The ‘Gong’ Show
Photo credit: Myspace
In the all-too-fleeting world of indie rock acclaim, Quasi are as close to an institution as it gets. The Portland-based trio have been around since 1993, and their music has remained refreshingly wrinkle-free. Led by Sam Coomes on vocals, keys, and guitar, and ex-wife Janet Weiss—of defunct rock goddesses Sleater-Kinney—on backup vocals and drums, Quasi have been quietly releasing loud music for almost two decades. (more…)
Poetic Memory: Judgement Day (List)
Photo credit: Riki Feldman
Everyone worth talking to agrees that Terminator 2: Judgment Day is one of the best action movies ever made. It can be no coincidence, then, that Oakland cinephile musicians Judgement Day chose the name they did. With rapid-fire drumming and laser battle synths, their music is the perfect soundtrack for your post-apocalyptic uprising against the evil machines.
Judgement Day are no strangers to action films. In fact, the string metal band spent years sifting through everything the genre has to offer, and have kindly compiled a list of the absolute worst for us.
You can check the band out live this Saturday, March 13th, at Soda Bar. They’ll be playing alongside The Burning of Rome, Battlehooch, and Boyscout in a special show curated by San Diego: Dialed In. It’s rare for San Diego: Dialed In to put together a show themselves, but the prospect of assembling such an action-packed lineup proved irresistible.
Now, without further ado, here are Judgement Day’s Top 5 Favorite Bad Action Movies of All Time… (more…)
Review: Tegan and Sara; March 3, 2010 at Copley Symphony Hall; San Diego
Photo credit: Jeff Gentner
When musicians play San Diego’s distinguished Copley Symphony Hall, they usually don’t get bras thrown at them. It’s hard to imagine, say, Yo-Yo Ma getting pelted with ladies’ foundation garments during a set. But that’s exactly what happened when Canadian super twins Tegan and Sara played Copley on Wednesday night. (more…)
Darwin Deez – ‘Radar Detector’ (Video)
Darwin Deez is clearly a guy who knows how to have a good time. The all-dancing, vegan food serving, self-recording musician recently put out his debut full-length—on “deluxe CDR“, no less—which has since been picked up by London label Lucky Number Music. Overflowing with joyous, unabashed pop, the self-titled album’s eccentricities are as engaging as they are amusing.
The new video for “Radar Detector” is a perfect example of Deez’s quirky talent and effortless musicianship. Directed by Ace Norton, the clip gleefully employs cheesy effects to illustrate Deez’s boundless affection for his ladyfriend.
Deez is currently schlepping his bouncy beats and sweet dance moves across Europe on a tour that will last until May. Let’s hope a US tour follows soon thereafter.
RIP: Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse
Mark Linkous, the frontman of Sparklehorse, has committed suicide. Sparklehorse’s albums—particularly 2001’s It’s A Wonderful Life—are some of the saddest and most beautiful music you’ll ever have the pleasure of hearing. A reader named Alex from the Rolling Stone article sums up Linkous’ contributions wonderfully: (more…)
Review: Ray Manzarek; February 28, 2010; Anthology, San Diego
Photo credit: Matthew Peyton
It’s been almost forty years since The Doors lit anybody’s fire, but keyboardist Ray Manzarek has devoted most of his time since then to keeping the flames burning.
Following Jim Morrison’s death in 1971, Manzarek and the other surviving members put out two studio albums under the Doors moniker before finally disbanding. Over the years, Manzarek and guitarist Robbie Krieger have reunited under a variety of names, including The Doors of the 21st Century and Riders on the Storm. And, when Manzarek isn’t performing alongside his longtime band mate, he plays gigs with blues guitarist Roy Rogers. (more…)
San Diego Gets Smart
Photo credit: Lambfarm
If you find yourself complaining that they just don’t make music like they used to, you need The Smart Brothers in your life. Oscillating between high-energy roots romps and tender ballads of surprising depth, the San Diego duo create charming, old-timey folk just like grandpa used to make. With their finely crafted compositions and intricate, flawless harmonies, The Smart Brothers make music to fall in love with—and fall in love to. (more…)
Interview: Ray Manzarek
Photo credit: Getty Images
For music fans young and old, Ray Manzarek needs little introduction. In the late 60s, Manzarek co-founded and played keyboards in The Doors, who to this day remain one of rock and roll’s most influential bands. He’s written novels, directed films, and, at the age of 71, he’s still cooler than you are.
