Felsen
felsen.bandcamp.com
Oakland-based indie rockers, Felsen, have recently completed their fourth album, ‘I Don’t Know How to Talk Anymore’, slated for national release on September 4, 2013. Songs were written collectively by the band—guitarist Dylan Brock, singer/guitarist Andrew Griffin, bassist Christian Hernandez, and drummer Art McConnell. Felsen took a strictly DIY approach with this new album, recording and mixing it themselves at Hernandez’s house in the East Bay.


Ghost Parade
facebook.com/GhostParade
Hailing from San Francisco, GHOST PARADE, is ready to take you on a musical journey that may change your life forever. The duo of Justin Bonifacio (Vocals/Guitars) and George Woods (Guitars/Vocals) are both captivating and haunting, as their special brand of rock n’ roll will catch your ears. Just releasing their debut EP in March, titled Foundation, the band is already to release more tracks, and videos into the world. Sharing their first single “Reach,” which had launched on The Vinyl District, GHOST PARADE is on their way to win you over. GHOST PARADE is a name to watch out for in 2013, so open your ears and get ready to listen.

Guy Fox
guyfoxband.com/
Guy Fox is an Oakland-based band that effuses dancy highlife vibes, carefree indie vocals and hints of old soul. Combine the energy of alternative rock with big band arrangements and funk breakbeats and you have the rare and impassioned music of Guy Fox. The band is made up of Northeastern transplants drawn to the Bay Area by the romance of San Francisco. They played together throughout college in Maine, jamming at house parties and cultivating the free flow groove that makes their complex arrangements feel effortless.

Identity Crisis
sfidentitycrisis.com
Identity Crisis is a group of guys that love music. Plain and simple. We love listening to music, we love dancing to music, we love playing music. Our passion for music is why we formed Identity Crisis. There are a few bands out there called Identity Crisis, but we’re the only cover party band found in Northern California who knows what rockin’ the party is all about.


The Orange Peels
theorangepeels.com
When The Orange Peels embarked on recording sessions for their fifth album, Sun Moon (Minty Fresh/Mystery Lawn Music), the band really didn’t have a direction in mind. Afterall, they’d already conquered the indiepop, powerpop and West-Coast rock genres with their critically acclaimed back-catalog, and they didn’t want to fall into the old trap of trying to repeat past successes. What came next was exciting, unexpected and frustrating as the band navigated a new sound it was inventing with each new session. Gathering on Sunday afternoons without a clear idea of what would happen, the band came up with something new every time, and recorded the fresh tracks hours later.

Peels’ bassist and founding member Jill Pries was partly to blame for the shake-up in the band’s process. The band’s main songwriter, Allen Clapp, was busy producing albums for other likeminded bands (Jim Ruiz Set, The Corner Laughers, Alison Faith Levy) and running his new boutique record label, Mystery Lawn Music. Pries wanted to get the Orange Peels back on track, so she started organizing sessions even when Clapp didn’t have anything written for the band to record.


Acacia
acaciacollective.com
Acacia originated in Orange County, California in the winter of 2003. Founding members Craig MacArthur and Ryan McCaffrey began writing and playing music that focuses on ethereal vocal harmonies and soulful guitar interplay. Inspired by the artistic energy of the Bay Area, the duo relocated to San Francisco in 2004. Over the next several years The Collective grew, incorporating many talented Bay Area musicians. Most notably, they collaborated with bassist, songwriter, producer and Bay Area legend, Bobby Vega. With Vega and guitarist Chris Rossbach producing and Prairie Prince on drums, the Collective released their debut EP, “House of Cards” in the spring of 2009. With the momentum of this release and recent performances opening for Alberta Cross and The Mother Hips, as well as new additions Eric DiBerardino (bass) and Danny Eisenberg (keys), Acacia Collective is poised to deliver its passion for musical expression to the masses.

Wet Dreams Dry Magic
wetdreamsdrymagic.com
In 2006 he conjured up a mix of mostly instrumental psychedelic pop musings entitled ‘Wet Dreams Dry Magic’, and in the spring of 2012 assembled a cast of accomplished players around that moniker – including Brett Eastman (ex-Girls) and Jerome Steegmans (ex-Sugar & Gold). As a band, Wet Dreams Dry Magic delivers the spectrum of Sweeney’s songs – which span from heart-on-sleeve folk to stream-of-subconscious confessionals to euphoric barn-burners drenched in soulful sweetness – into a magnet of ears who hear something familiar yet mysteriously new, as if plucked from an Earth-like planet just barely detectable on our Doppler.


