Happy New Year from The Bay Bridged!
December 31, 2009
As midnight approaches we would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who has made 2009 an incredible year for The Bay Bridged.
With just over 50 podcasts produced this year, over 700 blog posts, The Bay Area Takeover at SxSW, The Rock Make Street Festival, and Regional Bias, it’s been a busy but fantastic year! And we certainly couldn’t have done it without the help of countless people, organizations, and our loyal readers and music fans. So thank you.
We’ll be back tomorrow with a mild hangover and our regular news coverage. Be sure to check out the calendar for shows coming up over the weekend!
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Best of 2009: The OCMD on Ty Segall
December 30, 2009
Many local bands won my favor this year, but only one can lay claim to my heart: Ty Segall. I first stumbled upon Ty opening for Girls at The Hemlock early last year. His one-man band performance on guitar, drums, tambourine and vocals was truly a sight to behold and left me smitten. With the release of his sophomore album, Lemons, this year my infatuation quickly evolved into a full-fledged love affair, borderline obsession.
As a self-confessed garage rock junkie, Lemons is just the fix I need to satisfy my habit. Segall’s variety of punked up, fuzzed out, 60s influenced pop rhythms are simply irresistible. I need it like a drug and take a dose every morning as part of my ‘wake up and go’ ritual. And if you’re not a morning person like me, let me suggest a double dose of his debut album and Lemons. A highly effective combination that will deliver more adrenaline than a triple shot of espresso and a slap in the face. Get addicted.
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Best of 2009: Lindsay Garfield of Or, the Whale on Blue Rabbit
December 30, 2009
First thing’s first: Full disclosure. I used to help with Blue Rabbit‘s publicity. BUT, I assure you that I meet the criteria for a bona fide fan, i.e. going out to as many of their live shows as I possibly can, discussing them at length with other Rabbit Heads, and listening to their album obsessively.
Back in 2005, Heather Anderson, BR’s founder and general mastermind (composer, songwriter and singer/guitarist) formed the band as an experimental drums and vocal duo. Since then, the group has swelled to its current eight member count, currently comprised of drums, keys, guitar, harp (yes really- harp!), cello, violin, and- the cream on top- three gorgeous female voices. Note: as a female singer I tend to have an affinity for female vocals. That being said, I am often hyper-critical of them. But seriously, these girls can SING!!
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Blue Rabbit – “Sleep”
Their live show is mesmerizing, both sonically and visually. With so many women on stage (at one point the band had five), all dolled up in shiny vintage dresses, plucking, bowing, and strumming strings, slapping tambourines, pounding drums, the singers trading off leads and wailing out contrapuntal harmonies-its infectious. Their drummer, Kevin Weber is particularly impressive, gracefully banging out manic time signatures with clockwork precision.
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Best of 2009: Matthew Hickey on Girls
December 29, 2009
I had not put much thought into just how awesome the Bay Area music scene was until I started the Local Pairings column over at Musical Pairings @ eating/sf. In fact, I recall wondering whether I could continue to find local bands that I would want to post about every week. Of course, as I’ve learned, there is no shortage of amazing talent in the Bay Area. In fact, four albums by Bay Area artists (5 if you count Thao With The Get Down Stay Down who are new Bay Area transplants) made my “best of 2009″ list over at Musical Pairings: Papercuts, John Vanderslice, Or, The Whale, and Girls.
Of those records, though, Girls’ Album hit me the hardest. It is my favorite Bay Area album because it just “feels” like a musical snapshot of San Francisco in 2009. It is equal parts sophisticated & drugged out; juvenile & mature; ugly & beautiful; and hazy & sunny. As I noted in my prior review of the album: “like San Francisco itself, each song is a micro-climate of a greater, cohesive whole with the result that songs are sometimes sunny, sometimes foggy, but most are a little of both.” And most importantly – it is just so damn good.
Girls - Hellhole Ratrace
Girls – “Hellhole Ratrace”
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Support Bay Area music before the end of 2009!
December 29, 2009
As we approach the end of 2009 we’re thankful to have completed another year of exciting projects here at The Bay Bridged. If you’re looking for an organization to support before the year ends, please consider a tax-deductible donation to ours.
