On Baghdad by the Bay, June 13 at 8pm PDT; Interview with M. Lockwood Porter and SunRunners, Guest DJ 8th Grader

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M. Lockwood Porter
mlockwoodporter.com
8pm
Dark with a whimsical streak, M. Lockwood Porter muses of hope lost, found, and forgotten. Somewhere between Americana and indie rock, M. Lockwood Porter has a serious case of bittersweet melancholia reminiscent of Elliott Smith or a young Jeff Tweedy. That M. was raised on a farm in Oklahoma isn’t surprising, given the hint of twang in his voice. That he studied poetry in college isn’t, either, once you study his contemplative, eloquent lyrics.

8th Grader
8thgradermusic.com
8:40pm
With his luscious tenor and seductive lyrics, San Francisco singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist 8th Grader (AKA, Jayson Martinovich) injects a unique and fresh R&B sensibility to his singular brand of nu-soul. His decadent vocals caress Afro-Cuban polyrhythms, Rhodes piano, and elements of Chillwave. With nods to Prince, Frank Ocean, George Michael and Janet Jackson, 8th Grader fills a nameless void somewhere in between pop and R&B. Currently creating a stir amongst the music blogs, 8th Grader has been gaining acclaim from fans and critics alike with his signature R&B meets Nu-Soul flare.

SunRunners
sunrunners.me
9:20pm
The mixture of indie rock songwriting, dreamy lyrics, and heavy elements of rock and pop rhythms has long been a staple in the alt-rock world, and Sunrunners delivers on all counts. A California-based quintet led by singer and primary songwriter Stephen Loase (Low-C), Sunrunners have largely managed to avoid the usual rock clichés, injecting a uniquely rock-influenced sound and laid back San Francisco style.  Ramona Downey (owner/booker of Bottom of the Hill) has called Sunrunners
“One of the best new bands that have played Bottom of the Hill this year.  They opened for Deep Sea Diver + Wild Belle and everyone who saw their set seemed to agree that they are a force to be reckoned with.”

On Baghdad by the Bay, June 6th at 8pm PDT; Interview with Gamelan X, Guest DJ VELA Eyes

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Gamelan X
gamelanx.com
8pm
Drawing its inspiration from the clove and incense scented air of Bali, Indonesia, Gamelan X, “The Bay Area’s own Funkadelic of ethnomusicology” (SF Guardian), explores the sonic landscape of contemporary beleganjur gamelan to offer a wildly unique expression of both East and West. From the resonating sound of the gongs to the explosive drum beats and interlocking cymbals, Gamelan X remixes the ritual of a Balinese procession with a decidedly west coast twist. The ebb and flow of the energy of a performance will transport you on a journey that will take you from dancing ecstatically, through moments of reflection and wonder.

VELA Eyes
velaeyes.com
With a patchwork of influences (Siouxie and the Banshees, Echo & the Bunnymen, Sonic Youth, Led Zeppelin, New Order, My Bloody Valentine) and by fusing elements (Post Punk, Shoegaze, Psych Rock) Vela Eyes produces an ethereal and aggressive soundscape. The band began as a side project between guitarist Ian Zazueta (Delle Vellum, Paradise Boys) and front woman Florie Maschmeyer. Bassist Nate Higley (The Snake the Cross the Crown) and Julia Johari (second keyboard player/guitarist/background vocalist) were quickly added to the fold. The four then wrote a batch of songs and by September 2012 had landed Jef Pauly (New Diplomat, Dan the Automator) on drums. Vela Eyes will be joined by local favorites French Cassettes, The Trims, DJ Omar (Popscene) and Jacob Fury (Leisure SF) to round out the evening.

On Baghdad by the Bay, May 30th at 8pm PDT; Interview with Fox and Woman, Doe Eye and DATE NITE

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Fox and Woman
foxandwomanmusic.com
8pm
Fox & Woman formed in 2010 when Jess Silva (vocals), Andrew Nelson (guitar, keys), and Emily Haltom (vocals, violin, keys) started playing at a weekly street poetry gathering in San Francisco’s Mission District. As an acoustic trio, they rehearsed and wrote songs in the basement of a local antiques store, discovering a shared desire to stretch pop song forms to accommodate unconventional rhythms and harmonies. For their debut, self-titled EP, released in 2011, they added three other Bay Area musicians, including Will Boast (drums), and documented a sound bridging west coast folk and a baroque strain of indie-pop.

