Upcoming Shows

May

I have loved the Roots since I was a wee lad in high school.  They always have a great live show with more than competent musicianship and delivery.  If you have never seen them live then you need to correct that situation.  The Roots have a show at the Regency Ballroom on Monday, May 28th.  Tickets range from $63-91 including service charges.  Grab them here


June

Have you guys heard of Mayer Hawthorne?  Mayer has a headlining show at the Fillmore on, Saturday, June 16th.  Tickets will be $35 after service charges and will be available to purchase right here. (That show is now sold out)  He will also have a show with Foster The People as the headliners on Friday, June 29th at the Greek Theater in Berkeley. Tickets for that will be $37.50 and they are available here.

Action Bronson, who is all over my hip hop mixes and sounds like a long lost member of Wu-Tang is coming to the Bay for a show at the Independent on Wednesday, June 13th.  Tickets are at college level prices, clocking in at $15.  It should be a good show...too bad it's on a Wednesday, and I am old.  Seriously worth checking out though if you aren't lame. Get tickets here.

Lyrics Born and the whole Quannum crew got a lot of playing time in our college rotation.  Though I think he could use some major label influence to rein in his weirdness I am not mad at him for doing his thing.  One time I went to a Lyrics Born concert by myself when I was in Tahoe with my family and randomly saw his name on the marquee.  I was also there at one of his first solo concerts where he was out of breath, kept stalling and after the encore said, "That's it" and quickly left the stage.  So we have history and I will always root for him to succeed.  It's nice to see a local, still on his grind and doing what he loves to do.  The show is at the Independent on Saturday, June 16th and you can get tickets for $25 here.


July

Blind Pilot is back if you missed them the last time they were in town...like me.  I totally didn't go to that last  show...I even had tickets that I didn't end up using because it was raining, the show was in the city and there was a UFC fight available with the click of a button in the comfort of my living room.  The show is on Friday, July 6th.  So, maybe I'll make it to this one, no promises though.  Tickets are $32.50 including service charges and you can get them here.


Al Green will be performing at the Nob Hill Masonic Auditorium in San Francisco on Saturday, July 14th.  Tickets range from $58-$117, that's including the service charges though.  I feel like if you haven't seen Al you should probably get on that.  Admittedly the last time I saw him, it was not good.  The crowd got a bit rowdy, yelling at him, some people even walked out.  It was his last tour stop though so he could have been just coasting through his final show after a long stretch of time on the road.  He barely sang, allowing his back up singers and the crowd to do the heavy lifting, eliciting comments from peeved audience members like, "We paid to hear you sing!!!"  Despite all this...it's Al Green!!! He is so smiley and his stage banter is terrific.  Go see him, he is old, don't live with the regret of not seeing him.  I am still mad I didn't make the drive to Reno to see James Brown in person.  Grab tickets here.

The day after Al Green's show, that would be Sunday July 15th, Aesop Rock will be playing at the Fillmore.  Tickets are $32.50 including service charges.  Aesop is weird.  I have no idea what he raps about, he is the prototypical backpack rapper.  Lofty lyrics that could be genius or complete bullshit.  His studio production lacks structure, try and head nod and your neck will stutter and you may pull a muscle.  With that being said, he puts on a nice live show, the beats are sped up, the rhythm comes through and surprisingly you don't just stand there leafing through your thesaurus trying to figure out what the fuck he is saying.  Support the real!!  Brap Brap!!  Get tickets here.

Waters is the former front man of Oakland band, Port O'brien.  I love me some Port O'brien, I was sad to hear that they had broken up, but they gave us at least two solid albums that I still listen to today.  Now Waters is on his own and will be playing the Brick and Mortar in San Francisco.  The show is on Wednesday, July 18th and the tickets range from $10-12.  I haven't heard a ton from this new project but I am a staunch supporter of his previous endeavors.  Also with tickets priced like that it is probably worth checking out.  Grab tickets here.

Upcoming Shows

March

Friday, March 16th, Questlove will be spinning a DJ set at the Independent.  I have seen him spin before and he puts down some solid stuff, which you would expect from a music junkie like him.  The problem for me is I don't do the dancing in the club thing...and I am old.  If you enjoy getting your groove on though, I recommend checking him out.  $30 tickets can be found here.

