All posts by owl and bear staff

san diego, video

Video: New Mexico – “Motion Sickness” (Dustball Edition)

Leave a comment

As you may or may not be aware, San Diego CityBeat staff writer Dave Maass recently live-blogged, live-tweeted, live-videoed, and generally lived through the Dustball Rally, an epic three-day, 2,000-mile road rally through the Southwest:

I’m cramming myself into the backseat (multiple backseats, actually) on the Dustball 2000…Leaving El Paso at the crickety-crack of dawn Wednesday morning, the scavenger-hunt-style adventure runs along a mystery route across the American Southwest to Las Vegas.

We at Owl and Bear, among others, sponsored Dave’s doings, and that’s why we’re proud to post this video recap of his adventure, complete with a soundtrack by San Diego’s own indie rockers New Mexico. If you like what you hear — and really, why wouldn’t you — head over to Soda Bar on August 25 to see New Mexico headline this month’s SoundDiego Live event.

interviews, listen, san diego, video

Poetic Memory: Plateaus (List)

Leave a comment

MP3: Plateaus – “Beach Coma”

This Saturday, August 20, San Diego punk band Plateaus will play the Soda Bar with fellow locals Heavy Hawaii, Beaters, and LA’s Bleached.

Plateaus, whose name comes from a “tongue-in-cheek statement about the SoCal music scene,” are comprised of Kevin Gist (lead guitar, vocals), Chris Rosi (rhythm guitar, vocals), Elliott Moeller (bass), and Jon Greene (drums). The band was founded by Greene (who has produced bands like Dum Dum Girls, Crocodiles, and The Soft Pack) and Gist with the intention of creating a form of “deranged but classic pop music.”

In an attempt to familiarize you with the band and their sound, we asked Plateaus for five songs that are important to them. You can read their Poetic Memory below. Continue reading…

music news, video

Video: Nas Talks “Illmatic”

Leave a comment

Not much needs to be said about Nas’ 1994 debut, except that it’s one of the greatest hip hop records ever made. Illmatic is so good, in fact, that even the Queens wordsmith himself has struggled to replicate its sublimity.

That’s why it’s welcome news that Nas — along with AZ, Pete Rock, and Illmatic collaborator DJ Premier — will perform the album in its entirety at this weekend’s Rock the Bells Festival kickoff in Los Angeles. In the above video, Nasty Nas takes a moment to talk about the album and, in general, life in Queens.

In addition to Nas, The Rock The Bells Festival Series will feature up-and-coming hip hop artists as well as other seminal artists performing their classic albums, including Ms. Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu, and Common. Dates are below…

interviews, video

Poetic Memory: KNESSET (List)

Leave a comment

Phoenix and Los Angeles-based art rockers KNESSET aren’t coming to San Diego anytime soon, but that certainly doesn’t preclude them from sending us a detailed and most excellent list of great music videos.

KNESSET are kindred spirits with bands like American Analog Set, Camera Obscura, Owen, and Joan of Arc, with whom they share a label in Japan. Songs like “Bitter Hearts” (video above) from KNESSET’s debut LP, Coming of Age, feel just right in a musical rotation that includes the aforementioned company.

The band released Coming of Age in February, and you can buy it now for as little as five bucks on their Bandcamp page. Do check it out — and while you listen, peruse their Poetic Memory (below). It’ll be worth your while. Continue reading…