From San Jose math rockers to an up-and-coming Vallejo emcee, this year’s South By Southwest festival in Austin, Tex., is packed with serious Bay Area talent. Here are six local acts to catch at SXSW.

Antwon: Recently signed to Anticon and pushing a new EP—Double Ecstacy—Antwon seems poised to finally grab that big break he’s been chasing. If lead single, “Luv” is any indication, the San Jose-bred emcee seems to be doubling down on everything that put him on in the first place: namely his Biggie-esque flow, an ear for haunting-yet-banging beats and a twisted sense of humor.

Burnt Palms: With their fuzzy, beach-punk riffs, tambourine jangles and ooh-ah backing vocals, this Monterey-based outfit recall Dum Dum Girls and Wavves. Like the former, they feature all-female vocals. Unlike the latter, their surf-and-sand, stoner vibes are chillier. Perhaps that’s due to the 831 area code, where the swells come in far colder than they do in SoCal.

Covet: San Jose’s very own Yvette Young and her band, Covet, are proving that angular, finger-tapped guitar heroics aren’t just for punky boys from Sacramento (we still love you, Tera Melos and Hella). We’re just saying—damn. Young’s dexterous, guitar-powered rock proves that technical prowess and an ear for poppy riffs are not mutually exclusive.

Geographer: Playing The Ritz at the end of April, the San Francisco-based Geographer has been trumpeted by Live 105’s tastemaking program director, Aaron Axelsen, for some time now. The trio craft gauzy indie pop tunes with tinkling keys, gummy synths, soaring soprano melodies.

James Supercave: The boys of James Supercave call Los Angeles home these days. But the trio’s frontman, Joaquin Pastor spent a great deal of his childhood and adolescence in Santa Cruz, while keyboardist and band co-founder Patrick Logothetti grew up in San Jose. They craft catchy, psychedelic pop tunes, are touring behind a new album, Better Strange and were recently featured in Metro.

Nef the Pharaoh: The E-40-mentored Nef the Pharaoh looks as if he just might be the biggest hip-hop artist to emerge from the 707 since the late, great Andre Hicks. The young Vallejo emcee has a flow that merges Mac Dre’s sardonic cadence with the hyperbolic, stutter-stop, rat-a-tat style of Rae Sremmurd, Future and Rich Homie Quan.

]]> https://activate.metroactive.com/2016/03/essential-bay-area-bands-at-sxsw/feed/ 0 https://activate.metroactive.com/2015/02/barb-rocks-hosting-bay-area-showcase-at-sxsw/ https://activate.metroactive.com/2015/02/barb-rocks-hosting-bay-area-showcase-at-sxsw/#comments Thu, 19 Feb 2015 21:07:17 +0000 http://wp.blvdscms.com/activate-metroactive-com/?p=105942
Encouraged by the success she had booking two local bands at last year’s South By South West, San Jose-based promoter Barbara Wahli—better known as Barb Rocks—is upping the ante this year, throwing her very own showcase at the yearly music, technology and film festival. She’s calling her showcase Ugly Whale. The name…]]>

Encouraged by the success she had booking two local bands at last year’s South By South West, San Jose-based promoter Barbara Wahli—better known as Barb Rocks—is upping the ante this year, throwing her very own showcase at the yearly music, technology and film festival.

She’s calling her showcase Ugly Whale. The name is an homage to her recently passed father, Ueli Wahli, whose name was consistently autocorrected to “Ugly Whale” in Microsoft Word and other word processing programs—a phenomenon he good-naturedly embraced. She has already locked down Darwin’s Pub, a 300-seat venue in a prime location in downtown Austin, and she’s launched a Kickstarter to raise the $3,500 booking fee. All donations inch Barbara closer to giving five exceptional Bay Area bands the national exposure they deserve.

