Deerhoof @ Mezzanine SF 11/15
posted: November 4, 2008, 3:24 pm
Mezzanine SF presents a special Deerhoof show on November 15, 2008, performing with Experimental Dental School and KIT. This show is $15 in advance and tickets are available to purchase through Ticketweb.
Deerhoof formed in 1994 in San Francisco and has released numerous albums on 5RC/Kill Rock Stars including the acclaimed album Milk Man in 2004 and their most recent - and eighth studio LP - The Runners Four, last year. The Boston Globe reports "Deerhoof has succeeded at something that's very hard to do: It has made records and built a devoted international following on the sheer power of its imagination."
Oakland's Experimental Dental School are a band of chaos and noise. Bringing together semi-constant rhythms and intermittent vocal melodies to keep it all together, their songs range from the dance crazed to full fledged psychedelic. Formed from the remnants of previous Bay Area bands in 2002, the trio quickly joined the ranks of fellow experimental rockers such as Hella and Trans AM while opening for a number of pivotal US and International tours.
To be entered to win a pair of tickets to see Deerhoof, Experimental Dental School and KIT courtesy of Noise Pop and Mezzanine SF, please send an email to contest@noisepop.com with “Deerhoof” in the subject and your full name in the body before November 13, 2008. Winners will be notified by email.
Check Out Our Favorite New OurStage Artists
posted: October 16, 2008, 1:23 pm
Here at Noise Pop, we have a lot of love for OurStage. In addition to being a great way to discover and rate new music from a variety of genres, OurStage helps forward the careers of deserving artists with monthly prizes, gigs and other exciting opportunities. Some of our favorite new discoveries to be featured include Caitlyn Hessell, OHN, Daddysmilk, Kate Tucker and the Sons of Sweden, Alphastates, Dormlife, Yourself and the Air, Cynsin and Molly Marlette. We'll keep you updated with our favorite new artists from OurStage and If you love to discover new music or have a band, be sure to check it out.
Treasure Island Music Festival 2008 Merchandise Now Available
posted: October 14, 2008, 4:00 pm
If you didn't have the funds on hand during this year's recent Treasure Island Music Festival, you now have a second chance to own a snug wearable souvenir of your favorite annual festival in the bay. We have a select number of Treasure Island Music Festival 2008 hooded sweatshirts and tote bags left over. T-shirts and the limited-edition screen printed posters (designed, printed and signed by artist Shepard Fairey) are already sold-out. Check out the 2008 merch at the Noise Pop Shop.
Submit Your Film to be Screened at the Noise Pop Festival!
posted: October 13, 2008, 1:48 pm
The Noise Pop Film Festival will take place during Noise Pop on February 24 - March 1,
2009. We are currently seeking documentaries or features that explore a connection to
music either in its subject matter, the talent behind or in front of the camera, or an
exceptionally prominent soundtrack. Submit your film here.
One Night "Cataclysm" Show at Onsix Gallery, 10/25
posted: October 10, 2008, 1:24 pm
Cataclysm Art Show: Jesse Michaels & Douglas Burns
Onsix Gallery
Saturday, Oct. 25
60 6th Street, San Francisco
7:00 PM, 21+
Live Music 9:00 PM $5
Onsix Gallery, located at Club Six at 60 Sixth Street in San Francisco, will host artists Jesse Michaels and Doug Burns for both an art show and live musical performance on Saturday, October 25. Unique among galleries in San Francisco, Onsix is known for putting on some of the most raucous and well-attended openings in the Bay Area. Though not officially active, Onsix is lending its name and space to this event because of the show’s unique appeal to the Bay Area underground art and music scenes.
Most well known as the lead vocalist for the East Bay punk band Operation Ivy, Jesse Michaels has a long history of making art for local bands including Green Day, Filth, Neurosis, Christ On Parade, Crimpshrine, Operation Ivy, and others. In addition to his graphic work Michaels has carried on a personal art practice since early childhood.
Appearing with Michaels in both visual and musical exhibition will be Douglas Burns from Portland, Oregon. Burns was the lead singer and principal songwriter of the now legendary Portland band, The Observers, and currently plays in The Red Dons. Both bands have been praised by fans and critics for playing a classic style of punk infused with contemporary energy and lyrical content. In addition, Burns is an accomplished visual artist in the disciplines of oil painting, illustration and printmaking. He will show eight new paintings as well as performing with The Red Dons.
