the sundry published works of emily anne savage

dick dale for san francisco bay guardian

2012-01-14T12:39:00.000-08:00

King of the beach

At 74, the legendary Dick Dale keeps riding those surf guitar waves

In the beginning, the ocean was quiet. And before Dick Dale, the chords were thin, flat, and sweet. A young surfer growing up in picturesque 1950s Southern California, Dale changed the course of rock'n'roll with the thick, wet reverberating sound of Middle Eastern-influenced surf guitar and a little song called "Misirlou" [...]

cunt sparrer for san francisco bay guardian

2012-01-14T12:34:00.000-08:00

Cunt Sparrer is heading to San Francisco for New Year’s Eve Eve

It starts off in your basic living room, two girls laughing then launching into a sweet, stripped down lo-fi version of Cock Sparrer’s oi classic “Take ‘Em All.” The musicians, Jennie Cotterill and Sara Lyons, play acoustic guitar and organ respectively, and harmonize “Take 'em all, take 'em all/Put 'em up against a wall and shoot 'em.” The disparity between the lyrics, origins, and this whole set-up encapsulates the appeal of Long Beach’s Cunt Sparrer, a trio that also includes Jen Kirk-Carlson and sometimes Myra Gallarza of Cotterill and Kirk-Carlson's other band Bad Cop/Bad Cop on drums.

More than a tribute act, Cunt Sparrer has been rearranging and rejuvenating Cock Sparrer tunes and other traditional punk hits for the past few years and through those efforts gained some deserved social media recognition — its Youtube clips routinely garner upwards of a thousand views, and on Twitter there was the biggest compliment of all: a tweet of approval from Cock Sparrer itself [...]

year in music: rearview mirror for san francisco bay guardian

2012-01-01T22:39:00.000-08:00

Rearview mirror

YEAR IN MUSIC 2011: It's a retromaniac's world, but lookin' back ain't so bad. Plus: the top 10 live shows of 2011

"Out of all the records I've recorded, that was the worst experience," says prolific Dinosaur Jr. bassist and Sebadoh guitarist Lou Barlow. He's speaking of Bug, the classic, feedback opening alternative rock album Dinosaur Jr. released on SST in 1988 [...]

tikva records for san francisco bay guardian

2011-11-27T19:56:00.000-08:00

Tradition!

A Jewish record store is coming to the Mission — briefly

Row after row of sentimental — sometimes kitschy, sometimes renowned — vinyl albums are lining pristine white walls in a small storefront, waiting for the opening of a record store that will exist for just one month [...]

mark sultan for san francisco bay guardian

2011-11-27T19:49:00.000-08:00

Mark Sultan (BBQ) on vitamins, 'Seinfeld,' and the death of rock'n'roll

Mark Sultan is an embattled crusader for true rock'n'roll. Though in prose, he'll have you believe that it must be destroyed – to save it from itself [...]

from the back of the room for san francisco bay guardian

2011-11-27T19:47:00.000-08:00

XX hardcore

Female punks step out From the Back of the Room in new doc

When Blatz, a political punk band connected to all-ages Berkeley music venue 924 Gilman Street Project (the Gilman), was looking for a girl singer to join the act in 1990, it wound up with two new additions [...]

turntable kitchen for san francisco bay guardian

2011-11-27T19:44:00.000-08:00

Maximum Consumption: the Turntable Kitchen interview

I'd venture a guess that no one in this town knows the frosting tipped appeal of hand-mixing music and food more than the couple behind Turntable Kitchen. What started one year ago as a simple (yet highly aesthetically pleasing) website mashing up recipes and records, has grown into a celebrated multi-headed creative output machine, with food+music news, event sponsoring, giveaways, and the newly added physical pairings boxes – on top of the drool-inducing/stunning posts [...]

goldies: dirty cupcakes for san francisco bay guardian

2011-11-27T19:41:00.001-08:00

GOLDIES 2011: Dirty Cupcakes

"We didn't even have a band, but we had the name."

It was the summery music video that launched a thousand bubblegum crushes. Guitarist-vocalist Lauren Matsui, drummer Laura Gravander, and bassist Sola Morrissey, a.k.a the Dirty Cupcakes, adorably lust after unrequited love. The cute boy of their dreams prefers other boys, and he sexily smooches another man, while the girls swoon from different spots around San Francisco, including a Sandy-in-Grease bedroom scene. "I feel like it's a San Francisco thing to be in love with a gay man, or somebody that you can't have," says Matsui [...]

goldies: religious girls for san francisco bay guardian

2011-11-27T19:37:00.000-08:00

GOLDIES 2011: Religious Girls

The arty noise act's music is that of the futurist multitasker

If they suddenly became stupidly rich, the trio behind Oakland's Religious Girls would purchase a warehouse to turn into an all-ages venue/home-recording studio, with maybe some laser tag. Or they'd buy a food cart. If that isn't the epitome of the modern Bay Area band, I don't what is [...]

jhameel for san francisco bay guardian

2011-11-27T19:34:00.000-08:00

Beautiful pop

The many sides of up-and-coming virtuoso Jhameel

I half-expect Jhameel to be sporting face paint whiskers swiped across his cheeks as I walk up to meet him at Cafe Strada near the UC Berkeley campus. Lyrically, he's inspired by Ben Gibbard, musically by Sufjan Stevens, but aesthetically, it's early Bowie [...]

water borders for san francisco bay guardian

2011-11-27T19:31:00.000-08:00

Mood setters

Water Borders draw out the inherit creep of vintage film

Water Borders, a gloomy beat-driven San Francisco band with a new release (Harbored Mantras) on Tri Angle Records, spent the past few weekends practicing the art of creating atmosphere for obscure vintage films [...]

live shots: hans-joachim roedelius for san francisco bay guardian

2011-11-27T19:27:00.000-08:00

Hans-Joachim Roedelius celebrates his 77th birthday at Cafe Du Nord

“What a cerebral evening,” a show companion observed as we exited Cafe Du Nord last night, pushing the doors open to a whoosh of cool fall air. Indeed. For the man who's seen it all, first as a child actor in 1930s Germany, then as a reluctant member of the Hitler Youth, and finally a pioneer of early experimental krautrock in the 1970s and ambient jazz, Hans-Joachim Roedelius (Cluster/Harmonia) was not the confrontational artist one might expect. Tall and bald with wire-rimmed glasses, he was erudite, pleasant, subdued [...]

