This week, the podcast features a mix of terrific new songs from some great Bay Area bands alongside our latest follow-up interview with a band we profiled long ago. In this episode, we check in with Elephone, whose latest album Canister finds them further exploring dark textures and catchy melodies with equally high skill. We sat down with Ryan, Sierra and Terry in our studio to discuss the inspiration behind the new record, how Sierra’s joining the band has developed their sound, and each member’s favorite songs on Canister.

About all of the bands:

We first interviewed San Francisco’s Elephone (”El Jefe”; later, “Day For Night” and “As Seen On TV”) after the release of their last album about two years ago, so it was great to speak with the band about their exciting new work Canister, available from Talking House Records. You can hear more at Elephone’s MySpace page and can see them live on August 27th at Bottom of the Hill. Be sure to also check out the video for “El Jefe” here.

Mixing jangly country-rock with a modern rock feel, The Red Verse (”Circles”) have created a unique sound that lends itself well to the band’s driving songwriting and Alex Oneil’s compelling vocals. The quartet, which also features former members of Beulah and Every Move A Picture, recently released their debut album No Chance For Romance on local favorite Tricycle Records, and you can also visit them over on MySpace.

Winter’s Fall (”Paper Chains”) recently released their self-titled debut full length, and it’s a thoroughly engaging mix of indie, country and folk rock sounds. You can hear more at the band’s MySpace page and web site. They will be performing at the Rickshaw Stop on September 10th.

Featuring former members of Tsunami Bomb, San Francisco’s The Action Design (”Landmines”) serve up tight, danceable rock-pop on their new album, Never Say, available on September 23rd from PopSmear Records. Check them out on their MySpace page and web site. Before heading out on a national tour, the band will be at Bottom of the Hill on August 30th.

The Trophy Fire (”Jenny Under House Arrest”) craft lush emotional indie pop on their debut A Lifetime In The Middle Of The Ocean, which recently came out on Talking House Records. You can hear the whole album and find links to purchase it over at their MySpace page. The band celebrates the CD’s release with a show on September 4th at the Rickshaw Stop.

From Livermore, Jonathan Meek and The Mutes (”The City I Love”) recently sent us their debut EP Irony & Pity, a collection of earnest rock songwriting fixed in a compelling DIY aesthetic. While Meek doesn’t have any upcoming shows, you can hear more of his music at his web site and MySpace page.

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This week, our podcast spotlights Excuses for Skipping, a San Francisco indie rock quartet whose 2007 debut Out of Work Early has earned them a bevy of strong reviews for its mix of spacey experimental elements and thick soaring melodies. The album showcases a strong control of both dynamics and layering, as the band can use powerful stacked vocal harmonies and guitars just as well as it can deconstruct those textures into compelling moody pieces. It’s catchy, dense rock with strong moments spread liberally throughout.

As we learned during our interview with the group, that seemingly familiar but unplaceable atmospheric rock sound comes from a willingness to experiment with styles drawn from their diverse musical backgrounds and frequently inspired by their other artistic interests. While the band arises out of something of a songwriting experiment for guitarists Tammy and Linda, the addition of bassist Wendy and drummer Allison have added a dancier feel now reflected in the band’s frequent and well-received live shows at local clubs, house parties, and street festivals.

In addition to an interview we conducted several weeks back with Tammy, Linda, and Wendy, the episode includes four songs from the band’s debut album.

Upcoming Shows:

Friday, August 29th
Bottom Of The Hill
with Vin Rouge and The New Up
10pm, $10

Wednesday, September 24th
Hotel Utah
with The Bruises, The Shondes and Forever
9pm, $7

Links:

- Visit Excuses for Skipping’s MySpace page and web site

- Watch the video for “Decision to be Normal” on YouTube

- Purchase Out of Work Early on iTunes or from CDBaby

Are you subscribed to the The Bay Bridged weekly podcast? Click here to get each new episode downloaded free to your iTunes the moment it is published!

This week’s featured band is Judgement Day, a violin-cello-drums trio from Oakland that plays instrumental rock that’s as intense as it is unconventional. Unlike the many who abandon their early instruments for guitars, Anton and Lewis Patzner use their classical training to explore rock motifs, amplifying the results through the manipulation of a variety of effects pedals and the similarly strong drumming of bandmate Jon Bush.

