|
|
 | Jazzmatazz: Latest Hip Hop/Jazz Fusion Comes to SF Guru’s exploration into the grey area where jazz and hip hop meet will continue with the July 31st release of his of [b]Jazzmatazz Vol. 4: The Hip-Hop Jazz Messenger: Back To The Future[/b], the latest in a series of recordings he started in 1993. This time around Guru enlisted the help of Solar, the New York producer who produced the last Guru LP [b]Version 7.0: The Street Scriptures[/b] and co-founded 7 Grand Records with the rapper. In true Jazzmatazz form, the album will also feature collaborations with Common, Damien Marley, the Bay Area’s own Blackalicious, and others. Guru and Solar spoke with SF Station during a phone interview.More |  | Married to the Music The amps are loud, the drums pound, and they’re not afraid to get a little bloody. San Francisco’s throwback garage girl group The Husbands is returning to the stage for local promoter Michelle Cable’s Panache Farewell Soiree on July 21. The Husband’s vocalist/guitarist Sarah Reed spoke with SF Station.More |  | Moving the Movement With the fate of the hyphy movement resting on his shoulders, Mistah F.A.B. is working to keep a subgenre alive that he says people still don’t fully understand. The Oakland rapper independently released [b]Da Baydestrian[/b] (Thizz/SMC Recordings) in May to maintain visibility while waiting for Atlantic Records to set a released date for his major label debut [b]Da Yellow Bus Rydah[/b] (F.A.B. says he expects the album to be out around the end of the year or early 2008). Mistah F.A.B. spoke with SF Station from a studio in Los Angeles where he was putting finishing touches on his freestyle mixtape [b]The Realist Shit I Never Wrote[/b].More |  | Bay Area Duo Rises to the Occasion After living in New Jersey, Georgia and Los Angeles as a youth, lyricist Azeem settled down in the Bay Area and embarked on a spoken word/hip hop career that has taken him around the globe. His latest project, the LP [b]Rise Up[/b], was created with San Francisco producer DJ Zeph under the moniker Zeph and Azeem. The duo will perform at Slim’s on July 6th before going on tour with Souls of Mischief.More |  | Bi-Coastal Curious It’s been a journey full of ups and downs for New York garage rockers The Mooney Suzuki, but the band made it to the 10-year mark, despite a steady shuffle of members --Sammy James Jr. (lead vocals/rhythm guitar) and Graham Tyler (lead guitar/vocals) are the only remaining founding members. The group returns to San Francisco for a June 29th show at the Rickshaw Stop following the release of its fourth LP [b]Have Mercy[/b].More |  | An Outdoor Lovin’ Man As co-founder of X, John Doe played an instrumental part in the brief late 70s L.A. punk explosion that spawned several other notable bands, including Black Flag and the Circle Jerks. Doe has mellowed out sonically over the years and now splits his time between rootsy solo projects, The Knitters (another folk-infused band he leads with X co-vocalist Exene Cervenka), and X projects. He performs at 12 Galaxies on June 28th in support of his latest solo LP [b]A Year in the Wilderness[/b]. Doe spoke with SF Station from the shoulder of Highway 5, somewhere in California.More |  | Don’t Call it Emo Rap You know the dynamic of hip hop has changed dramatically when a white rapper from Rhode Island that still lives in the house he grew up in can come to San Francisco and hold an audience at The Fillmore for two consecutive nights. After a series of underground tapes and CDs, Sage Francis released his first official LP in 2002, [b]Personal Journals[/b], on Oakland’s Anticon Records before joining Epitaph and releasing [b]A Healthy Distrust[/b] in 2005 and his latest LP [b]Human the Death Dance[/b] in May. Sage Francis spoke with SF Station en route to a tour stop in Florida.More |  | The Simple Things in Life In a genre marked by failure, tragedy and self-destruction, Mike Ness is a rare example of longevity. With a music career that has lasted nearly 30 years, the southern California punk rock icon says his band Social Distortion is at its peak with its largest fan base ever. The band will perform near the tail end of full day of rock music at BFD at Shoreline Amphitheater on June 9th. Ness spoke with SF Station during a morning phone interview from his home in Orange County.More |  | A Dime a Dozen? It’s the 40th anniversary of the Summer of Love in San Francisco, so it’s only appropriate that Matt and Kim make another Bay Area appearance. The notoriously cheerful couple, Matt Johnson (keyboards) and Kim Schifino (drums) will perform at Bottom of the Hill on June 2nd. Johnson spoke with SF Station during a phone interview from the road in Florida.More |  | SF Singer/Guitarist Bares All After a few label woes, Scissors for Lefty is ready to release its sophomore LP [b]Underhanded Romance[/b], a noticeably more upbeat and danceable response to its moody debut [b]Bruno[/b]. But who could blame the SF-based band for being a little giddy? The group has recently found itself in the lineup at several European festivals, it has toured with the Arctic Monkeys, and it constantly appears at various SF hotspots, including Popscene, the location of their May 31st record release party. Lead vocalist/guitarist Bryan Garza spoke with SF Station during a phone interview while on tour in Los Angeles.More |
|
