SF Sketchfest Interview: Jodie Sweetin & Celia Behar of Never Thought I’d Say This

Everyone in the universe knows who Jodie Sweetin is. She was Stephanie Tanner on Full House, one of those cultural touchstones that somehow hit everyone of a certain age in the universe. In her twenties she moved on to host Much Music’s Dance Off, Pants Off. Now she does a slew of creative things, including creating a podcast about parenting called Never Thought I’d Say This with her best friend Celia Behar. As a new parent myself, I take great joy in listening to this podcast.

We had the opportunity to talk with Sweetin and Behar ahead of their appearance at Cobb’s this Thursday as part of SF Sketchfest. (Tix are available here) We talked about parenting, the podcast, and even learned a bit about how Macy Gray handles delays in the studio. Yeah, it got a little weird…

Spinning Platters: Thank you for taking a little bit of time out on your Saturday morning to talk to me. You folks are in San Francisco right now. Is that correct? Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Interview: Jodie Sweetin & Celia Behar of Never Thought I’d Say This“

SF Sketchfest Review: Tribute to Tony Shalhoub in Conversation with Kevin Pollak + 20th Anniversary Screening of “Galaxy Quest” at the Castro Theater, 1/11/2020

All photos by Jakub Mosur.

I remember seeing Galaxy Quest in theaters with my folks. We were more of a Star Wars family than a Star Trek family, but despite Galaxy Quest’s clear parallel to the Star Trek universe and fandom, we latched on. It became an instant family favorite. We ended up buying the VHS when it came out — which we still have, and which I just replaced as a Christmas gift for my dad this past Christmas with a DVD (We are a low-tech family.) Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Tribute to Tony Shalhoub in Conversation with Kevin Pollak + 20th Anniversary Screening of “Galaxy Quest” at the Castro Theater, 1/11/2020″

SF Sketchfest Review: Maria Bamford & Nori Reed at The Castro Theater, 1/9/2020

All Photos by Pat Mazzera

I’ve known the name “Maria Bamford” for years. I know her face well, and would definitely be able to pick her out in a crowd. I have very close friends that are fans. If somebody asked me if I liked her, the answer would probably be yes. However, I have never actually seen or heard her do stand up before. Not on TV, not on record.I actually didn’t know anything about her stand up style before I headed out to this show. Why did I decide to go to this? I’m not really sure. It just felt like I needed to be there. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Maria Bamford & Nori Reed at The Castro Theater, 1/9/2020”

Single of the Week: Under The Supermoon by Jenny Lewis and Habib Koite

Jenny Lewis had an insanely productive 2019. I did not expect our first Single Of The Week in 2020 to be a new track from her, but, sure enough, I ended up opening my inbox to a fantastic new track that she did with African musician Habib Koite. It’s a gentle, contemplative number, and one of the most overly political statements she’s made since her record with Nice As Fuck in 2016.

This track is from the forthcoming compilation Let The Rhythm Lead: Haiti Song Summit Vol 1, a collection of songs written and recorded in Haiti, where popular musicians collaborated with locals. This record is due out on January 31st, and pre-saves and pre-orders can be found here!

Spinning Platters Interview: Erinn Hayes of Medical Police

Erinn Hayes was the star of the Adult Swim series Childrens Hospital, and is also the star of it’s upcoming offshoot series, Medical Police. She is coming to town for two SF Sketchfest appearances, first on Thursday, January 9th for a Medical Police panel and preview at Marines’ Memorial Theater, and then Friday, January 10th for an appearance as part of Porchlight at Swedish American Hall. Spinning Platters had the opportunity to have a chat with Hayes ahead of her visit. We discussed living in the Bay Area, our weird rivalry with LA, her time as a doctor on TV, and, most importantly, her work on Bill & Ted Face The Music, the upcoming Bill & Ted sequel. Continue reading “Spinning Platters Interview: Erinn Hayes of Medical Police“

