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The Hotel Utah Open Mic
(hosted by JJ
Schultz)
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SF Bay Guardian reader's poll "Best open mic" |
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| #5 on about.com's rank of the best open mics in the United States |
 2006 |
 2007 |
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Every Monday Night
Sign-up by 7:30pm
House Guitar, Piano and PA
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500 4th St. (at Bryant)
San Francisco, CA (map
it!)
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Email the host: jj@theutah.org
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MySpace! http://myspace.com/theutah
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| myutah | jukebox |
Blind Willies - Everybody's Looking for a Meal
Imagine the White Stripes driven by the fevered folk of Leadbelly and Woody
Guthrie, and you might get some idea of where the Blind Willies are coming
from. Duo Annie Staninec and Alexei Wajchman have brought a punky attitude
to bear on songs whose templates have long histories.
Alexei's voice drawls and snarls over agitated guitar, while Annie's fiddle
playing gives the music it's whirling, devilish heart. Like Meg and Jack before
them, they combine to create a sound bigger than the mere sum of their parts.
High points include the rich, sneering sarcasm of "Mom Says No," the bluesy,
Jagger-esque swagger of "Shark Out of Water," and the dark gypsy sorcery of
"Sinners Medley."
The line between the past and present is muddied in the melée: You can as
easily imagine "If You Was a Good Pimp" being penned in a dingy
prohibition-era juke joint as by Snoop Dogg. It's this sound, of traditional music
being seized by musicians with new, fiercely held ideas of their own, that
makes this album so invigorating.
Keith Laidlaw, KQED, 7/4/08
http://www.kqed.org/arts/visualarts/article.jsp?essid=22971
http://blindwillies.net
Blind Willies - The Unkindness of Ravens
Blind Willies' debut, The Unkindness of Ravens, has been knocking around my CD player for quite a few months
now, quietly haunting random moments of my life during this tail end of winter and early spring. As the days grow
longer and the East Coast slowly emerges from icy temperatures, I've come to love this disc rather a lot - so much
so, that I find words are failing me. How can one truly relay the maddening beauty of the first crocus poking through
the dry, cracked Earth to someone who has never seen it happen? How can I possibly explain something like the
Blind Willies song, "Last Rites in December", in such a way that you'll understand how breathtaking it is?
Blind Willies are Annie Staninec (fiddle) and Alexei Wajchman (guitar, vocals), a duo that met while at San Francisco
School of the Arts. Staninec and Wajchman, both accomplished musicians, made their professional debut as Blind
Willies in 2004 at San Francisco's Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival. Since then, they've played a variety of venues
and recorded their first release - a collection of ten acoustic tunes featuring the fiddle, guitar, and a bit of harmonica.
There's nothing overtly unexpected on The Unkindness of Ravens, but Blind Willies play incredibly wonderful music.
Alexei is a remarkable songwriter whose lyrics go well beyond the average ramblings of most singer-songwriters.
Even "Mainline" - with its "hungry pawn store prisoners" - is well-crafted enough to run with the big boys and
Wajchman wrote the song at the tender age of 15. Annie's fiddle is the perfect accompaniment for Alexei and it's the
soft wails from her instrument that really give this album an overall feel of quiet desperation - like waking up in a cold
sweat with traces of a nightmare clouding your mind.
Tracks like the seven minute long "Something in the Night" are further proof of Alexei's knack as a wordsmith; here,
he sings "there's something in the night/even when you're blind/taking drugs to cancel time/that keeps your eyes
wide open and your heart clenched tight" and the scene almost materializes right in front of you. Still, it's the
opening track, "Last Rites in December" that gives me butterflies every time I hear it. This song just has that certain
something that makes it stunning and I find myself returning to it over and over again. "Last Rites in December" is
Blind Willies' perfect blend of instruments and voice(s). As Wajchman and Staninec sing "there's no warmth in this
city/there's no joy in this lover of mine/so I'm leaving with nothing/I think I'll make it this time" you can feel not only the
heartbreak, but the delicate new leaf of hope.
Although I'm sure my words are woefully inadequate, I cannot urge fans of all sorts of folk music enough that they
should not miss out on The Unkindness of Ravens. The opening track alone is sufficient to pay for this debut CD,
but there are nine other gems just waiting to be discovered.
