AltWeeklies Wire
Jucifer's Use of Extremes is Inherent to its Wholenew
Major stylistic shifts are abound in just about all of this two-piece act's recordings. The music suddenly shifts from the calm and free-flowing melody of shoegaze to the harsh brutality of noise or metal. But it always feels as if this dynamism has a rationale.
East Bay Express |
Nick Schwab |
09-02-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: L'autrichienne, Jucifer
Radio Nowhere Trades Physical Dollars for Digital Dimesnew
After his band's popularity waned, Mike Baker began using social networking to write his music and build a buzz.
East Bay Express |
Eric Rubin |
08-12-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
John Forte: From Jailhouse to Jazzhousenew
Ex-Fugees producer Forte keeps a low profile these days. Since his release from prison last December, after serving seven years of a fourteen-year drug sentence, Forte has started treating home as his sanctuary.
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
08-05-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
How a Gamer Used His Celebrity in 'World of Warcraft' to Launch a Music Careernew
Even Michael Bailey -- or Fony, as he's known to fellow WoW gamers -- couldn't have predicted that one day his cyber-world celebrity would bring his real-world electronic music group hundreds of digital download sales and a burgeoning international fanbase.
East Bay Express |
Nate Seltenrich |
07-02-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Acid Rock Gets a Contemporized and Melodic Twistnew
Ethan Miller of Comets on Fire records a third album with his earthy and eclectic project, Howlin Rain.
East Bay Express |
Dave Gil de Rubio |
06-24-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
The Stitches' Obsession with Punk's First Wave Has Made Them a Fan Boy's Dreamnew
While it's been fifteen years since the release of the Stitches' raucous first single, "Sixteen," and about a decade since they were at the height of their career, the Southern California band hasn't strayed from punk's debaucherous ethos, and continues to sporadically traverse the world's dingy bars.
East Bay Express |
Dave Cantor |
06-17-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Rancid's First Album in Six Years Is Also Its Most Adventurousnew
After a six-year break, will longtime fans have the patience for Rancid's sprawling comeback? The answer lies no further than the band's gauntlet of a discography, which has already served as a proving ground for band and followers alike.
East Bay Express |
Nate Seltenrich |
06-03-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
A Jazz Keyboardist Finds New Inspiration in a Dour 19th-Century Composernew
Although he didn't really have the chops to be a classical pianist, Michael Coleman found a way to bring his new love interest to the public. Last summer, he formed a new jazz combo called Schumann's Humanns, whose first assignment was to reinterpret Schumann's Kinderszenen in a jazz template.
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
05-13-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
VIDEO: Kalri$$ian -- The Interviewnew
Bay Area rap comedy group Kalri$$ian get nasty with the East Bay Express.
East Bay Express |
Jonathan Mann |
05-01-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
The Black Keys: Loud, Simple, and Directnew
Despite their angsty, dolefully themed anthems conjuring sweaty images of hardship and sun-soaked Alabama blacktop, the two white boys from Akron, Ohio, that make up the Black Keys have long insisted they are not a blues band.
East Bay Express |
Matthew Green |
04-15-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
How Silk-E Established Herself as Bay Area Rap's 'Hit Woman for Hire'new
Erica Reynolds grew up singing in the church choir in Richmond, fell in love with hip-hop as a young girl, and began rapping under the stage name Silk-E. She's managed to balance the rigors of parenthood with a vocation that requires her to have an iron-hand demeanor, just to keep from getting burned.
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
01-23-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Kev Choice Created a Cult of Personality by Straddling Two Worldsnew
Choice's new downloadable album, The Bailout, is a return to the classical mixtape format -- it has three sampled tracks and eighteen original beats, all blended seamlessly together by DJ D-Sharp, all available for free. It's a strange convergence of genres and creative processes, but the result is fascinating.
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
01-07-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Toxic Holocaust Provides the Soundtrack for a Post-Apocalyptic Worldnew
Joel Grind claims he writes songs about a "Mad Max kind of world" more influenced by science-fiction fantasy or art than today's headlines. Toxic Holocaust isn't trying to provide commentary.
East Bay Express |
Jarret Keene |
01-07-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
California Honeydrops Brings a New Sensibility to Old Styles of Musicnew
Unlike mainstream revivalist acts like Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, or Raphael Saadiq, of late, the Honeydrops aren't dredging up old trends in order to make a concept album or a nostalgia-based soundtrack.
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
12-10-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: California Honeydrops, Soul Tub!
Los Rakas Puts a New Spin on Barrio Hip-Hopnew
The group's forthcoming mixtape, La Tanda del Bus, takes its name from the "Diablo Rojo" buses in Panama, which are known for their splashy paintjobs and for the dancehall mixes that bump on their stereos. A follow-up to 2006's Panabay Twist, it's a distinctly Latino spin on the "yellow bus" motif that's been ubiquitous in Bay Area hip-hop.
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
11-19-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
