This Friday, in particular, was a show I’ve been looking forward to. When a man claims his show has the late great Dr.Hunter S. Thompson as in inspiration (in the good Dr’s city mind you) you’ve grabbed my attention… … The Damn Fanatics, The Street Hearts, and WhaleSoundz @ Neck of the Woods (Richmond District,...Continue Reading

You know it’s going to be a great week when EVERY DAY there is an event that you should attend. Last week was an amazing week to be in the greater San Francisco area for music. Let’s start on Monday at Amoeba… There was a Cloud Nothings set that felt more like a living room...Continue Reading

I caught this photo of Travis Hayes minutes before he hit the stage at Bottom Of The Hill to play his album release show for his new self-released full length, Young Daze. He was in good spirits. It was a Supermoon. The place was packed. Trebuchet and Christian Lee Hutson were putting on good sets....Continue Reading

Not one, not two not three, not four not five but six shows worth seeing this weekend! That’s right! But my count, there are 6 great shows in 3 short days coming up Bay Area! And undoubtedly there are several others I’ve missed. So what’re you waiting for! Let’s talk shows! With this wide variety of genres,...Continue Reading

If there’s one thing a performer needs to have, its a total understanding of timing. You need to know when to slow a set down, speed it up, and work the crowd, etc, etc… Timing is something I need to get better at when writing these reviews. (and forget excuses, sure I’m busy and have...Continue Reading

This is a review I’ve been looking forward to writing. I never know for sure what I’m going to get when I go see a band. Yeah, I can listen to the new single from a band, stream the album online and even enjoy the music on a CD (Yes I still listen to cd’s)…...Continue Reading

As a youth, Duncan ‘DonCat’ Nielsen’s grandma gave him an odd pile of European released Beach Boys tapes, which lead him to the record store searching for other oddities. Coming from a family of music enthusiasts, including a dad with a penchant for Cream and the blue shades of Jimi Hendrix, a brother with drum...Continue Reading

San Diego native Melvoy now calls San Francisco his home, and it sounds like the Bay Area is happy to have him. Melvoy (real name Emmanuel Castro – perfect) records high energy, brazen millennial surf-rock with just enough attitude to keep you on your toes. The full Melvoy solo album is released later this summer, but the track San Francisco (a catchy spooky...Continue Reading

Helpful self-promotion tips for songwriters included naming your influences in the subject line of cold emails to potential blogs. But getting an intro from someone you share in common is always best. Incremental growth is your friend. Set reasonable goals and use all the analytic data you can to track your progress. If you have a...Continue Reading

It’s not exactly news to me that Coachella is a new breed at this point in time. I can remember going in 2010 and seeing double the people there than my first time in 2007. The festival had sold out, and roughly 20k people had snuck in.Continue Reading

Two and a half minutes into the title track, you can tell that SF Bay Area’s Whiskerman has figured it out. You know, like the musical equivalent of the ‘nail on the head.’ That perfect blend of catchy and unique, an accessible but eye-opening style, a lot of talent and excellent songwriting. Bad News (the...Continue Reading

San Francisco music community, I love you but some times you bring me down… (ala James Murphy) When I was going to SHOWS back in lil ol’ Wyoming, it was a given that a SHOW meant going to see EVERYBODY playing that evening. Its basic D.I.Y etiquette really; that all bands playing on a bill...Continue Reading