Jennifer Patton, Editor,
http://www.adequacy.net/feature.php?featureID=3&featureContentID=256,
4/12/07
http://blindwillies.net
Joey Sunset - Nice Trunks by Elvis Can't Surf!
This is the the Surfabilly Band I played drums for down in Los Angeles! Check out the tunes. Excellent music! We kicked ass and were lucky enough to open up for the great Dick Dale a couple of times at the Roxy, Hollywood! circa 2000.
http://elektriksunset.com
Joey Sunset - Sunburn
SUNBURN by Joey Sunset
Indie Acoustic Rock!
"Only a mad scientist could invent such a thing. But in this case, mad means complete genius!" - Exhaven, Travers City Michigan.
Joe Gusich, aka Joey Sunset’s splash debut record, “Sunburn”,
Original release: Summer of 2003
Re-Mastered by Studio 132: 2006
Recorded at Sunset Studios, San Francisco
Includes the smash hits:
‘Superman is Clarke’ (a Keith Savage
favorite), ‘Sunset Surf’ and ‘Smog Check
(in Joe’s Brain)’
‘Sunset’ is thee axe player & songster to the Chicken Kicken' Rock of EleKtriK SunsEt! See www.elektriksunset.com for more Action!
http://elektriksunset.com
John Staedler - A Conscious Alternative
KCSC Radio:
“A Conscious Alternative takes you through an unexpected dreamscape of the inner workings of an awakened being. Staedler has an uncanny knack for creating lyrical and melodic dramas, which expose and reveal the many ridiculous ways in which people divert their lives from achieving deeper connections. Staedler's raucous carnival style vocals combined with an acute sensitivity to creating, haunting, catchy melodies combine to give the listener an experience for the mind, body and soul.
Anyone interested in music that integrates evolving consciousness, political & social awareness, and the deep emotional struggles of modern humans should get this album. Keep your eye out for this Performer, he may be coming through your town to wake you up!”
http://www.JohnStaedler.com
Joey Hebdo - Un EP
#
Joey, Joey, Joey, you have found me!
author: Ava Austin
This guy rocks! I look forward to seeing him perform in person, haven't had the pleasure yet.
Check him out on www.MySpace.com/joeyhebdo
#
dig it
author: Marc Davis
Joey's the man...this ep rules
http://www.myspace.com/joeyhebdo
Jane Lui - Barkentine 2007
San Diego Troubadour Review :: Aug 2007
by Chuck Schiele
Jane Lui is in her own space. I don't know how to really classify this music. It has many elements, but I think it does disservice to offer my interpretation of what I think those things are. So I'm not gonna do it.
I will tell you that it is an impressionistic collection of songs meandering more like sublime moderato dreamscapes as opposed to the usual and obvious strides in kitschy-catchy pop-craft. Lui is a thinker. She see's the world in a unique and beautiful way. As an artist. And I'd say she's more successful at sticking her neck out in the name of originality than most. My respect for that is in kind.
One thing to note is the quiet essence of these tracks. The songs whisper more than they ever raise their voice but the work remains urgent somehow by way of its own freedom to go where it's going to go.
The music and words are gorgeous. Her voice is flawless, naked, and real, which makes this a good time to switch to the production value of this work. Barkentine was recorded and produced for the most part by Aaron Bowen and Jane Lui. I dare say that Mr. Bowen's ear for production rivals the best around as this is a remarkable recording. It feels like a candid experience - as though she didn't know he was following her around in her own private thoughts that sound much like the whispers and creaks in an old house.
And whether it was intentional or not, the primary concern is its own stride toward the idea of 'beauty.' It just sort of is what it is left to the confidence that it is beautiful as is. The effect is deeply moving.
That said, there remains a matter of the production style, which is uniquely fresh in its super clean finish, the decisions for simplicity, and the knack for the not-so-obvious choices made in terms of its arrangements (centered around Lui and her piano or guitar for the most part.)