creole choir of cuba for san francisco bay guardian

2011-11-27T19:24:00.000-08:00

Strength of song

The Creole Choir of Cuba — and other global music acts — hit SF

In Cuba, there is just one group that specializes in traditional Haitian songs — the Creole Choir of Cuba. "Some of the songs in our repertoire are those we learned from our parents or grandparents, others we learned during the many visits we have made to Haiti," says choir director Emilia Diaz Chavez, through translator Kelso Riddell.

big harp for san francisco bay guardian

2011-11-27T19:19:00.000-08:00

Big Harp on writing lyrics, Saddle Creek, and touring with kids

I listened to Big Harp's debut album, White Hat, without any preconceived notions, and fell in drippy, folky, love. I fell into the slight country twang and gentle plucking of baritone singer-guitarist Chris Senseney, and the sweet backing vocals of bassist Stefanie Drootin-Senseney [...]

budget rock for san francisco bay guardian

2011-11-27T19:15:00.000-08:00

The last hurrah

It's time to say goodbye to Budget Rock

On the final day of Budget Rock 10, the endmost moment of the Budget Rock showcase itself, there will be pancakes and local '80s surf-punk band the Phantom Surfers. Likely a few tear stained cheeks as well [...]

war on drugs for san francisco bay guardian

2011-11-27T19:12:00.000-08:00

Battle hymns
The War on Drugs' Adam Granduciel keeps his finger on America's pulse

On the winding beach roads of Central California, in the cool coastal stillness of midnight, I remembered what the music hive mind spewed forth when it came to recently released record (and previous albums) from Philadelphia's the War on Drugs: road trip music [...]

treasure island festival for san francisco bay guardian

2011-11-27T18:08:00.000-08:00

Island time

From Angolan kuduro and gauzy psychedelia to local garage punk and silent disco: It'll be a packed weekend of Treasure Island Music Festival's chords and beats

Now in its fifth year, the Treasure Island Festival maintains a mystifying balance: it's both big enough to attract larger acts (Death Cab for Cutie, Empire of the Sun), and small enough to make the event feel intimate (with eyes closed, it's you alone dancing in the Silent Disco). There are rarely timing issues, one act stops, another begins. Precision and organization enrich a festival, whodathunk [...]

gardens & villa for san francisco bay guardian

2011-11-27T18:04:00.000-08:00

Mystic wanderings

Gardens & Villa navigates the road often traveled

Hermann Hesse's 1930 novel Narcissus and Goldmund is, more or less, the story of man who wanders Medieval Germany after leaving the monastery in search of the meaning of life. He finds organic pleasures like art and the empowering touch of beautiful women. Eventually given the choice of joining an artists guild, he bows out, instead favoring the freedom of the road less traveled [...]

live shots: css for san francisco bay guardian

2011-10-09T12:08:00.000-07:00

Lovefoxxx makes SF love her at the Fillmore

By the end of last night at the Fillmore, CSS's dynamic lead vocalist-party rioter Lovefoxxx was stripped down to a black tank top and ripped up jean shorts over fishnets, her raccoon eye makeup smeared across her face, fluffed pink hair electrified out of its sockets [...]

men for san francisco bay guardian

2011-10-09T12:03:00.000-07:00

Feminist dance pop: Q&A with MEN's JD Samson
Just as she did with Le Tigre, JD Samson blurs the lines between feminist theory and modern pop music with her most recent musical endeavor, MEN. The experimental art-pop band, which began in 2007, is a collective with fellow Le Tigren Johanna Fateman – among others – that's as subversive as it is danceable [...]

beirut for san francisco bay guardian

2011-10-09T12:01:00.000-07:00

The instruments of my life: Q&A with Beirut's Zach Condon

Zach Condon, the pied piper of Beirut, is known for a great many things – his quavering voice and heart-tugging music (watch the new video for “Santa Fe” and try not to weep, I dare you), the global journeys on which he embarked to gain such a worldly sound, and, perhaps above all else, his skilled takes on an array of string and horn instruments. He employs their use to enable listeners an audio-vacation: the far corners of Eastern Europe and the Balkans, to the chateaus of French chansons, to his mariachi-filled hometown of Santa Fe, New Mexico [...]

great integration for san francisco bay guardian

2011-10-09T11:58:00.000-07:00

Chamber hip-hop opera 'Great Integration' returns with a second act

Perhaps you've seen the billboard on your daily Bay Bridge commute: simple white background, a hand with two fingers pressed together, and in bold type, the words Great Integration: A Chamber Hip-Hop Opera [...]

mike apocalypse for san francisco bay guardian

2011-10-09T11:56:00.000-07:00

Legends of the underground

Gehenna's Mike Apocalypse doesn't care what you think

"There are people like us who decide we no longer want to deal with what is fed to us through commercial forces," says infamous hardcore singer Mike Apocalypse, "We strive to create new things — if I couldn't create new music, I would fall apart in a month's time." [...]

iggy pop for san francisco bay guardian

2011-09-17T07:34:00.000-07:00

Keep it raw

Does the Godfather of Punk really need an introduction? It's Iggy Pop. He's been doing this — this meaning spitting out underground ethos in a signature growl and writhing shirtless — for nearly 50 years. With the untimely death of original Stooge guitarist Ron Asheton, Pop regrouped and tapped Raw Power-era player James Williamson to rejoin the band a couple of years back.

I spoke to Pop in Paris over the phone -- his current world tour was supposed to land in San Francisco on Sept. 12 and 13 [...]

glowing stars for san francisco bay guardian

2011-09-05T19:05:00.000-07:00

Reprogramming the hardware

The Glowing Stars want you to make chiptune music, too.

