Tag Archives: San Diego

June 28, 2022 · 10:18 pm

New Music: lovelytheband – “sail away”

Los Angeles alt-pop trio lovelytheband take the first step towards their third album with their emphatic new single “sail away”. Dubbed iHeartRadio’s “Best New Rock/Alternative Artist” in 2019 on the heels of the Billboard-nominated hit “broken”, lovelytheband have continued blazing ahead, delivering “sail away” as the first peek into their highly-anticipated third studio album.

Frontman Mitchy Collins delivers an instantly memorable hook, both sung and whistled, over punctuated percussion. The aquatic-themed trio groove effortlessly over a bassline that sways like a lapsing wave, rising and falling in a sea of layered chant vocals. While clocking in at just under three minutes, lovelytheband switch-up “sail away” with a bridge that harmoniously pairs the track’s powerful hooks together via bright organs and alluring vocal backings.

The up track’s upbeat reverie is like a mirage on the horizon – the type of seeking-elsewhere that can only happen in the vastness of the open sea, as the band explains,

“The song is a daydream. It’s a fantasy of escaping the overwhelming pressures and anxieties of everyday life. In those moments it would be easier to just drop everything and sail away. Even from your own mind. Leave everything as is with no goodbyes.”

– Mitchy Collins

In addition to their late 2021 North American tour supporting their sophomore album ‘conversations with myself about you’, the trio also notched collaborations “Miss You A Little” with Bryce Vine, “games” with Tessa Violet and Matt Squire and more. lovelytheband also recently rocked coast-to-coast shows in New York for The Bowery Presents’ Summer Concert Series at Hudson Yards and Switchfoot’s BRO-AM in San Diego, which “[gives] back to the San Diego community by heightening the profile of and providing grants to nonprofit organizations that provide services to homeless, at-risk and disadvantaged youth, with a special focus on programs related to music, art and surfing.”

Adding to a string of hits dating back to their debut smash “broken”, which broke the record for longest running entry on the Billboard Music Alternative Charts at 76 weeks, and lush sad-pop anthem “loneliness for love”, “sail away” is the first hint of what’s to come from the group’s third studio album, due later this year.

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March 25, 2019 · 3:00 pm

Santigold: 10 Years Golder Tour

Santigold is embarking on a US tour to commemorate the recent 10thanniversary of her self-titled debut album. The 10 Years Golder Tour kicks off April 30th at Denver’s Fillmore Auditorium. She will be performing her debut album in its entirety as well as songs from throughout her career including her latest mixtape-style album I Don’t Want: The Gold Fire Sessions (Downtown). 

This past summer, Santigold released I Don’t Want: The Gold Fire Sessions (Downtown), a spontaneous mixtape-style project she recorded with Mixpak Records producer Dre Skull. Santigold and Dre Skull bonded over their shared passion for Reggae and Afro-Caribbean music. Dre Skull, known for working across dancehall, hip hop, and electronic music as a DJ, producer and founder of Mixpak Records became an instant creative comrade of Santi’s. They decided to explore their ideas for a mixtape, which ultimately grew into a 10 song recording session, which they came to call The Gold Fire Sessions. Over the course of two weeks, they recorded the bulk of the songs, playing with Reggae and Afro-Caribbean influences while pushing and pulling their pillars with Santi’s singular point of view. As the writing and recording gained steam, Santi unearthed a few gems (ideas she had started with producers Ricky Blaze and Diplo) from her unreleased vaults and she and Dre reworked them, threading together classic Santigold ideas with the spirit of this new work. The incisive social commentary, humor, and daredevil sound that have become hallmarks of her work take on exciting new forms on this project. Unlike other Santigold albums, which are recorded over long periods and heavily curated and edited by Santi, I Don’t Want is a loose and spontaneous project, a snapshot of the infectious energy of the sessions with Dre Skull.

