Raja Kumari Releases New Single ‘I Did It’

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Raja Kumari releases her new single today, “I Did It”. Says the artist about the new song: “I have always had to Fight for my art. Instinct, Faith and Perseverance have been my greatest weapons. ‘I Did It’ is an anthem written to remind myself that I can do anything that I set my intention on. It’s a song about believing in yourself at all costs while finding a way to stay authentic to who you are”.

The multi-cultural singer first made a name for herself by being the creative force behind Fall Out Boy’s “Centuries,” Iggy Azalea’s “Change Your Life” [feat. T.I.], Fifth Harmony’s “Like Mariah” [feat. Tyga], and numerous other hits for Gwen Stefani (Red Flag, Naughty) also earning a 2015 GRAMMY® nod.

 

Q&A: The Echo Exchange

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How did you come up with the name of the band?
As the band was forming, our bassist, Bod was obsessing over “Echoes” by Pink Floyd, so popped up as part of the name. But to take it to the full band name, we sat down and thought about how we write music together: The Echo Exchange described our songwriting process: we come together with song ideas and bounce them off of each other. As echoes reverberate, they are changed, sometimes subtly, sometimes more drastically. Our music is the same way, we all put our stamp onto the music as it bounces back and forces at our writing sessions.

How would you describe your sound?
Our music is Indie rock, but with a strong pop sensibility. The addition of Deuce on horns helps to bring in a soul/jazz element that helps to set us apart. Tess has a really powerful but clean and clear voice, which helps to keep us from falling too far down the indie rabbit hole and helps guide us towards something radio-playable.

When did you first become interested in playing music?
We have all been playing since we were kids. Tess minored in music/vocals in college, DJ and Deuce both played jazz band in high school, Wes was a huge drumline nerd, and Bod picked up the bass as an escape when he fell into some bad habits in his youth.

What’s the strangest or funniest thing that’s ever happened to you at a show?
We played a single stage festival on a river up in Placerville. Everybody camps, sets up their chairs in the river and just watches music from 11 am to 4 am the following morning. It’s just 3 days of music, booze, dirt, and awesome food. We had been talking about how we needed a mascot and as a joke, Wes suggested a moose. Right then he looked down and there was a tiny plastic toy moose on the ground. He is less than one inch tall. We immediately adopted him and named him Echo and he goes to every show with us now.

What are you listening to these days?
Tame Impala is making the rounds on our shared Spotify list. As a guitar aficionado, Khruangbin is blowing my (DJ’s) mind right now. I’ve always tinkered with modifying my guitar and shaping my sound with unique pedals, but he takes it to a new level. Deuce has a life-long love for the music of Sonny Rollins.

What’s your take on why so many musicians are leaving San Francisco for Oakland?
I can’t really speak for why they are doing that other than space and availability. That being said, it’s rough being a musician on either side of the bridge. Venues are being squeezed, national companies are buying up a lot of what is left and only playing “their” acts, and studio space is at a serious premium. That being said, people in both cities want to see new bands playing something new and unique. We love them both, but we are definitely SF based, Deuce is our sole Oakland representative, the rest of us live in the city.

What are some of your favorites hangs in the Bay Area and why?
The Plough and Stars on Clement street is our neighborhood drinking spot. Whenever we feel like we need a tune-up show before something bigger, we let them know when we want to play and they let us do our thing. It’s a great low key spot where you can just hang out and drink and play music when we feel like it. The local crowd there is always appreciative of whatever you’re putting forward. Plus it’s an ultra small stage, so we get to hone the edge so to speak in a really intimate space.

What does music mean to you?
Music reflects the intersection of all the cultures that shaped you. Every group of people, culture, etc has their own music, their own instruments, and musicians are right there alongside foodies as the first people to embrace foreign ideas and concepts and combine them with their own. I think it is a really important way of connecting cultures and ideologies and bringing people together.

How’d you guys first get together to play music?
I wish I could say we had a killer origins story, but really we met the way most bands meet: a combination of connections from past bands/musicians we knew and a craigslist ad looking for other musicians in the area.

