New Music / Leopold and his Fiction

May 13, 2010 | New Music | by Domingo Antonio Robledo |

Something at the root of old American rock n roll will always grip the contemporary audiophiles, no matter what. It’s that raw soulfulness that came pouring through the speakers then, just as it might now, whenever played loud and careless of what a neighbor might think. Sure, you might think it’s a bygone era in music, one that’s merely left to the ol’ classic-rock radio station these days. But nostalgia aside, the talent that’s been concentrated in Leopold and His Fiction really makes me think, ‘holy shit, it’s true—the essence of rock n roll music will never die if it keeps passing along and aging like this’. Read more

New Music / We Have Band

April 6, 2010 | New Music | by Domingo Antonio Robledo |

It’s been a while since we last heard the clamorous sound of We Have Band, but for obvious reasons. Having toured extensively in 2009, the London-based trio took the later part of last year to enter the studio with producer Gareth Jones (Grizzly Bear, Interpol, Depeche Mode, These New Puritans). Now, the debut We Have Band album is due to drop in a few days. Read more

Cool Websites / Planet magazine

July 30, 2009 | Cool Websites | by Domingo Antonio Robledo |

The demise of our beloved print medium is a harsh reality that a lot of independent magazines have been dealing with for the past five years at least. So we all frequent a ton of different sites that we like and one in particular that’s really given itself a pick-me-up online, for the better good of longevity and legacy, is Planet magazine. Read more

New Music / Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros

July 29, 2009 | New Music | by Domingo Antonio Robledo |

Edward Sharpe looks so much like the ideal Western image of a young Jesus Christ, it’s almost unsettling. Conceptually, that might be half the point, irony and all that good-looking fun as a rock star, or perhaps not. Regardless, Sharpe and his nine, yes nine, Magnetic Zero friends make one hell of a wanderlust band — and we can’t wait to see them again on their current stateside tour. In particular, we’d like to acknowledge that awesome old-school bus of theirs (though it’s probably not all that good for the environment). Read more

New Music / Magic Wands

July 28, 2009 | New Music | by Domingo Antonio Robledo |

Magic Wands are a burgeoning young duo playing some really fun music these days, and the most recent remix of Warrior sounds especially sweet to my ears this week. Uh, maybe because I just saw them live the other night, and they exceeded the expectations of an opening act. We love it when that happens. Don’t we? Read more

New Music / Here We Go Magic

July 17, 2009 | New Music | by Domingo Antonio Robledo |

Here We Go Magic came together fairly organically, just over a year ago, from the haze of an old Brooklyn party. Though Luke Temple (founder and lead singer) was known as the main creative force behind much of this first album. Working primarily on his own at the time, he still admits not really knowing what the hell he was creating when writing the first few songs that would ultimately become part of Here We Go Magic’s debut. So maybe a little alakazam was involved after all. When Temple came out of his solitary, songwriting coma (joined by one of his oldest colleagues, Michael Bloch), he encountered the lovely beings that make up the rest of his band — musicians that all remain amazed at Temple’s self-produced work, but even more so of the new sound they’re currently creating with him.

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New Music / Solid Gold

May 7, 2009 | New Music | by Domingo Antonio Robledo |

Minnesota? Well, it’s cold. That’s about all we know. Gold, I mean. It’s gold. In all fairness, there’s actually much to be said for this city in terms of music—apparently full of young and savvy creatives doing their thing at a cheap cost of living. One act in particular that we can’t stop listening to is the cheeky synth-pop trio Solid Gold and their debut album, Bodies of Water. And though the boys must have some solid balls to name themselves Solid Gold (not being officially signed and all), well they’re about as indie as indie can get these days. Ironically, they were turned down by iTunes to distribute digitally, after proudly mentioning they were unsigned and completely self-produced. Go figure. Anyhow, the tracks sound sharp and seamless, and dare I say worthy of a little repeat. Either way, keep your eyes and ears open for these gents. They’re bound to warm things up at a party near you.

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New Events / Ian Johnson exhibition at White Walls Gallery

May 4, 2009 | New Events | by Domingo Antonio Robledo |

Ian Johnson is an artist that’s been calling back the dead for years, but he’s just acknowledging spirits. Focused mainly on the forefathers of American jazz music, his works — both illustrated and painted on wood and canvas — have adorned top gallery spaces as much as they have his limited edition skate decks for Western Edition in San Francisco. Vibrant and colorful, the works are a take of American subculture in its early heyday, and with merit, a few somber low points as well (see Chet Barker’s portrait in particular). Johnson’s subjects might be fallen or forgotten stars, but they sit plain and gorgeous when presented formal on a wall. Read more

New Music / Papercuts

April 29, 2009 | New Music | by Domingo Antonio Robledo |

Considering the first impression of Papercuts in 2004, the lo-fi aesthetic of Mockingbird was a hazy and modern take on the old. A ‘vintage’ concept in many respects, it expressed a sort of devoted appreciation for this faded era in music that rang loud throughout the mid-sixties (much of it influenced by the UK at that time). Calling back the Zombies and perhaps some stony aftermath of love gone wrong, Papercuts’ sound is all a drifting dream from start to end. Read more

New Events / Manny Fabregas at Hyde Street Gallery

April 27, 2009 | New Events | by Domingo Antonio Robledo |

Stored somewhere in an old shoebox, there’s a pile of old photos that retain random slivers of our lives. For San Francisco artist Manny Fabregas, these forgotten images seem to hold something beyond his imagination. Arbitrary images that might seem worthless in a digital age are the very snapshots of people and things that he values most as an artist. Fabregas paints in traditional form of oil on canvas, but his works vary in social concept and format. The works draw from a serious (and not so serious) source of visual stimulus — a draw full of vintage photos found at flea markets and garage sales. ‘Every photograph serves as visual groundwork for an intriguing narrative’, he says. ‘It’s the mysterious journey of the vintage photograph that constitutes the focus of my paintings’. His work is showing from May 8 at San Francisco’s Hyde Street Gallery. Read more