Technology can be so existentially mystifying. One minute you're a kid in the back seat of your parents' car with thumbs aimed and eyes glued to the screen of your modern handheld gaming console, the next you're on stage with blinding lights and an audience, smashing into a modified old-school Gameboy on a snare drum. One second you're doubled over in bed with the stomach flu, the next you're in a box on Google+, simultaneously interviewing two band members from their respective Bay Area cities [...]

kreayshawn for san francisco bay guardian

2011-09-05T19:03:00.000-07:00

Kreayshawn gets some lady love at Slim's

It was just fine, really. Oakland-bred rapper Kreayshawn's big, sold-out show at Slim's last night was amusing, mildly enjoyable, and packed with good people watching. Rapping over prerecorded beats, elfin Kreayshawn and her Chipmunks White Girl Mob (V-Nasty and Lil Debbie) ran through what I suspect is the gamut of their songs in a brief, hyper set [...]

il gato cover story for san francisco bay guardian

2011-09-05T18:59:00.000-07:00

Bravo, il gato

FALL ARTS PREVIEW: The baroque San Francisco band is about to have its best season yet

The clouds hang over San Francisco like a brumous, early evening warning sign. It's late summer on the back patio of popular Mission street bar El Rio. Small pockets of people huddle near outdoor heaters, and vintage pop songs come pumping through the speakers. Three men dressed neatly in sweaters and hoodies sit at a long picnic table clutching cheap beers.

This is the story of il gato, a San Francisco band that describes itself as indie-baroque-folk. Its music is baroque in the sense that it's melancholic yet upbeat, lyric-heavy yet leans towards the classical, and highly decorated with a wide array of instrumentation. The band's 2010 long-player, All These Slippery Things (self-released), and similarly-named followup EP All Those Slippery Things (released last month) feature banjo, mandolin, piano, a string quartet, and trumpets, along with aggressive acoustic folk guitar, looping pedal, upright and electric bass, and complex drumming [...]

tri angle records showcase for san francisco bay guardian

2011-08-17T22:23:00.000-07:00

Drag me from hell
Witch house — or whatever you care to call it — is far from dead

MUSIC Noah "DJ Dials" Bennett Cunningham wants to galvanize your pleasure center.

"You know how you can think back to that one night? That punk show or cool house party or the first time you saw Björk, and it's just, the night you'll never forget? I want to do that for other people. I want to make lasting memories," he says from his perch in Four Barrel Coffee as he grabs Rosamunde french fries from his bag [...]

outside lands wrap-up for san francisco bay guardian

2011-08-17T22:15:00.000-07:00

Outside Lands, day three
Ah, Golden Gate Park on a crisp, sunny Sunday morning. Well, afternoon. There's nothing else like it. When I finally made my way out to Outside Lands, the highly recognizable vocal stylings of tUnE-yArDs were piping through the brush and bramble. Sweaty, shirtless men – fried to a near-crisp – rain danced far back from the Sutro Stage. And those free-jazzing saxophonists that I mentioned in the pre-festival rundown were indeed beside Merrill Garbus [...]

king lollipop for san francisco bay guardian

2011-08-07T18:01:00.000-07:00

Sticky fingers
Cody S. Blanchard moonlights in a junkyard candy-land band

Remember the raw, heart-thumping heat of the Jukebox Jamboree in John Waters' 1990 cult classic Cry-Baby? A steamy musician (Johnny Depp) strums and snarls towards a crowd of excited nogoodniks. There was a similar scene a few Saturdays back at a garage rock show in Oakland, thanks largely to Cody S. Blanchard [...]

chelsea wolfe for sf weekly

2011-08-07T17:56:00.000-07:00

Chelsea Wolfe, Demon Girl
Chelsea Wolfe's newest album, Apokalypsis, begins with a bang. But it's not so much a literal bang as an otherworldly howl. It's like she's exorcising demons before the record can begin [...]

urban adamah cover story for j. the jewish news weekly

2011-07-14T21:05:00.000-07:00

Nurturing their roots: Fellows flock to Berkeley’s Jewish urban farm
It’s 9 a.m. on a brisk Monday morning and Aliza Gazek and Molly Fischman are happily plucking kale from the earth.

They laugh and chat about the day’s activities while harvesting the kale, along with chard and red-leaf lettuce, to donate to the LifeLong Medical Care Clinic. Beyond them, Berkeley’s morning commuters whiz past a chain-link fence [...]

limp wrist for sf weekly

2011-07-14T21:03:00.001-07:00

Queercore Band Limp Wrist on Playing Live Again
The song "I Love Hardcore Boys, I Love Boys Hardcore" is a given at most Limp Wrist shows. The brief, screamy hardcore anthem was written early in the band's career (late '90s) but it remains a mainstay, a memorable chant that crowds of sweaty punks cheer for. Not that they often have the chance to [...]

seaweed sway for sf weekly

2011-07-14T21:00:00.000-07:00

Seaweed Sway's Jessie Woletz on Seven Years of Putting on S.F. Shows
Local promoter and show booker Jessie Woletz is sort of an oxymoron. She's a powerhouse hippie. She's constantly in motion -- booking, presenting, and promoting two to eight eclectic new weird folk shows a month at various San Francisco venues. Yet she's also peacefully in touch with her chakras (she teaches gentle hatha yoga) [...]

cibo matto for sf weekly

2011-06-23T15:58:00.000-07:00

Cibo Matto on Returning to Music, Its Unorthodox Sound, and the Joys of Food
After a decade apart, Yuka Honda and Miho Hatori, founders of art-pop outfit Cibo Matto, are reuniting for a minitour that includes at stop at Bimbo's this Saturday. The Japanese expats began playing concerts together again under less than ideal circumstances -- tsunami benefits -- but now that they're officially back, they're ready for it all: tours, albums, "the whole shebang" [...]

honored: the big jewcy list

2011-06-19T10:15:00.000-07:00

From Jewcy.com
The Big Jewcy: Emily Savage- Covering Bay Area Jews, Vegan Food, And Music With Equal Vigor
I’m normally threatened by people that share my first name, but Emily Savage has quickly managed to prove that she deserves the name as much as I do. Readers of Jewcy may know her as the Photo Editor and columnist for San Francisco’s J. Weekly, but she also regularly contributes culture writing to SF Weekly and is the San Francisco Editor at Poor Taste Mag [...]

