Last Friday, I made the journey from my flat in Nopa to the outskirts of North Beach. The reason for this 4 mile trip was not to partake in the drinking of beer or to see to visit one of North Beach’s infamous places of the night (fancy way of saying strip clubs) , but to sit down with laugh guru Hasan Minhaj on the first night of his Purple Onion Cd recording.
PM- So, last time last time I saw you it was at the SF Comedy College since then you been doing a lot of travels, touring and had an anticlimactic meeting with Jay Z…
HM- So yeah [on the] NBC college tour. I signed a touring deal with NBC last year so I got to go to 52 different colleges in 3 months, travel- like a real real college tour. I coincidentally end up to stopping in NY. I was driving around New York, yeah know driving around being a tourist or whatever and just happened to see Alicia Keys and I the middle of time square playing the piano, and I ‘m like holy crap that’s Alica Keys, so I stop the car in the middle of the intersection-and I am like that Alicia Keys and I want post that on Twitter.
I park and then I am like, I am going back and in my mind I’m thinking why is she sing the hook for “Empire State of Mind” over and over again. And was like wait they’re shooting a video ,so I went back over and like Jay Z pulls up in a Jeep , and he’s there. They start rapping and shooting a video and for some reason it’s like 3:30 in the morning on a random wed. night in NY, and I somehow finagle my way beyond the barricade and for whatever reason I ‘m standing behind the directors chiar and Jay Z plops down, I have my moment and I don’t know what to do so I just start rapping at him . And so he just like looks at me and says nothing and they escort me out, and that was my Jay Z moment.
PM- Hahahaha…..I never met Jay Z .
HM- Well don’t rap at him.
PM-Well now you’re here and recording your live CD.
HM-Yeah I live in LA but I wanted to come back to where I started, and record a CD at The Purple Onion. It’s a historic venue Smothers Brothers, Richard Prior, Robin Williams-Zach Galifianakis recorded a CD here. Even though it’s a smaller venue versus a club, big venue, theater- I wanted to do it here because I feel like it has a lot of history and sort-of pay homage to where I started. SF is where I found my voice.
PM- You mention a few comics. Do you have any particular influence or did you study anyone in particular to prepare?
HM- A lot of comics not only started in SF but come through here. Arj Barker, Patton Oswald, a lot of those comics started in SF and I really look up to them. I got to see a lot of them when I lived in The City.
PM- So after your performance tonight, what’s next?
HM- The CD comes out early 2010 and after that I’ll be appearing on Chelsea Lately in January.
PM- Do you have a name for the CD yet?
HM- No, not yet but you guys will be the first to know
Post Justice, Indie-electro star, Neon Indian, is bringing his warped beats and lofty summer synths to SF’s Rickshaw Stop tonight. If you want a pair of free tickets leave a comment on any post (other than this one). The winner will be selected at random and notified by e-mail, it’s just that easy.
(Comment by clicking on the bubble in the upper right hand corner)
The Independent was overflowing with face paint, sparkles, and animal hats last Thursday night when the crew of Sindri Már Sigfússon’s Icelandic solo endeavor, Sin Fang Bous, stepped onto the stage. Accompanied by members of Múm to bring his one-man band to life, the music got off to a shaky start as the band worked to blend the multi-layered sound of debut album, Clangour, cohesively.
But the struggle ended quickly as the first pulsing notes of “Sinkership” radiated through the speakers. Translated for the stage and eliminating the pasted vocals, the re-imagined piece was filled with a breezy emptiness – emphasized by the quiet conclusion of Sigfússon’s hushed voice and plucked acoustic guitar.
By the time the band barreled into “Clangour and Flutes”, the crowd was digging it. Rhythmic handclaps rippled through the venue to the kick drum beat, giving the song a primal nakedness before segueing into a rocking version of “Catch the Light.”
With the audience sufficiently hooked, the throbbing guitar slowed as Sigfússon’s voice grew rougher and the music more melancholy. Amidst glimmering piano, whirring notes and the cushion of soft lighting, the set ended with “Lies”, busting out a confident drumbeat at the last moment to the thrill of the bopping crowd.
“Thank you,” breathed Sigfússon into the microphone before modestly applauding the audience, bowing to each section of the room and shuffling off of the stage. The audience stood captivated, craving more. I guess we’ll just have to wait until next time, San Francisco. -Kelsey Bryant
This past Thursday night, I arrived late to a concert at The Rickshaw Stop whose doors opened at 8pm. Admittedly, my tardiness was not only purposeful but calculated. I wanted to miss the first band, and figured the opening act, who I was wholly unfamiliar with, would be finished by 9pm. They hadn’t even started by the time I arrived, but I was lucky. The night turned out to be a series of live performances each equally interesting and rewarding in their own ways.