In 2009, we expanded and deepened our online coverage of the San Francisco Bay Area indie music scene, hosted a ton of live music events and continued to find new and innovative ways to introduce Bay Area musicians to their local community and to the world. Your support of our efforts is greatly appreciated, and thanks to our fiscal sponsorship by Independent Arts & Media, all donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
If you are unable to give, please consider purchasing an item from our online store. We’ve reduced prices by 33% for the holiday season, so there are some very affordable ways to support The Bay Bridged and get something great in return.
Thank you for considering this request and best wishes for the New Year.
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Best of 2009: Broke Ass Stuart on Or, the Whale
December 29, 2009
People offer me all kinds of free shit. Seriously, if I accepted all of it I’d probably be dead of either cirrhosis or syphilis by now*. But one thing I never turn down is free music. I may not always listen to what’s given to me, but I always accept it. And this is exactly how I got my grubby little hands on Or, The Whale’s recent self titled album.
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Or, the Whale – “Rusty Gold”
Despite having known some of the members socially for a couple years and having interviewed them a few years ago at the Treasure Island Music Festival, I had never actually given their music a good listen (What can I say? Half the people I know are in bands). Then one night a few months ago I was at a party at Lindsay Garfield’s house (one of the singers) and she gave me a copy of the album. Being that it was a party and that I am, ahem…me, I got pretty drunk and totally forgot the album there but luckily remembered it the next day. So I hit her up on ye olde internet and got it back shortly afterwards. I’ve been listening to it ever since.
Or The Whale’s tight instrumentation and pretty harmonies are what initially drew me in, but it was the melodies and folksy lyrics that kept me putting the album on repeat. Despite that previous sentence sounding like every clichéd line about music ever, I actually mean it. The album is perfect for unwinding with beer after a long day and letting your mind wander. It also makes me wanna learn how to properly high off some jimson weed. And some Salvia too for that matter. Fuck, I thought I was past this stage in my life…..
*yes I know syphilis is curable but doesn’t it just sound so pretty coming after cirrhosis?
Broke Ass Stuart can be found over at his web site or on twitter at @brokeassstuart.
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Best of 2009: Eli Crews of New, Improved Recording on Michael Zapruder
December 28, 2009
Michael Zapruder‘s most recent record, mouthfully entitled Dragon Chinese Cocktail Horoscope, provides pleasure on multiple levels. Most striking at first, at least to the ears of an engineer, is the abundance of successful production ideas. Zapruder and co-producer Scott Solter (John Vanderslice, The Mountain Goats) provide many juicy moments for the headphone set, but always in service of the song at hand. The stylistic eclecticism of the record appeals greatly to the ADD in me, but somehow the record still seems grounded and whole — Zapruder’s voice is strong and expressive, and provides the necessary thread between piano ballads and electro-pop. Many of the songs take unexpected turns, (reference the bitch’n flute break in “Ads For Feelings”), and others contain nuggets of compositional complexity without sounding complex. It may take a few listens to digest all of the layers on this record, but in my humble opinion it’s very well worth the time spent.
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Michael Zapruder – “Ads For Feelings”
Eli Crews is the owner of New, Improved Recording in Oakland, California and a partner in our New, Improved, LIVE recording sessions.
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Best of 2009: Micayla Grace of Leopold and his Fiction on Vetiver
December 28, 2009
One of my favorite SF-based release from 2009 is Vetiver’s Tight Knit. Listening to this album is as soothing as is a cup of chamomile tea with honey on a rainy day – or like plugging in an air purifier in a smoky hotel room in Texas. Tight Knit is beautifully timeless from start to finish, confident and optimistic, and listening to it evokes a notion that reminds me to enjoy life’s moments, however swift and fleeting. Oh yea, and one of my favorite musical moments of ‘09 was listing to “Everyday†live from the top of the Treasure Island Music Festival ferris wheel. Honestly, beat that!
vetiver-everyday.mp3
Vetiver – “Everyday”
For more information and to hear the music of Leopold and his Fiction head to their MySpace and web site.