From J. Weekly:
J. photo editor, writer on ‘Big Jewcy’ list
Jewcy.com, a website for hip young Jews, has honored j. photo editor and columnist Emily Savage with a spot on its 2011 “Big Jewcy,” an annual list of people admired by the site’s writers. The list of 88 was revealed in sections from June 1 to 15.

In addition to her work at j., which includes authoring the Jew Tunes blog at Jweekly.com, Savage is a culture writer for S.F. Weekly and the editor of the San Francisco edition of Poor Taste magazine. A longtime vegan, she also writes a column for Poor Taste under the heading “Tofu Dearest" [...]

oran hesterman for j. the jewish news weekly

2011-06-19T10:12:00.000-07:00

The right to eat well: Access to healthy food options is Berkeley native’s dream
Growing up in two very different spots in Northern California in the 1950s, Oran Hesterman had a dual life — city kid, country kid.

During the school year he lived in Berkeley, attended Hebrew school at Congregation Beth El and was active in Young Judea. But during every school vacation and the long stretches of summer, he worked with his father, a Jewish cattle rancher, on their family farm in Mendocino County’s Potter Valley. There he herded cattle, fixed the irrigation system and learned what it meant to be a working cowboy [...]

tofu dearest: mexican sweet potatoes for poor taste magazine

2011-06-19T10:09:00.000-07:00

Batata! Sweet potatoes, spiced up Mexican-style
“Only a vegan!” my coworker chirped cheerfully when I told her what I was warming up for lunch: the spicy sweet potato taquitos I had made at home the night before. I instinctively thought, “you should be so lucky” as it is my first reaction whenever someone questions something so delectable on my plate. Really, what could be better than a spicy Mexican meal that incorporates such a distinctive flavor as sweet potato [...]

hazon for j. the jewish news weekly

2011-06-08T16:33:00.000-07:00

Hazon: Summertime is right time for annual food confab
For the past three years the annual Hazon Food Conference — one on the East Coast, another in Northern California — has been held in December. The time of year was chosen to attract farmers, as it’s usually their downtime [...]

last night: gayngs for sf weekly

2011-06-08T16:15:00.000-07:00

Gayngs at the Independent: Sexier (and Obviously Weirder) Than Your Prom
Picture a prom night in the early 1990s, in a glittering hall with a live band that plays soulful, heart-thumping music, cajoling the entirety of the room into wanting some loving.

With Gayngs, an indie supergroup from Minneapolis, that lustful concept isn't so far-fetched. The band -- which includes Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, members of Megafaun, Doomtree, Solid Gold, and occasionally Har Mar Superstar -- makes ample use of the tenor saxophone; dubbed its first concert back in 2010 "The Last Prom on Earth"; and has the most seductive stage presence I've seen. These folks would do well in any Ecstasy-soaked banquet hall affair [...]

bill graham exhibit for j. the jewish news weekly

2011-05-22T19:35:00.000-07:00

Bill Graham’s American dream: Retrospective tells story of Holocaust refugee and rock impresario
As a Jewish child in Nazi Germany, Wolfgang Grajonza saw his family torn apart by the Holocaust.

His mother was taken to Auschwitz and gassed, his siblings were split — some were sent to an orphanage for safety, while others stayed behind and ended up in the camps.

The young boy went to a series of orphanages and on the Kindertransport to France, eventually making his way to New York City, with only a handful of photographs and a yarmulke on his person.

Grajonza would go on to become Bill Graham, perhaps the world’s most well known rock promoter and a beloved impresario. He’s best known for operating the legendary venues Fillmore West and Winterland in San Francisco and Fillmore East in New York City, but he also donated time and money organizing charity music events such as Live Aid [...]

tofu dearest: vegan brunch for poor taste magazine

2011-05-22T19:31:00.000-07:00

Seven Vegan Brunch Dishes You Must Try Before You Die

In honor of Poor Taste’s gargantuan gathering of the best brunch spots in the U.S., I decided to focalize the task even more, to highlight the dishes themselves and pay respect to the vegan options, wherever the restaurant.

I’ve eaten at or been regaled with stories of a great many vegan brunch across the land, from decadent waffles soaked in syrup and Earth Balance pillows to healthy homemade oatmeal with soy milk and fresh strawberries. I wanted to celebrate my favorite of these options, but also open it up to you, fellow vegans of the planet, to share your own favorites [...]

apocalypse meow for sf weekly

2011-05-22T19:19:00.000-07:00

Cat Art Exhibit 'Apocalypse Meow' Excites Feline Desires
San Francisco's beloved Kittenzilla has returned. At least, it's back in gallery form. The massive mixed-media mural is the main attraction in catcentric group show, "Apocalypse Meow," which debuted at Space Gallery in the Tenderloin on Saturday night. It's an exhibition "examining the dominance of all things feline in contemporary culture," the gallery explained [...]

juke hunt finale for sf weekly

2011-05-22T19:17:00.000-07:00

Juke Hunt Finale: The Best Jukeboxes in San Francisco
Over the past few months, we've found treasures and trash in San Francisco bars: Old-school jukeboxes with surprisingly sincere music picks, and sad little boxes we urge you to skip. It's all come to this: The juke hunt winners distilled into a single list, the best offerings in the city that invented the very concept. So where are they [...]

sandor katz for j. the jewish news weekly

2011-05-09T17:36:00.000-07:00

Pickling pro will talk about kraut on local tour
Growing up Jewish on New York’s Upper East Side, surrounded by stores selling sour dill pickles, Sandor Ellix Katz was almost destined to become a fermentation revivalist.

