Interviews with Bay Area up-and-coming bands
On Baghdad by the Bay, August 2nd; Interview with The Wild Kindness and Persephone’s Bees
August 2, 2012 8:00pm
The Wild Kindness
thewildkindness.com
Mike Alexis (guitar, vocals), Doug Saenz (drums, keyboards), James Levis (guitar) and Ross Murray (bass) received their indie rock bonafides through years in the bands AM Magic, the Decoration, Upstairs Downstairs and Actionslacks. What brought these four together for another go-around is simple: old friendships, mutual respect and a shared musical history. No Craigslist; no hired guns. The timing was right and the Wild Kindness was inevitable.
Formed in June 2011, the band immediately got to work, writing songs and getting a few shows under their belt before hunkering down to record their debut EP, Coming Down to the Ghost. Recorded by James Levis at a warehouse in San Francisco’s SOMA district, the band spent random nights in early fall using borrowed mics and rack-mounted gear courtesy of Kyle McGraw from Faultline Studios. The result is a sharp-focused batch of songs with roots in psych, garage and indie pop.
Persephone’s Bees
persephonesbees.com
Russian born singer/composer/keyboardist Angelina Moysov and Californian guitarist Tom Ayres don’t have a style or genre, unless Progressive-Retro-Psychedelic-Glam-Fusion-Circus-Pop makes sense — and it kinda does. Blessed with the support of the busy Brooklyn rhythm section of Robin Macmillan (drums) and Jacob Silver (bass), PBees live shows are mythical, magical, one of a kind moments of sheer fun! “Notes From The Underworld”, their first release on Columbia in 2006, was produced by Eric Valentine (Queens Of The Stoneage, Nickel Creek). The second self-produced collection, “New In Berlin”, is just coming out, the title track describing Angelina’s lyrical predictions of a sic-fi world where “No revolution is possible in this…” and her insane Yoko Ono styled vocal screams. Still walking their own path between reverence and disloyalty for all their loved influences, the LP “New In Berlin” continues with the same tight arrangements, sweet vocals, and insane guitar that their fansdescribe as “mesmerizing”!
thewildkindness.com
Mike Alexis (guitar, vocals), Doug Saenz (drums, keyboards), James Levis (guitar) and Ross Murray (bass) received their indie rock bonafides through years in the bands AM Magic, the Decoration, Upstairs Downstairs and Actionslacks. What brought these four together for another go-around is simple: old friendships, mutual respect and a shared musical history. No Craigslist; no hired guns. The timing was right and the Wild Kindness was inevitable.
Formed in June 2011, the band immediately got to work, writing songs and getting a few shows under their belt before hunkering down to record their debut EP, Coming Down to the Ghost. Recorded by James Levis at a warehouse in San Francisco’s SOMA district, the band spent random nights in early fall using borrowed mics and rack-mounted gear courtesy of Kyle McGraw from Faultline Studios. The result is a sharp-focused batch of songs with roots in psych, garage and indie pop.
Persephone’s Bees
persephonesbees.com
Russian born singer/composer/keyboardist Angelina Moysov and Californian guitarist Tom Ayres don’t have a style or genre, unless Progressive-Retro-Psychedelic-Glam-Fusion-Circus-Pop makes sense — and it kinda does. Blessed with the support of the busy Brooklyn rhythm section of Robin Macmillan (drums) and Jacob Silver (bass), PBees live shows are mythical, magical, one of a kind moments of sheer fun! “Notes From The Underworld”, their first release on Columbia in 2006, was produced by Eric Valentine (Queens Of The Stoneage, Nickel Creek). The second self-produced collection, “New In Berlin”, is just coming out, the title track describing Angelina’s lyrical predictions of a sic-fi world where “No revolution is possible in this…” and her insane Yoko Ono styled vocal screams. Still walking their own path between reverence and disloyalty for all their loved influences, the LP “New In Berlin” continues with the same tight arrangements, sweet vocals, and insane guitar that their fansdescribe as “mesmerizing”!
