Single Of The Week: Something by Avataria

Avataria is the alias of Niki Avataria, a musician from Philadelphia, PA. She’s been putting out excellent singles for a number of years now, but she’s been on a roll lately with fine EPs. “Something” is the first single off her forthcoming EP, Inside Out, due out June 5th. This is an anxious number that helps encapsulate that feeling of wanting all of this to be over and for us to make it through the chaos of today safe and sound. Is that the writer’s intent? I have no idea, but this song feels like a warm hug that both say, “I totally get what you are going through, and I want the same. And, you know what? I think we are actually going to be fine. It’s just tough right now, and it’s really hard to stay patient.” 

Inside Out can be preordered through Bandcamp, or if you are more of the “streaming” type, you can get your resave situated right here. 

Single Of The Week: crawling in my skin by Soccer Mommy

This week’s single of the week comes from Soccer Mommy! “crawling in my skin” is the most recent release from her stunning sophomore record, color theory. It’s a wonderful, mid tempo bouncer that’s a lovely antidote for our current times. As a companion video, instead of doing just one video, she’s released five videos as a “virtual tour” of five cities, featuring a performance at a landmark in each town, generated using 8-bit animation. I selected the “Austin” video for this post because I dearly miss getting to visit Austin. In the video, we see Soccer Mommy performing on the Congress Bridge, crossing the Colorado River looking onto Lady Bird Lake. The last time I crossed this bridge was leaving a Garth Brooks concert in 2017, and it always leaves me feeling warm inside. Sadly, I’ve never gotten to enjoy the bats that are featured in this clip. 

color theory is available for purchase or streaming in all the usual places. Might I recommend calling your local record store to see if they have curbside pick up or local, no contact delivery? Also, once touring is safe again, please make sure Soccer Mommy (or any of your favorite bands) have a place to play by signing National Independent Venue Associations’ petition to Congress to help give financial support to help our performance spaces be able to afford to reopen. 

Keep Live Alive: SF Sketchfest & Noise Pop Open Their Archives

Before the COVID Virus decided to destroy life as we know it in the Bay Area, we were lucky enough to get to enjoy two of the best festivals the Bay has to offer: SF Sketchfest and Noise Pop. Both fests had banner years, and as a thank you to the venues that helped make them happen year after year, both SF Sketchfest and Noise Pop are opening up their rich archives of great shows. This gives you the opportunity to either relive these shows, or if you couldn’t make it, actually get to enjoy shows you missed, and all to raise money for these venues so they can reopen once the pandemic is contained, as well as other local charities!

Continue reading “Keep Live Alive: SF Sketchfest & Noise Pop Open Their Archives”

Single Of The Week: Take Back The Radio by Katy J Pearson

I have an obsession with songs about music. I also have an obsession with big, bright songs that build into a crescendo of pure joy. “Take Back The Radio” by Katy J Pearson gives you both of these things. This is the song I most needed to hear today, the song I needed to motivate myself to make things, to get productive and make the best out of the situation that is the here and now. Pearson has the perfect Stevie Nicks quiver, backed by a wall of sound reminiscent of 00’s Flaming Lips, AIR, or Mellow. This song will be on repeat over your headphones as it is mine, too. 

“Take Back The Radio” is a stand alone single and can be streamed in all the usual places. You can also head over to Bandcamp to purchase any of her singles, or some Merch! Also, remember that Bandcamp is waiving their fees for all purchases today, as well as the first Friday of June and July this month, so every penny you spend goes straight to the performer. 

Keep Live Alive: How Alice Bag’s Workout Videos Are Filling The Show Void

Alice Bag is a living legend. Like, not only did she front the pioneering LA punk band The Bags, a band that made a very memorable appearance in the classic film Decline Of Western Civilization, but is also an activist and wrote an amazing diary of her time volunteering in wore-torn Nicaragua in 1986, published under the name Pipe Bomb For The Soul. 

She’s also doing a really lovely thing while we are stuck in “Shelter In Place” mode. While every other artist is doing these incredibly melancholy livestreams from their homes, things that I am calling “sad streams,” Bag is working hard to get out energy levels up. She’s been producing these amazing aerobic videos sent to the music of young punk bands. She is giving you proper instructions for all of the workouts, guiding you along the way so you don’t get lost or hurt. She’s also pumping up the choruses, miming moshing, and all around giving the energy of going to a great punk show in your living room. Not only am I hearing some amazing new bands (holy shit that Special Interest song is amazing), but it’s also keeping me sane until I can be in a real mosh pit again. You can watch the videos here, or just dance around in your living room to the Spotify playlist!

