Anyone remember when I wrote about Dame Satan ? Well it's a little over two years ago now, so no reason you should, but I thought they were rather good. Well, a slight lineup reshuffle, a bit of a rethink and two years under their belts and they have now resurfaced as Sands . And they are still excellent. It's been a while since I wrote about this kind of music actually. If you're looking for a mish-mash of genre words to only half pay attention to, then I'd say it's the kind of slow, dark, [...]

Three beautiful voices, a banjo, and timeless folk songs - Walking in Sunlight released their first full length on their Bandcamp site this week, via Ghost Mansion Records (Two Sheds, Dame Satan, Low Red Land). In the beginning, Nathan, Greg and Eva convened to share the pleasure of singing Carter Family songs together, but their three-part harmonies brought them to explore a wider realm of old-time songs and on to composing some originals. The trio's first, ten-song album surveys traditional songs, covers of Will Oldham and Doc Watson, and revisits songs from their previous [...]

Sands (formerly known as Dame Satan) is playing El Rio Saturday (9pm, $7), smoothing out the sounds of the evening with the mellower side of psychedelic. They're up with 3 Leafs ( mentioned back in December ) and recent Thrill Jockey signees, Mi Ami , who recently posted April national tour dates on their MySpace . Sands - "Dawn and Delta" Sands has undergone more retrofit than just the name change in December; for [...]

6. Elvis Perkins in Dearland This album is greatly helped by kicking off with the best song I've heard for bloody ages, and actually that threw me off for a little, as did the subtle shift in emphasis since his brilliant debut Ash Wednesday. Once songs like Hours Last Stand and Dresden settle into your head though you won't hear an album with more intricately interwoven senses of both sadness and optimism for quite some time. Elvis Perkins in Dearland - Hours Last Stand [...]

[Locals Only is a regular feature where the Stranger Dance staff focus on the best and brightest of the San Francisco Bay Area music scene. Feel free to hit us up with any information on local bands, musicians, shows, and other music-related events and projects.] The 2009 Rock Make Street Festival takes DIY to a new level, bringing music and art away from the exclusionary and back to the grassroots. Presented by the Bay Bridged , Tartufi , Whizbang Fabrics , and Noise Pop , the [...]

This stuff is lovely: ghostly Americana with broken, desolate vocals full of heartbreak rather than rage, and the most bare-boned of backing. Yes, I know, I cover a lot of this stuff. In fact you may have heard fragments of this music before, as there is a connection with Dame Satan, whose album I reviewed very positively a couple of months ago. Basically, this is the work of Andrew Simmons of that band - it's a project, not a band, as his MySpace page informs us. I'd be pleasantly surprised if anyone reading this remember Lincoln, [...]

This week, our podcast features Dame Satan , a San Francisco band mixing acoustic folk, electrified blues and psychedelic textures into some epic rock compositions. Their 2005 debut Ghost Mansion -named after the home the members shared which doubled as the recording location-offered a stripped-down, acoustic-driven blend of American rock sounds. The band reached another level, however, with 2008's Beaches and Bridges , which was recently released digitally on Origami Music . The songs on their latest album often sound like they're from another universe, but it's a fully [...]

Tonight : Sonny & the Sunsets (73 Release Party), Small Sur (Baltimore), Nate Grace (Austin) @ Amnesia Sonny Smith - "Day in the Life of a Heel" Friday : Regional Bias: A Celebration of Bay Area Music and Culture to Benefit The Bay Bridged . Featuring performances by French Miami , Adam Stephens and The Finite Plain , Or, the Whale (acoustic), and Leopold and his Fiction , DJs [...]

It's time for another Ticket Giveaway Wednesday! In addition to these great shows, you can win a pair of tickets to our own fundraiser, Regional Bias , in giveaways being held by our friends Broke-Ass Stuart and Mission Mission . Sunday, August 2nd - Deerhoof @ Great American Music Hall Deerhoof are back home headlining this Sunday at Great American Music Hall . If you [...]
Tabernacle is the new project from Dame Satan's Andrew Simmons. Flanked by a bevvy of guest musicians, he has recorded a new 5-track EP Word, Pioneer.Ghostly folk serves as the basis for the majority of the album. However, the Bay area resident, Kentucky-native brings much of the influence of his home state into the music. Roots and traditional music weaves its way into the mix.Unfortunately,
Bridges and Beaches is the new album from the bay area's Dame Satan. This is the sophomore record from the trio, who despite the awesome band name, are not a heavy metal act.The album is a sprawling and haunting exercise in soundscapes. While many bands make music that can be described as 'spacey', Dame Satan do so in a way that preserves the organic earthiness of their music. Beginning with

