Bay Area Kids Learn to Rock and Roll
June 30, 2008
Foggy SF summers can stifle kids’ raucous summer activities outdoors, so what do kids do instead? They learn to rock, of course. Four amazing rock and roll schools for kids teach them the importance of self-confidence, letting go of inhibitions and the power of music:
- Bay Area Girls Rock Camp - You may have seen the recent documentary “Girls Rock!” which was filmed at the founding Girls Rock Camp in Portland. The success of that program has sparked the creation of many other Girls Rock Camps across the country, including this one. Through lessons, workshops and a final performance of all the camp bands at Bottom of the Hill, the camp “strives to challenge gender stereotypes, encourage collaboration and tolerance among peers, and provide a comfortable space for people of all backgrounds to express themselves.”
A benefit for the BAGRC will take place this Sunday, July 6 at Hotel Utah, presented by SonicLiving and The Owl Mag. Emily Jane White, The As-Ifs and The May Fire will perform, with a DJ set by Loquat. The show starts at 7pm.
And the big event, the showcase of 13 camp bands each playing one song, will take place at Bottom of the Hill next Saturday, July 12. The show starts at 3pm and costs $10-15. Come support these rockin’ girls!
- Saturday Morning Rock Out - The amazing Lynne and Brian of Tartufi, along with local comedian/musician Paco Romane have created a giant rock band of kids ages 4-7 called The Owies. During the course of the class, the kids will take ownership of their band, and “collectively they will name the band, write lyrics, develop a melody and arrangement, rehearse, design album art, and eventually perform the song at the cd release party held on the last class.” Summer class runs July 12 to Aug. 16, and classes are an hour and 15 minutes on Saturdays. Check out the website for more details.
Photos: The Bay Bridged Presents The Dodos @ The Independent - June 19th
June 27, 2008
Low Red Land, Death to Anders at the Make-Out Room, June 8
June 27, 2008
Man, what a show. I missed Reduced to Ruin entirely, though, and only caught half of Death to Anders, a five-man outfit from LA.
Death to Anders: I will be purchasing their music. The changes are great, they play rock variously and very well . . . crisp and loud . . . different textures, too, and an amazing bassist. No surprise, their being from LA and all, that I hadn’t heard them before Sunday. Haven’t been to Silver Lake in quite a while. But if I’m down there on vacay or to help fight fires I’ll definitely check to see if they have a show, for sure. More garage I’d say than indie, there’s a J. Spencer blues a-thrumming and I applaud them especially for figuring out how to maintain a consistent sound while trading vocals between guitarists. Rhythm sings one tune, lead sings the next two, and so on. And if you were to close your eyes you really wouldn’t be able tell the difference, which is a compliment. Vocal consistency is a good and laudable thing. And !biggup! to the Makeout Room on this, too. I’ve yet to see a show there that wasn’t well mixed.
Low Red Land: I first saw these three guys at the baybridged inaugural rooftop podcast and they definitely made an impression with what was a stripped-down, bring-your-own-banjo type of acoustic set. Then cut to Sunday, which was rock and roll, irrevocably. They played with energy (even more impressive because they’d just gotten off a plane from NY hours before the show) and a little twang, reminds me of Son Volt, not Wilco. The vocals have a Mountain Goats ring to them (another compliment, Go Wolfpack!), and the interplay–both instrumentally and vocally–between bassist Ben Thorne and guitarist Neil Thompson is spot on and harmonically gratifying. It drives fairly hard when it wants, tho, too. Think Arcade Fire, I don’t want to say Band of Horses, but I just did.
Weekend Picks: June 26th-29th
June 26, 2008
Thursday:
- My First Earthquake and The Young Moderns at Amnesia. 9pm, $7.
- Pansy Division, Winsome Griffles and Glen Meadmore at the Eagle. 9m, $7.
Friday:
- The Morning Benders (Feature Podcast) at the Puma Store (856 Market St, SF). 7pm, Free.
- Panther (Portland), The Botticellis (Feature Podcast), Pickwick (Wash) and Winter’s Fall at Bottom of the Hill. 9pm, $10.
- Adam Stephens (of Two Gallants) and Emily Jane White (Feature Podcast) at Hemlock Tavern. 9:30pm, $12.
Saturday:
- Mon Cousin Belge, Ice Cream Socialites and The Caldonias (Portland) at Thee Parkside. 9pm, $tba.
- Scissors for Lefty at The Uptown. 9pm, $8.