Sharon Van Etten and The War On Drugs are coming to the Independent on Wednesday, March 21st. Tickets are $20 plus service charges and doors open at 7:30. Sharon was previously on Yes Homo Pop Princess Mix 6, and possibly some of the Indie mixes. Grab tickets for the show here. (Update: Tickets are sold out)

Bahamas was featured on Indie Mix 11 with his cover of Wreckless Eric's, "Whole Wide World."  He will be at Brick and Mortar in San Francisco on, Wednesday, March 21st.  This is the same night as the Sharon Van Etten show, but relax, the decision of which show to attend has been made for you.  Sharon Van Etten tickets have sold out, Bahamas has not.  Aren't you glad you avoided that dilemma?  Grab $8-10 tickets for Bahamas here .

Yellow Ostrich, is coming to town on, Friday, March 23rd.  I like Yellow Ostrich's covers better than his original stuff.  I bought his new LP on vinyl and I wasn't super enthralled by it.  He does interesting things and at times he has it all locked in and the end product is great.  Other times I feel like it's some abstract experimental bedroom studio tinkering that I would rather not be a part of.  Would it be wrong to go to his show and tell him to perform a whole Beach House album?  Tickets are $12 here.


April

Wednesday, April 11th, M. Ward will be playing the Fillmore.Tickets are super money, clocking in at $42 after service charges.  Is it worth it to you?  If it is get them here.








The Sandwitches have been on a couple of mixes.  The last one being Indie Mix 10.  They will be at the Brick and Mortar in the city on, Thursday, April 12th.  Tickets are $10-12 and you can get them here.

This one is a biggie for me.  This is a dude that I check tour schedules for and plot his movements on my wall map with pins and string.  Well guess what?  That string is headed straight for the Fox in Oakland.  My days spent praying have paid off.  Andrew Bird will be coming to town Friday April 13th.  Tickets are on the pricier side at $37.50 before service charges, but it's Andrew fucking Bird!!!  *Tries to whistle and just spits on himself*  He has been on at least two mixes from the blog that I can think of.  You may remember his appearance on Indie Mix 10...or maybe not.  Either way grab tickets for what is sure to be an amazing show here.

If Andrew Bird isn't your thing you have options on April 13th.  Damien Jurado, Peter Wolf Crier, and Dear Indugu will be at the Bottom of The Hill.  Damien was actually on the very first indie mix I made for this site.  I feel like we have featured Peter Wold Crier before too but maybe their name has just been floating around my ipod.  Tickets are $12 and you can get them here.

Childish Gambino will also be at the Fox in April.  He stops into town on Thursday, April 19th.  Tickets are $25 before the service charges.  He loves Asian girls and Asian girls love him...just ask SK or DANakaDAN. He sings a bit too much for me, but I have really particular taste when it comes to hip hop, actually I am not even sure if this is completely hip hop. The straight hip hop joints he has done I have enjoyed though. His comedy comes through in a lot of his raps and I appreciate a witty emcee. He also gets really personal and I give props to a rapper that is unafraid to show that part of himself on stage.  One of his songs was on Hip Hop Mix 10. Grab tickets for the show here.

Bon Iver, forever known as Bonny bear to me, will vie for your attention on the same night as the Childish Gambino show.  He will be at the Bill Graham Civic Audiotorium on Thursday, April 19th.  Dude is a grammy winner now, so watch out!!  Tickets are $45 and you can get them here.

Tennis is a solid new band with sounds that are right in our wheelhouse here at Stereofat.  I know both Tres Ouias and I have featured them on previous mixes.  They will be at the Independent on Monday, April 30th...Monday??  Damn it!!!  If you are not a 60 year old like me then this will be a great show worth attending.  They are touring in support of their sophomore album.  Tickets are $13-15 and you can get them here.




May

I always said that I didn't like bands that were big enough to play stadiums.  To this day I have never been to a stadium concert.  People who play in stadiums are Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake, not exactly my cup of tea.  Stadium tickets are also super expensive and you end up being miles away from the stage.  I guess I am happy the Black Keys have made it to stadium level rockers, but I kind of doubt I will pay the ticket prices for this show at Oracle arena.  Tickets range from $47.25 to $64.30 and you can get them here.