Man/Miracle
Man/Miracle was the first group on stage at The Rickshaw Stop. As I fiddled with the camera I borrowed from a friend between sips of my beer, I caught glimpses of the four-piece group powerfully churning through songs that sounded like modern interpretations of The Smiths styled pop with a far noisier edge. The singer’s voice hardly wavered from its melodramatic delivery, an attribute that could potentially be a polarizing element for fans, but somehow always matched the jangly guitars and powerful rhythm section.
Maus Haus
The next act was a group I’ve been a fan of for quite a while, and had been anticipating seeing live for the first time. In a performance that practically stole the show, Maus Haus delivered an eclectic and energetic set from the epic, brass-heavy opening to its dance-and-sing-along closer taken from their Lark Marvels debut. The sprawling six-piece group overtook the whole of Rickshaw’s stage with multiple keyboards, assorted electronics, drums, bass, and a woodwind/brass player who I believe helps makes the band truly unique. New songs were also unveiled through the set and were played with such precision and tenacity that I couldn’t help but dream of when I’d be able to listen to them at home on a regular basis.
Tempo No Tempo
A few beers in, a couple friendly conversations later, and after hearing plenty of wonderful music, the stars of the night, Tempo No Tempo, took to the stage. This concert was in celebration of the band’s debut release, Waking Heat; a fact which was made obvious not only from the crowd’s excitement but the band’s as well. Singer Tyler McCauley was cracking jokes and giving shout-outs from the outset. This was their night, and Tempo No Tempo wouldn’t let you forget it. Throughout deceptively huge sounding renditions of song’s from their debut album, the trio seemed more interested in having an absolute blast than being wholly accurate with their performance. Vocal melodies were often ditched for yelping screams and more personalized talk-singing, extra guitar-struck percussion was peppered into the songs, and a veritable riot took place on the dancefloor. This wasn’t a showcase of a band looking to impress a crowd or show off to a label-head. Tempo No Tempo’s performance might as well have happened in a friend’s basement; it had the same energy, if not more, of a late night house party truly intent on “taking it there” and not giving a fuck how they accomplished that goal. -Patric Fallon
A banner in the BART station declares No Halloween in the Castro! Boo to you, fun-killers. However, all is not lost for would-be revelers wanting to take it to the streets Saturday night. A public-space flashmob dance party has emerged as the successor to the ‘Stro. At 9pm in front of the Ferry Building, Deep (Apple programmer by day, colorful character by night) will be on site at the Ferry Building Saturday night with his sound system on wheels, Trikeasaurus, to pump up the jams for a serious dance party that will take back Halloween. Considering Deep’s daywear usually involves a seriously shiny silver windbreaker, you know the costumes are going to be good, so bring your A-game. There’s an ardent civic streak to the festivities, calling for more music entertainment, valiant clean-up efforts, and violence-combatting smiling and politeness. Hopefully no one will get stabbed and we can look forward to future Halloweens that recall those legendary Castro nights. Check out video of a past Flashdance to get a flavor for this SF-specific brand of boogying. -Jenna Glass
Flashdance Halloween, Saturday 9pm @ Ferry Building
On the eve of Social Studies leaving for Chicago to kick off their upcoming tour, I spoke with Natalia Rogovin, lead singer for the SF-based indie darlings. I caught the smooth-voiced songstress on the phone whilst in the middle of packing her personal effects and bundling her beloved keyboards in loads of bubble wrap; hoping they’d traverse the distance safely. She shared with me about the history of her shape-shifting band, they’re forthcoming album Wind-Up Wooden Heart, her ingrown love for classical music, and her penchant for coming up with song titles. The conversation felt a bit brief for as much as Natalia had to share, but she was nonetheless able to illuminate much on the source of her band’s interesting brand of “avant-pop.” -Patric Fallon
Plastic Milk: So tell us a bit about yourself, your band Social Studies, and what you do for the band.
Natalia Rogovin: Okay. I’m Natalia Rogovin. I’m the singer and keyboardist in Social Studies. I also do most of the songwriting. We kind of have a rotating cast of characters, and then me and the drummer, Mike Jirkovsky, who have been in Social Studies from the beginning. We’ve had a lot of different people on the project.
PM: How many years have the two of you had the band?
