As we finish up the nomination process for our upcoming Deli SF 2010 Best Emerging Artist Readers Poll, we are proud to announce the bands selected from our Sonicbids submission page.

Birds and Batteries

Birds & Batteries are on a steady rise with consistently sold out shows in San Francisco, a new record, a Daytrotter session and more national touring ahead. "Panorama" is the third full-length from Birds & Batteries and their finest work to date (Spune/ Velvet Blue Music). The new album is a rare mix of organic and electronic, pop and experimental and an effortless play of surprising elements.

Birds & Batteries’ "Up To No Good" EP (2009, Eightmaps) showed singer / bandleader Mike Sempert exploring synth-funk and the influences of Bowie’s "Scary Monsters" and P-funk. On "Panorama" (2010, Spune/Velvet Blue Music) his love for artists like Harry Nilsson, ELO, and David Byrne shines through, and he trades in a bit of the irony for empathy. Sempert might as well be a scientist in his next life, as he is able to blend his classic folk-ish voice with synth textures for down right futuristic results. When pressed for a simple summary, he’s described the sound as "Art-rock meets Tom Petty." Basically it’s not all that easy to define. Sempert is joined by Christopher Walsh (guitar), Jill Heinke (bass), and Brian Michelson (drums).

The new record conjures up blue skies and big views. It is heartfelt and bold and unlike anything in the current indie landscape. After playing festivals in the spring of 2010 – SXSW, Noise Pop, NX35 – Birds & Batteries toured nationally in the summer and fall of 2010. They’re scheduled to return to Noise Pop 2011 in SF in February.

Ben Thompson

Ben Thompson is a San Francisco based/Iowa raised electronic artist forging a trail into uncharted sonic territory with compositions that are as motivating on the dance floor as they are uplifting in the headphones. Graduating from Cornell College with a degree in composition, Ben marries his love of electronic dance music with his passion for structure, harmony, and melody. This hybrid of classical sensibility and contemporary sounds creatively blends elements of electronic, house, techno, rock, and funk.

Ben’s ability to keep a strong foot in both the “sophisticated” art world and the “party” club scene has earned him a diverse and growing audience, including the staff of iTunes who labeled him a 2010 Electronic Artist to Watch. Having only been producing electronic music for 4 years, Ben has already booked at premier SF venues and parties, including Mighty, 111 minna, The Boom Boom Room, the Disco Biscuits after party and Kelly’s Mission Rock, and also opened for international acts Lazer Sword, Signal Path, Shlohmo, and Ghosts on Tape.

Prior to making electronic music Ben was logging hours on the guitar playing in jazz and funk bands, writing acoustic pieces, and studying composition. He is proving to be a steadily rising star and is currently working on a follow up to his 2010 self-released EP, Time Traveler. Ben’s next release in 2011 will coincide with a small tour to promote his already infiltrating sound.

Slowness

Slowness is a drone-pop trio from San Francisco that formed in 2008 in a big living room just north of the Golden Gate Bridge. The group—Geoffrey Scott (guitars, vocals), Julie Lynn (bass, keyboards) — enlisted Monte Vallier at Ruminator Audio as producer. After several attempts to get it right, the band completed its first four-song EP, Hopeless but Otherwise, and hit the road for a 17-date U.S. tour in the summer of 2010. The group is currently recording a follow-up EP with Vallier, on which Sean Eden, formerly of Luna, will add guitars. Slowness is booking a European tour for the summer of 2011 to support the soon-to-be released For Those Who Wish to See the Glass Half-Full.

Check back again soon to begin voting on your favorite SF act.

The Mother Hips, Chico-based jam-band from the nineties, headlined a holiday show at The Great American Music Hall the weekend before Christmas. Although the stoner vibe of their long instrumental bits may have been a bit much for those in the audience not high on cannabis, they were tighter on certain songs and held their own even while missing many of their original members. The showstopper was when lead singer Tim Bluhm’s wife Nicki came onstage and raised the roof with her powerhouse voice. Those completely gone from too many joints and five minute musical interludes were snapped back to attention, with the refreshing presence of a woman onstage among the five male hippie rockers. The beautiful Mrs. Bluhm walked onstage, appearing polished and stylish, and proceeded to sing with wisdom and heart. Even though she only graced the stage for one song, it hit home more than the entire rest of their performance for me.

The female power was introduced early in the show in fact, with San Francisco-based all women’s choir, The Conspiracy of Venus, kicking the show off with a rousing and fun-filled set. Choir director Joyce Todd McBride included one superb song she wrote herself, but otherwise early comers to the show were treated to three Tom Waits songs, two by Joni Mitchell, and one by Duke Ellington and Juan Tizol. Additionally, a rocking choir version of the Ramones’ “I Wanna Be Sedated” got the audience dancing and joining in. Highlights of their set were a solo by Demetra Delia Markis and their fun props such as a toy cowboy gun yielded by Frankie Burton. The girls ranged in age from twenties to middle age and it was a joy to see them all up their in their holiday finest.

More girl power was exhibited in the second opening act, Or the Whale. Led by Alex Robins, the band is given flight by the amazing singer Lindsay Garfield. Or the Whale has appeared on Good Morning America, and their debut album Light Poles and Pines helped earn them a 2008 Hollywood Music Award for Best Americana/Roots Artist as well as a coveted spot on Radio & Records Top 100 Americana Artists of 2008. And believe me, they live up the hype. Americana without feeling cliché or too cool for school, this band knew how to rock, and how to bring it down home. Not to mention, it was precious to notice that (accidentally?) four out of six of them were clad in plaid shirts and jeans.

The highlight of the show though, had to be when the choir joined The Mother Hips for a song, taking advantage of the onstage box seating. In the twenty or so shows I have seen at the GAMH, I have never seen it used before. But it was not just their placement in the box that made this moment great, it was their voices with the Mother Hips, a perfect pairing.

Words and Photos by Shauna C. Keddy

Or the Whale Photo by Melanie Robins