Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds
Me First & The Gimme Gimmes have been the most successful cover band in America for well over 20 years. What started out as a joke has turned into a successful career of rearranging classic pop, soul, and showtunes as pop punk. Spinning Platters had an opportunity to chat with their lead vocalist, Spike Slawson.
Me First & The Gimme Gimmes will be playing Punk Rock Bowling in Las Vegas May 26th-28th. Continue reading “Spinning Platters Interview: Spike Slawson of Me First & The Gimme Gimmes”
If you were a frequent client of Green Apple Books in the Inner Richmond, and especially if you attended their live music series, then perhaps you’re already familiar with singer/songwriter Ronnie Carrier. Though she moved to Portland last year, her guitar twangin’, foot stompin’ music, filled with literary depths, can now flood your home/phone/computer speakers via her full-length album debut, Lost In The Eclectic, which comes out Friday, April 7th (with an upcoming SF show on 4/14). I had the fantastic opportunity to ask her a few questions after listening to the new album:
First of all, it’s so great to see (and hear) your first full length album, “Lost In The Eclectic”, come to fruition. How do you feel now that it’s completed?
Thank you! The first word that comes to mind is “relieved”, but also there’s a side of nervous excitement. I’m very proud of this album – now that I’m presenting it, I get to find out how the story translates to the people who listen to my music. I’m excited to hear what listeners get out of this, and I hope it is something worthwhile.
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Interview: Ronnie Carrier, “Lost In The Eclectic””
Monique Powell of Save Ferris hasn’t performed live in San Francisco since her ill-fated solo show at Bottom Of The Hill in 2003, where the upper deck caught fire, causing that show and a few more shows at the venue to cancel. Spinning Platters had a chance to talk with her about what she’s done in her downtime, how that show affected her as a performer, and about the rise of Incubus and Maroon 5.
Save Ferris will be playing at The Independent in SF on March 23rd, and their new EP, Checkered Past, is available wherever you can find music.
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Interview: Monique Powell of Save Ferris”
Spinning Platters sat down with Book of Love vocalist Susan Ottaviano, and they discussed the band’s favorite city (spoiler alert: it’s San Francisco), fan remixes of their songs, and advice for the next generation of female fronted bands.
Book Of Love are playing DNA Lounge on Sunday, February 19th. Tickets can be purchased here!
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Interview: Susan Ottaviano of Book Of Love”
Silence! The Musical opens at the Victoria Theatre in San Francisco on Friday, February 3rd — tickets here. The “unauthorized parody of Silence of the Lambs” is a show you are not to miss. In eager anticipation for the show, I got the opportunity to ask the two leads, Anne Norland (who plays Clarice Starling) and Scott Hayes (who plays Hannibal Lecter), some questions…
Before landing your roles, had you seen “Silence of the Lambs” and what were your thoughts on the film?
Anne: I am such a scaredy-cat when it comes to scary films or images. I was familiar with Jodie Foster’s accent and style in the movie, but I actually only really sat down and watched the movie start to finish in preparation for my callback for Silence! It scared the shit out of me. Psychological dramas are the scariest for me. It’s not gore-y or sneak-out-of-the-closet-and-spook-you like a slasher movie, but it’s freaky because that Giallo style gets under your skin (…no pun intended?). Any minute, someone might try to shove me in a well or bite into my face.
Scott: I actually saw the film the night after it opened back in 1991. Not only do I recall it being terrifying, but also remember the audience as a whole responding with gasps and screams. It was a genuine collective experience in the best way.
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Interview: Anne Norland & Scott Hayes, Silence! The Musical“
The Latino Comedy Project is a sketch troupe out of Austin, Texas. They do a healthy mix of political and cultural sketch, and are bringing their live show, “Gentrifucked,” to SF Sketchfest this year for four shows this Friday and Saturday night. Tickets are available here, although you might want to act fast, as some performances are already sold out.
We had a chance to talk to one of the troupe’s founders, Adrian Villegas, on the eve of Donald Trump’s inauguration. We were both a bit feeling a bit raw that day, as you are about to see after the jump!
Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Interview: Adrian Villegas from Latino Comedy Project”
Paco Romane is one of the greatest Bay Area comedians. In addition to doing stand-up all around the Bay all the time, he hosts the Sup Doc Podcast with George Chen. He’s also performing at the Outside Lands Music Festival this weekend, where he has curated a set of his favorite comics to open the Barbary tent, and will also be doing a “Hipster Chef Roast” at the Gastromagic stage on Friday. If you can’t make it out to Outside Lands on Friday, Romane is doing a warm up show at Plate & Camera Productions on Thursday Night!
We had the joy of chatting with Romane. Sorry that we didn’t invite you, but you can read a word-by-word account of this conversation below!
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Interview: Comedian Paco Romane”
Jordan Kurland has been influential within the Bay Area music scene for over two decades. He helped make Noise Pop a major music festival, and is one of the masterminds behind the Treasure Island Music Festival, currently heading into it’s 10th year. As one of the primary forces behind the mainstream acceptance of Indie Rock, you probably owe about half of your record collection to him. Spinning Platters had the opportunity to talk to this legend about how to book a great festival, the future of Treasure Island Music Festival, and a bit about the new ways bands are getting creative with drumming up revenue.
FYI, Treasure Island Music Festival is October 15th and 16th, and tickets are on sale NOW! Also, Noise Pop 2017 (the 25th year!) Super Fan Badges, went on sale today, and are moving fast. These include admission to 25 shows in the months leading up to next year’s festival, in addition to the entirety of Noise Pop 2017. You can buy this here!
It seems that this is the last year that TIMF is happening on Treasure Island. What is the future of TIMF? Continue reading “Spinning Platters Interview: Jordan Kurland of Treasure Island Music Festival, Noise Pop, and Zeitgeist Management”
This upcoming weekend, July 16-17, the San Francisco Symphony will screen Pixar’s Oscar-winning film, Ratatouille, with the score performed live. Conducting the orchestra will be none other than the amazingly accomplished SF Symphony regular, Sarah Hicks. Sarah was gracious enough to answer some questions about her own musical tastes, as well as her special love of Pixar films…
Spinning Platters: My excitement for the Ratatouille show is growing, since it’s my favorite Pixar film. A popular dinner party question is ‘what’s your favorite Pixar film?’ So, do you have a favorite Pixar film?
Sarah Hicks: Oh, I can’t really choose because I love them all! That being said, I have to admit that the ones I keep going back to are Monsters, Inc., Up and Ratatouille.
On July 14-15, the San Francisco Symphony will celebrate 50 years of Star Trek with Star Trek: The Ultimate Voyage, featuring iconic film and TV footage beamed on to a huge screen while the symphony performs the musical scores, live! CineConcerts, the producer of this live music experience, was founded by composer/conductor Justin Freer. Freer will be conducting the SF Symphony’s two performances.
Freer graciously took a short break from a studio session to speak to us about his musical career, CineConcerts, and of course, Star Trek…
Justin Freer: Let’s do this. What do you want to talk about?
Spinning Platters: Let’s talk about film music!
Justin Freer: <<laughs>>
SP: How did you first get into film music? I read that you grew up learning trumpet and later music composition, but when did film music start to interest you?
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Interview: Justin Freer, Founder and President of CineConcerts”