Always More to Hear

Etta James dies at 73, a goodbye to one of the all time greats

2012-01-20T09:36:00.000-08:00

I just like looking at her. She was so unique.

Etta James is, to me, the pinnacle of Soul music. As a singer, she is one of my favorites of all time. She nails the growling as well as the silky smooth. After learning her story and seeing her live she became even more inspiring.

Etta was someone with a rage to live as well as a "rage to survive" (The name of her Autobiography with David Ritz, which I highly recommend). She lived hard and lived surprisingly long for all that she put her body through. And her music reflected all this. You can feel it. This was not a person who lacked personality.

As a woman, she pushed some major boundaries. She was physically relatively large. She had a huge voice that was powerful in its sexuality and passion, something that made mid-century white mainstream America uncomfortable.

As a woman she is inspiring to me, balancing power, passion and femininity. I've realized that I hold most singers to this standard. To me she is perfection. Her music is perfection.

Yes, Etta had demons. And she overcame them, with a little help from friends like the Chess Brothers. While reading "Rage to Survive" I was moved by their relationship. While the biopic "Cadillac Records" capitalized off of this relationship in the Hollywood way, Etta credited Leonard Chess for saving her. For instance she had given him possession to the deed of her home in Compton, so even when she was totally down and out, she still had a place to sleep and had something to call her own.

I know it's cheesy, but this is the song I will be singing at my wedding.

Anyway, I wanted to pay this lovely lady a tribute on the day of her death.

Thank you Etta, for all of your music

For all your pain, for all your joy, your passion

Thank you for sharing that with the world.

Guest Hosting on Voicebox KALW 91.7

2012-01-12T16:17:00.000-08:00

Almost a month ago, Matt Lombardi and I were invited to guest host on VoiceBox 91.7 KALW with Chloe Veltman to represent and talk about Hear it Local.

As a show/podcast focusing on the voice, I chose to feature a collection of female Bay Area singers that I love. The show was on the air last weekend as "Bay Area Bombshells". Listening to myself on the radio gushing about these women I find so inspiring was an interesting experience. I love radio and I hope I get to do it again!

To listen, CLICK HERE and scroll down to the bottom of the list to "VoiceBox"

Here's the playlist in case you were interested:

1) "Then It Starts to Feel Like Summer" by The SHE's, vocalist: Hannah Valente / Then It Starts To Feel Like Summer

2) "Float and Fall" by Meklit Hadero / On a Day Like This

3) "Monkey Gone to Heaven" by the Pixies, performed by Conspiracy of Venus / UnderCover Presents The Pixies' Doolittle

4) "Opa Cupa Fly" by Brass Menazeri Brass Band, vocalist: Bridget Boyle / Vranjski San

5) "Many Seasons" by Kacey Johansing / Many Seasons

6) "With You" by Dreams, vocalist: Emily Ritz

7) "Driving is Fun" by Dina Maccabee / Who Do You Suppose You Are?

8) "Stay" by Crystal Monee Hall / River Train

9) "Cadillac" by Con Brio, vocalist: Xandra Corpora / From The Hip

10) "Our Little Secret" by Megan Slankard / Token of the Wreckage

11) "Love For the Asking" by Kally Price

12) "Tore My Heart" Oona Garthwaite / Shhhhout!

Interview with Meklit Hadero, the Nile Project and bringing East Africa together through its own music

2012-01-07T19:10:00.001-08:00

I am so excited about the Nile Project. I've offered to help out in any way that I can (I already donated some money). This is what being an ethnomusicologist is all about!

Local singer/songwriter Meklit Hadero was born in Ethiopia. Mina Girgis, ethnomusicologist and Director of the Bay Area community music center Zambaleta, was born in Egypt. Over a beer last summer, the two realized that they have something in common other than a love for music: a desire to learn more about each other’s musical culture and a river that connected the countries of their birth.

From there came the Nile Project: a platform to bring together musicians from all of the countries that share the Nile: Egypt, Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Uganda. The plan is to make a record and tour the world with this music. And not only will they tour the world, they will tour the Nile, playing the music for their neighbors along the river. They will also be joined by scientists and local specialists who can share other information about the river and be part of theTed talks.

The project is in its infant stages and requires a tremendous amount of research: Who are the musicians? What are the songs? What are the logistics of touring the Nile? (There are after all alligators and rapids along the way.)

Meklit and Mina need your help to get to East Africa for the first research trip this spring and are raising 10 thousand dollars on kickstarter to help cover the costs. But more importantly, they want to get the word out about the project.

Click here to read my interview with Meklit and learn more about the Nile Project.

The best $5 I've spent lately - a tour of the Paramount Theater in Oakland

2011-12-11T19:58:00.000-08:00

I know, I gush about the Paramount Theater in Oakland. It's definitely my favorite theater. Not just because it's gorgeous, but ask because I've been to the biggest variety of shows there, from $5 classic movies (like the Wizard of Oz this coming December 30th for $3 - plus fees), India.Arie, The Oakland Interfaith Gospel Chorus, The Oakland Symphony, etc.)

I love this theater and every time I'm there I marvel at Art Deco style. Last weekend my parents and I took two hour tour FOR 5 BUCKS and were able to see details of the theater I've never noticed.

There were no people blocking the furniture, we could see both the men and the women's bathrooms and, the knowledgeable guide pointed out things I had just never noticed before.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PICTURES.

Detail in the main Lobby

The main lobby, symbolizing a waterfall, river and Redwood trees.

Detail on the glass doors leading out to the street

One of the amazing couches that was saved from another local Art Deco theater

Detail in the women's sitting room

Detail of the Lobby

And of course the stunning ceiling. That sheet metal is thick enough to walk on.

Weird Al - still crazy after all these years -- and a poster giveaway

2011-11-13T17:46:00.001-08:00

Weird Al performing "Perform this Way" - a Lady Gaga parody in song and outfit. Elton John eat your heart out.

(All Shook Down blog, photo by Jamie Soja)

A wise man (Homer Simpson) once said "Ye who is tired of Weird Al is tired of life".

A Weird Al Yankovic concert is a pop culture orgy. Not only are his songs mostly parodies of well known pop songs, but his shows are brilliantly interspersed with costume changes, fake celebrity interviews and clips of ANY mentions of Weird Al in the media.

I saw Yankovic in 1999, my sophomore year at the University of Michigan, and had a blast. The show on November 6th at the Fox Theater in Oakland was even better. Yankovic is in his 50s, but can do can-can kicks like a young kid. And I'm going to say it, looked pretty good in the leather pants he put on for the Doors parody.

I'm pretty familiar with Yankovic's discography. There were a few tunes I didn't know, but one of the things I really like about this show, is that if you pay attention to mass media AT ALL, this show is immensely entertaining because you catch the parodies. Not only the songs, but the bits between songs as well.

There were clips making fun of Yankovic from Friends, Scoobie Doo, Letterman, Who Wants to be a Millionare, How I Met You Mother... everything, no matter if the clip praised or made fun of Al.

My favorite was a husband/wife dialogue from "Til Death" with Brad Garrett (the brother from Everyone Loves Raymond):

"You never compliment me."
"What are you talking about? I complimented you just the other day."
"You told me I look like Weird Al from the behind!"
"Weird Al has beautiful hair and a tiny ass!"

The celebrity interviews featured folks like Kevin Federline, Madonna, Eminem and Justin Timberlake and were pieced together from outtakes à la Stephen Colbert. Yankovic spiced in questions that made the interviewees seem absolutely ridiculous.

"Polka Face" started the show.

One of the highlights of the show was this moment in the encore, where for about three full minutes in the middle of the fan favorite "Yoda" (to the tune of the Kinks' "Lola"), Yankovic and his band sang nothing but gibberish (except the word "PORK!) with choreography.

Click over to 3:45. You also have to make sure you hear Yankovic ask "Only the transvestites" in the audience to sing the chorus.

After the show, the were giving out these 11x17 posters of the DVD live show. I grabbed one, and I'd like to give it away to one of my readers who really loves Weird Al. Send me an email if you'd like it, first person who emails wins! alwaysmoretohear@gmail.com

Lyle Lovett: the voice of the broken down, yet still hopeful

2011-11-13T00:33:00.000-08:00

Lyle Lovett and his Large Band play Austin City Limits in September 2011

(Ralph Barrera/Austin American-Statesman)

"I Will Rise Up"

I just came home from seeing Lyle Lovett and His Large Band at The Warfield. And here's the thing: Lovett could put my grocery list to music and it would sound good, that's just how moving his voice is. And not to mention his band... holy shnikeys! (Special shout out to fiddler/vocalist Luke Bulla and guitarist/mandolin/vocalist Keith Sewell) These dudes are insanely talented and a pleasure to see perform.

I actually think I probably prefer the smaller five piece backup band to the "large" band Lovett has played with in the past. This smaller setup is more intimate and seems more old school country/bluegrass to me, something that folks seem to appreciate lately.

I will admit, I did not, and still really do not, know Lovett's music well. I heard about him when he married Julia Roberts and I've seen him appear in the Altman films, but I never got into the music. It's not that I didn't like it, I just never gave it a moment. I even lived in Texas for three years (he's from the Houston area and spends a lot of time in Austin), and nada; don't know why.

Not until 2am last month when I happened upon his Austin City Limits episode, the last one filmed in studio 6A on the University of Texas campus, before the show moved locations. His live show is so gorgeous.

Click here to watch Lyle Lovett perform "Natural Forces"on Austin City Limits, do yourself a favor.

This is the kind of country music you can add to the list that's "okay to like"; you know, the same list on which Johnny Cash and Dolly Parton reside. His music is deep, beautiful, playful and meaningful.

What I also love about Lovett is his deadpan sense of humor and awkward stage banter. Calling out his bandmates and embarrassing them for all their accomplishments like a proud parent, telling bad jokes and drawn out stories of being on the road. He was enjoying himself, and that is always one of my favorite things to witness.

My blog is named upon the idea that there will always be more music to hear, whether it is new, old or from far away. There are artists you will know about and yet one day, their music will smack you in the face (or the ears) and you will have a whole new appreciation for their craft.

This is one of those times.

"Up in Indiana"

Cool Bay Area Event: The International Body Music Festival

2011-10-27T18:59:00.001-07:00

What is Body Music? Well, it's just that, any sort of sound that you can make with your body: stomping, singing, patting, clapping, tapping and more. If you check out the one-of-a-kind International Body Music Festival next week, you will be astounded at the countless ways performers from around the world find to make music with their bodies.

From November 1st to 6th, the International Body Music Festival presents events all over the Bay Area from performances and workshops to lecture-demonstrations and in-school programs. Performers participating in the festival come from the United States, Brazil, Indonesia, Turkey, Canary Islands, Greece and Canada.

The Body Music Festival is a great event to get the whole family out to!

Click here to read more about performers to look out for

Check out this awesome footage from previous Body Music Festivals!

India.Arie & Idan Raichel at the Paramount Theater and finding politics where there is none

2011-10-18T05:37:00.000-07:00

Open Door - an India.Arie and Idan Raichel collaboration

Last Saturday night I went to a beautiful concert in Oakland's Paramount Theater presented by SFJAZZ with neo-soul singer India.Arie and Israeli world-fusion pop artist Idan Raichel. I am a fan of both artists independently and was curious about this collaboration that resulted in the soon-to-be-released album Open Door.

Turns out, Arie and Raichel are a perfect pairing; both artists have a steady stream of humanitarian sentiment throughout their music as well as self-acceptance. Arie sang in both Hebrew and English, and Raichel brought a very cool world fusion vibe to Arie’s bohemian soul vibe. While at times I felt the music was overly cheesy, I was also moved by the sentiment.

So, we all have pet peeves. They’re built into our DNA and there’s often not much we can do about them. They just sort of follow you around, pissing you off.

One of my pet peeves is talking during a live show. It’s one of those that things that if I try to ignore a loud conversation, it just gets more annoying, especially if the comments are frustrating.

Saturday night, there were two women sitting behind me who did not do their research about this performance. In its program, SFJAZZ titled this show “India.Arie and Idan Raichel”; this was a collaboration project. These women were obviously not aware of Idan Raichel or that simply, he would be there. And, it seemed that they took offense to the mere fact that he was Israeli.

Now don’t get me wrong, yes, I definitely have my own politics when it comes to Israel. I am Jewish, and I am also pro-peace and a raging humanitarian (if there is such a thing). I have traveled to Israel and the West Bank. I have been moved, disturbed, frightened, inspired, depressed and excited by what I experienced and what I continue to learn about the country. I also have wonderful Israeli family that I love very dearly.

I am very much torn about the whole issue of Israel. And I believe that if a person takes a hard stance either pro- or against, you have not learned or experienced enough of the larger issue. It’s very easy, especially from half way around the world, to listen to media and believe that one group of people are in the wrong, but the issue is so much more complicated than that.

From stage Raichel and Arie told the story of how they met, simply that Arie had traveled to Israel for personal exploration and she had discovered Raichel’s music there. The woman behind me took offense to the fact that she had even been there, saying loudly “It’s an apartheid state!” Raichel added to the story that they first met at a falafel shop to which the women responded “that’s Palestinian!”

What? Really? I don’t think so. I can’t believe she took it there.

I also heard her say, “I just didn’t expect this!” to her friend and something like “this is just so glorifying…” But there was no mention of politics, no mention of Palestine. Just some songs with Hebrew lyrics and talk of falafel.

Unfortunately Israel is the modern day South Africa and to many, any mention of the country brings up politics. I’m also assuming that if it were up to this woman, there would be a cultural embargo on Israel, much like the one placed on South Africa during its Apartheid, making a collaboration like Arie and Raichel’s fraught with controversy (much like Paul Simon’s Grammy winning Graceland).

I moved to seats across the aisle so that I didn’t have to listen to any more comments. I was very close to saying something to them. I understand that these women were unhappy, but they did not do their research and they didn’t have to spoil my enjoyment.

This is all so ironic considering that one of the central tunes (and wonderfully cheese-tastic) on Open Door is called “The Gift of Acceptance” with the lyrics:

We can debate to the end of time who's wrong and who is right,
Or I can honor your choices and you can honor mine.
They call you Israeli and they call me an American,
I look at you and I don't see a country, I just see my friend,
I pray we're in each other's lives for a long, long time
because I honor your choices and you honor mine.

We all want the same things from life,

We want peace, love and prosperity.

But can we give up our need to be right?

Give the world a present, give the gift of your acceptance.

My SF Music Examiner.com SFJAZZ Fall 2011 Season picks

2011-10-13T12:07:00.000-07:00

India.Arie performs this weekend at the Paramount Theater in Oakland

The SFJAZZ 2011 Fall Season is well underway, and there are still plenty of exciting shows to look forward to. While presenting the best living jazz on the planet, SFJAZZ has become well known for new and innovative artists as well as top-notch international artists.

Click here to see the shows I am most excited about

My humble solution of what to do about San Francisco's overcrowded Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival

2011-10-03T16:43:00.000-07:00

Some lovely folks I met coming back from the loo

Warren Hellman and the organizers of the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival have a chance to make the gathering even more meaningful. At some point safety regulators will notice that the gathering has gotten far too crowded; how will they solve this problem? My humble solution is to require inexpensive tickets for entry, and donate the proceeds to local charities.

