naturally bopping underground jazz club atmospheres, and are said to inspire a live dance experience. One might assume a hindrance to on-stage movement given their sheer quantity, yet they do indeed incite the party promised.

The East Bay band brings that raucous party west this weekend for a headlining Slim’s show alongside some psychedelic soul bands traveling up the coast from Santa Cruz.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMBH8syvmwo

Year and location of origin:  2008 in the Belly of the Vulcan Lofts, Fruitvale.

Band name origin:  Taken from a market near our practice space. We liked the sound and the fact that we could buy gummies and live animals there.

Band motto: Put your faith in the Red Chair of Doom.

Description of sound in 10 words or less: Mulatu Astake inspired dark jazz and soul from Ethiopia’s Swinging Addis period.

Instrumentation: Horns: Krystal Nzoiwu (flute and vocals) Dan Sarna (trumpet) Scotty Maxx (trumpet) Nicholas Gyorkos (trombone), Ryan Morgan (trombone) Jeremy Greene (tenor sax). Rhythm section: Harrison Murphy (keys), Reese Bullen (drums) Jesse Toews (bass) Theo Winston (guitar) Daniel Silberstein (Percussion and vocals).

Most recent release: The Fernet Suite on Electric Sparkyland Records.

Best part about life as a Bay Area band: Great venues, great friends, strong dancers, good drinks.

Worst part about life as a Bay Area band: Public transportation system in the East Bay. No 24/7 BART trains.

First album ever purchased: Theo, Appetite for Destruction by Guns ‘N’ Roses;  Daniel:  3 Years, 5 Months & 2 Days in the Life Of… by Arrested Development.

Most recent album purchased/downloaded:  Theo: Queen “A Day at the Races,” waiting for the new Dirty Projectors album;  Daniel : Blue Mitchell “Booty” and Takamba.

Favorite local eatery and dish: Theo: The El Gordo taco truck on International Blvd. Al parstor tacos!; Daniel: Phnom Phen House, I have been eating BBQ chicken there since I was 10.

Sun Hop Fat
With Harry & the Hit Men, On the Spot Trio
Fri/13, 9pm, $13
Slim’s
333 11 St., SF
(415) 255-0333
www.slimspresents.com

Localized Appreesh: Billy and Dolly

2

Localized Appreesh is our weekly thank-you column to the musicians that make the Bay. To be considered, contact emilysavage@sfbg.com.

At its core, good pop music simply pleases the senses. Billy & Dolly should be pleased as punch right about now: the SF act’s charming sophomore LP, Dally Bon Idyll, is finally here. The power-pop duo of Bill Rousseau and Dahlia Gallin grew from another well-regarded local band, mid-Aughts act the Monolith, and released their debut as Billy & Dolly three years back (2009’s In the Beginning), so this record is a long time in the making.

Dally Bon Idyll sees the act moving further into creamy pop with perky melodies, poppy riffs, and perfectly timed shared vocal responsibilities. It’s gained the band favorable comparisons to Teenage Fanclub and Donovan, the latter of which is said to have inspired Billy & Dolly’s sound, along with Simon & Garfunkel and Dolly Parton (natch). 

The band fêtes the birth of Dally Bon Idyll with an album release show next week at the Rickshaw Stop, which should please the whistling masses. But first, Billy & Dolly take the Localized Appreesh challenge:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JtVtfi7nDU

Year and location of origin:
2009, San Francisco.

Band name origin
: No comment.

Band motto: Shitty in the City.

Description of sound in 10 words or less: Why is this so hard for musicians to answer?

Instrumentation:
Vocals X 2, Piano/Organ, Guitar, Bass and Drums.

Most recent release: Dally Bon Idyll.

Best part about life as a Bay Area band: This is the best place to live on the face of the planet.

Worst part about life as a Bay Area band: This is the most expensive place to live on the face of the planet.

First album ever purchased: Billy: Pat Benatar – Get Nervous. Dolly: Brian Eno – Here Come the Warm Jets

Most recent album purchased/downloaded:
Billy: Father John Misty – Fear Fun. Dolly: Jim Ford – Harlan County.

Favorite local eatery and dish: Billy — Range, Baked Chicken. Dolly — Shanghai Dumpling King, fried sugar egg puffs.

Billy & Dolly
With the 21th Century, Morgan Manifacier
Wed/11, 8pm, $10
Rickshaw Stop
155 Fell, SF
(415) 861-2011
www.rickshawstop.com

Localized Appreesh: First Church of the Sacred Silversexual

0

Localized Appreesh is our weekly thank-you column to the musicians that make the Bay. To be considered, contact emilysavage@sfbg.com.

More than just a band, and beyond a tribute act, self-described local “cover cult” First Church of the Sacred Silversexual takes early David Bowie relics and shoots them out of a glitter-packed cannon. Essentially, they provide flamboyant DIY musical theater in an ode to the Thin White Duke and the shiny space cadet in us all.

Led by The Reverent Father Lysol Tony-Romeo, the sacrilegious Bowie church includes sermons and campy sing-along musical performances with choirs of freaky chanters performing cuts from the classic Space Oddity, along with Ziggy Stardustian tracks and far beyond, deep into the catalogue. For San Francisco, it’s part of a long and storied tradition of theatrical antics, performance art, and metaphoric drag. Oh no love, you’re not alone.

Year and location of origin: 2010, Suffragette City Transfer Station, Mission District.

Band name origin: The advanced enlightened state of attraction that transcends gender and centers upon sparkle alone.

Band motto: Wham Bam Thank You Ma’am!

Description of sound in 10 words or less: 12-person worship band delivering blasphemous sermons exalting David Bowie.

