Jeff's Weekly Pick pt. 1: Dark Dark Dark @ Luce Loft Tuesday November 6, 2012

If the upcoming election goes as the experts predict, we might not know the results for some time. What better distraction than live music this Tuesday night. Once again, the nice folks at Sezio are presenting quite a lineup downtown at the intimate Luce Loft. Headlining will be Minneapolis five piece indie rockers Dark Dark Dark. Touring in support of the bands third full length, Who Needs Who, founding members Nona Marie Invie (vocals, piano) and Marshall LaCount (banjo, vocals) have primarily rendered what is a recurring theme, that of the breakup album. It is interesting to note the group has moved forward so I suppose love does not always conquer all. The power of this album is clearly evident from the outset, with Nina's smooth vocals overpowering (but not in a bad way) the music itself. The result is a well balanced effort which flows evenly from beginning to end. I profess to never having seen Dark Dark Dark perform live, so feel free to journey downtown for a pleasurable night of music. This is an early show (7:30) so plan accordingly. Tickets can be purchased here.

I would be remiss if I failed to mention the opener, the eccentrically wonderful Emily Wells, who is also touring to promote her most recent album.

Watch a video of Tell Me below.

Jeff's Weekly Pick: Lord Huron @ The Casbah Thursday November 1, 2012

Ben Schneider has been performing under the name Lord Huron for a couple of years. During a visit to his Midwestern birthplace (Michigan) he penned the first songs while enjoying the natural beauty of the area. Constant touring without a proper full length album to his credit has not deterred the Los Angeles based musician. In fact, since signing to independent label IAMSOUND, Lord Huron is now armed with new songs from the recently released Lonesome Dreams. Leaning to the folk side of the indie rock spectrum, the album reveals a very polished production. The songs definitely show his talent as a songwriter. There are several styles evident throughout the album, and each subsequent listen evokes different feelings. One thing is certain: Lord Huron follows a path carved out his very own life experiences, and it is a joy when he shares a glimpse of them with the listener.

Once again, the nice people @ Sezio are presenting the live show, this time at the intimate Middletown venue. With twice the songs in the repertoire, a great night of music awaits those in attendance. Tickets can be purchased here.

Pacific Air and Jeans Wilder set the stage.

Watch a video of Time to Run below.

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

Tonight: Peter Wolf Crier at Sunset Temple

Four Day Weekend kicks off tonight at Sunset Temple and I know I said I'm on the fence about going, but I remembered I shot these videos a while back when Peter Wolf Crier played at Habitat House and I just might have to go see them again. There are still a few tickets left if ya wanna check it out.

The Tree Ring + The Donkeys @ Sushi Art- 04.30.11

This past Saturday, Sezio and Sushi Art teamed up once again for an evening of exceptional music courtesy of The Tree Ring and The Donkeys. More after the jump.



Playing as a five piece for the evening, local act The Tree Ring started things off with an fine set heavy on tunes from their recently released debut album Generous Shadows. Joel P. West and co. warmed up the rapidly growing crowd of enthusiastic fans with their special brand of folksy rock, layering textures and melodies with their impressive vocal, keys, guitar, string and percussion skills.

Keeping with the theme from their video for new song 'Don't Know Who We Are', the impressively-dressed stage was set for The Donkeys as Sushi Arts filled up in celebration of the release of the band's newest full-length Born With Stripes. For having what had to be limited experience playing the new tracks live, they executed to near perfection the complex rhythms of their unique brand of indie psych-folk- any time a sitar is involved, you know you're in for a treat. By the end of the night the grateful crowd was yelling for more foot-stomping goodness which the quartet gladly provided, finishing up just after the 11pm curfew.

The Tree Ring:





The Donkeys:





For more from the evening click here and the rest of my concert pix here.
_______________________
All images copyright © Nate Vandermeulen, All Rights Reserved.
Please ask for permission before downloading or linking to them.

Peter Wolf Crier at Habitat House 1.23.2011

Last night while I was at the Guster show at the House of Blues, Peter Wolf Crier was up at the Loft at UCSD opening for Retribution Gospel Choir. Apparently the duo saw The Tree Ring video that was posted all over the place and they reached out to the Habitat House to do a little session of their own. I got an email and I'm sorry I couldn't blab about it, but it was smallish. They didn't show up until pretty late, so it was already past one am when they performed four quick songs in the attic, but it was pretty special. Enjoy the videos below, and keep an eye out for official videos on Sezio...and by "official" I mean multiple cameras, editing, and mixing and generally better quality than my camera in my lap. Click the right and left arrows on the videos to get to the others.

