This weekend in San Francisco (Saturday actually), clubbers, ravers, trendsetters, scensters, teenagers and adults will all come together and converge on the Bill Graham Civic Center for the 10th installment of Electro Techno Disco Pop from the legendary party promoters at Skills. ETD Pop is a party of epic proportions by every definition of the word with 3 giant stages of sound, international superstars like Infected Mushroom, Christopher Lawrence, DJ Dan, Diesel Boy, Mark Farina and Kaskade (to name but a few) and 10,000 people expected in attendance. This is a party that had a budget of more than $250,000 and took 5 months to plan. Needless to say, you need to be at this event.
March 31st will mark the 10 year anniversary for the Skills parties and Skills founder Jason Sperling could not be more excited for it. “Skills has been through the good times and the bad times of the (dance) scene and we feel lucky to have been doing our events for the last 10 years” says Jason about the company he helped start bak in 1997.
Plans for an event of this size start as much as 5 months in advance and begin with securing the venue. Once the venue has been booked, it’s time to go after the talent and which can sometimes be complicated due to the fact that the date and venue have already been established and the artists they are courting are international DJ’s who are constantly playing all over the world. There are tours to think about, album releases that come in to play and exclusivity contracts that only allow performers to play a particular venue in the city or only so many times in a year. It’s a lot of work to have someone come and play records.
Skills hasn’t always had to go through all of this work to bring people in to their shows. In the first years when they started throwing their annual massive, the dance scene was healthy and full of young people who couldn’t get enough of the new sounds that boomed out of the towers of bass. Back then, Skills was able to rely on just their name to draw in the crowds. If it was a Skills party, that was enough. The focus was on the good vibe and music and not so much the big name stars performing. That’s all changed in the last 3-4 years and now it is much more about bringing in the biggest names, having the best sound and over the top lighting and decor. Jason welcomes the change and thinks it has made the energy level rise and the crowd has become more diverse and eclectic. “We now have to think of ourselves as concert promoters creating a top notch experience with the best sound and lighting and world class talent.”
This Saturday, all sounds in electronica will be well represented. Main headliner Infected Mushroom (originally from Israel) have been rockin’ stadium crowds around the world for years and Jason is excited to give them the stage that he says they deserve as the main act in the main room. Christopher Lawerence makes his 3rd consecutive appearance for Skills to add to the massive Trance sound that will be represented. In the house arena, some of the big names include DJ Dan, Kaskade and SF’s very own Mark Farina. Diesel Boy, Ed Rush and Optical headline the Drum and Bass room. According to Jason this is the most diverse line up a Skills party has ever had. For more info visit the site and for presale tickets go to Groove Tickets.
Make sure to check back next week because we are going to be there with our cameras so we will have some great videos.
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Wednesday, March 28, 2007
The Massive is alive and well - ETD Pop 2007
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Death of the DJ?
Over the last year is when I really started to notice it. It’s been gradual, but at the same time it seems to have come out of no where almost over night. There’s a change happening in nightclubs around the world and it’s the biggest thing since Disco. No, it’s not a new drug that’s killing teenagers and it’s not a hot dance move that’s sweeping the nation. It’s a shift in the core of what we all consider to be nightclubbing… I think the DJ is dying. In his place comes a new breed of Electronic bands that bring higher energy, more creativity and a longer lasting impression to the nightclub experience. For the DJ, it’s time to adapt or get left behind like the 12” and the 8 track.
It’s been about 30 years since the DJ was first introduced to the nightclub. Back in the 70’s, the DJ brought disco to the masses in a way they had never gotten it before and basically made the live performer obsolete. Club owners were happy, Dj’s were happy and the crowd seemed happy or atleast didn't seem to care. Over the years, the DJ became more of a main stay at clubs and venues around the world and dance music evolved to incorporate the DJ more and more. It’s actually gotten to a point now where a lot of “dance” music is made strictly to be played by DJ’s in nightclubs. It’s an interesting evolution in music when you think about it, but the real interesting evolution is the re-birth of live performance in the nightclub scene.