Katz is the author of two popular fermentation and food politic manifestos, “Wild Fermentation” and “The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved,” and he has spent the last two decades farming, fermenting, teaching and writing [...]

tofu dearest: vegan filipino for poor taste mag

2011-05-08T10:18:00.000-07:00

No Worries, Vegans Eat Filipino Food Too
Chef Jay-Ar Isagani Pugao is out to change the public perception about Filipino food. The executive chef-restaurateur owns Oakland’s No Worries, an entirely animal-free vegan Filipino spot, and he wants the food world to know there’s a healthy side to the fare. It’s believed to be heavy and fatty, he said during a Dishcrawl cooking demonstration and dinner last month, but it doesn’t have to be [...]

last night: mike watt for sf weekly

2011-05-08T10:15:00.000-07:00

Friday Night: Mike Watt Plays the Grizzled Natural at Bottom of the Hill
If such a thing were possible, I'd believe, without hyperbole or winking wit, that Mike Watt was born to play the bass. His fingers fly across the fretboard so smoothly, it's appears he isn't touching strings at all. Curved elegantly, his bulbous palms encircle the bass neck in an endless handshake [...]

poly styrene obituary for sf weekly

2011-05-08T10:11:00.000-07:00

Oh Cancer, Up Yours: Appreciating Poly Styrene
A tiny, curly-haired creature pressed into a life-size test tube, smiling just slightly with braces and wrapped in a bright yellow coat with dark tights. Posing on the cover of the landmark X-Ray Spex album, Germ-Free Adolescents, in 1978, Poly Styrene (née Marianne Joan Elliott-Said) looked every bit the punk rock pioneer she was. In a world of high testosterone and rampant sexism, she stood out above the men, with a howling wail, instantly recognizable -- perhaps most of all on her rallying cry, "Oh Bondage, Up Yours" [...]

goy passover for j. the jewish news weekly

2011-05-08T10:09:00.000-07:00

It was my boyfriend’s first seder — but it felt new to me, too
Despite the fact that my cohabiting boyfriend and I have been a “we” for four years — two of which spent under the same roof — we had yet to attend a Passover seder together until this year.

Perhaps even more surprising: he’d never been to a seder before in his life. You see, he’s my loving goy (aware of the negative connotations, choosing to disregard), and while we’ve fried latkes for many years and visited the Contemporary Jewish Museum more times than I can count, this was his first time observing Pesach [...]

steve ignorant interview for sf weekly

2011-05-08T10:03:00.000-07:00

Crass' Steve Ignorant Explains the S.F. Origins of the Anarchopunk Band's Iconic Logo
The Crass logo is iconic. The songs are military-beat memorable, with lyrics about anarchy, environmentalism, and animal rights. The duo that formed the band -- vocalist Steve Ignorant and drummer Penny Rimbaud -- is somewhat legendary. And yet the English anarchopunk act existed in proper form only from 1977 to 1984. The group, which also included a host of other musicians, such as Gee Vaucher and Eve Libertine, never even performed a full U.S. tour.

This is why Ignorant (minus Rimbaud) is now traveling throughout the states singing classic songs off the Feeding of the 5000, Stations of the Crass, Penis Envy, and Christ the Album: To give American fans a chance to see those songs live, and as one last hurrah for the tracks themselves. After this jaunt, appropriately titled "Steve Ignorant presents Crass songs 1977-82, the Last Supper," the music will go back in to its recorded vaults. We recently spoke with Ignorant, who performs Wednesday at Slim's [...]

are we there yet? cjm exhibit for j. the jewish news weekly

2011-04-20T18:30:00.000-07:00

The art of the question: Robotic algorithms put visitors in an auditory sea of queries
If you enter the top-level Yud Gallery in the Contemporary Jewish Museum these days, you’ll be greeted by a question.

It could be any number of questions — from a bank of 2,500 different questions, in fact — and the proximity of the voice you hear will change depending on where you are in the room. A small camera, unseen even to the knowing eye, will follow your every move, using robotic algorithms to calculate mathematically which of 20 floor speakers to activate. The walls are white and bare, and the only sensation is crisp, clear sound [...]

tofu dearest: rescue chocolates for poor taste mag

2011-04-20T18:27:00.000-07:00

Vegan Chocolate Rescue Bunnies
It’s everywhere this month — crunchy, chocolate, Peep-y Easter candy. It fills our drug store aisles and taunts us with milk derivatives and smooth bunny shapes. My own Easter memories are warm with huge baskets stuffed with chocolate eggs and character Pez dispensers. My brother and I would stalk around our Irish-Polish Catholic grandparents’ backyard in Antioch, Calif., sniffing out brightly colored eggs then pouring our finds across the living room carpet [...]

bernal heights juke hunt for sf weekly

2011-04-20T18:24:00.000-07:00

On the Hunt for the Best Jukebox in Bernal Heights
Bernal Heights is often unfairly lumped in with the Mission as a whole. While it is backed up against the Mission, Bernal has its own plentiful offerings -- Indian pizza, indoor street food, and lesbian bars with three-story patios, to name a few. So, in deference to the vibrant nature of this hood, we embarked on yet another juke hunt, this time to bars posted within Bernal's district lines [...]

cults for sf weekly

2011-04-20T18:21:00.000-07:00

Cults Play a Short, Sweet Set at the Independent
It was short but sweet.

Like most, I went into the Cults show at the Independent last night knowing a mere three songs by the headlining band: "Most Wanted "(aka that sugary doo-wop one), "The Curse" (that Cramps-esque swaggery one), and "Go Outside" (the hit). Such is the nature of a newish buzz band, especially one made known throughout the blogsphere thanks largely to its Bandcamp profile.[...]

tofu dearest: beet burgers for poor taste magazine

2011-04-06T20:09:00.000-07:00

Just Beet It: Vegan Burgers Get Street Cred
You know that old adage — when your CSA gives you beets, make beet burgers? Or something along those lines, correct?

