Mikey Pauker Reaches New Musical Heights on Latest Album
Posted by: charlie on Jan 24, 2018 | Comments (0)
Berkeley folk and world music artist Mikey Pauker is already known in the Bay Area for his open-hearted melodies and catchy reggae beats, though fans are in for a different musical dimension when Pauker unveils his new album, ASCENSION, with an album-release concert on Jan 25 at Key Tea in San Rafael.
Drawing on influences that range from Bob Marley to The Police, Pauker's output up to this year have heavily relied on electronic flourishes, yet ASCENSION departs from that aesthetic with a raw instrumental sound captured in live recording sessions under Grammy-nominated producer Warren Huart.
Thematically, ASCENSION takes inspiration for the outpouring of communal strength and resolve that manifested after the North Bay wildfires as well as the hurricanes that impacted Texas and Florida earlier in 2017. With a background in Yoga and mystical practices, Pauker's sound aims to elevate the listener's spirit with devotional songwriting.
Be the first to hear ASCENSION's uplifting music when Pauker plays a full band set tomorrow, Jan 25, featuring opening act Annie Anton and a post-set DJ party at Key Tea, 921 C St, San Rafael. 7:30pm. All Ages. $20 at the door. For details and tickets, click here.
Bolinas Hosts Surf & Sound Sessions
Posted by: charlie on Oct 9, 2015 | Comments (0)
With the world's largest ocean at our feet, California and the North Bay have long been champions of coastal cleanups and environmental awareness. It's a topic that's never far from our headlines. Just this week, Governor Jerry Brown signed a law that bans micro-beads in California by 2020, as those beads are found to pollute the waters and harm the wildlife.
The good news is that everyone can help keep our beaches and coastal areas clean. This weekend, nonprofit Project AMPLIFI is hosting a special Surf & Sound Sessions in Bolinas, pairing two nights of live music with environmental cleanup efforts. Artists and their fans will have the chance to surf together, help clean beaches together and share their appreciation of the nature around us.
Tonight, Smiley's Schooner Saloon in Bolinas welcomes Latin reggae band Bachaco and the surf funk of San Francisco's the HA (Human Assembly). Tomorrow night, Oakland indie pop band Trails and Ways performs off their recent gem of a record, Pathology; while This Old Earthquake bust out the acoustics for their driving americana.
Cleanup efforts will be taking place on Stinson Beach on Saturday and Bolinas Beach on Sunday, both in the afternoon so you have a chance to sleep off the effects of the night before. For more information on how you can get involved, click here.
Audrey Auld Passes Away at 51
Posted by: charlie on Aug 11, 2015 | Comments (0)
photo by: Stacie Huckeba
Marin singer-songwriter Audrey Auld-Mezera died at her home in Stinson Beach after a battle with cancer on Sunday, August 9, surrounded by family and friends. She was 51. Auld was a beloved figure in the North Bay country music scene, a gifted lyricist and vocalist who was generous with her time and talents.
Born in Tasmania, Auld spent most of her music career living in Marin County, until she moved with her husband Mez Mezera to Nashville in 2007 to be a part of the music business there. Though she was never far from Marin, returning often to perform and visit with friends. Diagnosed with cancer last year, Auld returned to her "American home" as she called it to spend her final months in the North Bay.
In the wake of Auld's passing, the community has praised her music and her character. On the KRSH's weekly Monday night program 'Evening Muse,' host Robin Pressman spoke of Auld's " irrepressible and radiant" spirit; and she echoed those sentiments in an email to the Bohemian. "Audrey's smile entered the room first, followed closely by her laughter, and then that sassy Aussie accent. And she used her joyous nature to help others," said Pressman.
Auld built up an impressive resume of music over the course of 11 albums and three EP's on her own Reckless Records label. Her last album, Hey Warden, especially highlights her authentic and generous personality. Released in November of 2014, the album was recorded with inmates at San Quentin Federal Prison, a passion project for the songwriter who had lead workshops and offered performances at the institution since 2006. Her ability to connect to others, no matter the circumstances, and to positively impact those around her will be remembered as fondly as her music.
Dirty Projectors, Björk Release 'Mount Wittenberg Orca'—With Photo of the Wrong Mountain
Posted by: Gabe Meline on Jul 19, 2010 | Comments (0)
There's so much fraud in the world—MonaVie juice, "i-Dosing," Michele Bachmann—that when I come across purity now I almost don't recognize it. In that vein, I'd hesitated to listen to Mount Wittenberg Orca, the online-only collaboration by Bjork and Dirty Projectors with a lovely cover photo. I was afraid it'd be forced. It isn't. Rather, it's one of the most unaffected, honest things I've come across all year.