Cave Clove
caveclove.com
Cave Clove is songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Katie Clover and her band. Inspired by American roots music, Cave Clove’s new EP, Bases of Pyramids, is an Alt-Americana album. Harmonium weaves a steady pulse, while the banjo, guitar, ukulele and lap steel evoke sounds of bluegrass, country, and folk. Clover’s lyrics, full of allegory akin to the bands namesake, are dark and introspective though always within reach of light and laughter. Soulful vocal harmonies and syncopated grooves hark of 50s doo-wop and R&B. Unhinged and whole-hearted, Cave Clove is a contemporary review of our rich musical history and a unique addition to the evolving genre of Americana.

Split Screens
splitscreensmusic.com
Split Screens is the solo project of multi-instrumentalist Jesse Cafiero. Born out of the inspiring move from the east coast, Split Screens began as Jesse’s creative outlet on the side, slowly taking it’s shape while he was busy making his name in San Francisco as a bass player, sharing the stage at times with the likes of Thao Nguyen, John Vanderslice and Sean Hayes. Influenced by the subtle psychedelia of Pink Floyd and raw emotion of Sea Change-era Beck, Split Screens delves into the fever dream aesthetic, blending between moments of drone infused reflection and cacophonous intensity. Recently the band has finished their second west coast tour and are currently completing their debut LP, set to be released in early 2013.


Glaciers
soundofglaciers.com
GLACIERS is a four-piece, instrumental post-rock band from San Francisco and Oakland, California. Over the past five years, the band has worked hard to develop a strong following with their loud, climatic live performances and their first album. Three or the four members of GLACIERS previously played in very loud hardcore bands when they were younger. But with this Bay Area quartet, they have achieved a much more varied approach to music.

In the Fall of 2009, the band released their debut ‘And the Sea Won the Battle’ on their own label, Sound of Glaciers. The album includes six songs and clocks in at just over forty minutes. Recorded in Oakland, California with Jeremy Goody at Megasonic Sound, the album was self-produced and focuses on the best elements of their live show: loud guitars, reverb, space echo, tape loops, pounding drums, and throbbing bass. A lot of reviews of the record have compared the band to the likes of Mogwai and Explosions in the Sky, but more of the band’s roots can be found in local Bay Area artists Neurosis. Much of the material was written on late cold nights while the fog was settling and this aesthetic strangely finds its way into their sound.

Shortly after the release of their first album, the band started working on writing songs for the next. And after three years of writing and recording, GLACIERS will be self-releasing their much anticipated follow up album ‘Mirrored Through the Ancients’ on July 30th, 2013. The album represents a heavier, more mature sound for the band as they continue to experiment and expand into new musical directions.

Tall Sheep
tallsheepmusic.com
Tall Sheep is a noise pop band formed in 2011 by original members Laura Dean (vocals, guitar) and Jeremy Anderson (keys). Chris Palmer on bass and guitar joined soon after in 2012 followed by Richard Stuverud on drums in 2013, after Tall Sheep struggled to find the right drummer for almost a year. Tall Sheep’s first show in 2012 included only the founding duo, but little over a year later the group released a six song EP as a full band, with Brad Harbidge filling in on drums at the time.


Abatis
abatismusic.com
Following the enthusiastic reception of their self titled debut EP, Abatis spent several months performing throughout the Bay Area with nationally touring bands such as Maylene and the Sons of Disaster, Lionize, Pierced Arrows, Radio Moscow, and Nico Vega. Though the stage time was invigorating and invaluable, Abatis promptly decided to record their first full-length album, and made the bold choice to do so independently. The result: Electric Dead. The album moved away from the bluesy sound of their first EP into more raw, contemporary, fearless rock territory.

Audiences praised their dynamic energy and devotees demanded more. In early 2012 the band went back to the studio to begin work on their follow-up EP, Now You’re Paying for Sleep. Following its completion, Abatis returned to the stage circuit with dozens of shows in the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as a Southwest US tour. They have just completed their second full length album Doors in the Desert which will be released on July 5th, 2013.