The Patzners’ innovative use of effects and the band’s heavy sound have led many to label their band “string metal,” although their unique setup and ability to go acoustic or electric means that the trio continues to play shows with punk rockers and indie poppers alike. As we learned during the interview, the process of recording their second full length album has found them exploring slower tempos and different sounds, moving from string metal to heavy, powerful rock. They’ve also gained experience accompanying other more veteran groups on tour, as they did recently with Mates of State.

We sat down with Anton and Lewis a few weeks ago in our studio to discuss Judgement Day’s upcoming album, the group’s early performances, and the things they’ve learned from playing with other bands. We also recorded an exclusive impromptu jam featuring Anton on violin and Lewis on percussion. It’s a great performance that showcases the band’s intuitive sense of creativity and eye-widening musicianship.

Upcoming Shows:

The Bay Bridged Presents:
Sunday, August 17th
Cafe du Nord
with Geographer (CD Release!) and Cotillion

Links:

- Visit Judgement Day’s MySpace page, blog, and YouTube channel

- Purchase Judgement Day’s albums on iTunes

Are you subscribed to the The Bay Bridged weekly podcast? Click here to get each new episode downloaded free to your iTunes the moment it is published!

This week’s podcast episode is our latest in the Live This Month series, spotlighting some of our favorite local and touring bands playing some excellent shows in August. Check out some information on all of the bands below:

We kick off the show with a song from Innocent Ghosts, the debut album from Geographer (”Each Other’s Ghost”) (Feature Podcast). The band celebrates the new CD’s release with a show we’re presenting at Cafe du Nord on Sunday, August 17th. The concert also features headliner Judgement Day and Cotillion.

Preston School of Industry (”Somethings Happen Always”) leader (and Pavement alumnus) Spiral Stairs headlines Parkerpalooza V on August 23rd at 12 Galaxies. It’s a packed lineup, with Still Flyin’, Kelley Stoltz, Hank IV and more.

After multiple albums as a studio-only project, We Is Shore Dedicated (”Tindersticks and Russian River”) will have their first live performance at the Hemlock Tavern on Thursday, August 21st. It’s a great all-local bill, also featuring The Old Fashioned Way and The Lonelyhearts (Feature Podcast).

Touring behind their debut full length National Road, Portland folk-rock quartet Bark Hide and Horn (”Treasure of the Everglades”) have a couple of upcoming Bay Area dates. The band will be at Mama Buzz Cafe on August 20th, with Beatbeat Whisper (Feature Podcast) and Dame Satan. They’ll also be joining Jackpot at Cafe du Nord on the 21st (more details below).

Trainwreck Riders (”Alemony Wildlife Refuge”) (Feature Podcast) are one of twelve great local bands performing alongside fifty local craft vendors at the Rock Make Street Festival on Sunday, August 24th, on Treat Street between 17th and 18th Streets. The festival’s free and all day and should be a great time! You can read all about it here, and we’ll have more details in the coming weeks.

Sacramento’s Jackpot (”Chemical Reaction”) head to the Bay this month for a date at Cafe du Nord on Thursday, August 21st. Two Sheds (Feature Podcast), Kings & Queens, and Bark Hide and Horn also perform.

San Francisco’s The Union Trade (”Talk”) release their new album Everyday Including this month, and are headlining a Tricycle Records showcase at Bottom of the Hill on Wednesday, August 27th. The show’s also the CD release party for One Becomes One Hundred and features a performance by Elephone (Feature Podcast).

Seattle synth rockers Head Like A Kite (”No Ordinary Caveman”) are touring in support of their new album There Is Loud Laughter Everywhere. The band joins Scissors for Lefty and DJ Bagel Ted at the Rickshaw Stop on Saturday, August 30th.

Austin’s The Octopus Project (”I Saw the Bright Shinies”) return to San Francisco on their seemingly never-ending tour, with a August 16th stop at Bottom of the Hill. The Hot Toddies (Feature Podcast), Sassy!!!, and Diagonals are also on the bill.

