Soda Bar booker Cory Stier put it best when he described his job as akin to running around like headless poultry. Look for the following five decapitated chickens to continue to run their butts off …

Before Protomartyr was a band, Joe Casey would build up a little whiskey courage and sing a couple songs with one his favorite local Detroit acts, Butt Babies. The younger musicians had befriended Casey and …

Even though Jon Snodgrass and Chad Price both grew up in Missouri, it was Colorado that eventually brought the two together. In the mid-’90s, Price’s band, ALL, relocated to Fort Collins — where Snodgrass happened …

The Supersuckers have drifted back into country mode on their new album, Holdin’ the Bag. It’s the first time the band has released a country collection since 1997’s Must’ve Been High. “We were on tour …

Car Seat Headrest is drawing comparisons to underground band Guided By Voices for the stage-via-bedroom (in GBV’s case it’s a basement, actually) nature of their music. Guitarist, singer, and band mastermind Will Toledo has been …

’Tis the season for giving and receiving. No matter what your holiday is — Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Festivus — gifts are bound to be exchanged, though levels of merriment may vary. Often gifts will be …

David Lowery’s dueling musical outfits, Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker, are in town to play their annual year-end concert at Belly Up on Sunday. The decade-long tradition, however, features a twist this year. Lowery tells …

One of the unique gems of the North Park music scene has gone dark. The stage in the back room of Seven Grand is no more. “I felt our music program was amazing, but we …

The Office’s undercover series attacked the Clash on the chilly last night of November. The hologram of Joe Strummer was unavailable this evening, so a variety of local singers took on the role of the …

X guitarist Billy Zoom was diagnosed with bladder cancer this past July. The band performed summer shows with Texan Jesse Dayton (who’s played guitar for Willie Nelson, among others) sitting in while Zoom commenced treatment …

Last month, a San Diego traveling circus invaded Spain and Italy to perform a run of shows. The three-act tour, which featured the Little Richards, Schizophonics, and Diana Death y Sus Novios, benefitted from the …

In 1990, Hoboken natives Yo La Tengo released Fakebook — an album composed of cover songs, reworked tunes, and a handful of original compositions. 25 years later, the band is revisiting that template with Stuff …

Josh Becker (aka Chango Chango) from the group Botanica Chango sums up his band’s sound as being “voodoo pop.” What is voodoo pop? Well, let’s examine “BB and the Beat,” currently available on the band’s …

My Morning Jacket’s Jim James looked like a space-age gunslinger on this evening at SDSU’s Open Air Theatre. He sported a black leather trench coat throughout the show. It was outlaw badass and the perfect …

Going Medieval in North Park.

Steve Turner met Mark Arm in the fall of 1982. They were introduced by a mutual friend (Alex Shumway) at a concert. According to Turner, Shumway said, “Stevie, this is Mark. He’s straight-edge too,” which …

In late 2013, My Morning Jacket set up camp north of San Francisco in Marin County to begin recording the collection of songs that became The Waterfall. The band selected a new studio called Panoramic …

The Titus Andronicus van rolled into town on the same night as the Foo Fighters traveling circus. Whereas Dave Grohl and Co. most likely played to a sold-out Sleepy Train Amphitheatre, Patrick Stickles and his …

There's nothing wrong with taking the long way home.

"Tell the world my story. Nobody believes me. They think I’m bullshitting them.” The story Titus Andronicus mastermind Patrick Stickles is referring to is a complicated one. Much of it is peeled away within the …

When you think of family bands, groups such as the Osmonds, the Bee Gees, and the Jackson 5 come to mind. A young quartet from Los Angeles has emerged on the sibling band scene, though, …

A rainy night in North Park failed to keep the punk-rock masses away from the Observatory for Wavves’ San Diego tour stop. After a rollicking set by Chicago rockers Twin Peaks, Nathan Williams unleashed his …

The seas may have been calm for Wavves in 2014, but the San Diego band is about to hit the West Coast like El Niño from hell, with a new album, V, hitting the shelves …

Mr. Tube and the Flying Objects is back in action supporting their first new record since 2006’s Listen Up. The local 11-piece continues their tradition of “Mexican funk music” on their new disc, No Wrongs, …

“[Anza] is a tiny town at the top of the mountain in between Temecula and Palm Springs,” says Christy Barrett. “There’s a Dairy Queen when you pass through, there’s a Mobil, there’s a Circle K, …

