Part haunted house, half honky-tonk and a lot of freak funk, the sounds emitted via San Francisco band Birds & Batteries-- playing Fri/28 at Rickshaw Stop-- is a mixed bag of awesome that seems to come from a questionable place. Drug trade, mental instability and disturbing sadness inhabited the streets below band member Mike Sempert's former apartment in the Tenderloin and crept into his songwriting with dark undertones. Now that he's officially transplanted to greener grass in Oakland, the only thing creepin' into the band's new tunes is a little sunshine. 

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It’s a long journey from Nigeria to Nas and Damian Marley’s side onstage at the Fox Theater (Tues/25). But 28 year old singer Nneka makes the road seem eminently walkable. Born to a father from the Nigerian Igbo tribe, and a German mother, her Erykah Badu like vocalizations didn’t really take off until she moved to Hamburg at 18. Since then, she’s risen to European fame on the verve of lyrics that reposition Africa as it’s own narrator, and are set to driving R&B and hip hop beats. And now the States are taking note of her song. Read more »

I’ve been a Reggie Watts aficionado for some time now -- maybe since January. His video for “Fuck Shit Stack” was the most hilarious send up of hip hop culture I’ve seen in awhile, and one of the more visually creative videos. And I heard he was Seattle based, which got me very excited to see Pacific Northwest steez represented at his upcoming appearance at Conan O’Brien’s “The Legally Prohibited from Being on Television” tour stop, Thur/22 at the Nob Hill Masonic Center.

So I was stoked to get the chance to talk to the singer/beat boxer/comedian. Especially on 4/20. Interview dates don’t get much cooler. We’d straight kick it on the phone, giggle, talk about life, man. He says he’s in Seattle as we speak. What’s good in Northwest hip hop, Reggie? Read more »

JL Stiles would like it if we all just appreciated what we’ve got a little more. 

“If you look at the new artists that have come out of San Francisco recently, we’re got some really innovative people. But in the belly of the beast, traction is not easy to come by. The great artists, someone discovers them and cashes out on their genius, and then they’re touring all over and just come back every once in awhile,” says the mathematician/musician/creator of the new neo folk concert series San Folk Disco, which kicks off Thur/15 at Café Du Nord. Read more »

When you come out of the womb and your mama names you Chaz, life is going to be pretty cool. Mr. Chazwick Bundick is a child of the south, who from the sound of his uber laid-back synth melodies, must have grown up poolside, full pitcher of sweet tea attached at the hip.  The electro-musician goes by the moniker Toro y Moi-- playing Mon/12 at Bottom of the Hill-- and fully embodies the chillwave scene at its core, with layer upon layer of ambient wonder. And of course, Chaz is way chill. Read more »

Duncan Sheik’s “Barely Breathing” was ranked #88 on VH1’s 100 Greatest Songs of the 90s, but in the past decade, the singer and composer has been winning even fancier gold awards for his musical theater scores. This week Sheik’s singing with the San Francisco Symphony-- Wed/7- Sat/10 at Davies Symphony Hall-- and performing the world premiere of the orchestral arrangement of songs from The Whisper House.

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Skip the Blockbuster run of predictable action flicks and let an RJD2 album call the shots. The record may spin, but your mind will cartwheel with scenes of drama, horror and thrill of your choosing. Allow the blaring horns to signal a wild chase, the sampled soul to spur images of a powerful protagonist and the hip-hop bass to conjure up a dreary, urban setting: the music of RJD2 --playing Wed/7 at The Independent--  is a mind-driven movie reel.Read more »

In the United States, the term “gypsy” has come to signify a certain bohemian nomadry. A silver bangled, many skirted, sultry way of banging a tambourine. But more deeply,“gypsy” refers to a rich cultural Euro-Asian heritage, more correctly termed Roma -- a culture that has brought to the world the frenetic riffs and musical arabesques of Roma tunesters Fishtank Ensemble, who will play at the DeYoung Museum Fri/9. Read more »

Dirty rappin' about splooge, needles, dead friends and having sex with big-breasted inbred women-- wow Mickey Avalon is a charmer. The Hollywood glam-rapper-- playing Sat/3 at Roe Nightclub-- is far from classy, in fact he's the epitome of trashy and tragic, and yet kind of hot? Wait, wait, wait-- hot? Well, kinda. Ew. I know. So if this is sexy, ladies and gentleman, maybe we should take a few notes. Read more »