San Francisco Music - All Shook Down - "2009 Music Lists" Archives

Eight Great Foodies from the Bay Area Music Scene

By Tamara Palmer in 2009 Music Lists, Food

Wednesday, Nov. 18 2009 @ 8:30AM

DJ Pam the Funkstress: Cajun food queen

The Bay Area's devotion to its homegrown music and food is steadfast. The culinary creativity here is as infectious as our sonic imagination, so it should come as little surprise that there is a crossover between the two local scenes. But did you know that DJs are whipping up cupcakes and burritos, and guitarists are serving up their personal brands of margaritas and champagne?

Behold our picks for eight local artists who rock kitchens and vineyards as easily as they do concert stages and DJ booths:

8. Boz Scaggs
Along with his legendary singing and songwriting career (that includes six Top 20 hits), Scaggs is well known for supporting live music in San Francisco: He owns Slim's and the Great American Music Hall. He's also the former owner of Marina bar/restaurant Blue Light Cafe and is now cultivating a new passion with his Scaggs Vineyard in Napa.

7. Sammy Hagar
The loud rocker runs a quiet food and spirits empire from his home base in Mill Valley. He sold 80 percent of his Cabo Wabo tequila company to Italy's Gruppo Campari for $80 million, and partnered with Gruppo subsidiary Skyy Vodka (of S.F.) for marketing. He is also the former owner of S.F.'s Tres Agaves restaurant and tequila lounge--he bowed out of that one in 2007. Thankfully, his more lowbrow and touristy Cabo Wabo Cantinas are nowhere near here.

6. DJ Hubert Keller
While Keller is principally a chef and restaurateur (Fleur de Lys and the newly opened Burger Bar in Macy's Union Square), it seems that his heart is truly found on the dance floor as DJ Hubert Keller, pumping out tunes that fuel the European tropics. The Top Chef Masters contestant drops the Balearic beats of Ibiza by way of one-off parties at night spots such as San Francisco's Bambuddha Lounge and at the occasional culinary event.

5. DJ Rajah
Chef, culinary instructor, and DJ Roger Feely of Soul Cocina deftly blends the musical and edible diaspora, sourcing beats and ingredients from all continents. Find him on the streets of San Francisco, as part of the current wave of gourmet food carts.

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Dingoes Ate My Baby? Top Five Fake TV Bands

By Andy Wright in 2009 Music Lists, Music, Television

Thursday, Oct. 8 2009 @ 10:44AM

The fake band is a staple of narrative television. You know the episode: the kids get together, write a bitchin' song, suddenly know how to play instruments, enter a contest they are sure to win, and then end up fighting when their egos grow to large. Inevitably, they fail, even though success seemed so sure. Everyone learns a lesson about being humble and kind, and the band is never spoken of again. It is completely forgotten that the cheerleader once knew how to wale on the drums. Or some variation thereof. Here are some of the best examples of this trope. And by best, we mean worst.

Full House, Jesse and the Rippers

Three adult men all decide to be roommates and raise one of the dude's kids together. Only in San Francisco! And of course, one of those dudes was the adorable Elvis-loving, motorcycle riding Uncle Jesse, who hung out with the Beach Boys and combed his hair a lot. And had a band. Said band was called Jesse and the Rippers. Jesse and the Rippers had a music video, which consisted of Uncle Jesse rolling around in a bed with his shirt off, standing behind a window with his shirt off, and creepy shots of the character's twin babies blinking into the camera. Watching this as an adult I realize that this is basically Mom Porn. Your kids love the TGIF lineup and you haven't watched the news in six years? Here you go, Mom. Here is John Stamos, shirtless.

My So-Called Life, Frozen Embyos

The intense and pathetic nature of Angela Chase's lust for the idiotic and insensitive (but really hot) Jordan Catalano was one of the most relate-able things about teen drama My So-Called Life. Jordan was in a band called Frozen Embryos with the legendary Tino, who never appeared on screen but always knew where the party was. In a memorable scene, Angela gets invited to band practice, where Jordan warbles out a treacly balled about someone named "Red" who cheers up his otherwise dreary existence. (It's hard to be really hot and really illiterate.) Angela thinks it's about her. It's not. It's about Jordan's car. Because horny teenage boys are really into singing love songs about their cars.