M. Lockwood Porter
mlockwoodporter.com
Dark with a whimsical streak, M. Lockwood Porter muses of hope lost, found, and forgotten. Somewhere between Americana and indie rock, M. Lockwood Porter has a serious case of bittersweet melancholia reminiscent of Elliott Smith or a young Jeff Tweedy. That M. was raised on a farm in Oklahoma isn’t surprising, given the hint of twang in his voice. That he studied poetry in college isn’t, either, once you study his contemplative, eloquent lyrics.


8th Grader
8thgradermusic.com
With his luscious tenor and seductive lyrics, San Francisco singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist 8th Grader (AKA, Jayson Martinovich) injects a unique and fresh R&B sensibility to his singular brand of nu-soul. His decadent vocals caress Afro-Cuban polyrhythms, Rhodes piano, and elements of Chillwave. With nods to Prince, Frank Ocean, George Michael and Janet Jackson, 8th Grader fills a nameless void somewhere in between pop and R&B. Currently creating a stir amongst the music blogs, 8th Grader has been gaining acclaim from fans and critics alike with his signature R&B meets Nu-Soul flare.


SunRunners
sunrunners.me
The mixture of indie rock songwriting, dreamy lyrics, and heavy elements of rock and pop rhythms has long been a staple in the alt-rock world, and Sunrunners delivers on all counts. A California-based quintet led by singer and primary songwriter Stephen Loase (Low-C), Sunrunners have largely managed to avoid the usual rock clichés, injecting a uniquely rock-influenced sound and laid back San Francisco style. Ramona Downey (owner/booker of Bottom of the Hill) has called Sunrunners
“One of the best new bands that have played Bottom of the Hill this year. They opened for Deep Sea Diver + Wild Belle and everyone who saw their set seemed to agree that they are a force to be reckoned with.”

Gamelan X
gamelanx.com
Drawing its inspiration from the clove and incense scented air of Bali, Indonesia, Gamelan X, “The Bay Area’s own Funkadelic of ethnomusicology” (SF Guardian), explores the sonic landscape of contemporary beleganjur gamelan to offer a wildly unique expression of both East and West. From the resonating sound of the gongs to the explosive drum beats and interlocking cymbals, Gamelan X remixes the ritual of a Balinese procession with a decidedly west coast twist. The ebb and flow of the energy of a performance will transport you on a journey that will take you from dancing ecstatically, through moments of reflection and wonder.


VELA Eyes
velaeyes.com
With a patchwork of influences (Siouxie and the Banshees, Echo & the Bunnymen, Sonic Youth, Led Zeppelin, New Order, My Bloody Valentine) and by fusing elements (Post Punk, Shoegaze, Psych Rock) Vela Eyes produces an ethereal and aggressive soundscape. The band began as a side project between guitarist Ian Zazueta (Delle Vellum, Paradise Boys) and front woman Florie Maschmeyer. Bassist Nate Higley (The Snake the Cross the Crown) and Julia Johari (second keyboard player/guitarist/background vocalist) were quickly added to the fold. The four then wrote a batch of songs and by September 2012 had landed Jef Pauly (New Diplomat, Dan the Automator) on drums. Vela Eyes will be joined by local favorites French Cassettes, The Trims, DJ Omar (Popscene) and Jacob Fury (Leisure SF) to round out the evening.

Fox and Woman
foxandwomanmusic.com
Fox & Woman formed in 2010 when Jess Silva (vocals), Andrew Nelson (guitar, keys), and Emily Haltom (vocals, violin, keys) started playing at a weekly street poetry gathering in San Francisco’s Mission District. As an acoustic trio, they rehearsed and wrote songs in the basement of a local antiques store, discovering a shared desire to stretch pop song forms to accommodate unconventional rhythms and harmonies. For their debut, self-titled EP, released in 2011, they added three other Bay Area musicians, including Will Boast (drums), and documented a sound bridging west coast folk and a baroque strain of indie-pop.


Doe Eye
ilovedoeeye.com
The summer before her first semester at the Berklee College of Music, San Francisco singer/songwriter DOE EYE (real name Maryam Qudus) stepped into the studio for the first time to created a 4-song demo to network to the new teachers and colleagues she would meet at Berklee. DOE EYE jumped into the studio to record her sophomore EP entitled ‘Hotel Fire’ with acclaimed producer John Vanderslice (Nada Surf, Mates of State, MK Ultra) and featuring the Magik*Magik Orchestra (Death Cab for Cutie, Jonny Greenwood). Hotel Fire was released on September 4, 2012 and is currently available at all streaming music services as well as iTunes and Bandcamp. DOE EYE is currently working on her debut full length album with John Vanderslice.