Wahli has long been a champion of the Bay Area scene (and the South Bay scene in particular). She’s been bustin’ down doors for local bands for years. In the last five, Wahli’s hand has guided the efforts of several festivals including the Santa Cruz Music Festival and Left Coast Live. And she recently started a local chapter of Balanced Breakfast—a weekly local music industry meeting aimed at bolstering the local scene.

Check out the video for her Kickstarter campaign and get acquainted with the delegation of Bay Area bands she plans to bring out to Texas next month:

The Trims are one of San Jose’s hottest bands at the moment. Sporting spacious guitar riffs, new wave/disco rhythm, and brain-burrowing hooks, their work has been featured on MTV’s The Real World, they’ve caught the ear of Live 105’s Aaron Axelsen, and they’re booked to play Bottlerock 2015.

Eyes on the Shore are an exceptionally stylish quartet that land somewhere between Motown, surf rock and post-modernist ambience. One moment, they power through heavy melodies, the next, they dive into a spectral, airy soundscape.

The Frail are an electro-pop group that found each on craigslist and incorporate elements of soulful lyrics, buzzy synth melodies, and soaring guitar to create a mature, and thoroughly modern identity.

The Go Ahead started out as Jesús and the Rabbis, an improvisational, funky jam band, but after adding lead singer Kyna Wise, a couchsurfing San Francisco roomate, their funk roots have grounded their growth into more of a classic rock band.

Beautiful Machines employ custom drum and keyboard kits infused with a bounty of sounds to create their harmonious, ethereal, and futuristic electro pop jams. They belong to a rare class of electronic groups whose prowess is most on display during live performances

South By Southwest is a little like those Vegas travel commercials, except instead of gorgeous models filling every elevator, it’s a shirtless Justin Bieber with a police escort and two bodyguards twice his size.

Like Vegas, it’s limitless debauchery and sensory overload, and every day ends up stretching from noon until the early morning hours of the next day. On nearly every block of the festival in downtown Austin, there’s a party with corporate-sponsored free drinks and food for those with the right wristband or enough patience to get inside.

It’s the ultimate musical pub crawl. There’s a venue designed to look like a giant vending machine, a venue with pole-dancing clowns, a venue with a half pipe, a venue with famous rappers walking outside among the crowd, and so on.

Meanwhile, stars like Lady Gaga perform around the corner from bands just getting their footing, such as Santa Cruz’s Eliquate, who drove straight to the festival for a handful of gigs in hopes of finding new fans and catching a break in the industry.

Unfortunately, among the highlights of one of the best music events in the world is the dark reality that people get hurt and sometimes die there. These things happen at events where hundreds of thousands of people are partying at all hours of the day and night.

The tragic accident Thursday night that claimed three lives and injured almost two dozen more when a driver attempted to evade police by driving through a festival roadblock was an acute reminder. We were standing at the accident scene two hours before it happened.

Highlights from the festival:

Photos by Matt Crawford.

Texas Music

Something often overlooked in coverage from SXSW: There are a lot of great acts from Texas. We were most impressed with The Suffers, a 10-piece soul band from Houston with a healthy mix of R&B, jazz and Latin influences fronted by Kam Franklin on vocals. Fans of Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings will appreciate this new group.

Latin funk band Grupo Fantasma is another group that we run into every year in Austin, and when we do, we stop and listen. Recruited to back Prince on several occasions, the nine-piece group is among Austin’s best. Houston underground veteran Trae the Truth, one of the many rappers from H-Town that made the trip to Austin, was another highlight.

California Hip-Hop
We have watched The Coup perform several times in the Bay Area since our first chance to see them in the early 2000s, but the Oakland band has never sounded better than the mid-day set we caught at a dive bar on Sixth Street, the main artery of the festival. Boots Riley climbed on a bar adorned with antler chandeliers as a sweaty crowd filled the space inside and surrounded the door from the street. The scene was perfect for the band’s high-energy funk.

