Emily Savage

Shannon and the Clams awaken ‘Rip Van Winkle’

Tony Robles
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Our beloved kings and queen of trash rock and doo-wop hybrid Shannon and the Clams released “Rip Van Winkle,” the first single off their upcoming Hardly Art release, Dreams in Rat House (coming May 21).

The song, which features back-up by Magic Trick’s Noelle Cahill, is again the perfect blend of garage pop and beachy surf punk a la the Trashwomen, and has that cool hiccuping guitar effect kicking off the hip-shaking, foot-stomping, hand-clappy new track. As expected, chainsaw vocalist-bassist Shannon Shaw’s distinctive pipes stand out above all else. This all just serves to further excite us for the release of Dreams in Rat House.

Check the new song HERE.

Shaw, vocalist-bassist Cody Blanchard (King Lollipop), and drummer Ian Amberson also this week announced a tour with fellow Bay Area favorite, Mikal Cronin, which takes the bands through SXSW and back. Unfortunately that schedule does not yet include a local show upon return, though that can’t be far behind, right? (Alas, Shannon and the Clams plays its SXSW kickoff last night at Elbo Room.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0PBWuqRrpg

While the new album has yet to produce an official video, this seems like a good time revisit the Shannon and the Clams mini movies we’ve loved since the beginning (many directed by Shaw’s brother, Dan), way back when we just knew of Shaw as of Hunx’s Punkettes, and after the devotion solidified with 2010’s glorious Ruin Christmas EP and 2011’s Sleep Talk LP (1-2-3-4 Go!):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5Mk03QVeCg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NrAWAxE5dM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57KUgVsM8rw

Noise Pop 2013: The Thermals and Dirty Ghosts at Rickshaw Stop, Bender’s happy hour

Tony Robles
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I first learned of the Thermals in 2005 from the DVD series, Burn to Shine, in which bands play a house that’s set to be demolished. In an unlucky Portland, Oreg. home, the pop punk trio – by then together for just under three years – bounding with energy, played exclusive single “Welcome to the Planet.” That particular Burn to Shine installment also featured live, untouched performances by Sleater-Kinney, Mirah, the Decemberists, and the Gossip. A basic slice of life in Portland that year, all under one soon-to-be-gone roof.

Friday’s Noise Pop show at the Rickshaw Stop celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Thermals’ very first album, More Parts Per Million (2003, Sub Pop). And while it’s now all these years later, and the band has since released a decade’s worth of records building to 2013’s Desperate Ground, the Thermals have maintained a joyful, power-pop exuberance and nasally shine. The Rickshaw crowd pogo’d off its feet to every song, nearly in unison, matching the excitement of the band on stage, even causing a brief kerfuffle near the end.

“This week is the 10th anniversary of our first record,” said lead singer-guitarist Hutch Harris, “I hope you like it because we’re going to play most of it.”

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

And the sold-out room did enjoy it. Despite the band’s relative longevity, the audience seemed mostly on the younger side; I’d guess at least half were under 21, and spotted those inked giant Xs on many a pumping fist (maybe they were just straight-edge? Do kids still do that?). That could also be due to the fact that the show was 18 and over, and the Rickshaw generally attracts a younger set.

The show opened with experimental San Francisco pop trio Ev Kain, which had a confusing, dense sound peppered with echoing duel vocal harmonies, expert, off-time drumming, angular guitars, and upbeat ska melodies. At different points, it was reminiscent of the early aughts math-rock and dance punk explosions, a welcome change from standard SF garage acts, at other moments the roaring lead vocals were distracting from the drumming (though I always am drawn to a drummer who sings). I overheard comparisons to both Radio 4 and Fishbone thrown out among the attendees up on balcony. See? Confusing.

All-teenage, all-girl beach pop group the She’s (ahem, our recent cover stars for the On the Rise issue) followed and impressed with those breezy harmonies and technical skills. The quartet opened with “Picture of Houses,” in which three of the four harmonize, “picture of houses in my life/grey skies and warm sand/it’s al-ri-ght” – that last “it’s alright” being repeated in a dreamy Beach Boys ode.

Pretty much everyone around me was smiling during the She’s set, especially when lead singer-guitarist Hannah Valente dedicated a song to her dad, saying “Happy birthday, dad!” before launching into a brand new track.

Next up, Dirty Ghosts brought out the Flying “V” guitars and classic, hard-hitting rock’n’roll. The band, another trio from San Francisco, seems to be getting tighter and brighter every year – perhaps it has just been too long since I’ve seen them live. They blew my mind like it was the first time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Lu9ydAkXzY

Led by the hair-shaking guitarist Allyson Baker and bassist Erin McDermott (who sported a beer tap strap and a Faith No More shirt), Dirty Ghosts played songs off last year’s Metal Moon, and seven-inch “Katana Rock/Eyes of a Stranger” (2012). They killed with “Eyes of a Stranger,” which, as they noted, is in the classic 1980s film, Valley Girl (a.k.a my all-time favorite movie), and also with gritty single “Ropes that Way,” during which Baker and McDermott walked toward each other and did that noodling rock star move they’re so good at.

An audience interaction I dug during the set: whenever Baker mentioned Canada, or talked at all really, a smaller cluster of ladies near me screamed, whooped, danced, and repeatedly called back to the stage banter (old friends from Baker’s native land of Toronto?). Either way, they were feeling it, and it was contagious.