You'll still find yourself turning your head now and then in wonderment about either some subtlely crazy sound or a violin that comes and goes like a Doppler-effected train off in the distance. It's more like an energy that moves through you, changes you somewhat, and keeps moving.
http://janelui.com
Jane Lui - Teargirl 2005
944 :: July 2005
Behind the Curtain
San Diego Talent in the Spotlight
By Vicki Marangos
As the radio waves inundate music fans with overplayed, homogenous tracks, it becomes too easy to overlook the other talent and qualities it takes to express yourself through art in a not-so-mainstream way. Few people have the opportunity to turn a true passion into a life’s work, and right here in our backyards, there is a network of artists who strive to do just this by pouring out music — authentic, raw, real — dying to reach us through their art. Read on to get the scoop on some of San Diego’s most noteworthy upcoming talents.
Jane
The first time we saw Jane play, she was on stage with Dustin Shey, performing a rendition of The Postal Service’s “Such Great Heights,” using a 10-note marimba and a toy piano. And while her sexy, captivating voice does not reveal her quirky yet undeniably charming personality, her music does offer an ample view into the inner workings of her complex imagination. Jane’s new album, Teargirl, is rich with metaphor, capitalizing on stunning vocals to bring elements of fantasy to life through simple stories. In light of her first full-length, Jane launched an entire Web site dedicated to the album, where she provides fans with an up-close look at the concept behind each track, the challenges while recording and those who helped her bring it to life. Her explanations are certainly as eloquent as her craft. An absolute must-hear.
Visit www.janelui.com
http://janelui.com
Julie Larson - Apotheosis
"Although she has back-up, Larson is a one woman band playing guitar, banjo, mandolin, flute or sax depending on the track. I put on the disc thinking Jewel or Chantal Kreviazuk, but what I heard seemed more like vintage Joni Mitchell. Think less pop influence, more folk influence, with some classic country flavour mixed in for good measure. Every song is a little slice of life, like track 6-"Java Junkie," which makes a hoedown out of that morning coffee fix. For the record, the Parental Advisory Warning refers to track 8-"Party, ' which contains some rather frank language concerning the matter of doobies. Hit "skip" if the kids are around." --by Adam A. Donaldson @ www.lucidforge.com
http://www.artmuserecords.com
Gabriel Leif Bellman - She
Every so often a book comes out that is a grand summation of existence. SHE is an experiment of unlimited scope- a quilt of a novel sewn in incremental nuggets of moment. As much philosophical meditation as modern love story, SHE is what happens when you take a human life, stretch it out and pin it down like the frog in biology class. How many pieces of green flesh are cut and scattered before the classroom hushes at the indelible beating heart? Written in 100 different moments encapsulated in 100 different years in 1 human life, SHE takes place not in the order that time prescribes, but in the pace of human experience. The world does not delineate meaning, death shocks, and the only chance SHE has of finding her place in the universe is to understand where the dropped mirror shatters. Temporarily sacred, temporally scattered, SHE will haunt (and save!) you.
Greg Friedman - Souls of Passing Feet
**Wonkavision Magazine - "Friedman’s melodies always, always work well within his keys, guitar, drum mix to create a pop rock feel straight from Earlimart’s map, and Jurado’s gear box...an enjoyable ride in every possible way."
** PopMatters *- "Friedman delivers a lot of quality songs on this impressive, thoughtful album..."
** North County Times - "San Diego’s Greg Friedman writes songs of a disarming charm that only grows each time you listen...Friedman’s singing [has] got a kind of neutrality about it, like Paul McCartney’s lead vocal on the Beatles’ ’Blackbird’."
** San Diego City Beat - "Good shit, front to back."
** Music Matters - "…a force to be reckoned with."
** San Diego Troubadour - "...this CD stands among the best. It’s a gem."
http://www.gregfriedmanmusic.com
Jesse Dyen - Contents Under Pressure
If you are even slightly handy with your Google machine, you can find some fine reviews of this here album...
http://jessedyen.com
Mason Blake - Where I Belong
I love this album! It definitely gets me going in the morning. The tracks feature Mason's incredibly strong songwriting, vocal, and guitar work. He is clearly a natural...this CD hits you with consistently grooving tracks that you'll want to hear again and again. And, you'll be dying to see him live soon!
http://www.masonblake.net
Cwiggz! - Dress Rehearsal
Studio recorded versions of all my songs, with a tight hip-hop beat, a whole different sound than anything you've heard me do at the Utah!
