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Ladies Rock Camp Showcase this Sunday

Bay Area Girls Rock Camp has a public event coming up this Sunday, April 11th. For those of you that aren't familiar with the BAGRC, they are the non-profit Oakland organization now in its third year of bringing music education and empowerment to girls ages 8 to 18. Ladies Rock Camp, the weekend program modeled after Girls Rock Summer Camp, features an environment where participants learn/practice instruments, form bands, write an original song, attend workshops, and perform in a live concert in three days. For many of the women, this is the first time with their chosen instrument and maiden voyage of taking the stage.

In addition to seeing some music and supporting a music education program in the Bay Area, attendees of the Ladies Rock Showcase are eligible for drawing prizes such as health and wellness packages from local acupuncturists and yoga studios as well as museum passes and gift certificates. All proceeds go to towards Bay Area Girls Rock Camp and its programs.

Ladies Rock Camp Showcase
Sunday, April 11th - 3pm 
25 Women. 6 Bands. ALL ORIGINAL SONGS!
Oakland Metro Operahouse (630 3rd St., Oakland)
$5-10 sliding scale

-Nicole

April 09, 2010    

(… all hope is blind…)

The new release from the haze-pop group Shalloboi, All Hope Is Blind, is a slow motion leap forward for the band. The almost overpowering fuzzy drone of past releases has subsided giving way to stark and beautiful melodies. There are still several layers to their sound but much more emphasis is placed on melody and the vocals. There is a quite richness about this album and it is partially due to the addition of Billy Speer on cello, Chris Gagnon on viola, and Katelyn Eldridge on violin.

The album is available for free download, but if you purchase it directly from Shalloboi is comes packaged inside a very cool zine. The package also includes a green vinyl release and disc.

Shalloboi will be performing live at Mortville on May 17th.

April 09, 2010    

Busses Stopping at M Room April 9

What can you say about a band whose frontman looks like Rivers Cuomo but sings like Robert Plant? It’s hard to conceptualize the sound of Philly trio, Busses, especially when they describe themselves as a classic rock/ punk/ progressive act - a combination that makes them seem as though they are in the throws of an identity crisis. But just because it’s difficult to transcribe their sound to words, it doesn’t mean they don’t rock (yes, that’s a double negative in the good way)! Their demos feature songs that are musical montages with funky bass riffs, soaring vocals, wandering drum beats and experimental electric guitar all strung together to create epic four minute tracks. The high point of their set for me will be the head-banging anthem, “Say It Again”, in which Nick Apice releases a climactic howl, “I will not forgive you,” accompanied by crashing cymbals raining down. M Room, 15 W. Girard Ave., 9pm, $8, 21+ myspace.com/bussesbussesbusses (Photo by R. Mott) - Katie Bennett

 

 

April 08, 2010    

Thom McCarthy EP Release Party at KFN April 9

Thom McCarthy packed his bag and left the small coal mining town of Locust Gap, PA so he could pursue the pipedream of playing music in Philly. And if the songs from his debut EP are any indication, it looks like he’s off to an admirable start. It’s a cornucopia of guitars, horns, keyboards, xylophones, and then some. Plus you can easily hear the influences he’s borrowed upon from the likes of Brian Wilson and Hank Williams. Tonight’s show at Kung Fu Necktie marks the album’s release party, and he’ll be joined by fellow singer-songwriter Sonni Shine. Kung Fu Necktie, 1250 N. Front St., 7:30pm, $5 adv/$7 door, 21+ myspace.com/thommccarthy - Bill McThrill

 

 

April 08, 2010    

Samamidon CD release party at 92YTribeca on April 10

We've always liked Samamidon's alt-country (and that's one of the reasons why we made his debut album Deli CD of the month some time in 2008). His alt country - unlike the music of a more established band that coined the genre - is quite literally... alt country. This singer-banjoist's repertoire is made up of re-arranged American folk songs, drawing simultaneously on his experiences growing up a child of folk musicians in Vermont and his more recent work in New York with the experimental indie-rock bands Doveman and Stars Like Fleas. Don't miss the CD release party at 92YTribeca on April 10 - Doveman's lead Thomas Bartlett will be the opena.

April 08, 2010