Hardly Strictly is one of those many events that makes me so lucky and proud to live in the Bay Area, and be a resident of San Francisco in particular. As a music lover, the idea of seeing (or more like only hearing because you can’t get too close to the stage) Emmylou Harris, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Ralph Stanley, Bela Fleck, Kris Kristofferson, Merle Haggard, and Gillian Welch in two days free of charge is absolutely insane. I thank Mr. Hellman for an awesome birthday party every year and applaud his love and passion for good music.

TO READ MORE OF MY ARTICLE CLICK HERE

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival 2011 picks

2011-09-30T08:53:00.000-07:00

The Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in Golden Gate Park starts today, and as always the lineup is insane. Oh, and it's FREE.

CLICK HERE to read about the five bands I recommend: Zigaboo, The Belle Brigade, Blind Boys of Alabama, Hugh Laurie and Fitz & the Tantrums.

Jamie sings with the Family Crest

2011-09-17T09:50:00.000-07:00

This is fun: the below video is from The Family Crest's performance in my brother's backyard from a couple weekends ago. The Family Crest is playing a show a day in the month of September and they asked me to sing a couple tunes with them.

The below video of "All is Dark" (which is fitting, because it was dark out there) does not feature me singing, however, I am listed AS PART OF THE BAND at the end. I think that's pretty darn awesome. Thanks to the Family Crest and videographer/photographer Matthew Washburn for this one, it's a really beautiful video.

Here, however is a video of me singing "In the Avenue" with the Family Crest last March in Austin Texas at a South by the Southwest house show I put together.

What's your guilty pleasure?

2011-09-03T11:38:00.001-07:00

I'm staying in Santa Barbara this weekend for a wedding. My sister-in-law has a friend who lives down here but is out of town for the weekend. The woman who lives in this apartment has good taste in music and I'm having fun putting the CDs back into the jewel cases as a little thank you for letting us stay here (Yes, I'm a nerd like that).

She's got some Wilco, Nick Cave, Cold War Kids, Ry Cooder... good stuff. And then I found: ENYA!

And it was out with the rest of the CDs that had been recently listened to. I sort of love that I don't know this person, but I know she likes Enya.

What's your guilty pleasure? We all know mine is Ke$ha, and I'll say right now that I also love me some Backstreet Boys.

Come on kids, don't be shy. Share!

And if you've not seen it yet, this is My First Earthquake's new "Enya Don't Got Nothing on Us"

The t-shirt quilt, three years in the making. A trip down memory lane.

2011-09-01T12:17:00.000-07:00

It's finally done! Three years ago, the lovely Serena Bartlett of GrassRoutes inspired me to finally DO something with all these t-shirts I had been collecting since I was little and couldn't part with. So over many sunny days in her living room she taught me to use a sewing machine.

The quilt has no less than 19 shirts sewn into it, many of them building blocks of my musical life. I think I have a whole other stash of shirts from which I could make another one!

(before binding)

Thank you so much to Serena and Elaine Turcotte for teaching me how to quilt and helping me through this process. This will not be my last, I'm sure of it. I'm so excited about sleeping with this gorgeous thing. So is the cat! She already loves snuggling with it.

The flip side of the quilt is this gorgeous orange and yellow embroidered fabric, totally changing the colors in my bedroom, which I'm excited about. One of the best things is that I can now display the flowered pillow my Grandmother embroidered for me. Now it matches!

The last couple nights I've been staying up super late, determined to finish this thing, hand sewing the binding, a nice fuzzy velvety purple fabric.

Earth Day - Elementary School Lorax t-shirt, tie-dyed by yours truly when I was really into that.
middle strip - From a bar in Aberdeen, Scotland that used to be a church and now has a haunted mansion theme. If you drank all 7 deadly sins cocktails, you won a deadly sin t-shirt. I did it in one night (oh, to be 22 again! They were actually pretty weak anyway) I, of course, choice the Gluttony tee.
NHSMI - Summer high school music program at Northwestern, met some of my best friends there, convinced me to be a music major. Got vocal nodules and put on vocal rest, didn't work (I was having too much fun), got in trouble.

Pirates of Penzance - How I spent my second semester of my fifth year of college. Realized I hated being in staged productions, still had a blast. Love Gilbert & Sullivan. Love this show.
High School Honor Choir - Yes, I was a high school choir geek. Did this program twice.

Leader of the Pack - Didn't get a part in this junior high production, based on the music of Brill Building's Ellie Greenwich. The music is AWESOME ("River Deep Mountain High", "Be My Baby", Da Doo Ron Ron". Worked as production assistant instead, building sets, etc. Wished I was in the show and was so jealous of those that were. They got to wear gogo boots!
Forever Plaid - A musical about a four-part harmony vocal group in the early 60s, was a total groupie, saw the show five times, know every word. It's been on PBS lately and I still love it.

Cabaret t-shirts - There are three of them on this quilt. We wore them during the shows. Cabaret was our High School musical Revue and I learned so much music being part of it. They were so much fun (but I still hate staging).
Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Fest - I volunteered with my roommate in 2002 as my fifth year of college started. It was humid and rainy. I got to see Koko Taylor sing "Wang Dang Doodle".

Lori's Diner - In San Francisco. My grandma's name is Lori.
University of Michigan Women's Glee Club patch - Taken from the terrible, horrible button down long-sleeved shirts they made us buy. But I went on tour with them to Europe and had a blast.

Danzig Tour - hysterical t-shirt my aunt made for our clan when we went to Danzig/Gdansk in Poland, where my grandmother was born. Ten of us kids and grandkids went with her in 2002. It was in incredible experience.
I heart Ann Arbor - Well, I do.

Ben & Jerry's and the Great Harvest Bread Co. - high school summer jobs. Yum yum yum.

Why I sing in choirs: SF Lyric Chorus concerts this weekend and the 826 Valencia Project

2011-08-24T14:33:00.000-07:00

Yep, it's that time again: choir concert time! I have a short, but kickass tenor solo in the spiritual "Daniel, Daniel Servant of the Lord". I'm so in love with spirituals, these songs are in my blood. I love the Copland piece as well and the Thompson is totally growing on me.

The San Francisco Lyric Chorus has a concert on Saturday at St. Marks in San Francisco and on Sunday at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Orinda (East Bay). Let me know if you'd like to come.

The music is gorgeous and challenging. I thought it would be a breeze because we didn't have to learn any foreign languages, but because it's mostly 20th century music, and the harmonies are super difficult. The whole program is a capella as well, so at times I feel like we're picking entrance notes out of the air.

I love singing in choirs. Why? Yes, I love the sound, it's a very personally beautiful sonic texture I love. But I think it's more than that. I love that people can sing together with nothing else: no amplification, no mics, no instruments. Just voices. I also love that every person has a different voice, but when singing with other people, they all meld into one, creating a "choral" sound: a group of 20 people over here, might sound very similar to a group of 20 people over there.
I also love how one person (or more) can totally mess up, and it might be totally unnoticeable.

The choral community is HUGE in the Bay Area. I love what that communal idea of music making means about the area. It's very fitting.

Just last week I participated in the 826 Valencia project led by Camille Robles at One Red Delicious Press. The concept is to submit an audio recording of a story, any story, as long as it's personal. Camille is going to catalog the stories and create a book from them. I think there might even be music added to some of them.

This project will benefit San Francisco's 826 Valencia, a writing center dedicated to getting kids excited about the literary arts and fostering the writing skills of the youth. The classes they offer are free, and they inspire creativity, confidence, and a route to finding one's voice. Camille is still taking submissions if you want to get in involved. For more info, click here.

This is a story about the most personal, spiritual and emotional musical experience I've ever had. In a nutshell, I was moved to tears by the singing and acoustics of my high school choir while in France. I used this story for my college admissions essay and as soon as I heard about this project, it was the story that came to mind.

Here is the audio track, happy singing!

Grand chapel by Alwaysmoretohear

Video interview Jeremiah Lockwood of the Sway Machinery: my first attempt at video editing!

2011-08-17T11:00:00.000-07:00

In March I interviewed Jeremiah Lockwood of The Sway Machinery on my friend's little flipcam. I had no idea what I was doing. I started to use iMovie, got frustrated and put it off. But it was a great interview and I really wanted to make something of the footage.

So with the help of Michael Fortes (of Parlor to Parlor) and the motivation of helping to promote the Sway Machinery's next Bay Area show at the Beatbox on August 28th with Brass Menažeri , I got it done. This is going to be a great, energetic show.

In this interview Jeremiah talks about his experience traveling to Mali in Africa to perform at the Festival in the Desert and recording and performing with Malian singer Khaira Arby.

I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I think I might try this more.

Adele and Wanda Jackson unite in Berkeley and win most adorable duo

2011-08-15T10:41:00.000-07:00

“Heeeyyyy! That’s my new thing!” Said Adele after cracking herself up for the umpteenth time to a sold out Greek Theater Sunday night. “I’ve been spending time hanging out with some Southern ladies!”

When she sings, it's inconceivable that the British soul singer is only 23. She’s got that Otis Redding thing going: a voice too wise and mature for her years, both lyrically and sonically.

But when she banters and giggles with the audience, she is indeed just 23. Adele loves her fans. She asked several times for the lights to come up so she could see everyone. She waved dozens of times at specific people in the audience. She accepted a Weiner dog stuffed animal and presents from folks in the front, including a couple phones with messages on them.

Adele is looking good. Not that I didn’t love her more curvy appearance (go girl!), but she appeared on stage in a fitted black knee length dress, three-quarter length sleeves, her hair in it’s signature poof, but only half up (no side ponytail). I hope that it’s not just the stress of touring, but a healthier lifestyle that’s done it (tell me she’s quit smoking). But, well, she is 23, and I shouldn’t judge.

Continue reading on Examiner.com

Mrs. Wanda Jackson - the Queen of Rockabilly

Adele pays tribute to Amy Winehouse, and asks everyone to take out their phones. Gorgeous.

Things I saw (and ate) at Outside Lands Fest, Day 2: Bacon, opera, OK Go and dirty sinners

2011-08-14T15:28:00.001-07:00

Saturday August 13th was just another amazing day in San Francisco, after the fog burned off in the afternoon anyway. There was a perfect breeze and the sun was out and I had music all around me.

We bounced back and forth a lot today, just following our mood. On the agenda was OK Go, the Arctic Monkeys, The Black Keys, The Roots and Muse if we felt like it.

OK Go. I know the joke is that their music is nothing special, but I totally dig these guys for their continuous outpouring of creativity. Their videos are obviously incredibly innovative and fun, but they also do crazy stuff like play a whole song on the hand bells (like the video below). These guys are true artists and performers, in every sense of the words.

And let me just say that this might have been the one time in the whole of the weekend that I wanted MORE VOLUME.

Ok GO also cracked me up continuously calling the crowd a bunch of "dirty sinners", what San Francisco has always been known for. I can't say I disagree with them. He also mentioned how overwhelmingly white the San Francisco crowd is, can't disagree there either.

The Roots: So fun. I wish I was Jimmy Fallon and have these guys has my house band. They paid tribut to Fela Kuti, Guns and Roses, Zeppelin and some "Jungle Boogie."

Girl Talk: This is performance you really have to experience live to really get I think. Imagine all your favorite songs coming at you in enormous speed, sometimes only teasing you with one hook or one chorus. Some of the mash-up pairings are so awesomely funny. I need to get some of this for working out.

FOOD:
I ate this (I did not eat it all myself, in fact we couldn't finish it, it was too insane):

Good Lord, what is that you ask!? It's peanut butter mousse, chocolate fudge crust, candied bacon and caramel. Don't believe me?

The couple across the picnic table was eating this chocolate covered Oreo, marshmallow stuffed thing. It was too amazing not to photograph.

Later we also ate this from Criolla Kitchen : OMIGOD SO GOOD! Shrimp Po'Boy and Yam-Yam Tater Tots. I will definitely be visiting the restaurant in the Castro. Seriously... SO GOOD.

I did not eat this, but enjoyed the sign, imaging what these would be like:

Like I said yesterday, there were a ton of fun things to do not appearing on big stages. I found out more about the "mimes" I had seen the day before . Not mimes at all. Turns out it was a folk opera and installation called “Flotsam’s Wake” featuring Mike Shine and the Carny Bastards.

I enjoyed the banners in front of the Twin Peaks Stage. They were weird.

Theses lovely ladies practiced some yoga in front of us for awhile during the Arctic Monkeys and OK Go.

And an Australian sword swallower at the Barbary Tent. Crazy I tell you.

I'm skipping today's festivities to see Adele (rescheduled from last month when she was sick), which is okay by me, my feet are tired!

Things I saw at Outside Lands Fest, Day 1: Phish, The Meters, The Shins and hippie hipsters

2011-08-12T23:51:00.000-07:00

Trey Anastasio of Phish

Outside Lands Fest was surprisingly fun today. It was a shitty typical cold and overcast day in San Francisco (just the way I like it!) and I got to see The Original Meters, Phish, The Shins, some acrobats, a drumcore samba brass band, art installations and hippies (both old and young).

Here's some photos I took, and maybe a video or two.

Phish - My friend wanted to get super close-up for the Phish set, so we charmed our way through the crowd to a pretty close up spot. It was totally worth it. These dudes are still so awesome. I saw them a bunch in high school and college and it was fun then and it was fun today.

And I just wanted to say, these guys are jamming their way into middle age and I love it when rockstars just look like normal people. I had to post this picture because Mike Gordon has the most awesome "play face".

And yes, I was very pleased to see that Jon Fishman still wears the polka-dotted mumu, this time with a hoodie underneath to keep warm.

Mike Gordon's "play face"

Can't have a Phish show without balloons and beach balls...

The Original Meters: Art Neville on keys, Leo Nocentelli on guitarist, Joseph "Zigaboo" Modeliste on guitar, and George Porter Jr. on bass. George kept welcoming us to "Senior Citizen Fun 101" This was fun, but too bad Leo's amp kept getting out of whack. We got to hear some awesome jamming, but lost lots of time to hear songs. We did get to hear "Cissy Strut" though, and that's all needed. It doesn't get much funkier.

The Shins - Great. They played a tune off the record they are working on and almost done with. It was really awesome. Let's just say it had a little bit of a Caribbean feel to it...

And wait-a-minute, I believe there was a female guitar rhythm guitarist up there also doing backup vocals, does anyone know anything about her?

See all the lights in the audience below? This picture was taken during the first song when all of those cameras came out. So funny.

Inspector Gadje and The Loyd Family Players - found these local folks playing out in the open. Two bands playing as one: one part Eastern European Brass, one part samba/drumline. An awesome team. We followed them into the forest and into Cocoland.

Choco Lands: I'm not sure what was going on here, but I liked it. In the forest there were art installations all over the place: huge wind chimes with a rope swing in the middle (so that when you really got swinging the top of the rope would hit the chimes), a mime show, structures, parachutes... very Burning Man.

( Same sign at night)

The Barbary Tent: with vaudeville, burlesque, acrobats, SF local boys from the Jazz Mafia as the house band, magicians, etc. Another perfectly SF addition and a great place to actually SIT IN A CHAIR. I'm getting old, standing all day is making me stiff.

This guy, Ethan Law, is doing one of those Cyr Wheel Cirque du Soliel awesome things. He's from SF's Circus School!

People - Because of Phish, the Burning Man vibe was strong today. Tomorrow will be another story (tomorrow is Muse, the Black Keys, The Roots, Girl Talk, etc.)

