CENTERPIECE
The Big 10
San Diego is home to some serious talent – a look at the current local music scene
By Nina Garin
STAFF WRITER
December 30, 2004
San Diego's music scene is as diverse as the people who live here – rock and blues and hip-hop and Latin music all happily coexist under the sun.
Maybe this harmonious atmosphere explains why so many locals groups – including Switchfoot, P.O.D, Pinback and Nickel Creek – go on to become national stars.
With so much variety and talent here, it's never hard to find a good band to get fanatical and crazy about. But for those who need a little push, we explore some of the musicians who make up the current music scene in San Diego.
Some, like The Album Leaf and Louis XIV, are poised to be the "Next Big Thing." Others, like Lady Dottie and the Diamonds, just play music and sing because it's all they know, it's all they love.
We asked two music critics to pick five of their personal favorite groups. These are just a sampling of bands that keep San Diego's musical landscape fresh, thriving and always exciting.
THE ALBUM LEAF
HOMETOWN: San Diego
WHO THEY ARE: Jimmy LaValle – vocals, keys, guitar
Drew Andrews – guitar, keys, bass
Timothy Reece – drums
Matthew Resovich – violin
Andrew Pates – live visuals
THE SOUND: Brian Eno-inspired ambient electronic music
LATEST RELEASE: "In a Safe Place" (2004, Sub Pop Records)
ON THE WEB: www.albumleaf.com; www.subpop.com
NEXT LOCAL GIG: With Rogue Wave, 8:30 p.m. Jan. 20 at the Casbah, 2501 Kettner Blvd.; $12; (619) 232-HELL
THE SKINNY: The Album Leaf's music is so subtle and understated you might miss all the complexities and sonic layers occurring simultaneously. A closer listen reveals a weeping violin, toy Glockenspiels tinkling in the distance, the pitter-patter of quiet electronic drum loops, mumbled poetry and the sweeping, bubbling notes of an accordion.
Borrowing its name from a Chopin piece, the Album Leaf is the brainchild of Jimmy LaValle. A veteran of brilliant and varied San Diego bands like Tristeza, Gogogo Airheart and the Locust, LaValle teams with Black Heart Procession's Pall Jenkins and Icelandic indie rockers Sigur Ros on his latest creation, 2004's "In a Safe Place." LaValle recorded the disc in Iceland with Sigur Ros's Sundlaugin Studios in 2003.
"In a Safe Place" reflects the simple beauty of the Islandic landscape and deserves multiple playbacks. Listen closely: Behind all the subtleties you can hear the sound of a great San Diego band being born.
– CHRIS NIXON
ALFRED HOWARD & THE K23 ORCHESTRA
HOMETOWN: San Diego
WHO THEY ARE: Alfred Howard – rhymes, poems
Travis Daudert – guitar
Steve Craft – drums
Jeremy Eikam – bass
Aaron Irwin – percussion
Josh Rice – keyboards
THE SOUND: Hip-hop and improvisational funk influenced by the spoken-word poetry movement
LATEST RELEASE: "Live at Lestat's, Vols. I and II" (2004, self-released)
ON THE WEB: www.alhowardk23.com
NEXT LOCAL GIG: Free New Year's show, 9 p.m. tomorrow at Winston's, 1921 Bacon St. in Ocean Beach; http://winstonsob.com or (619) 222-6822.
THE SKINNY: Public Enemy's Chuck D. once called hip-hop "the black CNN." With rap's current focus on party tunes, red carpets and extravagant consumption, the lion's share of today's hip-hop is the musical equivalent of the E! Channel: inherently stupid, irrelevant and devoid of meaning or substance.
An East Coast transplant who now calls San Diego his home, Alfred Howard drops rhymes with staccato, machine-gun delivery and pinpoint accuracy, shooting down misconceptions about hip-hop while drowning out the poseur MCs. After migrating to San Diego, Howard hooked up with the five guys in the K23 Orchestra. The band provides a jazzy, percussion-driven backdrop heavily influenced by Miles Davis' funky 1970s fusion and the groove-oriented jazz of Karl Denson and the Greyboy Allstars.
