|
|
Matt Crawford Administrator |
|
|
 | A Stroke Strums Little Joy, the latest project to come out of The Strokes camp during a two-year hiatus, pairs the band’s drummer Fabrizio Moretti with Rodrigo Amarante, of Brazilian rock outfit Los Hermanos, and mystery L.A. belle Binki Shapiro. The trio, named after a bar near its shared L.A. home, has a few subtle similarities with the Strokes -- mainly treble-heavy, crooning vocals -- with doses of Sam Cooke, Brazilian guitar and surf music. Little Joy performs December 9th at Slim’s. Moretti spoke with SF Station from the road en route to Atlanta after the East Coast leg of his tour.More |  | An Ill Collaboration Underdog status is nothing new for Gift of Gab, Lateef the Truth Speaker and Headnodic, the Bay Area hip hop fixtures that joined forces to create the Mighty Underdogs. Although all three have seen various degrees of success, easy money is rare in the underground hip hop game.More |  | Eclectic Trio Shines on in SF Apollo Sunshine’s latest genre-bending LP [b]Shall Noise Upon[/b] fuses 60s psychedelia with dusty steel guitar licks, ornate string arrangements, Spanish horns, distorted harmonica voodoo and pretty acoustic ditties to bond equally disparate moods in a common universe. The trio, which formed on the East Coast and released its first album 2003, opens for Dead Confederated on November 16th at The Independent. San Francisco-based drummer Jeremy Black, who also co-founded Black and Green Records and a new recording studio in Oakland, spoke with SF Station during a phone interview from the road.More |  | The Deal From the Buckeye State Whether she likes it or not, Kim Deal finds herself at the epicenter of U.S. politics as all eyes look to swinging Ohio during the presidential election. The Breeders frontwoman, also a member of a little indie band you might have heard of called The Pixies, has lived in the Buckeye state for the last five years. Deal spoke with SF Station during a phone interview from her home. She performs with The Breeders on November 13th and 14th at Slim’s.More |  | A Dangerous Show for Dangerous People Riding on the crest of recent mainstream and independent successes, Diplo returns to San Francisco for a show at Great American Music Hall on November 3rd. The DJ/producer is behind M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes,” which found 11th-hour success on iTunes a year after its release when it was featured on the Pineapple Express trailer, and he recently released the excellent Santogold mixtape that pairs the emerging artist with some of her reggae, punk, rap and new wave influences. Diplo spoke with SF Station during a phone interview while wandering lost through the streets of Salt Lake City in search of his tour bus.More |  | Making the Crowd Hype The three core members of the UK’s Friendly Fires have collaborated musically for nearly 10 years, but it was only after the band adopted a dance-friendly rock beat over the past few years -- all the rage in these parts and abroad -- that it started gaining attention on this side of the Atlantic. After recently wrapping up its first headlining tour in the UK, the band is testing the U.S. market with an opening slot on Lykke Li’s tour, which stops in San Francisco for a sold-out show at the Independent on November 1st. Friendly Fires vocalist Ed Macfarlane spoke with SF Station during a phone interview from a New York gig.More |  | Living Big on the Road Gregg Gillis, better known as the sampling whiz Girl Talk, is living large following the release of [b]Feed the Animals[/b], his latest album that features more than 250 pop music samples in 53 minutes. On his most recent tour, which stops at the Fillmore on October 27th and 28th, Gillis is bringing his Pittsburgh homies to warm up the stage, along with a couple of hype men to keep the party live. “I’m kind of living big time right now compared to my previous touring style,” he said during a phone interview from his fancy new tour bus at a venue parking lot in North Carolina.More |  | SF’s Children of Darkness After performing behind its debut EP [b]Into A New Mausoleum[/b] for more than a year and a half, Veil Veil Vanish is preparing for a self-imposed sabbatical from the stage to hone several new songs that will be recorded for an LP. But first, the San Francisco-based quartet performs a handful of Bay Area shows, including a headlining spot at a special Halloween-themed Popscene gig on October 30th. The show also serves as a record release party for The Cure -- one of the band’s most apparent influences. Singer/guitarist Kevin Tecon spoke with SF Station during a phone interview.More |  | Simplicity Equals Complexity Four years after their last LP, Stereolab is back with [b]Chemical Chords[/b], a nod to 60s pop arrangements with layered horns, strings and vibrato guitar providing the backdrop for Laetitia Sadier's delicate French and English vocals. Tim Gane (guitars/keyboards) spoke with SF Station during a phone interview from the band's New York tour stop. Stereolab will perform at the Fillmore on October 21st and 22nd.More |  | Listen to the Gospel After rising from relative obscurity in Jacksonville, FL, to become the international buzz band of the moment, Black Kids return to San Francisco for a headlining gig at Great American Music Hall on October 13th. Fronted by lead vocalist Reggie Youngblood (his sister Ali is also in the group), Black Kids released their debut LP [b]Partie Traumatic[/b] on Columbia Records in July. Dawn Watley (keyboards/backup vocals) spoke with SF Station during a phone interview from a tour stop in Atlanta.More |
|
