Slack Key Ohana didn’t intend to release a live album. But the mahalo groove (aka the Hawaiian spirit of gratefulness for everything) held sway in the end. The slack key guitar band’s new full-length Live ...
January 19, 2023
Andrew Hamlin likes to photograph shoes and write about dog shit. He was born and raised in Seattle, Washington, where he resides today. He attended the Evergreen State College, where he wrote and edited arts coverage for the Cooper Point Journal. He is the film critic for the Northwest Asian Weekly, and he’s published arts coverage and criticism in the San Diego Reader, Village Voice, Seattle Times, Seattle Weekly, Goldmine, and other publications. He misses Helen Wiggin. Hamlin’s website is andrewhamlin.org.
Articles by Andrew Hamlin
Son of Sha Na Na meets grandson of Jedi Master
A fairytale sci-fi concept EP full of Nefarious Creatures
Nefarious Creatures — a band of four San Diego-bred horror-lovin’ fiends — had the will, the music, and the over-arching deep concept for their debut EP Fables For the Wicked. What they didn’t quite have ...
December 8, 2022
The Amalgamated: ska, stability, sobriety
Some bands can count their lineup shifts on one finger, like ZZ Top or R.E.M. (one each). Then there’s San Diego skamaniacs The Amalgamated. “About ten years ago,” explains guitarist/singer Reggie Costa, “I made a ...
December 1, 2022
How Ryan Hughes and Crucial Blend forged a well-rounded So-Cal sound
Musicians worry about money. They worry about gear. They worry about the van. They don’t usually worry about the horn player falling over a cliff. But to hear it from Ryan Hughes of Crucial Blend, ...
October 20, 2022
Dr BLT: found busking at Steph’s Donut Hole and in Cake’s “Short Skirt/Long Jacket” video
You might never expect a Ph.D, in anything to discover a passion for outdoor sidewalk busking. But for Dr. Bruce L. Thiessen — Dr BLT to the music world — it’s all part of the ...
October 6, 2022
Dante Loaiza’s Maracuya: one of the largest working bands in show business
Dante Loaiza, late of Agua Dulce and currently of Maracuya, knows both sides of the border, and he allows that weirdness can break out on either side. “In Tijuana, we had one [gig] where some ...
September 15, 2022
Slum Summer’s rhythmic butt massage soundtrack
Guitarist/singer/songwriter Hugh Noble came to San Diego from the UK in 2014. Over the past eight years of gigging with his band Slum Summer (new album Living in Milk out now), he’s delineated the highs, ...
September 8, 2022
Slack Key ‘Ohana follows the pattern
Performing Hawaiian slack key guitar music takes dedication, focus, respect, and of course, only the best Hawaiian shirt patterns. “I really like our white-and-red rayon and beach-green shirts with outrigger canoes,” enthuses Kamaka Mullen, co-founder ...
August 25, 2022
Z-Matrix sees the future in singles
For each successive rockin’ out generation, the search for a band name grows tougher, as scourers claim all the common nouns. Hometown fellows Z Matrix were no exception. “It’s very difficult to come up with ...
August 11, 2022