Are you subscribed to the The Bay Bridged weekly podcast? Click here to get each new episode downloaded free to your iTunes the moment it is published!

This week’s episode is our latest monthly mix, featuring new music from six great Bay Area bands and our latest follow-up interview with a group we’ve previously featured on the podcast.

About this week’s music:

The show kicks off with a song from Birdmonster, off their new album From The Mountain To The Sea (”The Iditarod”; later, “Born To Be Your Man” and “I Might Have Guessed”). For our follow-up segment, airing in the second half of the episode, we sat down with the band to discuss how both their sound and sense of perspective have evolved in the two years since we first interviewed them, and the three since the release of their breakout album No Midnight. From The Mountain To The Sea will be released digitally next week, with a physical release in September.

Synth-rock trio French Miami (”The God Damn Best”) contributed a disturbingly catchy song from their debut Science Fiction EP, self-released earlier this year. The band has a number of upcoming shows in SF, including a performance at Kimo’s on August 1st, at the Hemlock Tavern on August 22nd, and at the Rock Make Street Festival on August 24th.

Sacramento-/San Francisco-based The Definite Articles (”Elixirs”) recently released their debut album, titled Boy Wonder. It’s a strong release from the six-piece band, whose rock is augmented by some great string arrangements. We recently published photos from the group’s CD release show here.

Apache’s (”Boys Life”) full length debut, Boomtown Gems, draws from a variety of 70s punk and glam sounds, and it’s the latest release from the always-quality Birdman Records. The group includes members of The Cuts, Parchman Farm, and Ghenghis Khan, and they’ll be heading to the New York next week for an extensive East Coast tour.

Featuring members of The Court & Spark and The Bellyachers among others, the veteran musicians of Parker Brothers (”Leave Me Alone”) deliver an inspired retro-rock sound on their debut First, Best, Last. You can download their song “Your Hometown” here and purchase the album on iTunes.

As we noted previously, Andy Tisdall (”Secret”) just released his new album Cotton Cannibals, another fine collection of experimental folk pop. Tisdall’s group Little Teeth releases their debut album next month on Absolutely Kosher Records.

Are you subscribed to the The Bay Bridged weekly podcast? Click here to get each new episode downloaded free to your iTunes the moment it is published!

This week’s podcast features Minipop, a San Francisco quartet who describe their music as akin to “marshmallows on morphine and Care-Bears on Xanax”–an appropriate, if exaggerated, way to describe the group’s warm, enveloping dream-pop. Founded in 2004, the band has steadily built a strong following through lauded live performances and a well-received EP, before marking a new milestone late last year with their first full length record, A New Hope. Released on local label Take Root Records, the album is a rich recording that deftly and simultaneously balances catchy melodies and beautiful atmospherics.

In a scene populated with bands influenced by the shoegaze sound, Minipop succeeds with an arsenal of not-so-secret weapons, led by singer Tricia Kanne, whose sweet voice mesmerizes as it weaves through the surrounding dense layers of keyboard and guitar. Finding the right balance of layers can itself be a precarious process, but on A New Hope, the band, with the help of producer Chris Manning, skillfully charts a path toward euphoria, not claustrophobia. Following a nationwide tour in May, the band’s now back home, recuperating and plotting its next steps.

We sat down with Minipop’s Lauren Grubb (Drums) and Matthew Swanson (Guitars/Keyboards) last week to discuss the efforts that led up to their debut album as well as what the band’s planning for its future. The episode also features four songs from A New Hope.

Upcoming Shows:

Friday, August 1st
The Independent
with Sholi and Voxhaul Broadcast
9pm, $12 advance/$14 door (Purchase advanced tickets here)

Links:

- Hear more at Minipop’s MySpace page and web site

- Purchase A New Hope, out now on Take Root Records, via iTunes and Amazon

- Check out the video for “Like I Do” on YouTube

Are you subscribed to the The Bay Bridged weekly podcast? Click here to get each new episode downloaded free to your iTunes the moment it is published!

This episode is presented by KQED Interactive.

