Email Author Mike Rowell

2007 Stories by Mike Rowell

• Mightier than the Sword: Black Cobra slays

  published December 19, 2007

  It's tough to think of an indie icon more accomplished than Stephen Malkmus. Although he's best known for being frontman of the... More >>

• Einstürzende Neubauten: The Industrial Revolution Has New S.F. Headquarters

  published November 21, 2007

  On a darkened soundstage South of Market, Einstürzende Neubauten lead singer Blixa Bargeld is ready for his close-up. Well, almost. First,... More >>

• The Real Cult of California: Father Yod and the Source Family

  published November 14, 2007

  In 1969, a man named Jim Baker opened a vegetarian restaurant, The Source, on Sunset Boulevard. It was hugely successful, with celebs like John... More >>

• Wooden Shjips

  published October 3, 2007

  Metronomic single-chord mantras have provided the basis for gorgeously hypnotic music, from the repetitive compositions of Terry Riley through... More >>

• The Bravery Far from Bold

  published September 12, 2007

  With FutureSex/LoveSounds, Justin Timberlake gained an unlikely spot as the present king of R&B, a position that he seems... More >>

• A Stand Up Guy

  published September 12, 2007

  When he puts his comic hat on, Bucky Sinister is one funny guy. But he’s not just a comedian -- he’s also a published author, a... More >>

• Gristle for the Mill

  published August 22, 2007

  Psychic TV frontperson Genesis P-Orridge has never shied away from pushing buttons and boundaries, from his work with seminal industrial... More >>

• Spider Bags

  published August 8, 2007

  With hints of such songwriters as Neil Young and Paul Westerberg apparent in his countrified garage-rock group, Spider Bags bandleader Dan McGee... More >>

• From the Far East to the far out: Neung Phak keeps the global dance

  published July 11, 2007

  When one envisions dub music hotbeds, Culver City, Calif. doesn't instantly spring to mind. Yet the Los Angeles suburb evidently has its share of... More >>

• Raccoo-oo-oon

  published June 27, 2007

  At first listen, it's hard to glean just where Raccoo-oo-oon hails from. Behold Secret Kingdom sounds a heckuva lot like early Boredoms,... More >>

• Sixties Flashback

  published June 27, 2007

  Forty years ago, throngs of idealistic youth descended upon San Francisco with flowers in their hair for what is still known as the Summer of... More >>

• Gowns

  published April 25, 2007

  Berkeley trio Gowns has estimable avant-indie cred. The collective rock resume of members Ezra Buchla, Erika Anderson, and Cory Fogel includes... More >>

• Melodic grandstanding from our boisterous buddies in Muse

  published April 4, 2007

  If the pounding pianos and shrieking voices on last year's Six Demon Bag caught you off guard, consider this: There was a time when Man... More >>

• Earth

  published March 21, 2007

  Formed in 1990 and infamous for epic, lumbering walls of buzzing sludge, Earth is widely considered the progenitor of the drone doom genre, which... More >>

• Seattle art rock climax

  published February 14, 2007

  Two of the Bay Area's more notable experimental rock upstarts are celebrating new releases this Friday. KIT is a quartet that wields... More >>