Doe Eye
ilovedoeeye.com
8:40pm
The summer before her first semester at the Berklee College of Music, San Francisco singer/songwriter DOE EYE (real name Maryam Qudus) stepped into the studio for the first time to created a 4-song demo to network to the new teachers and colleagues she would meet at Berklee. DOE EYE jumped into the studio to record her sophomore EP entitled ‘Hotel Fire’ with acclaimed producer John Vanderslice (Nada Surf, Mates of State, MK Ultra) and featuring the Magik*Magik Orchestra (Death Cab for Cutie, Jonny Greenwood). Hotel Fire was released on September 4, 2012 and is currently available at all streaming music services as well as iTunes and Bandcamp. DOE EYE is currently working on her debut full length album with John Vanderslice.

DATE NITE
wearedatenite.com
9:20pm
Date Nite’s formation came to fruition when three like-minded spirits, Jason, Annie and Candy converged during an annual NASA Jet Propulsion conference on ‘Robotic Exploration of the Solar System.’ Realizing they had a shared love for science and beats, they assembled a musical collective dedicated to dynamic ass shaking. Calling San Francisco their home and nirvana their vacation home, they call upon their scifi-paganistic background for inspiration. Date Nite is a convergence of art, music and boot knocking. In their spare time, the team concocts various recipes and libations; most notably their drink called “Moonmilk” (moonshine and Milk of Magnesia).

On Baghdad by the Bay, Thursday 23rd at 8PM PDT; Guest DJ City of Women, Interview with Life Coach and Legs

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City of Women
facebook.com/Cityofwomen
8pm
Circa 2007…Nero and Alwyn, whose respective bands barbarasteele and Boshuda shared many a bill in San Francisco venues, were band-less, and talked about finally putting something together…but just “for fun”, as the sting from the demises of their previous bands was still fresh. Around the same time, Charlie, after doing a year at the Los Angeles Music Academy and giving a good run with the local music scene, ran from Los Angeles and ended up in San Francisco. He met Nero while working at Amoeba Music, and in time joined Alwyn and Nero in a band “just for fun”.

Life Coach
facebook.com/PhilManleyLifeCoach
8:40
Life Coach is a collaboration. Following Phil Manley’s 2011 solo debut Life Coach, which Aquarius Records called, “a serious, and seriously kick ass slab of modern minimal krautrock,” Manley set about writing a set of songs that he could perform live. After writing and tracking guitar, bass, synth, and vocals on his own, he recruited his friend and former Golden band mate Jon Theodore (The Mars Volta, One Day As A Lion), with whom Manley has been playing music for two decades, as the drummer and second official member of Life Coach. The complimentary kinship between Manley’s tightly constructed songs and Theodore’s unrestrained playing was instant. Rounded out by the addition of Isaiah Mitchell (Earthless, Golden Void), who contributes lead guitar on several songs, Life Coach was born as an entity unto itself.

Legs
oaklandlegs.tumblr.com
9:20pm
Named after their fathers’ mutual love for Tina Turner, Oakland, CA-based Jeffrey Harland and New Zealand native Matt Bullimore began Legs in a cold, concrete practice space in West Oakland, California. The pair originally met while exchanging Weezer bootlegs in a Safeway parking lot in early 2000. Matt would go on to teach Jeffrey his first power chord sealing their friendship and status as best-buds. Early get-togethers were dominated by heated arguments over the Beatles versus The Stones, ending only after the discovery of their mutual love of the Kinks and Velvet Underground.

On Baghdad by the Bay, May 16th at 8PM PDT; Interview with Brian Kehoe and The Tunnel

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Brian Kehoe
myspace.com/thekehoenation
8pm
Greetings from The Kehoe Nation. A place where the twang and shuffle of Country Western, the bizarre whimsy of carnival polkas, and outright twisted sonic explosions of punk and metal fuse together to create a misshapen and exotic family of good-time songs that strangely and completely satisfy parts of the human psyche that don’t always admit to wanting to be satisfied. The guiding hand stirring this cauldron of Punk-Metal-Americana is guitarist Bryan Kehoe, who has been lending his ferocious guitar wizardry to groups such as The Jerry Cantrell Band (Alice In Chains), Ministry, Les Claypool’s Frog Brigade (Primus), and Northern California legends M.I.R.V. Joining Mr. Kehoe on this musical vision is Amir Zitro on Stand-Up King Bass ang Jeff Gomes (M.I.R.V.) on Drums.
Come to the show, it’s gonna be loud, just follow the stale peanut shells and smell of rot-gut rye.

