"Well, I was getting frustrated, but finally my new album is displayed on my website," says Henkel. "Yes, fame and fortune are right around the corner …and …we're all going together! Bring on the Ferraris, the swimming pools, and all the other good stuff we're supposed to get. On this release most of the tracks are bass and drum groove style—techno with a sprinkle of jazz harmony." An exception is the single for his song "Oh How I Cried." "This one is played by real humans, imagine that. No samples, no loops, none of this 'virtual' BS. Can you believe we live in a world where the word 'virtual' actually means it’s NOT real?" Recorded by Nathan James at Sacred Cat Studio, guest players include Dave Castel de Oro (clarinet), Big Roy Brown (trombone), Troy Jennings (baritone saxophone), Jamie Shadowlight (violin), Kevin Koch (drums), and Caleb Furgatch (bass).
Her new album
A Shade of Jade debuts with a release party at Sycuan on July 22. “There is so much new music to share at this release event," says Jade. "This is the first time I wrote all lyrics on an album from start to finish. I tested my musical range and poured my authentic voice into this album. It’s about love, loss, hope and resilience. I want everyone at the release event to leave feeling encouraged and hopeful.”
Musical siblings Sara and Sean Watkins will celebrate 20 years of the Watkins Family Hour, which began with periodic performances at L.A.’s Largo nightclub, with their third studio album,
Vol. II. Due August 19 and preceded so far by a single for “Hypnotized,” the 11-track album features longtime friends of the show such as Fiona Apple, Jon Brion, Jackson Browne, Madison Cunningham, Lucius, Gaby Moreno, Benmont Tench, and Willie Watson. Watkins Family Hour will appear at the High Sierra Music Festival in Quincy, California, over the weekend of June 30-July 3.
"We have a new video for a song called 'Wasting My Time,' from our upcoming album," says Taylor.
Solo Groove Kitty Garrison Bailey is releasing her first album in seven years.
Secret Superwoman.
"Happy to say I'll be returning to Hawaii and Guam for the first time in over ten years," says Pinto of the tour dates currently booking him on the road through most of November. A portion of the tour will be spent supporting Tropidelic, while other dates will find him opening for KBong and Johnny Cosmic.
The garage soul trio's upcoming album,
Hoof It, was recorded by Dean Reis (Plosivs, Rocket From The Crypt) at Singing Serpent studio and mixed by Steve Kaye at Sun King Studios. Due September 2 via Pig Baby Records, it's so far preceded by a single for "Desert Girl." The album support tour will wrap up at the Casbah on September 23.
With a new drummer in the lineup, a single just dropped for their track "Ordinary Names."
The group made their debut in 2001 with the somewhat misleadingly titled
B-Sides, Rarities and Out-Takes record, following up in 2002 with their
Road to Nowhere Maps EP before disbanding. They ended a 15-year hiatus in 2018 by playing anniversary shows for 91X and The Casbah. All the original members have reunited to record
The Way You Shatter EP, which will be released in a clear vinyl 12-inch edition.
The band has a new video for their track "Way of Life" featuring fellow locals Slightly Stoopid.
Although the band recently announced that they had to cancel the PNW leg of our July tour, they have a new single out this month called “Vigilante.” "We have more new shows being added and announced shortly," says the band. "More to come on the good and the bad, so please bear with us."
Chip Kinman followed his stint in 1970s punk heroes the Dils with groundbreaking 80s Americana band Rank & File, techno innovators Blackbird, Western crossover duo Cowboy Nation, and blues punkers FDMDXFD. His new solo record
The Great Confrontation, released via the In The Red label, marks his first completely electronic music project. The album, which Kinman calls "electronic Americana," will be available in a limited color vinyl edition.
