|
|
 | Riffing with a Stroke With his bandmates in The Strokes popping out babies and an apparent hiatus on the horizon, Albert Hammond Jr. has stepped out of his role as rhythm guitarist for the band with a new solo album ([b]Yours To Keep[/b], released March 2007) and a string of concerts in the United States and beyond. Hammond launches his latest tour May 20th at the Independent. He spoke with SF Station during a phone interview from his New York apartment.More |  | An Ohio Player After several successful recordings that relied heavily on samples from records and other sources, indie hip-hop producer RJD2 found himself at a crossroads in his career. His cache of samples, amassed from years of collecting records, was severely depleted and he was faced with committing serious time to digging for more vinyl gems or venturing into new musical territory. He chose the latter. The result: His latest LP [b]The Third Hand[/b], which features live instruments and vocals (his own) on almost every track.More |  | The Office Rock Star Returns to SF Tapes ’n Tapes rocks shows all over the country (including opening night of Noise Pop 2007), but singer/guitarist Josh Grier still keeps it real with a data-analyst day job when he’s not on the road. The Minnesota-based quartet returns to San Francisco on May 2nd at the Great American Music Hall with its first new material -- songs that will be featured on an upcoming album -- since the 2005 release of [b]The Loon[/b]. Grier spoke with SF Station during a recent phone interview.More |  | From Razorblade City to Gutterfly It’s been awhile since the Pacific Northwest has gotten its shine on in the hip hop world, but that could change shortly with the release of [b]Gutterfly[/b], the sophomore album from the Portland-based Lifsavas that is due out on the Bay Area’s Quannum Projects record label April 24th. The conceptual album, which takes place in fictional Razorblade City and leans on the blaxploitation genre, is already receiving critical praise from a variety of national publications.More |  | An Englishman in SF London’s Whitey is coming to town and he’s bringing a gang of musicians with him to recreate the solo-produced tunes from his debut dance-friendly album [b]The Light at the End of the Tunnel is a Train[/b] and his forthcoming album [b]Great Shakes[/b], which should start to slowly infiltrate the United States near the end of the year. Whitey, who will perform at Mezzanine on April 6th, spoke with SF Station during a phone interview from Los Angeles, where he was getting acclimated to the United States prior to the start of his tour.More |  | Masters of Melody Following the release of their latest album [b]Classics[/b] in the summer of 2006, Ratatat continue their conquest to spread their super-charged instrumentals and Dirty South remixes with a sold out concert at Bimbo’s on March 30th. Producer-extraordinaire Evan Mast spoke with SF Station during a phone interview from a tour stop in Newport, KY.More |  | Laced Up and Ready to Roll Already on their way to being the next hyphy sensation out of the Bay Area, The Pack made waves with the breakthrough song “Vans” -- an ode the famous skateboarding shoe company. Now the group is hoping to continue the momentum with its recently released EP [b]Skateboards 2 Scrapers[/b], a new shoe line and a forthcoming debut LP, which will feature a collaboration with crunk Atlanta brethren Dem Franchize Boyz. Rapper/Producer Young L spoke with SF Station during a phone interview.More |  | A Work-in-Progress It has been five years since Brooklyn rapper EL-P has released an album, but he has been far from idle. In addition to doing production work and other administrative duties at Definitive Jux, the underground hip hop record label that he founded, he has remixed tracks for a grocery list of musicians, including Beck, Nine Inch Nails, The Marsh Volta and TV on the Radio. He was also in a near catastrophic airplane journey that ended with an emergency landing after an engine blew up -- an incident that serves as fodder for the first single on [b]I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead[/b]. EL-P spoke with SF Station during a phone interview from New York.More |  | He’s Got the Airwaves in a Chokehold Travis McCoy is tattooed and pierced, and his band Gym Class Heroes has the hottest single of the moment -- “Cupid’s Chokehold” a bouncy love song about the splendors and pitfalls of relationships. Gym Class Heroes perform at a sold out show at The Fillmore on March 27. McCoy spoke with SF Station during a phone interview from a tour date in Detroit.More |  | Six-day Fest includes Music, Film and Art Well into its teenage years, San Francisco’s maturing DIY music fest Noise Pop is back with a few new attributes, a bunch of new and old friends, and a schedule that could test the stamina of even the most rugged, beer- and/or caffeine-fueled music fan.More |
|
