All posts by chris maroulakos

san diego, video

Black Mamba To Celebrate ‘Birthday’ at the Casbah

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Black Mamba

Up-and-coming San Diego band Black Mamba are set to release Golden Birthday, a 12-inch EP, at the end of the month on the illustrious Single Screen record label. To commemorate the event, the band will be playing a show at the Casbah on April 30th, with The Paddle Boat, Tape Deck Mountain, and Drew Andrews. Don’t miss out on what will clearly be an amazing show.

Speaking of amazing shows, San Diego blog extraordinaire Sezio has just published their review of Black Mamba’s Luce Loft performance from two weeks ago. If you weren’t at any of the five incredible Luce Loft performances—which showcased local heavies The Silent Comedy, Writer, Joel P. West, John Meeks, Calico Horse, and the ubiquitous Paddle Boat—be sure to read Sezio’s reviews so you can at least pretend you were.

Can’t read? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Check out the video of Black Mamba playing the dreamy “Smoke & Mirrors” after the jump.

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music news

Avett Brothers Tour East Coast, Make West Coast Sad

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The Avett Brothers
Anyone who reads Owl And Bear knows that we sure do love The Avett Brothers. Their beautiful harmonies, mournful acoustic guitars, and intensely relatable lyrics make them one of the most compelling bands making music today. In fact, The Second Gleam was the sole EP to ascend to the hallowed ranks of our Best Of 2008 list, which was otherwise populated entirely by full-length albums. They’re that good.

So it is with great joy that we announce that the brotherly Avetts have announced a list of summer tour dates, but it is with no small degree of sadness that we announce that San Diego is nowhere to be found on that list. In defense of our fair city, no other West Coast cities made the cut either, nor did any in the Midwest for that matter. Unfortunately, the fraternal folksters are keeping mostly to the East Coast, at least for the time being.

But we don’t fault them for that, and we’re not at all jealous of our readers who live in the cities that will be graced by The Avett Brothers’ achingly beautiful songwriting. That’s right. Not jealous at all.

Tickets go on sale today. Tour dates after the jump, jerks. Continue reading →

listen, music news, san diego

The Moviegoers Want You to Be a Man (MP3s)

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The Moviegoers
Soulful San Diego cinephiles The Moviegoers have released a new digital EP, entitled Be a Man, and they’d like you to have it.

The three-song release takes some of the sweetest elements of the 90s—Pavement, The Breeders, Elliott Smith, Yo La Tengo—and fuses them into a deliciously caramelized rock and roll concoction. Clocking in at an all-too-brief 12 minutes, Be a Man is so heartfelt and catchy you may find yourself listening to it 10 times in a row. At least that’s what happened to us.

You can experience the sugary goodness by downloading the EP—miraculously free of charge. We dare you not to love it.

san diego

Bar Pink Turns Golden Red

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Golden Red
Golden Red will be treating the patrons of Bar Pink to their dark, rugged, yet mysteriously sweet folk stylings tomorrow night. Since bursting onto the music scene a few months ago, the band has been steadily building a reputation as one of San Diego’s most intriguing live acts. Head down to the North Park watering hole and see for yourself what all the fuss is about.

When not charming audiences with their rugged, lyrical Americana, band members Gregory Michael Theilmann and Lilly Frances can be found lending pictures and words to their new San Diego blog Melodygeek, which we at Owl and Bear like to think we inspired.

Golden Red have also just recorded a new song, entitled “Near Dark”. While we’re not sure if the song gets its title from the 1987 vampire Western of the same name, it definitely seems to occupy the same ominously lonesome landscapes as that film. Stream the song here, and be sure to catch them live with Friday Mile tomorrow.

Stream: “Near Dark” by Golden Red
[audio:goldenred-neardark.mp3]

art/books/film, video

“Wild Things” Make Your Heart Sing

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The trailer for Where the Wild Things Are has been released, and it looks terrific. With its refreshingly non-CGI effects and its inspired use of “Wake Up” by Arcade Fire, the preview dazzles the eyes and the ears alike.

The movie, directed by the brilliant Spike Jonze from a script he co-wrote with the brilliant David Eggers — which was of course adapted from the immortal children’s story by the brilliant Maurice Sendak — features a score composed by the brilliant Karen O, and comes out on October 16.