The Learning Curve crew has been making some of the sharpest and strangest hip-hop to come out of the L.A. underground in the last couple of years. In particular, Turtle (Ken Katagiri) and Bakus (Brandon Backhaus) are trippers on the mic, sporting influences that range from Dan the Automator and Del tha…
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Sometimes Aaron Aquino can’t believe what passes for a live show from beatmakers. If it’s some guy fiddling half-heartedly behind a laptop for the whole set, the man better known by his DJ handle Squareweezy is not impressed. “Is he checking his email, or performing for us?” Aquino says he has to…
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Krupted Peasant Farmerz, better known as KPF, is now one of San Jose’s most famous punk bands, with a cult following that spans the globe. But when the band broke up in the ’90s, guitarist Rob Fraser had no idea that would be the case.
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by
AARON CARNES on July 16, 2012
In February, unknown San Jose rapper Antwon released the video for his song “Helicopter,” which quickly became the subject of music blogs all over the internet, most notably spin.com. It’s now creeping up on 80,000 views and counting.
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DJ Amy Robbins does a great show on KSJS with Badcat on Thursdays, featuring what she calls “dirty robot sex music.” They are maybe the most overcaffeinated duo on the dial, rattling the halls of San Jose State with yelps and screams and all kinds of ridiculous ramblings.
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San Jose is a legendary skating spot, even in the mind of Tony Hawk. When he first started skating in the ’80s, while growing up in San Diego, he wasn’t even supposed to respect it, thanks to the bitter divide between NorCal and SoCal boarders. “The rivalry was bizarre,” he tells me…
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If there’s an unofficial theme that dominates this year’s Metro Fountain Blues Festival, it’s the power of the Chicago blues sound. And indeed, the Chicago sound did literally bring power to the blues, turning the acoustic Delta tradition up to 11 with amps and electric guitars. But to headliner Fountain Blues headliner…
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Ruthie Foster had been putting out records for 10 years before most of the blues world even realized it. But there’s nothing like a Grammy nomination and a Blues Music Award for Female Artist of the Year to open some eyes.
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God, I’ve missed Eddie Spaghetti. As leader of the Supersuckers, the guy put out one of the top ten rock records of the ’90s with 1999’s The Evil Powers of Rock ‘N’ Roll. His anthems, from “Born With a Tail” to “Rock Your Ass” and everything in between, gave country-punk the AC/DC-sized…
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The Pagoda’s monthly D1ME series of DJ events gets two top-shelf guests this week when producer Full Crate and singer Mar from the Amsterdam beat scene drop in on Friday.
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