The Habitat Carries On

If you were one of the lucky people to ever attend a show at the Habitat House, you know that there were some very special performances over the past few years. "Roybot" lived in the space and used it as a performance space for local artists as well as touring musicians who needed an intimate space, as well as a recording space for himself and some friends. Every show there was special and easy on the wallet, too, as guests were invited to bring their own beverages and save their money to buy band merch or leave a donation for touring bands. The spacious living room was host to many acts and left some very unique impressions in my mind. Roy has been updating email subscribers with news and has finally sent one with a complete picture of what is going on with the Habitat.

The long and short of it is that Roy bought a house in North Park and is planning on building a small home recording studio, so he is no longer occupying the beautiful Golden Hill spot. The good news is that the new occupants are none other than Zack Nielsen, of Sezio.org, Jackson Milgaten of The Boat House, The Paddle Boat, and Single Screen Records, and Dylan Ousley, a graphic designer and culture jammer (see themotivatedyouth.com).

So that means The Habitat has new beginnings as well. Just as I said in a previous Myspace blog, I left open a 1% chance that shows at The Habitat might return. And return they will! The new boys are planning to resume house shows and they've already got one on the books for November. They also plan to utilize the space for art showings. So the future is very bright for that old Craftsmen in Golden Hill.

Zack has set up a site for the new Habitat here. Be sure to follow them on twitter for upcoming show announcements.

Saturday Night- The Rumble feat. Jamuel Saxon & Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.

It's that time of the month...The Rumble returns to Bar Pink this Saturday night. This month brings Detroit's Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. and local music master Jamuel Saxon. DJ Albatross (Zack from Sezio) will be your music selector for the evening. As always, the night is FREE and features $3 Trumer Pils. For all the info, band bios, etc., check the full press release if you 'keep on reading' below.


THE RUMBLE: SAN DIEGO @ BAR PINK - SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 11TH
Jamuel Saxon, Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr & DJ Albatross - FREE!
$3 Trumer Pils specials all night

Saturday night we have a special edition of THE RUMBLE: SAN DIEGO as we're teaming up with a crew we consider family - SEZIO - and we've created a Rumble that will be unforgettable.

THE RUMBLE is ushering in fall with a bit of NASCAR minus the rednecks, but fear not there will be plenty of beer. We're stoked to have the much buzzed about DALE EARNHARDT JR. JR. traveling through THE RUMBLE SEPTEMBER as their aptly titled, Horse Power EP is a layered, textual full of shimmering beat laden gems like "Nothing But Our Love." The Detroit based duo of Josh Epstein and Daniel Zott, have long been on the scene, with a Moby remix under their belt, DALE EARNHARDT JR. JR. are poised for the release of their full length later this year.

These guys keep racking up the love with a recent Daytrotter Session and shout outs from everyone including, CMJ, Pitchfork, Magnet Magazine and Altered Zones declaring their love for "Simple Girl," writing, "I wonder how I've made it through thousands of mornings without this song." Plus their dreamy cover of The Beach Boy's "God Only Knows " is bound to end up on episode of Big Love sometime soon; we just know it. This mash-up of electro beats, drum machines and elements of psych-folk, make DEJJ the preeminent soundtrack to the hazy end of summer. The band just was named as Stereogum's ' '40 Best New Bands of 2010'.

JAMUEL SAXON should be no stranger to anyone with a pulse in San Diego. Keith and company not only know how to get the party started, they are the party. They recently dropped a Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr remix of "Nothing But Our Love" that's more sexy than Samuel L's daughter's film career. If for some reason you were asleep or just stupid and missed their recent show with WAMPIRE and REPORTER, here is your chance for a make good - Saturday night!

"Eighties-inspired electro R&B for the hipster set. If "Dick in a Box" and Empire of the Sun are your idea of romance, then this side-project from Keith Milgaten of The Vision of a Dying World is your new bump-and-grind soundtrack." - Seth Combs (San Diego City Beat)

SEZIO, the art collective that seems to always have their fingers in all the tasty SD cakes, returns for a special celebration of two acts we've all bonded around, and our special guest DJ for the party will be none other than DJ ALBATROSS, aka Zack Nielsen of Sezio.