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Tags: bands, Buffy, fake, Full House, Gilmore Girls, My So-Called Life, Saved by the Bell

10 Music Mags We Hope Won't Die This Week

By Tamara Palmer in 2009 Music Lists

Thursday, Aug. 6 2009 @ 11:23PM

The Grim Reaper has been very busy dispensing with music magazines: More than a dozen in the past 12 months, in fact. Fortunately, there are still some strong titles on the market that are hanging in there, but for how long? Here are 10 we hope won't die this week -- or anytime soon.

Billboard
Life would be very different without the music industry's main trade magazine. We'd have to come up with our own Hot 100 pop charts, and that'd just be a chaotic free-for-all.

The Wire
This British electronic and avant-garde publication is one of the few music mags where lengthy features are still the norm, a rare place for in-depth analysis. And big words.

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Ten Known (and Little-Known) Facts About Tupac

By Eric Arnold in 2009 Music Lists, Music

Tuesday, Jun. 16 2009 @ 9:50AM

Thug Immortal: Tupac Shakur

10. Pac was born June 16, 1971 in East Harlem, NYC. He also lived in Baltimore, Marin City, Oakland, Los Angeles, and Atlanta.

9. The name Tupac Amaru is a reference to the last indigenous Inca ruler of Peru, who died in 1572. Amaru's name was later adopted by Tupac Amaru II , the leader of an 18th-century uprising against Spanish colonialists and by the Tupac Amaru rebels , a Communist anti-government group which formed in 1984. Clearly, the name Tupac Amaru is not one to take lightly and has always been associated with resistance, rebellion, revolution, and rightful rule.

8. Shakur wasn't Tupac's birth name, but the last name assumed by his adopted stepfather, Mtulu Shakur, a Black Panther who spent four years on the FBI's Most Wanted List for helping his sister Joanne Chesimard, aka Assata Shakur, who fled to Cuba rather than face prosecution.

7. Tupac studied acting, ballet, jazz, and poetry while a high school student at the Baltimore School for the Arts in 1985, where he met and befriended Jada Pinkett.

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Tags: 2Pac, Assata Shakur, dead celebrities, Digital Underground, Jada Pinkett, Mtulu Shakur, Notorious B.I.G., Strictly Dope, Tupac Shakur

Eight Drinks That Give You the Energy of a Rapper

By Tamara Palmer in 2009 Music Lists, Music, Photos

Monday, Apr. 27 2009 @ 8:52AM

Janine Kahn

Click here for a full rapper energy drink slideshow.

Even with all the vibrant energy contained in hip-hop, sometimes people need an extra little kick in order to take in the multitude of offerings the culture has to give. That's why rap-branded energy drinks are a good synergy of lifestyle and product. The San Francisco Bay Area is home to a disproportionate amount of these colorful alternatives to Red Bull, but rap energy drinks have sprouted up around the country, from the Midwest to the South to the East Coast.

There's even an anti-energy rap drink called Drank that was created in response to this growing niche market. This "extreme relaxation beverage" uses melatonin to mimic the sleepy effects of "drank," a slang term for the codeine cough syrup concoctions that are widely abused as a street drug. But you can drink that later, after you come down from hip-hop's heights achieved by these top eight rap-inspired energy drinks.

Eight Music Festivals To Check Out This Spring/Summer

By Ariel Schwartz in 2009 Music Lists, Music Festivals

Friday, Apr. 24 2009 @ 2:23PM

So you missed Coachella and now you're jonesing for that festival experience. Don't worry -- festival season has only just begun, and there are options aplenty in our city, state and beyond. Here's a sampling of what we have to look forward to.