While the band won Best Hip-Hop Group at the San Diego Music Awards in 2003 and 2004, Howard and the band clearly don't want to be associated with rap's mainstream (from "Disneyland History"): Turn on the rap station and I hear Nelly pound / And I know I've got more talent in my left pinkie fingernail clipping / And infinite more purity when I'm on the microphone ripping.
– CHRIS NIXON
CATTLE DECAPITATION
HOMETOWN: Downtown
WHO THEY ARE: Michael Laughlin, drums
Travis Ryan, vocals
Troy Oftedal, bass
Josh Elmore, guitar
WHAT THEY PLAY: Disturbing, pro-vegetarian death metal
LATEST RELEASE: "Humanure" on Metal Blade Records
ON THE WEB: www.cattledecapitation.com; www.metalblade.com
NEXT LOCAL GIG: The band leaves in January for a national tour that brings them to Los Angeles' Key Club on Feb. 2. A San Diego show is likely to be added, check the Web site for updates.
THE SKINNY: Cattle Decapitation is a gross band name; its song lyrics are even grosser. And the cover of this heavy metal group's album "Humanure," featuring bloody, human-infested cow feces, is the grossest thing of all. But underneath all that gore, is a seemingly well-adjusted group of vegetarians.
"I've always liked music that has some sort of sociological message," said Travis Ryan.
They may have a pro-vegetarian message, but it's very difficult to understand what the band is trying to say. Cattle Decapitation's music is a barrage of speedy guitars and vocals that are scary enough to freak out even Freddy and Jason. Still, since the band formed in 1998, its fan base has been growing so much that the guys will be on tour for the next four months, playing to a diverse crowd ranging from metal addicts to emo kids – because those who really listen will find that the band's noise-assault can be quite addicting. And, in the end, the group is sending leftist messages about human selfishness, overpopulation and the mistreatment of animals.
"I hope people don't take us too seriously," Ryan said about the band's gory reputation. "Everything is very tongue-in-cheek, very sarcastic."
– NINA GARIN
ARABELLA HARRISON
HOMETOWN: Spring Valley
WHO THEY ARE: She's solo, but when Harrison has live shows she performs with her band, Brothers and Sisters, featuring Grant Reinero, Ian Woodward, Chris Vanacore, Mike Scalia and Lisah Nicholson
THE SOUND: Romantic country fused with pop
LATEST RELEASE: Her self-titled debut EP will be released early next year on Better Looking Records
ON THE WEB: www.arabellaharrison.com
NEXT LOCAL GIG: Harrison is finishing up her album, so she won't be playing locally for a while. Her only scheduled gig is on Jan. 21 at Spaceland in Los Angeles.
THE SKINNY: Even though Harrison hasn't released an album yet, her voice is one of the most recognized in town. Harrison, also known as Araby, once sang with such now-defunct groups as Jejune and the And/Ors. She also appears on CDs by such San Diego stars as the Blackheart Procession, No Knife and Bartender's Bible.
But only in the last year did this Berklee School of Music graduate and full-time composer of TV commercials decide it was time to step out on her own. Raised in Hawaii, she moved to San Diego in 1995. She has the kind of voice that's both innocent and tortured – a little bit Joan Baez and a little bit Emmylou Harris, two women who influence her solo material.
"I grew up listening to Emmylou, Gram Parsons, the Band," she said. "So that's the style I go back to when I write my own songs."
Along with penning lyrics, Harrison also composes all the music parts, including guitar, bass, drums, piano and harmonica. After that, her friends in Brothers and Sisters bring in their own indie pop touches to give the music an idiosyncratic feel of its own.
– NINA GARIN
LADY DOTTIE AND THE DIAMONDS
HOMETOWN: Mid-City
WHO THEY ARE: Dorothy Mae Whitsett, vocals
Joe Guevara, piano-vocals
Steven Rey, stand-up bass
Nate Beale, guitar
Andy Robillard, drums
WHAT THEY PLAY: Old-fashioned blues with a modern twist
LATEST RELEASE: None; this is the kind of music you need to hear live.