Alice Bag’s latest record, Sister Dynamite, is available in all of the usual places right now! Remember that your local record store may not be open for browsing right now, but is doing mail order and needs your help, so give them a (virtual) visit today! Bag is also playing Burger Boogaloo on Halloween Weekend, and you know you’ll be ready for a show by then, so blow your lid off at the best party Oakland has all year. 

Single Of The Week: Hasta La Vista by Dream Wife

Dancing is super hard right now. I, personally, have had a hard time moving at all for the last six weeks. I’d never thought I’d be jealous of running errands, but I am. This track, “Hasta La Vista” by Dream Wife popped up in my inbox, and I put it on, and it helped me feel like I can remove myself from all the pain and suffering of the world right now, and just feel a warm, steady groove. This light and bouncy, bass driven groove calls to mind the brightest cuts from Erase Errata, with just enough of a pop sheen to feel like you can put it on for anyone, at anytime. 

“Hasta La Vista” is the second single off their forthcoming release So When You Gonna… which is coming out July 3rd. Preordering / Presaving can be done here. Also, since touring is out of the cards for a bit, Dream Wife have launched a podcast centering around amplifying womxn in music. You can stream the first episode of that here!

Singles Of The Week: forever by Charli XCX / Phenom by Thao and The Get Down Stay Down

 

I wanted to avoid any Singles Of The Week that were connected to the pandemic currently devastating the world. However, two singles dropped this week that bring the quarantine front and center. Those are “forever” by Charli XCX and “Phenom” by Thao and The Get Down Stay Down. Both songs are great, and both relevant for different reasons. Continue reading “Singles Of The Week: forever by Charli XCX / Phenom by Thao and The Get Down Stay Down”

A Letter From The Editor: Let’s Make Sure Live Music Stays Alive

Someday, when we meet again…

So, as you may have noticed that this site has been quiet for a few weeks. That’s not so much because a lack of content, but, to be totally frank with you, this whole COVID-19 thing has left me feeling, well, really depressed. In a way where I just didn’t want to touch the site at all, because I didn’t want there to be a long stretch of “this is how we are going to handle things in the COVID-19 era” content with livestreams and think pieces and weird, meandering posts about whether or not the live event industry can overcome this without any real knowledge of when this will end. It all became more real when I lost my day job as Venue Success Specialist at Eventbrite, because, well, nobody can put on events pretty much anywhere in the world right now. Continue reading “A Letter From The Editor: Let’s Make Sure Live Music Stays Alive”

Show Review: Thundercat, Guapdad 4000 at The Fox Theater, 3/6/2020

Photo by Ayat Maqbool

Thundercat caught my attention with his 2015 release, Lone Wolf/Where the Giants Roam and continues to keep me intrigued today. Whether he was collabing with the late Mac Miller or releasing a chopped and screwed version of Drunk, he continues to showcase his broad musical tastes and deliver unmatched energy. The new single, Dragonball Durag, is a perfect example.

Before tonight, I’d only caught Thundercat for his set at Camp Flog Gnaw last year. Michael McDonald joined the stage to perform “Show me the Way” and treated the crowd to McDonald’s own “I Keep Forgettin’ (Every Time You’re Near).” In my opinion, one of the top moments of the festival! Sadly, it was overshadowed by Millenials booing Drake off stage. Needless to say, I was psyched for this show and ready to see Thundercat deliver to the Fox Theatre in Oakland. Continue reading “Show Review: Thundercat, Guapdad 4000 at The Fox Theater, 3/6/2020”

Single Of The Week: Get Better by Mates Of State

Forget all your politics for a while
Let the color schemes arrive
Come onboard, it’s a curious sight
Absorbing sound that’s never been right
Never ahead of, never behind it
Occasionally guarded, just keeps us surrounded
It’s luck
Everything’s gonna get lighter, even if it never gets better
Ah
I propose a less serious boat
But don’t mistake it for a party of jokes, who are never ahead of, never behind us
Floating in circles there’s more to remind them of less
Everything’s gonna get lighter, even if it never gets better