San Francisco Voice

I’ve had the pleasure of listening to Going My Way, the CD by Shane Papatolicas. You’ll be getting a full review here next week but suffice to say that I love it on every level. For that reason, I strongly recommend going to check him out tonight at his live show at El Rincon. He’s playing a long set from around 8 – 10 (and will be followed by the Marc Digiacomo Trio).
You can get a glimpse of Shane’s music on his MySpace Page or his website.

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*”Kneeling Girl” painting by Ryoko Tajiri
Ryoko Tajiri is an artist who came to San Francisco from Japan, got an MFA from a local art school and is now making a life here in the Bay Area. In this interview, you can learn not only a lot about the artist but also a lot about a particular local art movement – Bay Area Figurative.
What can you tell us about the basics of your artwork? How does your work differ when you work in different mediums (ie, how do sketches differ from paintings?)
School gave me the opportunity to study both abstract …read more

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San Fran Voice is switching over to posts that are all about the local art and music scene. We’ll be giving equal attention to both here but this week is going to be art week. Every day, we’ve got an interview posted with a local artist. They’re each really different … from the graffiti art and fashion designs if Illyanna Maisonet (interview on Tuesday) to the paintings of MFA-degreed Japanese artist Ryoko Tajiri (interview on Tuesday). Check them all out.
And then come back next week for CD review week at San Fran Voice!!!

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Okay, maybe it isn’t “long-awaited” but I asked people last week to give their opinions on what they would like to see from San Fran Voice and I’ve incorporated those comments into my planning and come up with the improved version of the site. Since you all were so kind to spread your comments my way, I’m happy to give you the update:
San Fran Voice will be (at least temporarily) suspending all posts that are unrelated to either local music, local art or information about the blog itself. This means that the YouTube picks of the day, the San Francisco …read more

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Take a guy that will tell you he used to busk on the streets of Philadelphia (without getting arrested and without getting rich), give him the experience of playing in a number of bands including one indie rock group that got some recognition and then move him out to the West Coast. What have you got? Chris Stroffolino, a guy who isn’t about to stop making the most of his musical career. He’s currently playing solo (with upcoming shows in the city at City Lights and at The Knockout) making a kind of music that merges instrumentals and emphasizes them …read more

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You should probably know by now that we’re in the midst of a summer which is being celebrated as the 40th anniversary of The Summer of Love. What better way to celebrate such a summer than with some summer lovin’ on your radio? After all, the music of that era is a huge part of the story of that time.
There’s a show on now in the Bay Area that celebrates some of the cutting edge music from that time. The acid music from San Francisco’s psychedelic bands is explored, commercial free, from 7 p.m. – midnight every Saturday and Sunday. …read more

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I always try to do an introduction to the interviews that I post on my site. This is where I pull together what the band has said and summarize it to give it some form. But on occasion, I get an interview back from a band member who has written everything with such flow and summed everything up so concisely that there’s no reason for me to give an introduction. So, I’ll leave it to Aoede to tell you what there is to know. Although I will point out that a band that can write their own interview answers so …read more

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If you read this blog regularly (or semi-regularly even), you know that there are certain things that are always on the site. Every day (up until the last couple of days), there are YouTube videos about San Francisco and a quote about the city. There is also often an interview with a local artist or music. Sometimes there’s a review of a local CD, a suggestion to go to a recommended event in the city, or travel-like information about local venues and neighborhoods.
But is this what you want from your San Fran Voice?
One of the major goals of this site …read more

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I inserted Bhi Bhiman’s self-titled CD into my computer and was still organizing my notes as the first track began. Immediately upon hearing his voice, I automatically lifted up my head and perked my ears because his vocals sounded so eerily familiar. It took me a minute to identify the musician whose name was coming to the tip of my tongue as sounding so familiar, but it came to me: Phil Ochs. Those who aren’t familiar with Ochs need only know that he wrote intensely socio-political music during the activist era which produced such more-famous singers as Bob Dylan.
Indeed, the …read more

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The release of the iPhone obviously drew a huge crowd over to the Apple Store off of Market Street. There’s tons of footage online of the crowds there and the police trying to control them. But the best one is this short, twenty second clip of the Bay Quackers tourists stopped at the red light outside of the store. The guy who runs this tour is obviously into his job because he suggests that on three, they all quack at the iPhone line.

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