FREE Golden Hill Street Fair Lineup Announced

San Diego is a constantly evolving city and every year that I continue this site, it is great that more and more neighborhood associations and arts associations are teaming up to bring great events to the communities where we live.

You can read the full lowdown about the Golden Hill Street Fair over at Sezio, but here's the basics:

What: Golden Hill Street Fair
When: Sunday, July 22. 11am-6pm. 
Where: 25th St, Between B & C
Cost: FREE!

In typical street fair fashion, there will be food from local eateries, a Stone beer garden, art activies including live screen printing, and of course, live music: 

5pm - The Donkeys
4pm - Cuckoo Chaos
3pm - The Tree Ring
2pm - Little Deadman
1pm - Jeans Wilder
12pm - Family Wagon

SXSW Experience: Cuckoo Chaos

Last week, I posted a link to Jackson Milgaten's blog recap of his SXSW experience, but he also took some road time to answer my little recap questions. It is unfortunate that I didn't bump into these guys the entire time I was in Texas, but they were certainly busy and quite the buzzed about band, not just at SXSW but among bloggers in general who are catching on to the sounds that we've watched grow and morph throughout their musical careers here in San Diego. Check out a few videos from their set at the Virgin Mobile house at the end of the post. Jackson also wanted me to share this link from BreakThruRadio, featuring a podcast highlighting music from San Diego.  

How long were you in Austin (from when to when)? Did you drive or fly? Any travel stories you'd like to share?
We (Cuckoo Chaos) got into Austin on Tuesday night and left Sunday afternoon. We drove out there and played a few shows on the way down with our friends Treasure Mammal who are from Phoenix. The shows were a lot of fun and served as a great warm up for south by.

Did you play? If so, when and where? How were your crowds? The venues?
We had 12 shows scheduled that completely ran the gamut ranging from an official showcase, to corporate parties, house shows, BBQs, and small clubs. Most of them were great and a couple were kind of weird (we played at the 508 house to the sound and video crew while there was a line of people that wrapped around the venue who weren't being allowed entrance for some unknown reason), but overall we had a blast. 4 of the shows were cancelled and we ended up picking one making for a grand total of 9.

Any memorable or standout moments from your own shows?
My favorite was probably the last one we played which was at a house a few blocks north of downtown. We stole a bottle of vodka from an earlier show we played that day and passed it around the party during our set. Scott stood in the middle of the audience facing the rest of the band. We really let loose at that one.

Did you catch any parties or showcases of note?
We saw/played with some great acts. Of note were Deerhoof (San Francisco),Zulu Winter (London), Thee Oh Sees (San Francisco), Kindness (London), and 100 Flowers (Austin). There were a lot more we wanted to see but we were so busy it just didn't work out.

Will you go back as a band or fan in 2013?
I'm sure we will go back again next year if our schedule permits. It's so much fun to be in the madness of it all and to be able to see our friends from all over the globe. I would highly recommend it to any lover of live music.

SXSW Experience: Cults

There were so many San Diego bands in Austin this year that it was impossible to see everyone while we were there, so I asked some locals to share their SXSW experiences. This is from Cory Stier who is playing with Cults. The band has a sold out show tonight at the Belly Up. Cuckoo Chaos posted a recap of their own here. If you went to Texas and didn't hear from me, feel free to answer the questions and shoot'em over to me for posting. 

How long were you in Austin?

Mar 12-16

Did you drive or fly? Any travel stories you'd like to share?

Traveled by tour bus. We were in Houston the night before Austin playing a show with of Montreal & it got a lil wild. Cannot remember the drive at all.

Did you play? If so, when and where?
Mar 12 @ Speakeasy (Say Media showcase)
Mar 14 @ Red 7 (Carson Daly filming showcase)
Mar 15 @ Google Interactive party
Mar 15 @ Mess With Texas
Mar 16 @ The ND 501 (Windish Agency showcase)

How were your crowds? The venues?
All the shows were pretty great (minus the Google Interactive party, weird vibe, played on top of a parking garage structure).

Any memorable or standout moments from your own shows?
My feet will never forgive me for the amount of walking I did. I know that's not really memorable or standout, but seriously, I'll never forget how my dogs were barking each day.

Did you catch any parties or showcases of note?
Not nearly as many of I would have hoped to. I caught a Panache Booking party on Tuesday that was fun. Also saw The War On Drugs on Thursday night. GREAT band.

Will you go back as a band or fan in 2012?
Hopefully a fan...but I wouldn't be surprised if I had to go back to play. Ugh!

Any wrapup thoughts, lessons learned, crazy moments, cool tales to share?
I don't know what to & what not to share...I just had a great time with all my buddies out there. There were a surprisingly large amount of SD folks too (which was nice). I hope NPMT can take some pointers from SXSW about how to properly organize a music festival of that nature.

Win A Signed Guitar From Nada Surf!

