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 | Listen to the Gospel After rising from relative obscurity in Jacksonville, FL, to become the international buzz band of the moment, Black Kids return to San Francisco for a headlining gig at Great American Music Hall on October 13th. Fronted by lead vocalist Reggie Youngblood (his sister Ali is also in the group), Black Kids released their debut LP [b]Partie Traumatic[/b] on Columbia Records in July. Dawn Watley (keyboards/backup vocals) spoke with SF Station during a phone interview from a tour stop in Atlanta.More |  | Man on a Mission Mission of Burma helped shape post-punk for four blistering years until the band dissolved in 1983 after guitarist Roger Miller suffered from tinnitus. With only two studio recordings under its belt from that era, the band’s influence can be seen across the spectrum of more recent acts, from Nirvana to Moby (he covered “That’s When I Reach for My Revolver”) to upstarts No Age. The band, which reformed in 2002, returns to San Francisco to perform its debut EP [b]Signals, Calls and Marches[/b] on September 26th and its first LP [b]Vs.[/b] on September 27th at The Independent.More |  | Tune in at Treasure Island The Treasure Island Music Festival returns September 21st and 22nd to mark the official end of the summer concert season with two days of music featuring Justice, The Raconteurs, Tegan & Sara, TV on the Radio, and several others. TV on the Radio keyboardist and producer David Sitek spoke with SF Station about [b]Dear Science[/b], the follow-up to the band’s breakthrough [b]Return to Cookie Mountain[/b], along with his role with Scarlett Johansson’s recent album of Tom Waits covers, and his affinity for Ferris wheels.More |  | A Band on the Offensive UK electro-rock group Does it Offend You, Yeah? brings its dance party back to San Francisco less than two months after opening for Bloc Party at The Fillmore. This time the group, which has been touring nearly constantly since the release of its debut LP [b]You Have No Idea What You’re Getting Yourself Into[/b] was released in March, visits the Great American Music Hall for a headlining slot on September 18th. Drummer Rob Bloomfield spoke with SF Station during a phone interview from the road near Washington, D.C.More |  | A Rocktastico Tour With a trio of EPs that were self-released over the past year, San Francisco’s The May Fire is spreading its brand of poppy grunge rock on the Circo Rocktastico Tour, a six-week jaunt through the western U.S. and Midwest that also had a stop in Mexico. The tour, sponsored by an MTV offshoot that is geared toward Latino audiences, pairs the band with other groups with Latino heritage. It stops at the Red Devil Lounge on September 4th before continuing to several other Northern California stops. El Pipe (drums/vocals) spoke with SF Station during a phone interview from the road in Oklahoma.More |  | A Monster Mash After waiting to sign a record deal and self-releasing its first album amidst early industry buzz, San Francisco’s Birdmonster is back with From the Mountain to the Sea, its first release with indie record company Fader Label. Recorded in a studio sanctuary in the heart of the often-chaotic Tenderloin, the album provides an even mix of acoustic-electric arrangements with threads of straight-ahead indie rock, folk and cow punk. Guitarist David Klein spoke with SF Station during a phone interview before departing on the band’s first major tour in more than a year. Birmonster opens for Nada Surf on September 3rd at Great American Music Hall.More |  | An Inside Scoop The Outside Lands Music and Art Festival juggernaut, with its six stages and 60 bands, is landing in San Francisco on August 22nd, putting the city on the map as a large-scale music festival destination. Despite the obvious attractions -- back-to-back sets by Radiohead and Beck and a performance by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers -- the festival offers several other draws that are unique to San Francisco.More |  | No Explanation for the Exclamation After nearly 10 months on the road last year, !!! (commonly referred to as Chk, Chk, Chk) is easing up on its tour schedule this summer with regional mini-tours, the latest of which stops in San Francisco on August 27th at The Independent. That’s not to say that life is completely easy for !!!. When it’s not on tour, the dance-rock band’s eight members are split with homes in New York, Portland and Sacramento, making regular practices and collaboration nearly impossible. And then there’s the symbolic name -- a source of constant questioning that thwarts easy explanations and simple Internet searches alike.More |  | Bmore Rocks the Bells Rock the Bells returns to the Bay Area with its usual stable of hip hop veterans, but this year organizers are flipping the script with a handful of acts that fall beyond the traditional backpacker crowd. This year, acts like Flosstradamus, Amanda Blank and Blaqstarr will rock the stage alongside OG-acts A Tribe Called Quest, Most Def and Nas when the festival comes to Shoreline Amphitheater on August 16th. Producer/DJ/vocalist Blaqstarr, who has done production work for MIA and other artists, spoke with SF Station about the tour and the Baltimore club scene during a phone interview from his studio.More |  | Naughty by Nature A virtuous name, placement on the soundtrack for teenage TV drama “Gossip Girl” and publicity photos that make the band look fresh out of algebra class help soften the band’s image, but there is no hiding the sexed-up New York swagger that lies at the core of The Virgins. You can hear it in the bass on “Rich Girls", a standout from the band’s self-titled debut (think the Stones circa 1978's “Miss You”), and singer Donald Cumming's blatant innuendo. The Virgins return to San Francisco on July 28th for a show at Café du Nord. Cumming spoke with SF Station on his way home from buying razors and Cherry Coke in New York.More |
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