The next day, I stopped by Noise Pop’s free happy hour show at Bender’s and caught the awesomely hard, deep-fried Southern ’70s rock’n’roll act Wild Eyes SF  (with electric singer-tambourine shaker Janiece Gonzalez wearing an American flag denim vest, naturally, and drummer Ben Richardson, who, full disclosure, is a sometimes Guardian contributer), along with “[Black] Sabbath-worshiping” rock band Owl, and some delicious deep-fried tater tots dipped in ketchup. The greasy daytime show, packed with tall dudes with long hair and black shirts, was the perfect antidote to the poppy preceding night, and ended my Noise Pop 2013 week with a bang and a belly ache.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P25oXVQPqYM
(Video shot by Guardian arts editor Cheryl Eddy)

Noise Pop 2013: Cruel Summer, Lake, and the Blank Tapes at Hemlock

Tony Robles
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It’s a low-key kind of Noise Pop year compared to the past three or four, without the huge, attention-grabbing headliners of yore  (looking at you, Flaming Lips at Bimbo’s), but Wednesday’s show at the Hemlock Tavern could have been nuzzled in nicely in any very early NP lineups, which is what made it feel authentically true to the inherent spirit of the festival.

No pomp or glitz, no big names or sold-out, packed-to-the-gills chaos. I initially went to see Olympia, Wash.’s Lake, a twee, lo-fi indie pop quartet with great hooks, but found much enjoyment out of the two bands that sandwiched that act (Cruel Summer and Blank Tapes), perhaps even more so?

I arrived early in Cruel Summer‘s set; I’m told the jangly San Francisco act had only played a few songs to the neatly packed in Hemlock crowd. There were casually smiling faces stretching from the front of the stage back to the sound guy, however there wasn’t that trademark Hemlock hot stink just yet. You could stretch your legs out without knocking into a sweaty mess. Though I detected a wafting hippie scent. 

Cruel Summer, which consists of two hard-rocking ladies out front (bespectacled lead singer-guitarist Thea Chacamaty and bassist Chani Hawthorn), along with guitarist Josh Yule and bassist Sean Mosley, created a rolling wave of reverb and noise  – so loud it drowned out the vocals – in a “dreamy gazey noisey hazy wavey gravy” way, as the band is wont to describe it. During the loud-sound-wave a few heads in the audience bopped and jerked hard, meeting each thundering drum hit with a nod of approval. Cruel Summer’s been around since 2011, but could easily fit in with ’80s shoegaze scenes or ’90s K Records stock.

The latter goes for second band Lake as well. Actually, Lake is currently on the K roster. And it fits right in. An aside: when I was first learning there was music being made beyond pop radio (‘sup KIIS-FM?) in my early, impressionable tweens, I had a friend with an older sister who was of the super cool girl alternative guild. She and her friends were in to riot grrrl, and twee, and K, and Kill Rock Stars, and the like. They wore cardigans, boat stripes, short skirts with nubby tights, and thick-framed glasses, and had glittery Fenders and drum kits. I feel like the older sis and her crew would’ve dug both Cruel Summer and Lake.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wO4ZA7ezlEg&feature=youtu.be

Anyway, Lake played mostly new songs last night, some that had sexy Bossa nova bass lines – the bass was noticeable after Lake asked the crowd if anything needed to be turned up louder. Some got so funky a few people noodled along to the beat. The four band members switched instruments a few times during the set, and three traded off covering male/female lead vocals, including Eli Moore and his wife, the sweet-voiced Ashley Eriksson, who also played keyboards.

Next up was the Blank Tapes; the trio also traded off male/female harmonies and pop hooks, but with a garage-rooted rock’n’roll edge – that was also due in part to standing drummer Pearl Charles smacking just two drums, a floor tom and a snare, often with a mighty thwack. This is also when the scent changed from hippie to pizza, as someone brought in a delicious-smelling pie, and I got jealous.

The dynamic between Charles and Blank Tapes pied-piper/multi-instrumentalist Matt Adams reminded one of my show-going companions of the famed Lee Hazlewood-Nancy Sinatra collaboration. Though on looks alone, it could’ve been Lindsay Weir and Ginger Baker. The band – which has the advantage of a rotating lineup and addresses in both LA and SF – sounded great, alive and full of energy, pumping up an already pleased crowd with crackling beach garage songs like bubbly “Coast to Coast” (a new single on Oakland’s Antenna Farm Records), a song I feel like must be called “Beach Party,” and tracks off 2012’s Sun’s Too Bright (Burger Records) tape. Live, the songs seemed far less relaxed than recorded versions.

It’s the way I imagine Noise Pop began, 21 years back, with talented, eclectic, lo-fi, noise-pop-genre-specific acts from up and down the West Coast huddled in a favorite little local venue, beating the shit out of their instruments. No fuss, no muss.

Localized Appreesh: The Dandelion War

Tony Robles
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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’

Tony Robles
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Kacey Johansing goes walking with her ‘Ghosts’

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

Young love is war for Blackbird Blackbird

Tony Robles
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Our own Blackbird Blackbird makes us feel funny with a grainy new video for “It’s a War” off his 2012 EP, Boracay Planet (Lavish Habits).

The SF-born electronic pop music maker’s song glides through a tale of modern young love, in a seven-minute-long video directed by Patrick Pearse and starring bleached pro-surfer Thom Pringle and freckled model Shenay Carey.

Blackbird Blackbird opens for Portland’s STRFKR this Fri/1 at the Regency Ballroom, as part of Noise Pop.

Antwon goes puppet in his new video

Tony Robles
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Antwon, one of our favorite local rappers, goes all Muppets take the club in this video for “3rd World Grrl,” off new mixtape In Dark Denim.

For those concerned, yesterday Twon tweeted: “3rd world grrl isnt about girls in a third world its about being so physically close to someone but their heart being far away.” Aww.

You can see him next this Sat/23 at 120 Minutes night at the Elbo Room.

Which Noise Pop show is right for you?

Tony Robles
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It’s all about choice, people. Noise Pop is a well-oiled festival machine at this point — now in its 21st year — cranking out dozens of concerts, nightlife happenings, film screenings, culture club events, photography showings, and all that good stuff we’ve come to expect from the homegrown indie fest. But given all those choices for the week of Feb. 26 through March 3, restless souls such as myself always tend to feel a bit well, overwhelmed.

