Archive for May, 2007

San Francisco Quote of the Day

San Francisco is a city which leaves its impressions upon people.  In honor of that, writers and artists, comedians and actors, and visitors from across the globe have made mention of San Francisco in print and in voice.  Quotes about San Francisco vary as much as the people who make up this city.  Each day, San Fran Voice gives you one to think about as you wander through the city streets, letting it leave its mark on you.

Today’s San Francisco quote is … from an interview with DJ Dan.  Not to be taken out of context, the quote goes on to say that the dotcom industry killed this spirit for awhile but that it’s being revived.  Hm, perhaps.

“That’s why there’re so many ingenious musicians that have come out of there, artists, painters, chefs, you know it’s just that there’s something about that city that bubbles from below and really inspires.”

Our first California blog carnival

San Fran Voice is happy to host the California blog carnival, accepting posts from bloggers all over California.  Since it’s the first issue, it’s a quiet one, but the posts that we got are one hundred percent worth checking out.

First, we’ve got this terrifically fun hummingbird article from Carole Lane at The San Diego Beat.  Carole tells us: “This article includes a link to a recipe for hummingbird nectar, and an amazing video of the life of two hummingbirds, from the time they hatch until they leave the nest. (It was shot in San Diego.)”

And then, on a not-so-fun but oh-so-important note, we’ve got an informative article on The Dark Side of Fuel Efficiency from  the blog Wisdom from Wenchypoo’s Mental Wastebasket.

For a return to the fun, check out this post about San Francisco’s Bay to Breakers from the Don’t Ask Questions blog for California Men.

If you’ve got a blog that relates in any way to California, submit a post to our next carnival.

San Francisco YouTube Pick of the Day

San Fran Voice is all about finding great things in this city from great venues for live music to lessons in love learned from the streets of San Francisco.  One of the daily finds in the Bay Area is entertainment.  There’s simply no shortage of art, oddities and experiences in San Francisco.  To reflect that, San Fran Voice has a daily YouTube pick which shows off someone or something related to San Francisco.

Today’s YouTube pick is … kite surfers.  You can see them doing their thing out at Ocean Beach.


 
 

 

The opinions of SF artists: Tim DeSoto

Who knows art in San Francisco better than artists in this area?  Nobody.  So San Fran Voice went straight to the artists to get opinions on the best art stuff in the area.  Check out the opinions of artist Tim DeSoto … and then go check out his artwork.

Fave SF art museum:  The Beat Museum

Fave SF gallery: Live Worms Gallery

Local artists you admire: Bill Weber and Stanley Mouse

Sites or publications where you get SF art info: SF Weekly, Art in America, Juxtapoz

Fave architectural building in SF: St. Mary’s Cathedral

Best SF art organization: City Art

Opinion on SF’s art schools: They’re unique but I feel too many students are the same in their body of work.

Most creatively inspiring spot in the city: Nob Hill

What should others know about SF’s art scene?  It is currently rising from dormancy.

Why do you think SF is a great place for creating art?  The combination of the beauty of the city and the money that’s around it.

The Hairbrain Scheme On Tour

hairbrain scheme 

 

Remember Ima Robot?  That’s the indie rock band that formed years ago when two of the guys who played with Beck banded together and did their own thing together.  Well, they may have been quiet on the scene but they haven’t been boring; they’re still playing and they’re heading out on tour.  And the reason that we care about this

L.A. band?  Well, they’re fun … but we care about the tour because our local loves, The Hairbrain Scheme are going to be on the tour with them.

 

The tour (which also includes sets by California bands Los Abandoned and

Tiger City) starts on June 5th and runs for almost two weeks.  They hit

San Francisco
on the 10th with a show at Slim’s that starts at 8.  Other dates around

California can be found on their
MySpace page.

San Francisco Quote of the Day

San Francisco is a city which leaves its impressions upon people.  In honor of that, writers and artists, comedians and actors, and visitors from across the globe have made mention of San Francisco in print and in voice.  Quotes about San Francisco vary as much as the people who make up this city.  Each day, San Fran Voice gives you one to think about as you wander through the city streets, letting it leave its mark on you.

Today’s San Francisco quote is … reportedly by Lluvy from Season 4 of America’s Next Top Model, as quoted in a Factio Magazine article about San Francisco’s Fashion Week.