This week’s podcast features Two Sheds, a band whose melodic folk-rock songwriting has impressed us since we first heard their terrific debut Strange Ammunition a couple years ago. At that time, the group resided in Sacramento, where husband and wife duo Caitlin and John Gutenberger still live, but with two band members now based in the City and frequent performances here, we’re proud to consider them rising stars in the Bay Area indie music scene. We certainly aren’t the only ones, as the group’s local profile has been aided by some supportive bands and bloggers.

It was a bit disarming to learn that this is Caitlin’s first band, and even more unsettling to find out that the singer-guitarist began writing songs just four years ago. Already, it seems she’s able to build both quiet moody pieces and uptempo rockers, while the band’s mix of folk, rock, pop and Americana stays uncluttered, raw, and beautiful. With a new self-titled EP released in May on the Fllter label and scattered touring throughout the summer and fall, Two Sheds is poised to reach an even bigger audience, and that’s a development we eagerly await.

We sat down with Caitlin and John at in our studio a few weeks ago to discuss their new release, the group’s origins, and life and music in Sacramento. Along with the interview, the episode features two songs from the new EP and two from Strange Ammunition.

Upcoming Shows:

Thursday, August 14th
Sophia’s Thai Kitchen (Davis, CA)
with Or, the Whale
10pm, $tba

Friday, August 15th
The Blackwater Cafe (Stockton, CA)
with Birds & Batteries
8pm, $tba

Thursday, August 21st
Cafe du Nord
with Jackpot, Kings & Queens and Bark Hide and Horn
9pm, $10

Links:

- Visit Two Sheds’ MySpace page and web site

- Purchase the Two Sheds EP on iTunes, the group’s split 7″ with Dame Satan from Ghost Mansion, and Strange Ammunition at Insound

Are you subscribed to the The Bay Bridged weekly podcast? Click here to get each new episode downloaded free to your iTunes the moment it is published!

This week’s featured band is The Lightning Bug Situation, the solo project of San Francisco’s Brian Miller, who you might also know as one-half of local rock duo The Speakers. Miller’s latest Lightning Bug Situation album, A Leaf; A Stream, rightly found a place on many critics’ best-of-2007 lists, with a hushed, skillfully-layered mix of folk-rock, melodic indie pop and compositional instrumental music. Like many great albums, it’s a mesmerizing long-player, as songs frequently bleed into instrumentals and back again. It’s also an album of intense lyrical themes both macro and micro, with Brian confronting the war in Iraq and becoming a new father, as filtered through the lens of family relationships.

In dissecting the meaning of family, Brian conducted interviews with his family members about their thoughts and memories on a variety of personal subjects. Inspired by long drives spent listening to episodes of This American Life, the artist layered portions of these interviews on top of music for a powerful, emotional effect. There’s a startling honesty to these interviews, so it seemed natural that Miller spoke with a sincere honesty when we sat down with him a few weeks ago in our studio. From our conversation, it’s clear that his skills as lyricist and interviewer are both inspired by and the result of a thoughtful process of self-examination. It’s also a process that’s clearly still ongoing, as Brian offered new reflections on the album’s lyrics and themes about a year after its release.

In addition to portions of that interview, we’ve also included three songs from A Leaf; A Stream in this episode. We’re also pleased to debut an exclusive unreleased song written by a unique lyricist; you’ll have to listen to the episode for the details.

Links:

- The Lightning Bug Situation’s (and The Speakers’) web site and MySpace page

- View a Take-Away Show featuring The Lightning Bug Situation at La Blogotheque

- Purchase A Leaf; A Stream from CDBaby and on iTunes

Are you subscribed to the The Bay Bridged weekly podcast? Click here to get each new episode downloaded free to your iTunes the moment it is published!

This week’s podcast episode spotlights some great Bay Area shows coming up in July and includes music from both local and touring bands. There’s plenty of terrific stuff here, so be sure to go out and see some shows!

Elephone (”Eddie Izzard”) kicks off the show with a song from their brand new album Canister, out July 15th on Talking House Records. The band’s CD release party is July 16th at the Great American Music Hall, and also features Scissors For Lefty, Locksley, The Matches‘ Shawn Harris and Jon Devoto, and Murder of Lilies.