NR: We started in 2006, so going on about four. We actually started out with four of us. Basically, we were all involved in the San Francisco music scene and wanted to do something different from the other bands we were in. Different stylistically. We started playing and weren’t really sure where it was gonna go. We spent a really long time working on songs and had different people helping us out with the music. We had a solid line-up of four members for a while. Then, because of various… We were all people who’d been in a lot of different bands, so there was kind of the idea of a rotating element to it. We’ve had different temporary members that have been with us for a while and then moved on and then [we've] brought someone else in.
PM: What are some of the other bands you guys have been in?
NR: I was in a band called Rion Rinker, which was mostly based in Santa Cruz. We’ve had two members that are in Maus Haus, and then Tyler McCauley who’s in Tempo No Tempo. Aaron Weiss and Mike were both in a band called… Oh Lord, what’s the name of that band… Oh yeah, Capital. They’re kind of a rock and roll band.
PM: That’s a lot of different projects.
NR: Yeah. It’s actually a really cool thing because we get to work with so many friends that are really talented musicians and we get to have their creative ideas and input.
PM: Do your schedules ever end up conflicting? Cause I know Tyler’s band just had an album come out, and I think they’re touring or just finished touring. You guys are just about to start your tour. Does that create problems for Social Studies?
NR: Actually, Tyler was playing guitar with us for a while and helped us a lot on our upcoming album. He played a lot on that, but he’s actually not a permanent member of the band.
PM: Oh, okay.
NR: On this upcoming tour we’re actually playing with Tom Smith, who’s in Office, on guitar. That’s another band, though they’re not a SF band. They’re based in Chicago.
PM: Tell me how would you describe Social Studies’ sound to someone that’s completely unfamiliar with indie or pop or any of the basic elements that you take your music from?
NR: My friend actually uses this term that I really like, ‘avant-pop.’ I think that actually describes our music very well. It’s very melodic [with] melodies that I think people can relate to, but at the same time it’s structurally adventurous. We kind of tell stories in our songs. They’re more like an old symphony where you start some place and then you’re taken on a journey throughout the song.
PM: That’s a great explanation. I got a chance to listen to the new single you have out. Well, I guess I don’t know what you’d call it. Like a single or a teaser or something?
NR: We’re calling it a double.
PM: (laughs) That makes sense. Well, the digital double is called The Hourglass, but neither of the songs on there have that name. The album they’re taken from doesn’t have that name either. So where did that come from?
NR: The concept behind the release was that we wanted to put something out there that gave people a sense of what the new album is about. In trying to figure out what we wanted to release as a single, both of those songs, well, we basically couldn’t decide. The sound of our band has a lot of light and dark elements in it. We do things that are really uplifting and happy, but we also do things that are a little more dark and serious. Every time we tried to settle on a song we felt that it didn’t really represent the range of what we do. The idea of releasing this double is that it shows how we play with emotion and go back and forth between light and dark. That’s where the concept of the hourglass came from. These two sides. Emtpy, full. Dark, light. This kind of oppositional force.
PM: That makes total sense. Entirely enlightening. Good job! (laughs)
NR: It’s funny. We’re a band that does a lot of thinking. We spend a lot of time thinking about how the music works and where it goes. Coming up with ideas. With all of these things we spend a really long time planning them out and making sure they have an idea behind them.
PM: Okay. So you have a new album coming out, which you kind of talked about, called Wind-Up Wooden Heart. Can you tell me more about the record? When it’s coming out and what not?
NR: Well, the plan is to release it in spring of 2010. As of yet, it will be self-released, although we’re not entirely sure about that. It’s a little bit up in the air.
PM: I feel like self-released is the way to go these days. Sometimes working with labels is almost too much of a hassle when you can do it yourself just fine.
NR: I totally agree. I think that a lot of what labels can offer you… Well, it really depends. A lot of what bands really need is someone else to show that they are a fan and support them. It’s almost like people don’t believe that you’re legitimate until you have someone backing you. I think that’s really a big thing that labels can offer, but with our music, it kind of just speaks for itself. People relate to it, so if we can just get it out to as many people as possible, why do we really need a label?
PM: What was your favorite part about making Wind-Up Wooden Heart?
NR: Hmm… Well, I love songwriting. I’m kind of a nerd when it comes to songwriting. I really like details and working a song to death. When we’re working on writing songs we’re incredibly methodical. We’ve had songs that we’ve basically workshopped for six months before being finally satisfied with them. I think writing the songs is the most rewarding part of it. Of course, recording is really fun, but it’s also incredibly stressful. Especially when you’re doing it with a limited amount of time and you have to make sure to get everything done.
PM: Right.
NR: So yeah, I’d say songwriting. (laughs) And then maybe coming up with song titles. (laughs)
PM: Totally. I love song titles. I’ve always said that I have more song titles than I do songs.
