
For the second year in a row, San Jose will be home to the Think and Die Thinking Festival , a celebration of punk rock, alternative culture and the DIY philosophy that comes along with it. From Friday, Aug. 24, through Sunday, Aug. 26, Think and Die Thinking will take over the Billy DeFrank LGBT Community Center , located on The Alameda in San Jose. All orders of bands — from punk to indie to electronic to experimental — from all over the Bay Area are scheduled to perform; vegan food will [...]

On my way into Black Lodge Saturday night I glanced at the newspaper box that displayed the latest issue of CityArts magazine and saw Calvin Johnson on the cover. The chances of seeing Calvin on the cover of a magazine 20 years ago are slim, but that cover photo of Beat Happening from 1992 definitley takes me back. I didn't live in the northwest then, I was in Morgantown, West Virginia going to college and spending most of my free time hanging out at my college radio station. Back then the pacific northwest and K records [...]
Some bands you're aware of but you don't really pay any attention to. Then you give them a listen and give yourself a kick for not having done so earlier. Hello to Sourpatch. There's a great C86 crossed with 90s US alternative running through this, which is about the most perfect combination for me. Not quite sure why I overlooked them before - the fact they are on Happy Happy Birthday To Me is a sign of quality in itself - but I've now got a bit of catching up to do. [...]

sourpatch Nicole Munoz, Christine Tupou, Mander Far rell, and Rich Gutierrez of San Jose's Sourpatch sat down and talked with me about food, eating, life on the road, a bit of music, and how somethings affect their stomachs. Discussions ranged from their enthusiastic support of Ted Leo and his venture into candy sponsorship (Rich's love for Citizen's Arrest), our bonding of the amazing music of Julie Doiron, in depth discussions on ice cream and non-dairy alternatives all the way to thoughts on coffee in San Francisco and potato chips on I-95. Sourpatch just released their second LP, Stagger and [...]

Another variety show, no particular theme. It was set to be a sunny weekend, and that meant hitting the road. After a late Friday night at the station, I woke up early, grabbed my bike and went on a solid 10 mile ride. It was the first of the sort for 2012; the first of many. I need to get in shape for the 200 mile Seattle to Portland ride in July. Just about half way, I paused to snap the shot above. The Skagit Valley is known [...]

Here's our latest month-in-review mix collecting some our favorite new (or new to us) songs recently posted on the website. Gathered in the mix are over a dozen new tracks that were posted on TheBayBridged.com in February, with links below to download each of them individually. Mixtape: Best of the Blog February 2012 Tracklisting: 1. Swiftumz – “More Than Sleep” 2. Sea of Bees - "Strikefoot (Live)" 3. Churches [...]

Making the monthly mixes usually results in having a bunch of good songs orphaned. In the past, I've had enough leftover material to make half editions of the Blogophilia mixes. This usually leads to confusion and questions about why have a half mix at all. I am not a fan of confusion, nor do I like to explain myself. So I've decided that there will be no more "half mixes" posted on the blog. Instead, we'll have a Biscuits & Gravy series, which reflects a surplus of good music that never made it to the monthly mix. I am a [...]
Wow, this is yet another great week for new releases. The singles from new albums have been sifted through and arranged into the following playlist - and it's just one great track after another, and we hope you agree. The lead off track for this week's Best New Releases was not easy to pick with [...] Read more, get songs or stream the entire mix on Indie Rock Cafe

In this week's list of new releases, you'll find a handful of bands you've likely heard about first while listening to KEXP or reading this blog. As we're currently deep into our Spring Membership Drive , we're asking you to consider all this new... and often free!... music we've helped you discover over the years and to help us continue to do so by making a gift of support . In features like Out This Week , we hunt down the latest MP3s and other downloads, plus many interesting new videos, for you sample [...]
Sourpatch - "Cynthia Ann" Formed in San Jose in 2007, Sourpatch is a four piece power pop group set to release their sophomore album Stagger and Fade on HHBTM Records on February 28th. In 2011, the group released their debut full length, Crushin' . Below, watch the video for "Cynthia Ann," the first single off of Stagger and Fade . Related Posts: Review & Photos: Songs For Moms at 1-2-3-4 Go! Records [...]