Song for a Lost Friend.
Terrorist Attraction.
Smile for Me Baby.
Music To Groove To.
Place to Stay.
Walk It Up.
Playing Your Games.
Like the Morning Cock Crows.
Bolden Up, Mouse.
Three Days in the Rain.
The Beauty Inside.
Song for a Lost Friend Instrumental.
The Sign.
http://www.cwiggz.com
Lime Colony - The Advantage Of Getting There First
The Advantage Of Getting There First is the debut EP from Lime Colony, a collaboration based on two acoustic guitars and two voices, fleshed out with some of the following: broken accordion, (French) horn, saxophone, water spilling on the floor. Song themes range from cautionary tales ("Maisy Don't You Climb Up There") to lullabyes ("Medicate"), all with an underlying pop-folk mystique trained to steal your heart. Lime Colony is based in Berkeley and now has a third member, who plays drums.
http://www.limecolony.com
Kathleen Dunbar - Finally Home
The essence of Kathleen's old soul shines through her songs in a deep and simultaneously lighthearted way. Her rich voice and mystical storytelling create music that awakens a deep connection to life. A collection unlike any other, Kathleen has combined in this CD elements of Folk, Bluegrass, Jazz, Cowboy, Celtic and Otherworldly chants and some just plain damn funny songs along with sometimes quirky – and always insightful – lyrics. All original, all unique and all Kathleen Dunbar, your soul will glow and your funny bone will be tickled - guaranteed!
Great Girls Blouse - Self Titled
This is our 4-song demo recorded in Duluth MN by Randolf Manpart Productions, aka James Matheson formerly of The Oscar Goldman Overthrow Initiative and Ballyhaus Studios. We have 2 other CD's available on www.greatgirlsblouse.com and we are currently working on a new disc to include home studio and live recordings.
http://www.greatgirlsblouse.com
Nina Jo - Guitar Songs
Shines with the sunshine
Nina Jo Smith has uncovered that place from where all unpretentious music emanates. With quiet strength, Smith's tunes shine with the sunshine of wisdom, humility, humor, and tranquility. Sit comfortably, play her soulful songs, close your eyes, and listen. -- Crystal Eastman, Crystal and the Wolves
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gentle as nina jo!
This new cd by nina jo is nothing short of personal, wonderful and brilliant. Her gentle voice and expressions of life lived are lovely, haunting. - Jean Mann
http://redwoodrivermusic.com
Tony Adamo - Straight Up Deal
For those who haven’t experienced it… there’s a mystique to the San Francisco bay area at night. It’s unique to the ‘City by the Bay.’ Over the years many artists have captured this vibrant, earthy electricity and stuck it in the middle of their music regardless of genre. Santana, Jefferson Airplane/Starship, Tower of Power come to mind… and a whole handful of jazz greats. Bay area singer/songwriter Tony Adamo fits perfectly in this fray with his deep, sultry, commanding voice and grasp for groove. Think Lou Reed but funkified. Tony began writing during his tour of duty in the Gulf War (the first one). The 15-hour workdays were exhausting, but the artist found the exotic scenery enticing and incorporated his poetry writing skills into song ideas by writing about the desert. A poet at heart, Tony Adamo presents some beautiful originals here. He writes with his long time collaborator Jerry Stucker who is also responsible for producing Tony’s recordings. Jerry actually has an original on this recording as well, a cool sensual tune called “Midnight Café.” Another Adamo/Stucker original is the anthem to Tower of Power’s Doc Kupka (who is featured on bari sax) “Groove Therapy.” You’ll also find some really intriguing covers such as “In The Winelight,” the late Joe Zawinul’s “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy” and the Miles Davis penned “Milestones.” First call musicians are on board making for a sonically stellar recording including Ernie Watts, Paul Jackson, James Gadson and Neil Larsen. STRAIGHT UP DEAL is just that! ~SANDY SHORE
JJ Schultz - Traveling Songs
Hailing from the Wisconsin Northwoods, JJ Schultz captures the lonesome middle-America landscape with the wry clarity of Nebraska era Springsteen. Schultz’s wavering vibrato captures the snap shots of everyday people surviving the life of rural America. The dusty barrooms, the front porch steps and farmer's fields are images delivered with a subtle passion that's balanced between sparse guitar picking and a poignant vocal delivery that is as distinctive as Jay Farrar and Townes Van Zandt.