Do I see headliner Toro Y Moi at one of his Independent showcases, or DIIV at Brick and Mortar Music Hall? (Shouldn’t matter much to most; those are all super sold out by now.) Do I squeeze in a Noise Pop Happy Hour after work, before the cozy Sonny and the Sunsets Bottom of the Hill concert or Kim Gordon’s new project, Body/Head at the Rickshaw Stop? How much is too much booze for one week? I can’t answer them all for you (if you want to see a sold-out show, buy a fest badge), but I can help with those pesky last-minute questions that boil down to which show to choose over another, equally appealing event.

The infographic flowchart for this appeared in this week’s issue (pg. 20 of the Feb. 20 Guardian), but for these purposes, I’ll hook you up with a video for each:

Interested in live music? Are you a “members of” type of fan? Do you prefer distorted guitar?
Answer: Kim Gordon’s newest venture, Body/Head. Body/Head is the newest post-Sonic Youth project for Gordon, who teams up with free-noise guitarist Bill Nace to create noisy experimental mindfucks such as single “The Eyes, The Mouth.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQ4axZa5ZFo
With Horsebladder, Burmese, Noel Von Harmonson
Feb. 26, 8pm, $17
Rickshaw Stop
155 Fell, SF
www.rickshawstop.com

Are you a “members of” type of fan? Do you prefer analog synth?
Answer: Jason Lytle of Grandaddy. The Modesto-born Grandaddy frontperson and singer-songwriter most recently released heart-tugging solo work, Dept. of Disappearance (ANTI-, 2012).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0yMQCcU6NY
With Jenny-O, Will Sprott, Michael Stasis
Feb. 26, 7pm, $14
Brick and Mortar Music Hall
1710 Mission, SF
www.brickandmortarmusic.com

Do you like to keep it local? Do you only go to shows if they are free?
Answer: Noise Pop Happy Hour with Golden Void, Wild Moth. San Francisco psych band Golden Void and local post-punk act Wild Moth (check out 2012 EP Mourning Glow, on Asian Man Records) are both acts to know now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJC3u_COifo
With DSTVV
March 1, 5pm, free
Bender’s
806 Van Ness, SF
www.bendersbar.com

Do you like to keep it local? Are you willing to spend a nominal sum on live music?
Answer: Sonny and the Sunsets. By now, the band, led by prolific artist-musician Sonny Smith, is a go-to classic for quality SF garage-pop. And yet, last year’s Longtime Companion (Polyvinyl) pumped up the twang.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbctzd9kW1A
With Magic Trick, Cool Ghouls, Dune Rats
March 2, 8pm, $12
Bottom of the Hill
1233 17th St., SF
www.bottomofthehill.com

Can you get into some ’90s slow jams?
Answer: XXYYXX. Woozy XXYYXX is the creation of 18-year-old Orlando, Florida producer, Marcel Everett, whose beat-driven Relief in Abstract albums, have gotten props from the likes of Kardashian baby momma/Kanye West and the like. Our very own DJ Dials brings the wunderkind West.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lG5aSZBAuPs
With DJ Dials, Teebs, Nanosaur
Feb. 28, 9pm, $25
DNA Lounge
375 11th St., SF
www.dnalounge.com

Extra credit:
There will be a feature story on Noise Pop 21 headliner Toro Y Moi in next week’s issue (Feb. 27). He’s playing two sold out shows at the Independent (March 1 and 2). 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0_ardwzTrA

And if you’re able to attend any of the other ticket-less shows, there’s also this great one:
Post-punk Beach Fossils side project DIIV, recent On the Rise act Wax Idols, Sisu (fronted by Sandy of Dum Dum Girls), and Lenz.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L702zw6Ilqs
March 2, 8pm, $15 (sold out)
Brick and Mortar Music Hall
1710 Mission, SF
www.brickandmortarmusic.com

Music Listings

Andrew Lam
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Since club life is unpredictable, it’s a good idea to call ahead or check the venue’s website to confirm bookings and hours. Prices are listed when provided to us. Visit www.sfbg.com/venue-guide for venue information. Submit items for the listings at listings@sfbg.com. For further information on how to submit items for the listings, see Picks.

WEDNESDAY 20

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Apopka Darkroom. Bleached Palms Hemlock Tavern. 8:30pm, $6.

Guido vs Jason Marion Johnny Foley’s Dueling Pianos. 9pm, free.

Jesus and the Rabbies, Cello and the Beggers Who Give Boom Boom Room. 8pm, $10.

Keith Crossan Blues Showcase with Tom Lindsay Biscuits and Blues. 8pm, $15.

Leftover Salmon Great American Music Hall. 9pm, $29-$34.

Terry Savastano Johnny Foley’s. 9pm, free.

Shannon and the Clams, Mallard, Blasted Canyons, Swiftumz Brick and Mortar Music Hall. 9pm, $10-$100. Benefit for 23 Street/Capp fire victim Ursula Rodiriguez.

Sir Richard Bishop Independent. 8pm, $15.

Spell, Rosa Grande, Future Space and Time Elbo Room. 9pm, $6.

Spooky Flowers, Standard Poodle, Big Long Now Bottom of the Hill. 9pm, $8.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

Dink Dink Dink, Gaucho, Eric Garland’s Jazz Session Amnesia. 7pm, free.

Terry Disley’s Mini-Experience Burritt Room, 417 Stockton, SF; www.mystichotel.com. 6-9pm, free.

Freddie Hughes Royal Cuckoo, 3203 Mission, SF; www.royalcuckoo.com. 7:30-10:30pm, free.

Ricardo Scales Top of the Mark, 999 California, SF; www.topofthemark.com. 6:30pm, $5.

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Daniel Seidel Plough and Stars. 9pm.

Timba Dance Party Bissap Baobab, 3372 19th St, SF; www.bissapbaobab.com. 10pm, $5. Timba and salsa cubana with DJ Walt Diggz.