Daptone Represent!!  Lee Fields and the Expressions are one of the few Daptone acts that I haven't managed to catch live.  That is a shame, but a shame that I can do something about.  They will be at the Brick and Mortar in SF on, Saturday, May 19th.  Tickets are a little pricer at $20-25, but they do have a lot of band members to feed.  Get yo tickets here.



June

Have you guys heard of Mayer Hawthorne?  Mayer has a headlining show at the Fillmore on, Saturday, June 16th.  Tickets will be $35 after service charges and will be available to purchase right here on March 4th.  He will also have a show with Foster The People as the headliners on Friday, June 29th at the Greek Theater in Berkeley. Tickets for that will be $37.50 and they are available here.

Mayer Hawthorne Album news

Mayer Hawthorne's major label debut (Universal Republic) and second solo album drops  Oct 11th.

New art just dropped and a release date of October 11th has been announced for Mayer Hawthorne's new album, "How Do You Do." I am looking forward to the album, we'll see if anything changes with his step up to the majors. I don't really understand the move away from Stone's throw, but I can't claim to understand the behind the scenes workings of a music label. Not sure how the deal worked out or what Peanut Butter Wolf's level of involvement will be. I am sure it's more money more distribution for Mayer, I just hope the music stays gold and Stone's Throw is somehow involved. He will be heading out on tour to support the album so be on the lookout for him to roll through your town. Check out the video for, "A Long Time." It's his ode to Detroit which will be on the new album.

Hip Hop Mix 10

Feeling this shirt so much I accosted a dude on the bus (no homo) to find out where he got it. This isn't where he got it, but you can get Exact Science shirts at one of my favorite online music/clothing spots, the Giant Peach.

Another sample of Exact Science's T-shirt line.

Grab the mix here or hit the jump for samples and the whole tracklist.

Live From Daryl's House

My friend passed this along to me a while ago. My fault for just getting around to posting this now. Thank you for the super awesome find though. Apparently Daryl Hall from Hall and Oates, hosts this show called, "Live From Daryl's House." The video below comes from an episode he did that featured Booker T, from Booker T and the MG's (The legendary backing band for the legendary Stax record label), and Stereofat's most posted about artist, Mayer Hawthorne. They get down on Mayer's song, "Just Ain't Gonna Work Out." I could do without Daryl singing. I am pretty sure he forgets the lyrics at one point, but yeah it's his house, so I guess he can do whatever the hell he damn well pleases.

Daryl also did an episode with another one of my favorite artists, Sharon Jones. It's strange to see her without the Dap Kings. You can't really get a better backing band than them but Daryl and his crew do a pretty good job of standing in for them. Below is their video for, "100 Days."

Pretty sweet deal Daryl has going on at his house. Check out his site for full episodes and peruse the archives. You don't want to miss gems like the Bacon Brothers episode or the one with the lead singer of the Goo Goo Dolls...stellar stuff.

Soul Mix 10

Hey!! Wake up and flip the record!! This is a soul mix guurl this isn't slow jams for seniors. Wake yo ass up!!

Damn it's been a bit since I put together a soul mix. This shit used to be my bread and butter too. But lately, I have been all about getting my indie on, all consumed by ill fitting beanies, tight pants, and weekly trips to the Farmer's Markets. Thus leaving my original love to wither and die like a sunchoke on the vine...do sunchokes grow on vines?...no, no they do not. Shit...uhh, save the heirlooms!!...no? That won't get me enough cred?...damn it. *Hands over urban farmer card* Screw your vegan mexican food, I'm going to Taco Bell.

Enough of those hipster elitists, we're back in the soul saddle, so giddy up. Download it here. Or hit the jump for samples, the whole tracklist and non-judgmental consumption of in-organic, toxic orange, nacho cheese chalupas.

Fly Union and Dom Kennedy- Like That (Mayer Hawthorne sample)

The visuals for "Like that," this track from Jerreau of Fly Union and Dom Kennedy dropped awhile back. I just caught it on Distortion 2 Static, apologies for slacking. Sampling the fellow Angelino Mayer Hawthorne's song, "Shiny and New," LA sticks together on this one and the end result is quality stuff.

