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Jeffrey Edalatpour on March 2, 2016
When Los Angeles-based R&B trio KING independently released their three-song The Story, the music blogosphere went crazy. NPR Music called the arrangements of “Supernatural,” the EP’s second track, “celestial.” The collection’s closer, “Hey,” landed on Pitchfork’s perpetually updating “Best New Music” list and Kendrick Lamar sampled the track. Prince proclaimed his love…
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John Flynn and Tad Malone on March 2, 2016
San Jose Jazz Winter Fest is bringing 24 live performances from veteran and emerging jazz acts, as well as student groups. Here is a selection of some of the most interesting musicians playing at this year’s gathering.
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Nick Veronin on February 24, 2016
Joaquin Pastor is happy to report that he is able to stomach movies these days. It wasn’t always so easy for the singer, guitarist and lead songwriter for SoCal avant-pop trio James Supercave. “When you spend a lot of time thinking about something from a critical point of view, you just sort…
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Nick Veronin on February 24, 2016
San Jose Jazz Winter Fest is back with a lineup of classic and cutting-edge jazz performances from some of the world’s best-known performers, as well as some exciting up-and-comers. Beginning Feb. 28 and running through March 8, Winter Fest will host 25 concerts at a variety of venues around downtown San Jose,…
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Nick Veronin on February 17, 2016
When speaking with Fernanda Lira on the subject of heavy metal, one thing quickly becomes abundantly clear. The bassist, vocalist and co-founder of the Sao Paulo thrash trio, Nervosa, is positively stoked on the genre. “It’s my life,” Lira says, enthusiastically. She’s not exaggerating. Raised by metalhead parents in Brazil’s biggest city,…
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It’s the same story every time. A local artist starts to catch a buzz on the blogs, major labels come sniffing around, and then they make the move—to San Francisco or Oakland or Los Angeles. It’s hard to hate on the decision. After all, San Jose can be a pretty sleepy place and…
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David Ma on February 10, 2016
It’s no easy task to be a creator of throwback sounds in this modern era without sounding overly derivative, disingenuous, or worse yet, like a novelty act. But for the last few years, Pasadena-based Dam-Funk (pronounced “Dame-Funk”) has earned underground and critical acclaim doing just that. Born Damon Riddick, the producer and vocalist…
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Andrew Lentz on February 3, 2016
It’s early afternoon and Rival Sons guitarist Scott Holiday is calling from a hotel room in Winnipeg—or “Winterpeg” as locals call it. “It’s even too cold for Canadians here,” the lifelong Southern Californian jokes. It’s amazing what sun worshippers will put up with if it means their band gets to support Black…
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Nick Veronin on February 3, 2016
When Kid Koala began work on what would ultimately become Nufonia Must Fall—a “silent graphic novel” about a robot attempting to write a love song for the human woman of his dreams—the most advanced hipsters were still wielding flip phones, calling was more common than texting and WiFi wasn’t yet commonplace. Fast-forward to…
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Atlanta rapper Killer Mike sat down earlier this month to speak with with Olympic gold medalist and San Jose State alumnus, Tommie Smith. As an emcee, Killer Mike (née Michael Render) has made a name for himself with his aggressive, socially and politically minded style.
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