In the decade since her classic debut, Santi has revealed herself to be the most eclectic artist of her generation with a broad influence. She has collaborated with Jay Z, Kanye West, The Yeah Yeah Yeah’s Karen O & Nick Zinner, Beastie Boys, David Byrne, Amadou & Mariam, Q Tip, MIA, Mark Ronson, Pharrell, Julian Casablancas, U-Roy, Lykke Li, Basement Jaxx, Matt & Kim, Major Lazer, Asap Rocky, Diplo, Lil Yachty, Devo, and The Lonely Island. Her songs have been sampled by Drake & Lil Wayne and Future among others. She’s written for Gza of Wu-Tang Clan, Lily Allen, and Christina Aguilera. Santi has been handpicked for tours by Bjork, Kanye West, Jay Z, Coldplay, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and the Beastie Boys. She’s a singular artist beloved by her peers across genres.

10 Years Golder Tour Dates
April 30: Denver, CO @ The Fillmore Auditorium
May 2: Boston, MA @ House of Blues
May 3: New York, NY @ Hammerstein Ballroom
May 5: Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore
May 6: Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore Silver Spring
May 8: Chicago, IL @ The Vic
May 14: Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren
May 15: San Diego, CA @ House of Blues
May 17: Los Angeles, CA @ The Palladium
May 18: San Francisco, CA @ The Masonic

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October 5, 2016 · 2:05 pm

Must Listen: Communist Daughter – “Balboa Bridge”

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“Together, they present a more down-to-earth Arcade Fire and a more gripping Of Monsters and Men while nicely filling the void left by The Civil Wars’ breakup” – Chicago Sun Times

After songwriting comparisons to Bruce Springsteen (“Hold Back”), Nirvana, and Fleetwood Mac (“Roll a Stone”), Communist Daughter is debuting another single from the upcoming sophomore album: the misleadingly upbeat “Balboa Bridge.” The gorgeous instrumental melodies and vocal harmonies are comforting at first take, but demand another listen to reveal another meaning.

Frontman Johnny Solomon explains the inspiration behind the song: “There’s this gorgeous park in the middle of San Diego, and there’s a bridge right in the middle of it that runs over the highway. My mom told me that when she was younger, they used to call that Suicide Bridge. I remember the times when I was thinking of that option, and how far away that bridge was from me. All I could think about was that it was this place, so far away from that basement in Wisconsin where I was getting high; it was this magical place in my mind where I wouldn’t feel the way I did anymore.”

October 21st will see the release of their highly anticipated sophomore album The Cracks That Built The Wall as well as a string of tour dates through the Midwest supporting the album – see below:

TOUR DATES:
10/12 – Sioux Falls SD – Icon Lounge
10/14 – Omaha NE – O’Leavers
10/15 – Des Moines IA – Vaudeville Mews
10/16 – Lincoln NE – Duffy’s
10/21 – Minneapolis – Electric Fetus In Store
11/3- Nashville TN – Hi Watt
11/4 Dayton OH – Blind Bobs
11/5 Florence AL – 116 E. Mobile
11/7 Lexington KY – The Burl
11/8 Madison – The Frequency
11/9 Iowa City – Yacht Club
11/10 UW Platteville – Platteville, WI
11/11 Minneapolis – First Avenue

PRE-ORDER THE ALBUM HERE

PRE-ORDER THE ALBUM HERE

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October 4, 2016 · 3:18 pm

Crocodiles – “Not Even In Your Dreams”

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Today I’d like to share with you a new song called “Not Even In Your Dreams” from Crocodiles upcoming album, Dreamless. “Not Even…” is the finale on Dreamless which is due out 10/21 on Zoo Music.

The San Diego based band is comprised of best friends Brandon Welchez and Charles Rowell. They’ve earned their place as one of the United States’ most engaging, hardworking and consistent rock and roll bands of the past few years. Dreamless is the pair’s sixth LP, and is, at once, their most exploratory and focused release.

Whereas Crocodiles’ first two albums made their home amongst a stew of fuzzed-out psychedelia, and the following three albums explored Welchez and Rowell’s penchant for placing pop sensibilities against whirring guitars and barbed production, Dreamless sees the duo endeavoring on an artistic departure that positions their guitars in the backseat in favor of a more spacious, synthesizer and piano-driven sound.