Oh, teenage girls at festivals: you are so cute, and yet probably so annoying to some folks. I remember being that excited about everything!

(This picture is a little creepy, but this little girl had the coolest face painting, and I caught this blurry shot right before she got super smiley for the cameras.)

The Family Crest wants to play at YOUR house in September

2011-08-04T00:08:00.000-07:00

These are pictures of The Family Crest performing in my living room last Wednesday. There were nine of them. It was awesome.

The Family Crest is looking to play a house show a day in the month of September. It can be a big or small party, they just want people to experience their music. And believe me, this is the best setting for it: intimate and acoustic.

I will personally vouch for these folks, they are gracious and nice. I have now been part of hosting them in a private home on three separate occasions; they will come early to help you set up and stay late until everything is put away.

If you are in the Bay Area and are interested in hosting, here are the details (from the band):

Pick a few days in September that would be best for you
We're aiming to play for around 30 of your friends, though we will play for any amount, big or small. It can be a casual get-together, a party, a serious concert setting, a business fete - whatever you want.
We're not charging any fee, though we would like to pass a tip jar around or have a suggested donation, if you're comfortable with that.
We'd like to sell CDs.
We won't be promoting these shows in any way - we won't publicize your address, when/where, etc, so you won't have any strangers wandering around.
This means that we won't be bringing any of our contacts to the shows - this is just for you and your friends so that you all can become a part of what we do!
Let me know if you're interested, and feel free to pass this along to people you think might be interested!

Email Laura if you are interested, but please let me (Jamie) know as well, I might want to come!
laura@thefamilycrestfamily.com

And I'd imagine weekdays will be hardest for them to fill...what are YOU doing Tuesday night?

Below is video of The Family Crest playing at two different house shows (both homes belonging to friends of mine) in Austin during South by Southwest earlier this year when I got to sing with them...

"The Shawshank Redemption" and Mozart

2011-07-31T01:24:00.000-07:00

Prisoners of Shawshank Prison stop and listen to Mozart

Hey world. Sorry for not writing this month. My job situation has changed and I've found myself busier and more mentally exhausted. I'll get back into the swing of things, I promise.

One of my favorite movies of all time, The Shawshank Redemption, has been on tv a lot lately. And the scene where Andy plays the duet from Mozart's Marriage of Figaro over the loudspeaker is one of the many incredible scenes. And, it includes the line "pinch a loaf", which I always thought was pretty awesome.

Just to job your memory about what this is all about, Andy has been writing a letter a week to get funds to build a better prison library. After six years of letters, he receives a check, several boxes of books and other donated items. Including some LPs. And then he gets himself in trouble.

Just wanted to share with you.

Vote for your favorite songs on Jonathan Mann's Song-a-Day album

2011-07-01T13:50:00.000-07:00

Just a note that the voting is up for Jonathan Mann's song-a-day project for the month of June. Everyone had a great time and I commend everyone involved for taking part in an incredibly ambitious project. I had a great time popping by and working on it with everyone.

There are a total of 30 tracks, one for each day of June, and only ten of them will appear on the album. YOU GUYS can vote on which ten songs.

Click HERE to listen and vote for the songs where I appear!

Track 9: They Double Dared Us
Track 17: One of these Mornings

And even though it's bizarre, Track 29: Colony Collapse Disorder

Other songs I recommend and like:
Track 14: Sweaty Girlfriend
Track 27: You Can't Stop Love (see awesome video below)

But take a listen and see what YOU'D like on the album :)

A crazy weekend in music: another song-a-day, dancing with Angelique Kidjo and meeting Wynton Marsalis

2011-06-21T01:04:00.001-07:00

With baby faced Wynton Marsalis backstage at Davies Hall

This last weekend was one of those crazy weekends where I was so overbooked with stuff, I finally had to go home and take a nap.

Friday I recorded another song with Jonathan Mann, the song-a-day guy, called "One of These Mornings". It came out pretty darn good considering that one of the computers totally crashed. I got to overdub all sorts of fun Doo-Wap vocals. I also love that the more Jews there are in a room, the more likely Jesus is bound to be referred to as small club entertainer...

And Jonathan, why do all the songs I record end up having super-creepy videos of you staring into the camera? I swear readers, they're not all like that. Jonathan isn't creepy, well not too creepy... okay maybe he's kind of creepy...

Here are some behind the scenes... including some funny faces at :45... and one by Miss Sarah Dabby at 1:38.

Friday night I went to see Angelique Kidjo and Youssou N'Dour presented by SFJAZZ at the exquisite Paramount Theater in Oakland. I saw Angelique perform last year at Stern Grove, and she likes to invite folks to come dance with her on stage. So we did. It was pretty excellent. She's a tiny person with a huge personality. She acts tough and full of attitude, but really, she seems like a sweetheart who likes to boogie. And boogie she does.

The Paramount Oakland marquee, I love this place. It's an art deco fantasy.

The ceiling of the Paramount Theater

Youssou was fabulous as well, but I almost felt like his band was so polished that it lacked some of the excitement that I felt with Angelique, but that could have also been due to how freaking tired I was by the time his band went on.

Saturday I rehearsed with The Backorders for our upcoming show covering the entire Kinks album Muswell Hillbillies on July 14th at the Starry Plough in Berkeley. I sing lead vocals on a song about booze and one about tea. Haha! This is "Alcohol", I'm going to sing it sort of like this lady...

Sunday was the first show of the 2011 Stern Grove Festival, and what an amazing season it is! We saw Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings with Ben l'Oncle Soul, both were phenomenal. l'Oncle is a French Soul Singer and busts out Ray Charles and Otis Redding vocal deliveries with no problem. He had these incredible dancers/backup singers with him. Stern Grove is a LARGE stage, and I've heard reports that there were ten thousand people there. And l'Oncle rivaled the Dap-Kings for sure, but I still love me some Sharon Jones, that little lady is FIERCE. And at 55, she's still getting down like no one's business.

Between her and Angelique, who is 50, these women give any performer 30 years younger than them a run for their money. They are amazing!

Check out this performance of Ben l'Oncle Soul's cover of The White Stripes "Seven Nation Army":

(Tip: if you are driving to Stern Grove, park just north of the park and enter on Wawona and 23rd. I got to the park ten minutes before the music started and I parked two blocks away on Ulloa, entered right there in the back and walked right in down the hill. I couldn't believe how little of a hassle it was. And even if you aren't driving to Stern Grove, it's still a much easier place to enter the park than 19th.)

Sunday evening, I headed on down to Davies Symphony Hall for Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. The show was incredible. My favorite piece, hands down, was Duke Ellington's "Mood Indigo" performed in its original "chamber" (my quotations) arrangement: rhythm section (bass, piano, drums) a single clarinet, trumpet and trombone. It was subtle and gorgeous.

My friend knows the drummer, so she got us backstage to say hello, and then we hung out with them for drinks and shot the breeze. Everyone was super nice and I always love listening to folks who spend too much time together banter, this was no exception. It was really cute.

Another tip: If you ever want to buy Mr. Marsalis a drink, he likes high-end Scotch from the bottom of the bottle, so it's really thick with sentiment.

Oh, and Pomplamoose left their East Coast tour today, and that's been a bundle of work. But they've got four shows starting Tuesday night, Brooklyn and Boston are already sold out. They're playing at the Kennedy Center with OK Go for the Millennium Stage's 14th Anniversary, (which we'll be able to stream live) and there's a new single out today called "River Shiver". Things are happening, and it's really exciting.

A conversation with Wesley Taylor of the American Conservatory Theater’s “Tales of the City: A New Musical" by Armistead Maupin

2011-06-16T23:58:00.000-07:00

"Before I was really focused on being an actor on my own terms, I wasn’t really interested in being a role model or helping other people’s lives. I was just interested in doing good art, but the older I get I realize, what’s the point of that?"

I have had the good fortune of having gone to school with some fabulously talented people. Many of these people have fabulously talented friends. And it was with pure glee that I emailed former classmate Lauren Molina whom I have written about here and here when I saw her friend and Rock of Ages co-star Wesley Taylor appear on the stage of A.C.T. a couple weeks ago.

Starring in Armistead Maupin’s staged production of Tales of the City: A New Musical" at the American Conservatory Theater has changed Wesley. He is 24 and has been out of college for three years. During that time he has worked continuously on Broadway, landing central roles in a handful of enormously successful shows including Rock of Ages and The Addams Family alongside Nathan Lane. He has also become known through his satire YouTube series Billy Green.

But it wasn’t until being cast as a Michael “Mouse” Tolliver, a young hopeless romantic gay man in San Francisco during the early 70s, that Wesley really began to feel a greater responsibility than to just the art of theater itself. Not only does he feel a connection to an older generation of men who have come to love and identify with Mouse, but also responsibility to the next generations that continue to struggle for gay rights.

Below is part of an interview I conducted with Wes yesterday about three weeks into the run. We talk about the magic of San Francisco (even today), the responsibility of playing Mouse, where the show might go from here, Armistead Maupin, Jake Shears, the process of being part of a new production, marriage equality, mustaches and on-stage nudity.

To see a shorter version of the interview, click on the examiner.com article here. I am also hoping to eventually post an audio file of the interview, so check back.

Tales of the City is now running through July 24th. Buy tickets here.

-------------------------------------------------
Jamie: First things first, so I see that the ‘stache is real. You could walk down Mission Street and no one would know the difference.

Wes: I went to New York for twenty-four hours last weekend which was crazy, and for the first time I was a little embarrassed about the mustache and was noticing people looking at me funny. It’s interesting because San Francisco is so embracing of every kind of oddball. Like that’s what this city kind of stands for, it doesn’t matter what you look like, it doesn’t matter what you wear. And that’s why there’s so much personality in this city. It’s really a sanctuary of people who are different. Which is really special, it makes this city so magical.

And yeah, my friends at home keep making fun of my mustache in all the pictures. But I love it. For the last three years I’ve been playing eighteen-year-old characters and I’ve been shaving my face every single day and it sort of sucks. So I’m really jazzed about the fact that I can do something different.

Best friends Mona Ramsey (Mary Birdsong) and Michael “Mouse” Tolliver (Wesley Taylor) move back in together at 28 Barbary Lane. Photo by Kevin Berne.

JF: Yeah, you look normal to me, but I live in the Mission.

WT: Exactly! When we first started the rehearsals, (director) Jason Moore wanted us to grow facial hair. And I didn’t know if Mouse should have a mustache. Marcus D'amico in the miniseries didn’t have one and I wanted him to stay twinkie and innocent. Sometimes when I grow facial hair I have the tendency to look sinister or edgy.

But Armistead said, “Mouse has a mustache. I had a mustache in the 70s, Mouse has a mustache.” And it was at that moment that I realized Mouse was Armistead. And I actually didn’t know that before. I had read the books and watched the miniseries, but it just hadn’t dawned on me that he was telling his story mostly through Michael. It was pretty surreal when I figured that out, and it was very intimidating.

I was also really intimidated when I first got the part because I didn’t know what a huge deal थे books were। But when I started telling people that I got it, every middle-aged gay man in New York freaked out. It really scared the hell out of me that so many people identified with this character. But what made me feel really comfortable was that Armistead had the final say on the casting. He gave us his blessing. JF: I love how involved he's been in making this production; I mean how often does that happen? WT: It doesn’t। I mean on the first day of rehearsal, he said that this is one of the happiest days of his life. He was so excited and such a part of it. But, still kept his distance respectfully to the writer Jeff Witty who made Armistead’s books into a musical. He couldn’t have been better to me through this whole process.

JF: Did he offer up any other words of wisdom that you can share?

WT: He told me once that there’s something about Mouse that’s hard for some people to get: which is this quirk that he is both light and dark. He said that I was really embodying that. And because as an actor you can really get neurotic about getting into a character, it was really comforting to hear from its creator that you’re on the right track.

JF: You’ve said before that playing reserved characters, like the one you played in The Addams Family, is more difficult for you than playing really crazy characters, like Franz in Rock of Ages. What was it like to play Mouse then, who is definitely on the more reserved side?

Mouse runs into the handsome Jon Fielding (Josh Breckenridge) at the roller rink. Photo by Kevin Berne.

WT: The thing I love about Michael is that he’s a little of everything. He’s very much like who I am, which can sometimes be the hardest thing to play on stage because it’s the most exposing. You can feel naked and horrified because at the end of the day it’s about telling the truth. And telling the truth can be the hardest thing in the world.

But yeah, Michael is a lot like me: we’re both from Orlando, Florida, we both have conservative parents, I grew up very religious in the Baptist world just like him, it took us both a while to come out to our parents, we’re both hopeless romantics and we both like our vices.

JF: My brother, who’s straight, said he got really emotional during Michael’s coming out scene. It’s a really amazing number.

WT: I like how simple and subtle that scene is. I kept wanting to make it more dramatic, but the director kept telling me to stop and just read the letter. Just love your mother. I was also playing the scene kind of defensive, you know, ACCEPT ME GODDAMIT! And he kept saying, no, you love your mother. You feel for her and you get it. It’s more, Thank you for making me who I am, which is more heartbreaking because it’s killing them with kindness. I feel like that song is a gift and the character has been a gift. I’ve been so lucky to stumble across it.

Mouse is shocked to learn that his parents have joined Anita Bryant’s anti-homosexual Save Our Children campaign. Photo by Kevin Berne.

JF: And I’d imagine people have been reacting very strongly to your performance?

WT: Yeah, it feels really great. I’ve never been in that position before. I mean Franz was super gay but I’ve never been in the position of having gay men telling me how I’ve helped and affected them. That’s been very special to me and it means a lot. And I didn’t care about that stuff before. I don’t want to say I was selfish, but I was really focused on being an actor on my own terms. I wasn’t really interested in being a role model or helping other people’s lives. I was just interested in doing good art, but the older I get I realize what’s the point of that ?

Like when I first moved to New York my agents told me that it’s probably better off that you don’t come out for television and film. But I think that’s changing dramatically; you know with people like Neil Patrick Harris, I mean things are changing in a great way.

JF: That couldn’t have even been that long ago, what 3, 4 years?

WT: Yeah, I got out of school three years ago. But they did say that they would be completely open to it if I wanted to.

JF: But they were just recommending…

WT: Yeah, and they’re all gay too. It’s just one of those hard decisions to make as an actor, deciding weather or not you want to sacrifice the possibility of putting you into a box as a gay guy. But I think it’s getting easier to be a gay man and being able to do it all. But I started to realize that if I wasn’t going to get cast in something because I’m gay, I don’t want to be part of that project. You start growing up and you start seeing these things. And now I’m trying to be as active as I can in the gay agenda. I mean we are so close in New York to getting marriage equality right now. This is such a big deal! It’s made me really passionate, it has to get done! So yeah, it’s affected me. I love how it’s affected other people. I love that it’s made a difference, I think this piece is really special in that way. Even though it’s dated, it takes place in the 70s, but we’re still dealing with the same issues.

Mary Ann Singleton (Betsy Wolfe) consoles Mouse, who is struggling with coming out to his parents. Photo by Kevin Berne.

JF: It’s from the 70s, but I think the San Francisco in this show is still here. Have you felt that?

WT: Yeah, you can feel it. And everywhere you go in this city is research for the show! All of these locations are all over the books and the lyrics. Even the street names, it’s everywhere. I love working on a show and being in the world of the show while you’re working on it. I’ve never had that experience before.