Last week our community-supported agriculture network, Farm Fresh To You, delivered a cardboard box that included three giant, hearty beets with long, red-veined leaves sprouting off the bulbs like plumage, among other less-tantalizing fruits and vegetables. When choosing what to do with those magnificent purple root vegetables, the answer seemed obvious: veggie burgers [...]

richmond juke hunt for sf weekly

2011-04-06T20:05:00.000-07:00

On the Hunt for the Best Jukebox in S.F.'s Richmond District
Thanks partly to the diversity of its residents, the Richmond District has a lot of great bars and restaurants. The neighborhood is a confluence of Russian bakeries, Chinese markets, and Irish pubs, and the songs available on the few scattered classic jukeboxes reflect this diverse blend [...]

j. column: ska and torah study for j. the jewish news weekly

2011-04-04T15:44:00.000-07:00

After a fall from grace as queen bee, I found solace in Torah and ska
Sometimes I think that an amalgamation of ska music and Judaism saved my life. Not to be overly dramatic. But looking back at the events surrounding and leading up to my bat mitzvah, now 15 years later, I can’t help but point to those two parts of my life as rescuing me from junior high hell [...]

tofu dearest: vegan love for poor taste magazine

2011-04-04T15:41:00.000-07:00

How to Make Culinary Love to a Vegan
Confession time: I live with an adorable meat-eater. I throw in the adorable because he really is, despite our surface-level divergent eating habits. He may devour roast chicken or fried calamari when we hit local food establishments, but at home he mostly keeps it vegan with me — another reason to throw in the complimentary descriptor [...]

north beach juke hunt for sf weekly

2011-03-22T20:07:00.000-07:00

Which Bar Has North Beach's Best Jukebox?
There's something so classic and romantic about San Francisco's own Little Italy: North Beach. Despite the sometimes-obnoxious crowd it seems to attract, the hood itself exudes a warm, old-timey charm, with vintage architecture and jukeboxes that hold swing and blues songs written and recorded before many of today's bar hoppers were born. On dreary, rain-soaked afternoons, swarms of tourists and locals still flock to its dark, wood-paneled taverns, with fragrant plumes of Italian cooking wafting through the bustling streets[...]

[Juke Hunt archives]

sway machinery for sf weekly

2011-03-10T18:02:00.000-08:00

The Sway Machinery Captures Malian Adventures on Its New Album
Barreling down the dusty roads of the West African country of Mali in January 2010, Jeremiah Lockwood and his Brooklyn-based band the Sway Machinery felt elated. They had just left an impromptu gig jamming with local musicians at a bumping riverfront juke joint [...]

tofu dearest: vegan myths for poor taste magazine

2011-03-09T18:12:00.000-08:00

We’ve all heard it a thousand times before, from the nosy friend of a friend, the second cousin, the ex-co-worker, what have you. They’ve read some unfounded study somewhere in the wilds of the Internet and henceforth decided that vegans can’t possibly get all those juicy meat-based nutrients, or they lack protein, or vegans are at elevated risk for heart disease. Untrue, untrue, and double untrue.[...]

michael showalter for j. the jewish news weekly

2011-02-25T21:30:00.000-08:00

Michael Showalter is the kind of guy you know all about — or you’ve never heard of him.

The Jewish actor-writer-comedian has written and starred in a slew of sleeper cult hits since the 1990s: the MTV sketch comedy show “The State,” the 2001 parody film “Wet Hot American Summer” and the Comedy Central series “Stella” and “Michael and Michael Have Issues,” to name a few [...]

tofu dearest: hangover scramble for poor taste magazine

2011-02-25T18:55:00.001-08:00

There’s nothing greater after a night of heavy drinking than a steaming plate of scrambled tofu. This may be the first meal — the hangover breakfast — that worries new vegans. Fear not, tofu scramble is delicious and probably the easiest dish you’ll ever make. The main part to get right is the breaking up of the tofu itself, after that you can add any number of fun and exotic ingredients to the oil-sizzling mix [...]

mission juke hunt for sf weekly

2011-02-25T18:50:00.000-08:00

The divide among Mission dwellers is strong. There are the older families that have lived in the area for generations, then the hip twenty- and thirty-somethings who moved in more recently.

The latter half are the ones who can often be found crawling from bar to bar, dance party to live show. And in the haunts of this colorful crowd comes a variety of music choices -- though not one quite as diverse as one might assume. There are definitely standards on all the old music boxes of Mission bars, but each has its own musical twist. Let's explore this large and mythic San Francisco neighborhood [...]

tofu dearest: valentine's for poor taste magazine

2011-02-25T17:30:00.000-08:00

A few years back the live-in boyfriend surprised me on Valentine’s Day with a small, white take-out box full of cocoa-dusted vegan truffles [...]

bay area girls rock camp for sf weekly

2011-02-08T06:16:00.000-08:00

Thao and Mirah Perform at Bay Area Girls Rock Camp Benefit This Friday
You may not know Chixx Mixx or Poison Apple Pie by name, but they're bands formed by Bay Area tween and teen girls, and they don't sound like what you might be picturing. As much as we all would like to think gender divides do not exist, it's the sad and simple truth that most bands are still made up of dudes [...]

peter himmelman for j. the jewish news weekly

2011-02-08T06:12:00.000-08:00

Jewish Americana: L.A. musician will hum a folksy new tune in S.F.
Peter Himmelman recorded his last record on a dare he made with himself: to make an album in two weeks. The result is true-blue roots Americana: "The Mystery and the Hum" [...]

haight juke hunt for sf weekly

2011-01-29T11:01:00.000-08:00

On the Hunt for the Best Jukebox in the Haight
The heyday of authentic jukeboxes is long over. With many bars installing those nasty touchscreen digital Internet boxes, the old school record-flipping kind of jukebox is a dying breed. And this is in the town that originated the concept of jukeboxes back in 1889. So what denotes a quality juke these days? It's subjective, but there are some key signifiers: diversity of the records and mood-setting capabilities. In this column we seek out and celebrate the remaining machines. We also measure their success with a one to five drinks scale, based on how long you'll want to linger and listen [...]

tofu dearest for poor taste magazine

2011-01-29T10:59:00.000-08:00

Hello, Meat and Cheese: Veganize This!
I’m not a person who typically enjoys mock duck. I don’t often try to imitate meaty taste and texture when home cooking like many vegans do, and when faced with faux meat versus gold standard-but-simple tofu dishes at restaurants; I’ll always choose the latter [...]