I first started paying attention to it a couple of years ago when one of my favorite DJ’s of all time, Sasha, decided that he was done DJing pre-recorded music and shifting to performing at his shows using Abelton Live to remix music on the fly and produce a unique version of each song every night. It became even more noticeable though when I started seeing some of the popular “Indie” bands performing at venues like Mezzanine and DNA Lounge here in San Francisco. Acts like Mylo, The Presets, MSTRKRFT, Ghostland Observatory, Bloc Party and countless others are now basically playing the electronica music that we have all been hearing from DJ’s for the last decade. Their bringing live music back to club culture.
It all kind of came to head for me this weekend while at the Booka Shade show at Mezzanine. I was listening to these guys up on stage rocking the crowd and playing truly good live electronica and I started thinking to myself that it’s time for the DJ to bring something new to the table or risk becoming replaced by the performers that he initially replaced 30 years ago.
There are some DJ’s out there like Steve Porter and James Zabiela who have gotten this message and have decided to step up their game by breaking down genre barriers and bringing new elements and sounds into their show. There are DJ’s like D:Fuse who are taking it a step further and incorporating instruments like full drum kits and electric violins into their show. The vast majority of DJ’s however are still sitting back comfortably behind their turntables and CD players and playing the same old tracks like nothing has changed in the dance community. Something has changed though and it is about to redefine nightlife culture.
Just take a look around at what’s going on at major concerts and festivals around the country this year. The Presets headlined a party at WMC and played SXSW basically in the same week, MSTRKRFT is playing at Coachella and touring with John Digweed, Sasha is playing at Bonnaroo and doing a full international club tour and the list goes on. The merging of DJ and live music culture is happening at lightning speed and the artists who will survive are going to be those that adapt and change to appease both audiences. It’s a very exciting time in my opinion. Club culture in its current state has reached a level of staleness and uniformity. This new era might be a re-birth of the nightlife party experience and now it’s up to the DJ to decide if he wants to be a part of it.
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Wednesday, March 21, 2007
High Sierra Announces 2007 Line-Up and Top 10 Tips
Ok, so it's still early, but the preliminary line-up for this years High Sierra Festival has been announced and it's shaping up to be a good one. Some of the early headliners include Tea Leaf Green, Yonder Mountain String Band, Bassnectar and ALO to name but a few. What's High Sierra you ask? Well, read on and I'll fill you in on the best summer camping music festival on the West Coast.
High Sierra Misic Festival is held each year in Quincy, CA, about an hour north of Lake Tahoe/Reno area. It's a four day camp-out festival that seems to have stayed consistently at about 7,000-10,000 people. Between the four stages running from 11AM-1AM and the Late night shows going all night, it's a non-stop party. Add to this that even in the drier northern Sierras, it's still beautiful country with rivers and lakes and plenty of sun. I tend to spend my days with a schedule in my back pocket, a beer in my hand, and maybe a frisbee if I'm feeling athletic. If your musical tastes range from Bluegrass to Rock with a little electronica thrown in, then don't stress about the line-up, just get your friends together and go. Before you do though, make sure to follow my HSMF top 10 tips while you're there, you'll thank me later. If you're a regular and you have tips of your own, add them in. Enjoy the festival, looking forward to some summer heat and good tunes!
1. Get there early. Good spots are limited for camping and the morning sun is your enemy when it starts baking you in your personal oven (tent) at 7am. Good shade can be found in the aptly named Shady Grove and under the big circus tent tops provided by the Big Meadow Stage. If you can't get there early, bring a shade structure.
2. Take a day trip away from the festival to the river at least once. The water is ice cold and clear and a swim in it can serve as your shower for the day.