Another veteran act, L.A.’s People Under the Stairs, debuted new music at SXSW and rocked a Pandora party with golden era hip-hop showmanship. Thes One echoed the overall theme of the Sixth Street venues, dousing himself with a Lone Star before jumping into “Beer”: “If you don’t like beer, get the fuck outta here.”

Life Lessons From Diddy
A humble Diddy spoke with Forbes writer Zack O’Malley Greenburg on a variety of topics, including entrepreneurship and the current state of the music industry, while also answering questions from the capacity crowd and offering tips for making it in the music industry.

On what Notorious B.I.G. would be doing if he were alive today: “I think he would be an R&B singer; he loved R&B and I think he would have transitioned. He was a great singer and he loved R&B songs, he loved Luther Vandross.”

On entrepreneurship: “What I’m doing, you could do too. You just have to work as hard as me and believe as hard as me. … There has to be a starting point, where you put that pressure on yourself. … Any successful entrepreneur, they’re not doing it for the money, they’re doing it because that’s what they love and that’s their dream. And don’t wait until you’re 35 to do it.”

On the current state of hip-hop: “The bar lowered after Biggie and Tupac died, and now I think that bar is getting raised back up by a new generation of artists.”

On millennials: “This is one of the most intelligent generations that we’ve ever had and this is one of the most entrepreneurial generations that we’ve ever had.”

Allen Stone’s Birthday Set
Allen Stone delivered an inspiring late-afternoon set on his birthday, full of soulful hooks and a brief birthday celebration. His band shared some random gifts on stage (a pack of smokes and a liter of 2 percent milk) before the audience broke out into an impromptu birthday song.

The set felt particularly meaningful with Stone reminding everyone that we’re never promised tomorrow after the tragic accident just hours earlier in which three people were killed by a driver fleeing police. Stone finished the set leading the audience in a two-step dance before joining them on the floor to sing with the crowd.

Neil Young Fights for HD Audio
Neil Young introduced a Kickstarter campaign for Pono, his high-resolution music technology, during a keynote address, claiming nothing short of a “revolution to try to rescue and save an art form” that is suffering from low-quality MP3s.

Young hasn’t had any luck selling the idea to Silicon Valley investors and is hoping crowdfunding will be the answer to launching the technology that he claims will “bring you the reality and let you understand what the artists did in the studio.” That’s as opposed to MP3s, which, with compressed files, only offer about 5 percent of the audio recorded on studio masters, according to Young.

Young makes a good point: Digital technology has improved the quality of other media formats, including HD video and TV, while the quality of music formats has decreased for the sake of convenience.

“With audio, there’s never been such low quality and the ability to create something great,” Young says.

Pono’s campaign on Kickstarter had, at press time, reached nearly $4 million in less than a week (the goal was $800,000). Apparently someone is listening.

View our SXSW photo gallery shared in partnership with SF Station.

The Limousines were one of the few bands from the South Bay to perform at SXSW last week in Austin. We talked with singer Eric Victorino about his trip to Texas and survival tips for bands hoping to attend next year.

How many shows did do at SXSW?

We had four scheduled at SXSW and a one-off at an arena in Laredo supporting Kinky. We cancelled one of the official SXSW shows, so only three total in Austin. A couple of years ago we played something like 9 shows in 5 days. That was awful.

What was the highlight of your trip?

I think the best part was the night when we canceled our show and just went out drinking with some fans and friends instead. The sound system at the club we were supposed to play at was terrible. We would rather someone be let down because they didn’t get to see us than to be unimpressed with our show.

ALSO READ: Highlights and Bands to Watch from SXSW

What was most difficult about the trip?

Just being at SXSW is exhausting. Other than the constant walking and the hangovers, everything’s fun.

What was the best show you watched?

Being at Diplo’s set at the MySpace party was so great; the energy in the room was dope. Then we saw a band called Diarrhea Planet and the guitar players were soloing on top of the stage scaffolds like 20 feet up. That shit was crazy.

Do you have any tips for musicians thinking about going next year?

