San Jose rock band Red Fences will be celebrating their debut full-length album, The California Sea, with a release party. Spearheaded by frontwoman Dana Kelley, the group evokes memories of great female-fronted bands, like Garbage, while also introducing elements totally their own. On “The Joker,” they meld funky, wah-wah chka-chkas and electronic blips, and “Home to the Night” kicks off with the sound of heavy rain and a twangy guitar materializing amid the downpour. The bill will be rounded out by Taillight, Red Eye Jedi and Doug & the Carnival of Souls Revue. Continue reading »
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Yousif Kassab on July 21, 2017
Corey O’Brien, owner of The Ritz, was a pro skater back in the day—his single-tail Santa Cruz board is displayed at Cinebar. So it makes sense that he would host this super-gnar screening party. The Ritz will show the latest episode of the Viceland show a week before its premiere. The Thrasher-sponsored King of the Road contest debuted in 2003, but the show in its current form is relatively young. King of the Road is about halfway through its second season and features multiple skate teams competing at locales around the U.S. Teams include San Jose’s own Enjoi and the Santa Cruz-based Creature.
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Camille Miller on July 21, 2017
This artistic exercise in listening features five site-specific works of sound-based art by distinguished national and local artists. In One Voice, Taraneh Hemami interlinks speaking, lullabies, whispers and shouts within a sculptural installation of tube-like clusters. Sound artist Walter Kitundu invites guests to sit in a handmade rocking chair and listen to compositions emanating from surrounding trees. The immersive sculptures and soundscapes—commissioned specifically for Montalvo—are reminders to listen more attentively to the world and one another. Now Hear This! is free and open to the public during regular Montalvo hours and will run through Oct. 22. Continue reading »
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Yousif Kassab on July 21, 2017
Sunnyvale is about to get a healthy dose of prog and deep house when 3LAU returns to Pure. The Las Vegas producer’s set is sure to include material from the flurry of singles he’s been releasing over the past year, along with songs from the most recent entry in his mashup series—last year’s Dance Floor Filth 5. Aside from original material and mashups, attendees can also look forward to hearing all the standard hits sprinkled in, just like on the producer’s series of 3LAU HAUS mixes. Continue reading »
Dead Heads, assemble! Photographer Susana Millman will be commandeering Streetlight Records this Friday to present her new book featuring a collection of up close and personal photos of The Grateful Dead. Her husband, Dennis McNally, who wrote the band’s biography and worked as publicist for them for over a decade before Jerry Garcia’s death, will also be in attendance. Together the two will put on a 30-minute presentation in honor of the band. Afterward, the couple will finish everything off with a book signing. Continue reading »
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Richard von Busack on July 21, 2017
Some will remember The Seeds as the one-hit AM radio wonders responsible for “Pushin’ Too Hard,” a 1966 pop song about a girl who needs to back off. The tune is thick with the political anxieties of the time and in his new documentary, The Seeds: Pushin’ Too Hard, director Neil Norman attempts to demonstrate that The Seeds are much more than this one tune. Continue reading »
Girl, would you please slow down racing your black Maserati all over town. I could not believe you cut off our therapist on Los Gatos Boulevard on her way to our home. You drive like a kama-crazy every time I see you around, which is often. Uptown, downtown—you’re everywhere, driving like you’re in a big hurry. Your face got them big airbag lips, though, so I hope they cushion the blow when you inevitably wreck.
I Saw You is an anonymous “man on the street” column. Email your rants and raves about co-workers or any badly behaving citizens to [email protected], or send to 380 S. First St, San Jose, 95113. Submissions should stick to about 100 words.
Fans of Ben Henderson might be surprised to learn that the soft-spoken graphic artist and musician has a soft spot for one of the most critically derided sub-genres of the past 20 years: rap-rock. “There was a lot of potential there,” Henderson says with a wry smile, though it doesn’t seem like he’s kidding. The San Jose native goes on to explain, recalling an early and formative musical experience from his youth—the time he saw Salmon play Music in the Park. Continue reading »
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Camille Miller on July 19, 2017
Casual fans will know Blues Traveler for the Gramming-winning hit “Run-Around,” but hardcore devotees know that the band is about much more than their 1994 chart-topper. The Travelers started as a high school jam band in Princeton, New Jersey, in 1987, scored big with their fourth LP, Four, and then faded from the limelight. But the group has trucked on, continuing to play through the death of a founding member and lead singer John Popper’s personal struggles. The band will celebrate its 30th anniversary in the heart of downtown at Music in the Park. Continue reading »
When I interviewed horror legend George A. Romero several years ago, he had recently been sent a script about the life of Edgar Allan Poe. He had been interested in directing it, and in an attempt to get across to me how Hollywood works—or more accurately, doesn’t work—he explained why he didn’t get the job. Continue reading »
