Ways You Can Support Artists AND Help Fight Police Brutality and Systemic Racism

Photo courtesy Raymond Ahner

That headline is a mouthful, isn’t it? It’s been difficult processing all of my feelings about everything that has happened this year… From Australian burning to the destruction of Nashville to COVID-19, this year has been a rough one, but it’s been particularly bad for the music business. Yet, in the last few weeks, coming off the heels of the tragic deaths of Breonna Taylor and Charles Floyd, there has been an outpouring if activity coming from musicians, all donating to worthy causes that will fight the infrastructure that has led to so many innocent people of color dying at the hands of the people they pay to serve and protect them. 

All I am asking of you is to do something you probably want to do anyways: buy merch from your favorite artists. Many of these artists are leveraging that June 5th is “Bandcamp Day,” where Bandcamp waives their fees, so artists get everything. Here are just a handful of campaigns happening now from some Spinning Platters favorites: 

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Single of the Week: Someone’s Lost Their Goddamn Wallet by MAITA

MAITA is a band from Portland, Oregon that’s fronted by singer/songwriter Maria Maita-Keppeler. “Someone’s Lost Their Goddam Wallet” is the second single to drop off their debut record, Best Wishes. It’s a fun little number that’s great for dancing around to, but also reminds you that parties and such might not be as fun as you recall. Especially when throwing a party is suddenly the deadliest thing on Earth, next to going to work in an office or choir practice at church. It’s exactly what I needed to help deal with the norms of now. 

Best Wishes is out NOW on Kill Rock Stars, and it’s FANTASTIC. You should buy it TODAY on Bandcamp, because not only is Bandcamp not taking a commission on sales today, but Kill Rock Stars is donating 20% of all sales to community bail funds, mutual aid funds, and racial justice organizations through ActBlue. So buy a few records today, actually. Pick up the Elliot Smith, Marnie Stern, Deerhoof, and many other great Kill Rock Stars releases that you should already own but don’t. 

Oh, and if you either forget to buy stuff today, or you want to split your purchases, on Juneteenth (June 19th), Bandcamp is donating their proceeds to NAACP Action Fund. 

Film Review: The Vast of Night

Living on the outskirts of Area 51

I’ve been struggling with The Vast of Night, not the film, which is a solid if uneven debut from Andrew Patterson, and streaming now on Amazon Prime Video. Not the film… the title!

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Single of the Week: New Mood / LPX

I’m desperate for exhilarating music these days. Every bit of information out there is draining the soul, and some days it feels like we will never have good news. One of the few things that has turned that around for me lately is the latest single from LPX, “New Mood.” This song is ferocious. This song is angry. This song is also optimistic and perky has hell. This is one of those songs that forces you to take whatever is hurting your reality (which is the pandemic that’s hurting EVERYONE IN THE WORLD), and forces you to squash that and take your life back over. This song is vital listening for anyone that needs to escape the hell of now and get motivated to live. 

God bless you, LPX. 

“New Mood” is the first single off LPX’s upcoming, as yet untitled EP, due out this Summer. You can listen / buy this track here, and don’t forget to follow her on Twitter and Instagram to get up to do info on preordering what may be the soundtrack to your Summer. 

Single of the Week: Is The Season For New Incarnations by Brigid Dawson at The Mothers Network

Brigid Dawson spent years as part of San Francisco’s Thee Oh Sees, providing additional percussion and haunting harmonies to counter the psychedelic assault going on in the foreground. When Thee Oh Sees frontman John Dwyer relocated to Los Angeles, he broke up the original band, leaving Dawson out of the mix, and kind of changing the color of the band a bit. Dawson and Dwyer reunited in 2017 to record a record under the name OCS called Memory Of A Cut Off Head, which, in my humble opinion, is the best Dwyer work since Coachwhips’ Bangers vs Fuckers. This record also brought Dawson’s voice into the foreground, really showing off her stunning chops. I’ve been waiting for Dawson to finally take the limelight, and we get to enjoy that today with our single of the week, “Is The Season For New Incarnations.” It’s a stunning, slow burning, psych number that spins around the brain in beautiful ways. I’ve listened to it at least 10 times today. 

“Is The Season For New Incarnations” is the lead track off Brigid Dawson & The Mothers Network’s debut record Ballet of Apes. This record can be streamed in all the usual places, and can be purchased at your local record store. Which, I might add, is likely to be open for curbside pickup, so please give them a call so you can grab this and other records today! 

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!

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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.