Instrumentation: Father Lysol Tony-Romeo (Lysol Tony-Romeo): vocals; Major Tom (Michael Carney): vocals; Uncle Sally (Jillian Dahhling):  vocals; Fancy Nancy (Aoife Davis):  vocals; Careless Cadence (Bryn Laux):  vocals; Alabaster Superior (Alison Niedbalksi):  keys, vocals; Hazy Deranged (Adam Dragland):  guitar, vocals; Akimbo Botswani (Jason Yeatman):  guitar; Lloyd (Ben Chambers):  bass; Raymond T. Gunn (Greg Maximov):  drums; Foxy Frankie Scandal (Teddy Raven):  saxophone

Most recent release: Bowie on Broadway!  The First Church talks Fame.

Best part about life as a Bay Area band: All the young dudes.

Worst part about life as a Bay Area band: All the young dudes.

First album ever purchased: The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.

Most recent album purchased/downloaded:  Ha.

Favorite local eatery and dish: The band only ingests cocaine, milk and white peppers, so anywhere that serves that

First Church of the Sacred Silversexual
Fri/29, 8pm, $10
Broadway Studios
435 Broadway, SF
Fecbook: Bowie On Broadway

Localized Appreesh: Pins of Light

0

Localized Appreesh is our weekly thank-you column to the musicians that make the Bay. To be considered, contact emilysavage@sfbg.com.

Drop Lemmy Kilmister in a whirling vat of hallucinogenic acid, and you may start to hear San Francisco’s Pins of Light emerge. The Alternative Tentacles band is made up of hard rocking, black metal-dipped cogs: scratchy-throated singer-bassist Shane Baker, brutal guitarists Jake Palladino and Ravi Durbeej, and pummeling drummer Phil Becker, who are also current and former members of Dead and Gone, Hightower, and Triclops.

The band’s hellfire debut album II – recorded at Lucky Cay Recordings in Potrero Hill – draws from elements of metal, punk, and ’70s rock’n’roll. Songs like album opener “4112” and punkish “No Way Home” lend easily to the brutal mosh, or at least some furious headbanging. The record came out earlier this year – pick it up now – and the band headlines Hemlock Tavern this week:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhn9Yd8sgVs

Year and location of origin: Fall 2008

Band name origin: Yvan Kawecki [Ed. note: Fleshies guitarist]

Band motto: I love you.

Description of sound in 10 words or less: Vibrations that travel through the air that can be heard.

Instrumentation: 2 gits, bass, vox, drums!

Most recent release: Debut LP on Alternative Tentacles, II.

Best part about life as a Bay Area band:
The view.

Worst part about life as a Bay Area band:
The other side of the world is so far away.

First album ever purchased:
45 of In the Air Tonight by Phil Collins.

Most recent album purchased/downloaded: new Toys that Kill, Fambly – ripping!!!

Favorite Bay Area eatery and dish: Cathead’s BBQ. Cornmeal Crusted Tofu. And I’m not even a vegetarian!

Pins of Light
With Hot Victory, Lozen
Wed/20, 9pm, $7
Hemlock Tavern
1131 Polk, SF
(415) 923-0923
www.hemlocktavern.com

Localized Appreesh: Hooray for Everything

0

Localized Appreesh is our weekly thank-you column to the musicians that make the Bay. To be considered, contact emilysavage@sfbg.com.

What if the glory days of 1990s MTV beyond-video programming never faded into preggers teens and a never-ending onslaught of reality blech?  Those days, the dial – and we still had dials then kids –  remained fixed on the televised revolution when Liquid Television, Beavis and Butthead, and even Daria ruled space between vids.

While those animated programs may have appeared to be about something else entirely (moody teens, raunchy twits, oddball freaks) they were surreptitiously still steeped in the music we loved: lots of reverb, wild guitar riffs, noise, pain, Gen X angst.

Oakland trio Hooray for Everything, a band name as misleading as it is accurate (also taken from ’90s animation, remember Bart vs Thanksgiving?), has some of that awesomely weird post-punk spark.

Blue-hawked bassist Matt Peterson and singer-guitarist Faith Gardner, with flaming pink hair and punk-driven Kill Rock Stars-ish vocals, could easily have been friends with Daria and Jane, while drummer Jamie Sanitate, a long-hair with heavy hits, wouldn’t be out of place couch-surfing alongside metalheads of the Beavis and Butthead variety, though the DIY sound veers closer to angular Submission Hold than Metallica. So yes, Hooray for Everything  – hooray for loud parties and best friends and beer cups full of cigarette butts. And may this feeling never fade away.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2c1f8TfrSL0

Year and location of origin: 2007, East Bay

Band name origin: The Simpsons

Band motto: Hooray.

Description of sound in 10 words or less: Loud, high energy, female-fronted punk rock’n’roll.

Instrumentation: Faith: guitar/vox, Matt: bass, Jamie: drums

Most recent release: 2012 For Pete’s Sake! Demo

Best part about life as a Bay Area band: Playing with other great Bay Area bands

Worst part about life as a Bay Area band: There are too many Bay Area bands!

First album ever purchased: Jamie: Kriss Kross, Totally Krossed Out, Faith: Paula Abdul, Forever Your Girl, Matt: Cypress Hill, S/T.

Most recent album purchased/downloaded: Jamie: Frumpy-2, Faith: SHARKPACT, Ditches, Matt: Boogie Nazis, No Coast.

Favorite local eatery and dish: 
Jamie: Taco Trucks/Tacos de carne asada, Faith: Troy Greek Cuisine in Berkeley, Falafel , Matt: Arinell, PIZZA!!!

Hooray for Everything
Sat/16, 9:30pm, $6
Hemlock Tavern
1131 Polk, SF
(415) 923-0923
www.hemlocktavern.com