angel island

Some words from their website...

Piling up layers upon layers of imagery, Justin Goldman creates a lyrical world that is not unlike a Dylan-esque acid trip (if Bobby wrote more songs about girls, anyway). Fronting the group Angel Island which consists of Robert Jakubs on drums and Pascal Garneau as multi-instrumentalist and producer, Goldman lays bare his emotions with sometimes painfully auto­biographical lyrics one moment before building up walls of psychedelic metaphor to hide behind the next.
visit their website...

listen to: Angel Island - What it Means, Where it All Comes From

baby snakes

Originally billed as Planet of the Apes...notice the album cover...Baby Snakes is the brainchild of four fellows with musical chops and a lyrical/emotional reach that far outstrip most peers in their age bracket (larval stage).

Beyond the technical crap, they needed no creative guidance whatsoever and on this project I was "playing producer" far less than just helping them make the sounds that sounded the way they wanted sounds to sound.
visit their website...

listen to: Baby Snakes - Ages

mariposa

According to frontman Jess Sylvester, there is some precedent in his listening library for the combination of rock-n-roll with Chinese folk music. Me, I don't get out much...this all sounds very new and unique to me. It's amazing how well it works. Jess has an amazing left hand technique on guitar akin to the likes of Stanley Jordan or Jeff Healey, though he uses it to far different purposes stylistically. Throw in that sultry-smooth voice and some friggin' amazing drums and percussion vis-a-vis Mr. Robert Jakubs, and that is some tasty Kim-Chee.
visit their website...

listen to: Mariposa - Blue More Than a Color

paul bertolino

Some words from Paul's label, Antenna Farm...

Paul Bertolino is a Berkeley native whose self-professed obsession with all forms of pop music took root in early childhood. By his own admission, Paul spent an almost unhealthy amount of his adolescence watching record labels spinning on turntables.

Already familiar to many in the Bay Area as the longtime drummer for Persephone's Bees and as the former frontman for one of San Francisco's toughest garage-soul outfits The Sleaves, Paul first came to our attention here at AF with a show-stopping performance at the Cafe Du Nord's Monday Night Hoot, way back in the year 2000. That night, amongst the nascent freak-folk scene that was quickly coalescing, Paul bucked the trend and played some straight-up folk pop that referenced Caetano Veloso, the Carpenters, Burt Bacharach, and even the Left Banke. It was music to our ears.

With Inner Soundtrack, Paul Bertolino has delivered a one-of-a-kind album channelling 40 years worth of psychedelic pop history. With baroque melodies and classic production, these are the songs that will make up the Nuggets collections of the future.
visit his website...

listen to: Paul Bertolino - Fall for It

josh cole+powerflower

Josh is a force of nature and his weighty personality comes through in his music, I think. He and I worked on this one real slow-like over the course of a year, and Josh was never aftraid to sit with a piece of recorded music (bought and paid for) a couple weeks, maybe play over the top of it, and then decide to strip it down and do again until it's right in his head.

The tones are deeply-slathered in analog lotion, and the aroma will open your ears.
visit his website...

listen to: Powerflower - Stratosphere

the sleaves

Some (edited) words from their website penned by the eloquent Mr. Ben Russo...

When looking up “sleaves” in the dictionary, you will find nothing. One must look to the stage and listen to find definition. What you find is a group whose sound is as diverse as the members making up the band: bombastic six-stringed anthems, gritty ass-shakers, and shimmering 60's-reminiscent pop numbers. What kind of alchemy does this group possess? The answer is in their sum-is-greater-than-its-parts line-up.

Paul Bertolino is the front man and eye of the hurricane. This singer/songwriter brings a voice and presence to the stage that belies his stature. Nathan Alfaro, long time friend of Bertolino, was the only choice to fill the low end in for The Sleaves. Nate’s catchy bass playing anchors the band while providing another outlet for melodies. Pascal Garneau lends infectious vocal harmonies, a wall of six and twelve-string electric guitar, and his abilities on the 88’s to flesh out The Sleaves sound. Mike Miller did time in Cincinnati selling guitars to lesser men before moving to Detroit for a crash course in Rock n’ Roll debauchery. He then moved to SF and through divine intervention, answered an anonymous Craig’s List add for a guitarist. Aaron Nudelman’s rock resume reads impressively - his latest solo outing saw him backed by The Chantigs. His past adventures in rock include the venerable MensClub and Sunless Day. His solo efforts found a home on Scott Kannberg’s (from indie stalwarts Pavement) Amazing Grease record label. His drumming propels the bands sound, but his sweat testifies to its soul.
visit their website...

listen to: The Sleaves - Lisa Swan

the music club

A quartet of kids (at the time) from Petaluma's own St. Veincent's High School. They spent a weekend doing a 6-song E.P. full of facile yet charmingly-fragile songs with depth and heart. They've since scurried off to various institutions of higher learning...I hope they come back some day together or seperately with new good stuff!
visit their website...

listen to: The Music Club - Rhododendron

bullet vibe

Engineering for these guys is commando recording at it's finest: they are unapologetically raw in the finest possible sense, and we all wanted the recordings to respect the urgent, well, vibe of their music.

We used a mimimal track count and pulled 100% of the basic tracks on my 8-channel tape machine. Overdubs to tape as well. Three tracks and some intentionally heavy-handed compression smash covered their incredibly potted drummer, and I just let the band play.

listen to: Bullet Vibe - Lowbar

KP and e-low

Yes, I have recorded hip-hop. Once or twice. Alert the media.

These guys might not want me to spread the rep, but they were really nice and well-behaved dudes in the studio with zero attitude, zero entourage, and a great work ethic. I can't claim to be a hip-hop listener, but I enjoyed working with them and enjoyed the music more for having been a part of it.

listen to: KP and E-Low - Last Breath

geoff ellsworth+the towne dandies

Geoff's musical stage shows generally involve the demo sequences on cheap Casio keyboards, a great deal of improvisation, and more than a little tin foil. Yes, I said tin foil.

Strictly-speaking, the recorded Geoff Ellsworth experience is more of a "sweetening" job on my end as opposed to a soup-to-nuts organic recording process. It still starts with the Casio demo loops, and I just add from there.

Still, the process has it's own set of unique challenges and is a damn fun thing to listen to.

listen to: The Towne Dandies - Don't Make That Elephant Mad!