All posts by owl and bear staff

Califone’s Tim Rutili Lends Support to Song+Stories Project, You Should Too

Independent radio artists Elizabeth Meister and Dan Collison are working with acclaimed Califone songwriter Tim Rutili on a documentary called Journey of the Asian Carp.

For the uninitiated, the Asian carp is a destructive non-native fish that has wreaked havoc on Midwestern waterways by crowding out native fish and uprooting plants. Notorious for their jumping ability, they also pose a physical danger to fishermen and their feeding habits make them hard to capture.

Meister and Collison hope to weave the documentary with Rutili’s music to create something that is more than the sum of its parts. Rutili’s music will supplement the documentary’s narrative as it follows the invasive carp’s slow migration from the American south “to the brink of Lake Michigan, focusing specifically on communities along the Illinois River that already have been invaded.”

If all goes well (more on that later), Meister and Collison will visit some of the small American communities that depend on their waterways and native fish but have been devastated by the Asian carp’s invasion.
Click here to learn how you can help…

Poetic Memory: Dinosaur Feathers (List)

Dinosaur Feathers have made a bit of a name for themselves back East. With a sound often compared to Animal Collective and the Beach Boys, these Brooklynites have received rave reviews from music fans everywhere, including Paste magazine:

When asked what…generated a bit of blog-buzz in recent months, Sullos demures: “The more you play, the more people talk about it.” True, but it likely has a bit more to do with the band’s melange of Latin and African-infused drum machine beats — plus the fact that these guys can really sing. Sullo and his bandmates use their voices like instruments, stacking and weaving them into a textured sonic tapestry that drips with 60s nostalgia.

We’re excited to see them at The Rumble this weekend, and you should be too. For a taste of their sound, check out “Fantasy Memorial” (MP3). Then, read their Poetic Memory (below).

Stop, Drop, and Rumble at Bar Pink – This Saturday

Click to enlarge

To quote our friends at Future Sounds, “Whatever show plans you have for Saturday night, get rid of them.”

August 7 marks the next Rumble, the multi-band, multi-drink, multi-month music showcase at Bar Pink. Last month’s event featured indie up-and-comers Harlem, What Laura Says, and San Diego’s own Sunday Times. Our friends Indigenous also celebrated their birthday, so it was quite the shindig. There aren’t any officially associated birthdays this time around but, if the lineup is any indication, attendees will still find plenty of cause to celebrate.

Opening the show will be Lesands, America’s Finest Cityâ„¢’s favorite electro-synth rockers. They’re relatively new to the local scene, but they’ve already received positive feedback from KCRW and elsewhere.

Next will be Brooklyn-based Dinosaur Feathers, a band that has exploded in popularity and won’t be playing places like Bar Pink for long. Future Sounds call them “Beach Boys meet Animal Collective,” a band that boasts “amazing vocal harmonies coupled with tropical beats.” Since Animal Collective are already half Beach Boys, that should make Dinosaur Feathers at least two-thirds Beach Boys, and that’s never a bad thing. Paste magazine has praised their use of harmonies “like instruments, stacking and weaving them into a textured sonic tapestry that drips with 60s nostalgia.”

After all that beachy, boyish goodness, Rumspringa will take the stage. They’re headlining the Rumble through August, and will carry it through to Las Vegas. Their upcoming full-length, set to be released on Cantora (not to be confused with Cantore) Records, and live shows have put audiences in “sacrificial trance-like states.” Cool. Click here for downloads and additional info…

Live Review: Pinback at Del Mar Racetrack, July 23, 2010

Photo credit: Gabe Lawrence

The mood of the night was determined long before Pinback ever took the stage. When a hefty drunk man began thrashing around to the pre-show soundtrack like it was a Smashing Pumpkins concert, it became clear what kind of night it was going to be.

Pinback’s gigs are the biggest contradictions in the music business. The San Diego-based band, which consists of main players Rob Crow (vocals, guitar) and Zach Smith (vocals, bass), produces some of the mellowest music around, yet their shows are anything but sedate. Imagine crowd surfers and mosh pits that resemble an Ozzy Osbourne concert, but swap the Mohawks and Doc Martins for fringe haircuts and dress shirts (on account of the horse races.) Continue reading…

Comic-Con 2010: Gettin’ Stabby With It

Ah, Comic-Con. This year’s inexplicably hyphenated gathering of geeks and gawkers has come to an end, leaving San Diegans feeling hungover, used, and sore in strange places. This was my first crack at the convention, and I went (almost) all in. Continue reading…