The Observatory in North Park continued its winning streak of knockout concerts by playing host to Australia’s Tame Impala on a sweltering August night. It was yet another sellout show for the venue, and the …

As previously reported by the Reader, the mezzanine in the Hillcrest location of Thrift Trader collapsed early in the morning (around 4 a.m.) on June 22. The collapse was due to the weight of vinyl …

A couple of years after forming in 2002, the Aggrolites put the pedal to the metal. They commenced a grueling concert schedule that would take up nearly a decade of their lives. “We were constantly …

Anthony Ferraro deserves a mighty high-five for coming up with a band name so perfectly representative of the music he creates. His five-piece band, Astronauts, etc, specializes in the mellow, spaced-out pop that AIR has …

A couple of years ago, Birdy Bardot went on a cross-country road trip but eventually found her way back to Ocean Beach. Upon her return, she began trekking down to Cow Records on Newport Avenue, …

Around 4 a.m. on Monday, June 22, a mezzanine in the Hillcrest location of Thrift Trader (1644 University Avenue) collapsed — apparently due to excessive weight from old, boxed vinyl records. Merchandise and debris from …

After playing together for a year, indie-rock act Surfer Blood released their debut, Astro Coast, in early 2010. More touring and festival appearances followed before the band signed to Warner Bros. and released the follow-up, …

Dude, you are old. One of the first underground hits born of the internet is celebrating its tenth anniversary. Slap those palms together in honor of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah’s debut album tour! So, …

On the first date of a two-night stand at the Observatory North Park, Spoon delivered their trademark indie art-rock, complemented by a spellbinding light show that was one of the coolest this reporter’s seen at …

Back when Matt Sharp was playing bass in Weezer, he got bit by the creative bug and decided to do an album of his own songs. Soon enough, the new venture needed a name. After …

It takes a village.

Casual fans of the Thermals may be surprised to learn that the duo at the core of the punk-leaning trio, Hutch Harris and Kathy Foster, recorded an acoustic folk album about a year before the …

Solana Beach got a treat with two full sets and a double-dose of encores from popular alt-rockers They Might Be Giants. The band had no problem filling the extended time by taking a heaping helping …

In 1992, New York–based alt-metal band Helmet released its major-label debut, Meantime, which featured the single “Unsung.” The song’s video was in heavy rotation on MTV. The following year, Helmet released Betty, an album that …

In 2008, the Athens, Georgia–based alt-country act Drive-By Truckers took a different musical trip. They toured with acoustic guitars, sat down for the performances, and road-tested material that would end up on 2008’s Brighter Than …

Here’s a phrase that’s probably never been uttered by man: “the banjo player with mystique.” That’s Noam Pikelny in a nutshell. Decked out in a white suit, Pikelny’s deep voice and deadpan banter served as …

To say Chris Thile is interested in music would be akin to saying that boxing is reliant on punching. The guy is obsessed. He was born in Oceanside in 1981, and he told the Reader …

Swervedriver arrived in San Diego for the first date of a tour in support of their new album, I Wasn't Born To Lose You. Absent when they hit the stage was long-time bassist Steve George, …

Last year was a bloodbath for local music venues. So before we start our rundown of venues rocking 2015, we would like to pay homage to our fallen comrades of 2014, the clubs that won’t …

Anyone who has flipped through the music section of the Reader has seen the names of countless local acts listed under the banners of countless venues. In fact, there are so many bands in this …

The 1990s shoegaze band Swervedriver may have reformed in 2008, but it took them seven years to pull together a record. “I think it was Jimmy [Hartridge, guitarist] and Steve [George, bass player] that initially …

Fans of rock via the garage were treated to a night of the genre done right with this triple-header at Casbah. First up was one of the local bands of the moment, Shady Francos. The …

New year, new resolutions. Whereas “normal humans” resolve to accomplish goals such as losing weight, swearing less, and cutting back on alcohol, musicians come from a different mindset. They’re “cut from a different cloth,” as …

Wages are stagnant, album sales miserable, and download revenues a joke. In this harsh, wintry economic climate, musicians are more dependent than ever on Santa Claus to deliver the goods. Circa 2014, it seems as …

Looking for an off-the-wall gift for your white-elephant holiday party? Get to Lou’s Records in Encinitas and pick up one of their random mystery boxes. Each box costs $5 and contains around 30 compact discs. …