JF: Everyone is talking about if they’ll be able to take this show out of San Francisco and on the road. What do you think?

WT: Because of all the inside jokes? I think that the show has the heart and I think it’s good enough to be able to transfer anywhere and work. Sure, you might have to tweak some of the lines and jokes. I actually think it would go over really well in London it would be super successful. The books are huge; Armistead is very popular over there. And the Scissor Sisters are everything in the UK! They’re way more known there than they are here. The demographic in London is right up our alley. But we won’t know what’s going to happen for a while. I mean, we got extended here until July, and it might even get extended until August. We just don’t know and as an actor is a little scary. Do you look for more work? Can you rely on the show?

JF: It’s like dating two people at once, and geez! Everyone should have these problems!

WT: It’s exactly like that! It’s awful! And yet exhilarating and great.

JF: What was it like working with Jake Shears (Jason Sellards)?

WT: He sort of became my big brother while he was here. We got along really well. We partied like rockstars, The Scissor Sisters don’t fuck around! They had a concert here and the whole cast went, it was really fun. He’s never written a musical before, but he’s such a natural at it. And he was so not precious about anything. He was cutting songs left and right. He probably wrote over fifty songs for the show and there are only nineteen or twenty in it. There are so many great songs that got the chopping blog. There was a song that Mona and I sing together called “Who’s your Mama?”, and after one week of previews, it wasn’t working for them, so he wrote another one called “Everything Gets Better” in twenty-four hours and put it in. I mean, that’s previews. It’s pretty stressful.

JF: They should make a B-sides album.

WT: Yeah, like bonus tracks. There was another song called “Show Me How to Love You” and it was so gorgeous. My verse was my favorite thing that I got to sing in the show, and they cut it! People need to hear this stuff!

JF: So this was all in two months? You guys learned double the amount of material?

WT: When we started previews, the show was something like four hours long. I mean it’s three hours right now, which is also too long for a musical comedy. But they’ve taken a lot out and changed even more.

I remember the first time Mary and I sang our new song for an audience, we were shaking because there were people sitting there hearing a song you had only sung three times. It’s terrifying. I think putting up a new musical is one of the most terrifying things you could ever do.

JF: Earlier you mentioned that playing the role of Mouse is “revealing” makes you feel “naked”. You like getting naked don’t you?

WT: As soon as they made us sign that nudity clause…

JF: There was a nudity clause?

WT: There was a nudity clause that all of the men signed. There was supposed to be a lot more nudity in the show. But, I mean, obviously you have to show flesh in the show, it’s Tales of the City, it’s a big component of the show. But Jason didn’t want it to look like an excuse to please to the gay community.

JF: So all we get it is your butt.

WT: Yup, that’s it. I’ve never gotten to even take off my shirt in a show, I love it. As soon as I signed that clause I stopped eating fried food and starting hitting the gym every day and doing five hundred sit-ups. It’s a fun challenge to be working on something outside of the show, whether it is growing out a mustache or going to the gym more! It’s a cool experience to have to change something about your appearance for a show, it really makes you feel like you’re earning your paycheck.

SFJAZZ presents West African Superstars Youssou N'Dour & Angelique Kidjo

2011-06-15T22:57:00.000-07:00

Angelique Kidjo performs at Stern Grove in 2010

Friday night is guaranteed to erupt the Paramount Theater into a giant dance party. As always, SFJAZZ presents the best touring African music: Youssou N’Dour and Angelique Kidjo are no exception.

Almost exactly a year ago Angelique Kidjo kicked off the 2010 World Cup in Johannesburg as well as the first show of the Stern Grove 2010 season. Kidjo’s powerful voice and funky grooves got the people on their feet. I hope she again sings the classic song "Malaika" made famous by Miriam Makeba and Harry Belafonte. I also really like her rendition of Curtis Mayfield’s classic “Move On Up” which is off her most recent album Oyo.

Even if you don’t recognize the name, you have heard Youssou N’Dour perform...
Continue reading on Examiner.com

Lemonade Stand: a summer mix

2011-06-13T09:07:00.000-07:00

My roommate attended the quarterly San Francisco Mixtape Society party yesterday. I could have gone, but I know how crazy I get about things like that. I get... well judging from the fact that I'm totally of Pandora and I make playlists now every week, I would say that obsessive would be the word. I have to know what every song is, and sometimes even look it up.

But my roommate asked me for some advice to get the creative juices going, and then she showed me the mix she walked out of the party with made by a random person named Amy (Hi Amy!), and I just couldn't resist making my own (but inspired by Amy's).

I could be talked into attending the next one.

So in celebration of the freezing cold winters we have here in San Francisco (I actually quite like them), I give you Lemonade Stand: a summertime mix.

Jonathan Mann's Song-A-Day Project. I participated in song #890

2011-06-10T16:43:00.001-07:00

I met Jonathan Mann earlier this year through the Family Crest. I first saw this video he wrote the day after a Family Crest show and I quickly learned that Jonathan is no ordinary songwriter (if that even exists).

Jonathan has been writing a song a day for the last 891 days and posting them on his youtube page. The idea is that if he writes a song every day, yeah, most of them will be mediocre, and some of them might even suck, but there's that small percentage that actually might be pretty good. So he's been writing about whatever pops into his head: Paul Krugman, elves and Maru the cat.

For the month of June, he decided that writing songs is a lonely process and wanted to get some friends involved. So, he ran a kickstarter.com campaign to raise money for a larger song-a-day project that would pay a handful of musicians and eventually lead to the production of an album of songs written during June.

You can also watch the whole process of writing, recording and mastering each song, every day on streaming video here: http://songatron.com/

Read more about the project in this East Bay Express article that ran yesterday.

SO, I stopped by yesterday with Sarah Dabby, violist of the Family Crest and recorded some vocals for "They Double Dared Us" (I come in toward the end). It was a blast and I'm looking forward to stopping by again.

Don't worry too much about the video, these songs fly past so quickly that they just need to get posted. This one might just be a little creepy because Jonathan is just sitting there staring at the camera while footage of his eighth grade graduation runs above him. Oh well, just enjoy that face then. Lol. (And watch the video below it to see some footage of us recording.)

Because the internet is such a useful and empowering tool, the cello part came remotely across the interwebs from Barton Lewis. There are also opportunities (like today) to record yourself singing and send it to Jonathan to be included in the final track.

At the end of the month, we will all be able to vote the songs will be included on the album. I'll be looking to you guys to help get my tracks on it! :)

Here is a video from the behind the scenes, I show up around 1:45 into the video.

Seriously, today's song is about Maru the cat who turned 4 a couple weeks ago. We love him.

Cool, trippy sh*t: Dave Matthews and King Crimson

2011-06-04T16:04:00.000-07:00

I've been cleaning out the email of a certain member of the band I work for and his friends have sent him some really, really awesome video and articles, so of course I get distracted while I'm working. I wanted to share a couple of these with you.

This one is called "Eh Hee" and comes from Dave Matthews back in 2006. The story is that he was inspired by a Khoisan riff he heard in Southern Africa by the San people (Botswana, South African & Namibia). He recorded this song and made this video, but didn't really publicize it and now it's just floating around the internet.

He seems to be channeling Peter Gabriel's wonderfully weird theatrics with make-up and what looks like fake blood. I love the choreography: mostly very slow movements, but sped up so that when the dancers do move more quickly, it looks really jerky. I also like the affect of the dancers moving around in white powder, creating all sorts of bizarreness.

This next one is called "Elephant Talk" by King Crimson, in a live performance back in 1981. Now, I've never really been a Crimson fan, not because I don't like them, but because I just never got into them. Now might be the time. This is just, really, really rad.

My friend from growing up, Will Hattman from the Portland bands Jana Osta and At Dusk has much love for this video and calls it a "space-alien novelty... it's one of my favorite TV performances of any song ever. I've watched this dozens of times and never get sick of it." So I'll let him tell you why he loves it (the following came from an email):

1) Tony Levin's queasy opening trill on the then-virtually-unheard-of Chapman Stick, sounding like an electric snake with a bad sense of humor. (Jamie says: excellent description!)

2) The syncopation game that drummer Bill Bruford and second guitarist Adrian Belew play throughout by punching the unlikeliest of beats—a sixteenth-note before 2—corrupting at regular intervals what would otherwise be a comfortable, even seductive, funk groove.

3) Belew's manic, deranged lead guitar work, dealing in above-the-nut chimes, seasick whammying, and deliciously apropos animal noises (I'm sure you'll hear the elephants in there), and culminating in a solo of jaw-dropping imaginativeness. (This clip's is even better than the album's!)

4) Belew's vocals, a bit of alliterative, metalinguistic slam poetry that from a lesser performer would come off irritatingly mannered, but which Belew somehow makes genuinely funny, and which becomes more endearing as it goes on.

These ingredients are all pathbreaking, and all in ways that poke out and draw attention. They're proudly odd, built on harsh, unfamiliar sonorities and disarming rhythms, and any one of them alone would make an otherwise ordinary song stick in the mind. It takes the most confident of players to throw them all into one song and make something not merely listenable, but beautiful. The passing of three decades has done virtually nothing to soften the stubborn weirdness of this song. I'm still waiting for the pop world to catch up to it.

Thanks Will!

Hope you enjoyed these cool, trippy videos.

Silly Little Love Song Mix for Conspiracy of Venus (and a show!)

2011-05-29T21:35:00.000-07:00

A mix of cheese-tastic love songs

I've been keeping myself super busy lately with three different ensembles. One of them is the 40 women community chorus Conspiracy of Venus. I sung with them a few years ago and rejoined earlier this year. Tomorrow night is the last show of the season and will be my first show singing with them (I'm still learning the music).

We are currently look for new songs to sing for next year and Joyce, our conductor/arranger really wants to perform some straight up love songs since we basically don't have any! So I made a mix of some of my favorite cheese-tastic, silly, love songs.

If you'd like to check out the Conspiracy of Venus show tomorrow night at the Rickshaw Stop, details are below the playlist.

MONDAY MAY 30TH - Memorial Day
SeaweedSway & the Songbird Festival Present:
Dustin O'Halloran w/ the Magik*Magik String Quartet
+ Conspiracy of Venus
at the Rickshaw Stop!
8pm doors / 9pm show. 155 Fell St, SF, CA 94102

We go on first at 9pm.

Tickets: $15

If you're not familiar with the choir, we are an all-women community choir singing songs by tom waits, leonard cohen, joni mitchell, bill withers, bjork, & the pixies, to name a few...

See the SF weekly writeup for this piece about the show.

Am I a Gleek? Maybe. Did I have fun? YES.

2011-05-24T17:58:00.000-07:00

Terrible photo, great seats.

Drove over to Sacramento last night to catch the 'Glee Live' tour. It was great fun.

(sorry Abby, I know you hate that word...)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There is no doubt in my mind that Glee is a well oiled, hit-making machine with the main force being its incredible triple-threat cast of performers. Being a fan of the show, it was treat to watch these folks in their element, performing for thousands of screaming fans at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento Monday night.

Disclaimer: There will be mild spoilers if you are intending on seeing the show. Also, I will be referring to performers by the character's names, just because I can.

ARCO was, not surprisingly, full of mostly young women and their parents. I saw moms in Sue Sylvester tracksuits and teenagers in t-shirts with black lettering shamelessly advertising the wearer’s most embarrassing characteristic. Some were official merch and/or from the recent episode (“Likes Boys”, “I’m with Stoopid” (pointing up as well as down), “Trouty Mouth” and my fav “Lebanese”) and some were homemade (“Freckles”).

READ MORE OF MY REVIEW (it gets a little sappy, sorry)

Happy Birthday Bobby! A playlist of Dylan covers

2011-05-24T10:11:00.000-07:00

Happy 70th Birthday Mr. Zimmerman!

I've always been in awe of your songwriting, however, not so much your singing. So here's a very short playlist selection of folks singing your songs (so that you don't have to), and I mean that with all due respect.

BIG NEWS! And a celebratory ticket giveaway to the Fillmore to see The Fray

2011-05-20T17:51:00.000-07:00

Always More to Hear is officially a business! My aunt and I went down to City Hall this morning and I filled out the paperwork, which was surprisingly painless. AND, I've been given some some tickets for the Jim Beam Live Music Series to giveaway for the Fray at the Fillmore next Friday May 27th as a celebration!

(These two events are completely unrelated, it's just good timing.)

Making Always More to Hear into a music consultancy business just makes sense considering that all of the work that I'm doing right now is contractual. I'm getting the opportunity to keep my fingers and toes in several pots at the same time, which I really like. So we'll see where it all goes!

(My goal: I'll know I've made it when someone hires me to do the Music Direction for a film. Not kidding, coolest job EVER!)

Anyway, about this giveaway:
If you'd like a pair of tickets to see the Fray at the Fillmore in San Francisco on Friday May 27th, email me at alwaysmoretohear@gmail.com. They've given me six tickets to give away! You must be 21+ to win.

If you're interested, check out this link to the Live Music Series, whether or not you can attend the show or not. There's an interview with the Fray, ways to download tracks from any of the Jim Beam shows, and some other tidbits.

Other artists in the series and playing all over the country are Kid Rock, Bob Schneider, Cold War Kids, Tedeschi Trucks Band, The Fray, Grace Potter and The Nocturnals, The Hold Steady, Manchester Orchestra, O.A.R. and Richard Ashcroft.

Woohoo!

I crush hard on music: Adele and Brass Menažeri

2011-05-19T19:35:00.001-07:00

Okay, sometimes I more than crush. We'll have a short love affair and I get that chill up my spine. I feel a certain joy. I have to listen over and over a again. Turn it up in the car or just watch the musicians in awe. I go to bed and wake up with the tune in my head.

Right now I'm totally obsessed with Adele's pop tune from the album 21 called "Set Fire to the Rain". (The 5th track for those of you who don't do song titles.) I mean, the whole album is so good (well most of it) but I just can't get enough of this one.

It's the perfect pop tune. Not annoying but chalk full of gut wrenching emotion. A catchy lick. A string arrangement. A wall of sound. Adele hits those notes perfectly. It's an 80s pop ballad cleverly disguised as one from 2011. But it feels real.

The other night I went to the Make Out Room to see the premiere of Chasing the Moon's Brass Menažeri podcast. Co-creator and producer Scott McDowell introduced the podcast by explaining that he has a crush on this band. He totally hit the nail on the head.

I am so enamored by Eastern European Balkan brass bands. It's so sexy. These folks have to be so right on to pull off this kind of music, and Brass Menažeri always nails it. Love this band.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE VIDEO

Fun videos: Ramon and Jessica's "Meter Maid" and audience member Rayna with Paul Simon

2011-05-17T21:50:00.000-07:00

These are two videos I found inspiring today.

The Bay Area's own Ramon and Jessica (a.k.a. Dina Maccabee) sing about, and to an SF parking meter in the a cappella "Meter Maid":

And a wonderful video of a Paul Simon fan named Rayna who was called up on stage in Toronto to sing "Duncan" with the whole band. Paul just tells her to keep going. She's in heaven.

Concert Review: Fleet Foxes at the Oakland Fox Theater

2011-05-06T15:50:00.001-07:00

Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes by Paige K. Parsons @ www.parsons.org

Last night I saw Fleet Foxes at the Fox Theater in Oakland, READ MY REVIEW HERE.