Taking some Mayer and looping it like a Just Blaze soul sample? Nice touch, you knew I was going to bite.  You can download it here.

Also if you would like to see Dom Kennedy live and you live in the Bay Area, now is your chance!!  Dom will be at Slim's on Thursday, June 30th.  The show starts at 8:00, tickets are $20 and they are available here.

Make It Whistle

I hope everyone had a magical Christmas.  I come bearing belated goodies for everyone. 

I enjoy me some whistling.  I saw a pbs special on dogs and the Shepard had a crazy number of different whistles to communicate with the dog.  He even had a whistle that meant turn back you missed one of the sheep.  It made me realize that my fondness for whistling may perhaps just be a sub-human primitive response to past animalistic instincts.  I also just saw something on tv and the gang on the show used a whistle to notify the other members of their position when separated in the dark.  Crazy, anyway I guess I still like whistling, it's the caveman in me.

Advertisers know this as well.  There was two commercials in a row and they both had whistling.  The first one came on and I thought wow that's a coincidence I am making a whistling mix.  Then the second one came on and I realized the advertisers had my number.  So I immediately bought some Gerber Baby food and a Subaru Legacy.  You won this round corporate consumption.  Your sweet whistle was like a Siren's song.  It's like that number 23 movie where once you notice it, it seems to be everywhere.  Not sure why that was a bad thing, because I never saw the movie and it's just a number but that's ok, you freak the fuck out about it Jim Carey.

So to celebrate this addiction I made a mix of songs that all feature whistling.  During my "research" (shout out to google) I found that many people feel the same way and were way ahead of me in terms of compiling lists and asking questions like what is more gimmicky whistling or children's choirs?  Most of them had similar songs, so I had to research even further (scroll down farther) and try and find some less famous whistling songs. 


I also googled whistling to find a picture for this post and the dude above came up.  Apparently it's a still from a documentary about a whistling competition in North Carolina.  Sounds like a scenario for a Christopher Guest film.  I am kind of interested in seeing it now.  Especially since it's called, "Pucker Up: The Fine Art of Whistling." 

Download the mix behind the jump.

I Hate Chrismas Music

It's true you can call me a Grinch or a Scrooge if you want to. I really don't care. I have nothing against the commercialization of the holiday, that's actually my favorite part. Here is why I don't like Christmas music, I just take issue with songs that suck. Simple as that, I don't hate Christmas, just shitty songs, and at what time of year do radio stations play non-stop shitty songs? The correct answer is all year, but what I mean is when do they play extra shitty songs? That's right during Christmas.

You can not tell me that Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer is a good song. You can say it's a sentimental song, that it's tied back to your youth and reminds you of your sugary sweet childhood and your Eddie Bauer turtlenecks, but you can't say that it's a good song. It's corny, it's maaaad corny. Fuck Frosty, Grandma got ran over by a reindeer? Seriously? Who needs to hear that bullshit? It's gross, not in subject matter but just in general.

I used to work in a mall, they played Christmas music during the holidays.  Kind of expected, I can deal with that. Most of the songs irritated me, some infuriated me. This one sticks out as one of the worst songs I have ever heard, Christmas themed or otherwise.

You want an alien for Christmas? I hate you.  Good news though, this song still gets played because regardless of whether or not a song sucks, if you mention snow, some jackass will put it on a, "Now That's What I Call shitty Christmas Music vol. 68."  Other honorable mentions for worst Christmas music, The New Kids On The Block and the entire, "Funky, Funky Christmas" album and Bob Dylan with his weird holiday album.  Do we really need to hear Bob growling about Santa Claus?

