What the buzz? Beekeepers are bringing the noise to the Bay Area's 'dying' music scene.

Recording is expensive and so is booking a tour and renting out a rehearsal space. Add that on top of housing prices that are already hard enough for college students and musicians to deal with, and it''s no wonder artists are leaving the Bay Area.

There is at least one band that is embracing this change and even welcoming it with open arms.

Oakland's Beekeepers.

Beekeepers playing live. Photo from Facebook. 

"Everyone wants to be weird," said singer and guitarist Kyle Day, adding that with garage rock scene of the early 2000s that the city is starting to see disappear everyone was trying to be accessible.

Beekeeper's suits, setting up off stage and lo-fi microphones made out of Star Wars masks is just weird enough to make a name for themselves.

Setting up house shows, recording demos themselves and putting on not only tours up the West Coast but across Europe as well, all DIY, is getting their name out as well.

The band is made up of Day, a San Francisco State audio engineering major who recently moved to Oakland and spent last winter converting his back house into a recording studio, Daniel Kendrick (drums), Marius Atherton and Alex Rather-Taylor (both on synth).

Beekeepers cassette "DEMOS". Art by Kyle Day

Beekeepers recorded and released their first cassette themselves, bringing a sound similar to that of Coachwhips (one of  Bay Area garage rock pioneer, John Dwyer's first bands), Pink and Brown and Lightening Bolt.  A mix of lo-fi, noise and surf rock doused in plenty of fun.

The band is getting set to play the Night Light in Oakland on May 28., their last Bay Area show until they return from their European Tour, which lasts from June 21 until July 26.

Their demo can be found on their bandcamp page, for digital download or self-pressed and designed cassettes.

Review: WAG-Tin Crown

* Originally published in Publik/Private.

Remember the multiple phases of excitement you went through during a long and highly anticipated road trip?

First, there is the initial excitement that kicks in when the car door closes, the engine gets started and the radio is turned up as you creep onto the open road. Then, after some time, there is that frustration felt when heavy traffic is hit on the freeway, and that moment of complete relaxation when you hit the long stretch of an open two lane road as you glide between the coast on one side and flat fields on the other.

WAG's newest single, "Tin Crown".
Photo from bandcamp.com

And you experience a sigh of relief when the destination is finally reached.

There is a good song to sing along to while it floats and oozes out of your speakers like San Francisco’s fog over the hills in the morning time.

"Tin Crown" is that song. The Pavement-esque riffs and vocals that range from melodically lethargic to a frustrated growl that is reminiscent of an escape from angst that only a multiple-hour drive could evoke within you.

WAG takes a step away from the garage rock sound that has been such a heavy influence on many Bay Area bands in recent years. While many scream the scene here is dying, the band is here to tell you that it isn’t, and songs like "Tin Crown" are the reason why the scene is very much alive and healthy.

"Tin Crown" is a track that could easily be playing in the background when you’re curled up just enjoying the company of somebody close. But at times it feels perfect for moments of romantic frustration due to the lack of a lover’s phone call. The last line goes “writing on the wall is just too much to handle, but I’m handling fine,” though it’s hard to believe that’s completely true.

The chorus transitions easily between the verses, however, the highlight of the song comes during the breakdown. The tempo drops, and two fuzzed out guitars mirror each others melodies for a few measures before the original pace comes back, and the song comes to an end.

So take a listen, relax and get lost, but don’t stray too far. You’ll want to make it home in time for the release of their full length debut, "No Worries".

The LP is to be dropped May 31. It’s a self release, with records pressed by L.A.’s DRecords.

Chew on this: SF Gate article on the changing music scene

I came across this article the other day on SFGate.com talking about how the Bay Area music scene is evolving in response to the tech boom.

Brick and Mortar Music Hall. Photo from Yelp.

I think a good but obvious point were brought up when the housing crisis was cited as a main cause for musicians leaving the city. While it is true that

I also found it interesting and rather frustrating when the article mentioned how young tech workers were eager to spend their money on music and at clubs. It sounds like the article was focusing more on shows and venues that book national acts that are already "successful" in the business instead of local acts or up and coming talent.

Maybe its just me, but I would rather have the city's "techie" residents spend $5 at a small club with a local lineup than $30 at large venue for a bigger act.

Give it a read and share your thoughts!

DIY is not just for music and arts: its for journalism too.

A few weeks ago Ryan Singel came to my City College of San Francisco online reporting class to talk about the current state of the journalism industry, and the effect blogs have had on it.

Ryan Singel. Photo from Contextly

The former City College journalism student and co-founder of Threat Level, a privacy and online security blog said that blogs are "the world's easiest publishing system."

That quote stuck with me got me thinking.

The focus of my blog is to highlight the vibrant music scene in the Bay Area which, despite what some people are saying, is still very much alive and active. There are plenty of bands working hard and carrying a do it yourself, or DIY attitude.

As a journalism major as well as avid Bay Area music fan and supporter, I think this DIY mentality applies to both areas.

Creating a community of independent journalist and bloggers will help strengthen the industry, just like it does with musicians and artists.

"Bloggers should be lifting each other up," said Singel. "You're more similar to other writers more than anything."

Applying a DIY mentality and making your presence known by making phone calls, collecting sources and writing stories is a great way for fresh reporters to start.

1-2-3-4 Go! Records announces Record Store Day plans.

Photo Via

Oakland's 1-2-3-4 Go! Records announced its plans for Record Store Day 2014.

The announcement is the first of many in the weeks leading up to the event, which is April 19, according to an email sent out by the shop.

Highlighting the shop's announcement is a record signing by James Williamson who played guitar for The Stooges in the early 70s.