DATE NITE
wearedatenite.com
Date Nite’s formation came to fruition when three like-minded spirits, Jason, Annie and Candy converged during an annual NASA Jet Propulsion conference on ‘Robotic Exploration of the Solar System.’ Realizing they had a shared love for science and beats, they assembled a musical collective dedicated to dynamic ass shaking. Calling San Francisco their home and nirvana their vacation home, they call upon their scifi-paganistic background for inspiration. Date Nite is a convergence of art, music and boot knocking. In their spare time, the team concocts various recipes and libations; most notably their drink called “Moonmilk” (moonshine and Milk of Magnesia).

City of Women
facebook.com/Cityofwomen
Circa 2007…Nero and Alwyn, whose respective bands barbarasteele and Boshuda shared many a bill in San Francisco venues, were band-less, and talked about finally putting something together…but just “for fun”, as the sting from the demises of their previous bands was still fresh. Around the same time, Charlie, after doing a year at the Los Angeles Music Academy and giving a good run with the local music scene, ran from Los Angeles and ended up in San Francisco. He met Nero while working at Amoeba Music, and in time joined Alwyn and Nero in a band “just for fun”.


Life Coach
facebook.com/PhilManleyLifeCoach
Life Coach is a collaboration. Following Phil Manley’s 2011 solo debut Life Coach, which Aquarius Records called, “a serious, and seriously kick ass slab of modern minimal krautrock,” Manley set about writing a set of songs that he could perform live. After writing and tracking guitar, bass, synth, and vocals on his own, he recruited his friend and former Golden band mate Jon Theodore (The Mars Volta, One Day As A Lion), with whom Manley has been playing music for two decades, as the drummer and second official member of Life Coach. The complimentary kinship between Manley’s tightly constructed songs and Theodore’s unrestrained playing was instant. Rounded out by the addition of Isaiah Mitchell (Earthless, Golden Void), who contributes lead guitar on several songs, Life Coach was born as an entity unto itself.


Legs
oaklandlegs.tumblr.com
Named after their fathers’ mutual love for Tina Turner, Oakland, CA-based Jeffrey Harland and New Zealand native Matt Bullimore began Legs in a cold, concrete practice space in West Oakland, California. The pair originally met while exchanging Weezer bootlegs in a Safeway parking lot in early 2000. Matt would go on to teach Jeffrey his first power chord sealing their friendship and status as best-buds. Early get-togethers were dominated by heated arguments over the Beatles versus The Stones, ending only after the discovery of their mutual love of the Kinks and Velvet Underground.

Brian Kehoe
myspace.com/thekehoenation
Greetings from The Kehoe Nation. A place where the twang and shuffle of Country Western, the bizarre whimsy of carnival polkas, and outright twisted sonic explosions of punk and metal fuse together to create a misshapen and exotic family of good-time songs that strangely and completely satisfy parts of the human psyche that don’t always admit to wanting to be satisfied. The guiding hand stirring this cauldron of Punk-Metal-Americana is guitarist Bryan Kehoe, who has been lending his ferocious guitar wizardry to groups such as The Jerry Cantrell Band (Alice In Chains), Ministry, Les Claypool’s Frog Brigade (Primus), and Northern California legends M.I.R.V. Joining Mr. Kehoe on this musical vision is Amir Zitro on Stand-Up King Bass ang Jeff Gomes (M.I.R.V.) on Drums.


The Tunnel
thetunnelsf.bandcamp.com
The protagonists of the lurid stories of Tunnel vocalist/ guitarist Jeff Wagner may be grifters, but nihilists they are not. Riding possessed upon the feral, hypnotic rhythms of bassist/ noisemaker Sam Black and drummer Craig Manrique, Wagner’s anti-heroes grasp at transcendence and howl in ecstasy.

Blame Sally
blamesally.com
If you sense a slight incongruity in the title of Blame Sally’s Speeding Ticket and a Valentine, rest assured that it’s as purposeful as the life it describes is random. The album lifts its name from a line in the bridge of the hard- charging leadoff single, “Living Without You,” which describes a day, or maybe entire existence,that’s “sweet and sour at the sametime/mink and a porcupine/speeding ticket and a valentine.” Clearly, this is a band that knows its oxymorons.