I've also gotten in the habit of chatting to folks with professional looking cameras to see who they are shooting for and if they would be willing to share an image with me. I met Paige Parsons last night who was shooting for the Ice Cream Man and she sent over this beautiful image. With generous people around like this, I'm leaving my camera at home.

Helplessness Blues is a really solid album. If you like folks like Iron and Wine, I highly recommend checking it out.

The Family Crest gives Always More to Hear a shout out!

2011-05-05T18:48:00.000-07:00

The Family Crest has these great video blogs on youtube and they're still posting footage from South by Southwest. Check out the shout out that they give me and Always More to Hear (and Hear it Local!) right before the houseshow at Cedric's house (it's at 3:40).

Loving the love!

And it's blog 13! My favorite number.

San Francisco Lyric Chorus: Voices of Immigration, Jamie sings a solo and her own immigration story

2011-04-30T16:50:00.000-07:00

My great-grandparents, Dorothea and Georg Boss in Italy around 1941 (I love how tan he is from the Italian sun)

Next Saturday and Sunday (May 7th and 8th), my choir the San Francisco Lyric Chorus has its Spring concerts. After almost a year of being a member, I can finally be part of a performance (for the first I was in a wedding and the second I was in Africa).

The pieces were chosen with the personal immigration stories of chorus members in mind. For instance, there is one tenor whose family is Cajun via French Canada, so we are singing a couple French Canadian tunes. There are songs specifically about leaving the Old Country and arriving to the New World. We'll also be performing the beautiful Shape Note tune, "How Can I Keep From Singing."

I have a solo in one of the Yiddish tunes. It's short, but very beautiful.

The mother/baby image is my grandmother and great-grandmother in Danzig, Germany around 1918

I submitted my family's story of immigration and it, along with a photo or two, will be featured in the program.

My grandmother was born in Danzig, Germany (now called Gdansk and part of Poland). She and her three younger brothers were able to get out of Germany before 1940. I now have family scattered across the globe from Brazil to Australia and Israel to England.

Peter, Georg, Walter, Lori (my grandma) and Hans in Danzig Germany, 1928

The Boss Family: (front) Georg, great-great-grandpa Louis, Peter & Dorothea. (back) Hans, Lori and Walter; 1939 Danzig, Germany.

When my great-grandparents could stay no longer, they left my great-great-grandpa Louis and got on a boat set for Palestine. Due to the British blockade, the boat was rerouted to Libya. Then a Jewish-Italian organization brought them to Southern Italy and shuttled them from refugee camp to refugee camp (including possibly a prison) until they settled in the small hill town of Cancellara near Naples. They lived there in relative hiding for three years, living among poor Italians.

In 1944 they were able to get on the ONLY U.S. Government sponsored refugee boat (it's so sad there weren't more). They were two passengers of one thousand Christian and Jewish refugees. Three thousand applied to be on this boat. There is a book about it called The Haven by Ruth Gruber. The boat docked in New York and my great-grandparents lived in Oswego, until their citizenship went through. Then they moved to Los Angeles to be near my grandmother and one of my great-uncles.

One of the most amazing things about this story (there are many) is that my grandmother did not know where her parents were or even if they were still alive. It's also amazing that poor Italians welcomed my great-grandparents into their community for several years. I'm thinking of going to Italy to collect aural histories if at all possible.

I have a box full of photos, they are such a trip. I also have some letters and military papers I'd like to get translated. Anyone know German well?

Anyway, if you're in town, come see me sing next weekend!

Blaze's Mix Tape: a 2003 hip-hop mix made by an 11-year-old

2011-04-22T17:03:00.000-07:00

Anything made by a kid is awesome. Anything this cool made by a kid is priceless.

From 2003-2004, I interned for Smithsonian Folkways in Washington D.C. Folkways is the Smithsonian's record label and one of the few places an ethnomusicologist can find a job outside academia. The label publishes new and archival recordings of everything from American folk music to "world" music. Lucinda Williams started off on Folkways and they usually win some sort of Grammy every year since so few labels do what they do.

I worked with some really knowledgeable people, both interns and staff members alike. One day I had a conversation with one of them about hip-hop, and I confessed that I didn't know much about it (I still don't). My colleague said that his 11-year-old son loved hip-hop and would probably make me a mix if I wanted him to. And guess what, he did. And it's time to share.

Why I love this:

The AWESOME kid handwriting
The fact that this kid's name is Blaze, and he names the mix after himself.
He calls this CD a mix TAPE (Must have hip parents).
The CD packaging was a piece of white paper, taped together.
Blaze is totally into Kanye, Snoop Dogg, Nelly and Ludacris, so watch out!

I pieced this mix together from playlist.com. I couldn't find everything and replaced a couple things, but I hope you enjoy it.

Blaze (if that is your real name): Thank you, wherever you are... probably in college by now.

Musical Moments: laughing gas and the Crash Test Dummies

2011-04-21T15:30:00.000-07:00

The 90s were awesome, weren't they?

Since I just spent 4 hours at the dentist this morning, I feel the urge to share.

You know how certain songs can remind you of a specific moment in your life? Well the Crash Test Dummies' "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" reminds me of getting high on laughing gas during oral surgery in high school.

Sparing you the gory details, I had a canine in an odd place and it needed to be attached to a chain and slowly pulled to its current position.

My oral surgeon Dr. Hertz (I'm not making that up) suggested bringing in some music to listen to while he performed surgery on my pie hole. I selected a mix I had made for the car (I loved my cassette mixes).

By the time the laughing gas set in, I was on the third song, "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" by the Crash Test Dummies, a song about freak children with embarrassing secrets.

Being that this was definitely the first time I had ever been "high," I remember specifically some of the bizarre things that passed through my mind, like thinking that I was inside a duck head: my feet at the bill and my eyes peering through the duck eyes. I also remember giving a little shout (in my head) when my short, hairy, bad-breathed orthodontist Dr. Collins walked through the door to contribute to the surgery. I had forgotten that he was stopping by and his presence startled me.

So now and forever more, whenever I hear that weirdo Canadian song from the 90s "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" and that deep, low voice, I will think of being totally off-my-nut high in the oral surgeon's chair.

Why Britney Spears' and Rihanna's "S&M" is the worst guilty pleasure ever

2011-04-20T09:37:00.001-07:00

Beyond the obvious, the new collaboration from Britney Spears and Rihanna is a catchy tune. Now that I'm driving 6 hours in the car for work per week, I'm more liberal about what radio stations catch my attention, and I heard the new "S&M" on a top 40 station yesterday.

I am no prude when it comes to enjoying a good pop tune, but I just keep thinking, "I feel so badly for parents!" How does a parent deal with this?

People have been singing about sex for decades, from "rock with me all night long" to Britney's "I'm a Slave 4 U." But at least in those songs, you could easily tell a child that they were referring to dancing or something. I think what puts me on edge about this song is how specific it is.

Whips and chains? Geez, it's not sugar coated at all, is it? It's not poetic at all. I think that's what's missing, artistry.

Parents, how would you/how are you handling this type of thing? It's not like you can keep these tracks away from children when it's all over the place?

The Family Crest plays "Note & Words," a fundraiser for The Oakland Children's Hospital with a 100 person secret choir

2011-04-07T00:18:00.001-07:00

Matt, Ravenna, John, Owen, Liam & Lucas

Photos by Matt Washburn (to see more click here )

Last Friday night I had the pleasure to help organize and be part of a 100 person SECRET CHOIR for the Family Crest at Notes & Words, a fundraiser for the Children’s Hospital and Research Center Oakland in the beautiful Fox Theater in downtown Oakland. It was a little bit of a bummer because they put us way up in the top of the balcony where no one else really knew we were there, but it was really fun event, and it was awesome to get some my friends out to sing with and experience my new favorite band.

Other performers were musicians HYIM and Megan Slankard ("Notes"). Authors Michael Lewis, Kelly Corrigan and Beth Lisick ("Words") told hysterical stories about being children and their own children. Michael Lewis' story (author of The Blind Side) definitely including peeing in the pool...

Sarah, Owen, Lucas, Liam, Ravenna & Laura

This is also the first time The Family Crest has gotten to play in a large space like the Fox Theater, and they totally filled it up, sonically and visually. Even from the third row from the back, I could tell how much fun they were having up there. And even though I'm not a huge fan of the sound at the Fox, they sounded pretty darn good to me.

We sang on a couple songs, but most notably, a new song called “As We Move Forward." Check out some of these dynamic photos by Matthew Washburn and video. You can actually hear our singing at the end a little bit. There were about 90 of us up there in the balcony and I think there were more folks scattered around singing as well.

In the video below the other entertainers of the evening join the Family Crest on stage.

Thanks to everyone that came out! Hope you had fun.

Lucas and Matt. Lucas is wearing his cello harness, so cool.

Photos by Matt Washburn (to see more click here )

Liam and Owen

Uncoverable songs challenge: "In Your Eyes"

2011-03-30T23:38:00.001-07:00

I was chatting with my roommate today when Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes" came on the radio. This has always been one of my favorite recordings, it's just perfect. I've often thought how I've never heard a cover of this song that I've really liked, and you KNOW I love me a good cover!

I've heard all sorts of people cover this song including a recent trainwreck of an attempt from opera singer Renée Fleming; and who is Jeffrey Gaines, should I remember? I've heard tons of choral a cappella versions, but I don't know if they count.

What is the key to a good cover? I think it's when an artist takes someone else's song and makes it their own while highlighting the song itself. I especially love it when a crappy pop song is made awesome by an amazing rendition (hello Travis' cover of "Baby One More Time").

I don't really know what it is about "In Your Eyes," It's a quintessential 80s pop tune with those fabulously 80s world music nuances (hells yeah Youssou N'Dour) and there's that repeating reference to churches that seemed like it should bother me, and never did. And come to think of it, I've never heard anyone say that they don't like the song. How can you dislike Peter Gabriel anyway? The man is amazing. (I just saw that he was touring this summer.)

I challenge you to find me a cover of this song that really does this tune justice. One that really ups the ante and shows that "In Your Eyes" is not just one of the 80s best, but a timeless, solid song.

I also challenge you to suggest other uncoverable songs; songs that have been covered, but never in a satisfactory way.

(All that said, I just came across this Sara Bareilles cover of "In Your Eyes." I, um, sort of really like it...still had to post the above anyway.)

A party and musical murals: the alley right behind my house

2011-03-27T12:31:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I heard live music coming from somewhere very close to my bedroom. Peeking out my roommate's window that faces towards the back of the building I saw that my neighbors were having a party out of their garage in the alley way. I spotted these dudes playing some music out of a truck. On my way out, I walked through the alley to see what was going on. Turns out it was a going away party.

I sorta felt like I was still in Austin during South By Southwest, where music really is everywhere, including the alleyways.

So then I kept walking down the alley past the party to get back out to the street and found these murals. The Mission is full of murals; just chalk full of them. Actually the whole Bay Area is chalk full of murals, they are everywhere. I've started taking pictures of the musical ones, and there are lots. (One day soon I'll share them with you.) These photos were talking right behind my house, and in the year I've lived there, I've never seen them.

This city just keeps getting more amazing.

Kickstarter.com and Bay Area band projects

2011-03-25T18:57:00.000-07:00

One of the prizes for donating cash is an organizing session with lead singer/songwriter Ziva Hader

You might have already heard about a little website called Kickstarter.com: a “new way to fund and follow creativity.” I’ve always been happy to help out friends and family who were raising money to run in marathons and walk for breast cancer but now I am also happy to help friends create. And depending on how much I donate, I get something in return like a CD, a signed LP or even a massage.

Kickstarter is the largest funding platform for creative projects in the world. Every month, tens of thousands of people pledge millions of dollars to projects around the world and give them the opportunity to come to life. If you are an artist seeking a way to fund a creative project in music, film, art, technology, design, food, or any other creative field - Kickstarter may be the way to do it.

Here is a small list of the some of the current Local Bay Area bands that are using Kickstarter.com to help fund their musical endeavors. Help support them!

Ziva is raising funds for her official band demo CD.
Felsen needs help funding their 3rd album (one day left)!
LoCura is seeking to finish their 2nd album.
The Hypnotist Collectors want to press and print their CDs and make a music video.

Photos from SXSW 2011

2011-03-22T19:57:00.000-07:00

Elain and Eitan enjoying The Family Crest

Torchy's Tacos. The one on the left is called the Trailer Park, it has fried chicken in it and the one on the right is a breakfast taco.

The Defibulators play a the Brooklyn BBQ house show.
http://thedefibulators.com/

Two-steppin' at the Broken Spoke
www.brokenspokeaustintx.com/

South Congress Ave.

To see more photos click here

SXSW highlights from Saturday March 19: yeay for house shows!

2011-03-20T15:07:00.000-07:00

Best house show ever - frog sandbox full of beer (and milk for the kiddies)

Yesterday was a fun day. Got a Jimmie John's sandwich and wandered around a bit downtown. Then headed to South Austin for some outdoor house parties, which by the way, are totally the way to go.

First I checked out the 3rd Annual Brooklyn BBQ party in someone's backyard off of South Congress to see alt-country/bluegrass/punk band the Defibulators. Erin's brother and my brother went to junior high together, so I keep up with what she's doing and her band is really fun. The bbq had two stages, food, drink and dancing.

Brooklyn BBQ back yard show (double click to see larger image)

Then I headed over to a house show at Brian and Elaine's house. They came to my show on Thursday and enjoyed it so much that they invited The Family Crest and Megan Slankard to perform in their front yard It was a blast.

It was also really nice to hear Megan play an acoustic set with just her guitar. This girl can sing.

Megan Slankard plays Elaine and Brian's front yard

Even on such short notice, a bunch of Brian and Elaine's friends showed up, many of them with their kids. It was so fun to watch them enjoy the music and just wander around. Watch this video and just look at all those little faces. Some of them were super into the music. I got another video on my camera of them playing percussion along with the Family Crest, I'll post it when I get home.

Then it was over to a funny little bar called G&S on South First that I had never noticed. I finally got to see The Hello Strangers live, which was a total treat. Larissa and Brechyn have all these new songs that I'd not heard before, like this gospel-y tune "Big Flood." I love the way these ladies harmonize. This song gave me goosebumps.

I have a lot more videos and photos to share, I'll try to roll some of it out in the next couple weeks.

Today we decided to go toobing in the Guadelupe River. It was WAY too cold for toobing. I don't recommend it. My butt is still freezing, and strangely, I got a little bit of color.

Video Blog 2: SXSW Friday on 6th Street

2011-03-19T08:39:00.000-07:00

A second video blog on Friday afternoon on 6th street. My hair is doing weird things because of the humidity and I just visited the coolest hat store in the country, the Hatbox on 6th (I learned everything I know about hats from them)

SXSW house show SUCCESS pt. 1

2011-03-18T11:10:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone that came out last night! My friend Cedric opened up his home to a great night of music with Jasha Hoffman, Foxtails Brigade, Dina Maccabee, KP and the Boom Boom and The Family Crest.

Here's the highlight of the evening for me (for obvious reasons). I have more videos and will load them up, but it's taking too long right now and I have to get moving. It was sort of dark in the room, but you can see what's going on. And, again, I'm super impressed with the audio on this little flipcam.

I HIGHLY recommend throwing a house show if you have ever entertained the idea. They are intimate and fun. Performers always seem to prefer them and throwing parties is just always a good idea.

This is the Family Crest performing "In the Avenue" featuing yours truly on vocals. I am now an official member of the extended Family Crest! w00t!

