Even Now, four years after the fact, the members of Careless Hearts are still amazed that they played with Stooges’ guitarist James Williamson at the Blank Club.
Continue reading »
Unless a person’s list includes that impossible-to-buy-for music fanatic who has every CD almost before it’s released, music is always a safe bet for gift-giving, because who doesn’t love music? Even then, that fanatic can’t own every new musical memoir, or know how to breakdance, or play a strumstick or taiko drum.…
Continue reading »
The Recent Typhoon in the Philippines has shocked the world with a death toll climbing close to 4,000 people, and tens of thousands injured. People all over the globe have responded with support, with a lot of people contributing however much money they can to the victims.
Continue reading »
Before the White Stripes and the Black Keys, there was a time in indie-rock when two-piece rock bands were an anomaly. And now with backing tracks and loop pedals, most rock duos these days can create a sound that suggests a bigger outfit. Not so with Portland’s Quasi. When the duo started…
Continue reading »
Sacramento math rock duo Hella earned a devoted, cult fanbase for its loose, but highly technical and mostly instrumental tunes. Yet in 2007, the pair behind Hella, guitarist Spencer Seim and drummer Zach Hill, surprised fans by changing up their duo’s intimate dynamic. Hella temporarily expanded into a five-piece ensemble, complete with…
Continue reading »
“I’m trying to bring the older bands back. I dig that music and I like the old punk sound,” says Charles Cordova of the ’80s punk band Anti-Social. “A lot of today’s music is just screaming and yelling. People think that’s punk. To me that’s noise. With punk bands, I like to…
Continue reading »
Matt Gonzales is a busy man. When he’s not playing guitar for local fusion-soul group Anya and the Getdown or for hip-hop cumbia duo Raul y Mexia, he’s producing beats for his own solo Latin dance project, Philthy Dronez.
Continue reading »
Kaytranada’s beats immediately bring to mind the L.A. scene that blew up a few years ago with Flying Lotus, Free the Robots, Daedelus and the Glitch Mob. The diversity of these artists created a sound that pushed the boundaries of instrumental hip-hop at its intersection with electronic music—precisely what Kaytranada is doing…
Continue reading »
Seminal alt-rock group the Pixies recently announced a rare Silicon Valley tour stop arriving this February.
Continue reading »
For most bands, it takes years of gigging and building a local following before they’re ready to embark on their first tour. Berkeley’s psychedelic indie-folk band Big Tree went about this whole process in reverse order. For five years they jumped around from location to location, doing a lot of touring in-between,…
Continue reading »