“What I love about San Francisco is the very urban feel. You could walk down the street and see a businessman, emo kid or a high class socialite. This city has a great mix of everybody.”

San Francisco YouTube Pick of the Day

San Fran Voice is all about finding great things in this city from great venues for live music to lessons in love learned from the streets of San Francisco.  One of the daily finds in the Bay Area is entertainment.  There’s simply no shortage of art, oddities and experiences in San Francisco.  To reflect that, San Fran Voice has a daily YouTube pick which shows off someone or something related to San Francisco.

Today’s YouTube pick is … Lion King themed drag at Trannyshack.  Don’t just watch it here; go support your local drag artists!

San Francisco Quote of the Day

San Francisco is a city which leaves its impressions upon people.  In honor of that, writers and artists, comedians and actors, and visitors from across the globe have made mention of San Francisco in print and in voice.  Quotes about San Francisco vary as much as the people who make up this city.  Each day, San Fran Voice gives you one to think about as you wander through the city streets, letting it leave its mark on you.

Today’s San Francisco quote is … by Renzo Piano, the architect who designed the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park.

“The first thing I think about when I think about San Francisco is the breeze. It’s just a real, instinctive reaction about the water – about the sea, about the climate. I think this is the first, single, immediate reaction, including things like during the summer when the special climatic conditions create fog – very fresh weather in the summer,
not too cold in the winter. This is one of the images that burns in my head when I think about San Francisco.”

San Francisco YouTube Pick of the Day

San Fran Voice is all about finding great things in this city from great venues for live music to lessons in love learned from the streets of San Francisco.  One of the daily finds in the Bay Area is entertainment.  There’s simply no shortage of art, oddities and experiences in San Francisco.  To reflect that, San Fran Voice has a daily YouTube pick which shows off someone or something related to San Francisco.

Today’s YouTube pick is … Shabnam, a San Francisco belly dancer, doing her thing.


 

 

SF Bands Speak: An Interview with 14 Bindlestick Frank

Check out this awesome interview with Robert Edgar of local band Fourteen Bindlestick Frank:

The band’s background story:

I played in bands through junior high and high school and then studied electronic music composition for 5 years in college - splicing tape and razor blade composition using a roomful of Moog. I met Tom, our electric guitarist and keyboardist, in a bluegrass band in Palo Alto and met Roger, our bass player, in our world music project Ragamala, with Purna Prasad and Shuba Gunapu. Robin, our drummer, is my son so we’ve known each other for a long time.

Frank’s story is laid out in detail on our website (www.14bindlestickfrank.com). How much of it is true is kinda up to Frank.

Describe the first impression a new listener is likely to have of your music:

People tell me they like it, and that it doesn’t sound like anyone else’s. I compose and play some strange music sometimes, but our gravity is more popular than strange. Maybe bits of Wilco, some Neil Finn, some Don Van Vliet.

A summary of your sound would be:

Electro-acoustic compositions with tasty lyrics.

What’s your favorite song to perform live?

Ah, always our latest one. Right now our song “Lullaby for Stardust” is fun to play. It’s a song with lyrics by the local writer Ethan Place, about a satellite on its way back from capturing dust from an asteroid that is put to sleep so it has enough energy to return to earth. I use some looping in a break or two in it…all acoustic. Works well for staring at stars over the ocean.

If the band was a San Francisco landmark, it would be:

The way SF looks from the air, at night: like an ocean rock encrusted with barnacles and glistening seaweed.

Favorite SF venue:

Haven’t been to Specs in a while. Is it still there? I like the music at the Luggage Store Gallery on Thursday nights.

Other SF spots where you can be found:

Cha Cha Cha’s. And Brainwash Café…they’re great to musicians trying to play around, trading music for food. That just seems like an honorable trade.

Where do you want to be a year from now?

I have three music projects: Frank, a computer-performance project with the Berkeley artist Sonya Rapoport, and ragaphonia. I hope they all are successful, and have an audience that knows how to feel with their imagination.

If there was anything that you could make sure your fans knew, what would it be?

Art is how you learn with your senses.

Where to learn more: www.14bindlestickfrank.com, www.robertedgar.com, www.myspace.com/fourteenbindlestickfrank