The four women who make up the Bay area- based group have some experience with improbable complexities and contradictions. Almost everything about their history is contrary to conventional wisdom. For one thing, they put their individual careers aside to start Blame Sally when they were in their late 30s and 40s—the age at which bands are traditionally supposed to break up and begin solo careers. For another, this is obviously an all-woman band—“girl groups”
usually being the novel province of youthful upstarts, not mature singer/songwriters.


Manatee
www.facebook.com/manateebayarea
Oakland’s mysterious Manatee are a fiery 4-piece who chart a fine line between the melodic aggression of mid-80s hardcore/punk and more contemplative rocking pop. The project dates back to 2006, beginning as the duo of Nik Carlson on bass and Black Tambourine/Whorl/Crabapples alumnus Mike Schulman on guitars and drums. Mainly a vehicle for beer-fueled weekly noise fests, Manatee did start accruing a catalog of tunes that were influenced by Flying Nun bands, ’77 punk and psychedelic freeform noise.


Black Jeans
soundcloud.com/blackjeans-1
Black Jeans is a music and artistic project created by new media artist Russell Butler. After completing a BFA in Performance and Sound Art and an MAT in Art Education at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Russell moved to California’s Bay Area to begin his professional arts practice. While navigating America’s complex and imbalanced immigration system, Russell was able to secure a position in the Exhibits department at San Francisco’s premiere interactive children’s museum, the Children’s Creativity Museum.

Buckeye Knoll
buckeyeknoll.com
Lovecreek, the new LP from Bay Areamericana darlings Buckeye Knoll, was recorded in a log cabin high in the Sierra Mountains. Indisputably, the group chose the most appropriate environment for Doug Streblow’s thoughtful collection of songs about adventure, solitude and discovery of oneself in the natural world. With help from producer and engineer Cian Riordan, and contemporary music giant Eric Valentine, Buckeye Knoll delivers their strongest and most textural collection to date. Lovecreek inspires listeners to pack up the car and head for the mountains to make some discoveries of their own.


Ash Thursday
ashthursday.com
Ash Thursday is a SF-based female-fronted band–they play rock music with pop sensibility; their songs are deep and dynamic, yet catchy and melodic. Their music contains abundant hooks and harmonies, and often anthemic choruses.

The band has hit the ground running in 2013 with the release of their EP “The Strength to Come Apart”, a music video for their song “This Heart” and various performances throughout the Bay Area. Soon to follow are the recording of another EP and a west coast tour.

Victory and Associates write rock anthems that you didn’t know you needed. punk rock passion, post punk sass, big riffs, etc. Take the parts of huge classic rock you may actually WANT to turn up, mix it with the parts of indie rock that ROCK, get it moving with driving, energetic force and you are on the trail to victory… and associates. This is for real, this is for serious. Victory and Associates have been around the block, know their way around a good song and endeavor to deliver something exciting to both musician and non-musician alike. These things are FACTS.

Vandella
vandellasound.com
Vandella draws their music from Motown, classic rock, Southern rock, folk-rock, blues, and modern-day sounds of indie pop/rock. It’s like if Ryan Adams was backed by The Band, or Jenny Lewis took over for Jay Farrah and Jeff Tweedy in Uncle Tupelo. It’s 1970s rock via 1990. Hailing from San Francisco, their music takes listeners from the gulches of swampy, guitar-driven rock and the dusty twang of Americana to the amber honey of roots ‘n soul. In their three years together, the tight-knit group has come a long way with old-fashioned hard work and hustle: the 2009 release of their initial offering, the V EP, saw the band move 2,000 copies without distribution or label representation, earning them bills at San Francisco staples such as Great American Music Hall, Bottom of the Hill, Rickshaw Stop, and Café du Nord, to name a few. Two West Coast tours and spots on coveted bills and festivals with nationally-touring acts followed. In May 2012, they self-released their debut full-length album, Fire in the Desert. Mixed and mastered at Marcata Studios in New York by Kevin McMahon (whose past discography includes The Walkmen, Ha Ha Tonka, The Felice Brothers, and Swans), Fire in the Desert showcases the rich lyrical landscape, convivial songs, and solid musicianship that has endeared them to their fans.


Sunbeam Rd
sunbeamrd.com
Sunbeam Rd., a Bay Area four piece, craft a tense and expansive sound via psychedelic guitars, purposeful melodies, and restraint. Willing to fall apart completely exploring the margins of harmonic rock, their live shows can toe the edge of cacophony. At their best they reach into hook-laden, fuzz-saturated trance states.