We’ve also included Low Red Land’s (”Gunfighter’s Lament/The Duke”) performance from our first video podcast episode, which you can check out here and subscribe to via iTunes here. They’ll be performing on July 4th at El Rio with Two Sheds, Caves, and a whole bunch more, and acoustically on July 24th at Cafe du Nord with Raised by Robots, The Paper Sons and Parker Street Cinema.

Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Tim Fite (”Big Mistake”) is touring behind his latest album Fair Ain’t Fair, out now on Anti- Records. He’ll be performing at Bottom of the Hill on July 28th with The Watson Twins and Okay.

As we announced yesterday, we’re proud to present the CD release party for 20 Minute Loop’s (”Dr. Vitus Werdegast”) brand new album Famous People Marry Famous People. To hear more songs and find out more about the album, check out our feature podcast on the band. The show’s on July 11th at Bottom of the Hill and also features Caves and Man/Miracle.

Barcelona’s El Guincho (”Palmitos Park”) tops a terrific bill at The Independent on July 28th. Presented by XLR8R, the show also features locals Tussle, Lemonade, and Disco Shawn and Oro11.

San Diego dancey rock trio Grand Ole Party (”Look Out Young Son”) continue their West Coast tour behind their album Humanimals. Catch them with Sugar and Gold (Feature Podcast) and Shannon and the Clams at Bottom of the Hill on July 22nd.

Davis band The Zim-Zims (”Cooler”) released two well-regarded records before disbanding in 2005, with members Jake Mann (Feature Podcast) and Sholi’s Eric Ruud (Feature Podcast) now active members of the Bay Area music scene. The band’s getting back together for two reunion shows in July, including one at the Hemlock Tavern on the 20th, with Joe Finkel and Indian Style.

With a new album out later this year, The Aimless Never Miss (”The Obvious”) (Feature Podcast) have three Bay Area shows in July, including a top-notch bill at the Starry Plough on the 25th with Tartufi, Cloud Archive, and The New Centuries. They’re also part of a similarly strong lineup with at The Knockout on the 30th, with Sleepover Disaster and Pillows.

Now touring as a solo artist, Phil Wilson (”Penelope Tree”) gained cult success in the 1980s as a member of twee-influencing indie pop band The June Brides. He’ll be joined by terrific Bay Area groups Magic Bullets (Feature Podcast) and The Mantles at the Rickshaw Stop on July 23rd.

We conclude the show with a new song from Tussle (”ABACBA”), recorded live at The Echo in Los Angeles last year. The studio version will be on the band’s next album Cream Cuts, out in August on Smalltown Supersound. In addition to the date with El Guincho discussed above, the group’s going to be at Cellspace on July 4th, with Sic Alps, The Fresh and Onlys, and more.

Are you subscribed to the The Bay Bridged weekly podcast? Click here to get each new episode downloaded free to your iTunes the moment it is published!

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.

San Francisco’s Young Moderns (”It’s A Dirty Job”) fly the power pop banner proudly on their upcoming album New Mission Renaissance. Catch this sextet at Amnesia this Thursday, June 26th, with My Sweet Earthquake, also included in this mix. They’ve also got a bunch of great live videos at their web site.

Ash Reiter’s (”La Bahia”) self-titled album incorporates elements of jazz, folk and pop alongside her compelling vocals. She’s got a number of upcoming dates around the Bay, including one this Thursday, June 26th at the Million Fishes Gallery, and was recently the subject of a Daytrotter session.

My First Earthquake (”Stupid Baby”) brought us a fun synth-rock track from their recently-released debut EP. You can find out more about them in this interview Emily recently conducted and at their web site where they’ve posted videos, remixes and more. The band will be at Amnesia this Thursday, June 26th, with Young Moderns.

Fronted by a Belgian named Emile who their press release notes is addicted to plastic surgery and speaks little English, Mon Cousin Belge (”Tweaker Bitch”) brought us a rocking garage-meets-soul track from their upcoming album Quelle Horreur, out soon on World Famous in San Francisco. They’ll be at Thee Parkside on June 28th, with Ice Cream Socialites and The Caldonias.

Are you subscribed to the The Bay Bridged weekly podcast? Click here to get each new episode downloaded free to your iTunes the moment it is published!