http://www.jjschultz.com
Noh - The Ultimate Boon
Sit back relax and take in the melodic tunes. Enjoy the birth of a new genre of music. Noh, is a veritable cornucopia of musical delights. You can sense the influence of many different styles and techniques, rolled into a nicely presented line up of tracks that leave you wanting to hear what is next. Noh’s musical styling is both professional and well produced. You can hear that he is well balanced and gifted, with a great technical ability. There are the factors that count in his music, that are required to build a good tune, an interesting tempo, a quality in the compositional content, and a good melody. These are the factors, which are missing in much of the new music. Noh, will not be categorized into a general type or style, he takes the bold step to be himself, and to express it in his music.--- Freddy The Breeze
Andy Mason - Songs From Town
Andy Mason, is a local folk singer/songwriter/musician. A Bay Area native, his songs are crafted around local happenings, social movements, political issues, hometown pride and raw human experiences. Expect to here songs about the iraq war, pollution, frustrations with modern life, cops, women, booze, and being thirsty. His songs are reminiscent of Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings.
http://www.andy-masontown.com
Michael Koppy - Red River Redux
Michael sometimes calls what he does "front porch music," by which he means music that evolves when it passes from one player to the next, as songs did before radio fixed particular versions in the public mind. That's how it was for him growing up in Tallahassee, where he spent long afternoons at Ashmore's General Store in Frenchtown, the city's black neighborhood, learning tunes from the street musicians and day laborers who gathered there.
One of these was bluesman Emmett Goodman, who appeared one day after walking five hundred miles from Miami (because, he explained, an owl had told him to). Like generations of self-taught musicians, Emmett didn't hesitate to change chords, lyrics, or melodies if he felt alterations would serve the song, and Michael carries on that tradition. The first track demonstrates the process with three versions of a song that has been evolving for more than two-hundred years, falling in and out of copyright. The songs that follow are Michael's interpretations as he learned or adapted them. The original writers are credited if known, along with other contributors who created variations that led to his versions.
Also here is his own "One Great Mornin,'" a song of fierce indignation in the tradition of Woody Guthrie and infused with the muckraking spirit of Upton Sinclair. In it, Michael takes aim at the cynical opportunists who have "replaced our glory with the tawdry and the crass" in his beloved South. Called by one reviewer "an ultra left-wing Confederate call to arms", it is a song that is bound to spark controversy.
http://cdbaby.com/cd/michaelkoppy
Julie Larson - Wakening
The funny/uncomfortably edgy Moldy Peaches come to mind upon hearing this album, especially on tracks such as "No More Time" or "Killer Go Home", with lyrics which start off with: "Killer go home/find yourself a rapist" and Jethro Tull-styled flute for an ironic touch. West coast singer/song-writer Julie Larson wears her humor and anger on her sleeve, but she packages it into such peppy, sing-song little alt-country ditties that you might miss the underlying wicked punch if you weren't looking for it. With classic rock influences ranging from The Who to Jefferson Airplane, Larson has definitely infused the music of decades past into her modern coffeehouse songs. --Celine
http://www.artmuserecords.com
Danny Scherr - Richmond Special
Such is the life of the music addict. You spend your life trawling the backstreets of Musicopolis in search of a sweet hit and every now and again up pops a little nugget that manages to push just the right endorphin releasing button. Well worth consulting your (record) dealer then in search of this little gem of a cd. Ten tracks of sherbert fountain sweetness mixing uptempo melodic indie/pop/rock and slower introspective acoustic numbers all tightly played and nicely sung....Standout tracks are two rockier numbers – "Always Goes That Way" and "Love Again" both of which, in a fair and just world, would be instant radio-friendly hits for a discerning adult market. Touchstones might be Pete Yorn, our own Matthew Jay or maybe The Pernice Brothers.