3. Don't bring too much food. Some might disagree, but I think keeping something cold in 100 degree heat for 4 days isn't worth it. Invariably, I'll see somebody eating some soggy crap while I'm enjoying my delicious Mango Lassi and Chicken Tikka Masala from the Indian vendor for $6. Just buy some good vending food and bring snacks.
4. Don't be stupid with drugs. Do all the drugs you want, I'm no preacher, but past years have had run in's with law enforcement, so don't be dumb. They ranged between being complete assholes, to apologizing, to basically saying, "just don't be a jack-ass and we'll leave you alone". That's a pretty good mantra for life actually; don't be a jack-ass and you can pretty much do what you want.
5. Buy your beer at Safeway down the street. Ever go camping
near a city yet load up on everything in your car? Quincy is actually a legitimate town and they have food there. I forgot that the first year, but now I load up in town.
6. If you've got it in you and you can play hookie one extra day, stay for Sunday night. It wasn't until year three that I stayed till Monday but I have ever since. I always thought people went home Sunday. Not true. The party rages till the wee hours on Monday morning.
7. Save some energy and hit the late night shows. Use the money you saved from my beer-run-at-SafeWay advice and buy late night tickets. It's well worth it and people will keep you up anyway. If you can't beat 'em join 'em. There are also good free shows late night too. Point is, the party kicks up a notch post 1AM so don't miss it. Make sure to buy your late night tickets ahead of time because the good ones will sell out.
8. Hit some of the musician workshops that happen throughout the festival. One of the coolest aspects of HSMF is the collaborations between the many artists and the sit in's. The workshops are a rare opportunity to get to know the artist on a personal level and they are indoors so they often serve as a good way to beat the heat.
9. Use the pool. The pool is great because it's so damn hot in Quincy, but it's even better because you get to use their showers and over the course of 4 days of partying, you start to stink real good. Definitely worth the price of admission.
10. Last but not least, be prepared for some drastic temperature changes. By day, it's gonna be 90-100 and blazing sun. By night it might get all the way down to the 40's so bring fleeces and wool hats, etc. By 8am the next day be prepared to literally get cooked out of your tent as the heat starts moving up again.
Ahh, High Sierra!
This article was added by Metrowize co-founder and 7 year High Sierra veteran Brian Lillquist.
Monday, March 12, 2007
Lyrics Born - Calling out all area crews!
Just before the madness of Noise Pop hit this year, Metrowize was lucky enough to get to have a phone conversation with one of the bay area's most prominent artists, Lyrics Born. LB is an artist to the bone and it shows in everything he does. He's a producer and a performer and is as much a hip hop artist as he is a live band lead vocalist. He was born in Japan and moved to the Bay Area when he was 5. Hearing Hip hop for the first time in the first grade, he knew right away that it was his calling in life. He knew he wanted to be an artist. Read the interview below.
MW: Who were your first musical heroes?
LB: I first remember hearing, when i was little, groups like Sugar Hill Gang, Double Dutch Bus, Franky Smith and things like that... It was very different from what I had heard and Hip hop was definitely different from anything I had ever known. As I got older and got into junior high it was artists like Eric B and Rakim, Boogie Down Productions, Ice Cube... guys like that.
MW: Do you think that your multi cultural background has played a part in the fact that you have a sort of multi-genre sound?
LB: I don't know... I know that it's definitely a part of who I am so I think it has shaped my world view without a doubt and subject matter wize it plays a part in why I write about certain things but it's not like I tell the guitarist to play E flat because I'm Japanese. It's obviously shaped who I am as a person and my music is an expression of who I am so in that regard I guess so...
MW: You've said before that you never want to be considered anything but a true artist. What's your definition of a true artist and how do you think you live up to that ideal?
LB: I make art, and i think it's just that simple. I mean the money is good, but I'm not in it to be a mogul and the reason I started making music was because I love making music. It's just a part of me and who I am. I feel the need to express myself in this medium.
MW: Do you consider yourself more of a producer or performer?