Today's song is "Cynthia Ann" by SOURPATCH .The San Jose, CA band formed in late 2007 and is made up of Nicole Munoz, Christine Tupou, Mander Farrell, and Rich Gutierrez. Like their name the music is a bruised fruit; it's rancid candy. It's a cute joke turned around and shoved back down the listener's throat. They are in love with being alive, knowing it can be taken away at any time, and goddamn it feels so good. This is the first single off the band’s upcoming album Stagger and Fade , which will be out [...]

This week's new features tracks from Dada Trash Collage, Freshkills, Lux, Oy Vey, Sourpatch, White Rabbits, and a single from the upcoming album of unreleased Woody Guthrie songs, New Multitudes . Jay Farrar, Will Johnson, Anders Parker & Yim Yames : "Old LA" from New Multitudes: A Tribute to Woody Guthrie out 2/28 on Rounder Another batch on unrecorded Woody Guthrie tracks get recorded by a great group of performers. [...]
ihn hatte ich Euch bereits versucht näherzubringen , blieb bis dato aber ohne rückmeldung, vielleicht gelingt es mit einem neuen song der kleinen truppe aus stockholm rund um ihren leader markus hulthén : die wiaiwya -7777777 reihe hatte ich Euch neulich bereits einmal vorgestellt, der singles club bringt 2012 an jedem siebten eine 7inch heraus, sieben monate lang, nach the wave pictures im januar nun eine etwas anderer gangart: the werewandas : leah rosen und david chandler schicken sich [...]
Every day, Daily Downloads offers 10 free and legal mp3 downloads, plus free and legal live sets from around the internet. Today's free and legal mp3 downloads: Ani DiFranco : "Which Side Are You On" [mp3] from Which Side Are You On search for more Ani DiFranco posts at Largehearted Boy Denison Witmer : [...]

Songs For Moms It is with great joy that I report to you from Oakland's 1-2-3-4 Go! Record Store . Truly the lil' record store that could. They now boast live music on a very regular basis and host some of the best shows in town. No booze, but it's all ages and the big kids can go next door to Homeroom for some delicious tap beer (and 4000 kinds of mac n' cheese). The headliner tonite was Oakland's own Songs For Moms , a band I was sadly unfamiliar with. These [...]
Here's a recent video for a ridiculously catchy indie pop gem from San Jose band Sourpatch , off their upcoming album Stagger & Fade . Listen to two more songs below. STAGGER & FADE by SOURPATCH Related Posts: No Related Posts

The HHBTM team has sent me two lovely little packages in the past few months, the second of which arrived just last week. I figured it was high time to give them coverage... in list form! HHBTM, if you're not familiar with the label, is short from Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records, and they've releases several favorites over the year; bands like Patience Please , Fishboy , The Superions , Bunnygrunt [...]

Secondo l'Urban Dictionary "sourpatch" vuol dire "to do something horrible to a person and then give them a hug and smile". D'altra parte in America esiste anche una nota marca di dolcetti gommosi chiamata proprio "Sour Patch Kids". Basteranno un paio di informazioni random a rendere l'idea della musica agrodolce della band chiamata Sourpatch ? Dubito, ma poco importa. Ho appena scoperto il loro album di debutto Crushin' (pubblicato da Happy Happy Birthday To Me ), anche se è uscito un anno fa, e ha fatto diventare questa giornata molto meno grigia. Tre ragazze e un [...]

Looking at the lists from the indie cognoscenti this year my eyes tend to get heavy and it becomes hard to stay awake. I'm beginning to see why my grandfather wasn't able to stay awake when he watched the Dukes of Hazzard with me when I was a kid. I'm not quite to that point yet, as I was able to keep myself lucid long enough to compile my top 25 albums of the year. Have at it. 1. Eddy [...]

I bought way too many seven inch singles this year. I'm not trying to brag. It's a problem really. The seven inch is like crack to the record geek, a fleeting moment of pop perfection and then it's off to either flip the record or put on another one. This was a daunting task this year and I feel like I left out a lot of stuff, but a top 60 would have been too much and limiting it to 40 makes you have to really decide, what were your favorite singles of the year. Here [...]