--James Villers, Americana-UK.com
http://www.dannyscherr.com
Gabriel Leif Bellman - An Apple in My Back
An Apple in My Back is a novel about a surreal Sisyphus of sex and stunted self-discovery. It is a travel epic, a How-To-Get-Laid guide, and a moral fable. Youth-charged adrenaline drives men to karmic repetitions of libido, war, and fear. The archetypal narrator operates in limbo, seeking to break free of loneliness through bodies, minds, cities, and angels. Does love save? Can a lonely wolf dislodge Eden’s Apple and apocalyptic destiny? Is man doomed infinitely to spinning typewriter ribbons, chasing women and medallions? Are we condemned to the grand masculine narrative historically broken like a heart?
This book an many others written by Gabriel can be found here: <a target="_newwin" href="http://www.zennyrun.com/pages/thumbs.html">http://www.zennyrun.com/pages/thumbs.html</a>
JJ Schultz - Something to me
Barely recovered from our first introduction to JJ Schultz' music (the slightly fantastic Bustin' Outa Town) JJ launches his second projectile our way. This time it is a band record, where, over the course of ten songs (equal shares Dylan and Haggard) and 43 minutes, our man demonstrates what Americana should sound like and what, exactly, is meant by it. One carefully chosen and brilliantly performed cover (Waits' Ol' 55) and nine of his own songs are all that's required. I know teachers who are less efficient. Whoever manages to write songs like Drinkin' You Off My Mind, with its wonderful mouth-organ and slide guitar (of Fred Odell and Scott Robertson respectively), cannot really go wrong in our books. Ol' Billy The Cab Driver changes tack completely: the drawling and emptiness ooze from the speakers. The loneliness of the man who experiences how his loved one gets to know somebody else and who is incapable of doing anything about it... we all know the feeling, but few manage to write such a beautiful song about it like Schultz did in Someone Who's Not Me. He is just as good writing from the point of view of the father who is leaving his family behind and it does not make him happy (He Drives) or from the point of view of the man who takes his own life after witnessing the death of his girlfriend (Something To Me). By showing he is capable of all of the above Schultz proves he should be ranked among today's greatest songwriters. Add the characteristic voice and the unmistakable sense for melody and you have a full package. It is time, HIGH TIME, for you to discover JJ Schultz! - MazzMuzikaS
http://www.jjschultz.com
JJ Schultz - Bustin' outa town
This collection has traces of Young, Farrar, Parsons and a little Arlo Guthrie in it. With the welcome rise and rise of the American singer/songwriter showing no signs of slacking it's getting harder to pick the real talent out of the swirling mass, especially with the number of new acts emerging. It's no exaggeration to say that Schultz is definitely in with a chance of rising to the top of the pot. This excellent record provides all the elements - thoughtful, lilting tracks, an individual voice and great musicianship, but it also has that x-factor that separates the CD one might play occasionally from the one which is straight on to the MP3 player after a single listen. The record is almost entirely acoustic, and Schultz is at his strongest alone with his guitar, but refreshingly the tracks into which he imports slide guitar, violin, drums, stand-up bass, harmonica or mandolin don't feel over-produced or fleshed-out. Schultz, a Californian, is helped by a distinctive voice, complete with the odd hitch here and there (most noticeable on "Max My Dog"). Fans of the acoustic genre will almost certainly approve, and if they happen to think a song's not a song without tipping its hat to dust, dogs, love, beer and radiators they'll be all the happier. Of the ten studio and two live tracks on the record, the six-minute "Country Backroad", the story of a refrigerator repairman driving home to propose to his girlfriend, is the defining composition. There's plenty of good fare for the alt-country listener to get their teeth into, with tracks like "Song Of The Independent Rancher" and the title track "Bustin' Outa Town", and a good deal of humour too thanks to "Me And Elvis (We'd Be Friends)" and "Need A Pen". Joyfully difficult to categorise, this collection has traces of Young, Farrar, Parsons and a little Arlo Guthrie, together with the gritty American story telling of Earle and Van Zandt in it and introduces a singer/songwriter with the genuine potential to rise to the next level. - James Clark for Americana-UK (http://www.americana-uk.com)