The show is titled “Cataclysm.” Doug Burns and Jesse Michaels will explore cataclysm, or a state of catastrophic change, through two very different but complimentary painting cycles. Michaels’ current work consists of oil paintings on the theme of war. In his nine new paintings, faceless combatants square off in a style reminiscent of early modernism and also recalling the painterly strength sought by the abstract expressionists. The paintings are rendered in oil with a penchant for bold lines and clashing fields of color. “With this work I tried to capture the feeling I had as a young boy drawing war pictures; that strange combination of innocence and naive fascination with violence.” Doug Burns’ paintings address the theme of cataclysm through the exploration of Ayyam Al Jahiliyah, a term which refers to the time before Islam in Arabia. Burns’ works combine great technical ability with a love for abstraction and the random patterns created by dripping paint applied in moody washes. The paintings depict the ancient Bedouin people in a state of mourning over their lost culture and spontaneity. “In these works, I have focused on the pre-Islamic time period. The concept starts with the notion that the Bedouin (Nomads) were freed by the introduction of religion, because it civilized these once lawless people. However, these works attempt to turn that notion on its head by showing religion enslaving the Bedouin people by giving them a strict set of rules to live by.”
A musical performance by Jesse Michaels (solo) and The Red Dons will accompany the art show. Michaels recently debuted his set of new songs to an enthusiastic crowd at The Knitting Factory in Los Angeles and is excited to bring the material home to his Bay Area stomping grounds. The Red Dons have been blowing the doors off underground punk hideouts across America for several years and this is sure to be no exception. The electric and historically significant evening will please both local music fans and those interested in remarkable and fresh contemporary art.
City Arts & Lectures’ Talking Music Series Returns
posted: October 10, 2008, 1:21 pm
In 2007, Noise Pop helped launch Talking Music with City Arts & Lectures, a series of conversations with musicians about their own music and the evolving role of music in society. The first series featured Bob Mould, Death Cab For Cutie’s Ben Gibbard and producer / author Joe Boyd and others. Talking Music has returned for a second series this year and Noise Pop is pleased to be offering an exclusive ticket giveaway for the following event:
Will Sheff, in conversation and song hosted by Andrew Leland
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Herbst Theatre, San Francisco
As the front man for the Austin-based band Okkervil River, Will Sheff explores rock music's right to revel in human experience, clichés and all. After growing up in New Hampshire, Sheff left New England to study English at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. Okkervil River formed in 1998, and has produced five albums and five EPs, from their very first - a live EP called Stars Too Small to Use - to their breakthrough album Black Sheep Boy, released in 2005. In an interview for The Believer magazine, Sheff states, "A lot of the time, my guiding principle is to try and do all the things I couldn't possibly get away with, and do them well." Okkervil River's upcoming release, The Stand Ins (September 2008), completes a planned double-album with their 2007 record, The Stage Names. Critics have frequently labeled Okkervil River a "literary" band, but Sheff and his bandmates also remain faithful to rock's hard-swinging roots. Will Sheff cites influences from the Incredible String Band, Sam Cooke and James Brown to Joan Didion and Russian literature. In live performance, Sheff allies himself firmly with performers like Otis Redding or Ian Curtis, delivering songs with visceral, no-holds-barred physical dedication. In addition to his lyrical talents, Sheff plays banjo, guitar, piano, and harmonica, and is also a founding member of the band Shearwater.
Andrew Leland is the Managing Editor of The Believer magazine.
To be entered to win a pair of tickets to this City Arts & Lectures Talking Music event courtesy of Noise Pop, please send an email to contest@noisepop.com with “Will Sheff” in the subject and your full name in the body before December 1, 2008. Winners will be notified by email.
For more information on Talking Music and to purchase tickets click here.
Treasure Island's Identity Tapestry Seeking A New Home
posted: October 3, 2008, 3:56 pm
If you were at the recent Treasure Island Music Festival, hopefully you got to participate in or at least view the Identity Tapestry by Mary Corey March. In case you missed it, this interactive installation/ sociology experiment features a 16' x 5' wall, out of which protrude over 200 standard nails, each bearing a label stating a phrase potentially attributable to one's identity. Ms. March provides a shelf full of hundreds of balls of hand-dyed yarn, allowing participants to choose a yarn ball and wind it around the nails -- and statements -- that reflect their identity, including belief systems, personal health, experience, personality types, sexual preference, personal outlook and more.