1. High Sierra Music Festival, July 2-5, Quincy, CA
Planted firmly in the scenic Sierra Mountains for 18 years, High Sierra features a diverse range of artists, including DeVotchKa, The Wailers, Ani DiFranco, Leftover Salmon, and Vieux Farka Toure. In addition to its genre-spanning music, High Sierra is known for its intimate artist playshops and raging drug-fueled late-night shows that last until 3 a.m.

2. Joshua Tree Music Festival, May 15-17, Joshua Tree, CA
The 7th annual Joshua Tree fest wins the award for hottest venue. With an average high of 94 degrees in May, anyone who ventures here is advised to bring boatloads of water and sunscreen. This year's lineup contains plenty of local favorites like Rupa and the April Fishes, Medicine Drum, the Monophonics, Bhi Bhiman, and the Coup.

3. Doheney Blues Festival, May 16-17, Dana Point, CA
This Orange County mainstay may be a trek for us Bay Area folk, but the blues here can't be beat. If you enjoy a little bit of soul in your music, there's no excuse to miss the festival this year. Headliners include B.B King, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Derek Trucks Band, and Keb' Mo'.

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10 Music Stars Who'd Make Great Soap Stars

By Tamara Palmer in 2009 Music Lists

Thursday, Mar. 26 2009 @ 1:50PM

Paula Abdul

As people turn away from soap operas in droves, daytime television continues to pull out the dramatic stops in order to keep afloat in the recession. But if Days of Our Lives or All My Children wants a bit of a buzzy boost that a fictional transsexual rock star just cannot provide, the producers should consider hiring one of these music stars, who all seem to have the soap opera mentality coursing through them:

10. Paula Abdul
The pop star turned American Idol judge began her aspiring career in soaps with her cavalcade of celebrity husbands and boyfriends, including Emilio Estevez and Arsenio Hall, during her '90s heyday. Today, she's moved on from the starlet role into the shoes of the crazy eccentric, her nonsensical, seemingly drugged up behavior the perfect foil for a One Life to Live story.

9. Chris Brown
The unfortunate incident with R&B singer Brown and his on-again, off-again girlfriend Rihanna catapulted Brown's image from squeaky-clean to ultimate villain overnight. His actions should be condemned, but it is hard not to notice that the plot could easily make for compelling daytime TV.

Rihanna

8. Rihanna
Tired of hiding from the world after Brown allegedly beat her on the night of the Grammy's, Rihanna has been out and about in a major way in the last couple weeks, clubbing, house hunting for multi-million dollar properties, and tattooing a gun on her body. That's consummate leading lady material right there.

7. Diddy
Paternity suits, nightclub shootings, dismantling bands -- it's all seemingly in a day's work for the tireless Diddy. His life as well as his Making The Band reality TV series is already alarmingly close to capturing the drama of the classic '80s nighttime soaps like Knots Landing, Dallas, and Dynasty, so imagine what he'd do with the freedom of fiction.

6. Gene Simmons
Currently starring in A&E's Gene Simmons Family Jewels, the KISS frontman displays his flair for the dramatic and overindulgent, from infamous lechery at fan conventions to a televised face lift. The latter scenario would have brought a lot of new viewers (and maybe a few pregnant nurses) to General Hospital.

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10 Artists with Gimmicky Names Worth Hearing

By Tamara Palmer in 2009 Music Lists

Thursday, Feb. 5 2009 @ 7:00AM

(Nipsey Hussle is nothing funny)

The cast of the musical Gypsy set a precedent in entertainment in 1962 when it declared, "You Gotta Get a Gimmick!" That song referred to strippers, of course, but the old adage still seems to holds true, particularly in the rampantly pseudonymous worlds of rap, rock and electronic music.

The good news is that there are at least some artists out there that understand that the gimmick is only the first step in the door and that talent must follow. Today, we're honoring 10 that have novelty-leaning names, but are actually worth hearing.