What inspires you to write?
We are inspired by what has transcended in our various personal lives. We’ve all gone through good times and bad times and they both influence what we write. Sometimes when you let yourself start to write lyrics, you uncover feelings and thoughts you didn’t realize were there. I think the best lyrics are ones where you discover something in the process. We intentionally never write about anything political. The political climate these days skews so strongly towards division, and we want our music to unite people of all viewpoints.

What’s your favorite neighborhood in the city and why?
You mean for burritos? The mission. Clearly the highest density of killer delicious burritos in the city. If you get bored of burritos (as if that is possible!) there are so many other great restaurants there in every genre, multiple breweries, hole in the wall music venues, etc.

What’s one thing that people would be surprised to find out about you?
I think most people who haven’t seen us would be surprised to see a sax player on stage. Its such an underutilized instrument these days. The other thing that surprises people is Bod’s accent. You’d swear he was Jon Snow.

Is there anything you’d like to plug?
We are releasing our Album on June 29th upstairs at the Neck of the Woods. Its gonna be a party! Our album will be released that day on Spotify, iTunes, etc, so definitely give it a listen.

The Artisanals Set to Play the Hotel Utah in July

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The Artisanals are set to release their self-titled debut album on September 21. In anticipation of the release, the Americana band that’s heavily influenced by artists like Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen are set to play the Hotel Utah on July 12.

To help promote the new LP they’ll be releasing the first single off of the album “Angel 42” shortly. In the meantime, check out the lyric video above.

The band has already gotten lots of support from some big names in the industry. Ben Bridwell of Band of Horses is a huge champion of the band and had them support a run of shows last year. The guys also recently completed a tour with Dylan LeBlanc, and Shovels and Rope are also big fans.

 

Tove Lo Debuts Video For “Bitches” Featuring Charli XCX, Icona Pop, Elliphant & Alma

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Talking about the video, song and featured guests, Tove Lo explains “This song was written with a lot of sass and cheekiness and it was important to me that the video showed that. Couldn’t have found a better partner in crime to bring it to life than Lucia. It was SO MUCH FUN. All the girls completely slayed their performance both on the track and in the video. I’m so honored to have these powerful voices be a part of it and have so much fun with it.”

Shawn Mendes to Release New Album

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Hot on the heels of releasing a new video for “In My Blood,” Shawn Mendes, has just announced the release of a new album, due out May 25th, 2018. Shawn announced the album with a nine-hour live-stream as a team of artists and florists created an art installation in real time to reveal the album cover, HERE.

Since its release, “In My Blood” has garnered over 145 million streams, and reached Top 15 at Pop Radio, Top 10 at Hot AC Radio, and debuted #1 on iTunes in 50+ countries, as well as Top 3 Australia, and Top 10 National Airplay in UK and Germany.

Track List

1. In My Blood

2. Nervous

3. Lost In Japan

4. Where Were You In The Morning?

5. Like To Be You (Ft. Julia Michaels)

6. Fallin’ All In You

7. Particular Taste

8. Why

9. Because I Had You

10. Queen

11. Youth (ft. Khalid)

12. Mutual

13. Perfectly Wrong

14. When You’re Ready

Q&A: Gene Evaro Jr.

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Groove Soul artist Gene Evaro Jr.’s signature brand of folk electro-funk is making its way to Slim’s in a few days. The show is just days after the release of his third LP Like it’s 1965, which sees him blending Paul Simon folk songs with some deep funk from bands like Sly & The Family Stone. We wanted to learn more about this hot artist, so we reached out to him to talk about how he describes his music, what his main influences are and whether living in the desert has an impact on his music.

For readers that aren’t familiar with you, how would you describe your sound and what you do musically?

It’s a mixture of soul, folk, electronic, and funk.

Who are your main influences?

Too many to name! But off the top, I’d say, Stevie Wonder, Prince, Paul Simon, D’Angelo.

What projects are you most excited about this year?