monotonix for sf weekly

2011-01-29T10:55:00.000-08:00

Monotonix Explains Why They Dump Trash on You at Shows
At any given Monotonix show, you will see three hairy men crowd surfing with their instruments, throwing trash on the crowd, spitting beer on the crowd, leading group sing-alongs and, possibly, pissing [...]

kusf for sf weekly

2011-01-22T16:49:00.000-08:00

KUSF Supporters Deliver Message of Frustration, Outrage to USF President
On Tuesday, the nearly 34-year-old freeform San Francisco radio station KUSF went dark after the station's FM license was sold -- without any warning for listeners and without discussion amongst station volunteers and DJs. Last night, those who felt they didn't get to have any say in the situation got a chance to air their grievances [...]

tofu dearest for poor taste magazine

2011-01-22T16:46:00.000-08:00

Vegan Pizza Day Is Coming: Time for Doughy Boot Camp
The vegan pizza slice is elusive. It’s a rare, yet progressively more visible gem, in a world traditionally made up of shredded cheeses and rounds of meat. Walk in to any standard pizza joint in the country and ask for a piping hot slice of dairy-free, meat-free pie. Chances are, the confused chef will either laugh or offer to simply pull the cheese off a slice (um, no thanks)[...]

little wings for sf weekly

2011-01-08T14:10:00.000-08:00

Little Wings Warms a Bitterly Cold Night at Amnesia
It was aberrantly chilly last night. Too cold to go out really, to leave the safety and warmth of home, but for Kyle Field, also known as Little Wings, the people of San Francisco made the trek to Amnesia [...]

b.r. cohn winery for j. the jewish news weekly

2011-01-08T14:04:00.000-08:00

Sonoma rock impresario’s newest act is kosher cabernet
Bruce Cohn was just a child when he learned how to milk goats on the family farm in Sonoma County.

He would eventually find his way back to farming — sort of — by starting the B.R. Cohn Winery, but not before making a big mark on the music world as the manager of the rock group the Doobie Brothers [...]

yoni bloch for j. the jewish news weekly

2011-01-08T14:00:00.000-08:00

Homegrown Israeli folk star is rising on high-tech scene
When Yoni Bloch performed his first Tel Aviv show nearly 10 years ago, a crowd of some 300 swarmed the club.

Then 20 years old, the Israeli singer-songwriter had expected a small audience and was shocked by the turnout. He later found out people had learned of the show thanks to his presence on the Internet. Bloch had been recording his own music since he was a teenager and uploading it to an Israeli social networking site, Bama Hadasha (“New Stage”), which predated Myspace as an online place for musicians and listeners to interact [...]

tofu dearest for poor taste magazine

2011-01-08T13:55:00.000-08:00

New Year’s Eve: Cheap, Vegan, and Out of Control
It’s time to get decadent — on a budget. New Year’s Eve is upon us and whether you’re throwing a massive NYE soiree or just hosting a few select guests, planning a vegan appetizer, dessert, and cocktail menu can be a headache. Especially if your crowd is weary of all meat-free, dairy-free treats [...]

guide to alamo square/north panhandle for poor taste

2010-12-28T17:17:00.000-08:00

Home to the famous Painted Ladies Victorian houses, the breezy and bulbous hill of a park facing them, and an assortment of emerging independent businesses, Alamo Square is both classic San Francisco and a neighborhood in flux [...]

tofu dearest for poor taste mag

2010-12-15T20:14:00.000-08:00

The Locavorism vs. Veganism Problem
Many vegans, myself definitely included, find the concept of including locavorism to their already specific diet extremely daunting. Sure, we gladly avoid meat and animal byproducts by crafting delicious meals from scratch or checking out every new vegan-friendly restaurant within a 20-mile radius. But many of our products, the ones we use on a daily basis, weren’t made or grown locally [...]

shannon and the clams for sf weekly

2010-12-15T20:12:00.000-08:00

How to 'Ruin Xmas': Shannon & the Clams issue a punky take on the holiday classics
Shannon and the Clams are the gaudy red tinsel of Christmas spirit. The members of this Oakland garage-pop trio are discussing kitschy holiday music in their van on the long drive between New Orleans and Austin — a timely topic, given the recent release of their own Christmas seven-inch [...]

hungry for yiddish? a mitzvah project for j. weekly

2010-12-15T20:08:00.000-08:00

Walking through San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood a few years back, classically trained singer Heather Klein was struck by something [...]

tofu dearest for poor taste magazine

2010-12-06T13:55:00.001-08:00

Potato Pancakes and Israeli Donuts: A Vegan Does Chanukah
Oil popping off shredded potatoes, fragrant with freshly chopped onion and spices. Yes, Chanukah has always been a special time in my family. Besides the tradition, the candles, the gifts — there was always the food [...]

10 things for sf weekly

2010-11-27T09:06:00.000-08:00

Stuffed, satiated and sleepy: Now that the first of many major holidays meals is over, it's time to whip yourself back into shape with some active moshing or thunderous booty shaking. Here's our list of 10 things to do this weekend that won't break the bank, but just might help fracture the fatigue[...]

hazon for j. the jewish news weekly

2010-11-19T18:05:00.000-08:00

Former longtime Camp Tawonga director Deborah Newbrun has signed on as the new Bay Area director of Jewish environmental nonprofit Hazon.

She said the national, New York–based agency — which, among other things, organizes bike rides, Torah hikes and food conferences — represents the best of both worlds.

“It takes Jews who love their Judaism and exposes them to nature and the outdoors,” Newbrun said, “and it takes nature enthusiasts and connects them to their Judaism [...]

tofu dearest for poor taste magazine

2010-11-19T17:42:00.000-08:00

De La Soul Food: Vegan Collards, Okra, Barbecue, and Fried “Chicken”
Okra, mustard collard greens, creamy mashed potatoes with savory gravy, and two pieces of crispy Southern fried tofu “chicken.” I ate it all, in one grand sitting, a few weeks back and was incredibly full, a tad over-salted, and deeply satisfied [...]

