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Thursday, April 7, 2016

This Weekend: Take a Drumming Workshop Taught By Beyonce's and M.I.A.'s Drummers

Posted By on Thu, Apr 7, 2016 at 2:12 PM

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Want to learn how to mic up your drum kit from two awesome ladies who have worked with Beyonce and M.I.A.? Then we've got the workshop for you!

On Sunday, April, 10, Kimberly Thompson (Beyonce's drummer) and Kiran Ghandi (M.I.A.'s and Thievery Corporation's drummer) will be teaching a drum recording workshop at the non-profit studio, Women's Audio Mission. For only $90, drummers will spend four hours learner how to prepare and tune a drum kit, as well as microphone placement techniques (and how to choose a microphone in the first place).

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Ambient-Electronic Musician Benoit Pioulard Talks About The Touring Life and Geeking Out On Gear

Posted By on Thu, Apr 7, 2016 at 1:11 PM

Thomas Meluch, a.k.a. Benoit Pioulard - JAKE MUIR
  • Jake Muir
  • Thomas Meluch, a.k.a. Benoit Pioulard

Recording under the alias Benoit Pioulard, Seattle-based musician Thomas Meluch weaves together fragments of field recordings and instrumentation for a distinct experimental sound that combines elements of ambient, folk and noise. Utilizing nature and other found sounds filtered through ambient guitar chords and a host of pedals, his music is atmospheric and serene, like the tapes of rushing water that people listen to in order to fall asleep. But instead of induscing sleep, his songs act as meditations. They can sound spacey and rich, haunting and inviting all at once.

In the live realm, he often creates loops from scratch, graphing in the sounds of the venue and audience for unique one-off creations. His own voice, however, has never appeared as more than a supporting character on his recordings — and the extent of its use varies depending on the release.

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Producer and DJ SNBRN on Championing the "Sunset House" Sound and The Influence of Late '90s Hip-Hop Jams

Posted By on Thu, Apr 7, 2016 at 10:58 AM

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Whether it’s remixing the rhymes of late ‘90s rap artists with upbeat house rhythms or making creatively catchy tracks for a sound he calls “Sunset House,” it’s clear that producer and DJ SNBRN has managed to turn the influences of his adolescence into a full-time music career. Last year, the estate of the late, great Nate Dogg granted SNBRN the rights to “Gangsta Walk,” which has subsequently become one of his most successful singles and the name of his current tour. We spoke with SNBRN about his recent Ultra set, touring with friends, and his signature DJ pose. He performs this Saturday [April 9], at Ruby Skye.

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Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Apply For A Chance To Win Free Studio Time Through Converse's Rubber Tracks Pop-Up Studio

Posted By on Wed, Apr 6, 2016 at 2:40 PM

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Musicians, take note: for five days this month, you'll be able to sign up for free studio time at Different Fur Studios in the Mission. Yes, that's right: FREE studio time. This awesome opportunity comes courtesy of Converse's Rubber Tracks Pop-Up Studio event that takes place from Monday, April 18 through Friday, April 22. 

It doesn't matter how experienced (or inexperienced) you are, the free studio time is available to everyone. Not only that, but you'll get to record your music alongside experienced engineers, again for free. You'll retain all the rights to the music you created, too. 

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Sales for Drake's "Jumpman" Have Sky Rocketed After Taylor Swift's Epic Treadmill Face Plant Apple Music Ad

Posted By on Wed, Apr 6, 2016 at 11:51 AM

Swift with her game face on.
  • Swift with her game face on.

On April 1, Apple Music released an ingenious video that is perfect for fans and haters of Taylor Swift alike. The under-one-minute video features a sporty-clad Swift standing on a treadmill, getting ready for a nice jog. First, she stretches, then she selects her music (Drake's "Jumpman" featuring Future) from the Apple Music app. Swift turns the treadmill on and starts jogging, all the while singing and gesticulating wildly to the song. And then she falls. Hard. And it's hilarious. 