Now with all that being said, I would be remiss to not acknowledge that .02 percent of Christmas music that doesn't entirely suck.  Someone would yell at me if I didn't mention, "All I Want For Christmas Is You," by Mariah Carey.  It doesn't suck Jingle Bells sized balls, and I acknowledge it as a well executed Christmas song.  But I am more of a Dean Martin, "Baby It's Cold Outside" kind of guy.  Nat King Cole can sing about whatever he wants too, chestnuts on fires.  Hmm, sounds like a horrible idea for a song, but Nat will make it work.  The, "Charlie Brown Christmas" soundtrack is also extremely well done.  I am a sucker for Vince Guaraldi.  I am also a fan of Mayer Hawthorne.  You might be able to tell with his mention in every other post.  Anyway, two of the things that I like; Vince and Mayer are united on this song, "Christmas Time Is Here."  Mayer just posted it yesterday and, shieet even I can't be mad at it.  Merry Christmas. *Adjusts turtleneck*

Here's what Mayer had to say, "All the best Christmas songs were written by Jews, and Chanukah songs suck. This is my favorite Christmas tune, sung over the Vince Guaraldi instrumental."
Mayer Hawthorne - Christmas Time Is Here by Mayer Hawthorne

Daniel Johnston: Crazy or Genius?

Hey there! Boy things have been busy. Thank god Greybush has been holding down the fort! Hopefully you downloaded his Soul Mix 6. On the mix is Mayer Hawthorne covering Daniel Johnston's Held the Hand. I had never heard of Daniel Johnston but after doing a little bit of research I have come to realize that he is one of the greatest American singer/songwriters in the last 30 years. Seriously.

Aside from being completely crazy (ok, bi-polar) Daniel's voice sucks. His instruments are junk. His recordings were made in his bedroom. Yet, you can still tell that you're listening to something magical. This is why so many artists have covered his work. Here are some covers and some originals. Leave a comment and tell me whether you like his songs or the covers more.

First up is Walking the Cow. I've got a version by Teenage Fan Club, Kathy McCarty and Daniel. I purposely left off versions by Pearl Jam, A Side and fIREHOSE because they just aren't as good.

Teenage Fan Club - Walking the Cow (2004)


Kathy McCarty - Walking the Cow (1994)


Daniel Johnston - Walking the Cow (1983)


Next up is the song Go covered by Sparklehorse and the Flaming Lips. Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse was actually a big fan of Daniel Johnston's. He worked on a few projects with Johnston; trying to make old Johnston recordings sound more mainstream.

Sparklehorse and the Flaming Lips - Go (2004)


Daniel Johnston - Go (1985)


And finally, the song that introduced me to Daniel Johnston's work; Mayer Hawthorne's Cover of Held the Hand.

Mayer Hawthorne - Held the Hand (2010)


Daniel Johnston - Held the Hand (1990)


So what do you think, genius, or crazy?

Jeffro

Mayer Goodness

Damn you Stones Throw, you really know how to hype a beast up don't you?  Behold the etched 12 inch collectible vinyl with a new Mayer track.  Brought to you courtesy of Stones Throw and Mayer Hawthorne.  Produced by Nottz and illustrated by Freegums.  One side of the vinyl has Mayer's cover of Otis Leavill's, "I Need You."  Mmmm...Mayeeeer..vinyl...etched...collectible...

Mayer on how the song came to be.  "The song is a cover of a cat named Otis Leavill which is one of my all time fav soul sides, but relatively unknown 45. I don't think Nottz even knew it. I actually even made up some of the words because no one could make out what he said in the original. ha!

When Nottz sent me that batch - that particular beat stood out. It had the same chord progression as the Otis Leville, so I just went with it.”

Purchase it in the Stones Throw store here and have a listen below.

Mayer Hawthorne- I Need You



The generosity of Mayer does not stop there.  Here is some more free music from him. He just dropped a reggae version of, "Maybe So, Maybe No." Perfect, since I have been on a reggae kick lately.  Now everyone in unison, "Thaaank yooou Misterr Mayerrr."

Mayer Hawthorne- Maybe So, Maybe No (Reggae remix)

I Left My Heart In San Francisco

Home Is Where The Heart Is, By Jeremy Fish

I saw Mayer Hawthorne on Thursday night at the Warfield. He sounded really good but he did a pretty short set since he was slotted as the opener for Passion Pit.  He busted out the ELO cover of "Mr. Blue Sky" that Jeffro covered in this post though and ripped it.  What surprised me was the fact that he didn't do his cover of, "I Left My Heart in San Francisco."  You know the one that was discussed here.  The one that he was releasing on heart shaped USBs because it was his last tour stop.  Figured he would have worked that shit in somehow but maybe he let it out at the after party that I did not attend.