"I'm really looking forward to being back at The Music Box," says the singer-songwriter of his Eclectic Taste show, coming to Little Italy on July 14. "Having San Diego roots, I always love coming back to perform and share what's new that I've been working on." The performance will feature Gilbert Castellanos on trumpet, Joshua White on piano, Justin Grinnell on bass and Julien Cantelm on drums. "Sections for the evening will include re-imagined jazz standards, soulful folk songs, and rhythms & blues," says Karrant, who doesn't cover songs; he uncovers them, always bringing something unique to the arrangement. "Our set will be eclectic, recreating some classic jazz standards and moving onto some songs not usually found in the jazz genre."
A new album called
Will and The Witch on the M-Theory Audio label is being promoted with videos for "I'll Make Ya Famous" and "Babylon Scarlett's Saloon." The concept record tells a fictional story of how Billy The Kid became the fastest gunfighter in the wild west. Guests include Tim “Ripper” Owens (ex-Judas Priest) on "Independence Night," as well as Vladamir Reshetnikov (Arkona), Freddie Vidales (Ashes Of Ares), Lethien (Elvenking), Kevin Storm (Kalmah, Shining), Bjorn Friedrichsen, Mikey Muller, and Whistlin' Rick Story. They'll play Brick By Brick June 24 and Ramona Mainstage on July 9.
A debut EP called
Armoire CS just dropped via Egg Records. "One of the biggest influences on this project is the vibe I have from growing up and living in San Diego: 80s synthesizers and drum machines, swap meets and flea markets, local record shops, thrift stores, Balboa Park, you get the picture."
Having just completed a Latin America tour with The Driver Era, the video for their new Hollywood Records single "sun keeps on shining" was filmed in Australia during the band's first tour of that country. A previous single for "sunburn" has earned around three million streams and was featured on Spotify playlists such as Young & Free, Weekends + Friends, Soda, Indie Arrivals, Indie Highlights, and Lemonade Playlists, which included them on the cover. They've been announced among the artists to perform at downtown's Wonderfront Music & Arts Festival, happening November 18-20.
Their new single "Board Game" comes from their debut full-length
Remember What I Look Like, out this month on the Kill Rock Stars label. Songwriter Tuesday Denekas calls the track "probably the most desperate song on the album. At this time in my life, I felt very manipulated, like I wasn’t being myself anymore and that the people I surrounded myself with didn’t really care about me at all. I felt like I was just a piece of someone else's puzzle, not my own. Instrumentally and structurally I took a lot of inspiration from the song 'Your Best American Girl' by Mitski because of how powerful the instruments sounded. The final line, 'I don’t know why but I can’t recognize you anymore' feels like the perfect way to end this album and ties with the album name, Remember What I Look Like."
"I'm now a regular member of The California Guitar Trio and have been since last July," says the renowned Chapman Stick player. "We have a new live album out I just got CDs of and have our first San Diego area show coming up July 16 at the Ritz Grand in Escondido. The group as I think you may know has been around since 1991. I've been friends with them since 2001, toured as their opener, did projects with Bert, recorded an album, etc.. but last they called me to fill in for Hideyo Moriya right before they were scheduled to tour as King Crimsons opener. I had two weeks notice, then was off and running playing amphitheaters, famous venues like the Greek, Ryman and Fox Atlanta, even a small sports arena. I'm now a full time member and we've been all over the US, Portugal, B.C.. everywhere but San Diego."
A guitar once busted up unexpectedly onstage while covering Unbroken's “Absentee Debate” in tribute to their late bandmate Eric Allen is being auctioned. As Justin Pearson explains, "Rob Moran, who was playing Sal Gallegos’ backup loaner guitar, went deep that night in Leeds [UK], as we all expected him to. It was again one of those moments where a person is not fully conscious of reality...it wasn’t until I had laid my bass down and started to gather my senses, as feedback consumed the room, that I realized Rob was nowhere near the stage. All that was left was a destroyed guitar and the sounds that it provided to those that were there to share that moment with us." Proceeds from the guitar auction will benefit the family of Gabe Serbian, who passed away in April. "He was cut from the same cloth that we were. He held that rare energy that Eric Allen had."
