We’re baaack… It’s the “Hit List”—a weekly roundup of the hottest concerts, new music, art exhibits, parties and events in Silicon Valley. Be sure to check in with to this weekly feature on Metro’s Activate blog to stay up on the latest and greatest in entertainment news in the South Bay. This week: G-Eazy, YG and Yo Gotti bring their Endless Summer Tour to Shoreline Amphitheatre, the Soulstice EDM fest returns to the City National Civic, Bubba Sparxxx brings his Southern charm to the BackBar SoFa, and Stanford Repertory Theater brings you the latest in their series, “Theater Takes a Stand,” with the classic Charlie Chaplin film, Modern Times. All that, plus much more… 

G-Eazy, YG, Yo Gotti
Fri, 6:30pm, $35-$405
Shoreline Amphitheatre
The Endless Summer tour is easily one of the hottest hip-hop tickets of the season. Oakland native Gerald Earl Gillum, better known as G-Eazy, began his music career in 2008 and launched his second world tour earlier this year. His single “Me Myself & I” peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. Also on the tour is is YG, best known for his latest album, Still Brazy and his songs, “Toot It and Boot It” and “Who Do You Love.” Rounding out the bill is Memphis emcee Yo Gotti, whose latest LP, The Art of Hustle, includes the E-40-featuring “Law” and “Down In The DM.” (DM)

Soulstice
Fri, 7pm, $45-$70
City National Civic, San Jose
Over the past few years, Vital Events has built a reputation for assembling stellar lineups for their bass music massives at the City National Civic. The performers slated for Soulstice 2016 are no exception. Headlining this show is Mija, a seafoam green-haired Skrillex prodigy from Phoenix whose badass SoundCloud bio describes her production style as “shredding a tidal wave of whiskey on a surfboard made out of don’t care.” Right on! Branchez, Hermitude, Illenium, Oshi, Luca Lush and PRXZM round out the bill. (MH)

Bubba Sparxxx
Sat, 8pm, $15-$25
BackBar SoFa, San Jose
The gospel-inspired chorus of Bubba Sparxxx’s 2001 hit, “Ugly,” proudly proclaims the emcee’s Southern heritage. Though it’s tempting to write off his initial success as some kind of Y2K cultural glitch, there is little disputing the fact that his Ying Yang Twins-featuring “Ms. New Booty” bangs—it went certifiably gold and boasts upward of 7 million views on YouTube. It would seem that Bubba is still here. What’s more, he appears to be planning a follow up to 2014’s Made on McCosh Mill Road. The Georgian emcee signed to Slumerican, Yelawolf’s Interscope imprint, in March. (MH)

Record Swap
Sat, 9am, Free
Streetlight Records, San Jose
In the past two years, vinyl sales have only gone up, which bodes well for the return of Streetlight’s Record Swap. After a short hiatus, the event returns to the parking lot of the Bascom Avenue store, where music lovers from all over the Bay will come to dig through the crates, exchange knowledge and admire the work of numerous private collectors. It’s a free event that includes live sets from Travis Hayes, Fourth Son and Callow throughout the day. If there’s an LP you’re looking for, you’re likely to find it here. (MH)

Forgotten Gods
Sat, 9pm, Free
The Caravan, San Jose
There comes a time when even the forgotten must say goodbye. For the Lovecraft-ian sounding Forgotten Gods, that time will come this Saturday, when the stoner rock trio play their final show with longtime drummer Kevin Swartz at San Jose’s de facto home of metal—the Caravan. The cover of their last record, 2015’s Twin Sisters, looks like a particularly trippy Hammer horror film, and matches that trippiness with a 10-minute epic called “Kaleidoscope Woman,” which finds a groove somewhere between Mastodon, Sabbath and Torche. It’ll be a night for headbangers, heshers and hash. Plus all the PBR you can drink. (MH)

Obon Festival
Sat-Sun, 12pm, Free
San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin
In Japan, the story of the Bon Odori began when Mokuren asked the Buddha to free his departed mother’s soul from purgatory. Buddha advised Mokuren to make offerings to Buddhist monks on the 15th day of the seventh month. Mokuren did as he was told and danced with joy when his mother’s soul was freed. The Bon Odori or “Bon Dance” is the main attraction at the San Jose Obon Festival, which commemorates the richness of Japanese culture. A cultural celebration would not be complete without traditional food and games, as well as three taiko performances. The festival runs through Sunday. (ST)

