Sic Alps

Yo La Tengo Is Playing an In-Store at Amoeba This Month

San Francisco is a Yo La Tengo kind of town, a place where the lauded New Jersey rock trio can come, play three nights at the Fillmore supported by the best local acts of the day, and sell out each night. (It might even be the same people going to every show.) So while it's not surprising that the ... More >>

S.F.'s Sic Alps Scrubbed the Noise, But Still Want to Freak You Out

"I'm kind of like Ron Swanson -- I fucking hate paperwork." Mike Donovan, figurehead of San Francisco rock band Sic Alps, is grinning in the kitchen of his ground-floor apartment, explaining what he likes about driving a cab for a living. Along with the fact that Donovan usually works only a couple ... More >>

Sic Alps: Show Preview

Fall Album Frenzy: New Local Albums You Need to Know

The Mallard on the S.F. Garage-Rock Scene, Walking Around Town, and Playing Drums Standing Up

As frontwoman Greer McGettrick points out, it's easy to pigeonhole The Mallard as a new tenant of San Francisco's flag-bearing garage rock scene -- but the band's uneasy, ramshackle approach is fraught with a brooding tension that defies the genre's trappings. The evidence lies on the Mallard's Cast ... More >>

Inside Slumberland Records, Berkeley's Legendary Indie Pop Label

Name: Slumberland Records Owner: Mike Schulman Founded: 1989 Headquarters: West Berkeley Creation story: Inspired by mid-80's Lower East Side noise rock artists like Swans and Sonic Youth, Schulman formed Big Jesus Trash Can without any prior musical experience in Washington, D.C., where he was ... More >>

SF Bands the Sandwitches and Girls Unveil New 7-Inches, New Songs

SF's The Sandwitches​ There is something unassuming yet special about the 7-inch, that tiny disc of vinyl only big enough to hold a song on each side. They spin faster, they cost little, yet they wield all the magic of a real record. They are, in other words, the perfect format for a post-albu ... More >>

Mikal Cronin: 7 Reasons to Love This New S.F. Garage Rocker's Debut Album

Mikal Cronin's debut album is out today.​ Mikal Cronin isn't totally new -- he's been playing with Ty Segall and Moonhearts for years -- but he's new to living in San Francisco, and his debut album is very, very new: It's out today on Trouble in Mind. If you like garage-damaged guitar pop, we' ... More >>

Mikal Cronin: Show Preview

Wooden Shjips Sign to Thrill Jockey for "West," Continue Trend of S.F. Bands on Chicago Labels

​ Having already carried out a vital inquiry into whether we San Franciscans are too obsessed with our brilliant little garage/psych/vintage rock scene (answer: yes, but deservedly so) let us now ponder this: What's with all the S.F. bands on Chicago labels?We ask specifically because of today's n ... More >>

Sizzle & Fizzle: Highs and lows from the last week in S.F. music

Thee Oh Sees, Sic Alps, Ty Segall, and the Sandwitches Give a Primer on S.F. Rock

Sic Alps at Great American Music Hall last night.​Thee Oh SeesSic AlpsTy SegallThe SandwitchesFebruary 9, 2011@ Great American Music HallBetter than: Train.If you're looking for a primer on the state of independent rock in San Francisco in 2011, you could hardly do better than last night's lineup ... More >>

Sic Alps: Show Preview

In Print: The Return of Cake, and Smith Westerns' Epic Power-Pop

From SF Weekly's latest print music section:​The Shelf Life of Cake: John McCrea and his band, Cake, have gone the distance, and more than a few times. Maybe more than he would have liked. McCrea is the declarative voice of a band that came of age at the pinnacle of alt-rock radio and more or less ... More >>

Watch Sic Alps Grainy, Disorienting New Video for 'Do You Want to Give $$?'

He wanted to give.​Now here's a video that fits well with the accompanying song -- we can't get a clear grip on either. Sic Alps new album Napa Asylum (out tomorrow) is a bewildering, dirty, vaguely depressing slog, and we mean that in a good way! So the video for its first single, "Do You Wa ... More >>

The Week in Event Names: YouTube Bestiary Edition

Well, that's it. The week in music has been overrun by creatures great and small. Even on Labor Day, that hallowed sabbath of secular holidays, we were forced to contend with Panda Bear at the Fox. Is nothing sacred?But press on we must. To prepare you for the faunal frenzy in performance spaces acr ... More >>

MySpace's Days as a Vital Music Site May Be Numbered

To call a MySpace page essential for bands would be an understatement. These clunky, ugly, music-streaming pages are valuable for many up-and-coming artists as well as big names -- partly because they were among the first places where anyone could post and stream songs for free.​ But that all coul ... More >>

Friday's Pick: Woods, Kurt Vile, The Art Museums, The Mantles at Slim's

Woods​There's been much conjecture on how to get your music heard in a time of eroding CD sales. Many bands are encouraged to embrace technology and gimmicky marketing schemes. There is also the Woods way. Since 2006, the Brooklyn indie-rock band has released an album every year on its own label, ... More >>

