Two years ago, things were not going too well for folk-rock duo HoneyHoney. After two initially promising record deals fell apart, Benjamin Jaffe and Suzanne Santo were struggling to complet…
SOURCE: The San Francisco Examiner at 03:01AMJosephine Vander Gucht is not a hypnologist. But with Anthony West, her partner in the British dream-pop duo Oh Wonder, she has compiled enough research on sleep and its rejuvenating » …
SOURCE: The San Francisco Examiner at 04:00AMErudite ex-Nerves/Plimsouls anchor Peter Case, whose great new solo recording is called “Hwy 62,” also is the author of a scrappy autobiography, 2007’s “As Far As You Can Get Without…
SOURCE: The San Francisco Examiner at 03:01AMMusically, 2016 seems like it will kick off with a bang, beginning with the long-awaited release of “Leave Me Alone,” the jagged, jangling debut from Spanish all-girl quartet Hinds (form…
SOURCE: The San Francisco Examiner at 03:02AMRemove Adele from the equation, and 2015 was a rather uneventful year in music. Taylor Swift still reigned supreme over everything, on a sweeping tour that included a cavalcade of » The…
SOURCE: The San Francisco Examiner at 03:01AMIn 1998, Dean Wareham’s alt-rock outfit Luna started a tradition of playing New Year’s Eve concerts, which ended with the band’s splintering in 2005. He and his wife Britta Phillips …
SOURCE: The San Francisco Examiner at 03:02AMConcrete Blonde mainstay Johnette Napolitano tracked her latest self-released solo effort “The Naked Album” in her secluded cabin in the Mojave desert. For skeletal, bluesy new numbers l…
SOURCE: The San Francisco Examiner at 03:01AMPortland-raised artist Grace Mitchell quietly celebrated her 18th birthday in August by having dinner with a good friend at a restaurant in Hollywood, a city she has been visiting since …
SOURCE: The San Francisco Examiner at 02:08PMIn England, alt-rock combo Swim Deep has issued two critically lauded albums — 2013’s “Where the Heaven Are We” and this year’s more adventurous “Mothers” — and has been hail…
SOURCE: The San Francisco Examiner at 04:12AMHis bandmates in X are calling it their own “X-mas miracle.” It’s hard to downplay the triumphant stage return of founding guitarist Billy Zoom, who was sidelined this summer by »…
SOURCE: The San Francisco Examiner at 03:01AMAs a child, X Ambassadors bandleader Sam Harris was an extra in Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator,” and he even got to meet Scott and star Russell Crowe, thanks to his father » The post X…
SOURCE: The San Francisco Examiner at 04:00AMBay Area rockabilly revivalist Chris Isaak is proud of his latest release, “First Comes the Night,” which he recorded mostly in Nashville with country producers Dave Cobb and Paul Worley…
SOURCE: The San Francisco Examiner at 03:01AMSinger-songwriter Aimee Mann can’t remember who first suggested the concept of an annual Christmas tour eight years ago. But it started as a little joke that quickly grew into a » The…
SOURCE: The San Francisco Examiner at 03:01AMThe members of Icelandic outfit alt-rock outfit Kaleo experienced culture shock when they recently moved (on four-year visas) to Austin, Texas to track their forthcoming debut album with pro…
SOURCE: The San Francisco Examiner at 03:48PMJohn Lydon of Public Image Limited painted the cover of his 10th album “What the World Needs Now…” with a picture of a harlequin-attired fool inspired by a traditional Hopi » The …
SOURCE: The San Francisco Examiner at 03:05AMWhen it comes to official tour merchandise, few artists can match the swag of Nashville renegade Nikki Lane. She parlayed a World War II-era fighter-pilot’s patch – featuring a Posada-st…
SOURCE: The San Francisco Examiner at 03:02AMFormerly missing-in-action pop-R&B stylist JoJo has essentially finished, but not yet released, her long-awaited third album. In the meantime, the singer (born Joanna Levesque) has issu…
SOURCE: The San Francisco Examiner at 04:00AMBoy & Bear bandleader Dave Hosking believes artists should write what they know, so he followed his gut instinct when composing the Aussie outfit’s new third album, “Limit of Love,�…
SOURCE: The San Francisco Examiner at 06:33PMIt’s been three decades since British outfit The Cult released its landmark Goth-chiming “Love.” But the band isn’t living in the past. Its upcoming “Hidden City” is one of its &…
SOURCE: The San Francisco Examiner at 01:07PMSometimes hitting rock bottom can be a blessing in disguise, as was the case with Charlatans UK bandleader Tim Burgess, who wa penniless when he returned to his native England » The pos…
SOURCE: The San Francisco Examiner at 12:59PMAustralian singer Sam Bentley reluctantly admits he still lives at home with his folks in Melbourne, even though his ethereal folk-rock outfit The Paper Kites has released two critically-acc…
SOURCE: The San Francisco Examiner at 04:00AMRyn Weaver broke out with the 2014 viral hit “OctaHate.” It’s been a long, serpentine trip for San Diego-bred singer Ryn Weaver, who issued her charming debut “The Fool” this »…
SOURCE: The San Francisco Examiner at 03:01AMActor Jeff Daniels has won an Emmy for his shrewd performance as news anchor Will McAvoy in HBO’s Aaron-Sorkin-scripted “The Newsroom,” and throughout his four-decade-long film and Bro…
SOURCE: The San Francisco Examiner at 03:05AMIn his parallel life as an actor, operatic-timbred vocalist Josh Groban never shies away from zany roles. He played Miss Piggy’s love interest on a recent episode of TV’s reboot » T…
SOURCE: The San Francisco Examiner at 09:13PMSometimes musicians need a little outside affirmation to convince them that they have a band. Producer-multi-instrumentalist Mike Del Rio, employed by Alex Da Kid, was sculpting pop songs fo…
SOURCE: The San Francisco Examiner at 04:38PMWith his family band The Jonas Brothers, Joe Jonas had a Disney Channel series and sold over 17 million albums. So he found it frustrating and confusing when his 2011 » The post Joe Jon…
SOURCE: The San Francisco Examiner at 04:33PMSinger-songwriter Nils Lofgren enjoys keeping up with his old pals. A few years ago, driving through his new hometown in Arizona, his cellular rang. It was his former employer Neil » Th…
SOURCE: The San Francisco Examiner at 01:09PMRoches-rustic outfit Girlpool – guitarist-vocalist Cleo Tucker and bassist-vocalist Harmony Tividad – didn’t set out to track their debut “Before the World Was Big” as a drum-less …
SOURCE: The San Francisco Examiner at 04:00AMIn America, British singer Florence Welch has become well-known not just for her elegiac music, but for her chic-designer-empowered fashion sense that has landed her in magazines in both “…
SOURCE: The San Francisco Examiner at 04:15AMIn 2012, an artistic collaboration was the last thing on Iowa-based folksinger Iris DeMent’s mind. She was busily recording, then touring behind, “Sing the Delta,” her first album of o…
SOURCE: The San Francisco Examiner at 04:00AMOn tour with her rock quartet Bully, bandleader Alicia Bognanno follows a code that’s her own spin on the Golden Rule: “Always be nice to other people and treat them » The post Bull…
SOURCE: The San Francisco Examiner at 03:15AM