Shit went off at the City National Civic over the weekend, as the Safe In Sound electronic music festival hosted the laser synths and face-smacking snares of Datsik, the caffeinated drops and trappy vibes of Bro Safari, and the springing vibraphones and spectral melodies of Zed’s Dead. There was also a whole lot of…
Continue reading »
Jack Barakat has just stepped off the plane when his tour manager, at the behest of his publicist, has instructed him to hop on a call to conduct yet another interview in a prolonged publicity campaign pushing his band’s new record. And yet, he is cordial—happy, even—to be talking to the press…
Continue reading »
When it comes to truly prolific bands, examples abound. From The Rolling Stones to Radiohead, we all know and love groups with deep catalogs and decades-long careers. But few veteran bands have flown so gracefully under the radar and for so very long as CAKE. How fitting is a name that means to…
Continue reading »
If you’re the kind of person that scoffs at the notion of devoting an entire night of your life to celebrating something as arbitrary and contrived as beginning of a new year, then you might consider catching the Sacramento-based sultans of sarcasm, CAKE, as they ring in NYE 2015 at the City National Civic…
Continue reading »
by
David Ma on July 25, 2014
Southern Rap’s bouncy party anthems are now ubiquitous in mainstream music. But it wasn’t always that way, especially in the ’90s when East Coast and West Coast Rap dominated the radio and commercial landscape. It was during this lull, in 1991, that Juicy J (born Jordan Michael Houston) plotted to build a…
Continue reading »
by
Brandon E. Roos on April 22, 2014
Finally, the hip-hop pendulum is swinging back to the West Coast. After roughly a decade of Southern rappers dominating the charts, the rise of Kendrick Lamar and a handful of other rappers in LA, and the burgeoning success of the Bay Area’s own Iamsu and Sage the Gemini, are creating momentum that…
Continue reading »
by
Richard Faulk on February 24, 2014
For the record, I was pulling for them. For services rendered to indie music, for the bands they’ve inspired and for proving to me and countless others that rock still had life in it. The Pixies deserve to be rich and happy, left alone to play whenever and release whatever they want,…
Continue reading »
Despite releasing his autobiography last year, Morrissey is more of mystery than ever. After climbing to rock icon status after only five years with the Smiths, he’s risen and fallen in the pop-culture consciousness over and over, but to paraphrase one of his own songs: the more they ignore him, the closer…
Continue reading »
by
Richard Faulk on February 17, 2014
“I was at a record store in Boston, and I saw a person returning Come on Pilgrim,” says Joey Santiago, guitarist for legendary indie band the Pixies, recollecting their debut EP, on 4AD records. Back in 1986, the British label was known for its roster of ethereal gothic bands, and here was…
Continue reading »
by
Phillip Scott on January 21, 2014
It’s just a few years old, but Wobbleland has already proven itself steady. As one of the most reliable and consistently well-produced large shows in the area, Wobbleland regularly draws crowds of dance fans. This year’s roster features dubstep, trap and bass with Griz, Doctor P, Cookie Monsta and a full lineup…
Continue reading »