This week’s featured band is Built for the Sea, a San Francisco quartet whose textured rock-pop calls to mind to the legacies of shoegazer and melodic alternative rock music without drawing too heavily from either camp. The group started as a songwriting project for singer-keyboardist Lia Rose, a veteran of the Bay Area music scene, and their 2006 self-titled album showcases her strong command of soaring melodies and bittersweet personal lyrics. Rose’s voice has drawn many listeners into the band’s music and it’s central to the songs too, a versatile instrument equally capable of airy musings and earthy wisdom.

But while the group started as Rose’s, it has evolved into a truly collaborative band full of talented musicians. We’ve actually already interviewed members of this band twice before on the podcast, speaking with guitarist Jonny Latimer as a member of The Aimless Never Miss and drummer Eric Kuhn for his band Silian Rail. With fourth bandmate Daniel Mckenzie also a member of Shuteye Unison and formerly of the now-defunct The Rum Diary, it’s a collection of songwriters and performers to be reckoned with and suggests an exciting new chapter for the band.

In addition to our interview with Rose, Latimer, and Mckenzie, we’ve included four songs in this episode–two from their 2006 debut and two from the Rose Hill Collective’s recently-released Volume 2 compilation. You’ll hear more about the Collective in the interview.

Upcoming Shows:

Saturday, August 30th
Bottom of the Hill
with The Action Design, Shuteye Unison, and Carcrashlander
9pm, $8 advance/$10 door, All Ages (Purchase tickets here)

Links:

- Built for the Sea’s MySpace page and web site

- Purchase their self-titled debut album from CDBaby and on iTunes

- Download a bunch of BftS songs at FreeIndie.com

- Visit the Rose Hill Collective’s MySpace page

Are you subscribed to the The Bay Bridged weekly podcast? Click here to get each new episode downloaded free to your iTunes the moment it is published!

The Blacksmiths capture those dynamics well on their second album, Young Family Song, released last month on Vanguard Squad Records. Coming three years after their well-received self-titled debut, the guys opted out of self-recording this time around, instead working with producer Desmond Shea to capture the feel of their live performances. That live feeling gives the record an inviting looseness, allowing song layers to breathe without ever becoming jammy. It’s an exciting and unique album that you can lose yourself listening to in its entirety and should herald new successes for the skilled group.

In addition to an interview with the guys, conducted last week in our studio, the episode also includes four songs from their new album.

Upcoming Shows:

Thursday, July 3rd
12 Galaxies
with Megafaun
9pm, $tba

Friday, July 11th
Live on Cool As Folk on KDVS

Friday, July 11th
Sophia’s Thai Kitchen (Davis, CA)
with Prairie Dog
10pm, $tba

Links:

- MySpace page and web site

- Vanguard Squad Records, where you can purchase Young Family Song and other LotB releases and stream songs from the band’s catalog

Are you subscribed to the The Bay Bridged weekly podcast? Click here to get each new episode downloaded free to your iTunes the moment it is published!

Portland’s The Helio Sequence (”Everyone Knows Everyone”) kick off the episode with some of their bright, layered pop. The duo will be at Slim’s on June 17th, with Talkdemonic and A Decent Animal.

After an impressive performance at Noise Pop, Fleet Foxes (”White Winter Hymnal”) return to the Bay with a headlining appearance at Bottom of the Hill on Thursday, June 26th. The Dutchess And The Duke and Mist And Mast (Feature Podcast) will support.

With a new EP out today and a full length on the way later this year, it’s a busy time to be Oxford Collapse (”Amongst Friends”). The band’s co-headlining tour with Frightened Rabbit stops at The Independent on June 21st.

The Dodos (Feature Podcast) (”Fools”) headline the next The Bay Bridged Presents concert, happening at The Independent on Thursday, June 19th. It’s a great lineup, also including The Oh Sees and Dreamdate (Feature Podcast). We’ll be back tomorrow with more details on the show, but you should get your tickets as soon as possible!

Love is Chemicals (Feature Podcast) (”Our Darkest Days and Nights”) join local comrades HIJK (Feature Podcast) and Touch Committee for a quality bill of indie rock later this month. The show’s at the Red Devil Lounge on June 14th.