THURSDAY 21

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Meg Baird, Daniel Bachman, Luke Sweeney Hemlock Tavern. 8:30pm, $7.

Steve Bernstein/Sex Mob, Deep Space Quartet, Klaxon Mutant Allstars Brick and Mortar Music Hall. 9pm, $10-$13.

Coheed and Cambria, Between the Buried and Me, Russian Circles Warfield. 8pm, $32.

Robert DeLong, Neighbourhood Rickshaw Stop. 9:30pm, $13-$15.

Doro, Sister Sin, Bottom Thee Parkside. 9pm, $16.

John Lawton Trio Johnny Foley’s. 9pm, free.

Kid Ink, DJ Jack DNA Lounge. 8pm, $20

Lisa Loeb, Satellite Independent. 7:30pm, $25.

Night Marchers, Intelligence, Mrs. Magician Cafe Du Nord. 8:30pm, $12.50-$15.

Pansy Division El Rio. 8:30pm.

Papa Bear’s Birthday Bonanza with Baby Bear, Easy Love, Mowgli’s, Whiskerman, Sufis Great American Music Hall. 8:30pm, $14.

JC Rockit vs Guido Johnny Foley’s Dueling Pianos. 9pm, free.

Salvador Santana, Scribe Project Slim’s. 8pm, $16.

Chris Slebert Royal Cuckoo, 3203 Mission, SF; www.royalcuckoo.com. 7:30-10:30pm, free.

“Stevie Ray Vaughan Tribute” Biscuits and Blues. 8 and 10pm, $20. With Alan Iglesias and Crossfire.

Our Vinyl Vows, Pounders, Dangermaker Bottom of the Hill. 9pm, $10.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

Stompy Jones Top of the Mark, 999 California, SF; www.topofthemark.com. 7:30pm, $10.

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Gustaf Sjokvist Chamber Choir Grace Cathedral, 1100 California, SF; www.cityboxoffice.com. 7:30pm, $15-$50.

Gayle Lynn and Her Hired Hands Atlas Cafe, 3049 20th, SF; www.atlascafe.net. 8pm, free.

Tipsy House Plough and Stars. 9pm.

Twang! Honky Tonk Fiddler’s Green, 1330 Columbus, SF; www.twanghonkytonk.com. 5pm. Live country music.

DANCE CLUBS

Afrolicious Elbo Room. 9:30pm, $8. DJs-hosts Pleasuremaker and Senor Oz spin Afrobeat, Tropicália, electro, samba, and funk.

All 80s Thursday Cat Club. 9pm, $6 (free before 9:30pm). The best of ’80s mainstream and underground.

Ritual Temple. 10pm-3am, $5. Two rooms of dubstep, glitch, and trap music.

Tropicana Madrone Art Bar. 9pm, free. Salsa, cumbia, reggaeton, and more.

Twista, King Most, Ant-1 1015 Folsom, SF; www.1015folsom.com. 9pm, free with RSVP.

FRIDAY 22

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

ALO, Diego’s Umbrella Fillmore. 9pm, $22.50.

Dave Alvin and the Guilty Ones, Marshall Crenshaw Great American Music Hall. 8pm, $22.

Back Pages Johnny Foley’s. 9pm, free.

Big Sandy and His Fly-Rite Boys Elbo Room. 9pm, $18.

Jules Broussard Royal Cuckoo, 3203 Mission, SF; www.royalcuckoo.com. 7:30-10:30pm, free.

Con Brio, Justin Ancheta Band Independent. 9pm, $18.

Funk Revival Orchestra Boom Boom Room. 8pm, $15.

Indians, Night Beds, Cat Martino Brick and Mortar Music Hall. 9pm, $12.

Limousines, Doe Eye DNA Lounge. 9pm, $20.

Midtown Social, Sufis Cafe Du Nord. 9:30pm, $10.

Sellassie and Rakim 1015 Folsom, SF. 9pm, $20.

Seshen, Guy Fox, Ash Reiter Rickshaw Stop. 9pm, $10.

Somebody’s Darling, David Luning, Elliot Randall, Andrew Blair Thee Parkside. 9pm, $8.

“Stevie Ray Vaughan Tribute” Biscuits and Blues. 8 and 10pm, $20. With Alan Iglesias and Crossfire.

Tambo Rays, Sunbeam Rd., Thralls Hemlock Tavern. 9:30pm, $7.

Wallpaper, Con Bro Chill, Jhameel Slim’s. 9pm, $16-$18.

Greg Zema, Jeff V., Jason Marion Johnny Foley’s Dueling Pianos. 9pm, free.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

Audium 1616 Bush, SF; www.audium.org. 8:30pm, $20. Theater of sound-sculptured space.

Black Market Jazz Orchestra Top of the Mark, 999 California, SF; www.topofthemark.com. 9pm, $10.

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Baxtalo Drom Amnesia. 9pm, $7-$10. Live music, gypsy punk, belly dancing.

Get Offa My Lawn Plough and Stars. 9pm.

Inspector Gadje, Gomorran Social Aid and Pleasure Club, La Dee Da Bottom of the Hill. 9pm, $15.

“One Great City: Alexandra Iranfar and Timothy Sherren” Unitarian Universalist Society of SF Chapel, 1187 Franklin, SF; www.tangentsguitarseries.com. 7:30pm, $10-$15.

Trio Troubadour Bissap Baobab, 3372 19th St, SF; www.bissapbaobab.com. 7pm, free.

DANCE CLUBS

DJ Sneak, Doc Martin, James What Public Works. 9:30pm, $20.

Hegemoney presents Lil Texas, B. Bravo, Swerve, Trill Team 6, Pyramids/Ka$hmir F8, 1192 Folsom, SF. 9pm, $5-$10.

Joe Lookout, 3600 16th St.,SF; www.lookoutsf.com. 9pm. Eight rotating DJs, shirt-off drink specials.

