Music

Jason Newsted knows metal. He’s lived and breathed it his whole life. He was Metallica’s bass player from 1986 until 2001 (so, basically back when they were good) and played on albums like …And Justice for All, their self-titled album (the best-selling Metallica release to date), Load and a few…

Foals continue their evolution with latest release Holy Fire With the release of their third full-length album Holy Fire, Oxford, England-based rock quintet Foals have shown immense growth as a band, proving they have more diversity in their sound than most critics and reviewers thought possible. Much more ballsy and…

In case you missed it over the weekend, the folks behind Launch revealed the lineup for their music festival, which has expanded to two days this year, on Saturday, Sept. 7 and Sunday, Sept. 8 at Cesar Chavez Plaza. Headlining will be mash-up and digital sampling hero Girl Talk, who…

The Mondavi Center at UC Davis is the only venue in Northern California where the Joshua Light Show will perform with visually stunning effects perfectly synchronized to the music of ’90s jazz trio Medeski Martin and Wood. Director Joshua White is known for creating what he deems as “liquid light”…

Recently I was chatting with Nick Reinhart of Tera Melos when he suggested I check out a new band with some regional ties called E V Kain. Featuring past members of Hella, Cigar and Broken Bells, E V Kain is an experimental pop-rock trio made up of Jon Sortland (drums/vocals),…

Black Mackerel’s brand of metal is a musical punch to the gut Music has gotten progressively safer since the ‘90s—even metal. Nifty programs like ProTools have smoothed out a lot of the mistakes that used to make records sound more human, and the heavy use of effects have made guitars…

Local singer/songwriter Justin Farren talks about his music and latest album, and why touring pushes his boundaries, in the best way Introversion arguably produces the best artists. Those who can spend hours holed up in isolation working on a project often emerge with a gem. Land them at a party…

As of last week Sophia’s Thai Kitchen in Davis is back at it again, hosting intimate live shows on their sweet little front porch. In the past I’ve seen some really amazing regional and touring indie and folk acts play on the tiny deck, out in the open air, under…

15 Years, 11 Tracks, 11 Vocalists, 2 Bandmates: Tel Cairo Words by Joe Atkins For the last 15 years Cameron Others and 7evin have been working on their material, laying out beats, loops, archaic recordings of bedroom beatbox compilations and reworking that material into new orchestrations. In the last two…

A new monthly dubstep/glitch/bass night called Heads on High is launching on Friday, April 5 at Shenanigans (705 J Street). This 21-and-over dance club will be held the first Friday of every month inside the venue’s downstairs space, a dark and grimy spot, just perfect for getting weird on the…