LB: I do it all... I mean I do it all because I love it all, but it's all necessary in what I do. I don't think it's possible for me to perform unless I am able to produce good music and I don't think it's possible to produce good music if I don't think I will have some place to perform it. It's all related... It's all facets to the same gem, it's all a part of the same thing to me.
MW: You've gained much of your fame as a hip hop artist, yet you have performed for thousands at some of the biggest "rock" festivals in the country including Bonnaroo and Coachella. How does a hip hop artist find his traction with this crowd?
LB: I think it is the live aspect that I bring. I put a lot of emphasis on my live shows and I do anywhere from 100-175 shows a year so I've put a lot of time and effort into the road and into my show and I think people can see that and that they appreciate that. I think that when somebody puts that much time into anything that they love, it's bound to be a quality product and I think that all that just gels well with people's notion of what a good live show is.
MW: You seem to be an artist that puts a lot of time and effort into having a large online presence. How do you think what you do as an artist and how you promote yourself and your projects has changed over the last few years with the proliferation of things like the internet and myspace and the different ways that you can actually reach people now?
LB: With the internet, with Myspace and Youtube, I think what you have is a direct connection. (Fans) can check in with me or I can check in with them via Myspace or my website anytime and at anytime they can come check out LBtv where we set up videos where I answer questions sent in by listeners directly. The thing that people want these days is they want access all the time and they want it because they know they can get it through the internet. The old style of Q and A is just so obsolete where someone writes you a fan letter and you maybe respond sometime via snail mail or you find out about a party because someone put a flyer in your hand. People are much less reliant now a days on that kind of dialog and I personally love it. It certainly makes the world move a lot faster.
MW: One of the major issues in entertainment right now is copyrights and copyright infringement. As an artist, where do you stand on the issue and do you think the music and entertainment industry should be fighting this or embracing it?
LB: I think the music industry needs to choose it's battles at this point. The mold has already been cast. I'm not for illegal downloading or anything but people are going to do file sharing and downloading and people are going to be putting things up on Youtube. That's already happened and there really isn't any way that you can regulate that. There's hundreds of millions of people in the world. How are going to keep tabs on all of them? It's just absolutely impossible so you have to focus your energy in other places. This is the way the world is going and it's impossible to block that flow. That information is going to be made available to people no matter how loud I kick and scream. Everyone has equal access to to everything at this point and I think that is one of the beauties and one of the ideas that we've all had to have gotten used to about the internet.
MW: You're obviously someone who works a lot. In your free time, what do you do to chill out?
LB: I drive my car. I've got a 68 Cadillac drop top Coupe Deville and I love to drive. I'll drive for hours ya know and just go nowhere sometimes. It helps clear the head. I think that's a guy thing... We like to clear our heads.
For more Lyrics Born check out LBtv on Youtube and other video sites, his Myspace page at myspace.com/lyricsborn and his label site quannum.com.
Be on the lookout for the new album coming soon from Joyo Velarde on Quannum Records.
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Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Ghostland Observatory w/ Honeycut - Review
Ghostland Observatory w/ Honeycut at Mezzanine 03-03-2007
While I was away playing hooky on the ski slopes last week in Tahoe, I missed most of the Noise Pop shows. I did however get a chance to hit up Mezzanine and checked out Honeycut and Ghostland Observatory. MetroWize peeps had just interviewed Bart, Herve (RV) and Tony from Honeycut, so I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. It was a high energy show and the venue was packed. The sound was definitly not what I expected and all I kept thinking throughout the show was "this is indie rock?"
Honeycut wails out eclectic, funky, sounds led at least musically by the keyboardist (RV) who dances as much as he plays the keys (which he does amazingly by the way). Vocalist Bart Davenport draws the crowd in with his stage presence and smooth loungey voice and the whole thing is held together by Tony Sevener who supplies the beats on a live drum machine. My first thought after seeing their show was that these guys could do well in a lot of different scenes and appeal to a lot of different ears. The band members are all well trained musicians and together they make up a solid band. The show left me wanting to follow them down to SXSW to get another taste.
