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Foxygen works its uncanny magic at Brick and Mortar Music Hall

03.29.13 - 11:52 am | Laura Kerry |
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I experienced a strange phenomenon in the few days leading up to Tuesday’s sold out concert at Brick and Mortar Music Hall. The first in a series of strange events occurred in a coffee shop. I overheard one barista say to another, “Put on that Foxygen song.”

“Who?” she asked.

“It’s like ‘oxygen’ but with an ‘F.’”

The next day, one of my favorite websites listed Foxygen’s “Shuggie” as the “Song of the Day,” and later that evening, a friend mentioned the band in a conversation that had very little to do with music. Read more »

NanosauR remixes Backstreet Boys, Antwon, and Chelsea Wolfe

03.28.13 - 11:12 am | Emily Savage |
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Earlier today, Bay Area dream pop producer NanosauR posted to his Facebook page, “This is a collection of 20 remixes I have made over time, I hope you like it. Download it for free here.” 

OK, NanosauR, a.k.a. Michael Solorzano, (thanks for the tip) I did download it and it’s nutso mixtape perfection. So, yes, I liked what I heard. Read more »

Heartless Bastards’ Erika Wennerstrom on breaking writer's block with travel

03.28.13 - 9:05 am | Mia Sullivan |
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It seems like the Austin-based Heartless Bastards have made some drastic changes since the release of their debut album, Stairs and Elevators, shedding their punkish irreverence in favor of more candid Americana as illustrated in Arrow, their 2012 Jim Eno-produced release.

I caught up with frontperson Erika Wennerstrom before the band’s Great American Music Hall show this weekend, amid a van ride from Tucson to California to chat about her quartet’s ever-changing sound, her favorite SF food, Neil Young, and Arrow’s traveling backstory: Read more »

Reality rap: Q&A with Saafir, the Saucee Nomad

03.27.13 - 10:43 am | Garrett Caples |
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Ed. note – this week's music feature is all about emcee-producer Saafir, the Saucee Nomad. The wheelchair-bound associate of Hobo Junction and Digital Underground (and actor in 'Menace II Society') opened up to Guardian music writer Garrett Caples about his recent health struggles, making music, and what's keeping him in check. Here's the extended interview we couldn't fit in the print edition:

San Francisco Bay Guardian Did you have any idea [Digital Underground leader] Shock-G was going to post about you on Davey-D’s blog?

Saafir Actually I had no idea that he was going to put that out. Shock had came and saw me one time and I didn’t really tell nobody that I was in a wheelchair as far as the DU crew. I wasn’t really in contact with anybody. Nobody really stayed in contact with me. If you ain’t really hollerin’ at me, I’m not just gonna call you and be like, “Hey bruh, what’s up? I’m in a wheelchair.” Read more »

Nite Trax: Scott Hardkiss, RIP

03.26.13 - 1:42 pm | Marke B. |
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Sad news came down the pipe yesterday that truly essential Bay Area psychedelic house pioneer Scott Hardkiss of the Hardkiss Brothers passed away at age 43. The cause hasn't been announced, but he had been having medical trouble recently with an eye implant. His last Facebook post, dated March 20, quoted Whodini: "Friends, how many of us have them, ones you can depend on?"

Well, he certainly had a lot of admirers who loved his production and DJ work, me included. Along with "brothers" Gavin and Robbie, Scott helped put the funky, pagan native sound of SF on the underground map in the early 1990s -- unafraid to mix acid and deep techno sounds with psychedelic and prog rock effects to create a sublimely ecstatic noise.

Read more »

Vintage riffs: "Maiden England '88" on DVD

03.26.13 - 10:36 am | Cheryl Eddy |
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Attention Iron Maiden fans: today, the seminal NWOBHM band releases a DVD version of Maiden England '88, a concert film shot on the seminal tour's stop in Birmingham, England (with never-before-seen encore footage to boot).

The two-disc set, which is full of stuff you've probably never seen at all unless you take really good care of your VHS tapes and still have a working VCR, also includes Twelve Wasted Years, a 1987 doc about Maiden's humble beginnings and rise to metal god status; The History of Iron Maiden Pt. 3, a 40-minute doc focusing on the band in the late 1980s; and promo videos of hits from that period, including "Can I Play With Madness" and "The Evil That Men Do."

Read more »

Heads Up: 8 must-see concerts this week

03.25.13 - 3:26 pm | Emily Savage |
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Sometimes, “world music” takes on an entirely different meaning. This week, the bands and musicians and producers will come from all over the (European) map: there's Grecian psych punk, UK goth pop, Irish deep house and space disco, plus one-half of the first all-female electronic DJ group of Chicago, a KUSF-in-Exile benefit, and a soul clap dance-off.

I'm exhausted just thinking about the travel time it'll take all those acts – Acid Baby Jesus, Veronica Falls, Mano Le Tough, Jonathan Toubin, Texas is the Reason, Colette and DJ Heather, and so many more – to arrive in our foggy city by the bay. Read more »

This image explains Deerhoof

03.22.13 - 9:42 am | Emily Savage |
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For all those music writers and fans struggling to explain to their friends what experimental SF-born Deerhoof is all about, upbeat vocalist Satomi Matsuzaki made it easy on us earlier this week.

She posted this arresting photo on Deerhoof's Facebook page and explained, “This is visually what deerhoof is about.” Ah, all makes sense now, doesn't it? Read more »

Snap Sounds: Justin Timberlake

03.21.13 - 12:28 pm | Taylor Kaplan |
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JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE
THE 20/20 EXPERIENCE
(RCA)

It's 10 songs, seven minutes apiece. A quick look at the track-listing to Justin Timberlake's The 20/20 Experience reveals a giant slice of pop ambition; a brazen comeback effort that practically dares the rest of the Grammy-elite to catch up. Read more »

Bad kids get slimed with the Black Lips at Great American Music Hall

03.21.13 - 10:44 am | Haley Zaremba |
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Black Lips at the Great American Music Hall. Photo by Haley Zaremba.
Black Lips at the Great American Music Hall. Photo by Haley Zaremba.
Black Lips at the Great American Music Hall. Photo by Haley Zaremba.
Black Lips at the Great American Music Hall. Photo by Haley Zaremba.
Black Lips at the Great American Music Hall. Photo by Haley Zaremba.

The Great American Music Hall was a soupy, sweaty mess of swamp-like proportions before the Black Lips had even taken the stage Monday night. The crowd, buzzing with the combined excitement of intoxication and anticipation, erupted into howls and screeches as the band took the stage in a puff of fog-machine smoke. From behind the mist, one of the Black Lips yelled into the mic, “If you wanna be smart, read a goddamn book. If you wanna have fun, you’re in the right goddamn place!” And so it began. Read more »