Listen and download music from these Rumble artists here
http://www.futuresounds.com/rumble

$3 Trumer Pils specials all night. FREE.

The Rumble San Diego is brought to you by the indie-minded collective of Future Sounds, Indigenous, Sezio, SDdialed In, Owl & Bear, SD City Beat, M Theory Records, Trumer Pils and Bar Pink.

Tonight: Sezio presents Martian Horses & Miss Erika Davies

Before you come visit me at West Coast Tavern for a free show with Josh Damigo, my friends at Sezio have another event, this time at the San Diego Museum of Art in Balboa Park. There will be live performances by Martian Horses (who you might remember from the Main Stage at the North Park Festival of Arts) and Miss Erika Davies. This show will be over by 9 or 9:30 which is plenty of time to get to West Coast Tavern. Note: tickets are available on Ticketmaster but I'd recommend just getting your tickets at the door. Mention Sezio and get in for $10. Click the flyer for the Facebook event page.



Where: San Diego Museum of Art
When: Thursday, August 26th
Time: Doors (6pm), Music (7pm)
Cost: SDMA Members - Free
General Admission - $12
Mention Sezio - $10
Tickets: At the door.

Happy Dave Brown Day!

Dave Brown has been a part of San Diego art & music culture for 12 years and sadly for us but awesome for him, he's taken a job with Etsy.com in New York. While he intends to carry on his work with Holiday Matinee, the boy is moving out of town, so we officially declare today "Dave Brown Day" in San Diego, to thank Dave for his impact on the music and arts scene locally, and for always having a positive voice in encouraging everyone to "be awesome" day after day.



To celebrate, please join Sezio and friends of Holiday Matinee at Starlite to bid Dave farewell after 8pm on the back patio. Let's send Dave off with the warm fuzzies that he's given us all of these years.

Ben Sollee Bicycle Tour Kicks Off In San Diego

Ben Sollee might not be the first musician ever to do an entire tour on bicycle without support vehicles (see Blind Pilot)the idea certainly isn't common, by any means, and any artist who sets out on the journey deserves some serious credit, especially ones like Ben who plans on riding all the way back to his homestate of Kentucky with his cello strapped to his bicycle. Sezio.org has arranged for yet another night of amazing music at the Sushi Performance and Art space in East Village and I urge everyone to check it out. Joel P West is opening the show (solo) and it promises to be an incredible night. Click the flyer for tickets and more information.

Video: Small Black & Washed Out

Thursday night, Sezio.org threw a helluva show at Sushi Art in downtown. It was packed with people and since the show was all ages, it was great to see a lot of kids made it out to the show, not just because there aren't a lot of all age spaces in San Diego, but because their energy electrified the show. I was up front and bartered with a kid to let me in front of him to film, and though the kids were bringing back the pogo and slam dancing (without it getting into the more aggressive moshing), I was somehow protected from any serious bumping. There was some crowd surfing, too, but everyone was just enjoying themselves instead of posturing and elbowing to the front which really took me back to how shows were for me when I was younger.

The show started with Pictureplane, but I didn't get any video of him. Small Black followed up, so I got most of their set, then Washed Out did some songs alone before being joined by all the crew of Small Black for the majority of the set.

I haven't had the chance to label any of the videos from the night, but here's the playlist...if you wanna help title them, just leave comments and I'll update the YouTube page. Click the right and left arrows on the video to see more.

Joel P. West at Casbah

Earlier this week I posted about the Sezio show tonight at the Casbah. While I was up super late last night, or early this morning, depending on how you view the world, I realized I never posted the videos from their December show with J Tillman, so I put it in a little playlist and decided to share with you.



See you tonight at the Casbah!

Sezio receives 501(c)(3) Status, Plans Celebration / Fundraiser at The Casbah 01.21.2010

After a year's worth of paper work, and contemplation of whether we really have the energy to do this for the next decade... Sezio applied for and was granted 501(c)(3) status by the IRS. We'll soon be announcing our four programs designed to fulfill our mission statement of providing resources, exposure and community support to emerging artists and musicians, but for now it's time to celebrate.

We've booked The Casbah for Thursday, January 21st to host a special night of live music and to fund raise a bit for our fledgling non-profit. Tim Mays has generously offered to donate the night's cover plus a percentage of the bar. Jamuel Saxon will headline the evening, joined by special guests Writer, Tape Deck Mountain and Black Mamba. Martian Horses and Joel P West will open up the evening.