All I knew about Ghostland Observatory before seeing them was that they were blowing up right now in the scene. The group is two guys from Austin, Aaron Behrens and Thomas Turner. Behrens is the front man and occasional guitar player and Turner alternates between the drums and beat machines. At first glance, you might think you are looking at a joke band or some sort of SNL skit. Behrens prances around on stage in skin tight jeans and ponytails complete with giant 70’s sunglasses while he belts out non-sensical lyrics and yells into the microphone while Turner, dressed in a full cape, supplies the simple beats and rhythms. It’s their stage presence that carries this act. One thing is for sure about these guys, the crowd loves them. While I won’t pretend to understand, I will give them a tip of my hat on that.
Stay tuned into MW because next week we will launch a Honeycut video with live footage and a backstage interview.
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Saturday, March 3, 2007
San Francisco Festivals - A top 10 List
Top 10 San Francisco Festivals
With all of the great festivals and street fairs and all out craziness that goes on here in San Francisco on a yearly basis, I thought it would be good to make a "quick reference" guide to some great events that don't always show up on venue calendars or email lists. These are events that should not be missed and most of them draw in crowds in the multiple 10's of thousands. All of them are uniquely San Francisco events and a guaranteed great time.
See the list below...
Noise Pop Feb 27-March 4, 2007
Noise Pop began 15 years ago as a small gathering of 5 bands, put together by Kevin Arnold (later joined by Jordan Kurland). Today, it's grown into 100 bands, playing all over SF for a week. The bands are predominately Bay Area bands, coming up in the indie rock scene, and representing established groups as well. Lyrics Born, the Dandy Warhols, Cake, HoneyCut and many more are scheduled for the week. Of course, the smaller bands are where the real gems are found, but a good vibe is pervasive throughout the week. Make it your week to go see some live music. Note: Check out our MW interview with Kevin in our articles section of MetroWize.
How Weird May 6, 2007 
Although this will be the last year in it's traditional 11th and Howard location, How Weird is a street fair that represents the creative culture of San Francisco. It's an awesome freaky, DJ centric event, with sounds blasting from seven stages and people dancing in the streets all day. This party brings it and this year, there is a How Weird benefit party at 1015 Folsom on March 23rd. There's sure to be some of the best local DJ talent and a friendly crowd.
This is more of a family friendly event, but there are still good acts like Los Loney Boys, Keller Williams, and other big KFOG style bands. It's free fun, just take BART down to the Embarcadero stop and get yer stroll on, eat some food, listen to some music, watch the fireworks.
I know some people run this "race" but that's a difficult prospect when you're pushing a couch down Market street and drinking by 8AM. B2B is a moving frat party for most people, but add in naked old men, tortilla tossing, live bands, and a really long walk through the city (from Bay to Breakers, get it?). Important tips are; bring plenty of party accoutrement, dress up with a group of people, and accommodate comfortable shoes into your costume (I had a novice friend wear his scuba gear with fins once). This is the friendliest party of the year, with everybody getting in on photo ops and partying along the way. There's a shared kinship with the thousands who've made the journey. Hit the party at the Polo fields afterwards for some much needed grub and chillin' out.
Gay Pride Festival June 23-24th, 2007
The Pride Parade (and the parties surrounding it) is not just the biggest event in SF, it's also a political statement. Gay or straight, it's about living life the way you want appreciating other lifestyles and choices as well. It's part of what defines the city, part of what makes people proud and part of what makes some people stay away. To each their own I say, I'm just happy when people are having a good time. After the parade, there is a big convergence around city hall and people by the hundreds of thousands. It's worth checking out, and it's a great party.