Brooklyn pop duo Pete and J (”This Is It”) sent us a great demo of a song from their upcoming album. They’re co-headlining at The Independent on June 5th with Or, the Whale (Feature Podcast) at a show co-presented by KALX and The Deli SF. Greg Ashley (Feature Podcast) also performs.

Currently working on their debut full length album, San Francisco’s LoveLikeFire (Feature Podcast) (”Wish You Dead”) are one of three great groups at Cafe du Nord on June 20th. Loquat and The Union Trade, both with new albums coming out later this year, will also perform.

San Francisco indie poppers Scrabbel (Feature Podcast) (”Emily, I”) have an all-too-rare show at the Rickshaw Stop on June 25th. They’ll be joined Plants and Animals and Oakland’s Greg Ashley.

Sacramento- and San Francisco-representing Two Sheds (”To Be Alive”) will be playing at Annie’s Social Club on June 11th, having released a new EP last month. The show, presented by ipickmynose, also features performances from Geographer (Feature Podcast), Friday Mile, and Marabelle Phoenix.

Supporting their latest Polyvinyl Records release Boo Human, Joan of Arc (”Eventually, All at Once”) will be in town on June 5th, at Rickshaw Stop alongside 31 Knots and Maus Haus.

Man/Miracle (Feature Podcast) (”31 Guns”) is one of three great local bands performing at WireTap Music’s latest show, at Thee Parkside on June 18th. The show also includes Bay Bridged-approved bands The Blank Tapes (Feature Podcast) and Harbours (Feature Podcast).

Dosh (”Live at Bottom of the Hill”) is touring behind his fourth LP, Wolves And Wishes, out last month on Anticon Records. He’ll be at Bottom of the Hill on June 14th alongside Anathallo, Best Wishes and DJ Odd Nosdam.

Are you subscribed to the The Bay Bridged weekly podcast? Click here to get each new episode downloaded free to your iTunes the moment it is published!

Local garage-rockers The Mantles (”Trust”) have been receiving quite a bit of good press for their debut 7″ on Dulc-i-tone Records. The group has a number of shows coming up in June and July, with their next at the Hemlock Tavern on June 13th.

Last of the Blacksmiths (”At An Early Hour”) recently celebrated the release of their new album entitled Young Family Song and the CD is a worthy follow-up to the group’s excellent 2005 debut. The band will be at Sophia’s in Davis on July 11th.

Local synth-poppers Sweetie (”Saturdays”) celebrate the release of their brand new Saturdays EP, out today on local label Gold Robot Records. You can check out another song from the record over at Macktronic.

Girls‘ (”Lust for Life”) psych-influenced lo-fi pop impressed us a whole lot recently and we’re excited to check out their debut 7″, now available for pre-order from True Panther Records. The band’s record release show will be on July 5th at the Hotel Utah.

Recently featured band Beatbeat Whisper (”Mismanaged Skies”) recently released their second album, Wonder Continental, and it’s really terrific. Although they don’t have any Bay Area dates lined up, they’ll be heading on a Pacific Northwest tour in July.

Moomaw (”September”), also known as singer-songwriter Nathan Moomaw, recently released 26 on his label Gazebo Music. The CD is a collection of songs written and recorded one-per-month during the year he was age 26. He’ll be performing at Penny Arcade’s third anniversary show on Wednesday, June 3rd at the Make-Out Room.

The Heated (”Hot Bastard!”) is Cristina Espinosa, formerly of punk band The Pre-Teens, who played all of the instruments on the project’s recently released self-titled EP. You can hear more of her indie pop-rock at El Rio tonight, May 27th, and at Blondie’s on June 9th.

San Francisco folk duo The BrokenMusicBox (”Time”) released their debut album Waking the Sound earlier this year. In addition to primary band members Kimberly Contreras and Tony Wentzel the CD features musical contributions from members of 31Knots, Film School and The Pleasure Kills.

Tippy Canoe and the Paddlemen (”Mass Transmissions”), recently reviewed here, celebrate the release of their new CD Parasols and Pekingese on June 15th at the Make-Out Room. After that, the group’s taking their old-timey pop to the East Coast.

Are you subscribed to the The Bay Bridged weekly podcast? Click here to get each new episode downloaded free to your iTunes the moment it is published!