Crocodiles and Dum Dum Girls sold out the Casbah on Friday, thanks to their respective brands of scuzz rock. Continue reading…
Interview: Phantogram
In today’s fickle, post-Pitchfork world, each new band can start to feel like the latest chillwave flavor of the month. In the ambiguous sea of lo-fi turned glo-fi turned back to shoegaze whatever, it is important to give certain bands the distinction they deserve.
Phantogram duo Joshua Carter and Sarah Barthel are a reminder that, behind the indie genre’s similarities, there are subtle but important shifts in influences and backgrounds. Conceived on an isolated farm in Upstate New York, their debut album, Eyelid Movies, is the lovechild of 90’s hip-hop beats and urban dream-pop.
Phantogram have already passed through San Diego twice this year — the first time opening for The Antlers at the Casbah and, more recently, opening for The XX at House of Blues, and we can’t wait for them to come back. We spoke with Sarah Barthel after their House of Blues performance, and we also caught up with her later via email. Continue reading…
July Rumble: Birthdays, Beers, and Bands
It seems like only yesterday that San Diegans gathered at Bar Pink for the June installment of the Rumble to watch Maren Parusel, Chasing Kings, and Drug Wars. The truth is, it’s been a month, which means it’s time once again to lace up your stampeding shoes and direct yourself toward the North Park watering hole.
Saturday’s lineup starts strong and get better from there. Tempe-based three-piece What Laura Says will set a high bar with their bluesy, poppy Americana. Next up will be San Diego’s Sunday Times. Not much is known about this enigmatic group, but the few videos on their MySpace page show promise. Texas trio Harlem will headline, fresh off the release of their Pitchfork-acclaimed sophomore album, Hippies. Described by the bipolar music mag as “bubblegum…flavored with booze and cigarettes,†Harlem will undoubtedly put on a Rumble-worthy set. Finally, FM 94/9 music director/DJ Michael Halloran will keep your toes tapping between sets.
July 10 also commemorates the birthday of Rumble sponsors Indigenous, so it’s an extra-special event. Instead of three-dollar Trumers and free Trumer tastings, this time there shall be free Trumers for all (while supplies last)!
The San Diego Rumble collective includes Future Sounds, Indigenous, San Diego:Dialed In, M-Theory, Bar Pink, artists-rights organization BMI, Trumer Pills, and — oh yeah — Owl and Bear. To make your intentions known, RSVP on this month’s Facebook event page. See you there!
MP3: Harlem – Friendly Ghost
MP3: What Laura Says – I’d Dance With You
Photos from last month’s Rumble:
Poetic Memory: Hotel St. George (List)
San Diego’s Hotel St. George recently premiered the excellent video for their song “Little Children’s Bones.” The video features a robot battling a wizard in Russian roulette, a dog with a cape, and various other serious things. It’s definitely in your best interest to check it out.
To enhance the viewing of their latest musical movie film, band members Matt Binder and Eric Visnyak provided us with their Poetic Memory. Watch the video above, and read their list of influences below. Continue reading…
Billy Bragg Covers Joanna Newsom
This is pretty cool:
We made plans to catch up with Billy at his hotel room during a layover in London. Just watching this again realizing that some plonker outside the hotel is saying “I have to apologize for my wife.” No idea what that’s about. Billy was awesome, he’s really funny, self deprecating, smart, sweet…which is cool because, let’s face it, the guy’s a legend.