10 things to do this weekend for sf weekly

2010-11-07T19:54:00.000-08:00

Hard French Season Finale, Indie Mart, Kitsch & Fuzzz, Bookfest 2010, and More
Still covered in orange and black tickertape from the Giants parade? Got a hangover from all the revelry [...]

tofu dearest for poor taste magazine

2010-11-07T19:49:00.000-08:00

Love and Sambal: A Vegan Goes Indonesian

I’ll be the first to admit it; I knew little of Indonesia before I met the live-in boyfriend. Now that I’ve tasted the region’s style of food many times over, I’ve become completely fascinated with it [...]

jaron lanier for j. weekly

2010-10-22T16:53:00.000-07:00

Renaissance man: Berkeley resident is a musician, a Web guru and the father of virtual reality
In his home studio, surrounded by hundreds of exotic woodwind instruments, Jaron Lanier could be any other eccentric Berkeley musician. With fuzzy blond dreadlocks hanging down to the small of his back, the 50-year-old picks up a Middle Eastern oud and carefully plucks [...]

the vaselines for sf weekly

2010-10-22T16:50:00.000-07:00

The Vaselines sex up the ex factor with their new record
When most exes reconvene, they try to skirt the big naked elephant in the room. This was not the case for Scottish lo-fi pop duo the Vaselines [...]

tofu dearest for poor taste magazine

2010-10-22T16:47:00.000-07:00

Vegan Halloween: My Bloody Punchbowl (and Other Ghoulish Treats)
Growing up, Halloween was always my favorite holiday — and it remains at the top today. Oh those evenings I spent dressed as a pink-cheeked cheerleader, glittery mermaid, French painter, and “weirdo” (I went through phases, okay?), hoarding treats earned through rigorous doorbell ringing and appreciative smiles [...]

david rakoff for j. the jewish news weekly

2010-10-11T18:05:00.000-07:00

Anxiety-ridden and seeing the glass as ‘Half Empty’
David Rakoff has dealt with paralyzing anxiety, two bouts of cancer and a childhood spent as a “freakishly small” gay boy in Toronto [...]

rock photography exhibit for j. the jewish news weekly

2010-10-11T18:02:00.000-07:00

Icons of rock: Show at Marin JCC displays three Jewish photographers’ shots of music legends
What is it with Jewish Deadheads? Jewish rock photographer Bob Minkin, who used to work with the band, isn’t quite sure [...]

tofu dearest for poor taste magazine

2010-10-11T17:58:00.000-07:00

Dreaming In Swirls of Cinnamon
Are you aware that if you live anywhere in the U.S., you can now have a box of four gooey vegan cinnamon rolls delivered to your door? Not only that, but the cinnamon rolls come with a variety of delicious flavor options. It’s a mind-blowing concept, I know. I’ll let you sit and salivate with that knowledge for a moment [...]

10 things for sf weekly

2010-09-25T12:30:00.000-07:00

10 Things to Do For Under $10
There are so many awesome events this warm weekend in September, the problem won't be what to do, but how to pack it all in. Make the best use of your time, map out a proper schedule and get to it. Here's this week's list of ten things to do for a 10-spot or less [...]

tofu dearest for poor taste magazine

2010-09-25T12:28:00.000-07:00

The Art of the Vegan Lunch
The after-summer dregs can get anyone down. Classes have begun; vacations from the office are just a memory. There is one thing, however, that can pump a vegan’s mood once he or she is back to a day-to-day routine — a tasty lunch to look forward to [...]

marina & the diamonds for sf weekly

2010-09-19T16:35:00.000-07:00

Marina and the Diamonds plan for megastardom
Marina Lambrini Diamandis plans to be a pop superstar. She's just not quite there yet. The frontwoman of British pop outfit Marina and the Diamonds is unequivocally beautiful — half-Welsh and half-Greek, with dark brown locks and deep-set eyes. Her voice is modern and mesmerizing; it wavers between low-octave brooding and high-pop yelps, carrying hints of Florence and the Machine and Kate Nash [...]

orphaned land for j. the jewish news weekly

2010-09-19T15:45:00.000-07:00

Land of metal: Israeli hard rockers coming to S.F. club
When Kobi Farhi wore an Iron Maiden shirt to an Israeli synagogue in 1993, he suddenly realized what he needed to do.

At age 18, he was already two years into his journey as lead singer of metal band Orphaned Land. “Living in Israel, being Jewish, we should use Middle Eastern sounds in our music,” Farhi remembers thinking at that time. “If we were making American heavy metal we wouldn’t have done that.

“That’s how we became pioneers of Middle Eastern heavy metal.”

gimme shelter: the sonic sukkah for j. the jewish news weekly

2010-09-19T15:40:00.000-07:00

JCCSF turns its sukkah into an art experience
Who could have predicted way back in 1969 that a Rolling Stones song title would one day be put to use to reinterpret a Jewish holiday?[...]

tofu dearest for poor taste magazine

2010-09-12T09:27:00.000-07:00

Nothin’ Fishy About Vegan Sushi
Perhaps it’s sacrilegious to promote the art of sushi without fish, but isn’t being vegan all about creative ways to make food? And what could be more creative than a meal centered on an ingredient that will not be included?

I used to think of sushi in black-and-white terms, too. Sushi equals fish which equals avoidance, simple as that. Slowly but surely, it dawned on me that sushi could be made vegan by simply replacing fish for veggie for a healthy and tasty Japanese meal [...]

Bar Shacterman for j. the jewish news weekly

2010-09-12T09:22:00.000-07:00

Art in motion: Sculptor to make piece of art as audience watches
In front of a swarming crowd, Bar Shacterman will create an original clay sculpture in record time next week, using just clay and an oversize hammer [...]

last night: slayer for sf weekly

2010-09-01T17:14:00.000-07:00

Most long-running thrash metal acts either pepper their set with goofy, ghoulish shtick or stick to the hard-pounding basics. Megadeth and Slayer, both members of the elite "Big Four" of thrash metal (along with Metallica and Anthrax), represent opposites sides of the shtick spectrum: Megadeth is slightly more about look than substance, while Slayer lacks in visuals but carries a fearsome punch [...]