Old School JAMZ El Rio. 9pm. Fruit Stand DJs spinning old school funk, hip-hop, and R&B.

Paris to Dakar Little Baobab, 3388 19th St, SF; (415) 643-3558. 10pm, $5. Afro and world music with rotating DJs.

SATURDAY 23

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

ALO, California Honeydrops Fillmore. 9pm, $22.50.

Blues Ambassadors Biscuits and Blues. 8 and 10pm, $22.

Burn River Burn, Disastroid, Fortress Thee Parkside. 9pm, $8.

Foxtail Somersault, Tomihira, Astral, United Ghosts Bottom of the Hill. 9pm, $10.

Fusion Johnny Foley’s. 9pm, free.

Hammond Organ Soul Blues Party Royal Cuckoo, 3203 Mission, SF; www.royalcuckoo.com. 7:30-10:30pm, free.

Middle Class Murder, Imperial Pints Thee Parkside. 3pm, free.

Permanent Collection, Cobalt Cranes, Legs Hemlock Tavern. 9:30pm, $7.

Phenomenauts, La Plebe, Dirty Hand Family Band, Bruises Slim’s. 9pm, $15.

Radical Something Brick and Mortar Music Hall. 6:30pm, $12-$30.

Rangda, Blues Control Chapel, 777 Valencia, SF; www.chapelsf.com. 9pm, $18-$22.

Revivalists, Great White Buffalo, Solwave Independent. 9pm, $14.

Spindrift, Gram Rabbit, Matthew Tow, Pow! Brick and Mortar Music Hall. 10pm, $10-$12.

Tracorum and Sean Leahy Boom Boom Room. 9pm, $10.

Jeff V., Jason Marion, Greg Zema Johnny Foley’s Dueling Pianos. 9pm, free.

Tyrone Wells, Graham Colton, Brett Young Great American Music Hall. 8pm, $18.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

Audium 1616 Bush, SF; www.audium.org. 8:30pm, $20. Theater of sound-sculptured space.

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Culann’s Hounds Plough and Stars. 9pm.

Sex With No Hands Connecticut Yankee. 10pm, $5.

DANCE CLUBS

Bootie SF: Rihanna Mashup Night DNA Lounge. 9pm, $10-$15. With A Plus D, Smash-Up Derby, and more.

120 Minutes Elbo Room. 10pm, $10. With Venus X, resident DJs S4NtA MU3rTE and Chauncey CC.

Paris to Dakar Little Baobab, 3388 19th St, SF; (415) 643-3558. 10pm, $5. Afro and world music with rotating DJs.

Temptation Cat Club. 9:30pm. $5-$8. Indie, electro, new wave video dance party.

SUNDAY 24

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Brickbat, Hank IV, Hot Lunch, Mitchell and Manley Bottom of the Hill. 3pm, $15. Benefit for Scott Jones.

Bex Marshall Biscuits and Blues. 7 and 9pm, $15.

David Crosby, Marty Balin and Friends, MC Country Joe McDonald Great American Music Hall. 8pm, $50. Benefit for Slick Aguilar.

Judgement Day, Satya Sena, Iron Mountain, Armed for Apocalypse Hemlock Tavern. 6pm, $8.

Spencer Moody, Corey Brewer Hemlock Tavern. 10:30pm, $7.

Morrissey Davies Symphony Hall, 201 Van Ness, SF. 8pm, $49.50-$89.50.

Grant-Lee Philips, Garrin Benfield Cafe Du Nord. 9pm, $20.

Residents Bimbo’s. 8pm, $35.

Lavay Smith Royal Cuckoo, 3203 Mission, SF; www.royalcuckoo.com. 7:30-10:30pm, free.

Swingin’ Utters, Inciters, Impalers Slim’s. 8pm, $16.

Velvet Acid Christ, Twilight Garden, Vile Augury DNA Lounge. 9pm, $14.

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Brazil and Beyond Bissap Baobab, 3372 19th St, SF; www.bissapbaobab.com. 6:30pm, free.

Jack Gilder, Darcy Noonan Plough and Stars. 9pm.

Heel Draggers Amnesia. 8pm, $5-$10.

Twang Sunday Thee Parkside. 4pm, free. With Mad Mama and the Bonafide Few, Rocketship Rocketship.

DANCE CLUBS

Deep Fried Soul Dance Party Boom Boom Room. 8pm, free.

Dub Mission Elbo Room. 9pm, $6. With DJ Sep, Vinnie Esparza, Jah Yzer.

Jock Lookout, 3600 16th St, SF; www.lookoutsf.com. 3pm, $2.

Scraps! DJ Night Chapel, 777 Valencia, SF; www.chapelsf.com. 8:30pm, free.

MONDAY 25

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Roem Baur Osteria, 3277 Sacramento, SF; (415) 771-5030. 7pm, free with RSVP.

Down Dirty Shake, Mean Streets, Han Cholo, Broonies Elbo Room. 9pm.

Surfer Blood, Grand Rapids, Aaron Axelson Brick and Mortar Music Hall. 8pm, $10.53.

Touche, Starskate, Teenage Sweater Cafe Du Nord. 9pm, $7.

DANCE CLUBS

Crazy Mondays Beauty Bar, 2299 Mission, SF; www.thebeautybar.com. 10pm, free. Hip-hop and other stuff.

Death Guild DNA Lounge. 9:30pm, $3-5. Gothic, industrial, and synthpop with Joe Radio, Decay, and Melting Girl.

M.O.M. Madrone Art Bar. 6pm, free. DJs Timoteo Gigante, Gordo Cabeza, and Chris Phlek playing all Motown every Monday.

Soul Cafe John Colins Lounge, 138 Minna, SF; www.johncolins.com. 9pm. R&B, Hip-Hop, Neosoul, reggae, dancehall, and more with DJ Jerry Ross.