The Tunnel
thetunnelsf.bandcamp.com
8:40pm
The protagonists of the lurid stories of Tunnel vocalist/ guitarist Jeff Wagner may be grifters, but nihilists they are not. Riding possessed upon the feral, hypnotic rhythms of bassist/ noisemaker Sam Black and drummer Craig Manrique, Wagner’s anti-heroes grasp at transcendence and howl in ecstasy.

On Baghdad by the Bay, May 9th at 8PM PDT; Interview with Blame Sally, Manatee and Black Jeans

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Blame Sally
blamesally.com
8pm
If you sense a slight incongruity in the title of Blame Sally’s Speeding Ticket and a Valentine, rest assured that it’s as purposeful as the life it describes is random. The album lifts its name from a line in the bridge of the hard- charging leadoff single, “Living Without You,” which describes a day, or maybe entire existence,that’s “sweet and sour at the sametime/mink and a porcupine/speeding ticket and a valentine.” Clearly, this is a band that knows its oxymorons.

The four women who make up the Bay area- based group have some experience with improbable complexities and contradictions. Almost everything about their history is contrary to conventional wisdom. For one thing, they put their individual careers aside to start Blame Sally when they were in their late 30s and 40s—the age at which bands are traditionally supposed to break up and begin solo careers. For another, this is obviously an all-woman band—“girl groups”
usually being the novel province of youthful upstarts, not mature singer/songwriters.

Manatee
facebook.com/manateebayarea
8:40
Oakland’s mysterious Manatee are a fiery 4-piece who chart a fine line between the melodic aggression of mid-80s hardcore/punk and more contemplative rocking pop. The project dates back to 2006, beginning as the duo of Nik Carlson on bass and Black Tambourine/Whorl/Crabapples alumnus Mike Schulman on guitars and drums. Mainly a vehicle for beer-fueled weekly noise fests, Manatee did start accruing a catalog of tunes that were influenced by Flying Nun bands, ’77 punk and psychedelic freeform noise.

Black Jeans
soundcloud.com/blackjeans-1
9:20
Black Jeans is a music and artistic project created by new media artist Russell Butler. After completing a BFA in Performance and Sound Art and an MAT in Art Education at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Russell moved to California’s Bay Area to begin his professional arts practice. While navigating America’s complex and imbalanced immigration system, Russell was able to secure a position in the Exhibits department at San Francisco’s premiere interactive children’s museum, the Children’s Creativity Museum.

On Baghdad by the Bay, April 25th, 8pm PDT; Interview with Victory and Assoc

Listen live this Thursday at 8pm PDT on Radio Valencia

Victory and Assoc
victoryandassociates.net
8pm
Victory and Associates write rock anthems that you didn’t know you needed. punk rock passion, post punk sass, big riffs, etc. Take the parts of huge classic rock you may actually WANT to turn up, mix it with the parts of indie rock that ROCK, get it moving with driving, energetic force and you are on the trail to victory… and associates. This is for real, this is for serious. Victory and Associates have been around the block, know their way around a good song and endeavor to deliver something exciting to both musician and non-musician alike. These things are FACTS.

 

On Baghdad by the Bay, Thursday, April 4th, 8PM PDT; Guest DJ Vandella and Interview with Sunbeam Rd

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Vandella
vandellasound.com
8pm
Vandella draws their music from Motown, classic rock, Southern rock, folk-rock, blues, and modern-day sounds of indie pop/rock. It’s like if Ryan Adams was backed by The Band, or Jenny Lewis took over for Jay Farrah and Jeff Tweedy in Uncle Tupelo. It’s 1970s rock via 1990. Hailing from San Francisco, their music takes listeners from the gulches of swampy, guitar-driven rock and the dusty twang of Americana to the amber honey of roots ‘n soul. In their three years together, the tight-knit group has come a long way with old-fashioned hard work and hustle: the 2009 release of their initial offering, the V EP, saw the band move 2,000 copies without distribution or label representation, earning them bills at San Francisco staples such as Great American Music Hall, Bottom of the Hill, Rickshaw Stop, and Café du Nord, to name a few. Two West Coast tours and spots on coveted bills and festivals with nationally-touring acts followed. In May 2012, they self-released their debut full-length album, Fire in the Desert. Mixed and mastered at Marcata Studios in New York by Kevin McMahon (whose past discography includes The Walkmen, Ha Ha Tonka, The Felice Brothers, and Swans), Fire in the Desert showcases the rich lyrical landscape, convivial songs, and solid musicianship that has endeared them to their fans.