Manzarek’s salad days are the subject of the upcoming, award-winning documentary When You’re Strange, and, on February 28th, he’ll be bringing his roadhouse blues to San Diego for a gig at Anthology.
We sat down with Manzarek to discuss everything from fine wine to YouTube, and from Iggy Pop to Weird Al. (more…)
Interview: Shapes of Future Frames
Shapes of Future Frames may be a new band, but their faces are familiar. Featuring members of local powerhouses Scarlet Symphony and the Old In Out, the band’s epic arrangements and space-age guitar effects have already earned them a reputation as one of San Diego’s most exciting and innovative live acts.
The group recently finished recording their debut EP, The Minds of Tomorrow, Gone Today, and we caught up with band members Jamie Pawloski and Gary Hankins to talk about the record, the importance of brevity, and what an acoustic Shapes might sound like. (more…)
Lanterns Light the Way
San Diego’s Lanterns might have a luminescent name, but they have yet to enjoy the spotlight.
Despite high-profile gigs with bands like Matt and Kim, …And You Will Knows By the Trail of Dead, and These Arms Are Snakes, the four-piece has operated mostly under the local radar. But, thanks to a critically-acclaimed EP and two crucial shows on the horizon, all of that is set to change for the band. (more…)
Alec Ounsworth’s New Vision
When it was announced that indie darlings Clay Your Hands Say Yeah would be going on hiatus, fans clasped their hands and screamed no. Such breaks rarely bode well for a band’s future, and assurances from the group that the split would only be temporary did little to assuage concerns. Though the Brooklyn-based band’s future remains uncertain, fans can at least take comfort in following frontman Alec Ounsworth’s new solo career. (more…)
Thao with the Get Down Stay Down Get Sacked
The first thing Thao with the Get Down Stay Down ever saw in San Diego was a pair of dangling balls.
Last November, the band came to town to play a show and, upon entering the city’s limits, were treated to a memorable sight. The pair in question was hanging off the back of a pickup truck—I’m just going to go ahead and assume it was a Ford F150—and the image of the swinging Bumper Nuts™ quickly burned itself into the unsuspecting band’s retinas. San Diego may be known worldwide for its beaches and burritos, but it is our balls that Thao with the Get Down Stay Down will forever remember us for. (more…)
Poetic Memory: The Old In Out (List)
San Diego’s music scene offers plenty of options. Want gorgeous jazz vocals shimmering with old-timey charm? We’ve got Erika Davies. Need a mainlined dose of fast, endlessly catchy powerpop? We’ve got The Powerchords. Have a hankering for exquisitely depressing tales of heartache, complete with eerie saw-playing? We’ve got Black Heart Procession. But if you’re looking for a band that rocks so hard they’ll shatter your pint glass, you need look no further than The Old In Out.
Blending the raunchiest elements of blues, garage rock, and psychedelia, The Old In Out are a hailstorm of loud guitar, sledgehammered beats, and sneering swagger. We recently had the opportunity to pick drummer Christopher James Carrol’s brain about what inspires him:
“I’ve found that inspiration comes from within and without. Everything and anything from a cool movie to seeing a great art show to watching the sun set, or reading a good book on a rainy day afternoon. The things that truly influence me are the things that create whole new worlds to peer into: worlds of mood, color, and shape that challenge and unlock new doors of understanding.”
We’ve been fortunate enough to obtain Poetic Memory lists from lots of musicians in the past, but his is definitely one of the more eclectic ones we’ve seen. Carrol’s multifaceted nature is also apparent in his music; in addition to his work with The Old In Out, he also drums for up-and-coming prog monster Shapes Of Future Frames. Carrol’s Poetic Memory can be found below. (more…)
Polysics Invade San Diego
San Diego is a great place to see live music, but there isn’t always a synth-heavy, eccentric, Japanese spaz-punk band around when you need one. In a gracious effort to fill that void, Tokyo natives Polysics will be playing the Casbah on January 30th.