Vibes’N’Stuff El Amigo Bar, 3355 Mission, SF; (415) 852-0092. 10pm, free. Conscious jazz and hip-hop with DJs Luce Lucy, Vinnie Esparza, and more.

TUESDAY 26

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Animal Friend, Turn Me on Dead, Treehouse Orchestra Bottom of the Hill. 9pm, $8.

Bobb Saggeth, Killbossa, SFO+H Amnesia. 9pm, $10.

Body/Head, Horsebladder, Burmese, Noel Von Harmonson Rickshaw Stop. 8pm, $15.

Butt Problems, Secret Secretaries, Sweat Lodge Knockout. 9:30pm, $6.

John Garcia Band Biscuits and Blues. 8 and 10pm, $15.

Jason Lytle of Grandaddy, Jenny-O, Will Sprott Brick and Mortar Music Hall. 8pm, $14.

Philistines, Nomad, Control-R Elbo Room. 9pm, $5.

Qumran Orphics, Eye of Satan Hemlock Tavern. 8:30pm, $6.

Soul Mechanix Boom Boom Room. 8pm, $5.

Stan Erhart Band Johnny Foley’s. 9pm, free.

Stick to Your Guns, Vera Project, Saint Vernon, Murder DNA Lounge. 8pm, $15.

Used, We Came As Romans, Crown the Empire, Mindflow Fillmore. 7pm, $27.50.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

Terry Disley’s Mini-Experience Burritt Room, 417 Stockton, SF; www.mystichotel.com. 6-9pm, free.

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Brazilian Zouk Bissap Baobab, 3372 19th St, SF; www.bissapbaobab.com. 9:30pm, $5-$12.

Seisiun Plough and Stars. 9pm.

DANCE CLUBS

Stylus John Colins Lounge, 138 Minna, SF; www.johncolins.com. 9pm. Hip-hop, dancehall, and Bay slaps with DJ Left Lane.

Takin’ Back Tuesdays Double Dutch, 3192 16th St,SF; www.thedoubledutch.com. 10pm. Hip-hop from the 1990s.

On the Rise: The Seshen

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks
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On the Rise: The Seshen

If Erykah Badu, Little Dragon, and Beach House, met-cute and made jazzy, passionate pop music together, the resulting mix might sound something like a song by the Seshen (as those are its main influences). The seven-piece Oakland band is known for its blend of sounds and regions, with robust musicianship by bassist Aki Ehara, drummer Chris Thalmann, percussionist Mirza Kopelman, Kumar Butler on samples, and Mahesh Rao on keys, filled out by fierce vocalists Lalin St. Juste and Akasha Orr. Though mostly, at this point, it’s known for a little track called “Oblivion.”

The electronic pop song, off the band’s self-titled 2012 debut LP, employs the consistent Seshen method, a live rock band set-up with deeply soulful singing, cosmic hip-hop beats, and densely layered effects and samples.

Most recently, the Seshen remixed fellow On the Risers Trails and Ways’ “Border Crosser.” Next up, the band will drop “Turn,” the first single off its upcoming EP, due later this year.

Description of sound: Our sound utilizes electronic textures and layers that seek to blur the distinction between the abstract and the familiar while incorporating influences from a variety of genres.

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

What piece of music means a lot to you: There’s seven of us so there are many pieces of music that have moved us, some of which include: Mama’s Gun (Erykah Badu), Voodoo (D’Angelo), Pink Moon (Nick Drake) and the works of Radiohead, Stevie Wonder, James Blake, Bob Marley, and Broadcast, to name a few.

Favorite local eatery and dish: Too hard to narrow it down to one!! We love Souley Vegan in Oakland, Pancho Villa in the Mission, and Zachary’s Pizza (spinach and mushroom deep dish pizza).

Who would you most like to tour with: Little Dragon or Animal Collective would be amazing but more immediately it’d be fun to tour with some of the other Bay Area bands we love like Bells Atlas or DRMS.

The Seshen with Guy Fox, Ash Reiter. Feb. 22, 9pm, $10. Rickshaw Stop, 155 Fell, SF. www.rickshawstop.com, www.theseshen.com

On the Rise: Space Ghost

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks
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On the Rise: Space Ghost

Space Ghost’s textured, sample-based electronic compositions might sound like fat rain drops dribbling over tight beats, as is the case with “SD”, or like the remnants of a soulful club hit stretched over hollow wooden percussion in newly uploaded tracks like one-minute-long “King City.”

He is ambient music-maker/Oakland producer Sudi Wachspress — not the masked Hanna-Barbera character — who pieces together tracks using sounds found on the Internet and arranges them in Ableton. The Ukiah native, born in ’91, says he also has a Zoom H4 audio recorder, which he’s used for field recordings in the past, an Alesis Micron, and a vintage Korg Mono/Poly, which he’s currently learning to incorporate into his music. He also occasionally works with his own recorded voice.

His music is, for the most part, simply created in his bedroom then uploaded to Soundcloud, sometimes unfinished, often with a raw murmur, always intriguing. He’s also put out a few actual records, including 2012’s You’re There, and he’s one of the hosts of Sick Sad World, with fellow DJs Mike Melero and Albert Luera. He described the monthly party — which has seen Le1f, Friendzone, and Main Attrakionz — in another publication as “a grimey warehouse Oakland rap-bass-dance party.”

Description of sound: Ambient/electronic/hip-hop based/instrumental/meditative.

What you like most about the Bay Area music scene: I don’t really think there is a specific electronic music scene in the Bay Area like the way Chicago has house music, Detroit with house and techno, LA with beats. And because of that I think the Bay Area is a really good place to be, for electronic music, because I feel like I stand out more at shows. I can play songs at shows that are completely rinsed in other places, but it could be some people’s first time hearing that song in the crowd. Also, at Sick Sad World, we have been pushing different bass heavy genres of electronic music in our sets, as well as including old and current rap, creating a sort of mixture of sounds at our shows. And because there is a lot of ground to be explored in electronic stuff around here, I think we are in the right place at the right time.

