{"id":663,"date":"2011-05-23T16:14:22","date_gmt":"2011-05-23T23:14:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/billchapin.net\/allthecitylights\/?p=663"},"modified":"2015-01-12T09:31:53","modified_gmt":"2015-01-12T17:31:53","slug":"newcomers-perspective-10-favorite-bay-area-acts-ive-discovered-since-moving-here","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/billchapin.net\/allthecitylights\/2011\/05\/newcomers-perspective-10-favorite-bay-area-acts-ive-discovered-since-moving-here\/","title":{"rendered":"Newcomer’s Perspective: 10 favorite Bay Area acts I’ve discovered since moving here"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Oakland native and R&B Renaissance man Raphael Saadiq has racked up more plays than any other Bay Area artist on the Rankstravaganzatron-5000. (via Facebook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It’s been a little more than six months since I relocated from Michigan to sometimes-sunny Oakland, and I’ve tried to delve into the local music scene. According to my obsessive cataloging of music in my iTunes library, there are roughly 40 Bay Area indie rock bands, alt-rappers, world\/jazz fusion combos and soul singers that I’ve sampled since November. Some of them fell off my radar rather quickly, but others I’ve returned to again and again.<\/p>\n

Using the same convoluted formula I employ for my End of the Year Rankstravaganza<\/a>, I took a look at which local bands have been racking up plays at the greatest rate.<\/p>\n

1. Raphael Saadiq<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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(via raphaelsaadiq.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I was obviously aware of \u00a0Tony! Toni! Ton\u00e9!<\/a> back in the day,\u00a0but I failed to keep track of what Saadiq has been up to since “Feels Good.” It turns out the Oakland native has done it again, releasing another critically acclaimed<\/a> album of old-school soul. I was introduced to the song “Good Man” through an application for a lyrics editing position that I didn’t get. (I still need a job; check out my resume<\/a> and make me an offer, media moguls!) In stark contrast to the other assigned song, the\u00a0Glee<\/em> version of “Blame It (On the Alcohol),” listening to Saadiq’s slow-burning tale of domestic drama over and over and over again didn’t make me want to puncture my eardrums with a chopstick. In fact, the more I listened to it, the more impressed I was.<\/p>\n

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[free download available as part of 38thNotes<\/a>‘ The Bay Abridged January Mixtape<\/a>]<\/p>\n

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2. Nobunny<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Garage-punk energy, bubblegum melodies, a bunny mask, handcuffs\u2014the only thing Justin Champlin doesn’t bring to the stage when performing as his floppy-eared alter ego is pants. I looked through all of the NoisePop 2011 offerings and decided Nobunny’s performance at Bottom of the Hill<\/a> was the one to catch. He didn’t disappoint. It was freaky, funky and furry. Having the Arizona native as part of the local scene is Oakland’s gain and Tucson’s loss.<\/p>\n

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[free\u00a0download<\/a> via\u00a0Popstache<\/a>]<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>3. Fake Your Own Death<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

I knew nothing of San Francisco rock band Fake Your Own Death prior to attending the Save KUSF benefit at The Uptown<\/a> in Oakland back in March. The band was so tight and professional, I assumed its members were veterans of the local indie scene, and sure enough, at least one of them was a driving force behind Elephone<\/a>. Terry Ashkinos’ brooding baritone inevitably earns the band comparisons to Joy Division, but there’s no denying that FYOD likes to hang out in the darker corners of post-punk. I haven’t heard the band since half its lineup was replaced, but the current members promise “a bigger, stronger beast of a band.”<\/p>\n

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[free download<\/a> via Facebook<\/a>]<\/p>\n

See the band live at 9 p.m. Thursday, May 26, at Bottom of the Hill<\/a> with White Denim<\/a> and Angel Island<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

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(via sicalps.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

4. <\/strong>Sic Alps<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

I haven’t gotten on board with the whole lo-fi scene<\/a> that the rest of the blogosphere continues to swoon over. I just don’t get Wavves or Best Coast. Sorry. But these guys, they’re alright. The reverb-loving San Francisco garage band knows fuzzy doesn’t have to equal grating. There are hooks here, but they’re mysterious and a bit elusive, and a healthy dose of ’60s psychedelia makes everything nice and dreamy.<\/p>\n

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See the band live at the <\/em>Woodsist Festival<\/em><\/a> on July 31 at the <\/em>Henry Miller Library<\/em><\/a> in Big Sur.<\/em><\/p>\n

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(via Myspace)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

5. Foreign Legion<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

I’ve discovered more great underground hip hop in the last year than the rest of my life combined, I think. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m more open to rap as a genre or if there are just more emcees out there dropping intelligent rhymes. Either way, all hail this old-school Oakland crew, which gets my vote for the ultimate in the Bay Area. “You mean as in ‘the best ever’?” Yes.<\/p>\n

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[free download<\/a> via Bandcamp<\/a>]<\/p>\n

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(by Todd Jenkins via thebstars.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

6. The B Stars<\/a>
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\nHaving been featured in the groundbreaking blog series Why’d You Name Your Band That?<\/a>, the San Francisco retro country band is almost certainly on its way to big things. But seriously, I really admire the group’s sincere commitment to a very specific era of hillbilly music\u2014the late ’40s and early ’50s, including plenty of Western swing influences\u2014as well as its sometimes cheeky lyrics.<\/p>\n

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See the band live at 4 p.m. June 18 at\u00a0Martin Mack\u2019s Irish Pub,\u00a01568 Haight St.,\u00a0San Francisco.<\/em><\/p>\n

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(via markgrowden.org)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

7. Mark Growden<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

A fixture of the Bay Area’s experimental jazz scene and a composer of theater and dance music, Growden lately has been trading in his saxophone for accordion and banjo\u2014focusing on dark, spectral explorations of roots music. His latest album includes traditional folk songs, Americana interpretations of Bruce Springsteen and Aretha Franklin, and original compositions. All of that sounds like it was specifically designed to pander to my personal tastes, but what I like most about Growden is his surprisingly robust, expressive voice.<\/p>\n

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[A four song sampler is available in exchange for an email address on markgrowden.org<\/a>.]<\/p>\n

See Growden live at 9 p.m. Saturday, May 27, at The Starry Plough<\/a>, 3101 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley.<\/em><\/p>\n

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(via blamesally.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

8. Blame Sally<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

What’s most surprising about this Bay Area band isn’t that it’s an all-female group or that its youngest member was in her late ’30s when they decided to quit their day jobs and focus on music. It’s that they can make mature, adult alternative rock sound this good. Their new single features the lyrics “sweet and sour at the same\u00a0time \/ mink and a porcupine \/ speeding ticket and a valentine,” and it might as well be a metaphor for all the band’s contradictory influences. (An\u00a0online bio<\/a> mentions everything from Patty Griffin to Pantera.)<\/p>\n