Not For Stars

Comments (0) By Dan Strachota Wednesday, Sep 14 2011

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Make-Out Room

3225 22nd St.
San Francisco, CA 94110

Category: Bars/Clubs

Region: Mission/ Bernal Heights

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In 2004, local indie rock band For Stars released its fourth LP, It Falls Apart, a daring combination of arty Radiohead-ish rock and achingly pretty folk. But just when the band seemed destined for a major breakthrough, it broke up — a victim of career choices, family needs, and drummer uncertainty. Since then, For Stars’ singer/songwriter Carlos Forster has continued writing songs. And once in a while he’ll head up to Portland, Ore., to eat tacos and record with his college buddy M. Ward (whose debut disc, Duet for Guitars #2, Forster sang on). The resultant Family Trees album, released in July on Hush Records, is relaxed and warm, just like you’d expect from old friends banging around a home studio. Ward lends honky-tonk piano, gnarly solos, and angelic vocals throughout, while Jonathan Richman proffers nylon-string rhythms on the Latin-flavored “If I Could Be.” Forster does some of his most gorgeous singing ever, delivering enough falsetto thrills to make a castrato jealous. Country-influenced tracks like “Travel Round the World” and “Back of a Motorcycle” have a kind of starry-eyed romanticism. These days, Forster spends most of his time on his psychotherapy practice, so don’t miss this chance to see him live.
Fri., Sept. 16, 7:30 p.m., 2011