“We’ve always been a guitar band and I think we just wanted to challenge ourselves and our aesthetic,” says Welchez. “It didn’t start as a conscious decision but within the first week Charlie’s mantra became ‘fuck guitars’. Only one song has zero guitar but in general we tried to find alternatives to fill that space.”

The title of the album works on both a literal and metaphorical level: “I suffered insomnia throughout the whole session. I was literally dreamless,” explains Welchez. “The past two years had been fraught with difficulty for us – relationship troubles, career woes, financial catastrophe, health issues,” he continues. “In that pessimistic mindset it was easy to feel as if the dream was over.” 

The pair recorded the 10-track Dreamless in Mexico City over the course of 6 weeks. Having become something of a spiritual (and in the case of Welchez, literal) home to the duo, choosing D.F. as the location for recording allowed them to again hook-up with friend and occasional bandmate Martin Thulin (also a member of post-punks Exploded View). Between them, the trio shared instrument duties, with Welchez and Rowell handling the lion’s share of guitar and bass, Thulin and Welchez the live drum work, and Thulin focusing largely on keys.

“Our relationship with Martin will serve as a pivotal point in our band’s history,” comments Rowell. “On this album Martin continued his efforts to help us take our songwriting and aesthetics to further reaches.”

Thulin’s work on Dreamless is in keeping with the exemplary production found on Crocodiles previous releases and reconciles the band’s realigned focus on keys with their experiments of often pairing down the instrumentation to allow lyrical sentiments and themes to cut through to the fore. It’s an approach that has paid off, enabling the band to take more risks, both artistically and emotionally.

“And you’ll burn and weep and suffer,” says the chilling spoken-word sample that opens Dreamless. “The sample is from a Christian preacher that we found over 15 years ago and used on the first 7” we ever did together when we were still teenagers” explains Brandon Welchez.  “Back then we used it with a sense of humor, laughing at the whole ridiculous guilt trip vibe. But hearing it again in our apartment in Mexico City, within the context of the words we were singing, it took on a different air. It lost the humorous aspect and just seemed like a commentary on life.” 

An unsettling insight certainly, but if Crocodiles did indeed have to burn, weep and suffer in order to write and record Dreamless, then it was damn well worth it.

DREAMLESS – TRACKLISTING
01. Telepathic Lover
02. Maximum Penetration
03. Welcome To Hell
04. I’m Sick
05. Go Now
06. Alita
07. Jumping On Angels
08. Time To Kill
09. Jailbird
10. Not Even In Your Dreams

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April 18, 2016 · 2:34 pm

Video: Prayers – “Black Leather”

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“Cholo goth duo Prayers have shared the video for their single “Black Leather,” featuring tattoo artist Kat Von D (who also sings on the song). In the clip, frontman Leafar Seyer wields a snake and also visits the cemetery and a goth nightclub.” – Pitchfork

“The Cholo Goth movement is real, and Prayers are some crazy motherfuckers.”  – Noisey

“Prayers pull from darkest dance elements with touches of the Pet Shop Boys and Bowie thrown in to lift the mix.”  – The Huffington Post

“Pioneers behind a musical genre and growing subculture”  – LA Weekly

Following the reveal of new single “Black Leather” ft. Kat Von D  via Zane Lowe’s Beats 1, earlier this week, San Diego’s iconic cholo goth electronic/rock duo, Prayers, drop the official “Black Leather” video and announce their forthcoming Baptism Of Thieves EP with Pitchfork today heading into the band’s upcoming Coachella appearance (Sunday April 24th, 1:40pm @ Mohave Stage).

“Black Leather” is the first new music from Prayers since 2015’s “Young Gods” and the first single off the duo’s forthcoming 2016 EP Baptism of Thieves.