This is one of the cool free festivals, held each year in Golden Gate Park. It brings together music, art, and social justice. Last year there were over 50,000 people in attendance. The event is the brainchild of Michael Franti and has featured big name acts in hip hop, jam bands and the DJ scene. There's yoga, twig's n' berries, the whole nine yards. Even if you don't live the life of the activist, don't know who Mumia is or why we should free him, or don't eat tofu, you should still make the trip down to Speedway Meadow for the event. There's lots of good music, good causes, and ample patchouli oil.
Love Fest September 29th, 2007
This party is blowing up and it didn't take long. A few years after its inception and it has become the biggest DJ weekend next to WMC in Miami. True to San Francisco style, there are no velvet ropes, no dress codes, just partying. First you follow the parade, then all the floats circle the civic center square and create a sound mash up explosion for 6 hours. Go grab a bite and head back out. One tip, save your energy for the weekend parties, where you have the difficult decision of who to go see. This festival is made for San Francisco. If you like beats, you love it here.
Comedy Day September 30th 2007
Here's a sleeper event you should catch, Comedy Day in the Park. Between The Purple Onion, Punchline, Cobbs and the smaller clubs, San Francisco actually has a lot of places to see stand up. Who doesn't like laughing? There are over 30 local and national comedians including hometown favorite Robin Williams jammed onto 1 stage over the course of 5 really funny hours. This event is at Sharon Meadows in Golden Gate Park, it's free and usually a beautiful day. Bring a blanket or lawn chair.
You know the album Nothing's Shocking? Well, Jane's Addiction hadn't been to the Folsom Street Fair when they made that album title. Seriously people, wtf is with this event? It takes place every year on Folsom & Dore, down near 8th Street. On the surface the leather, bondage festival is shocking, then, you hear some stories from friends and you think, "no, not possible what he just said". But it's true, all true. This party is not for the faint of heart (the faint of heart should attend Comedy Day, same day). If you like ball gags and leather though, this is your party. Crack that whip and enjoy.
Castro Street Halloween October 31st, 2007 
There was a time when this was a really big event. It is uniquely San Francisco and a lot of fun, but there have been problems in the past (there was a shooting last year that injured 10 people). Despite that, if you haven't been, you'll have a good time, at least for the first few years. Usually, it's a good pre-party before heading out on the town. I feel like Halloween is year round in San Francisco, and I mean that as a compliment. Check the web link closer to the date and head down to Market and Castro for some eye candy.
Finally, a note to our visitors; If you plan on partying in San Francisco, there's about an 80% chance that your event of choice will be encouraging some kind of costume. Feel free to wear your loin cloth, Burning Man gear, whatever you wore for last Halloween or even go naked if the mood suits you. Come to think of it, you can pretty much wear that stuff any day around here, we're a do-what-you-feel kinda city, gotta love it.
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Friday, March 2, 2007
Noise Pop 2007 - Interview w/ Kevin Arnold
Well it's time once again for the annual Noise Pop Festival here in San Francisco and this year (it's 15th!) promises to be the biggest and best yet with headliners including Cake, Lyrics Born and The Dandy Warhols amongst others.
For our coverage of Noise Pop this year, we wanted to go beyond telling everyone that this is a great festival that you really need to come out and experience. We wanted to get to the source of it all and find out what Noise Pop was really all about so we went straight to the top and worked out an interview with Kevin Arnold, founder of the Noise Pop festival. Listen Now!
For Everything Noise Pop including schedule of events, list of performers, history, photos and Noise Pop shwag, go to www.noisepop.com
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Thursday, March 1, 2007
D:Fuse Brings the drums to San Francisco
What happens when you mix a DJ, a full drum kit, an electric violin, 1000 fans and one of the biggest sound systems in the country? You get D:Fuse at Ruby Skye and one of the most rockin' performances to hit SF in a long long time. Metrowize's own chief Wize Guide, Brian, was lucky enough to get to run around with D:Fuse all day and get some great one on one time with him before during and after the show. He got so much material that I had to split it up into 2 videos! See the D:Fuse Bring the drums Extended Version or the D:Fuse Bring the Drums Radio Edit.
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