NR: Exactly! I get really into it. A lot of the content of the songs is about history or historical events, so it’s really fun to do research and find out about a lot of different things and delve into them while I’m writing lyrics and coming up with song titles.
PM: In the music I’ve noticed a lot of similarities with, say, The Fiery Furnaces and a little bit of Rilo Kiley. That sort of Saddle Creek indie-pop stuff. What are some of your influences that are maybe less apparent to the listener?
NR: I actually studied classical piano while growing up. I have always been influenced by classical music, especially the Romantic period. I love Vagner and Beethoven and Mozart. I love symphonies and classical pieces. I think of modern day pop music as more like classical music, just updated. If you listen to the melody and structure there’s a ton of similarities. Melodically it’s been a huge influence on me. A lot of the melodies I write are very classically based.
PM: I can definitely hear that. The way your songs go through their changes. Like little vignettes that change from one feeling to another that rise and fall. It definitely has a classical feel to it.
NR: Absolutely. That definitely comes from my background of growing up with that style. It’s an influence that isn’t obvious at first, but once you realize it it displays itself more. Of course, I listen to a ton of modern bands as well. I’m kind of obsessed with the band Broadcast. Vocally she’s [singer Trish Keenan] a huge influence on me.
PM: They’re a great band. They just did a collaborative mini release and I think they have a full new record coming soon.
NR: That’s exciting.
PM: Yeah, it is. So I know you have your new record coming out, and I guess your tour starts really soon. What else do you see in the future for Social Studies?
NR: We’re really excited about this tour. We’re working on another album as we get ready to release this next one. Oh, and we’ll be touring nationally in the spring as well.
PM: Are you touring in support of anyone or will it be just your band?
NR: It will be in support of a band. Um… Details TBA.
PM: Okay.
NR: Yeah. I’m just really excited to get back into the studio and start work on the next record.
PM: Awesome! That’s great. That’s all I have. Is there anything else you’d like to say?
NR: I guess, just… Um… (laughs) Go check out the double! (laughs)
PM: Right! Free download. You can’t beat that. And both those songs will be on the new record, yeah?
NR: Yes, they will.
PM: Awesome. Well, thanks so much for talking with me Natalia. Have a safe trip to Chicago!
NR: Thanks. I’m praying my keyboards will be okay.
Links and Listen:
Download-”Time Bandit”-Social Studies, The Hourglass
Whatever was in the air Friday night, people must have been breathing in something good. With smoke machines puffing, a packed crowd drew close to the stage of The Independent in anticipation of Liam Finn + Eliza Jane. As the duo entered the stage, the venue erupted in rousing applause before deadening as the muted electronic beat of “Plane Crash” opened the set. EJ prowled the stage, drum sticks clenched in her fists, as Liam switched out the guitar for the drum set and EJ began brewing up a batch of psychedelic wails.
“You’re always the best crowd, but today you’re beautiful!” smiled Liam, queuing up a knockout performance of “Better To Be”, which quickly shifted from sugary sweet pop rock to an uninhibited jam session of dirty distortion, delighted chuckles from Eliza Jane and a drum solo that could only be described as ballistic.
Transitioning into “I’ll Be Lightning”, with the reverb on full blast, this was no regurgitated title track. Riffing against the looped chord progression of the song, Liam abused his guitar to the point of wild static, jumping on the drums for the climax as lights flashed and EJ raged alongside him.
“I don’t know who’s doing the lights, but you’re fucking on it!” cried Liam, totally inebriated in the moment, “I’m gonna throw some curveballs and you try to keep up!” With that, Liam began strumming a fast-paced version of “Second Chance”, practicing restraint as Eliza Jane added quick harmonies before they both dissolved back into chaos.
With the crowd screaming approval, Liam jumped back on the drum set, transitioning into a mind-bending performance of Lead Balloon. The drums looped as Liam switched back to his guitar, melting to his knees. Eliza Jane followed his lead, crouching on the ground and releasing ghoulish wails as Liam began experimenting with the nobs at the foot of the stage, turning the massive wall of sound they’d created into a low, deep buzz. Adding falsetto “oohs” to bring the song back to its original state, both lost control again, grabbing at instruments and experimenting with sounds in a massive psychedelic freak-out. Totally wild, Liam threw his guitar, grabbing his two drumsticks and bashing on the side of the drum set, bounding around the stage and screaming into the microphone.
Then the sound cut off, Liam standing center stage basking in the sudden silence. The crowd stared right back, stunned with their minds thoroughly blown. Breaking the spell, Liam grabbed the mic one more time, “So long, San Francisco! Have a good night!” – Kelsey Bryant