Don’t feel like you have to do anything you don’t want to do just because it’s SXSW. There are a thousand bands competing for attention in a couple square miles every day for like a week, nothing about it is as make-or-break as it used to be back in the day. Just go play, have fun, take the opportunity to meet people and hang out.

PHOTOS: Check Out the Metro SXSW Photo Gallery.

Why do you think more San Jose and South Bay bands are not represented at the festival?

Because bands from all over the world are there. We went and Drop City Yacht Club, K.Flay, Wallpaper. and the Soft White Sixties were there. I’m sure the Bay was probably reppin’ a lot harder than most places.

Will you be back next year?

I kinda like the idea of playing it every other year.

What’s next for you?

Heading home to finish recording our album.

With thousands of acts filling every possible venue in Austin for SXSW, there was no shortage of photos opportunities at the music festival this year. Metro photographer Jennifer Anderson hit the streets for five days to capture some of the best shows at the fest, including Iggy Pop, Snoop Dogg, the Flaming Lips and more.

All photos by Jennifer Anderson.

The latest edition of SXSW closed Sunday in Austin, leaving behind massive mounds of Lone Star empties, sleepless nights for thousands of music fans, chance encounters with greatness and missed opportunities.

It’s a festival that’s a blessing and curse. There’s no other place in the world where you can find as many people involved with music in one place—from icons to no-name bands camping out in their van just for a chance to perform—but it’s also impossible for one person to see every act on their wish list. There is just too much going on and too many people trying to get into venues much to small for the talent inside.

PHOTOS: View the complete Metro photo gallery from SXSW.

A short list of the numerous icons to touch down in Austin over the weekend: Prince played for about 300 people to close the festival, Depeche Mode debuted new songs and Iggy Pop nearly had to be pulled from the stage after his set with the Stooges. Rap superstars Snoop Dogg, T.I., 50 Cent, P. Diddy and Kendrick Lamar also performed. A rumored Daft Punk show never materialized, but DeadMau5, Flying Lotus, Baauer and Skream were among the many electronic artists.

Below are highlights from the big-ticket acts we caught and bands we’re looking out for in 2013 and beyond:

Sound City Players
After delivering an 11 a.m. keynote speech (early morning in SXSW hours) Dave Grohl kept the party going late into the night at Stubb’s with his own little music festival featuring a cast of characters mostly from his new Sound City documentary. It was essentially a soundtrack that you might hear at a dive bar on any given night, but only played live in front of a few thousand fans. Stevie Nicks started the all-star lineup, followed by Lee Ving of Fear and Rick Springfield with Grohl and the Foo Fighters backing.

Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen made an appearance with Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic and Slipknot vocalist Corey Taylor belting out “Surrender.” The set ended with Bay Area icon John Fogerty running through Creedence Clearwater Revival, including “Born on the Bayou” and “Proud Mary,” before closing with Grohl swapping versus on “Fortunate Son.”

T.I. at Fader Fort during SXSW. Photo by Matt Crawford.

T.I., Usher and the Afghan Whigs
With stylists giving out free mohawks and an open bar with Whiskey-laced lemonade and beer, Fader Fort drew huge crowds and a 100-yard line of hopefuls looking for access to the party. The pop-up venue lived up to its reputation for surprises on Friday starting with an unannounced performance by Houston rapper Trae The Truth. The venue was packed early with mostly Texas locals rapping with him word-for-word before the place went nuts with a surprise appearance by T.I., who plowed through a few of his hits with Pharrell and B.o.B among the performers crowding the stage.

After more than two hours of hip hop (Future performed after Trae), the scene flipped to the opposite side of the musical spectrum with indie rock vets the Afghan Whigs. The band played tracks of their own before working into a verse of Usher’s Diplo-produced track “Climax.” The crowd erupted again as the R&B vocalist stepped out from backstage to finish the song and the rest of the set with the band. Brooklyn artist Sinkane also made a cameo and traded vocals with Usher on his afrobeat-influenced track “Runnin’.”