Video Blog: SXSW 1am Wednesday night - post-house show

2011-03-18T01:29:00.000-07:00

Thanks to KC Turner for inspiring me to post one of these. I feel like such a dork, but here I go releasing it into the interwebs.

Had a great, successful house show, will post video from it tomorrow. Everyone had a blast.

Gary Clarke Jr. at The Ghost Room, Wednesday March 17

2011-03-17T10:30:00.000-07:00

photo via talkinblues.com

Walking into the Ghost Room on 4th street, I instantly remembered how good Gary Clarke Jr. is. With his husky, yet smooth voice and mad guitar skills, why is this guy not famous? As a rock and blues guitarist, his sound is like a modern Jimi Hendrix. His vocal stylings are somewhere between Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys and Ben Ottewell of Gomez.

A few years ago I was lucky enough to hear a whole other side of Clarke at a singer/songwriter in the round show and heard him play a beautiful acoustic with intricate finger-picking. I remember thinking, "where did this come from" and why can't I hear more?

Clarke told me after the show that he will be going on tour soon, and that he hasn't recorded any of the softer, acoustic tunes. I really hope he does, it'll show off how versatile he can be.

Fitz & the Tantrums: Waterloo Records parking lot, March 16th, SXSW, Austin, Texas

2011-03-16T18:10:00.000-07:00

Fitz! Fitz! Fitz!

Finally I got to see Fitz & the Tantrums live! I'm also happy to say that I also converted two of my friends over as well who had not heard of them. I, myself, was converted after Amber Gregory's excitement of their Bay Area shows last year. So after finding rockstar parking, we slid over to the Waterloo Records parking lot (they no longer have SXSW shows in the store, which is good news for everyone) and were treated to the funky sounds of Los Angeles based Fitz & the Tantrums.

We found front duo Michael Fitzpatrick and Noelle Scaggs outside Amy's Ice Cream around the corner and had a quick chat, they were as nice as can be. The fangirl in me waited in line to get them to sign my newly purchased copy of their first album Pickin' Up the Pieces.

The music is a sort of reinvention of soul music. It's modern, yet very much firmly based in Motown and STAX. Fitz has no guitar (score!) and instead has a baritone saxophone (double score!) played by Jamie King. The music is fun, but definitely has a certain edge to it, and a good amount of passion and anger. And that's what I think drives it. The performance is super tight and groove-worthy. The vocal combination of Fitzpatrick and Scaggs is perfect. And although Fitzpatrick has a great voice that suits the music wonderfully, I wish Scaggs would get to sing more lead. But, really, that's my only complaint.

I don't know the history of each of these musicians, but these guys are seasoned professionals that know their stuff. Bassist Ethan Phillips and drummer John Wicks lay down tight, funky grooves and keyboardist Jeremy Ruzumna has chosen the perfect keyboard tones for each song that gives each song a specific personality of sorts.

The song "Dear Mr. President" pleads with (I assume) Mr. Obama, "Hey put your foot down, and take a look 'round, if you don't like what you see." Say it. Hallelujah. And songs like the fabulously catchy "Money Grabber" (see the video below) and "Rich Girls" suggest that Fitzpatrick might have had some specific troubles mixing money and women. I'm really enjoying the dark "News 4 U" with a chorus of call and response between Fitzpatrick and Scaggs that gets in your head.

Photos by Jamie Freedman

I took video (including a cool cover of Sade's "Sweet Dreams"), but the amplification was too much for the little flipcam, so I give you their performance on Conan, the late night talk show host with the best taste in music.

White Dress and The Beaumont: Tuesday March 15th - South by Southwest

2011-03-16T09:24:00.000-07:00

Last night we ended up at funky Jovita's in South Austin for a hodgepodge of music. Even though there were only maybe twenty people in the whole joint, the bands still worked it out for us.

This is The Beaumont from Lubbock. They are not for the un-humored, singing about every hedonistic, R-rated theme you could think of: drugs, Toby Keith being a pretty woman, having an affair with a member of the AARP, mayo as a favorite lubricant, burning churches and every sexual taboo you can think of. These good (?) old boys are not for the faint of heart and easily offended, so of course I was laughing my ass off.

In their cowboy hats, sunglasses and cowboy shirts, these middle-aged dudes could not have been more hilarious, making everyone in the room smile and shake their heads in disbelief. The Beaumont is like Z Z Top on a drinking binge.

This is a snippet of "Money for Drugs" (I took this with my friend's flipcam, pretty good!):

White Dress - photo by Eric Morales @ www.ericm-photo.com

I was pleasantly surprised by Austin based White Dress. It's nice to see more and more powerful women with electric guitars in their hands. Singer-guitarist Arum Rae Valkonen has a versatile voice that spans a range of colors from Billie Holliday to Ann Wilson. Combined with her dirty guitar sound and the badass drumming of Grant Van Amburgh, a Black Keys comparison is unavoidable.

South by Southwest here I come! And I'm hosting a Bay Area bands house show

2011-03-14T12:56:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I leave for Austin for a week. I AM VERY EXCITED. I see that it's going to be over 80 for the next few days, so not only do I get to enjoy the craziness of South by Southwest, there will be fun Texas-y things to do like hanging out in Barton Springs and maybe even toobing on one of the rivers down south.

This will be my 5th time at the festival, and I *think* I've gotten a the hang of it by now. It helps that I can work from wherever there is internet and I have friends who still live there to stay with. It also helps that I know where all the good taco stands are.

I'm also very excited to be hosting my very first house show on Thursday the 14th with Bay Area bands The Family Crest, Dina Maccabee and Foxtails Brigade! It looks like we're going to have a full house! (Let me know if you're in town and you'd like to come) It's been such a pleasure working with my friends to put this together, and house shows are a really wonderful, intimate way to hear music. I think it will be especially excellent after dealing with the street crowds downtown all week.

My general SXSW advice:

wear comfy shoes
drinks lots of water
don't worry too much about sticking to your schedule of bands to see. Even if you have a badge or wristband or whatever (and you don't really need one by the way, there's so much free stuff going on): shows are full, places are further away than you think, you might want to stay for the next band or you might find that there's a glorious sound coming from that tent over there! FOLLOW YOUR EARS! You never know what might come your way, and that's the whole point of this festival, to discover new things.

And of course I have to tell you who I am most looking forward to seeing:

The Bees:
I have been a fan of the Bees since discovering them randomly on a sampler CD I picked up at a Radiohead concert in 2003. They don't tour to the US very often so I will not be missing this one, even though they are playing at 1 in the morning. They have an 1960s thing going on: garage rock with a psychedelic, folky vibe:

Schmillion:
These ladies are Girls Rock Camp alums, so of course I'm excited about them. They were recently featured on a cnn blog. Woa! They are still in high school and embody what camp is all about. AND, they are sharing the stage of the Girls Rock Camp showcase with the Bangles. Not too shabby.

The Hello Strangers:
My friend and former classmate Larissa Chace Smith and sister Brechyn, whom I've written about before, will be in town from central Pennsylvania! Think Neko Case times two! I love the vocal harmonies. Their music tells the stories of women caught in bad relationships who might take matters into their own hands every now and again. I've not gotten to see them live yet, but love their recordings.

The Defibulators:
Erin B. is the younger sister of Eli, who is my pianist when I sing in Los Angeles. Eli and my brother played music together in junior high. The Defibulators throw a raucous party of what I'm gonna call country-punk. I've been getting to know their music over the years and it keeps changing. The new album "Corn Money" has a fun combination of honky-tonk tunes and 1930s-type ballads.

Defibulators "Corn Money" from Possum Den Productions on Vimeo.

I have a new smart phone so I will be trying out live blogging with it. Stay tuned!

And, of course, I will be eating lots of tacos.

In defense of a good pop album: 4 reasons to love Ke$ha’s ‘Animal’

2011-03-11T18:20:00.000-08:00

Been working on this post for awhile. Today I felt the urge to post it, better late than never.

MY POST ABOUT LOVING KE$HA'S "ANIMAL"

Love of lady covers: UnderCover Presents the Pixies' "Doolittle"

2011-03-01T16:08:00.000-08:00

Bevy of beauties: Conspiracy of Venus prepares for their performance of "Monkey Gone to Heaven"
(all photos by Peter Varshavsky)

Last week UnderCover Presents: the Pixies' Doolittle at SF Public Works. The project is an insane logistical balance of getting one band to record and perform one track each of a classic album. This time, Doolittle got the royal treatment.

Read my review of the show and studio album here.

I noticed that the tracks I love the most were sung by women. Surprise surprise. These ladies include, Dina Maccabee, Blue Rabbit (who I'm going to see live tomorrow night at the Hemlock) and Lily Tayor. Of course I also love Conspiracy of Venus (a choir I have rejoined, I couldn't stay away any longer).

Lovely lady UnderCover Executive Director Lyz Luke

Newly found (to me) goddess Lily Taylor

Dina Maccabee's sweet and purdy cover of "La La Love You"

Blue Rabbit sings "Hey"

The one where I interview The Family Crest with a cat on my lap

2011-02-25T18:36:00.000-08:00

Liam lets out a mighty sound at the Family Crest CD release

Last Friday I got to interview Liam and John of The Family Crest in my living room. They are opening for Megan Slankard at the Bottom of the Hill in a week (March 5) and Hear it Local has two tickets to give away for the show.

To enter to win in this contest, leave a comment on the Hear it Local SF facebook page or post this link on your own wall and make sure to "@Hear it Local SF" so we know you did it.

In the interview I ask Liam and John about how they have harnessed the power of their community fan base to raise money and include them in their music making.

My cat Ella makes an appearance; she's black, we're wearing black. It's pretty funny, all you see are EYES.

Film Reviews from Noise Pop 2011: 'This is Noise Pop' and 'The Extraordinary Ordinary Life of José Gonzalez'

2011-02-24T01:16:00.001-08:00

Bob Mould: interviewed in This is Noise Pop (photo BayTapper.com)

San Francisco Music Festival Noise Pop 2011 is on this week and I checked out a couple films this evening.

The first This is Noise Pop tried to answer the question: What is indie rock? Featuring folks like Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips, James Mercer of the Shins, Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie, Bob Mould of Hüsker Dü and more.

Read my review of This is Noise Pop

The second was a more meandering film called The Extraordinary Ordinary Life of José Gonzalez that follows Gonzalez into the studio and on tour. It features charming moments of humor, frustration, intimacy and animation. Plus, the music is gorgeous and there is some nose-picking.

Read my review of The Extraordinary Ordinary Life of José

More music from my trip to South Africa: Freshlyground at Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens

2011-02-19T13:45:00.000-08:00

Sorry Hollywood Bowl and Stern Grove, you're just not as pretty.

I had a special treat catching the Capetonian afropop band Freshlyground at the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens back in December. It was a gorgeous summer day, we had blankets, food and wine and some kind friends arrived early so that I had a prime viewing spot.

Ever since the World Cup, Freshlyground's popularity has exploded. You remember "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)" the official song of the World Cup that Shakira sang? Freshlyground co-wrote and performed the song with her. I was happy to see lead singer Zolani Mahola, violinist Kyla Rose Smith and guitarist Julio "Gugs" Sigauque appear for a second in the official video as well at 2:18.

This video has over 300 million hits by the way... yowzers!

I loved their dancing, especially from bass player Josh Hawks. They put on a great show.

The Perfect Life After Death: The Psychobilly Zombie by Kim Kattari

2011-02-17T17:27:00.000-08:00

If you're not aware of the current obsession with zombies, you've not been watching TV or don't ever go to the movies. What is it about the zombie that is so appealing?

There are even people out there who believe that the zombie apocalypse is upon us. I kid you not. You'd think that this stuff is tongue and cheek, but some of it is very serious.

My friend and former-classmate Kim Kattari is finishing up her PhD in Ethnomusicology at The University of Texas in Austin and she's published her dissertation chapter about zombies on Examiner.com. Kim was a Halloween guest blogger for Always More To Hear in 2009.

I describe psychobilly as rockabilly colliding head on into punk. The music is fast, bass players play upright basses and like to perform fancy tricks with them, and the thematic content covers everything from pissed off relationships to zombies. The aesthetic includes tattoos, 50s inspired clothing, Bettie Page, pompadours and old cars.

Kim has been studying the Psychobilly culture in Texas and California and I've been to check out some of this music with her, it's some pretty fun people watching.

The zombie theme is so prevalent that Kim has a whole chapter on it. She also loves zombies :)

So check it out:

SECTION A - Zombies Are Back

SECTION B - Zombie Definitions

SECTION C - Zombies Correspond to our Fears

SECTION D - Catharsis of Zombie-Killing

SECTION E - Psychobilly's Zombie Narrative

SECTION F - Zombie Minstrelsy

The Vienna Boys Choir (and why kids are awesome)

2011-02-10T23:18:00.001-08:00

What do you do when someone in front of you farts? What if you're performing in front of hundreds of people? Do you try to ignore it until it passes? Or do you wrinkle up your nose in a super obvious way, and when the song is over elbow your neighbor and give the kid in front of you the stink eye?

Kids are awesome. They can be insanely smart and silly all at the same time.

I was reminded of this, this is evening when I saw the infamous Vienna Boys Choir perform at Grace Cathedral.

(I really don't want to get that kid in trouble, but OMIGOD it was so funny!!)

These guys were so great. My choir of full grown adults should be so lucky as to pull off a concert like this group of kids did tonight, as they probably do every night. I heard not one mistake. They had EVERYTHING memorized. They sang half a dozen languages perfectly. And, of course they sounded amazing. Grace Cathedral was built for this sound.

But watching these consummate professionals, you see that they really are only children between, I'm guessing, the ages of 8 and 13.

I found myself being totally distracted and entertained by their individual personalities. Who was the troublemaker? Who was the shy one? What can I say, I'm a people-watcher, and kids provide the ultimate people-watching experience.

This is what I saw, and some of these kids fit more than one of these descriptions:

the eye-wanderer - not looking at the conductor, but at everything else.
the yawner - by the second half there were several of these
the one with the Bieber haircut - yes, they are Austrian, but there still has to be one
the one who makes funny faces when he sings - all choirs have one
the one whose voice sticks out - not necessarily in a bad way
the one who keeps forgetting to bow with the rest of the group
the overly animated one - often the one who makes funny faces, often they dance in place
the one with Harry Potter glasses
the one with funny ears - they're kids, this is a given
the one who's WAY taller/shorter than everyone else - again, they're kids, it's a given
the one who just looks really Austrian - whatever that means

Oh, maybe I should mention some of the music: Palestrina, Bruckner (both my favs), Pergloesi, Zoltán Kodály (they sang in Hungarian!), Orff and yes folks some Michael Jackson. They sang "We Are the World" in Austrian accents and it was adorable.

Music of Brazil Mix

2011-02-09T15:39:00.001-08:00

New mix! I made this for my brother years ago and even posted the collage cover, but now you can download it. It's got some tunes from the City of God soundtrack, some foró, funk, rock, samba, bossa nova. Lots of good stuff.