What piece of music means a lot to you: “Left Side Drive” by Boards of Canada. That was the first song I heard by them, second to “Roygbiv,” and it’s kind of unexplainable how it made me feel. I had never really heard much electronic music before then, and that song was just so deep. It just had this slow lagging hip-hop beat but was super grainy and had sounds I had never heard. All the sounds flow around each other so fluently and then at the end it enters 30 seconds of just pure angelic-like chords.

Favorite local eatery and dish: I’m super into nachos. I went to this place in Emeryville the other day called “Los Cantaros Taqueria,” and they have real good nachos and horchata.

Who would you most like to tour with: I think it would be tight to tour with the other guys on Astro Nautico, the label I released my last album on.

soundcloud.com/space-ghost-1

On the Rise: Kowloon Walled City

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks
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On the Rise: Kowloon Walled City

The line to get in to Kowloon Walled City’s album release show with Golden Void at the Hemlock in early January snaked around the building and into the alleyway. It was undeniably packed, and entirely sold out, with hordes of black-hoodied fans still waiting outside in the rain. A relatively uncommon sight for a night with a few local acts at the divey Tendernob venue.

Plus, Kowloon Walled City has been around for awhile. It was born in 2005, released a handful of LPs, briefly toured with Sleep, and has gained a steady, dedicated following. Yet it took December 2012’s ominous, muscular Container Ships for people to stand up and take notice — and that’s expanded to beyond the Bay Area’s incestuous metal scene. (Though don’t call the noisey rock band straight-forward metal, vocalist-guitarist Scott Evans once told the Guardian; just because it’s heavy, doesn’t make it metal.)

The new album is a thick slab of sludgy hard rock, with, yes, some elements of metal, doomy down-tuned guitars, Evans’ forceful howl, heavy drumming, and inevitable comparisons to the likes of Isis and Unsane. Yet, it’s not like the current musicians of Kowloon Walled City — Evans, Jeff Fagundes, Jon Howell, Ian Miller — are in it to break big; they’re all longtime local players, lovers of the art of creating loud music, especially Evans, who’s also known as the inventive sound engineer at Oakland’s Sharkbite Studios.

Description of sound: Post-partum.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L93-wAvwPPY

What you like most about the Bay Area music scene: All music scenes are beautiful. OK, the truth is I love music in the Bay Area, both as a musician and as a recording guy. There are so many great people and bands and venues and it’s great.

Favorite local eatery and dish: Tu Lan tofu pile, RIP.

Who would you most like to tour with: All tours are beautiful.

www.inthewalledcity.com

On the Rise: Warm Soda

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks
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On the Rise: Warm Soda

The people were itching to be pumped for whatever Warm Soda was going to be. After producer-musician Matthew Melton’s beloved garage pop outfit Bare Wires dismantled ceremoniously early last year, he announced the name Warm Soda, and we collectively gripped our seats. Thankfully, there was no cause for disappointment.

This time around, Melton, who also co-runs studio-label Fuzz City, teamed up with bassist Chase Oren, guitarist Rob Good, and drummer Ian McBrayer. Similar to the band’s first single album cover (for the song “Reaction”) Warm Soda is like the sonic version of an early ’80s bombshell in skintight Gloria Vanderbilt jeans, sucking down a can of Coca-Cola through a straw, and hitting up the jukebox for early T-Rex, Cheap Trick, and glammy garage acts in that oeuvre. Or as Melton describes Warm Soda’s vision — “lo-fi glam garage pop.”

Sugary and syrupy, with fizzy pop hooks and pump-up drum hits, Warm Soda’s full-length debut, Someone For You, is out now on local Castle Face Records, and sweetly picks up where “Reaction” left off. Lucky we didn’t have to wait long for another Melton classic. As Castle Face describes it, “a lean, mean gang of masterful power pop tunes with just the right blend of studio sweetness, teenage angst, and gritty bubblegum. All killer, no filler.”

Description of sound: “Lo-Fi Glam Garage Pop.”

What you like most about the Bay Area music scene: There’s never a dull moment in the Bay Area — always something cool to check out. A brand new act will pop up as soon as you think you’re clued in on everything that’s happening.

What piece of music means a lot to you: Slade, Slade in Flame — “The Citizen Kane of Rock Musicals” — 1975 essential film (and album) about the perils of being in a traveling rock band. This hilarious movie is a must-see for anyone in a band, and the album Slade composed to “score” the film is a UK glitter rock classic.

Favorite local eatery and dish: Taqueria Cancun (19th and Mission), veggie burrito (no cheese, no sour cream) with extra green sauce!

Who would you most like to tour with: Part Time.

Warm Soda record release party with Bad Vibez, Cocktails. Feb. 23, 9pm. Night Light, 311 Broadway, Oakl. www.thenightlightoakland.com. www.warmsoda.org.

Warm Soda at Noise Pop with Free Energy, In the Valley Below, Miner. Feb. 28, 8pm, $14. Brick and Mortar Music Hall, 1710 Mission, SF. www.brickandmortarmusichall.com

On the Rise: Trails and Ways

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks
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On the Rise: Trails and Ways

This is the year we’ll finally get to spend some QT with Trilingual, which will technically be Trails and Ways’ debut LP. Though there’s still no release date or label, it will be coming out in 2013. It seems like we’ve been hearing about this much-anticipated release for ages, given all the buzzy blog love thrust on the Oakland indie-pop quartet.

And when I say anticipated, I mean it. Trails and Ways even made it on Hype Machine’s list of the “Most Blogged About Artists of 2012,” partially due to chatter about Trilingual, but likely more to the ingenious covers of Miike Snow, M83, and the like by guitarist-synth master Hannah Van Loon, rhythm guitarist Keith Brower Brown, bassist Emma Oppen, and drummer Ian Quirk.