Dear Indugu
dearindugu.com
Dear Indugu is an acoustic/electric indie-rock band from Oakland, California noted for powerful instrumentation, potent lyrics, and rich vocal harmony. What began as the solo project of singer-songwriter Jesse Strickman, grew into a permanent four-piece, with an occasional live horn section and guest vocalists. The name, Dear Indugu, is inspired by the film ‘About Schmidt’ and is a metaphor for the communication of one’s innermost feelings to complete strangers.

The group performs regularly in the San Francisco Bay Area and has toured California, Oregon, Utah, Nevada, Idaho and Washington playing everywhere from coffee shops to outdoor amphitheaters. They have opened for national and world acts, such as Damien Jurado, Cake, Jay Brannan and more. After touring with demos for years they released their debut studio EP in June of 2012.

Dear Indugu’s music ranges from intimate folk solo songs to driving full band indie rock. With thoughtful lyrics, strong dynamics, and a firm commitment to originality and musicianship, the Bay Area based band delivers a unique and powerful sound.


Jane Woodman
janewoodman.com
Somewhere between the Twilight Zone and Gotham City lies the spellbinding sound and vision of DIY artist Jane Woodman. Her songs are woven with dream-inducing guitars, dark secret vocals, and an industrial rhythm bed that covers you with subliminal layers of shoegaze, goth, post-punk, and darkwave. Alive with lush textures that wrap you with bittersweet and stimulating soundscapes, her live show has been rumoured to create an out-of-body experience.

Jane is charting in several places, and currently finishing up her first full length solo album, Teenage Red, with a little mixing help from comrade Monte Vallier (The Soft Moon, Weekend), to be released early 2013. Recent collaborations with Zoë Keating and an Ummagma remix are receiving respectable airplay, and high praise in the press.

Love Dimension
thelovedimension.com
The Love Dimension is a psychedelic garage punk country surf band from San Francisco whose influences stem from an eclectic mix of music’s past and future. Originally from the lost city of Atlantis, the band has prevailed through multiple reincarnations. In 2008, they returned to the Bay Area to create sonic architecture for the benefit of sentient beings across the multiverse.


Will Sprott
willsprott.com
Will Sprott is a song & dance man originally from San Jose, California. From 2005-2011 he toured & released music under the name the Mumlers—a ramshackle crew of friends of which he was the only constant member. In 2012 he began performing more often under his own name, sometimes by himself, sometimes with accompaniment. His musical travels have led him on zigzagging trails around the continent appearing everywhere from the Warfield in San Francisco to the Bowery Ballroom in New York City & lots of towns in between, sharing stages with many luminaries of the musical underworld along the way. He is currently recording a new record.

Mortar and Pestle
www.mortarandpestlemusic.com
From Oakland, California, Mortar & Pestle is a trio that makes the kind of “this reminds me of the summer when...” songs that stick like smoke. These are tunes which bring up the feelings that make memories, bridging genres and weaving the past and future into a retrospective ride towards tomorrow. The self-titled debut from Oakland, California trio Mortar & Pestle is scheduled for release on the Post Primal label on May 7th, 2013. The album is preceded by the single “U.V.,” streaming now.


Steakhouse
steakhouserock.com
Steakhouse is a rock group from San Francisco, California. Their music sounds like a mix of post-punk, kraut and art rock, with little bits of country/ western thrown in at all the wrong times. They are influenced by Neu!, Johnny Cash, Rank & File, Scott Walker and The Clash. The band comprises a few of the people who answered a Craigslist ad titled “Art Fags Make Dancy Band,” during 2011


Old and Gray
oldandgray.bandcamp.com
Two years ago, Old And Gray sat down in a café and scribbled onto a napkin “write a super fuzzy album”. The napkin must have been printed from fortune cookie paper, cause before long, that album was taking shape. It began as a spontaneous explosion of raw melody and soon began to take the form of a eulogy. “The whole theme was inspired by a friend I lost within the past year. She gave me a lovely photo and it's all I have left from our friendship. The process of finishing the album became very strange. I became infatuated with the photo and stare into it and pretend I was in it. I'd even have these dreams where she would come visit me in my dreams and sing these wild poems to me. Many of the poems would eventually become lyrics on the album”–Buddy Hale