ON THE WEB: www.henryspub.com
NEXT LOCAL GIG: Every Monday night at the Tower Bar on University Ave.; Wednesday nights at Henry's Pub in the Gaslamp.
THE SKINNY: Without even realizing it, 60-year-old Whitsett has created a San Diego supergroup. Her old-fashioned blues band, Lady Dottie and the Diamonds, is made up, not of aging blues rockers, but of young, hipster musicians.
But Whitsett, a cook at the Mission Cafe, doesn't care that she's playing with members from Gogogo Airheart and Jejune. Sh's just interested in their skills.
"The only time we practice is when we're playing," she says. "Well, really, they all just follow me."
While the band doesn't perform original music, its covers of Etta James and Aretha Franklin songs are gritty and passionate enough to sound like the real thing. The band fuses a rollicking piano with sultry stand-up bass, but the show-stealer is the Alabama-bred Whitsett. Her voice sounds like a combination of all the greatest blues albums you've ever heard.
"I've been singing all my life," she said. "Not in a money-making way; I've just been singing the blues for fun. That's sufficient enough for me."
– NINA GARIN
BUNKY
HOMETOWN: San Diego
WHO THEY ARE: Emily Joyce – vocals, drums
Rafter Roberts – vocals, guitar
THE SOUND: Playful, raucous, shiny, indie pop
LATEST RELEASE: "Born to Be a Motorcycle" (Officially due in stores March 2005, but available now at Asthmatic Kitty Records' Web site)
ON THE WEB: www.bunkymusic.com; www.asthmatickitty.com
NEXT LOCAL GIG: None scheduled.
THE SKINNY: The boy-girl duo Bunky simply and eloquently exudes a quirky innocence and a pure love for each other that finds its way into every note they play. Together, they form a one-two indie pop punch. Emily croons with her sweet good girl vocals; Rafter rocks the guitars and shouts riotous choruses.
Collectively, they are Bunky: a little sweet, a little tough, mostly busting with exuberant joy. The duo surrounds themselves with San Diego's best musical refugees – from Pinback, the Album Leaf and Rocket From the Crypt, to name a few. Roberts remains a pillar of the local scene, performing as a member of the Black Heart Procession and Gogogo Airheart and producing numerous San Diego bands while making a living creating advertising jingles for Visa, Hot Wheels, Panasonic and U.S. Cellular.
Bunky's debut album, "Born to Be a Motorcycle," finally gives critics something to talk about. Both the album and the group are worth the chatter.
– CHRIS NIXON
LOUIS XIV
HOMETOWN: San Diego
WHO THEY ARE: Jason Hill – vocals, guitar
Brian Karscig – guitar, vocals
Mark Maigaard – drums
Jimmy – bass
THE SOUND: Gritty retro psychedelic rock
LATEST RELEASE: "Blue and Pink EPs" (2005, Atlantic Records)
ON THE WEB: www.louisxiv.net
NEXT LOCAL GIG: Big Night California with the Violent Femmes, 9 p.m. tomorrow at Qualcomm Stadium; $109.99-$179.99; (619) 220-TIXS.
THE SKINNY: Rising from the ashes of San Diego supergroup Convoy, Louis XIV packs enough attitude and rock history IQ to evoke images of 1960s era Kinks or early Rolling Stones. After gaining local cred and national attention (the Convoy boys starred in a Sheraton commercial covering the Stones' "Let's Spend the Night Together"), Convoy members Brian Karscig, Jason Hill and Mark Maigaard released the self-titled "Louis XIV" in 2003.
Since then, the quartet released a few EPs, traveled to the SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas, stunned record label execs with their performance, signed a major-label deal with Atlantic Records and plan to record new studio album soon. Not bad for a year's work.
– CHRIS NIXON
MAIZ
HOMETOWN: South Bay
WHO THEY ARE: Karlos Paez, vocals-trumpet
Damian DeRobbio, bass
Mike Cannon, percussion
WHAT THEY PLAY: Mexi-reggae
LATEST RELEASE: "Feed Your Spirit (Alimenta tu Espiritu)" on West Up Records
ON THE WEB: www.bsideplayers.com
NEXT LOCAL GIG: None scheduled, but B-Side Players (Paez leads the band) will perform Jan. 8 at the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach.