Scarface of the Geto Boys at SXSW. Photo by Matt Crawford.

Geto Boys
Legendary Houston rap crew the Geto Boys brought a night of twisted hip hop nostalgia to a few hundred people lucky enough to get into an exclusive show hosted by Red Bull. The gangsta rap OGs came out of semi-retirement and brought classics to the stage like “Mind Playing Tricks Me” and “Damn It Feels Good To Be A Gangsta” along with deeper tracks from their catalog. Potential good news for Bay Area fans: At the end of the show Willie D announced the group will go on tour later this year.

George Clinton at the Finding the Funk Panel at SXSW. Photo by Matt Crawford.

Finding the Funk Panel
With live shows going from noon into the early-morning hours every day during SXSW, it’s easy to overlook some of the panel discussions and performances planned at Austin’s convention center. We caught what is probably the funkiest panel in SXSW history with George Clinton, Bootsy Collins and Parliament-Funkadelic keyboardist Bernie Worrell discussing the origins of funk and their music, along with VH1 producer Nelson George, Soul Rebels drummer Lumar LeBlanc and Sly Stone’s daughter Novena Carmel.

The exchange between Clinton and Collins during a Q&A session that ended the panel was full of laughs as the two cracked jokes with each other and shared war stories about taking acid, groupie love and buying the Mothership (it’s now parked at the Smithsonian) for the Mothership Connection tour in the 1970s.

Never short on one-liners, Collins offered this nugget when asked about what he thinks about modern funk musicians: “Every generation will have their own angle on the dangle.” Will Clinton, Collins and Worrell share the stage again for a show? “I’m horny for that,” Clinton replied.

Bands to Watch this year:

John Dwyer of Thee Oh Sees at SXSW. Photo by Matt Crawford.

Thee Oh Sees
It’s already been a big year for Thee Oh Sees, the San Francisco band with the most momentum going into SXSW. They’ve mastered the art of throwing a blazing rock ’n’ roll party, and the crowd that arrived in Austin to see them clogged the bar patio and stage area where they played a late afternoon set on Saturday. Fans closest to the action onstage were covered in sweat, beer and crowd surfers while the band worked through its set with few pauses. Thee Oh Sees are off to Coachella next before heading to Europe.

Thurston Moore with Chelsea Light Moving at SXSW. Photo by Jennifer Anderson.

Chelsea Light Moving
With Sonic Youth on indefinite hiatus after his marital split with bandmate Kim Gordon in 2011, Thurston Moore introduced his new band, Chelsea Light Moving, at SXSW to a few hundred people at Thrasher’s Texas Style Death Match party. Sonic Youth probably won’t get back together anytime soon, but this is the closest of the group’s various solo projects to the Sonic Youth sound—heavy riffs from Moore that channel the early punk energy of the band with references to mellower more recent releases.

Eric Victorino of the Limousines at SXSW. Photo by Jennifer Anderson.

The Limousines
The Limousines always draw big crowds in San Jose, but it was also great to see a large following show up for their final show in Austin this year. After a break from SXSW last year, they were back with three shows and finished with a short Saturday night set that forced a line outside to stretch down the street from the full venue. It should also be a big year for the South Bay favorites, who left their label and are working independently on a new album due out this summer after raising $75,000 on Kickstarter. Expect darker undertones on the new release and enhanced production visuals at the band’s next Bay Area shows.

Metro Executive Editor Dan Pulcrano contributed to this report.

Stand on any given street corner near Sixth Street and the hundreds of venues hosting music at SXSW, and the racket is inescapable—hair metal, hip hop, punk, electronic, etc. We were right in the mix Wednesday, looking for something new and checking in on some of our favorite musicians. Here’s what we found.

Photos by Chris Ellis.

The crowd reacts.

Deacon's disciples.

Keep Austin Weird with Violin Monster.