I was woken up around 4am by the screams of “Fire!” I jumped out of bed, grabbed my dog and guitar, and bolted outside. Blazing flames were bursting out of my next door neighbor’s second-story apartment. Sirens were approaching and that’s when I saw you—arms waving and screaming for help. RIP, neighbors.…
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Saxophonist Dave Koz has played with everyone from Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder, to Celine Dion, U2, and Burt Bacharach. And if you’ve ever wanted to get in on a little Koz-play, the City National Civic is the place for you this week. For the past past years, Koz has helped people…
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The Choral Project’s annual holiday concert returns this weekend with a performance at First Presbyterian Church in Palo Alto on Saturday and a second at Mission Santa Clara de Asis on Sunday. The San Jose-based organization has been presenting choral concerts for more than 20 years. This year’s seasonal offering—“Winter’s Gifts: Family”—features…
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André Jaquez on December 13, 2017
The last best summer ever is nearly here. The 2018 edition of the Vans Warped Tour marks the final round for the longest-running touring music festival in North America. The tour’s founder, Kevin Lyman, has announced that he’s hanging it up—citing, among other things, the increasingly cluttered summer music festival industry, a shrinking…
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Lorin Sklamberg wasn’t too shocked when pop culture finally caught on to just how explosive Eastern European music could be—especially when combined with contemporary genres, like punk, electronic and hip-hop. The scene Sklamberg has been working in since the mid-’80s long predates bands like Gogol Bordello and Beirut. Sklamberg is a founding…
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Riding a recent hot streak, Chuck Ragan comes to San Jose for a night of smoldering acoustic folk at the Ritz. Inspired equally by perseverance and perdition, the storied singer has managed to establish dual music careers: one in punk with his much beloved band Hot Water Music, and one in folk…
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Since daylight savings has cloaked my 5pm dog walks under a veil of darkness, the typically safe routes have been a little more sketchy than usual. Case-in-point: on a walk the other day a commotion caused me to swivel my head to catch a fistfight between what appeared to be two men…
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Those luddites among us who still subject themselves to the grueling gauntlet of Christmas shopping in brick and mortar stores are well aware that from Black Friday through Dec. 24, the local mall is some kind of fresh hell.
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After years of pursuing other projects, a band of veteran San Jose musicians have come together to create a smooth and rhythmic sound. Vudajé’s debut EP, Mood, is influenced by alternative, indie, R&B and jazz—and is reminiscent of John Legend, John Mayer and Maxwell. Featuring precision playing, top-notch singing and highly polished…
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André Jaquez on December 8, 2017
Just as the lanky 23-year-old Van Cliburn triumphed during the Cold War—capturing the gold medal over the Soviets in 1958—this 20-year-old pianist from Fremont is earning respect with mounting medals of his own. He’s been at it since he was just 6 years old. Hsu has grown into an eloquent performer with…
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