Island Reggae Festival
Sat, 10am, $70-$160
Santa Clara County Fairgrounds, San Jose
Summertime is synonymous with music festivals. The same goes for island vacations and the bouncy grooves of reggae. As such, the annual Island Reggae Festival is a perfect fit for sunny skies and warm weather. This one-day, all-ages festival stands out from the rest with island dance competitions, lei-making demonstrations, carnival rides and a tattoo showcase, featuring some of the most talented Polynesian tattoo artists in the Bay Area. Headliners include Common Kings, Tarrus Riley and Collie Buddz, whose 2007 hit “Come Around” celebrates that glorious moment when your weed man finally gets off the couch and hits you back. (ST)

Celebrating Ella
Sun, 2pm, $15-$35
Dinkelspiel Auditorium, Stanford
The sultry and timeless voice of Ella Fitzgerald captured the hearts of music listeners around the world. The first successful woman in jazz, she collaborated with some of the best jazz musicians of her time, including Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong. She won 13 Grammys and her album sales exceeded 40 million. Her talents extended beyond jazz music and onto the big screen. She appeared and sang in the Abbot and Costello film, Ride ‘Em, Cowboy, and made a cameo in the film Pete Kelly’s Blues. The Stanford Jazz Festival honors Fitzgerald’s legacy with vocalists Kenny Washington, Bobbe Norris and special guest Alex Brandenburg. (ST)

Modern Times
Mon, 7pm, Free
Cemex Auditorium, Stanford
Pioneering actor, director, producer and composer Charlie Chaplin is undoubtedly one of the most important figures in film. His iconic character, The Tramp—a lovable hobo, known for his bowler hat, baggy pants and big clown-like shoes—faced adversity and overcame obstacles with comedy and good humor, but also depicted the real-life struggles Americans faced during hard times. As part of its 2016 summer festival, “Theater Takes A Stand,” The Stanford Repertory Theater will showcase Chaplin’s silent film classic, Modern Times, which finds The Tramp struggling to adjust to the industrialized work world. The festival runs through Aug. 15 and will also feature The Grapes of Wrath and American Dream. (ST)

The way he tells it, things just clicked. From the very first time Dave Stoltenberg jammed with the rest of his current band, stoner metal act Forgotten Gods, it was clear that there was definite chemistry among the San Jose trio.

It was sometime in mid-2011 and Stoltenberg had just left his previous group, House of Doors. “For me, that’s like being single,” he says of being without a band. And so, like so many lonely singles, the guitarist turned to the Internet, pointing his browser to Craigslist.

“It was the first thing I saw,” Stoltenberg says, recalling that fateful evening. The ad said “guitarist wanted,” and listed a few influences, including Mastodon and The Sword. He responded and before long the Forgotten Gods lineup was cemented. “There wasn’t any big tryout. It just kinda happened. I always kinda thought it was meant to be.”

Indeed, Forgotten Gods must possess an exceptional rapport. Even for a band that’s been playing together for the better part of four years, recording a full-length album in just two days—as they did with their latest, Twin Sisters—isn’t easy, especially considering the strength of the record.

“It was pretty stressful,” Stoltenberg says—“not much room for error. But, we figured that Black Sabbath did Paranoid in one day. We had twice that amount of time.”

Twin Sisters, released in late August, may never rise to the legendary level of Paranoid. However, the record is certainly the band’s most polished effort to date—due in no small part to the enlistment of producer Tim Green.

It follows their 2013 LP, Fall of the Dagger, and 2012’s self-titled EP. After recording their first two efforts themselves, Twin Sisters marks the first time Forgotten Gods have sought the help of a producer.

Stoltenberg says his band tapped Green based on his experience working with bands like Melvins and Hot Lunch. The producer definitely boasts a long and varied resume—ranging from the punky sounds of Bikini Kill and Sleater-Kinney to the glitchy post rock of From Monument to Masses. “This guy was a pretty obvious choice.”

The band gave Green plenty of leeway in recommending tones and applying techniques to thicken up Forgotten Gods’ already-sludgy sound.

“We put our trust in him to do his thing and put his signature on it,” Stoltenberg says. “In the end, I think that was kinda cool.”

The producer beefed up Stoltenberg’s riffs by having the guitarist double many of his lines with a baritone guitar. He meticulously tuned drummer Kevin Swartz’s kit, and had bassist Pete Rice playing through the same Sunn amp that inspired the iconic Seattle drone metal band, Sunn O))). Stoltenberg liked the amplifier that Green chose for him so much that he ended up buying one for himself after Forgotten Gods finished recording.

Recorded mostly live, with minimal overdubbing, Twin Sisters is an energetic record—rooted in blues and taking cues from early psychedelic pioneers. The ascendant riff of “Coyote,” bounds upward, recalling the pentatonic playfulness of Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello, before erupting into a Hendrixian solo that finds the sweet spot between messy and marvelous.

