Episode 37: Sholi

 

 Episode 37: Sholi [39:10m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Welcome!

A few days ago we caught up with Payam, Jon, Eric, and Greg, who collectively form Sholi. We first caught wind of these guys while putting together one of our Mission Creek Music Festival mixes and got a chance to see their excellent set at a Playing in Fog show a couple months back. Needless to say, we’ve been looking to feature them for a while now, and we spoke to the guys in advance of their upcoming show at the Bottom of the Hill celebrating the release of a new 7″ split with Seattle’s The Dead Science.

In addition to discussing the new 7″, as well as the band’s continuing progress on an upcoming full length, we talked about the elements that make up Sholi’s great sound—melodic songwriting, tight playing, and a willingness to experiment with traditional song structures. In short, these guys are awesome.

For more information about Sholi, head to sholi.com or at their MySpace site. Catch Sholi at one of their upcoming shows:

Saturday, November 4th (release show for 7″ split)
Bottom of the Hill
9pm, with Casiotone for the Painfully Alone and The Dead Science
$8 advance/$10 door

Wednesday, November 8th (release show for 7″ split)
UC Davis Coffee House
7pm, with Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, The Dead Science and Papercuts
FREE

Wednesday, November 29th
Cafe Du Nord
9pm, with 60 Watt Kid and Miller Carr
$7

Hope you enjoy the episode! We’ll see you this Friday, November 3rd for our second The Bay Bridged Presents show!

Episode 36: October’s Monthly Local Mix

 

 Episode 36: October's Monthly Local Mix [35:23m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Happy Halloween,

Now that we’ve found our costume, we can turn to our latest Monthly Local Mix, our chance to put together a playlist of quality tracks from a number of local bands from across the indie universe.

About the bands you’re hearing:

Matt Lutz leads off our show with a track from his terrific album Seesaw. As we mentioned in our last post, Matt will be playing at our second The Bay Bridged Presents show, alongside Rykarda Parasol and Petracovich on Friday, November 3rd. The show will be at the Edinburgh Castle, is only $7, and starts at 9pm. You should definitely check it out! For more information about Matt’s music, head over to his MySpace page.

The Communique track we’ve included kicks off their just-released EP Walk Into the Light, which we strongly suggest you pick up over at their online store. You can stay abreast of the band’s future shows and other developments at their web site and at their MySpace page, where you can hear more selections from the EP as well.

Berkeley’s Tempo No Tempo recently released The Get Up EP, which you can (and should) buy over at their MySpace site. Trust us, it’s quite good–evocative of the more danceable Dischord bands, but with even more melody.

Show Me State has a show coming up on October 31st at the El Rio. The song we’ve included comes from their self-titled CD released this year. Check out more of their great songs at their MySpace page.

The CD we recently received from Lazertag is a great example of why we love checking the mail at The Bay Bridged HQ. Check out more of their wonderfully synth-driven indie-pop on MySpace. We’ll make sure their next show is posted on our Local Concert Calendar too.

Although we’ve included a track from The Finches’s first EP, Six Songs, the band just finished recording a full-length album and promises both East and West Coast tours in the Winter. Head on over to their web site for video and audio live recordings and more music from this very talented San Francisco. They also have a MySpace page here.

We first covered Triple Cobra in one of our Mission Creek Music Festival mixes and now include a rocking number from their upcoming album Live Fast and Die Beautiful. Although the song kicks ass, it doesn’t do justice to their live show, which is quite literally explosive (in a good way). Catch their two-year anniversary show on November 11th at the Rickshaw Stop. More information on their web site and their MySpace page.

And a Few to Break’s latest release Procession balances dense, complex song structures with melodic passages that make it a unique and thoroughly satisfying listen. For more information about the band’s November 3rd show at San Francisco State University, as well as their other upcoming dates in Northern California, Oregon, and Washington, head over to their MySpace page or their web site.

Thanks for listening! Be sure to check back in next Tuesday for another great episode and we’ll see you at the show!

The Bay Bridged Presents: Rykarda Parasol, Matt Lutz, and Petracovich

After a highly successful The Bay Bridged Presents: A Benefit for Playing in Fog, we were eager for our second opportunity to showcase some of the best music in the Bay Area. Well, that time is upon us:

Matt Lutz has received considerable acclaim as lead singer and songwriter for The Herms, a band The Owl Mag called “art and indie rock at its finest, especially in a scene that is floundering with carbon copies.” On his solo album Seesaw, Matt delivers the great pop songwriting one expects from The Herms, but he incorporates some influences and sounds you wouldn’t hear in a typical Herms song (if there is such a thing). You can hear our episode with Matt and The Herms here. Our friends over at New and Used Records recently did a video feature on Matt’s solo work which is quite good and which you can find here.