San Francisco Bay Area's Dame Satan graced Luxury Wafers with their exceedingly humble, easy-going presence and proceeded to blow us away in ever-widening shockwaves. Andrew Simmons sings a cozy wool blanket and makes his guitar speak like an intent canine. Michael Chopko patiently, sensitively rides the bass deep and harmonizes electricity. Brendan Sheehan strokes guitar, rocks tambourine and plays drums from sparse hollow strokes to an all out tympanic frenzy. Their psychedelic rock stretches time like a cannibus dream. Dame Satan expands the fabric of space, masterfully welcoming and befriending emptiness as the off-beat and the expanded absence of sound. [...]

Just a little bit of Dame Satan's ambient psych folk for your Wednesday. This is what happens when someone blends 60s acid with an ambient production. Sometimes too sparse to describe, sometimes way too trippy to think you actually understand it, but always worth a listen (or two). The band and new album dissected: " It contains Fine Folk Traditions, Space Blankets, Noisy Blessings, and a Few History Lessons. All Messages and Moods within were cooked up by Human Voices, Words arranged in Meaningful Congress, Acoustic and Electric Instruments, Effects... " And check the video for [...]

This is beautiful. At times like a slightly more ethereal version of the Cave Singers, at times even evoking seventies British psych-folk, they even end up with spooky, reverby guitar growls reminiscent of the Low Lows from time to time. It's not an immediate hit, however. This is the kind of album you have to ease yourself into with a few listens, I think. The pace is very, very slow for the most part, and it leaves you prone to distraction as you listen. The vocals are like some desert choirboy gone badly astray, which makes the excruciatingly [...]

Presented exactly as it was received: "In 1984, A pressed an ear to the front of a fat stereo speaker as Dad dropped a fresh wax copy of Born in the U.S.A. on the turntable. In 2003, A and Chopko drank beers in a vast San Francisco parking lot next to what was then Pacific Bell Park until they, with the E Street's opening strains tumbling faintly through the air, could no longer stand missing out. A scalper rolled by with nose-bleed bargains and the dudes obliged the Boss. In October 2008, [...]

As you might expect from the title, this is one ungodly clusterfuck of a podcast. It was recorded well into the early hours of the morning with Dylan , Neil and DC who were all in the house by virtue of Homegame being imminent (happening already by the time you hear this) and the Meursault EP being in the final stages of completion. DC stopped by the house on his way to Fife, Neil was around to put CDs into card envelopes and Dylan, er, just likes beer I think. There's was also [...]

Rooted by deep, velvety bass, sweetly embellished with tambourine and radical drums (Brendan Sheehan) and just enough sixties flavored, super stoned Jerry Garcia-like guitar, Dame Satan lays down a spacious, nourishing feast in Salton Sea . Did I mention Michael Chopko's vocals, somewhat eerily and very nicely harmonized with by Andrew Simmons, send electrified chills up my spine? Man. These guys are fantastic and warm in their music and in person. Visit Dame Satan on Myspace or go to the graphically pleasing Dame Satan Website where you [...]

Spring makes a fucking colossal difference, doesn't it. People have been tripping around Edinburgh with a spring in their step for the last week, when the sun has come out and the air, whilst it may still be a little chilly, is notably warmer. It's gentler, I suppose, is the main difference. There's something of a release about Spring, as if all the uncomfortable restraint of Winter no longer has to be acknowledged. Does anyone remember that episode of Northern Exposure when the ice melted? Everyone went nuts, and the relieved exhalation we all express on the coming of the [...]
"Ghost Dance" by Dame Satan. Music Video from Ghost Mansion on Vimeo . If you're looking for good music and good beers this Saturday, San Francisco's Dame Satan bring their psych-folk-rock to Amnesia , where they'll be joined by the dream pop sounds of Kings & Queens and the acoustic fare of Casual Fog . Both of those projects come to town from the ever-fertile Nevada City scene. 9pm, $7. Dame Satan - "Suffering Daughter" (from Beaches [...]

Words and Photos by: Nicole L. Browner Who knew Café du Nord could ever get rowdy, but leave it to Port O'Brien 's hands-on approach to get the crowd intrigued. Actually, just leave it to the crowd, who didn't hush the entire night. Dame Satan inaugurated the evening by wrapping the room in silken gypsy callings and southern references. The air became a combination of appropriate use of wah on lead guitar, congregations around the drum set and deep, dreamy harmonies from Andrew Simmons [...]