- Sassy (CD Release), Von Iva (Feature Podcast), Hot Tub and El Fay at 12 Galaxies. 9pm, $10/12.
Introducing The Bay Bridged Video Podcast: Low Red Land — Live on a Roof, 5/18/08
June 25, 2008
Over the past two and a half years, we’ve prided ourselves on bringing you the best music in the Bay Area via our weekly audio podcast and our daily blog. Today, we begin a new chapter for The Bay Bridged, expanding into the world of video with the launch of a new video podcast series showcasing exclusive performances in unique Bay Area locations by some of the best bands around.
Last month, a select crowd of friends and music fans were invited to an exclusive performance by Low Red Land and The Botticellis on the roof of The Bay Bridged Headquarters in the Outer Mission. We will be featuring two selections from Low Red Land’s performance that day in two separate podcasts. Today’s episode features a medley of “Gunfighter’s Lament”/”The Duke” and the next episode, to be published next week, will feature their song “Goodnight Moon”. These videos were shot and edited by the talented gentlemen of Bank of Karma; the audio was recorded and mixed by The Bay Bridged.
We’ll be releasing new episodes of this series every few weeks or so, and will be shooting new performances all summer long. Enjoy!
You can watch the video after the jump and all of them will be archived at our NEW video page found here.
Lower Class Revolt Comp Release Party Tonight at The Knockout
June 25, 2008
The Lower Class Revolt, a great collective of bands and friend of The Bay Bridged, will celebrate the release of their first compilation tonight at The Knockout.
The LCR was formed as a resource for young and ambitious bands that don’t necessarily have access to fancy distribution, promotion, etc. They help out bands with booking shows, physical and digital distribution in collaboration with Devil in the Woods Records and New and Used Records, merchandising and now inclusion in periodic compilations.
Tonight’s show, presented by West Coast Performer Magazine, will feature Rademacher, Tigers Can Bite You and Light FM.
Rademacher is no stranger to playing live in the Bay Area, and has more shows on the horizon, with no sign of a break. They play slightly experimental indie rock tunes that fill the venue with ambient sound while still maintaining a healthy beat. The latest news - you can download one of the tracks from their album Live at Spaceland here.
Episode 120: June 2008 Monthly Mix
June 24, 2008
It’s time once again for the latest installment in our Monthly Mix series of episodes, where we collect a number of songs from new and recent releases by a variety of Bay Area bands. This episode also marks the debut of a new feature we’re going to start incorporating into our mix shows, a new short interview with a band we featured a year or two ago on The Bay Bridged to discuss a new album released since our first conversation.
About all of the bands:
Ted the Block (”Kicking Down The Ladders”) is the name of the solo project from Winston Goertz-Giffen, also a member of Saything and formerly of The Aimless Never Miss. His latest album Thinkinging… is an eclectic collection of patchwork rock full of melodic twists and turns. He doesn’t have any future shows listed, but we’ll keep you posted.
Love is Chemicals (”Over Land, Over Sea”; later, “My Ticker Tape Parade” and “Agitator”) kick off our series of new interviews with Bay Bridged alumni. Their sophomore work Song of the Summer Youth Brigade was recently released digitally and we caught up with the band at our studio to talk about their dynamic, evolving sound. You can purchase SotSYB on iTunes or from their web site.
We’ve also included an uber-catchy song from local garage-pop duo Sassy (”Sweet Child”). The band celebrates the release of their debut album Get a Grip this Saturday, June 28th at 12 Galaxies, where they’ll be joined by Von Iva, Hot Tub and El Fay.
Soundwave>Series ((3)) Takes Place June 27 to August 17
June 23, 2008
There’s an amazing and unique event going on from June 27 to Aug. 17 in the Bay Area. It’s called the Bay Area Sound Series, the Soundwave>Series, and it’s a smorgasbord of noise and sound artists, as well as some of the Bay Area’s most innovative musicians.
Twelve events will take place at San Francisco art and music institutions The Lab, Community Music Center, and Intersection for the Arts, as well as on a moving bus venue hosted by New Langton Arts, Queen’s Nails Annex, Art Engine and the de Young Museum.
Alan So from ME’D1-ATE Network described the festival as such:
MOVE>SOUND’s performances include live amplified skateboarding, sound drawings, audience-activated sounds, lo-fi and high-tech motion sensors, weather-data sonifications, moving 3D holographics, deep listening soundwalks and an “AudioBus” featuring live sound and music performances on a moving double-decker bus.