BottleRock Napa Valley 2020 Preview

BRNV 2020

It’s January, and that means: festival announcement time, ladies and gents! This year, Napa Valley’s favorite festival (that’s Bottle Rock Napa Valley, if you didn’t already know) welcomes back headliners Red Hot Chili Peppers (yessss!), as well as BRNV-first-timers Stevie Nicks and Dave Matthews Band. In addition to those three huge acts, I’ll be trying to squeeze every drop of live music fun as possible into my weekend; I have so many other sets I want to try to catch! Personally, I’m most looking forward to seeing Maggie Rogers, Of Monsters and Men, Foals, Local Natives, Finneas, Caamp, The Band CAMINO, the freaking Village People (!!), Absofacto, Atlas Genius, Eliza & the Delusionals, and always brilliant and fantastically talented The Alive, among still many others. Who are you most excited to see this year?

Here’s my preview playlist featuring aforementioned faves. Enjoy and I’ll see you in my hometown this Memorial Day weekend at BottleRock Napa Valley!

Listen to BRNV2020 Playlist!

BottleRock ticket info: 3-Day Tickets are sold out, but single day passes go on sale tomorrow (1/9/20) at 10am PST).

Single Of The Week: Chow Nasty by Lost Puppy Forever

Lost Puppy Forever are a bass/drums punk duo from San Francisco. They dropped their debut EP a few months ago, and I, personally, slept on it. But, it’s never too late to find your favorite new band. “Chow Nasty” is their first single and video, and this song is “thick as fuck” and really gets you in your chest. Don’t understand what that means? Put on some headphones, and play this song really loud. You’ll feel it in the center of your chest.

Noise Pop Fest is coming around the corner, and they are running a contest for bands to play! Go here to vote for your favorite band. And, by favorite band, I mean go vote for Lost Puppy Forever. Contest ends January 14th. And if you really want to support the band, head over to their Bandcamp page to pick up a digital copy of the EP!

Spinning Platters’ Top 10 Albums of 2019

By The Spinning Platters’ Editorial Team

2019 was an insane musical year… If I traveled back to 2000 and told me that Trent Reznor would have writing credit on the longest running #1 single of all time, and that song was a duet between a 20 year old rapper and Billy Ray Cyrus that won a CMA award, I’d think you were insane. (BTW: I just watched the video to this song for the first time, and it’s pretty wonderfully weird) The insanity is a good thing, and our top 10 of the year ended up being our most eclectic one yet!

#10  Pony / Orville Peck Continue reading “Spinning Platters’ Top 10 Albums of 2019”

A Nerd’s Guide To SF Sketchfest 2020

First of all… WHOA! It’s weird to write “2020” on something. Even crazier is to think that this is the 19th SF Sketchfest! That means babies born in the year of the first Sketchfest are now able to go on their mission for The Latter-Day Saints. (Or vote. Definitely, please — everyone born in 2001 MAKE SURE YOU REGISTER TO VOTE AND DO IT!) I’ve been writing the Nerd’s Guide for eleven years now. Which means for the twentieth year of Sketchfest, you can read the eleven th anniversary of my Nerd’s Guide. I plan to go all out for that one. This year’s guide — I’m not gonna lie — I’m totally phoning it in. Which is fine, it’s like ten minutes of reading. Don’t worry, the good people of SF Sketchfest did NOT phone in the bookings this year. 

Tickets and a full schedule for everything can be found here. 

Thursday, January 9th Continue reading “A Nerd’s Guide To SF Sketchfest 2020”

Film Feature: Carrie’s Top 10 Films of 2019

Top 10 lists are notoriously subjective, of course; one fan’s “best” can easily be another’s “worst.” To be included on my Top 10 Films of the Year list, a film has to do two things: affect me profoundly while watching it, and stay in my thoughts long after the credits roll. Below are my ten favorite films of 2019 that meet that criteria. You can also check out my list from last year here.

Continue reading “Film Feature: Carrie’s Top 10 Films of 2019”