{"id":3385,"date":"2023-04-01T01:33:36","date_gmt":"2023-04-01T08:33:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/billchapin.net\/allthecitylights\/?p=3385"},"modified":"2023-04-01T01:35:12","modified_gmt":"2023-04-01T08:35:12","slug":"most-intriguing-new-releases-by-east-bay-musicians-of-march-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/billchapin.net\/allthecitylights\/2023\/04\/most-intriguing-new-releases-by-east-bay-musicians-of-march-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"Most Intriguing New Releases by East Bay Musicians of March 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"http:\/\/billchapin.net\/allthecitylights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/dickstusso-2023-promo-05-charleskoliha-800p.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/billchapin.net\/allthecitylights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/dickstusso-2023-promo-05-charleskoliha-800p.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3386\" width=\"400\" height=\"266\" srcset=\"http:\/\/billchapin.net\/allthecitylights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/dickstusso-2023-promo-05-charleskoliha-800p.jpg 800w, http:\/\/billchapin.net\/allthecitylights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/dickstusso-2023-promo-05-charleskoliha-800p-300x199.jpg 300w, http:\/\/billchapin.net\/allthecitylights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/dickstusso-2023-promo-05-charleskoliha-800p-768x510.jpg 768w, http:\/\/billchapin.net\/allthecitylights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/dickstusso-2023-promo-05-charleskoliha-800p-769x510.jpg 769w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">&#8220;Dick Stusso.&#8221; [Photo by Charles Koliha via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.subpop.com\/artists\/dick_stusso\/press\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">subpop.com<\/a>]<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>This is a good month, folks. I am <em>excited<\/em> about several of these new musical offerings from Oakland and Berkeley singer-songwriters, rappers, mystery jazz ensembles, alter-egos, you name it. I want to just jump right into it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So here is this month&#8217;s playlist, providing samples of all the actual new releases out of the East Bay (not reissues, not Italian metal bands on an Oakland-based label) that Bandcamp has to offer and didn&#8217;t make me immediately hit the skip button. Then keep scrolling for a few fun facts, background info, musical reference points, and amateur-critic zingers for the first six featured tracks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/bndcmpr.co\/embed\/4c415c03?orientation=landscape\" style=\"height:91px;width:100%;border:none;\" title=\"East Bay New Releases - Mar. 2023\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:100px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><em>S.P.<\/em>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hardlyart.com\/collections\/dick-stusso\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Dick Stusso<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s been five long years since real-life Oakland singer-songwriter Nic Russo released an album by his unstable, gaudy, critically acclaimed alter-ego Dick Stusso. Out on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hardlyart.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Hardly Art<\/a>, <em>S.P.<\/em> has 18 tracks, none clocking in at more than 2 minutes, 52 seconds (which maybe explains the occasional Guided By Voices comparison). Lead single &#8220;Garbage Dump #1&#8221; finds Stusso right in his glam-meets-gloom sweet spot, sounding like Bowie or Slade after a few too many, soulfully stumbling along to a ramshackle piano and boozy horn arrangement (courtesy of Russo&#8217;s Grammy-winning saxophonist father). <em>Ed. note: Hey, it also turns out Russo is a former member of <a href=\"http:\/\/billchapin.net\/allthecitylights\/2023\/03\/most-intriguing-new-releases-by-east-bay-musicians-of-february-2023\/\" title=\"\">last month&#8217;s featured band<\/a>, Blues Lawyer. How about that<\/em>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe style=\"border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;\" src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=470857345\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/tracklist=false\/artwork=small\/transparent=true\/\" seamless=\"\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dickstusso.bandcamp.com\/album\/s-p\">S.P. by Dick Stusso<\/a><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:100px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><em><strong>Gizmo, <\/strong><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tanukichan.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><strong>Tanukichan<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Here is another widely acclaimed Oakland singer-songwriter\u2014notable enough for her own short <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Tanukichan\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Wikipedia page<\/a>\u2014for whom we have been waiting five years to release a follow-up album, and it&#8217;s finally here. Like Hannah Van Loon&#8217;s debut, this one is also released under the name Tanukichan, out on <a href=\"https:\/\/companyrecordlabel.com\/records\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Company Record Label<\/a>, and produced by Chaz Bear, whose own album released under the name <a href=\"https:\/\/toroymoi.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Toro y Moi<\/a> was <a href=\"http:\/\/billchapin.net\/allthecitylights\/2022\/12\/rankstravaganza-five-great-2022-albums-two-eps-by-oakland-east-bay-musicians\/\" title=\"\">my favorite local release of 2022<\/a>. She says it&#8217;s more uplifting and inspired by &#8217;90s radio hits, and the lead single, &#8220;Don&#8217;t Give Up,&#8221; does have a inspirational title, but dang if it doesn&#8217;t still sound like scuzzy, dark, metallic dream-pop. Those are all definitely adjectives that can describe dream-pop without the genre description losing all meaning, by the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe style=\"border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;\" src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=2746221566\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/tracklist=false\/artwork=small\/transparent=true\/\" seamless=\"\"><a href=\"https:\/\/tanukichan.bandcamp.com\/album\/gizmo\">GIZMO by Tanukichan<\/a><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:100px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><em><strong>Square One, <\/strong><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.alexabolition.com\/News.