Breaking News
Friday, January 27, 2012
GZA Embarks on an Ivy League Lecture Tour
Breaking News Rachel Swan — Fri, Jan 27, 2012 at 5:29 PM
And according to press flacks, he'll hit Oxford University this weekend, followed (hopefully) by MIT, NYU, and Cornell this spring. The famed Wu Tang emcee will discuss his creative process, his canonical album Liquid Swords, and, of course, "the state of hip-hop." Let's just hope he doesn't forget any lines.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Rest in Peace, Etta James
Breaking News Rachel Swan — Fri, Jan 20, 2012 at 10:18 AM
Famed balladeer and 2001 Blues Hall of Fame inductee Etta James passed away this morning, just five days shy of her seventy-fourth birthday. The singer, who is revered for her husky timbre and ample tastes, mixed gospel, jazz, and R&B styles, and had a vocal range of several octaves and change. James cut her first commercially successful singles — including "The Wallflower (Dance with Me Henry)" — in 1955. Her copious discography includes 28 studio albums and 58 singles. James, who suffered from drug addiction through part of her career, died of complications associated with leukemia. She is survived by her two sons, Donto and Sametto, and will be mourned by music lovers throughout the world.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Another Potential Casualty of the Redevelopment Shutdown: Concord's 23-Year-Old Music and Market Series
Breaking News Rachel Swan — Thu, Jan 19, 2012 at 1:12 PM
Ouch. Turns out the massive dismantling of redevelopment agencies throughout California won't just affect urban infrastructure, employment, and social programs — it'll also have deleterious consequences for the arts. One long-running event that might be on the chopping block is the Music and Market Series in Concord, producer of free concerts in Todos Santos Plaza, as well as the Pacific Coast Farmers' Market. The organizers sent out an urgent email this morning announcing the demise of their current funding mechanism, along with new plans for the short-term — including a web page, campaign to solicit sponsorship from local businesses, and a potential benefit event. As far as long-term strategies go, they may try to secure a "title sponsor" for the series, carve out and consecrate special civic arts districts, or create a Concord Arts Foundation. For now, they ask that supporters send "love letters" to Concord's City Council, or make a case for the Music and Market Series at next week's council meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, January 24.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
tUnE-yArDs Clinches Village Voice Pazz and Jop Poll Win
Breaking News Rachel Swan — Tue, Jan 17, 2012 at 5:08 PM
And lest you think that was an easy victory for local worldbeat musician Merrill Garbus, consider who she beat: PJ Harvey, Tom Waits, Kanye and Jay-Z, Drake, and Adele, to name just a few. Or consider where she was as recently as a year ago: virtually unknown, jamming with free-jazz musicians in warehouses, and headlining shows at Mama Buzz Cafe. Now famous for her face paint and guttural voice, Garbus clinched the win for best album with 1,645 points and 135 mentions from music critics throughout the country. Her debut record whokill was a veritable smash hit, garnering accolades from many press outlets (including this one) when it came out on British label 4AD last March. It's since propelled Garbus and her rotating cast of backup musicians (Nate Brenner on bass, usually accompanied by two saxophones) to high-profile festival gigs, TV appearances, and magazine "hot lists." We're extremely proud to call her one of our own.
Lookout! Records Calls It Quits
Breaking News / Business / Bay Area Bands Kathleen Richards — Tue, Jan 17, 2012 at 9:43 AM
It's been a little more than six years since Lookout! Records released any material, but today the famed Berkeley punk rock label officially called it quits. On its website, Lookout! Records owner Chris Appelgren cited several factors in the decision, including the loss of Green Day and Operation Ivy to its catalog, as well as the demise of its CD manufacturer/distributor and mail order partner.
Appelgren writes: "We considered all options but kept coming back to realization that the best use of our energies would be to shut the doors once and for all - for the legacy of the label, for the bands, and for benefit of the relationships and friendships with artists, partners, and stakeholders."
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Noise Pop 2012 Lineup Announced
Breaking News / Just-Announced Shows Ellen Cushing — Tue, Dec 6, 2011 at 12:20 PM
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Brent Weinbach on Conan Tonight
Breaking News Rachel Swan — Tue, Oct 11, 2011 at 4:07 PM
The inimitable Brent Weinbach, an absurdist comedian, erstwhile lounge pianist, UC Berkeley grad, post-modern performance artist, and purveyor of "intellectual poop humor," will perform standup on Conan tonight, alongside Will Arnett and Deepak Chopra. We highly recommend.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Google Acts as Peacemaker in YouTube-Publishers Fight
Breaking News Rachel Swan — Wed, Aug 17, 2011 at 3:54 PM
San Bruno-based company YouTube has always had a testy relationship with music publishers and media conglomerates, as indicated by a spate of lawsuits filed in the last few years — starting with Viacom, which charged Google with copyright infringement back in 2007. Last year, a district court in New York absolved YouTube of responsibility. Viacom is in the process of appealing that ruling and seeking $1 billion in damages. Meanwhile, the National Music Publishers Association took another strike at YouTube, alleging that the company broadcasts music videos without authorization. Google helped broker a deal between the two parties, stipulating that the NMPA license its content to YouTube, in exchange for royalties. Apparently, the settlement left everybody happy. This morning Bloomberg News reported that NMPA had dropped its appeal of a lower-court ruling in favor of the defendant.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Getting to Outside Lands
Breaking News Rachel Swan — Fri, Aug 12, 2011 at 10:37 AM
As always, organizers at Outside Lands encourage everyone to go green, either by taking advantage of San Francisco Bike Coalition's free bike valet parking (essentially a coatcheck for your bike, and an extremely useful service), or familiarizing yourself with the city's public transportation system. Another option is the event shuttle, which is reasonably priced at at $29.50 for a 3-day pass ($4.90 per trip). The organizers laid out several options, including BART, Muni, Caltrain, ferry, and carpooling, in meticulous detail here.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Mission Creek Oakland Needs Help
Breaking News / Bay Area Bands Kathleen Richards — Wed, Aug 3, 2011 at 5:50 PM
The Mission Creek Music and Arts Festival has been going on in San Francisco for fifteen years, highlighting independent and underground music, art, dance, etc. Three years ago, Mission Creek came east, and now Mission Creek Oakland is hoping to expand from a week-long event into a month-long event at various venues in the East Bay during the month of September.
To do so, organizers of Mission Creek Oakland are currently holding a Kickstarter campaign to raise $3,000. So far, they've got about $900, with just ten days left in the campaign. If they raise the funds, they'll hold shows at Uptown, Rock Paper Scissors, the Stork Club, Gamma Space, and others. Local bands confirmed so far include Horns of Happiness, Field Trips, Casy and Brian, and White Cloud. The festival is still accepting applications for bands via Sonicbids.
Mission Creek Oakland Music Director Kiyomi Tanouye said if they don't meet their goal, the festival will still happen in Oakland, but just "with less bells and whistles." Tanouye said they'll probably rent out Mosswood Amphitheater for an all-ages show at the end of September, paying all the involved folks appropriately, and printing out nice programs. It's still unclear whether that show will happen, however, because "Oakland Parks Department has been super flaky."