Also on the agenda is live music starting at 3 p.m., the lineup will be announced soon, with surprise acts being announced the day of.

The store hours that day are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., coffee and donuts provided by SubRosa Coffee and Peppels Donuts will be available at 7 a.m. for the early birds.

Food trucks are still waiting on confirmation, however. As of now, Hella Vegan Eats will be providing food for guests of the event.

1-2-3-4 Go! is expecting a busy and crowded event this year, so be sure to plan to check it out early.

More announcements are on the way.

To be young; An interview with SKATERS

If angst was meant to be expressed during the teenage years, nobody told SKATERS' Michael Ian Cummings.

Hubbard, Cummings, Burks and Rubin.
Photo by Skyler Warren

The New York band's debut album, "Manhattan", is a New York album in sound, style and attitude. It's heavy with reminders of the city's music scene pioneers, from The Velvet Underground, to The Ramones and The Strokes. At times, the 11 tracks feel like a tour through the city that never sleeps led by Holden Caulfield.

"The common thread was New York," said Cummings on how the album took shape. "The things you discover, people you met and the things you experience."

However, Cummings added that it isn't quite a tribute to the city. The album does seem to chronicle what it's like living there, expressing both the positive and negative aspects of life in The Big Apple.

Stand out track, "To Be Young in NYC," begins with a snippet of audio, in which two women are having a conversation about their search for housing. They sound young, well off and care free. Their only complaint in the audio is that they cant decide which condo to move into. The last line of the track sums it up when Cummings sings; "You can't be who you want to become, when you're rich and young." This is one of many small audio bytes that guitarist Josh Hubbard collected on a handheld tape recorder that add to the overall theme of the album; life in New York.

"It's a real romantic city. You fall in love with it or you don't, and we definitely have love for New York," said Cummings.

SKATERS, made up of Hubbard along with Cummings on vocals, Noah Rubin on drums and Dan Burke on bass, first came to be in 2012 following the end of two bands on different coasts.

Rubin and Cummings, formerly of The Dead Trees, were living in Los Angeles while Hubbard was staying in New York following the end of his band, The Paddingtons (from the UK). The only connection that Rubin and Cummings had with Hubbard were a few mutual friends and Cummings' sister in New York.

All three had been fans of each others' previous bands, and Rubin and Hubbard had talked, but never formally met.

Just as Hubbard's stay in New York was coming to an end, he decided to take a trip out west and meet with Rubin and Cummings. With all of them eager to start a new project, they wasted no time during their first meeting.

SKATERS performing live at Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco, on March 20.
Photo by Skyler Warren

"Me and Josh and Noah were sitting at a table going 'All right man, let's jam tomorrow and see if this works out,' and Josh was not having it," said Cummings.

A last minute, cross-country plane ticket might make just "jamming" seem like a waste of time.

"I had just traveled 3,000 miles to start a band. I don't want to fucking jam," said Hubbard. "I believe in what I do, and I believed in Mike as a songwriter."

After that meeting, the band packed up and moved to New York, permanently, calling in Burke from Boston to have him join the fun and help them finish mixing the few songs they had started for an EP.

If Nike were to sponsor a band, SKATERS should be first on their list. The brand's "Just Do It" tagline fits the band's mentality perfectly.

"There's that thing when you talk about doing something with people, and it's just talk," said Cummings. "With this band, it was always 'lets talk about doing something,' and then call the guy and see if he can do it."

"We'd talk about it for a second and then put it into action," Hubbard added, saying that the band was always looking to move forward with their plan.

As it turns out, all their hard work and looking forward mentality paid off. Not long after their first meeting, the band finished mixing a five song EP, "Schemers", in L.A. and released it for free on their website.

After a handful of shows, mostly around New York and some small UK tours, Warner Bros. Records picked up the band and released their debut LP "Manhattan" earlier this year.

The name SKATERS, as well as the band's taglines, "No Problem" and "Doin' it", which they print on everything from t-shirts, to lighters and hats, is meant to encompass a youth culture that has no fear of moving forward. An ideal that the band has embraced from its beginning.

Even after signing a deal to a major label, the band has been able to stick to that youth culture image. Earlier this year, the band chronicled a pizza crawl across New York, and have a series on their YouTube channel called "Getting To Know You", which follows the band as they do seemingly mundane tasks from finding parking to playing pick up games of basketball, in New York City.

SKATERS is currently on their first headline tour of the U.S., which ends on Apr. 11. in Lansing, MI before they play The Governors Ball Music Festival in New York on June 6.

Record Store Day releases announced.

The full list of releases for Record Store Day 2014 have been announced on the event's website today.

Photo Via recordstoreday.com

Record Store Day 2014 takes place on April 19. The event, now in its seventh year, was conceived by a group of independent record store owners to promote and celebrate the culture surrounding vinyl records, and independent record stores, according to the website.

There are now over 1000 independent record stores in the U.S. participating in the event, which sees many bands release singles or 45s made for the event, live albums or re-releases of classic albums.

Most of these releases are on vinyl, exclusively.

In addition to the special releases, there are also events and in store performances at some of the participating stores.

Oakland's 1-2-3-4 Go! Records has, in the past, celebrated Record Store Day with extended store hours, deals on their collection of new and used vinyl, as well as providing food trucks and games for those in attendance.

Keep up with their website or facebook page for more information on this year's event.

Not sure what local record stores are participating? Not to worry, recordstoreday.com keeps track of all the stores officially participating in the event.


Record Store Day 2014 is less than one month away, so be sure to check out the website and get ready to support some local music shops!