Click here to download

1 No caminho do bem - Tim Maia
2 Panis et Circenses - Os Mutantes
3 Que Bloco E Esse - Ile Aiye
4 Sonho Meu (with Gal Costa) Maria Bethânia
5 Margarida Perfumada (Live) feat. Caetano Veloso - Carlinhos Brown & Cicero Menezes
6 Toque De Timbaleiro - Nem Cardoso
7 Mama Africa - Chico César
8 Asa Branca - Luiz Gonzaga
9 Girl from Ipanema (with Stan Getz) - Joao and Astrid Gilberto
10 Sem Essa #5 - Jorge Ben
11 Mangueira - Seu Jorge
12 Motumbá - Timbalada
13 Ponta de Lanca Africano (Umbabarauma) - Jorge Ben
14 A Deusa Dos Orixás - Clara Nunes, Romildo/Toninho
15 Desaforo - Fala Mansa
16 Meu Guarda-Chuva - Paula Lima
17 A brisa do mar - Olodum
18 Samba da Bencao - Bebel Gilberto
19 Na rua, na chuva, na fazenda (Casinha de Sepe) - Hyldon
20 Metamorfose Ambulante - Raul Seixas

For the love of Doolittle and a new discussion section on Examiner.com

2011-02-08T11:48:00.000-08:00

Joyce McBride leads the women of Conspiracy of Venus as they record "Monkey Gone to Heaven" for UnderCover's Doolittle Project at the Convent Collective

I love a good cover song. So I love projects like this. In Austin, Strings Attached does entire shows of albums (Sgt. Peppers, The White Album) or artists (Led Zeppelin, Joni Mitchell) with a full band and string arrangements. Each song featured a different local musician. It is a celebration of a well-love artist/album and a celebration of the local music community.

UnderCover in the Bay Area is about to have its second show, celebrating the Pixies' Doolittle. Each track will be performed by a different band. Two weekends ago I had the opportunity of going to hang with my girls of the women's chorus Conspiracy of Venus as they recorded the track "Monkey Gone to Heaven" for the studio UnderCover Doolittle album, which will before sale at the show at Public Works SF on February 22.

CLICK HERE TO READ MY ARTICLE

Also, Examiner.com has a new feature for discussions. So CLICK HERE to weigh in on what album you would like UnderCover to celebrate in the years to come!

Happy Friday: John Mulaney and "The Best Meal I've Ever Had"

2011-02-04T17:10:00.001-08:00

The Family Crest: My new favorite San Francisco band

2011-02-02T14:06:00.001-08:00

At the Cafe du Nord CD release, January 22 - Owen Sutter: violin , Sarah Dabby: viola/vocals, John Seeterlin: bass, Liam McCormick: vocals/guitar (photos: Ted van der Linden)

Liam McCormick

I recently came across The Family Crest because they signed up on Hear it Local (see folks, it works!) and fell in love with their sound. Not only do they combine classical and rock, which is something I always can appreciate, they also invite dozens of people to perform with them, including a choir. I definitely want to join!

I also want to say that I'm always glad to see some diversity in a band, especially diversity that represents its own city and community. So yes, I'm glad to see that there are two Asian guys, Liam McCormick and Lucas Chan, in The Family Crest.

Read my review of their new full-length album "The Village" and CD release here.

Maunal, Dwayne & Brian: the kids of Lynchdoche Eco-village

2011-02-02T09:17:00.000-08:00

Manual at an end-of-the-year Christmas party for a program where kids learn to recycle (he has the best smile)

These videos are super special to me. I arrived in Cape Town from London early on a Sunday morning and headed directly to the Sustainability Institute and Lynchdoche Village, located east of Cape Town in wine country on the way to Stellenbosch.

The sun was out, it was warm and windy, and it was gorgeous country. I didn't really know what to expect from this place, and since it was Sunday, school wasn't in session and it was really REALLY quiet. During the week, these pictures would be filled up with people.

looking north: The crèche on the right (where kids play during the week) and some homes.

south

Then I heard some music. So I followed it (as I do) and found these guys: Manual, Dwayne and Brian (and Brian's little sister) playing music. Brian lives in the village, I'm not sure where Manual and Dwayne live, but it would be in the general area in small homes. All three go to school at the government run school located in the Sustainability Institute.

Brian's mother Makka runs the guesthouse where I rented a room. She just finished paying off her house (behind them) and was one of the first eco-village residents a little over 10 years ago. (Her tiny two-story home has a solar panel.) Brian is 11 and the oldest out of this bunch.

I love the extension chords leading out of Brian's house. Manual played that plastic trashcan lid like a pro. Brian's guitar was hardly tuned, but he would bar the frets to get a reasonable harmonic sound out of it. I later found out that he had taken guitar lessons, so this kid knows how to play chords and he's actually very musically talented. So he's chosen to play this particular instrument without much tuning. I found that really interesting.

I'm not sure what the first song is, but I imagine that it's a South African gospel tune. This second one definitely is. Gospel is really popular in the rural parts of Cape Town. Brian taught me how to play this second tune "I've got a Feeling" on his guitar. I also went and pulled out my ukulele which he tinkered around with.

Please ignore the fact that I interrupted them at the end, so I could give Dwayne the chance to play if he wanted to. Only now do I realize that Brian says "He can't play!" haha... oops.

This was really sweet though, and a wonderful way to welcome me to this continent/country/city.

Music in Cape Town: Abavuki and marimba bands at Mama Africa

2011-01-30T00:59:00.000-08:00

Abavuki live at Mama Africa

In my search for "authentic" African music (which is a dangerous rabbit hole to start down, because really, what is authentic?) I came across marimba bands. Ironically, the place I found the "authentic" Capetonian music was at restaurant called Mama Africa.

Mama Africa is a tourist destination restaurant that serves up pan-African foods and animals. You can get warthog, springbok and zebra there (and yes I did try it, and yes, I did like some of it). The walls are covered with African art and thatch, just to make it as "authentic" as possible. I was warned about this place. I had heard that the service sucked and the food was overpriced. I knew there was music, but I just assumed that it would be cheesy. Every night there is a live band playing for the tourists and most of these bands have bi-weekly gigs here.

But on my last night in Cape Town before heading to Namibia, I ended up there with several other backpackers. The food was actually pretty good and the band playing that night was Abavuki, a Capetonian marimba band. Being the good Ethnomusicologist I am, I had to ask some questions. (No food poisoning this time.)

Talking to Mzwamadoda Matsila, the trombone/alto marimba player, I found out that marimba bands are indeed Capetonian and that the guys in the band do make a living playing music. Our final bill charged each costumer a 10 South African Rand ($1.50) music fee. There were some people at my table that were upset about this. Yikes. I tried to explain to these people that these gigs probably earn the musicians the bulk of their living wages.

The musicians of Abavuki are from the black township of Langa. I noticed that most of these guys played at least two instruments. There were three sizes of marimbas: bass, tenor and alto. The soprano marimba does exist, but they just don't use it. A couple of these guys also doubled on saxophone and trombone. They also switch off playing various percussion instruments. They also ALL sing - with some pretty cool harmonies.

These guys probably play for at least four hours every night. They played hard for us, and I appreciated it. I had a great time. It was much more entertaining than the cover band with a pre-recorded drum track I had heard earlier in the week down the street.

These are not my videos, but are pretty good representations of what I saw. The music is fast, virtuostic, hard-hitting and danceable. I am super glad to have stumbled upon it.

And another:

Race and the Bay Area Afrobeat band Albino!

2011-01-26T16:43:00.000-08:00

This morning I posted this article on examiner.com describing a four month lab residency for the Bay Area afrobeat band Albino! to play at the Elbo Room in the Mission. Each month they will team up with a different artist to experiment with the kind of music that might come up out of that partnership. This is month (Friday) they are playing with Liberian-Bay Area DJ Jeremiah.

I'm not gonna lie, when I first heard about this band three years ago, it made my stomach churn a little bit. The idea of an Afrobeat band called Albino! which is comprised of *mostly* white dudes in costume (often African-themed costume and "tribal" face paint) was not really appealing to me at all; especially coming right out of an Ethnomusicology academic program where I thought about race and music consistently for three years. I was even sure that the band was pretty damn good, but it was still disturbing to me.

But then, the more I thought about it, and the more I got to know the Bay Area and its sense of humor and awareness, it seemed less and less of an issue. I mean, in Austin I was in an afropop band where we often didn't even know what we were singing about, let alone if we were singing words that made ANY sense in the original language (we learned covers phonetically). We just liked the music and wanted to recreate it the best we knew how. At least Albino!'s lyrics are in English and write about political and racial issues in their own community (class struggle within Oakland for instance).

The name Albino! and the costumes seem to be merely poking fun at the fact that the musicians are a bunch of white guys, and yeah, "we play African music," so what? There are dozens of afrobeat bands in the US comprised of mostly/all white people (Antibalas, Budos, Nomo, Afrodesia etc), and they're damn damn good bands that I love very much and do all I can to support them. Can I single one out because of a band name and funny outfits? Can I seriously consider this tasteless enough to count them out?

The music is good. The music does not poke fun. I now have one of their live CDs and it's great music.

What do you think; am I trying too hard justify this idea? Can we just laugh at it and dance?

Albino! promo photo

Recording of Pomplamoose Live at the Warfield NYE Dec 31, 2010

2011-01-24T11:19:00.000-08:00

Photo by Zaque Eyn

A fan named David sent over a link to a recording they made at the Pomplamoose show at the Warfield on December 31, 2010. It's pretty darn good so I wanted to share it with you. I was on a plane at the time, so I'm super happy to have a copy.

CLICK HERE

Music for Tourists: Videos from Cape Town

2011-01-22T01:57:00.000-08:00

I'm going to start rolling out photos and videos from my trip to Africa and Europe. I'll start with the ones that are probably the most interesting culturally and historically, but which I also know very little about.

What I can tell you is that these performances are for the tourists. They were in touristy parts of Cape Town where there was a lot of shopping happening: the Waterfront and Green Market Square. These are folks that get up in the morning, put on their costumes and go dance for tips. And it's nice that they do, because in Cape Town you don't really get a feeling of much traditional culture, it's a very modern and European city.

Tourists were constantly joining these ladies so that they could have pictures taken with them. It was a little annoying as I just wanted to watch them perform. I really enjoyed their interlocking rhythmic and melodic chanting. It was very cool.

I passed them a couple hours later and they were sitting and singing. It was hot, and they were tired. They were cute ladies.

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If you know anything about these performances, please let me know.

The Budos Band: "Staten Island instrumental afro-soul"

2011-01-08T05:12:00.001-08:00

Coming home from chilly and wet Europe next weekend and heading straight over to thaw off with the Budos Band, who is single handedly giving Staten Island a new reputation for funky afro-soul. My only experience with the island was WWF and Jewish deli's. So thank you Budos. See you next weekend.

READ MY EXAMINER PREVIEW ARTICLE HERE

Follow me in Europe and Africa!

2010-11-28T18:17:00.000-08:00

From November 29th to January 15th, I will be traveling in Europe and Africa. Follow me around here.

I'll be going to England, South Africa, Namibia, Scotland and France (in that order, as London as my hub.) I've built this trip around visit my friend Brad in Namibia in the Peace Corps. I figure why not make a whole adventure out of it.

Austin, Texas Mix

2010-11-28T17:57:00.000-08:00

This is a mix I made in 2007 when I worked at the Hatbox, a hat store in Austin on 6th Street, during South by Southwest. It was super fun putting hats on music industry folks from all over the world. David Boreanaz (from Angel and Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and Badly Drawn Boy came in to browse around.

I added a couple things that have come out since then like the Maneja Beto tune. All of these songs are upbeat, suitable to be played loudly in a retail shop.

Click to download

1. Something Good - LZ Love
2. Toot Your Whistle - White Ghost Shivers
3. You're Gonna Miss Me - The Thirteenth Floor Elevators
4. Big Fat Mama - Pinetop Perkins
5. Darlin' I'll Do Anything You Say - Junior Brown
6. Don't Wanna - The Asylum Street Spankers
7. Ritmo del Tambo - Grupo Fantasma
8. Stuck in a Crowd - Alpha Rev feat. Casey McPherson
9. City Song - Kathy McCarty
10. Mr. Atom - Liz Pappademas
11. Pride and Joy - Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble
12. Solo Quisierea - Maneja Beto
13. Truck Driver - Scott H. Biram
14. Call Of My Heart - Toni Price
15. Bloodless Revolution - Carolyn Wonderland
16. Let's Talk About Jesus - Bells of Joy
17. Take The Fifth- Spoon
18. When She Walks Away - Alejandro Escovedo
19. The Lost City Of Refuge - …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead
20. Cariño (First Date Mix) - Ocote Soul Sounds

New Mix: Music for Yoga

2010-11-28T14:33:00.000-08:00

Yoga Mix - Music obviously makes a big difference to me in yoga classes. I get bored easily, and if the music is boring, I'll tune it out and just get more bored. But there have classes where the teacher picks interesting music, and I'll come back just for that.

This mix is full of luscious and calming music that I would love to hear during a class. But it's also just a calming, mellow mix. I know some of you are yoga teachers, so I figure you might want to add some of these tunes to your ipod.

Click to download

1. Ave Regina Caelorum – Dufay (Seattle Pro Musica)
2. All is Full of Love remix - Bjork
3. Scarborough Fair/Canticle - Simon & Garfunkel
4. Sodade - Cesaria Evora
5. Strange & Beautiful (I'll Put a Spell on You) - Aqualung
6. Hypnotist - Built For The Sea
7. Many Seasons - Kacey Johansing
8. Mouneïssa - Rokia Traoré
9. Singing Softly to Me - The Kings of Convenience
10. Heartbeats - José Gonzalez
11. All You Ask - Magnet
12. From The Depths / Mi'ma'amakim - The Idan Raichel Project
13. Almost Everything - Raya Yarbrough
14. Take My Hand, Precious Lord - Mahalia Jackson
15. Angels - Wax Poetic feat. Norah Jones
16. Ice - Sarah McLachlan
17. Fields of Gold - Eva Cassidy
18. Sirata - Habib Koite
19. Love Is Blindness - U2
20. The Song Of The Sybil - Dead Can Dance
21. Kol Galgal - Shotei HaNevu'a

The concert photography of Amber Gregory

2010-11-18T23:12:00.000-08:00

Since getting involved in all this live music reporting and whatnot, I've met some really amazing, talented people who are so passionate about what they do, they don't care if they make any money doing it. Granted, it would be nice, but as long as the music keeps coming, why not?

I met Amber Gregory when her posts started popping up on Examiner.com. In the last year I've watched her photography get better and better. I've also noticed that we were ending up at a bunch of the same concerts over and over again like OONA and My First Earthquake. So it's good to know she appreciates the best! I also like to see what awesome and fun outfits she shows up in! :)

Amber is completely self-taught and she's only been doing this for two years. TWO YEARS! (picks up jaw off of floor) She gets those "money" shots: the dynamic images of musicians in the moment of their element. I like the ones that are fierce. She really knows how you use the light to enhance the shot and her processing is amazing.

She says in one of her Examiner.com stories:

Live music is fleeting, and there is a great challenge to being able to capture the mood (emotion, physical dimensions, sense of space, the thickness of the air) of a live performance in a series of still images. I want to capture tangible proof of the unique qualities of these fleeting moments.

As it goes with digital cameras, you can get hundreds of photos from a show. If the performer is dynamic, it's fun to click through these quickly in a facebook or flickr album and watch the performer move, usually in a much crisper image than most video.

PR folks are starting to offer me photo passes, and since I know very little about taking a good photo, I asked Amber to come along to the Greg Laswell show.