THE SKINNY: There are two kinds of reggae in this town: the kind that fraternity boys like to play at their parties and the kind that's socially conscious. With its lyrics about poverty and oppression, Maiz is definitely of the socially conscious variety.
Maiz, Spanish for the inexpensive corn product used in Latin American countries, has a repertoire of songs in both English and Spanish. Singer Karlos Paez, best known as the leader of the popular Latin dance band B-Side Players, soulfully wails about indigenous workers and not trusting the government.
But the band isn't all about being serious. With its horn-tinged song and beats that are similar to the classic Kingston, Jamaica, sound, Maiz can also get a crowd to groove. But a Bob Marley clone, Maiz is not – Paez and his band fuse plenty of Latin rhythms to keep their sound distinctly San Diegan.
– NINA GARIN
SCARLET SYMPHONY
HOMETOWN: La Mesa
WHO THEY ARE: Gary Hankins, vocals
Zach Wheeler, bass
Aaron Swanton, guitar-vocals
Josh Wheeler, drums
THE SOUND: Jazz-dance-rock
LATEST RELEASE: "Vulture" on Phantoms Records
ON THE WEB: www.scarletsymphony.com
NEXT LOCAL GIG: The Casbah's New Year's Eve party, 8:30 p.m. tomorrow; 2501 Kettner Blvd.; www.casbahmusic.com or (619) 220-TIXS.
THE SKINNY: Scarlet Symphony could have been superfamous by now. If the fashionable rockers signed a contract with Island or Sony Records like they almost did, the boys just might have been hosting MTV's New Year's Eve in Times Square. But, by choice, Scarlet Symphony did not sign a big record deal and the band will be playing their New Year's Eve show here at home. The quartet, whose oldest member is 23, felt that creative control of their schizophrenic music was more important than big money and becoming best friends with Paris Hilton.
Since forming a year and a half ago, this La Mesa-based group has been sparking up the music scene with its mix of rock, pop, jazz and electronic music. After playing close to three shows a week for almost a year, the band has the kind of loyal following that those big labels dream about. But the band has decided to release its upcoming album on its own label early next year. And if the guys can sell their old tour van, they might make enough money to get back to Japan, where they recently finished a small but successful tour.
Scarlet Symphony – which includes identical twin brothers Zach and Josh Wheeler – cites musicians like David Bowie, Patti Smith and Joh Coltrane as influences. "We haven't decided what kind of band we are," said Aaron Swanton. "We just play whatever comes out."
– NINA GARIN
THE SULTANS
HOMETOWN: San Diego
WHO THEY ARE: Slasher (John Reis) – guitar, vocals
Tony DiPrima – drums, vocals
Black Velvet (Dean Reis) – bass
THE SOUND: Growling, snarled punk rock put through a power-pop filter for easier consumption.
LATEST RELEASE: "Shipwrecked" (2004, Swami Records)
ON THE WEB: www.alhowardk23.com
NEXT LOCAL GIG: The Sultans don't have a local gig in the works, but Reis' seminal band, Rocket From the Crypt, plays the Casbah on Jan. 16 to celebrate the club's 16th anniversary; 2501 Kettner Blvd.; (619) 232-HELL or www.casbahmusic.
THE SKINNY: While not as ballistic as Hot Snakes or as popular as Rocket From the Crypt, the Sultans trio remains a hidden San Diego treasure cranking out tasty power pop. John Reis – who also runs Swami Records (Beehive and the Barracudas, RFTC, the Husbands) – teams with brother Dean and RFTC drummer Tony DiPrima.
When you watch the Sultans live, you can see John Reis let loose in his onstage persona Slasher. For the Sultans, says John Reis, "It's nice to make music with your brother and hang out." The Sultans 2004 gem, "Shipwrecked," was overlooked, so go back and check it out yourself.
– CHRIS NIXON