We are releasing a new album! It’s called “Like It’s 1965” and it will be available everywhere April 6th. Check us out on youtube as well for the new music video!

You call Joshua Tree home. What’s it like living in the desert and does it influence your music at all?

I love it out here in the dusty desert! It’s serene, peaceful and hot! It’s a great balance from coming off the road and touring the country for weeks on end. It’s always what I need after a few weeks of going from city to city.

I think it does affect the music; it has to right? Not sure how just yet.

You’re playing Slims in San Francisco next week. What can we expect at your show?

A live band that brings it! Not just riffs or fluff, but music that can heal you from a distance (if you’re into that sort of thing).

What do you think of our city?

We love it! SF always gives us mad love. The food, that’s my jam.

What do you think of the current state of the music industry?

No time to think about that one. Music is the soul of life. “Industry” is the soul of…. (a necessary evil perhaps?)

What’s your take on the pro-tools debate? Are you a proponent of heavy production or do you like a more stripped down raw sound?

I love it all. I gravitate towards raw talent/music. Productions should compliment genius, not distract from it. And if genius doesn’t exist in the first place, then production helps the pill go down a little smoother (not always though).

What’s one thing that most people would be surprised to find out about you?

I play upside down right handed guitar with my left hand (no not like Hendrix!) More like Albert King. (low e on the bottom baby)

What advice would you give a young musician that’s just starting out and has aspirations of turning pro someday?

Be prepared to spend long hours (even years) of being alone with your instrument. (Period.)

Gene Evaro Jr. plays Slim’s on April 13 with support from Handmade Moments // $12 advance / $15 door / $36.95 dinner

Kat Robichaud Releases Video for ‘Song for David Bowie’

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Check out this tribute video to David Bowie that was sent to us by Kat Robichaud. It was shot right here in San Francisco on the freezing cold waters of Ocean Beach.

The song is called “Song for David Bowie” (a nod to Bowie’s song “Song for Bob Dylan”) and features SF’s Cabaret darling Kat Robichaud, as well as Nikki Boudreau who was recently featured in Vogue Magazine for her portrayal of the Thin White Duke.

“Song For David Bowie” was written for Kat’s SF based cabaret show, Misfit Cabaret and is on her album with the same title. Get it HERE.

Bone Thugs N Harmony to Play the Regency Ballroom Next Week

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Bone Thugs and Harmony are making their way to the Regency Ballroom in San Francisco next week. The band made a name for itself in the early 90s thanks to their big hit “Crossroads” and has been an icon in the hip-hop world ever sing.

While on the Arsenio Hall Show on Jan. 10, 2014 the Grammy-winning group spoke about their contribution to hip-hop. “We married hardcore rap and melodic sounds together. Every hip-hop artist that’s out now been influenced by what we did. We’re very happy to be here, we feel blessed to [have] contributed something so substantial to music.”

Bone Thugs n Harmony play The Regency Ballroom on Mon, Feb. 19, 2018 // Time 9:00 pm – Doors 8:00 pm // Ticket prices* // $30.00 – Day of show $35.00

Bono Performs with Chris Martin of Coldplay on Jimmy Kimmel Live

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U2’s Bono performed on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” with Chris Martin of Coldplay and featured a cameo by Sean Penn. They sang “One for My Baby (and One More for the Road),” a song made popular by Frank Sinatra.

The song began with Bono ordering a drink from Sean Penn at a bar, then shortly after the first verse Coldplay’s Chris Martin appeared in a stunning red piano from the corner of the room. Check it out above.

U2’s new album Songs of Experience is due Dec. 1.

Stone Foxes Drop New Video Filmed in San Francisco

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San Francisco music scene favorite the Sonte Foxes are back with a brand new video. San Francisco band recently performed at The Marker Hotel (501 Geary) this past August as part of the Good Measure Tour, presented by Noise Pop, Harken Wines and Joie de Vivre Hotels.

They spent the day exploring the place while a film crew captured take-away performances throughout the hotel. The footage has been compiled to create this new music video for “If I Die.” Check it out above and look for them the next time they come to town.

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