The end result is a multi-colored, cultural tapestry, a rich sociological mapping of the event's attendees, which honors the voice of the individual as it joins with others to speak to humanity's interconnectedness. While one's individual strand winds its own
course around the tapestry, it joins with the rest, expressing our shared experience.
The final incarnation of the Identity Tapestry has been preserved, and is currently being securely stored. The artist is seeking a buyer interested in exhibiting this artwork for temporary or permanent public or private display. Images of the piece and its creation can be seen HERE. Interested parties can contact Will Chase of Will Chase Arts at
will@willchase.com.
Treasure Island Music Festival 2008 Ruled
posted: September 26, 2008, 2:49 pm
Yes it's done now but we are still basking in the glory of an overwhelmingly successful second iteration of the Treasure Island Music Festival. Over two days, thousands of music fans congregated on the tiny man-made island in the middle of the San Francisco Bay to enjoy over impressive performances from over two dozen bands from all over the world. Saturday September 20th featured a long day extravaganza of genre-bending dance music with the guitars coming out in full force on Sunday, September 21st as incredible rock bands from all over took to two stages with a beautiful view of the city skyline behind them. In addition to awesome music, there was also treasure hunts, a 60 foot ferris wheel, original art, great food and all manner of interactive fun.
Relive some of your favorite moments or find out what you missed with our exclusive photo gallery by festival photographers Peter Ellenby and Josh Withers.
"Oakland Rocks For Change" Barack Obama Fundraiser 9/16
posted: September 11, 2008, 4:54 pm
Music for Democracy is a grassroots political action committee devoted to promoting and facilitating musical events that raise public awareness of crucial issues, progressive candidates for federal office, and the importance of getting involved in the electoral process. They have teamed up with some incredible music talents for a very special event in support of Barack Obama's presidential campaign, happening at the Oakland Museum Of California on September 16 with the goal of building awareness and support for Barack Obama in key swing states. What better way to make that happen than through an evening of great music? Proceeds from this event will help Democrats in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives' take important seats in swing-states from vulnerable Republicans. This event includes a special VIP reception starting at 5:30 PM with live music at 7:00 PM.
The eclectic array of musical talent scheduled to appear includes
Maria Muldaur and The Free Radicals
Hot Buttered Rum w. Michael Kang of String Cheese Incident
John Densmore of The Doors with Hani Naser
Tuck and Patti
Tommy Castro
Blame Sally
MC Marga Gomez
Additional performers and special guests to be announced soon!
Oakland Rocks For Change
5:30 PM, Tuesday, September 16
Oakland Museum of CA
1000 Oak St. (10th Street entrance)
Oakland, CA 94607
(510) 238-2200
For ticket information including special Student discounts visit oaklandrocksforchange.com
For more information on Music For Democracy, visit musicfordemocracy.org
"A NIGHT OF UNITY" In Support of Senator Barack Obama, 10/14 Mezzanine SF
posted: September 11, 2008, 4:54 pm
Please join Noise Pop, Generation Obama and Mezzanine for this special night, 21 days in advance of Election Day as we unite in support of Presidential nominee, Senator Barack Obama. Special guests include San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, SF District Attorney Kamala Harris, Google Senior Vice President David Drummond and the musical sounds of Goapele. The first 200 attendees will also receive a free Shepard Fairey HOPE poster. Ryan Seashore, Meena Harris, and Eric Casher will host this special fundraiser event. Co-hosts and partners include Filipinos for Obama, Young Latino Professionals for Obama, South Asians for Obama, Young Lawyers for Obama, Asian American Pacific Islander's for Obama, LGBT for Obama, Young Democrats, and Nate Mezmer Presents...
“A Night Of Unity”
Live Music: Goapele
Special Guests:
San Francisco Mayor, Gavin Newsom
San Francisco District Attorney, Kamala Harris
Google Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer, David Drummond
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
VIP Pre-Reception 6:30 p.m., General Reception 7:30 p.m.
Mezzanine, 444 Jessie Street (@ Mint), San Francisco
Admission: (age 21+)
$50, General Admission
$250, VIP Pre-Reception
$500, VIP Photo-Line
For tickets and more information, click here.
