AltWeeklies Wire
Deerhoof's Buff vs. Buffy Dynamicnew
Chameleon-esque noise-poppers experiment by "recording like a normal band" for its forthcoming release Offend Maggie.
East Bay Express |
David Downs |
10-01-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
The Avant-Funk Visions of pc muñoznew
The producer at Talking House Productions makes beats for a strange, futuristic dance floor.
East Bay Express |
Tom Chandler |
09-24-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Darker My Love Evades a Sophomore Slump with its New Recordnew
The songs on 2 diverge wildly from the buried shoegaze atmospherics of Darker My Love's first self-titled album, and move more toward pop territory with the assistance of producer Dave Cooley.
East Bay Express |
Oscar Medina |
09-10-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Darker My Love, 2
Understanding WHY?new
Yoni Wolf perfects his mind-warping blend of pop, rap, and psychedelia on Alopecia.
East Bay Express |
Nate Seltenrich |
08-27-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Inaugural Outside Lands Festival Lives up to Its Potentialnew
For the most part, the first-ever Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival did live up to expectations; at times there were simply stunning moments and the venue itself was quite a scene to behold.
East Bay Express |
Nate Seltenrich, Rachel Swan and Kathleen Richards |
08-27-2008 |
Music
Now a Free Agent, Bilal Has More Love for Salenew
He shot Interscope to the left when the label shelved his 2006 sophomore album, Love for Sale. And now that he's independent, and resolutely so, he's composing most of his new material on Garage Band. Bilal likes it that way.
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
08-20-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
The Loading Zone Reunites After 30 Years ... For One Nightnew
Since breaking up in the early 1970s, the Loading Zone has been mentioned most often not for its distinctive blend of garage rock, R&B, and jazz, but as the launching pad for Linda Tillery, who was a teenage soul belter when she took over as lead vocalist in 1967.
East Bay Express |
Andrew Gilbert |
08-14-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Gregg Perloff Is the New Bill Grahamnew
How his Another Planet Entertainment beat the competition to host the epic Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival.
East Bay Express |
David Downs |
08-14-2008 |
Music
Detroit Soul Singer Dwele Fuses Hip-Hop with Classic Rootsnew
Dwele's soaring high-tenor tones on Sketches of a Man have a decidedly old-school vibe. But his at times stream-of-consciousness lyric flow and seemingly out-of-sync drum 'n' bass syncopations come from hip-hop.
East Bay Express |
Lee Hildebrand |
08-07-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Dwele, Sketches of Man
The Immersion Composition Society Helps Musicians Overcome Creative Hurdlesnew
The society is a loosely affiliated international band of "lodges" with around three to twelve members each who share the common goal of boosting their productivity and unleashing their creativity as musicians. The two oldest and most established lodges, Origin and Wig, are still based in Oakland -- along with at least another three.
East Bay Express |
Nate Seltenrich |
08-07-2008 |
Music
Erk tha Jerk Makes Bay Area Hip-Hop a Whole Lot Smarternew
Erk tha Jerk is a slender guy with horn-rimmed glasses and a gallows humor. He isn't afraid to clown someone using insults that could potentially go over that person's head. And his most famous song, "I'm So Dumb (the Hyphy Diss Song)," might have been the most petulant thing to air on KMEL this year.
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
07-24-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
The Bayliens Are Comingnew
The stalwart indie rap trio invades the world of "Bubblegum" pop.
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
07-10-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: The Bayliens
Jeremy Goody Shifts Gears to Keep Pace with a Changing Industrynew
The wannabe Depeche Moder turned accidental rap producer turned improbable Latin jazzman has become a figurehead in the East Bay recording industry without ever getting real name recognition.
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
06-18-2008 |
Music
Oakland's Lumerians Come Out on Their Own Termsnew
In an industry that relies on easy classification of a band's sound and image to effectively market it to its desired audience, these Oakland up-and-comers are a hard sell. "We don't really want to be seen as a retro or a genre band," insists bass player Marc Melzer.
East Bay Express |
Oscar Medina |
06-11-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Lumerians
imeem Cashes In as Mixtapes Go Viralnew
Labels and artists say imeem.com is lighting up their radar lately thanks to the San Francisco tech company's reinvention of the humble mixtape. Each month 22.5 million people log in and create playable lists of their favorite tracks (muxtapes), then share them with their friends via e-mail, MySpace, Facebook, and instant message.
East Bay Express |
David Downs |
06-11-2008 |
Music