Either way the set was solid and I got the shirt/usb package dealy, which I will now share with you, you can wear the shirt on alternate Tuesdays.

"I Left My Heart in San Francisco" Audience Participation/song battle and downloads after the jump.

The Goods

It's that time again where I play hypebeast.  *Pushes button to seal the air lock on closet*  Sorry about that, can't let those uv rays fuck up my kicks, nah mean?  *Adjusts thick rimmed glasses, lays on bed to wiggle and writhe into skinny jeans*  Sorry about that, I don't know why I was talking to you without any pants on.  Let's get our consumption on!!!

First up is some music infused art, which is like bacon encapsulated by fried chicken, or Mike and Ike's smothered in Vegemite, two of my favorite things in the world colliding into a brilliant wreck of awesome.  Is the Mike and Ike's thing just me?  Thought so.  Ian Johnson just had the opening for his new show, “Of The Living Sky, at Park Life in San Francisco.  Here is Ian's bio from his site, "Born in Syracuse, NY 1979 Lives and Works in San Francisco."  I guess that's all you need to know about him.  Not really, Ian does excellent intricate, realistic, renderings, of jazz luminaries and musical icons.  He infuses these with geometric designs, rays of rainbow colors, and abstract visuals to create awesome graphic depictions of legendary talents.  Check out this piece he did from his last solo show of one of the loves of my life, the Reverend.  That is a dope ass piece. 

 My only problem with Ian's work is that I don't know everyone he paints.  The pieces all look amazing, but I feel like I have to be a huge fan of someone before I display a prominent picture of them on my wall.  Ian knows his jazz, and his works are mostly focused on people I am not that familiar with.  I have the same issue with concert posters, and it's weird placing this guideline of synchronicity between liking the image and also supporting the person being depicted in the piece.  Usually I just go off image but portraiture is a different ball game that adds that other dimension....I want that Al though.

Either way if you are in the Bay Area you should go check the show out, it closes on May 1st, so you still have time.  Go see the Billie Holliday piece, it was stunning in it's simplicity and cleanliness.

Park Life
220 Clement St
SF CA 94118
415.386.7275

Two more things you should buy and a free Roots x Dilla mixtape after the jump.

Soul Mix 3

Soul mix time.  This mix is a little laid back, lots of falsetto smoothness.  At least in the middle section.  Samples below.

First up Sly, Slick, & Wicked and their track, "Confessin' A Feelin."  This is a live version and it's on point!!  Pretty perfect, it's super chilled out but executed so well, don't forget it's live, I like how it sounds like it's recorded at a party, the light chatter in the beginning while those first vocals drop are awesome.  Like I could just stumble onto these dudes at a backyard pool party or something.  Check them out below.

Sly, Slick, And Wicked- Confessin' A Feelin (Live)


Next up is Tommy McGee with, "We Ought To Be Together."  Check out this awesome write up on Ear Fuzz. That's where I got the track from, apparently the vinyl goes for thousands of dollars.  Both cuts from the 45 are on this mix.

Tommy McGee- We Ought To Be Together


One more from the falsetto, smooth, laid back section.  It's your boy Mayer Hawthorne doing a cover of, "Thin Moon" by his fellow Stones Throw family member, James Pants.  They did this trade off cover thing where Mayer did this song and James Pants did, "Green Eyed Loved."  A little bit about him, "Mr. Pants is a purveyor par excellence of that unmistakable “fresh beat”: 80’s Soul, Electro Boogie, Early Rap, New Wave, & Post-Punk Disco, all of which can be found on Welcome where James plays drums, keys, guitar and sings."  His whole profile can be found here.





Mayer Hawthorne- Thin Moon (James Pants cover)


Soul Mix 4 is in the bag and I actually think it's better than this one but this should be fine.  You just have to get in the right mood and headset.  It picks up a little bit at the end but most of it is chill out type jams.  Rent a big ass Caddy and roll somewhere with the top down.


Soul Mix 3