The following track—Twin Sisters’ epic centerpiece, the 10-minute “Kaleidoscope Woman”—alternates dynamically between creeping, bass grooves and explosive, fuzzy crescendos, not unlike Sabbath’s “Hand of Doom.”

Though Forgotten Gods meet the criteria for “stoner rock,” their tunes seem fueled by alcohol. The band’s raucous, amped-up blues licks and bouncy drumming at times recall the party metal of Every Time I Die.

The band’s tendency toward melding heavy-hitting riffs and psychedelic textures lines up with Stoltenberg’s background.

“I grew up playing metal—and in punk bands, too,” he says. “At home I would be learning Pantera and Metallica songs. But I also loved Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin.”

Also, he says with a chuckle, “I’m not that great at sweep picking,” which eliminates the possibility of him playing the more technical sub-genres of metal requiring extreme dexterity.

But more than anything, Stoltenberg says Forgotten Gods have arrived at their sound for a simple reason: it’s fun.

“I’m just way into it,” he says.

Forgotten Gods are playing with Valensorow and Pablo Escobar at Motorfest 2015, at Motorpool Automotive in Campbell, Oct. 17. Admission is free with a donation of canned goods or a new children’s toy.

Some musicians seek inspiration in literature. Others find it in love or loss. Still others might listen to music in search of a creative spark. But whenever Pete Rice is looking to get his juices flowing, he usually turns to one of two muses: Sega Genesis games and cult ’80s flicks.

“I played a lot of old school side-scrollers and button mashers back in the day,” says Rice, who makes synthwave music under the moniker Vector Hold. Rice is quite partial to the tones and arrangements found on titles for the classic 16-bit system—which were often darker and more brooding than the heavily compressed sounds used by Sega’s competitor, Nintendo.

“There’s definitely a Sega sound,” Rice says. “It’s bit-crunched, lo-fi drums; arpeggiators; saw-tooth, sine form, wave synthesizers. You use very minimal tracking—only about five or six tracks.”

In addition to taking inspiration from Sega games, Rice also draws from movies—especially those featuring synth-heavy scores. He points to the John Carpenter films Halloween and Escape From New York, Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive, and “terrible, bad love comedy movies that are off the beaten path.”

In fact, Rice says he was spurred to launch Vector Hold after watching the 2011 grindhouse vigilante-justice flick, Hobo With A Shotgun.

The film’s score features a song titled “Hunters,” by Power Glove—a buzzing, menacing affair, with thundering synth tom-tom hits and a steady growling pulse. “Wait a minute,” Rice recalls thinking. “That sounds like something I do. My life changed after watching that scene.”

(Here’s that scene. Warning: Graphic Violence)

Rice, a lifelong musician, who also plays in the local stoner metal act, Forgotten Gods, has always made electronic music. He’s been crafting tunes on his vintage Commodore Amiga 500 computer since long before the recent explosion in popularity of EDM. But he never knew what to do with his tunes, other than throw them up on SoundCloud and forget about them.

After doing some research on Power Glove, however, Rice discovered an entire community of artists producing synthwave. “I found my people,” he says.

Since then, his SoundCloud and BandCamp followers have ballooned and he’s been pouring himself into Vector Hold with as much vigor as he gives to Forgotten Gods—which is already a serious band that regularly tours up and down the West Coast.

A typical day for Rice begins with his day job at a sheet metal shop. “I go to work,” he says. “I get home from work. I sit down and I work on my electronic music, then I go to band practice for a few hours, and then I get home and work on some Janitors stuff and Vector Hold. Then I do it all over again.” (In addition to playing in Forgotten Gods, Rice is also the only active member of the ska band, Janitors Against Apartheid.)

Rice plans to release the latest Vector Hold album, Night Marauder, on July 21—through BandCamp, Spotify, iTunes and other digital platforms.

All of the songs on Night Marauder carry a sense of intense urgency and evoke images of car chases and gun fights from campy ’80s action films. It would make the perfect soundtrack to an epic getaway on a palm tree-lined freeway—as the synth patches from Rice’s Amiga streak past, like blurring neon lights. If the album sounds like a specific video game, it’s Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. It’s all hot pink and muggy.

Fans of Rice’s previous work as Vector Hold will notice that he has added more sounds to his latest effort—including soaring lead guitars. On Night Marauders, Rice says he was branching out and trying new things.

“It’s really all over the map this time,” he says. “There are heavy, rocking tunes; laid back Sonic the Hedgehog-style stuff, and there is some old-school Vector Hold stuff. I’m just throwing everything at it right now. I’m just giving it everything I can.”