Email Author James Sullivan

1996 Stories by James Sullivan

• Hear This

  published December 25, 1996

  Mono Men, Drags, Galaxy Trio Contrary to what you've been led to believe, New Year's Eve is the wrong time for finery -- for funny stemware... More >>

• Art of Noise

  published December 18, 1996

  In a cabinlike home high above the rural town of Nicasio, near Point Reyes, Bart Hopkin is "playing" a homemade musical instrument that would peel... More >>

• Genuine Artlessness

  published December 4, 1996

  Rock 'n' roll's eternal adolescent, Jonathan Richman, is just a few birthdays shy of 50. The skinny teen who invented "geek rock" during the... More >>

• Hear This

  published November 20, 1996

  Come/Railroad Jerk/Skeleton Key Here's an unusually solid triple bill, one with more parallels than most. In Skeleton Key, percussionist... More >>

• Wammies 1996

  published November 13, 1996

  SF Weekly's Alternative Music Awards Saturday, November 16, 1996 7:30 p.m. at the Transmission Theater Celebration and... More >>

• Hear This

  published November 13, 1996

  T.J. Kirk Tribute bands are largely the stuff of nostalgia, often as celebratory of the coifs and fashion don'ts of yesteryear as an... More >>

• Hear This

  published November 13, 1996

  Palace "You Have Cum in Your Hair and Your Dick Is Hanging Out" is not a song title that anybody's going to be line-dancing to anytime... More >>

• Hear This

  published November 6, 1996

  June of 44/Rex/Grassy Knoll/A Minor Forest Looking for a little mindless diversion to usher out the hand-wringing anguish of election... More >>

• Lone Nut

  published October 30, 1996

  The Grassy Knoll's new lineup, performing in the San Francisco Jazz Festival's new music showcase at Bimbo's last Monday, sure looked like a real... More >>

• Hear This

  published October 16, 1996

  Flat Duo Jets Whether he's outdiddling Bo Diddley on "Pretty Thing" or manhandling a dainty little chestnut like the Duprees' "You Belong... More >>

• No Hillbilly Yngwie

  published October 9, 1996

  One way to tell that Jim Campilongo isn't your typical country-music bumpkin is by his indefatigable, neurotic energy. "I played in straight... More >>

• Hear This

  published October 9, 1996

  Beck/Sukia If you paged through any glossy music magazine this summer, you don't need to be reminded that Beck Hansen is the single... More >>

• Hear This

  published October 2, 1996

  Chrome Cranks/Bloodloss/Dura-Delinquent/Speedball Baby Just for the sake of common decency, you've got to hope musicians like these don't... More >>

• Hear This

  published September 25, 1996

  Smog/Guv'ner/Cat Power Smog is Sacramento's Bill Callahan, a nice, quiet boy with a murderous streak as long as his dense discography. Cat... More >>

• Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots

  published August 14, 1996

  Robotics enthusiasts from around the world are converging on Fort Mason to beat the crankcase oil out of each other. Founded two years ago... More >>

• Recordings

  published August 7, 1996

  Various Artists Working Man (Magna Carta) Over a holiday family dinner, my older brother -- a computer engineer specializing... More >>

• Billy Childish Grows Up

  published August 7, 1996

  Billy Childish has gone off the dole. One of the most prolific -- and overlooked -- of the original British punks, Childish has spent nearly 20... More >>

• SFO3 Diary

  published July 31, 1996

  Thursday Afternoon and evening, scruffy clusters of writers, musicians, and label reps filtered into the Press Club's Oak Bar, fishing... More >>

• Tusk Love

  published July 24, 1996

  If elephants smoked, Smokey would be passing out cigars. The Oakland Zoo's 24-year-old bull elephant recently became the talk of the... More >>

• Tusk

  published July 3, 1996

  "Must be something in the water": That old adage is one of the foundational theories of the record industry. From one hit-making locale to the... More >>

• The Nature of Trust

  published June 19, 1996

  The rift between Ansel Adams' biographer and the late photographer's business trust is yawning as wide as the gorge of Adams' beloved Yosemite.... More >>

• He Came From Memphis

  published June 5, 1996

  Every few years, some moral watchdog or another floats the idea that a certain type of music is the work of the devil. Whether it's the earliest... More >>

• Recordings

  published June 5, 1996

  Les Thugs Strike (Sub Pop) Just because a culture's good at throwing rocks doesn't mean it will necessarily excel at playing... More >>

• The Beastie Connection

  published May 29, 1996

  When Erin Potts recently brought her friend and colleague hip-hopper Adam Yauch to a quiet cafe a few blocks from the bustle of Fisherman's Wharf,... More >>

• Dog Bites

  published May 15, 1996

  Schooled in Prayer Clamoring to save young black students from educational alienation, the San Francisco School Board might have tripped... More >>