Sunbeam Rd
sunbeamrd.com
8:40pm
Sunbeam Rd., a Bay Area four piece, craft a tense and expansive sound via psychedelic guitars, purposeful melodies, and restraint. Willing to fall apart completely exploring the margins of harmonic rock, their live shows can toe the edge of cacophony. At their best they reach into hook-laden, fuzz-saturated trance states.

On Baghdad by the Bay, Thursday March 14 at 8pm PDT; Interview with Mortar and Pestle, Steakhouse, Old and Gray

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Mortar and Pestle
www.mortarandpestlemusic.com
8pm
From Oakland, California, Mortar & Pestle is a trio that makes the kind of “this reminds me of the summer when…” songs that stick like smoke. These are tunes which bring up the feelings that make memories, bridging genres and weaving the past and future into a retrospective ride towards tomorrow. The self-titled debut from Oakland, California trio Mortar & Pestle is scheduled for release on the Post Primal label on May 7th, 2013. The album is preceded by the single “U.V.,” streaming now.

Steakhouse
steakhouserock.com
8:40pm
Steakhouse is a rock group from San Francisco, California. Their music sounds like a mix of post-punk, kraut and art rock, with little bits of country/ western thrown in at all the wrong times. They are influenced by Neu!, Johnny Cash, Rank & File, Scott Walker and The Clash. The band comprises a few of the people who answered a Craigslist ad titled “Art Fags Make Dancy Band,” during 2011

Old and Gray
oldandgray.bandcamp.com
9:20pm
Two years ago, Old And Gray sat down in a café and scribbled onto a napkin “write a super fuzzy album”. The napkin must have been printed from fortune cookie paper, cause before long, that album was taking shape. It began as a spontaneous explosion of raw melody and soon began to take the form of a eulogy. “The whole theme was inspired by a friend I lost within the past year. She gave me a lovely photo and it’s all I have left from our friendship. The process of finishing the album became very strange. I became infatuated with the photo and stare into it and pretend I was in it. I’d even have these dreams where she would come visit me in my dreams and sing these wild poems to me. Many of the poems would eventually become lyrics on the album”–Buddy Hale

On Baghdad by the Bay, March 7th at 8pm PST; Interview with Rags and Ribbons, Breakdown Valentine and Jaunting Martyrs

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Interview with Rags and Ribbons, Breakdown Valentine and Jaunting Martyrs

Rags and Ribbons
ragsandribbonsmusic.com
8pm
Rags + Ribbons play melodic rock anthems driven by classically-inspired piano. Progressive and post-rock influences by way of Queen, Muse, MEW and Sigur Ros color these intricate pop songs, expressing desire, yearning, regret and joy like only pop can. This Portland, Oregon band’s debut album, “The Glass Masses” features elaborately structured songs with rich harmonies and dramatic hooks.
Pianist, Jonathan Hicks, and guitarist, Ben Weyerhaeuser, met and decided to form the band while singing together in school choirs. Their twinned vocals are a key element of the band’s sound, adding depth and showmanship to their songs. By a fortunate twist of fate, the band became complete when drummer, Chris Neff, responded to a Craigslist post from Jon and Ben. The band’s diverse backgrounds, ranging from the ghetto of Flint, Michigan to the suburbs of Portland, Oregon to the farmlands of rural Washington State, provide a broad scope of influences and musical styles. Rags + Ribbons strive to create unique music and live performances that communicate an exciting range of shared human experiences.

Breakdown Valentine
facebook.com/BreakdownValentine
8:40pm
Breakdown Valentine hails from San Francisco and consists of Allen Davis (formerly of Every Move a Picture) and Olivia Barchard. The duo diligently crafts dynamic songs, pulling inspiration from warm analog synth sounds to mindscapes of cinematic value.  They strive to design emotive sonic experiences, but never steer too far from their natural pop-sensibilities. The music sits comfortably next to sounds by Chromatics, M83, Pheonix, The Naked and Famous, Goldfrapp…etc. Breakdown Valentine are currently recording and diving into the live circuit.

Jaunting Martyrs
thejauntingmartyrs.com
9:20
The Jaunting Martyrs is a San Francisco/Bay Area cross-genre band that combines elements of Rockabilly, Gypsy Swing, Surf, Blues, and good ol’ Rock ‘n’ Roll. The elements of story telling, poetry, references to folklore, literary history, and current events in the lyricism and the eclectic nature of this group produces music that is unique and yet relatable. From the cross-genre sound & tight musicianship, to the handmade custom designed costumes, to the DIY merch & posters of original art, to the surprise guest appearances of clown acts & sideshow freaks at shows, to the collaborative addition of varying local horn players… This band puts on a multi-dimensional show like no other.