Or is it? As my correspondent Dean Tisthammer points out, the mountain pictured on the album cover is clearly not Mount Wittenberg in Point Reyes National Seashore. You can view the real Mount Wittenberg here. This might just be a slight misunderstanding, I thought. Surely, they're referencing some other Mount Wittenberg? But alas, the explanation from Dirty Projectors' Dave Longstreth:
Amber from Dirty Projectors was walking along a ridge on Mount Wittenberg, north of San Francisco. She was looking out at the ocean and saw a little family of whales, as you sometimes do in April on the Northern California coast. I wrote some songs about it and sent them to Björk, who agreed to sing the part of the mom whale. The songs became Mount Wittenberg Orca.
So the album's called Mount Wittenberg Orca after the Point Reyes mountain, but with an imposter mountain on the cover? No love for the real Mount Wittenberg? Just what the bejeezus mountain is pictured?
Dean, a huge Dirty Projectors fan who hikes often in the area, says it's Black Mountain, near Point Reyes. A Google Maps search confirms it—the photo was evidently shot just off Point Reyes-Petaluma Road, east of Point Reyes Station. Which seems to indicate that Longstreth & Co. googled "Mount Wittenberg" for a cover photo, didn't come up with anything (we barely did either), and settled for some other mountain in Point Reyes, assuming it'd glide past the eagle eyes of nature-hiking Dirty Projectors fans.
Kudos to Dean for the tip.
Fake representations of mountains aside, the album is short and sweet—those enamored with Medulla's vocal-heavy arrangements will especially be smitten. You can download it on a sliding-scale donation basis here. All proceeds benefit the National Geographic Society's ocean initiatives, too.
Los Lobos at the Marin Fair
Posted by: Gabe Meline on Jul 8, 2008 | Comments (1)
No other band suffers such a disparity between their widely perceived "one hit" and their actual creative prowess as Los Lobos. It's still one of the great misconceptions in rock and roll: while Los Lobos' albums Kiko, Colossal Head and Good Morning Aztlan rank amongst the most invigorating and exciting listening experiences of the last fifteen years, drunk accountants in Cabo Wabo T-shirts at the Marin Fair last night still yelled for "La Bamba."
"Not yet, man," countered Cesar Rosas, no doubt resigned to the request by now. "If we play it, you'll all leave!"
No true Los Lobos fan really gives a damn about hearing "La Bamba"—I've seen them twice before, and they didn't play it, and no one asked for their money back. But a County Fair is a different story altogether, and Los Lobos knows this. So you've gotta hope that the old trick worked; namely, saving the payoff until the end, while in the meantime providing a look into one of the great catalogs of American music.
I, for one, am completely enamored of Los Lobos, which puts me in the company of bugeyed ex-Deadheads, aging Latino expatriates from L.A., and Sierra Nevada-swillin' dudes with hairy shoulders. So be it. I love Los Lobos fans, if only to imagine them crawling into work the next morning, bedraggled in the best possible way, while their coworkers chug lattes and try to out-chipper each other with peppy chitchat.
Indeed, the large tent at the Marin Fair—on an island in the middle of a man-made lake—was packed with people preparing to feel like crap the next day. Dancing, swaying, drinking, singing along, and having the time of their life on the ever-festive last night of the fair. At certain moments, such as the ferocious three-way soloing pinnacle David Hidalgo, Cesar Rosas and Louie Pérez achieved in "That Train Don't Stop Here," it felt like the entire tent might explode.
Other highlights included "Short Side of Nothing," "The Neighborhood," "Kiko and the Lavender Moon," and "This Time"—the latter of which Hidalgo started, then looked puzzled for a second, and finally asked the crowd, "Hey. . . who knows the first verse?"
If I'm not mistaken, the band played nothing from Colossal Head nor Good Morning Aztlan, but it didn't matter—they're so good live, and so dependent on how they play, that it's somewhat negligible what they play. A few cumbias, a long blues jam, some newer songs, a guest saxophonist, and hey, they still rule.
If there's any shrug to be had with the set, it's that it was almost identical to the last time I saw Los Lobos, an entire five years ago. Then as now, covers included Traffic's "Dear Mr. Fantasy" as well as a sing-along of Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away" segueing into the Dead's "Bertha," which sent the twirl brigade off and spinning on the fringes of the island.
But it was the final cover of the night that really lit people up: an encore of "La Bamba." I made my way around the crowd and saw nothing but smiling, laughing, and getting down; and to my surprise, the aforementioned drunk accountant knew every Spanish word of the song. When Los Lobos seized on the chord progression and interpolated the Young Rascals' "Good Lovin'," the place went nuts. How can you argue?
I got a Philly Cheesesteak sandwich, watched the fireworks, rode the Merry-Go-Round, and then walked along the railroad tracks, to the rhythm of the bassline of Colossal Head's "Revolution," stuck in my head, back to my car.
(P.S. Steve Berlin, if you are reading this—I've always wanted to ask if you've got any idea whether Lee Allen intentionally quoted both "Andalucia" and "Across the Alley from the Alamo" during his saxophone solo for "Roll 'Em Pete" on the Blasters' live EP, Over There, or if it was merely a musical accident. I'm totally serious—it's plagued me for over ten years. Any clue?)