Music

Hustle and Thrash In the mid- to late ‘80s, D.R.I.’s Crossover album comes out, Slayer’s Reign in Blood was annihilating everyone and the “Night Stalker” Richard Ramirez was finally behind bars. All over California, skateboarding and thrash metal were influencing young punks like Jeff Salgado and his friends, who would…

His Life’s Work There is little escape from the sun at 3rd and Adeline in Oakland. The industrial district is flooded with bodies sweating through T-shirts and bucket hats designed with variations of the three-eyed smiley face symbol of local rap legends Hieroglyphics. The crew is celebrating its fourth annual…

Art School TBD Fest 2015 will pop up in the Bridge District from Friday, Sept. 18 through Sunday, Sept. 20, 2015. The festival’s impressive three-day music lineup will be paired with local food, beer and wine vendors, handmade good vendors, amusement park rides and a number of noteworthy art exhibits…

All Shook Up Portland-based band Shook Twins has dubbed their sound “quirky folk.” The adjective, in this case, does its job. As a genre, the word “folk” connotes something simple, straightforward and steeped in tradition. “Quirky” modifies that descriptor by sprinkling some uniqueness atop that tradition without bastardizing it in…

If you appreciate jazz and all it’s complexities, or you have an adventurous ear, you’ll want to check out tenor saxophonist Kamasi Washington’s upcoming performance at Harlow’s. Washington’s latest album, The Epic, came out on the fiercely independent (and mostly electronic) Brainfeeder record label and has already been making waves…

Practically every major magazine has been gushing about San Diego’s death-grind gods, Cattle Decapitation. Recently the band released The Anthropocene Extinction and fans are proclaiming it is the new standard for like-minded bands of the genre. And while the band’s tour schedule is completely bonkers this year in support of…

At long last, the official schedule for this weekend’s TBD Fest is here! Start planning out your days, be sure to get plenty of rest and drink a lot of water, because it’s time to fest our hearts out. The schedule is also printed in the center spread of our…

The Sacramento Kung Fu Guitarist / Throat Singer Takes on the World Adrian Bellue is something of a musical warrior and well-focused global nomad. Born out of the belly of Sacramento, he’s now traveling the continent (and imminently overseas) bringing his unique brand of instrumental guitar playing and Tuvan throat…

We all know TBD Fest is going to be a helluva party. That’s a given. Three days of some of the world’s best cutting edge bands, DJs and performers right in our own backyard from Sept. 18 to 20. At the end of each night after the encore is done,…

Yukon Soul Out of all the old soul records that I used to dig deep into crates for back in my early college years, Canadian soul singer Melody Stewart had one that I’ve always kept in mind. It’s the second B-side track on her 1980 album Action Satisfaction, a song…