THE SPRING ISSUE
Alan Vega
Photograph by Kava Gorna Alan Vega has been making people all over the world shudder with anxiety and awe through his cathartic musical intuition for over 35 years. As one half of the monolithic duo Suicide, as a solo artist and as a collaborator, Vega has confronted audiences with his legendary brand of off-the-wall howling […]
Last Word
Credit is not always appropriately allotted, but Tom Verlaine’s seminal New York band Television literally founded the CBGB’s punk scene. Initially playing cool virtuoso to Richard Hell’s gutter poet, the revered guitarist went on to craft an enigmatic solo career which included work with Jeff Buckley. His anxious vocal delivery and frenetic guitar style have […]
An Evening of Friends at Mars Bar
In the grand SOMA tradition of uniting the prettiest guests in the Bay Area, on May 25th, the partygoers enjoyed a night of mingling, dancing and partying at Mars Bar in San Francisco. The Cielo tequila was flowing and the dance floor was packed.
She’s a Rainbow
Photographs by David Roemer Fashion Editor Rachel Gilman Sisley jacket (with faux fur collar) Southpaw*Pawe-wa blue denim vest Lisa Levine silver necklaces Diesel gold lurex leggings Nooka watch Diesel sleeveless studded denim jumpsuit Marc Jacobs silk blouse Sisley printed dress United Bamboo black vest Lauren Wolf silver crescent necklace and cuff bracelets Lisa Levine silver […]
Gimme Shelter
Photographs by Alexandra Carr Fashion Editor Naima Difranco imitation of christ light wash denim dress dkny tights. a&g cashmere black wool cropped jacket with embroidered sleeves. shelly steffee jersey sleeveless dress. costume national nude blazer with black mesh overlay blazer, black fishnet strapless bra with crystal beading and black bloomers. giuseppe zanotti heels. doori ruffled […]
Sound Check
Joan of Arc Eventually, All at Once (Record Label) Joan of Arc’s insistence on turning lyrical concepts inside out via Tim Kinsella’s high-concept lyrical mind-fucks and their tendency to masturbate structure-less riffs into oblivion always begs confrontation. But perhaps it’s unfair to accuse the band of provocation; they make art-rock (at this point, more the […]
Green Mind
Text by Duggan McDonnell Photograph by Lukka Feldman Don’t take this the wrong way. Really. I know, I know, Earth Day came and went, and no one batted an eye. Recycling is as de rigeur as brushing one’s teeth. Styrofoam hardly exists anymore. Your bartender is asking if you’d prefer your cosmopolitan shaken with organic […]
BOLERO
Text by Duggan McDonnell Photograph by Sara Remington Summer is the time of burgeoning and lasting heat. The day waxes longer, the sun sets, but the heat of the season remains. It is on these nights that I pretend to be of Latin blood, that I am a bullfighting torero, that I wish to be […]
The Furious Afrirampo
Text by Douglas Hargrave The Japanese sisters of Afrirampo are a force to be reckoned with. Onstage, the duo emit a wild, raw energy that could generate enough electricity to power a small cabin. They sweat, sing and scream at each other, swallow microphones and get your heart pounding. Their stripped down blast of rock […]
Six Organs of Admittance
Text by Mila Zuo Photograph by Alissa Anderson While Ben Chasny may consider himself more of a music fan than a musician, his impact on underground music is undeniable. In this year alone, the busy songwriter tours with psych-prog dragons Comets on Fire, experimental masters Current 93, and Chasny’s most intimate project Six Organs of […]
Playing Under a Blanket
Text by Lee Wang Photograph by Kava Gorna Nestled in Anacortes, a small town on a small island in Washington state’s Puget Sound, Phil Elverum has carved out a niche as one of music’s quirkiest indie darlings, and he’s quick to credit his hometown for the quality of his music. “To me they’re sort of […]
Bill Callahan
Text by Jaan Uhelszki Photograph by Joanna Newsom Bill Callahan is perhaps one of the most talented – and at the same time haunted – songwriters working today, evoking both the ethos and poetry of a bygone era. Yet, few people know him by his name because he records under the sobriquet of Smog, a […]
The Reign of Indie
Voodoo-EROS’ Casady and Shimkovitz define the new indie DIY with self-produced and cross-pollinated music, a holistic grassroots attitude, and a dash of gender dysphoria. Photograph by John Minh Nguyen Hasta la victoria siempre might as well be the rallying cry for the hundreds of independent record labels struggling against corporate conglomerates. What happens behind the […]
Peaches for President
Text by Patrick Knowles Photograph by Alex Freund Merrill Beth Nisker answers the phone with an impossibly charming, “Hello baby.” It’s a cool New York afternoon and while it’s been a whirlwind press day for the artist better known to the rest of the world as Peaches, there is an immediate sense of playfulness and […]
