Interviews with Bay Area up-and-coming bands
February 28th; Interview with Astronauts, etc., Minot and guest DJ Family Crest
February 28, 2013 8:00pm
Astronauts, etc.
soundcloud.com/astronautsetc
Astronauts, etc. is the solo project of Anthony Ferraro, a Berkeley student who found electronic music when arthritis prevented him from pursuing a career in classical piano. His flavor of restrained, hypnotic electronic pop evokes feelings of space, isolation, and introspection. After releasing an EP in the fall of 2012, Astronauts, etc. garnered significant attention from blogs and media outlets. The formation of a four-piece live band shortly followed, along with a debut performance at KALX’s 50th anniversary celebration. Astronauts, etc. will be playing with Big Tree on March 16th at Bottom of the Hill, and with Poolside on March 27th at The Independent.
Minot
minotband.com
The idea behind MINOT is deceptively complex. Livid post-punk energy roils beneath a surface of cooly understated psychedelic instrumental composition. Their music is immediately familiar, yet they are a singularity in the world of post-rock. They are a bundle of contradictions: Dark, but up-tempo; heavy, but danceable; mean, but whimsical. MINOT has very little to do with the ubiquitous reverb-soaked melancholy crescendo-rock; their style has been shaped by experimental bands on the fringe of rock music like Turing Machine, Laddio Bolocko, Young Widows, and Future Of The Left. These influences brought the three members to an interesting musical intersection. MINOT puts experimentalism and fury back into post-rock; the expansive, but increasingly predictable genre.
Family Crest
http://www.thefamilycrestfamily.com/
Guest DJ
The Family Crest began as a collaborative recording project in 2008 with a vision to change the way music is made. Gathering friends, fans, musicians, and non-musicians alike, the group began to record an album in bars, churches, streets, and other unconventional locations. Their collaborative approach to music making quickly grew steam, evolving by February 2010 into a fully-formed orchestral indie rock band with over two hundred and fifty ‘Extended Family Members’ participating in recordings, live performances, and media projects.
Fusing rock, jazz, folk and classical genres, the band’s rich, epic sound has been compared to Arcade Fire, Fleet Foxes, and Beirut. MadeLoud.com proclaims, “the music they make is sweeping, wall-of-sound indie rock that alludes to fellow strings-adorned bands like Tindersticks and Arcade Fire, but The Family Crest establishes their own Left Coast identity, nodding to ’60s San Francisco Baroque pop and timeless folk-rock, as well. This is lush and intricate music, demanding the breadth of a full-length release.” The San Francisco Chronicle says, “while vying to collect more musicians onstage than the Decemberists or Arcade Fire, The Family Crest harbors an affection for Burt Bacharach-style swingin’ romanticism that is sure to impress lovers of classical pop.” According to The Bay Bridged, “they take their earnest, anthemic cue from The Arcade Fire, but the presence of so many string and wind instruments and the talents of frontman Liam McCormick put them on a unique frequency.”
soundcloud.com/astronautsetc
Astronauts, etc. is the solo project of Anthony Ferraro, a Berkeley student who found electronic music when arthritis prevented him from pursuing a career in classical piano. His flavor of restrained, hypnotic electronic pop evokes feelings of space, isolation, and introspection. After releasing an EP in the fall of 2012, Astronauts, etc. garnered significant attention from blogs and media outlets. The formation of a four-piece live band shortly followed, along with a debut performance at KALX’s 50th anniversary celebration. Astronauts, etc. will be playing with Big Tree on March 16th at Bottom of the Hill, and with Poolside on March 27th at The Independent.
Minot
minotband.com
The idea behind MINOT is deceptively complex. Livid post-punk energy roils beneath a surface of cooly understated psychedelic instrumental composition. Their music is immediately familiar, yet they are a singularity in the world of post-rock. They are a bundle of contradictions: Dark, but up-tempo; heavy, but danceable; mean, but whimsical. MINOT has very little to do with the ubiquitous reverb-soaked melancholy crescendo-rock; their style has been shaped by experimental bands on the fringe of rock music like Turing Machine, Laddio Bolocko, Young Widows, and Future Of The Left. These influences brought the three members to an interesting musical intersection. MINOT puts experimentalism and fury back into post-rock; the expansive, but increasingly predictable genre.
Family Crest
http://www.thefamilycrestfamily.com/
Guest DJ
The Family Crest began as a collaborative recording project in 2008 with a vision to change the way music is made. Gathering friends, fans, musicians, and non-musicians alike, the group began to record an album in bars, churches, streets, and other unconventional locations. Their collaborative approach to music making quickly grew steam, evolving by February 2010 into a fully-formed orchestral indie rock band with over two hundred and fifty ‘Extended Family Members’ participating in recordings, live performances, and media projects.
Fusing rock, jazz, folk and classical genres, the band’s rich, epic sound has been compared to Arcade Fire, Fleet Foxes, and Beirut. MadeLoud.com proclaims, “the music they make is sweeping, wall-of-sound indie rock that alludes to fellow strings-adorned bands like Tindersticks and Arcade Fire, but The Family Crest establishes their own Left Coast identity, nodding to ’60s San Francisco Baroque pop and timeless folk-rock, as well. This is lush and intricate music, demanding the breadth of a full-length release.” The San Francisco Chronicle says, “while vying to collect more musicians onstage than the Decemberists or Arcade Fire, The Family Crest harbors an affection for Burt Bacharach-style swingin’ romanticism that is sure to impress lovers of classical pop.” According to The Bay Bridged, “they take their earnest, anthemic cue from The Arcade Fire, but the presence of so many string and wind instruments and the talents of frontman Liam McCormick put them on a unique frequency.”