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><strong>Alex Abolition<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;m not 100% sure, but I&#8217;m pretty sure this fellow is a Sacramento native currently residing in Berkeley; his Bandcamp bio is a little unclear. But I&#8217;m going to give him the benefit of the doubt because I am 100% a sucker for melodic pop-punk topped with furiously strummed mandolin to give it an Americana edge. &#8220;Here&#8217;s to another shitty folkcore album,&#8221; read the liner notes. Cheers to that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe style=\"border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;\" src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=1558969485\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/tracklist=false\/artwork=small\/transparent=true\/\" seamless=\"\"><a href=\"https:\/\/alexabolition.bandcamp.com\/album\/square-one\">Square One by Alex Abolition<\/a><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:100px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><em>III<\/em>, <a href=\"https:\/\/goldengram.net\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Golden Gram<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>I know Bandcamp says this album was released in January. I&#8217;m here to tell you it&#8217;s been in &#8220;future release pre-order&#8221; mode for the last two months, because I&#8217;ve been waiting and waiting for all eight tracks to be available before featuring it here. I&#8217;ve been listening to the opening track that whole time, and it&#8217;s a sparkling treat of bedroom pop that just gets more and more charming. The guy behind it, Graham LeBron, is a composer of commercial ditties and film scores, as well as a multi-instrumentalist who has played with Rogue Wave and Fruit Bats, among others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe style=\"border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;\" src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=2986927023\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/tracklist=false\/artwork=small\/transparent=true\/\" seamless=\"\"><a href=\"https:\/\/goldengram.bandcamp.com\/album\/iii\">III by golden gram<\/a><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:100px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><em>Legacy of the Blues Singers, <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lroneous.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">L*Roneous<\/a> &amp; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.blesinfinite.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">BlesInfinite<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Oakland indie musician, afrofuturist novelist, poet, photographer, and collage artist Tyrell LaRon (a.k.a. L*Roneous) has re-teamed with Albuquerque emcee and producer Luke Hale (a.k.a. BlesInfinite), who has not released an album in **checks notes** five years. Hmmm, seems to be a running theme this month. L*Roneous has literally dozens of full-lengths and EPs to his name, including the underground classic <em>Imaginarium <\/em>way back in 1998. So, yup, no surprise that this album full of conscious lyricism and dope samples. I can&#8217;t believe I just typed &#8220;dope.&#8221; BUT THEY ARE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe style=\"border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;\" src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=3241330521\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/tracklist=false\/artwork=small\/transparent=true\/\" seamless=\"\"><a href=\"https:\/\/lroneous.bandcamp.com\/album\/legacy-of-the-blues-singers\">Legacy of the Blues Singers by L*Roneous &amp; BlesInfinite<\/a><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:100px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><em>Did the Stupid Pillow Fall Again?, <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/pillowfort22.bandcamp.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Pillow Fort<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>I just had to include this one because that album title is simply LOL marvelous. This one is for the jazz fans. My 3-5 minutes of investigative journalism uncovered quite literally zero information on this group. I have no idea about the lineup, whether they have any other releases or upcoming live shows, who the guest vocalist is on the EP&#8217;s closing track. They appear to have no social media presence. They are, in short, A MYSTERY. But a tight mystery with good instrumental chops and, clearly, a sense of humor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe style=\"border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;\" src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=170802564\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/tracklist=false\/artwork=small\/transparent=true\/\" seamless=\"\"><a href=\"https:\/\/pillowfort22.bandcamp.com\/album\/did-the-stupid-pillow-fall-again\">Did the Stupid Pillow Fall Again? by Pillow Fort<\/a><\/iframe>\n\n<!-- Share-Widget Button BEGIN -->\n<a href=\"javascript:void(0);\" myshare_id=\"mys_shareit\" myshare_url=\"http:\/\/billchapin.net\/allthecitylights\/2023\/04\/most-intriguing-new-releases-by-east-bay-musicians-of-march-2023\/\" myshare_title=\"Most Intriguing New Releases by East Bay Musicians of March 2023\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\" return false;\" style=\"text-decoration:none; color:#000000; font-size:11px; line-height:20px;\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/billchapin.net\/allthecitylights\/wp-content\/plugins\/share-widget\/img\/share-button-white-small.png\" height=\"20\" alt=\"Share\" style=\"border:0\"\/><\/a>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n<!--\nvar _myssmw=true;\n\n\/\/-->\n<\/script>\n<!-- Share-Widget Button END -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This is a good month, folks. I am excited about several of these new musical offerings from Oakland and Berkeley singer-songwriters, rappers, mystery jazz ensembles, alter-egos, you name it. I want to just jump right into it. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3386,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,10,836],"tags":[1105,1103,393,1106,1107,1102,1109,1104],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/billchapin.net\/allthecitylights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3385"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/billchapin.net\/allthecitylights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/billchapin.net\/allthecitylights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/billchapin.net\/allthecitylights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/billchapin.net\/allthecitylights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3385"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/billchapin.net\/allthecitylights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3385\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3390,"href":"http:\/\/billchapin.net\/allthecitylights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3385\/revisions\/3390"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/billchapin.net\/allthecitylights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/billchapin.net\/allthecitylights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/billchapin.net\/allthecitylights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/billchapin.net\/allthecitylights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}