I've heard a lot of complaints these past few months that the San Francisco music scene is dying. Citing factors such as a lack of venues and practice spaces, shrinking audience support, and rampant fragmentation and decentralization where there once was communal focus, the complainers speak of their once-beloved scene as if it were a relative on life-support, as if we, its concerned family members, were all sitting around the hospital waiting room hoping for a miracle yet fearing the worst. I'm not ready to jump on this boat just yet, mainly because I know that there are still pockets of life in this sprawling array of venues, record shops, bands, and labels that ply their trade... More >>>