Below is a slide show of some of my favorites of hers from the Treasure Island Fest, Coachella and other shows around town, including a gorgeous shot she took of Greg, with a broken camera.

Oh, she does weddings too! :)

See more of Amber's work on her site here.

(Picasa was being really frustrating and deleting my captions, so in the slideshow you will see in order: Greg Laswell, My First Earthquake, Scissors for Lefty, Groove Armada, OONA, Florence + the Machine, The Specials, The Gossip, Devo, Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, Fitz and the Tantrums, Rykarda Parasol, The Thrashers, Tartufi (and little guy), Belle and Sebastian, The National, a bra, Wallpaper, !!! (Chk Chk Chk) and the Ferocious Few)

Review: 'Five Shakespeare Sonnets' by Rufus Wainwright with the SF Symphony

2010-11-12T18:57:00.000-08:00

A lot has been said about Rufus Wainwright's Five Shakespeare Sonnets in collaboration with the San Francisco Symphony. I was not blown away, nor did I expect to be. While the orchestration was gorgeous, I would have welcomed more breathing time in the compositions. Shakespeare’s poetry came at the audience so quickly, they felt hurried. I would have liked some time between vocal lines to digest, and maybe a little break from Rufus' vocals.

Wainwright’s vocal timbre is a specific taste. You either like it or you don’t. He is one of the few vocalists that can pull off nasaled, and I was curious to see if it would work in a concert setting. It would be interesting to hear a classically trained vocalist attempt to perform these pieces as there were moments of strained higher notes. In popular music, this can commonplace and even artistic, but on the Davies Hall stage, it seemed a little strange. I'm still on the fence if I personally liked it or not.

TO READ THE REST OF MY REVIEW CLICK HERE

Record Review: Maneja Beto’s 'Escante Calling' and the future of American Indie-rock

2010-11-12T16:22:00.000-08:00

left to right: Bobby Garza, Alec Padron, Patrick Estrada, Nelson Valente and Alex Chavez

Maneja Beto's new album Escante Calling (A Rare Calling) should not just be noticed by Spanish speakers, but recognized by music industry at large. Not just because it’s great record, but because of the direction it’s pointing. Maneja Beto will probably never become a household name (although if I ruled the world it would be) but the concept of the band’s music will become as commonplace as reggae or hip-hop: “Indie en Español” is a genre we’re going to be hearing more.

I met singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist Alex Chavez in a Cultural Anthropology seminar at the University of Texas at Austin in 2005 when we had both just started our Master’s degrees (he completed PhD just this year). Once I heard his band's music, the genre “Indie en Español” made perfect sense. Maneja’s music lies in that nebulous “Indie” zone, a term that has lost it’s original meaning identifying a band’s separation from major record companies. These days it’s more of a category describing the fusion of styles, sounds and instruments. “Indie” is where experimental popular music lies.

If you like Radiohead, Animal Collective, Vampire Weekend and the Arcade Fire, you’ll probably like Maneja Beto. And if you’re a non-Spanish speaker, I guarantee the music is interesting enough that you might not mind so much that you can’t understand the words. Who can understand what Thom Yorke sings anyway?

TOO READ THE REST OF THE REVIEW CLICK HERE

Maneja Beto's fun video of the last track of the album "Ofrendas"

Florence + The Machine at the Oakland Fox Theater, a review

2010-11-06T10:52:00.001-07:00

Florence and The Machine at the O2 Empire, Shepherd's Bush, London, 28th September 2009
Photo by preamble

WOW! This woman is INCREDIBLE. Because it's not super professional to say that on examiner.com, I just wanted to get that out of the way here :)

Anyone who takes their cues from Bjork is okay in my book.

READ MY REVIEW HERE

Florence and the Machine - Dog Days Are Over VMA
Uploaded by samiam2546. - Explore more music videos.

Shirley Verrett 1931-2010: My college voice professor

2010-11-05T16:58:00.000-07:00

Shirley Verrett was my voice teacher at the University of Michigan from 1999 to 2001. Even though I don't think she quite understood why I didn't want to be a professional opera singer, she kept me in her studio anyway. I realized early on that if she didn't think I was worth her time, I wouldn't have been there. I was honored to learn from her.

Verrett was a black woman in the world of opera when there were few. She was a black woman in the era of civil rights. She was a woman in an industry that didn't (and still doesn't?) really believe that a woman could have a successful personal and professional life.

Professor Verrett's office was covered in photographs reaching as far back into the 1950s showing herself onstage and posing with presidents, other famous opera singers and celebrities. She was fearless. And I learned as much from her vocally as I did from her about life.

She taught me that you can be as successful in your personal life as you can be in your career. You CAN BE a famous opera singer and be a wife and a mother at the same time. And if others tell you differently, it doesn't matter.

She also taught me that you should not allow yourself to be pegged in a corner if you do not want to be. Being labeled as a mezzo-soprano, a dramatic soprano and more, Verrett kept critics on their toes by tackling operatic roles that were unexpected for her vocal type. She appeared in music theater productions (she was in a production of Carousel with Taye Diggs and seemed more excited about that than anything else she ever did!) and encouraged her students to sing music theater.

Professor Verrett also valued beautiful and natural things. Her vocal technique was based on supporting the natural positions of the body. I know this is pretty common, but at the time I had been learning from a voice teacher in high school who got me to make funny faces when I sang. It's been an uphill battle to unlearn those habits ever since.

Verrett also loved clothes. She LOVED clothes. Her father was in the fashion industry and she had the opportunity to travel all over the world. So she managed to pick up some interesting garments along the way. It was fun to see what she wore to campus each week.

Shirley Verrett died yesterday November 4th in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She will be missed.

Here she sings Tosca at the Met in 1978 with Pavarotti and MacNeil.

Portland travel guide GIVE AWAY! My playlist featured in Shelf Unbound Magazine

2010-11-05T12:21:00.000-07:00

Shelf Unbound Magazine ran a story about Serena Bartlett's GrassRoutes' Urban Eco Guide to Portland and they put together the Portland Playlist I developed for the book. (Something I was going to anyway!) Thanks Shelf Unbound!

You can download this list from iTunes!

If you'd like to enter to win this book, leave a comment. And make sure you identify yourself!

Greg Laswell finally gets to rock out with a 5-piece band, and the catalyst to starting this blog in the first place

2010-11-03T18:01:00.000-07:00

Greg Laswell holds a special place in my musical being. He was the first post on this blog.

It was a lonely September evening when I went to see Greg Laswell by myself at Cafe du Nord in 2008. But it was there that I decided to go home and actually start writing. I had been thinking about it for awhile, but there was something about discovering this musician and seeing him play live that actually convinced me to do it.

So thanks, Greg.

I'm super excited to see him play with a 5-piece band on a bigger stage. The energy of his music calls for more sound, and somehow the two and three piece groups I've seen him with always left me a tad disappointed.

READ THE PREVIEW OF THE THIS SHOW at the Independent next Wednesday HERE

Please click through, even if you don't read it, I get a penny every time you go to my Examiner articles! MAKE ME RICH!! lol. I don't have a day job anymore!!

And for those of you not in the Bay Area check out his tour dates here, he'll be heading through the Midwest, East Coast and Canada in the next month or so.

And stay tuned for photos and review from a fellow Examiner Amber Gregory.

Watch Greg try to sing backwards (to make it look like he's singing forwards) while people destroy the set in the background.

Greg Laswell Featuring Ingrid Michaelson "Take Everything" HD from OTTO ARSENAULT on Vimeo.

"Alice Dancing Under the Gallows" - Theresienstadt and the Power of Music

2010-11-02T22:16:00.000-07:00

"Music is a religion, music is god."

Never have I heard words that were any truer (at least for me personally).

Alice Herz-Sommer will be 107 years old this November. She is the oldest living Holocaust surviver. She has her friends, she has her health and she plays piano everyday.

Alice lived in the Theresienstadt concentration camp during World War II. Theresienstadt was used as a Nazi front to show the public the daily lives of prisoners. It was the only Nazi camp where children were kept with their parents and where artists were permitted and encouraged to create.

Read my post about a concert featuring some of the music composed in Theresienstadt

Even though many of these prisoners were starving, they kept on creating. Alice was one of these people.

Alice Dancing Under the Gallows is a film due to be finished next year. To follow its progress see its twitter and facebook pages.

I want to be like Alice when I grow up. Her love, hope and optimism are truly an inspiration.

Help fund My First Earthquake destroy a record studio

2010-10-21T00:37:00.001-07:00

This is actually my favorite MFE official photo, love that it's taken in front of the DeYoung Museum

My First Earthquake has quickly become my favorite Bay Area band. They are silly, irreverent and fabulous live. They have a song about cooking a chubby boyfriend into a meat pie for godsake! And the music is something out of a hip '80s video game.

And they are also nice people who suggest meeting for the best pancakes in San Francisco early on a Sunday morning.

I'll be plugging their music and their kickstarter.com album-making campaign tomorrow (Thursday October 21st) morning on KUSF 90.3 FM (you can also use this link to listen online or later) between 8-9 AM PCT.

But for now, READ MY ARTICLE that came out of a breakfast interview with the band. And donate some cash if you feel like it, you have until Saturday morning.

Israeli Jazz and bassist Avishai Cohen

2010-10-19T17:52:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of 2010, a friend of mine turned me onto bassist Avishai Cohen. He has played with giants of jazz in New York, Europe and of course Israel. He finally started his own record label in 2003 and his new release Aurora is one of the most gorgeous records I've heard.

This video of the track "Alon Basela" has just over 24 thousand hits, I bet 20 thousand of them are mine. As soon as the video is over I want to hear it again.

(Sung in Hebrew)
I believe I’m an oak tree in the rock
Even if a storm will hit me.
I will keep standing
When I shed a tear I plant a Tree.

Sorrow is the soul
And I am nature

I believe in mankind
And in the sky
I exist in the ocean
And in the tree
As long as I live
I will remember
Happiness is the people
For better and ever

Cohen plays at Yoshi's in Oakland on Wednesday and Thursday, two shows each evening. I'll be there Thursday for the 8pm.

READ MY PREVIEW HERE

The best place to sit for a symphony concert: the choral stalls/tier section

2010-10-16T10:43:00.000-07:00

A photo taken in Davies Symphony Hall (for Mahler 8) a little further to the right from the spot I'm taking about. We were sitting where those kids are on the left. (Photo, Kristen Loken Anstey)

Who wouldn't want to see the conductor hit himself in the face with his baton?

Thoughts that passed through my head last night at Davies Symphony hall seeing Semyon Bychkov conduct Ravel's Le Tombeau de Couperin and Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini:

What does the pink post-it note in the conductor's Rachmaninoff say. ("Remember to queue violins?" "Turn off stove?")
That trumpet player is really hot.
What is that fidgety oboist smirking at now?
That timpani player is being really anal and working really hard to keep them in tune.

The best thing about these seats may not be the sound (I've been told that it's not so great, but I actually liked feeling like I was right in the action), but the visual aspect of the individuals on stage.

I think that's one of the things that's been taken away from the symphonic/orchestral experience for the audience. When you're sitting so far away, you can't SEE anything. I don't know about you, but I love this music and my mind still wanders when I'm listening to it: I get hit by the tired stick and I want to take a nap. But if my eyes as well as my ears are stimulated, it's WAY MORE INTERESTING and I stay more alert and focused on the performance.

And if you still get bored you can count the sleeping people out in the audience.

Review: Songwriters Unplugged Showcase 3 featuring Women who Rock

2010-10-15T14:50:00.000-07:00

Here's a review of a singer/songwriter showcase at Yoshi's SF from last night produced by my friends at Bay Vibes who do amazing organizational and promotion work for the Bay Area music community.

<-- I do want to point out that Veronika Safarova, Valerie Orth's bassist, was totally rocking my world at this show. This is why I'm taking bass lessons.

READ MY REVIEW HERE

Just to share: I'm still struggling with reviews in general, but I'm getting better! Meaning: I keep doing it! I hope I'm getting better. And the more I do it, the better I will get. For many reasons reviews are harder for me to write than anything else. (I really just want to support musicians and spread the good juju and many of the people I talk to struggle with this), and I'm still struggling, and will probably continue to do so, with how to balance my opinion of the good with the bad in a critical way. (See this challenge of writing a review of a musical I was super disappointed with). It's also a tricky balance when I'm highly involved in the community I'm writing about. I'm figuring it all out.

Have any of you noticed anything about my writing or just have words of advice, encouragement or critique? I welcome them.

Sesame Street wins again, and again: "I Love My Hair"

2010-10-15T09:42:00.000-07:00

Despite the Katy Perry debacle, Sesame Street (via facebook) has been doing some very smart, pop-culture savvy, progressive things lately. And riding the tails of my Esperanza Spalding article, I'd like to help celebrate accepting and loving what you got on your head and workin' it like a rockstar.

And just for fun, Sesame Street's recent parody of Isaiah Mustafa's brilliant and hilarious Old Spice commercials. Proves that Sesame Street is hip. Love it.

I'm on a horse, MOO! cow.

Esperanza Spalding: an extraordinary young jazz musician

2010-10-11T13:25:00.000-07:00

I first saw Esperanza Spalding open for Dianne Reeves three years ago. All I remember from my crappy seats is a young black woman with huge hair and enormous talent.

Three years later she is still at it, performing for the White House, the youngest professor at Berklee School of Music and already reinventing herself musically with each album and concert tour.

I am enthralled by this woman. She is young, she is of mixed race, she is ridiculously talented and, I'm going to say it, makes a HUGE statement wearing her hair this way. Whatever it is, I dig it and I hope that people are paying attention (especially young women).

(I really hope that SFJAZZ didn't pick this season's image based on her, but then changed the hair just to suit their marketing material, that would seriously bother me.)

Spalding's career has just begun and I think it's obvious that she's here to stay.

READ MY REVIEW OF HER CONCERT AT DAVIES SYMPHONY HALL HERE

"It Might Get Loud" review: for fans of U2, Led Zeppelin, Jack White and the guitar

2010-10-06T23:22:00.001-07:00

Gods of the Guitar: Jack White, the Edge and Jimmy Page

I know I'm all about getting girls and women to play rock music (and music in general), but that absolutely doesn't mean I don't become a total fan girl when I get to see Jimmy Page, the Edge and Jack White sit around together to chat and play music together.

"It Might Get Loud" (2008) is a brilliant twist on the documentary, bouncing three lives, stories, personalities and techniques off one other. The result is three different ways to tell the same story: the love of the guitar.

I love how these guys represent three different generations of music, yet the film focuses on their drive to be equally musically innovative. Each musician has had something to overcome, whether it be the crappy pop music of the time or political turmoil. Each also has their own musical drive. Jack White has a fierce desire to replicate as close as possible the blues of the 30s. The Edge grapples with peddles and wires and effects trying to replicate sound qualities in his head. Jimmy Page, a former session musician who freaked out when he realized how little creativity he had in the job, pushes himself to innovate, innovate, innovate.

It's incredibly charming to watch these guys jam to each others songs. But the moment that takes the cake, is the smiles on the faces of the other two when Page busts out with "Whole Lotta Love." Being the senior member of the group, Page obviously holds a certain position among the three. But, interestingly enough, this is the only moment when his position is completely evident in the film. Otherwise, the three are shown in equal light, with equal contributions.

Watch the moment below, and add "It Might Get Loud" to your Neflix queue.