Woods returns to its indie-rock roots

Q & A w/ Sugar and Gold

Wes Rowe​Based on the buzz around Sugar and Gold, it's no surprise that they hail from a city that enjoys all things fabulous: ours. Their sophomore release Get Wet! is disco-pop perfect for this summer's parties. Disco-synth inspired tracks like "Feels like Fire" and "Stay Soft" are guaranteed to ... More >>

Over the Weekend: Yo La Tengo and Sic Alps at the Fillmore

Yo La Tengo, Sic Alps April 24, 2010 The Fillmore Better than: Art rock is supposed to be. "All I can say is that I hope you all get an opportunity to play this place," Ira Kaplan gushed at one point Saturday, acknowledging the tour-de-force conclusion to Yo La Tengo's three-night stint at the Fil ... More >>

Monday Morning Hangover: An Embarrassment of Riches

As the Summer(ish) months start rolling in, it seems the possibilities for weekend distractions multiply exponentially. This past weekend offered an embarrassment of riches: comedy, music, art and bawdiness abounded. Gretchen Robinette​Yo La Tengo and the Sic Alps played the Fillmore Saturday and ... More >>

Sic Alps is the opening act of choice for indie elder statesmen

Yo La Tengo and Sic Alps Show is *Not* Sold Out

Sic Alps​In this week's issue, we made a mistake listing the info for the Sic Alps gig on Saturday at the Fillmore. The show is not sold out. You can still grab tickets to see the San Francisco act both locals and big indie icons are singing praises for--while also catching the headlining set ... More >>

Openers: Three Opening Act You Don't Want to Miss This Week

Best Coast​Coachella tour mayhem may be in the past, but we're set for another busy week of spring shows here in the city -- opening bands included. A few best bets are below:Wednesday: Best Coast The guitar pop of Best Coast sounds like its been blasted through the smog of a Los Angeles afterno ... More >>

Sic Alps News: Free Beach Show and New Video (for Quasi)

Sic Alps​Sic Alps have been busy dudes these days. When they're not opening for Pavement in London and Yo La Tengo here, they're touring Europe for a good chunk of the next two months. So if the weather cooperates on Easter Sunday, you'd be smart to head down to the dunes at the end of Lincoln (at ... More >>

Moon Duo gives minimal Krautrock new gravity

'In a Cloud' Captures SF's Best Folk Pop Freaks. We Q&A its Mastermind.

​Man, San Francisco is so strong on the indie music front these days. And that's not just empty cheerleading. Our pop bands (Girls, The Dodos) are getting prime festival slots and lots of press love, while experimental psych-garage act Sic Alps has been asked by industry heavies (Sonic Youth and Y ... More >>

Track of the Day: Art Museums Dream of Sculpture

​One of my current favorite labels, New York's Woodsist (home to Woods and Real Estate) has been showing the Bay Area a lotta love.  After releasing 7"s and full-lengths by the Fresh & Onlys, Sic Alps, and Thee Oh Sees, the indie is helping the world hear new work by Moon Duo and The Art ... More >>

Rock Mountain High

Last Night: Sonic Youth at the Fillmore

Gretchen Robinette​Sonic Youth, Sic AlpsThe FillmoreSunday, Jan. 10, 2010Better than: Retaining your hearing. The cumulus cloud of pot smoke may have been hanging pretty thick over The Fillmore last night, but being stoned wasn't a requirement to enjoy Sonic Youth's third stop in San Francisco i ... More >>

10 Things to Do This Weekend For Under $10

Ashley HarrellSantacon, 2008​Talking about how goddamn cold is in in San Francisco is free, but that got old on Tuesday. Now it's Friday and you need other ideas for how to entertain yourself and your buddies on the cheap. Here's our list of recommendations below. Mi Ami w/ Inca Ore, Jozef Van W ... More >>

10 Things to Do This Weekend for Under $10

Rob KarlicNobunny​We apologize in advance but this week the descriptions are gonna go fast. We're as short on time as we are on money.Drive-In Movie @ Secret Location !7th & Folsom (Friday)Mobile Movie is hosting another guerrilla drive-in adventure tonight. They're planning to show the Will F ... More >>

Last Night: Sonic Youth and Sic Alps at the Independent

Richard Haick Photography​ Sonic Youth Monday, August 3rd The IndependentBetter Than: The Year Punk BrokeBy Brian Moss Perhaps the quintessential indie rock band, for nearly three decades Sonic Youth has been demolishing genre conventions and redefining the sound of subculture. The band's pro ... More >>

Track(s)/Mission Creek Picks of the Day

The Downer Party Tonight there are too many choices for local bands playing Mission Creek gigs around the city. A couple of our top picks:Sic Alps headline a showcase of punk on an acid trip at the Hemlock: Linda Hagood, "psychloner" Tom Greenwood, and Dragging an Ox Through Water.You could als ... More >>

Free Outdoor Show Tonight: Sic Alps, Meth Teeth

Remember those days when your mom forced you to play outside 'cause it was too nice to be indoors watching TV and stuff? Well with summer making a rare visit this week, we're telling you to go play outside--but you don't have to give up seeing music. Tonight San Fran's Sic Alps are performing with P ... More >>