by
Andrew Lentz on January 27, 2016
Kill the Messenger aren’t a mere Bay Area band. They’re from Daly City dammit, and they want you to know it. “Gotta rep the hood,” jokes drummer Danny Haddad on a four-way conference call, which includes bassist David Scanlon, guitarist and vocalist James Conelly, and lead vocalist-guitarist Adam Rupp, the latter of…
Continue reading »
by
Nick Veronin on January 27, 2016
Considering their reputation as folksy, down home and altogether analog, some might be surprised to learn that Dr. Dog got their start composing electronic tunes. To be clear, the very first tracks that the Philadelphia indie rockers ever recorded weren’t club bangers, or even chilly IDM. Still, the founding trio of Toby Leaman,…
Continue reading »
by
Karla Kane on January 20, 2016
Sim Castro, leader of San Jose band The Albert Square, says in some ways his group’s new album, I (Assume I) Know What I’m Doing, is “a record about fear.” Over the course of its 13 tracks, Castro ponders, among other things, “fear of growing up and not having your shit together;…
Continue reading »
by
Andrew Lentz on January 20, 2016
Talking to guitarist Ricky Dover, Jr., is a study in contrasts. On the phone from Nashville where he and the rest of his blues-glam trio, The Tip, call home, he’s all Southern gentleman. On stage, the Knoxville native is an axe-mangling fool. With a shaggy mane and mirror shades, he’s the epitome…
Continue reading »
by
Andrew Lentz on January 13, 2016
When a band names it latest record Night Terrors, it sounds—well—metal. But for Traitors vocalist Tyler Shelton it’s not about that. His girlfriend suffers from the sleep disorder nyctophobia and considers herself lucky when she gets an hour or two of quality sleep at night. As such, the topic is close to…
Continue reading »
by
John Flynn on January 6, 2016
thouDirtbag Dan bustles about his high-ceilinged studio in an industrial block just outside of San Jose’s Japantown. He points out a psychedelic mural of a shark by a local artist on one wall and mismatched grey curtains stapled to another. The latter serve as the backdrop for his battle rap podcast. It…
Continue reading »
by
Nick Veronin on December 30, 2015
With the help of new and new-ish venues, downtown San Jose saw some great shows in 2015. Sir Mix-A-Lot proved that big butts will never go out of style, and Mac Sabbath demonstrated the power of drive-thru metal with energetic sets at The Ritz; Kirk Hammett brought djent masters Meshuggah and stoner metal…
Continue reading »
by
Nick Veronin on December 23, 2015
James Fenwicke, former multi-instrumentalist for The Mumlers, is coming home for the holidays—and he is bringing the gift of new music with him. Fenwicke—or JF, as he prefers to be called—is returning to his native San Jose from New Orleans, where he recently moved to pursue a degree in the field of…
Continue reading »
by
Nick Veronin on December 16, 2015
It’s that time of year again. The South Bay’s favorite electro-pop duo, The Limousines, are hosting their annual holiday party—and this year promises to be the biggest one yet. Literally. “We’re excited to be able to utilize that space,” says Limos singer Eric Victorino, referencing the fact that the sixth annual XXX-Mas…
Continue reading »
by
Andrew Lentz on December 16, 2015
There are several ways to think about Cheap Trick. They’re both masters of hard-edged-pop and rock subversives. However, there is one tag that makes the band’s bassist, Tom Petersson, cringe: American Beatles. The comparison probably comes from Cheap Trick At Budokan, a live album on which the screams of teenage Japanese girls…
Continue reading »