Completing the bill is Petracovich, whose latest record, We Are Wyoming, Paste magazine called “a perfect balance between rhythmic beats, atmospherics backdrops, striking images and angelic vocals. The sound…is simultaneously worldly and otherworldly.” We entreat you to check out our Petracovich episode here.

This show is particularly exciting for a few reasons. First of all, it’s one of the final shows at the Edinburgh Castle, one of the only spots in the city where you can eat fish and chips, drink an excessive amount of pints of quality beer and hear some fantastic indie music. If you’ve never been there before, the Castle is at 950 Geary St, betweek Polk and Larkin.

Plus, with this line-up, it’s pretty much guaranteed to be a really fun night. Nobody is going to have a full band behind them, but none of the acts is going to be truly solo. We’d explain more, but we’re not even sure what the final stage configurations are going to be. Suffice to say, this may well be your only chance to hear these songs this way.

Tell all your friends! Support local music and we’ll see you there!

Episode 35: Mandrake

 

 Episode 35: Mandrake [36:04m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

A few weeks ago, we spent the better part of an evening chatting with Jason, Liam and Owen from Mandrake. These guys make some really great music that channels progressive and indie rock elements through some great acoustic instrumentation and excellent vocals. During the interview, the guys joked about making “hardcore acoustic rock” and it’s undeniable that there’s a unique intensity to the Mandrake sound.

When we spoke, they were hard at work mixing their brand new (as of yet untitled) full-length debut album, from which we are pleased to feature several selections during the episode. We discussed the process of making the album, how the band formed, and the challenges of translating their sound to a live performance.

You can stay updated about the new album and any upcoming shows at Mandrake’s web site or MySpace page, and their record label, E14 Records.

Thanks again for listening! As always, if you have any feedback for us, including suggestions of bands to feature, drop us a line here!

Have a great week!

Episode 34: Finest Dearest

 

 Episode 34: Finest Dearest [30:36m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

And as another Tuesday is upon us, so is another episode of The Bay Bridged.  A few weeks ago, we sat down at Thee Parkside to chat with Finest Dearest, a great San Francisco indie rock band we first spolighted way back when on our June Monthly Local Mix.  While listening to the epic jams emanating from the jukebox overhead, we chatted with Carly, Christine, Josh and Steve about their upcoming 7″ release Off Sides and their then-upcoming, now-current tour of the Pacific Northwest.

In addition to the interview, we play “Making a Sound 1″ from Off Sides, the first part of a trilogy of songs that the band has written, as well as a demo version of the currently unreleased second part.  We’ve also got an ultra-stripped down unreleased version of “Idaho”, originally from the band’s excellent Pacemaker EP.

These guys are developing a great sound, mixing pop and rock elements with punk intensity, and they have a really fun live show too.  You can find out more about the band at their web site and their MySpace page (including their dates up north) and you can pick up the Pacemaker EP at Insound.

And don’t miss their 7″ release show in a few weeks:

Wednesday, November 1st
Cafe du Nord
9pm, with Love is Chemicals and Teri Falini

Thanks, as always, for listening.  Feel free to drop us a line with any comments, feedback or suggestions.  Check back next week for an announcement of another cool development in our universe!

Episode 33: Rykarda Parasol

 

 Episode 33: Rykarda Parasol [30:56m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This week, we feature Rykarda Parasol, a singer and songwriter from San Francisco who writes some great melodic dark rock/pop songs. We met up with Rykarda at the Blackthorn Tavern in the Inner Sunset, the site of our very first interview (nine months ago!) with Continental.

We talked quite a bit about Rykarda’s recently released and much acclaimed full-length debut Our Hearts First Meet, released on Three Ring Records, her experiences working solo and with a full band, and the role real-life experiences play in her lyrics.

To purchase Our Hearts First Meet, check out Rykarda’s page at Three Ring Records or buy the album on iTunes. Rykarda will be playing a solo show on Sunday:

Sunday, October 8th
Rite Spot Cafe
8pm, with This Isn’t It

In addition, we’re pleased to announce that Rykarda will be performing solo at our second The Bay Bridged Presents show, which will take place on Friday, November 3rd at the Edinburgh Castle at 9pm. Also playing will be Matt Lutz (from The Herms and Matt Lutz and the Animal Husbandry) and Petracovich! We’ll be telling you all more about this in the coming weeks, but mark your calendars because it will be a great time!

For now, enjoy this week’s episode and we will see you again next week!