Citing Devo as a major influence, Polysics are truly a sight to behold. With their orange jumpsuits, science fiction glasses, and synchronized robotic movements, the hyperactive quartet put on one of the most bizarre and exciting shows around. The band’s self-described “technicolor pogo punk” is a thrilling spectacle, made all the more enthralling by front man Hiroyuki Hayashi’s boundless enthusiasm and slippery grasp of the English language. (more…)
Review: The Silent Comedy; January 17, 2010; Bar Pink, San Diego
Few bands in San Diego inspire the kind of rabid devotion that the Silent Comedy enjoy. From their Prohibition-era wardrobes and Old West mustaches to lead singer/bassist J. John’s manic ramblings, the band have struck upon a winning combination of musical chops and good-natured theatricality that has earned them a passionate following. Celebrating their return to San Diego at Bar Pink after a brief but hectic West Coast tour, the Silent Comedy were greeted by a characteristically packed house. And, from the raucous opening song “Poison” onward, the band had the crowd exactly where they wanted them. (more…)
Blood Red Shoes Get Fired Up (Video)
Rock and roll has seen its share of great duos in recent years—The White Stripes and The Kills being among the best—but no other band attacks the senses with as much raw power as Steven Ansell and Laura-Mary Carter, better known as Blood Red Shoes. The Brighton, England group’s 2008 debut, Box of Secrets, was a cherry bomb of a record that dripped with raw, dangerous sexuality. The fast and furious album’s bloody hooks and visceral appeal landed it a spot on Owl&Bear’s world-renowned Best of 2008 list, and we’ve been waiting anxiously for its follow-up.
But now the wait is over. Out on March 10 through V2 Records, Fire Like This contains ten highly combustible tracks from the band. Those eager for a sampling of the album can go to the band’s official website, where they’re streaming a new track every week until its release. “Light It Up”, “Colours Fade”, and live favorite “Keeping It Close” had previously been posted to the site, and the band just today added the red-hot “Heartsink”, which the group describes as “a pop song that we tried to destroy from the inside out”. Those inclined to join the band’s newsletter will be rewarded with a free download of “Colours Fade”. (more…)
Drew Andrews Celebrates His ‘Birthday’
Let it never be said that Drew Andrews can’t multitask. The multi-instruentalist’s best-known gig, San Diego flagship electronic act The Album Leaf, are set to release their fifth full-length album, A Chorus of Storytellers, on February 2nd through Sub Pop records. Andrews also plays in the side project Via Satellite with fellow Album Leaf member Tim Reece. He’s even written two novellas, The Shepherd’s Journals and Lella, both of which are available as free downloads from Feedbooks. But when Drew Andrews isn’t dividing his time between those worthy endeavors, he devotes his energies to his best project yet: Drew Andrews. (more…)
The Builders and the Butchers Return to San Diego
When The Builders And The Butchers come to San Diego, they show up to play. The band’s Casbah performance last February was a fever dream of apocalyptic backwoods folk voodoo that had even the most uptight hipsters in the crowd unfolding their arms and busting a move. As if to prove that lightning can indeed strike the same place twice, the group will be returning to the Casbah on Saturday, January 16th. (more…)
Jason Segel with The Broken West – ‘Dracula’s Lament’ (Video)
The Late Late Show’s Craig Ferguson celebrated his 1000th episode on Tuesday night, and he did it in style. Save for the occasional scantily-clad backup dancer, the show consisted entirely of puppets. As if that weren’t cool enough, Ferguson also enlisted the aid of the always-game Jason Segel, who performed his “Dracula’s Lament” ballad from Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
In keeping with the puppet-only theme, Segel’s backing band was hidden, but if they hadn’t been you would’ve seen that they were Merge Records band The Broken West. The group fleshed out the song admirably, tweaking it with lush instrumentation and a rock and roll backbeat absent from the Marshall version. We’re not exactly sure how a band gets a gig playing backup for Jason Segel and a puppet vampire, but we do know we want their agent. Check out the festivities yourself—the song starts around the one-minute mark—in the clip above.
Jason Lytle Gets into the X-Mas Spirit
When Grandaddy broke up in 2006, it could have spelled the end for front man Jason Lytle’s career. Fraught with tension and years past their prime, the group had already parted ways by the time their final album, Just Like The Fambly Cat, was released to faint fanfare. Lytle disappeared from the public eye, abandoning his hometown of Modesto, CA for the quietude of Montana.