http://www.jjschultz.com
Koozito - Midnight movie stills, volume one
Overview: surprising, diversified, a good listen
What comes to mind while listening: hot encounters - jamboree of solitude - bayou blues - slow daze - lingering lament - soft uplift - cobblestone lullaby - a night stalker - reinvention - science fiction - acceleration/uncreation - trepidation - care-free sensation - water journey - a space trip - a challenge wept -
Favorite songs: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 15
(Review by Keith Savage)
http://www.koozito.tv
Terese Taylor - Good Luck Investigationship
"Terese Taylor can veer from lonely backwoods laments to precise, grinding Mission Of Burma-like instrumentals and back. Her music is intuitive and mysterious, filled with personal in-jokes and painful memories, a puzzle that is meant to be felt and experienced, not solved. At times, her songs remind me of Neil Young in his youth, writing lyrics in his sick bed while suffering from a high fever and coming up with stuff that was troubling and moving, but impossible to understand on a literal level, even by himself. The details in her songs tend to be small, but you can feel powerful, unspoken undercurrents beneath the prosaic details of songs that are ostensibly about such things as watching a refrigerator defrost or washing a puppy's feet. You get a clear picture of her personality from her music: a strong yet hyper-sensitive character who's been through some serious struggle and come out of it looking at the world with wry humor and amazement. Her voice is an expressive moan, her guitar playing is slashing, gut-level stuff on the rockier tracks and woozy, cracked shards of country-western on the slower ones. (Once again, the Neil Young parallels apply.) She deserves to be huge." JNeo Marvin, Pazz & Jop Poll for Village Voice
"She categorizes her music as "Folk", but don´t expect to hear strumming on an acoustic guitar and mandolins and violins all day long. This body of work is a fuzzed out rocking jaunt into the backyards and back woods that is at times dark and beautiful. Terese´s voice can be delicate enought to convey loss, longing and hurt, but never do you get the sense that it overwhelms. In fact these songs are a testiment to someone who survived." -DJ Nylon, PirateKat Radio
http://www.teresetaylor.com
Adam Balbo - 6 outa 9 w/beats
"San Francisco-resident Adam Balbo hails from Indiana, Land of the Indians, and has also lived for a time in Beijing, capital of the Middle Kingdom. Through his travels and cheese-frying experience, Balbo has a particular insight that informs his roughly-hewn folk numbers and Casio-beat anthems. His songs function like funhouse mirrors for humanity and offer solace for anyone who feels clobbered by pop culture, politicians, and the general stupidity of the world. Take a seat beside him and marvel at the gooiness we call love, the black gold that we call coffee, and this ping-pong ball we call Earth." - Gerry Mak, of Flavor Pill
What comes to mind: Samba Blues. A meal in Venice. An idiot. A needed vacation. Sad finale. A gallop home. Reggae Sunday tour. Anything will go. Nice as sex. (My favorite songs: #1, 3, 4, 6, 8) Overview: Addictive - Keith Savage
Joey Sunset - Weirdo Island
A creation of Joe Gusich, aka Joey Sunset. Recording of this new CD took place at Last Stop Records, San Francisco. Recorded by Alex James Muscat and features Joe on Guitars, Vocals, Drums & Accordion & AJM on Bass Guitar. EKKSE's reverb induced sound fetches influences from Rock, Surf, Pop, Psychedelics & Eastern Europe to bring together an original orgasm. ‘Quirky alternative rock which is at times very dark and catchy with lots of little extra ear candy sounds and ideas!
http://elektriksunset.com
Reba Hasko - Seeds from the Twisted Pear
"Hasko's music is a mixed bag- on one track, she's part Gary Numan, part Siouxsie Sioux; on another she's a further-out-there Tori Amos. It's creative and challenging stuff- not for everyone, mind you, but highly recommended for those who prefer their pop sans bubblegum..." - Albany Metroland, NY. 12/05
http://www.rebahasko.com
The Moanin' Dove - (self titled)
What comes to mind: celebration/graveyard exposition, voo-doo-witchcraft, ancient ritual, English school bus ride, non-stop real funk, laid back love daze, vital mission safari, ascending/descending groove, a real life experience, a gypsy band, electric shock.
Favorite songs 2,3,4,5
Overall: well worth the listen, a party unto itself
- Keith Savage, December 2006
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