Fueled by pulsating synthesizers, metallic percussion and oscillating bass with frontman and Prayers’ creative force Leafar Seyer’s trademark howl, the hook-driven track explores themes of angst and alienation in the band’s post-industrial-electronic, cholo-goth signature style. Kat Von D lends vocals to the track and also features in video.

Speaking exclusively to Pitchfork, Seyer explains his inspiration: “‘Black Leather’ is my way of celebrating everything that I’ve had to leave behind for my true self to emerge. Every man and every woman is a star but I’ve become the universe.”

Directed by Gavin Filipiak and conceptualized by Seyer, the stark black and white video is rife with evocative imagery exploring catholicism, cholo culture, and the interplay between life and death.
 

Prayers will bring their mesmerizing live performance to Coachella on Sunday, April 24th, 1:40pm on the Mojave Stage.

baptism of thieves

Baptism Of Thieves EP Track List
1. Black Leather ft. Kat Von D
2. Underneath The Stars
3. Smiles Mask Tears
4. Lucifer Rising
5. Beauty and Bedlam
6. Pyramids

Founded in 2013 by Rafael Reyes and Dave Parley, Prayers are the first band to coin the term “cholo goth” to define their musical genre. Exploring the harsh realities of gang/street life over throbbing beats, their music defies stereotypes within the goth and cholo subcultures all the while creating their own underground scene.

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September 25, 2015 · 4:05 pm

KAABOO Festival 2015

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Last weekend, while I was visiting friends in San Diego, we went to the first ever KAABOO festival at the Racetrack and Fairgrounds at Del Mar.

It. Was. Awesome.

We only went on 1 out of the 3 days; but it was still great. KAABOO was marketed as a classier festival in that there were actual real restrooms, instead of port-a-potties; there was better food and more choices; better beers and even wines, etc.

I thought I had seen the whole grounds, but after checking out some other pictures and articles online, clearly I was mistaken. And now I feel bummed out about it. Waaaaaaah.

Anyways, I got to see Ron Funches (comedian) who plays on the show “Undateable” and is my FAVORITE character in the show; possibly of all time.

So…that was fun. He put on a good show, but I think I was hoping he’d be more like his character “Shelley.” haha

The guy on the right is Ron Funches. Silly bear.

The guy on the right is Ron Funches. Silly bear.

After that, everyone was hungry so we went to the “Posh Nosh” food tent area. It was cooled down in there and a nice break from the heat.

Then we bounced around a bit between Counting Crows and Slightly Stoopid until it was time to see Young the Giant. I like Young the Giant, but they weren’t on my MUST SEE list — however, once I was watching them, I was loving it. Crazy how that happens, huh?

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After that, the people in my company wanted to see Zac Brown Band (I am not really a fan), so we went over there. It killed time until Goldfish was playing anyway. At 10:00, they didn’t have any more bands playing outside because of the noise ordinance, so Goldfish, Big Gigantic and Girl Talk were all playing in a tent at the Encore Stage.

Goldfish was AWESOME. I was super excited to see them, and they did not disappoint. It was an amazing dance party. I posted a short video on YouTube from it — I don’t take many videos because I want to just feel and enjoy the moment fully — but I knew I’d be so upset if I didn’t have just a little bit to look back on! Here’s the video:

After that, I wanted to see Big Gigantic and dance some more, but everyone else wanted to go see Joel McHale at another stage. So — we mosey’d over there, but it was PACKED. The line was super long and then they weren’t letting any more people in, so it was a bust. We got back to the Encore Stage when Girl Talk was getting ready to come on. Now, everyone knows I love me some Girl Talk. Greg Gillis is from Pittsburgh and I’ve seen him 4-5 times here. I was excited to see him in San Diego this time, at this festival. But…I am saddened to say that it was not the hyped up dance party I am used to. It was just not good. We tried to get into it but weren’t able….and ended up leaving to catch an Uber before everyone at Kaaboo wanted one. I mean….it was probably a fluke, I’m sure.

Anyways — my experience was just a short chapter of the book. But, I’d like to go back again! Good times!

Here’s the flyer with the lineups:

kaaboo

 

 

 

 

 

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