But, in 2008, he quietly reemerged to sign a solo deal with ANTI- Records. The resulting album, Yours Truly, the Commuter, finally answered the question of exactly what Lytle had been doing with his time since the band split; he had been getting his groove back.
Yours Truly is an outstanding record, every bit as good as classic Grandaddy works Sumday and The Sophtware Slump. It maintains the moody longing fans have come to expect, but marries it with exquisite production and a transcendent atmosphere of hope. The album is easily one of this year’s best, and marks the first chapter in a creative renaissance for the songwriter. So, to celebrate his comeback year in style, Lytle has just released a surprise EP as a Christmas gift to his fans. (more…)
Lay Low – ‘By And By’ (Video)
Welcome to Iceland Appreciation Day at Owl&Bear—or “Owl och Björn” in Swedish, which we assume sounds pretty close to Icelandic—where we spotlight up-and-coming musicians from the subpolar island country. Incidentally, Iceland boasts a population of 320,000 and its popular dishes include liver sausage and cured ram scrotum. You heard me.
Okay, it’s not actually Iceland Appreciation Day, but we did just run a story on Seabear, so I figured I’d roll with it. Our next artist to be featured from the land of the great Strokkur geyser is Lovísa Elísabet Sigrúnardóttir, better known as Lay Low.
The Patsy Cline-inspired singer/songwriter has already developed an immense following in her homeland, claiming the country’s top-selling original album last year with her debut, Please Don’t Hate Me. Lay Low will be turning her sights on the US with the release of her new album, Farewell Good Night’s Sleep, on March 9th, to be followed by an extensive tour. (more…)
The Paddle Boat – I Wonder if the Water Ever Tires of the Sea? (Review)
When The Paddle Boat first began to play shows in San Diego, no one knew quite what to make of them. Their hushed aesthetic tended to be too quiet for bars and their century-spanning influences too diverse for easy categorization, but the band nevertheless built a reputation as one of the city’s finest live acts. Seasoned performers though they might be, the band’s recorded output has until now been sparse, consisting of only the four songs from the self-titled EP they released earlier this year.
In its eleven brief minutes, the EP demonstrated that The Paddle Boat were able to flourish within the recorded idiom, utilizing savvy production to add dimension to their already rich sound. But it remained to be seen how the band would fare over the course of an entire album. Now, the group has released I Wonder if the Water Ever Tires of the Sea?, their full-length debut and the true test of whether The Paddle Boat can be as enthralling a recorded band as they are a live one. (more…)
Boy Without God Never Sleeps
Boy Without God’s Gabriel Birnbaum isn’t just godless; he’s also restless. The overachieving singer-songwriter released Your Body Is Your Soul earlier this year, a captivating album propelled by Birnbaum’s insightful lyrics and creaking baritone. But while other musicians might be content to rest on their laurels, Birnbaum is already at work recording his follow-up to Soul, entitled God Bless the Hunger.
As if putting out back to back full-lengths weren’t enough, Birnbaum is also releasing two free EPs of material recorded in between those albums. The first EP, Eight Delicate Olives Slowly Chewed at Midnight, is already available as a free download from the Boy Without God blog. The second EP is due for release in a couple of months. Here’s what Birnbaum has to say about Olives: (more…)
Shout Out Louds Get To ‘Work!’ (Video)
Shout Out Louds came storming out of the gate with their 2003 debut, Howl Howl Gaff Gaff, one of the finest records in a year rife with great music. Unfortunately, the Swedish band stumbled a bit with their follow-up, 2007’s overly-polished Our Ill Wills. With its high-production sheen and Cure-esque posturing, the sophomore effort was listenable but frustratingly sterile and derivative. Thankfully, the band seems poised to return to their former glory with the upcoming album Work!
Set for release February 23 on Merge Records, the album forgoes ornate strings and percussion in favor of a more stripped down sound. Work! is produced by Phil Ek, who has done right by bands like The Shins, Fleet Foxes, and Band of Horses in the past. The first video from the album, entitled “Walls”, gives further cause to be excited; its driving guitar, inviting vocals, and perfectly placed piano leave no doubt that the band is in fighting form. If you like the song, you can download an MP3 of it here.
The band will be playing a special album-release show on March 1st at the Music Hall of Wlliamsburg in Brooklyn before embarking on a tour for most of 2010.
