Far Out Sound at the Li Po Lounge

Headed over to Chinatown with Mike Gabriel last night to check out a set by San Francisco hipshakers Rollercoaster at the Li Po Lounge. After entering the venues rather cave-like entrance, we headed down two flights of stairs and were greeted by the band playing a kick ass set in what must have a been a opium den once upon time. Although the bunker-esque room didn't provide what I would call "optimal sound" the vibe and character more than made up for it.

In the studio with THE SERMON

I had a blast working with San Francisco's "Rock n Roll Colossus" The Sermon yesterday as they recorded new material for the upcoming album. Tapped for production duties, I "lent my ear" to what turned out to be a terrific session at Bart Thurber's famous House of Faith recording studio (now in Oakland, I began recording musical projects with Bart at the age of 14 when House of Faith was located in Palo Alto).

Ari Shine Back in SF

Dear friend and former collaborator (him and I were in band together in High School) Ari Shine, was in town last night playing a solo show at the Red Devil Lounge before moving on to do two shows in Portland. A gifted songwriter and guitar player Ari recently released his solo debut "Age/Occupation" which is now available on iTunes.

Japanese Garage Rock Invasion

Julie and I had a blast last night as we caught a set by Japanese rock n rollers The Dirtrucks at Thee Parkside in San Francisco. These girls knew how to crank it up and get down. Drummer Sae Dirtruck (far left) grew extremely shy and giddy when we mentioned that Black Moses had played here a few months earlier (apparently Sae is a big fan of singer JIm Jones).