I first really started diving into the San Francisco music scene at SXSW this year, thanks to The Bay Bridged and their efforts in organizing the fantastic SXSW Bay Area Takeover event. Interesting isn’t it? There is so much great music in our own backyard and I had to go to Austin to discover it. It was at that point I decided to start playing in my own sandbox. And I haven’t looked back since. The only downside to this strategy is that it becomes harder and harder to rope my music friends into coming to shows with me. “You want me to see who? Never heard of them.”
The following series of posts – SF Bands You’ve (Probably) Never Heard Of – is a culmination of this research and discovery since March of this year. There’s a lot of good music coming out of our town – putting San Francisco squarely on the map as a vital music city. And you should know about it. Keep in mind that this is not an exhaustive list of all the Bay Area bands around. Just my favorites. In alphabetical order, of course.
One of the things I’ve discovered in my local band research is that there appears to be some momentum in specific genres – like psyche rock and experimental. 60 Watt Kid encompasses a bit of both to me. Their self-titled debut is chaotic, bizarre and intriguing all at the same time.
Listen to: ‘Cobblestone Sunglasses’
It’s 1970 in San Francisco and the hippies are back. Or perhaps they never left. Listening to the flower power psych rock of Citay will certainly transport you back in time with the influences of some of the greats sprinkled all over the place – from Led Zepplin to Jerry Garcia. It feels good.
Listen to: ‘Little Kingdom’
Cousin Chris (aka Chris Schreiber), is a veritable one man band who released his solo effort Moon Paper in July. The album was recorded at John Vanderslice’s Tiny Telephone Studios. The album is beautiful, with a folky-blues sound and vocals that remind me of Neil Young at times. There’s a good interview with Chris on Stranger Dance.
Listen to: ‘Head Down’
Get this album free via eMusic’s 50 Free MP3 Promo
the OCMD 