It’s not always easy mentoring a DJ. John Fowler, a respected turntablist in the South Bay for two decades, got lucky, as his understudy learns fast. But there are certain technological changes that have created a generation gap—for instance, the way computer programs like Virtual DJ have created a reliance on eyes…
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BEAU DOWLING on July 2, 2012
This year’s Mayhem Festival was different. It felt different. Gone was the dread of attending a faceless, corporate-sponsored event. As soon as I entered, I felt at ease. Why? Because I didn’t feel like a chump. Let’s face it, most of the time, festivals like this leave you drowned in a sea…
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AARON CARNES on July 2, 2012
San Francesca has undergone a lot of changes lately. First there was that whole name switch—remember when they were called Le Verita? Now they’ve added a drummer to their lineup, which has evolved their sound.
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“Island reggae” may seem redundant to those who associate it purely with Jamaica. But in fact, reggae is the adopted sound of islands all over the world. The headliner at the Island Reggae Festival represents two of them just on his own.
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Barbara Wahli has a talent for turning her birthday into an event. A few years ago, the South Bay “Barb Rocks” promoter had the tables turned on her when one of the bands she had booked, Point Three, figured out she knew the words to Dramarama’s “Anything Anything,” which they covered. They…
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The Freq Out! series of art and music events prides itself on being a place for spontaneity and synchronicity, and South Bay artists Katie Raynes and Matt Lopez know perhaps better than anyone how true that can be. Raynes, now a San Jose State student, had been going to Freq Out! since…
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A few years ago, you couldn’t have done an Iron Bartender competition in the South Bay. Or rather, you could have, but few would have cared. Slowly, though, the mixology madness that swept New York, L.A. and San Francisco has changed the mindset of bartenders here, too.
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Anya and the Get Down’s first EP got the local scene buzzing, its Amy Winehouse-type confessional rock blendly effortlessly with dubstep, reggae and hip-hop—not to mention the revelation that was Anya’s vocals. Their new, still nameless second EP, which will be released in conjunction with a headlining show at the Pagoda Saturday,…
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AARON CARNES on June 24, 2012
Shuteye Unison, alumni of the legendary indie group The Rum Diary, take the stage at San Pedro Square Market for the third installment of Daydream Nation this Saturday. The Rum Diary’s balance between heart-on-the-sleeve emo and tongue-in-cheek prog-rock set them apart in the crowded landscape of indie rock in the early 2000s.…
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Tony Sly has been heading up San Jose’s most famous punk band for more than 20 years, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that he’s used his solo career to branch out musically (though he hasn’t strayed too far thematically). The real payoff for No Use For A Name fans comes when…
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