Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds
Zoe Ko is a pop/rock songwriter who has gifted the world some great, highly infectious singles and an EP in 2023. 2024 has been incredibly productive for her, and we had a great chat about nurturing your career, finding your people and your sound, and a lot about her future, including touring and what we should expect in the studio.
Zoe Ko’s latest single, “Lucky,” can be found here. Her website is here, but her Instagram is the best place for new news as it drops!
Jennifer Clavin has been near the top of my interview bucket list since the inception of this site a whopping 15 years ago. (!) I’ve followed her career through Mika Miko to Bleached, watching her mature as a songwriter while I’ve matured along with her, with her music helping me navigate my life. She’s recently stepped out from behind the comfort of a band and has released three singles as a solo act under the alias Dear Francis. We discussed her career and craft and even hit on the joy of rescuing animals.
She’s been posting links to her new music here as it’s ready to share. She’s playing Heavy Manners Library in LA on Sunday, October 27th. This is her first solo show EVER, and I’m sad I can’t come down for it. But you should if you are in Southern California. Tickets here!
Noga Erez is a brilliant MC who, after years generating buzz in the underground, is putting out her major label debut, The Vandalist on September 20th. We had a great discussion about influences, working with Missy Elliott, her epic KIDS livestream, and even managed to discuss the complexities of promoting a record while living in a politically volatile country.
I didn’t know what to expect when I got on a call with Victoria Bigelow. All I knew about her was that I’d kinda fallen in love with her head-swimmy brand of reverb-drenched country and shoegaze. We ended up talking a LOT about music in general, the struggles with being a DIY artist in this modern era, and getting the seal of approval from Willie Nelson.
Her latest release, Songs For No One, Vol 2, is out now on Immortal Records, which was, in fact, Korn’s first record label. Her latest video, “Forever Now And Then,” is a stunning piece of filmmaking.
Enjoy!
This episode features Miki Berenyi, famous for fronting the legendary 4AD act Lush. We talked about her career, the nature of the UK music press, radio, the economics of touring, and accidentally putting together a band! Berenyi recently released a memoir called ?fingers crossed: how music saved me from success?, and it’s endlessly captivating. She is playing shows in the US in June, then returning to the UK on the fall. Those dates can be found ?here?. And her latest single, ?Vertigo?, is streaming in all the usual places.
It’s SF Sketchfest time! I may have a schedule full of shows, but I am still here to give you this review/guide to Doug Loves Movies (DLM), comedian Doug Benson’s podcast that has been making us laugh since 2006. On the show he has celebrity guests (usually comedians or actors) and along with fun banter, tests their knowledge of movies with a variety of trivia games. For this episode (available here or on your favorite podcast streaming platform) his guests were Amy Schneider a writer of Jeopardy! fame; Geoff Tate: comedian and DLM regular: Chad Opitz: another comedian and regular; Anna Roisman: comedian, host, writer, actress; and Ardin Myrin: actress, comedian, and podcaster. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Doug Loves Movies Podcast at The Gateway Theater, 1/21/24”
Jamie Loftus is a writer, actor, comic, cartoonist, podcaster, and probably has about 3500 other jobs that we never covered on this episode because, well, there is only so much time in the day. In this episode we discussed her early playwriting days, stand-up comedy, the difference between eating dog food and condensed cream of mushroom soup, and, since this is Spinning Platters, we even talked about music!
She’s taking her podcast, The Bechdel Cast, on the road! Tickets and tour dates are here, and it all kicks off with a visit to SF Sketchfest on February 1st at 7:30! You can also pick up Loftus’ amazing book, Raw Dog, here. And, of course, you can find all other things Loftus here! Oh, and this is where you can enjoy the CVS Bangerz playlist!
We are trying something new with this episode. I am NOT doing any preroll. No theme song. No “warm open.” Let me know what you think.
Dulce Sloan is best known for being a correspondent on The Daily Show and often killing it in that role. We chatted about her move from theater to stand-up, the folks that inspired you along the way, and, of course, The Daily Show and her upcoming book, Hello Friends! Stories Of Dating, Destiny, and Day Jobs coming your way on February 6th (Preorder Here!)
Sloan is in SF this weekend to play a slew of SF Sketchfest events, including a headline set at Brava Theater on Saturday, January 20th at 9:30 pm. Her full schedule can be found here. If you choose not to leave home, she’s also starring in The Great North, which can be seen on Hulu as well as Sunday Nights on Fox!
On this episode, we had Annie Hart, formerly of Au Revoir Simone, one of Spinning Platters’ all-time favorite bands. We talked about the importance of Pee-Wee Herman, Heavy D & The Boys, Funkmaster Flex, David Lynch, Christmas Presents, and even Okuda Hiroko, the woman who wrote all of your favorite Casiotone beats! Her new record, The Weight Of A Wave, is available now, and fall tour dates are below:
You may know the name Bethany Cosentino as 1/2 of the popular LA duo Best Coast. After nearly 15 years of plugging away, they decided it was time to take a break. In the meantime, Cosentino has recorded a brilliant solo album on par with the best of Linda Rondstadt and Jenny Lewis. We had a lovely opportunity to chat with Bethany about her time in Best Coast and her noise band Pocahaunted. We talked about having a famous cat, about always being in the eye of the indie rock press, and about what she’s doing now.
Bethany Cosentino’s debut solo album, Natural Disaster, is in stores and online on Friday, July 28th, and can be preordered / presaved here.