Nipsey Hussle

Epic Records is hoping that it will have the newest rap star in L.A.'s Nipsey Hussle, a young and focused rapper and beatsmith who first learned the finer points of creating and engineering his own music at age 14 through an after-school program at the Watts Towers that still exists a decade later. But while his name references the famous late comedian Nipsey Russell, there's nothing funny about Nip Hussle's street-focused subject matter. "Straight outta Slauson, a crazy m*therf*cker named Nipsey," he states, declaring his own South Central identity while tributing the legacy of NWA on "Hussle in the House":

Red Astaire

Swedish DJ/producer Frederik Lager is better known as the smooth electronic artist Red Astaire, proprietor of the record label Home Grown. Here's a graceful Astaire remix of Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing":

Freddie Cruger

Frederik Lager also moonlights as Freddie Cruger, the Jekyll to Red Astaire's Hyde. His Last FM station features a number of his tunes, none of which will give you murderous nightmares in your sleep.

Edgar Allen Floe

This North Carolina MC raps with enough poetic force to justify the slight swindle of the beloved classic American author. 9th Wonder, the most celebrated hip-hop producer in the state thanks to his work with Jay-Z and Little Brother, definitely thinks so; he has lent his studio wizardry to the single "Floe Almighty":

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Top 10 Albums That We Hope Will Actually Come Out in 2009 (But Probably Won't)

By Tamara Palmer in 2009 Music Lists

Friday, Jan. 9 2009 @ 7:56AM

(Dr. Dre might need an intervention in order to release his long-awaited Detox album)

With the music industry in a continued state of shambles, even the average consumer is starting to understand that it's a risky venture to release an album and that this holds true for newcomers as well as those who have had a taste of superstardom. But we've still got to tease the artists that continually claim to put out a project and somehow just never quite end up getting there, which is why we're honoring the 10 albums that we hope will come out this year, but probably won't. While we don't recommend you hold your breath for any of these magnum opuses, Guns 'N Roses' hilariously delayed Chinese Democracy did actually come out in 2008, so maybe anything's possible.

Dr. Dre
Detox

2000 marks nine years since hip-hop producer extraordinaire Dr. Dre began speaking about his Detox album project, which is to be the true sequel to his influential 1992 solo debut The Chronic (because the lackluster Chronic 2001 doesn't count). Dre might well need an intervention to actually get this record out, for there seems to be something holding it back from seeing the light. Spark it up, Dre! You don't want to become the next Axl Rose, but are honestly well on your way.

Eminem
Relapse

While Dre is contemplating a Detox, his compadre Eminem has been hard at work on his Relapse, now five years since he released his last effort, Encore. We'll cut him some slack for getting re-married and re-divorced, and for grieving over the fatal shooting of his close friend and musical associate Proof, which all happened in 2008. But how hard is it to fall off the wagon?

Lindsay Lohan
Spirit in the Dark

Motown's newest darling isn't a throwback to Diana Ross or Marvin Gaye; absurdly enough, it's Lindsay Lohan, who landed on the legendary imprint after a shuffle off of her previous label Casablanca, the early home to KISS and many now-obscure disco acts. Her Spirit in the Dark album (her third full-length) was supposed to come out last November and reportedly features songwriting and production work from R&B star Ne-Yo and expensive producer Pharrell Williams. After the leak of the Ne-Yo-penned "Bossy," the promise of a release date slipped away as easily as her sobriety reportedly has gone. Miss Lohan fancies herself a triple threat, but really, she's only a threat to herself. Still, we'd look forward to hearing this certain trainwreck of an album.

Whitney Houston
Undefeated/Untitled

Ms. Houston's last album was a holiday effort released back in 2003, but her industry mentor Clive Davis has been jabbering about a comeback album for the last two years. Two months ago, when this supposed album cover started floating around, blogville was abuzz with compliments of her strong new physique. But it turned out to be a fake, a fan-Photoshopped work that actually hijacked the body of supermodel Naomi Campbell to place under Houston's head. With still no release date and discouraging evidence of her current vocal abilities on display on YouTube, Houston still has a problem.

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