I have to admit, I was pretty late to the Nada Surf party. I never particularly cared for the song "Popular" and didn't realize the amazing music they made until it was pointed out to me by an ex-boyfriend. We'd stay up till sunrise listening to albums like The Weight Is A Gift and Let Go then delve into the older stuff like High/Low and The Proximity Effect. That guy is long since out of my life, but the band is still one of my favorites and I'm pretty sure that I've been to every show they've played here in the last seven years or so.

Well, the band is coming back to San Diego. Bring On The Bright Lights is proud to host one of only 2 west coast shows taking place the week The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy drops before heading off to Europe for a full tour. This is their first record of original songs since 2008's Lucky, and I can't wait to hear it. (If anyone at Barsuk is reading, please send me an advance!)

Anyway, I know I already posted about this show back in October, but I wanted to tell you about a super cool contest they're doing. One ambitious fan will win an autographed Nada Surf guitar, a signed limited edition screen print, and a copy of the new Nada Surf album out just 4 days before the show. In order to be eligible, you've got to buy a ticket to the show and then help spread the word about the show through your social networks. You can find all the contest information on Facebook.

The Debut of Tourism, San Diego's Newest Band

My friends Dustin and Frank asked me to write about the debut of their band Tourism on Friday night at the Soda Bar. I thought it would be better if they wrote about it themselves. Here's the goods:

When you say Tourism aloud, what does it bring to mind? Color, novelty, movement, mystery. I feel like our name is fitting both for our vision of the kind of strange, intricate pop we are trying to make as well as the way in which we are sampling the many tastes and textures of our favorite music, past and present: The Zombies, The New Pornographers, Elvis Costello, The Kinks, Girls, Magnetic Fields, the Beach Boys. As a songwriter, I’m trying to tap into a certain feeling that these artists have given me, while adding to it my own experience and sensibility. It is a rewarding process to see the skeletons I bring in get fleshed out by the band, finding new corners and hidden spaces, as we shape the songs into something we think you’ll find exciting.

Our debut show is this coming Friday, December 16th, at Soda Bar. We are incredibly pleased to be opening for two of our favorite acts in San Diego: Cuckoo Chaos and Jamuel Saxon. It is an auspicious beginning for our band and we hope you’ll be there to experience it with us.

<3,

Dustin / TOURISM

Cuckoo Chaos "Jamb Song"

Cuckoo Chaos have a new awesome video for their "Jamb Song". You should watch it. I promise that the song will get stuck in your head in a really good way.

Cuckoo Chaos - "Jamb Song" Music Video from Don Cheney on Vimeo.

Big things are happening for Cuckoo Chaos. Pay attention and check out their site, follow them on Twitter, and like them on Facebook.

Be In A Video With Cuckoo Chaos

Cuckoo Chaos, the amazing local band featuring Scott Wheeler, Craig Barclift Jeremy Scott & Jackson Milgaten, will be shooting a music video on Tuesday at Luce Loft and they're inviting the public to come down and be a part of it. They're shooting on Tuesday, July 22, from 1-4pm at Luce Loft (1037 10th Avenue, East Village).

Here's one of Jeremy's & Jackson's other projects, The Paddle Boat, performing earlier this year at Luce Loft.

The Paddle Boat - B Side of Life from Brad Kester on Vimeo.

Overdue Recap: Charles Musket, Cuckoo Chaos, Boomsnake @ Ken Club, 11.7.08

On Friday, November 19, there were a million places I wanted to be, but by the time I got my shit together, I decided I didn't need to drive anywhere when there were two new bands I'd yet to see playing just steps from home. The lights were low the whole night, so I didn't even attempt photos, but I was finally able to check out Boomsnake, see Cuckoo Chaos in their first show at a venue, and see Charles Musket again.

Boomsnake are from Portland. Or I should say they formed in Portland but are originally all from Southern California, and have recently moved back to San Diego. They're a three piece and the vocals, for at least part of the show, are sung in a high register, a la Neil Young "Harvest". I really enjoyed them and I'm sure they'll be making a mark in the San Diego circuit.

Cuckoo Chaos is Jackson Milgaten's new band, with Jeremy from Vision of A Dying World, Craig from the Power-chords, and Jackson's roommate Scott, who takes the majority of vocal duties from behind his keyboards. In a style that Jackson and his circle have perfected, you can expect multi-layered harmonies and impressively in this project, some sweet banjo playing. You can catch them at this weekend's Sight & Sound at Planet Rooth Gallery.

Charles Musket is another local offshoot project with Anthony and Spencer from Red Feathers, Aaron from Scarlet Symphony, and Keith Milgaten from Vision of A Dying World, and as Aaron said, this is their fun project where they can all just let loose without any pretense and just have fun. Though I must say, if I could form a band just to 'have fun' that sounded this good, I'd be all over it. But I have no talent and all of these guys do, so I'll let them have their fun while I stand mesmerized in the audience by yet another amazing band to join the elite bands of San Diego.

In writing this, I really regret not even taking one photo, but what can I say? My camera has limits.Oh, but I did get this one the night before at The Ruby Room. cutes.