Details:

When: Thursday, January 21st
Where: The Casbah
What: Concert / Fundraiser
Who: Jamuel Saxon, Joel P West & Martian Horses
Time: 9pm
Cost: $10



Congratulations, Zack and friends! San Diego is a better place to live because of people like you and organizations like Sezio.

Sezio Presents The Paddle Boat At Sushi Art

Are You Ready For The Rumble? October 10 @ Casbah

SOOoooo...it's that time again. Last month I told you about The Rumble, a new monthly event happening at the Casbah, but it's a little bit bigger in scope than I really got into. The idea is to bring together up and coming bands, put them on a tour, and bring them to great venues, and the events will always be FREE for you, the curious music fan.

The tour starts tonight with Fitz playing all the cities from Seattle to Las Vegas, with other bands joining along the way, but in San Diego, we'll bear witness to Fitz & The Tantrums, Lady Dottie & The Diamonds, and The Blakes, and a DJ set by none other than Tim Pyles. The show is Saturday night, October 10. I had the opportunity to see Fitz open for Flogging Molly last month at House of Blues, and their energetic set won me over instantly, not to mention how charismatic Fitz himself is, both on and offstage. The dude oozes cool.






As in the other Rumbles, there are sponsors galore to bring it all together, including Trumer Pils drink specials, your chance to tweet, Facebook, or blog about the event to win a $100 gift certificate from Starlite. Regular Rumble partners include Future Sounds, Indigenous, Trumer Pils, Casbah, M Theory Music, and WOXY radio station. Additionally San Diego City Beat and yours truly, SD:Dialed In have jumped on board to present the monthly event as it grows.


You can check out each unique poster of The Rumble and all the cities involved here.

Ping Pong? It. Is So. On.

I was just talking about how I took down Evan (@EvanAndrew) in ping-pong last week, then Devlin from The Ken Club (@KenClubTuesday) posted that the Ken Club now has a ping-pong table and it reminded me that I never posted about the ping-pong tournament happening this weekend at The Pearl Hotel (@ThePearlHotel) in Pt. Loma. So the deal is that there's gonna be a big bash to benefit our friends over at Sezio.org (@sezio). The party is free, but it's $10 to enter the tournament. There will be singles and doubles brackets, and the tournament is single elimination.. so go get your practice on at the Ken Club or Triple Crown and let's do this. Oh, and don't forget to wear your tennis whites! Notice that little Trumer Pils sponsorship? Yeah, that means drink specials!! (How do I get Trumer to sponsor my birthday party? Anyone?)

Click the flyer for more information.

Sezio.org Presents Brain Glamor

Sezio launches Artist Exchange Program with Brooklyn-based Artist Morgan Blair

Title: Brain Glamor - Morgan Goes Pacific
When: August 14th & 15th (6-10pm)
Where: Luce Loft (1037 J. St - SD, 92101)
Details: Free & All Ages
Contact: Zack Nielsen (info below)

Sezio's inaugural Artist Exchange Program will launch this Friday & Saturday (August 14,15) at Downtown San Diego's Luce Loft. Morgan Blair, a recent RISD Graduate and Brooklyn-based Artist, has arrived in San Diego and is currently living and working in the loft all week. Her exhibit will be open to the public Friday August 14th and Saturday August 15th from 6-10pm. Sezio will be screen printing a custom t-shirt and artist print to be sold at the event.

San Diego's Museum of Contemporary Art has jumped on board to sponsor this event. MCASD has provided Morgan a travel stipend and in return Morgan will be leading an illustration workshop at the museum's downtown location on Thursday August 13th.

Sezio Launches Artist Series & Online Shop

After years of garage screen printing and teasing friends with very limited-run apparel, Sezio is launching an Artist Series and online shop. They're kicking things off with four good friends and incredibly talented artists: Wes Bruce, Andrew Heine, Joel P West, and Mike Maxwell. Each has adapted one of their original pieces of artwork into a t-shirt screen for this series. The profit from each shirt will be split evenly with the artist, providing an added source of income for participating artists and furthering Sezio's reach as a non-profit organization.

Sezio Shop

Live at Luce Loft: Joel P West & The Paddle Boat

Sezio.org posted the last of their Luce Loft videos and reviews. It feels so long ago now, but seeing the videos certainly takes me right back to that Love Sac where I was privileged to witness five amazing nights of music.

The Paddle Boat


Joel P West