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Earworm Weekly: Kate Bush's "Army Dreamers"

Posted By on Wed, Apr 6, 2016 at 9:22 AM

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A recent group conversation about boot camp, the draft, drill sergeant fathers, and weekend special forces training prompted my column this week. I didn't really have anything to contribute except my internal soundtrack, which clicked — almost instantly — into the song “Army Dreamers." Apparently it's time for my semi-annual Kate Bush earworm.

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Tuesday, April 5, 2016

What Do Oysters and Live Music Have In Common? Not Much, But You'll Find The Two Of Them At Oysterfest On May 7

Posted By on Tue, Apr 5, 2016 at 4:04 PM

Feeling peckish?
  • Feeling peckish?

If you're thinking of heading to Oysterfest in Golden Gate Park on May 7, you should bring your honey because the combination of edible aphrodisiacs and live music will definitely put you in the mood to, well, you know... 

Random though it may be to combine live music with oysters, this is still a great chance to see a killer lineup for less dough than a one-day pass to Outside Lands. (General admission tickets are only $45.)  This year's event, which will be the festival's twentieth year in operation, is headlined by Chromeo, with performances by Iamsu!, Kinky, De Lux, Miguel Migs, and Johnny Maxwell. Past Oysterfests have featured Cheap Trick, Stone Temple Pilots, Flogging Molly, Thievery Corporation, Devo, Cake, and Michael Franti. 

So, whether you come for the oysters or the eclectic lineup, chances are slim that you'll be disappointed. (But given the "more than one million oysters from oyster farms throughout the Pacific Coast" that the festival boasts, chances are high that you'll leave full.)

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Who Needs Coachella When You Can Go To Outside Lands Instead? Peep This Year's Lineup To See Why

Posted By on Tue, Apr 5, 2016 at 10:26 AM

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It's likely that more than a few San Franciscan's have (or will be) flipping a shit once they see who's on Outside Lands' 2016 lineup. Because, seriously, it's that good. 

Perhaps the best part about the lineup is the eclecticism of it. Everyone from Radiohead, LCD Soundsystem, Sufjan Stevens, Halsey, and Beach House to Chance The Rapper, J. Cole, Big Grams, Miike Snow, Peaches, The Last Shadow Puppets will be playing. (Also worth mentioning: Duran Duran, Major Lazer, Air, Lana Del Rey, Miguel, Ibeyi, Vince Staples, Kamasi Washington, and the list goes on.) 

Even the newsroom here at SF Weekly is pumped about this lineup. Says our arts and culture editor Peter Kane, "I'm gonna go ahead and say this is the best Outside Lands lineup ever." Ditto, Peter. 

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Claus Larsen of Leaetherstrip Will Return to the Bay for his Second Ever Show in S.F.

Posted By on Tue, Apr 5, 2016 at 10:00 AM

Claus Larsen - ROLAND-PICS
  • Roland-Pics
  • Claus Larsen

Ask electro-industrial and EDM pioneer Claus Larsen how he’s managed to record so much music over the last three decades, and he’ll tell you his mental health depends on it. Since launching Leaetherstrip in 1988, Larsen, who both sings and plays keyboards, has released 18 albums, 14 EPs/singles, and numerous re-recorded and re-mastered special editions.

But look closely and you’ll notice a gap in Leaetherstrip’s body of work: From 2000 to 2005 he didn't release any new music. Speaking with SF Weekly, the Dane explained the hiatus was brought on by his father’s death and the demise of Zoth Ommog, the record label he had been signed to, which conspired to plunge him into a depression fueled by prescription opioid painkillers.

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Monday, April 4, 2016

Backstreet's Back, Alright — With New Album and Possible Vegas Residency

Posted By on Mon, Apr 4, 2016 at 11:43 AM

How big of a B.B. fan are you? Can you name all the boys in this pic?
  • How big of a B.B. fan are you? Can you name all the boys in this pic?

Backstreet Boy's blonde heartthrob Nick Carter has just announced news that has surely made more than a few girls around the world squeal, giggle, or cry with delight. The band, he said in a recent interview with ET at the premiere for his zombie western, Dead 7, might have a concert residency in Las Vegas. 

"It would definitely have to be a very big and spectacular show," he said. "Thankfully, we have a good catalog, so we can perform all of our hits. That could take up a lot of the show." 

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