The band is savvy, and knows how to keep up the momentum for its own projects. It’s posted dreamy official videos for tracks off the upcoming record, including “MTN Tune” and “Border Crosser.” And since December 2012, Trails and Ways have been slowly releasing songs for a remix EP, including one for “Border Crosser” by another On the Rise 2013 act: the Seshen.

Of course there’s more to T&W than a media-hold; the root reason for the frenzy is the music itself. Along with tropical synths, technical guitarwork, and Afro-pop inspired rat-a-tat drums, there’s the four glorious female-male multi-part harmonies that warm and come together like a picturesque sunrise on any given white sand beach (with or without tequila). It’s snark-proof, globally inspired pop, with hints of Brazilian tones, Spanish language snippets, and the occasional whistle, or group ooh-ooh.

Description of sound: You say bossa nova dream pop, I say Brazilian shoegaze.

What you like most about the Bay Area music scene: Our friends Bells Atlas, Astronauts Etc., the Bilinda Butchers, Waterstrider, the Seshen, and the widespread non-commercial ethos of groove.

What piece of music means a lot to you: Pat Metheny Group ft. David Bowie, “This Is Not America”; This song sounds like the boundary waters of dream pop and smooth jazz and it was my favorite song from my dad’s whole CD collection and I think I learned how to use a stereo by hitting repeat for this song.

Favorite local eatery and dish: Oasis Food Market falafel sandwich.

Who would you most like to tour with: tUnE-yArDs.

www.trailsandways.com

On the Rise: Holly Herndon

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks
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On the Rise: Holly Herndon

Using just her laptop and live vocal processing, Holly Herndon creates alternate universes. The PhD student at Stanford’s Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics manipulates programs into heart-racing, thumping, brain dripping compositions that methodically carry the listener away, then jerk it back with startling shots of noise. The best case example of this is “Movement,” the title track off last fall’s experimental RVNG Intl. release.

Like the others, the song surprises with impact, despite Herndon’s hushed, layered vocals trailing off into an unseen world. While it’s robotically tied to electronics, the track has a base in the natural, which makes sense for a former choir girl from Johnson City, Tennessee who spent her summers in the Berlin club scene. It’s the two halves of her worlds coming together.

She just got back from a brief European tour — which included a stop in underground music mecca, the Boiler Room — and is planning a new single for a spring release. For it, she says she’s “inspired to get more abstract while remaining approachable,” which sounds like a worthy challenge. There also will be a collaboration with Hieroglyphic Being this year, another with Reza Negarestani and Mat Dryhurst that will unfold in an art institution, a few remixes, and her doctoral exams. And likely plenty more media gushing if these first few months have been good indicators of the future.

Description of sound: I make computer music with a focus on live vocal processing and physical sound.

What you like most about the Bay Area music scene: We are literally at the end of the world, and the lack of attention focused here allows for artists to develop their own identities outside of hype bubbles.

What piece of music means a lot to you: I got deep with Trevor Wishart’s “Globalia” last summer and still cannot get over how well his concept of exploring (and collapsing) the diversity of language is executed. It is a gorgeous piece.

Favorite local eatery and dish: Bagel and latte at Java Supreme on Guerrero and 19th; I am there every day and the owners are wonderful.

Who would you most like to tour with: Mat Dryhurst, he is my life and creative partner and touring alone is exhausting.

Holly Herndon at Future|Perfect with Nguzunguzu, DJs Marco de la Vega, Loric Sih. Thu/14, 9pm, $10–$15. Public Works, 161 Erie, SF. www.publicsf.com, hollyherndon.tumblr.com

Bands on the Rise 2013

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks
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Bands on the Rise 2013

emilysavage@sfbg.com

MUSIC Ask 10 artists the same question, get back a dozen answers. The replies to my very brief questionnaires this year — it’s our second annual On the Rise issue — were revealing, like peeling back the skin of a tender orange, or rather fragrant onion.

Some juicy responses filled me with pride for our fair city and sisters across the bay, some inspired me to dig deeper, some just stunk. Jokes — they were all much appreciated, thank you. As the surveys came floating back in, I got excited by personal sonic descriptions such as “club bangers and sultry club grind jams,” “morbid classics,” and “Brazilian shoegaze.”

Another question that garnered a flurry of diverse answers from the acts: what’s the best part of life as a Bay Area artist? Turns out, the artists like that the crowds here mosh and smile, that making music locally isn’t intimidating like it can be in LA or NY, that new groups pop up whenever you think you’re clued in to it all, that they’re able to see live music every night of the week, the monthly showcases like Sick Sad World, the tight knit community of elder area rappers, and “the widespread non-commercial ethos of groove.”

And like last year’s list, this On the Rise bunch is rather varied, dealing in electronic arts, post-metal, hip-hop hype, ’70s glam, radio-friendly soul pop, and beyond — truly creating unique sounds across the board. One common thread I did find was the location; more than half of those picked for the 2013 list happen to be based in the East Bay, meaning at least six of the 10 are usually spotted across the bridges and BART stations. What that says about our local music scene, I haven’t quite dissected, though I often hear rumblings from artists in the area about rising SF rents and lack of rehearsal space. These are concerns to discuss amongst ourselves.

For On the Rise 2013, this much I know: these are the acts that I’d like to see get more attention this year and beyond. These are the bands, singers, musicians, and rappers that have been creating exciting output for less than a year, or some, for nearly a decade. They’re the ones to keep your eye on, to stay involved with, to hand over your hard-earned cash to see live. They’re keeping the Bay interesting — and weird — and for that, I’m grateful. Here are their stories.

>>A-1

>>CHIPPY NONSTOP

>>HOLLY HERNDON

>>KOWLOON WALLED CITY

>>THE SHE’S

>>SPACE GHOST

>>THE SESHEN

>>TRAILS AND WAYS

>>WARM SODA

>>WAX IDOLS

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