Editor´s Note:

The Bay Area veteran musician, record collector/retailer and music writer, Derek See curated a short but sweet mixtape today. We´re always into supporting local musicians who express themselves in different ways. I was personally lucky enough to have local musicians and music writers like, Joel Gion, Goldmine Sacks and Lauren Espina contribute mixtapes to my nonprofit organization, Publik / Private and Derek See has shared the latest edition of Publik / Private´s original mixtapes.

¨The Gentle Cycle is See´s current and main music project. He also plays occasional guitar with Myron & E, The Rain Parade and Chocolate Watchband.¨

Enjoy this mixtape of classics and be encouraged to put together your own mixtapes!

Hazel English is a singer-songwriter from Sydney, Australia. She currently resides in Oakland where she met producer, Jackson Phillips (Day Wave) in early 2015. They began recording songs together and the collaboration resulted in creating a blend of interspersed shimmering guitars and airy melodic vocals set amongst a nostalgic, dreamy ambience. Hazel’s EP Never Going Home is set to be released this fall.

It´s exciting to hear about new music and new artists landing in town to share some great music. Check out Hazel English´s new song, Fix and we´ll keep you posted on the release of her debut ep, Never Going Home.

The San Francisco based ¨funeral folk¨ band, Heron Oblivion has signed a worldwide record deal with the Seattle based independent record label, Sub Pop Records. Sub Pop was put on the map for releasing music from Nirvana, Mudhoney, The Shins, Band of Horses, Sleater-Kinney and more. It´s always good to see Bay Area emerging artists doing well! Keep your eyes open for their upcoming 2016 release on Sub Pop and their local shows with Kurt Vile:

Oct. 15 – San Francisco, CA – Slims
Oct. 16 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore

Heron Oblivion’s origins date to 2013 in SF’s Bayview district, where its four members– fueled by a love of 60s/70s scuzz and commune jams, folk rock, noise, and P.S.F. Japanese underground—would get together for what Miller describes as "blistering, extended free jam sessions." The four musicians realized that their initial chemistry (which was strong from the outset) was undeniable and it’s vision unified. Heron Oblivion was born.

Ultimately, Heron Oblivion fused song craft to its improvisational leanings. What materialized is a mesmeric compilation of English folk rock and earthy West Coast psychedelia spiked with feedback and explosive dissonant elements. The sum of these elements will make up their Sub Pop debut.

The San Francisco based alternative psych band, Zodiac Death Valley will be celebrating the release of their second album, Desert Bohéme at Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco tomorrow night (October 3rd).

The band will be supported by a great line up that includes: JJUU JJUU (LA), Down and Outlaws (SF) and The Turn Turn Turn (SF members of The Love Dimension, The Lotus Moons, The Gregors). This is going to be one of those nights where you´re going to run into the who´s who of the local music scene.

You´re not going to want to miss Zodiac Death Valley as Nic Abodeely’s entrancing words slither in a deep baritone before thrusting you into honest-to-god rock n’ roll anthemic nirvana and a chorus that will be inside you from then on. Jordan Villa’s guitar work deftly navigates from atmosphere, hook, to solo. Nate Ricker’s keys and organ immediately commands a psychedelic vein pumping throughout the collective musical body. Daniel Burns’ bass comes in crashing the party with a thunderous chug while Landon Cisneros (drums) and Tyler Jones (percussion) bring the drums that will have you hungover the next day.

Head down to Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco tomorrow night!
You can also download the album via iTunes.

We´re proud to premiere a new song from the San Francisco based singer/songwriter, Seth Lael. Upon the release of his brand new album, Bird Strings, we have an exclusive new track from the album entitled, Big Country. This song is charming, simplistic and fun to listen to!

Seth Lael, a passionate singer-songwriter who has a bit of a soft-spot for the underdog. (don’t we all?) Lael brings 12 brand new songs to life in his second full-length, Bird Strings. His music marries Americana, Jazz, Folk, Pop, and Indie Rock into a definitive perspective of life. His commentary comes straight from the tips of his fingers on guitar, mandolin, and banjo, passing through to his modern/retro vocal delivery of honest, heartfelt lyrics.

I’ve spent the last 5 years working as a sound recordist documenting inspiring people ranging from Bobby Seal to the founder of the Black Panthers to Bill Gates. I’ve also spent time with working class folks struggling to make ends meet in hospitals, courtrooms, and on the road learning about what goes on in these 50 states. These songs are my reflections of those experiences. – Lael on his new album, Bird Strings

"After traveling to some of the poorest countries in the world, I began to look more closely at what we have within our own borders. It’s been especially eye opening to realize how diverse we are in the US. For example, in my city of San Francisco, you can attend a street fair promoting kinky sex and somewhere else in the same country, you have fairs promoting guns. There is something for everyone, and whether it’s viewed as a positive or negative is up to one’s personal belief. You don’t have these freedoms in most parts of the world, and I find many people could be more appreciative of this." – Lael on Big Country

The San Francisco based art rock band, Growwler will be hosting a month long residency at Amnesia in which they appropriately named the Halloween themed event, ¨Growwler´s Dead-sidency¨! This event will be every Thursday in October, starting tomorrow, October 1st. This residency looks like a blast!

¨(There will be) new costumes & spooky music tributes every week, food trucks, horror film projections, local sponsor DJs, freak shop stage decor, new Growwler music giveaways and of course free candy, so start collecting masques & wigs, dust off the freak flag and prepare to come out & get deeply weird on a weekly basis.¨

LINEUP & SCHEDULE:
OCTOBER 1: The She’s, French Girls
OCTOBER 8: And And And (pdx), Sahab (fresno)
OCTOBER 15: Tango Alpha Tango (pdx), Gayle Skidmore (san diego)
OCTOBER 29: Kendra McKinley, **Secret Creeper Surprise**

SPONSORS: Different Fur Studios, BFF. fm, Ninkasi Brewery, Counter Culture Management
Showbill Artwork by Gianna Badiali: www.giannabadiali.com

The Oakland based soulful jazz ensemble, Ghost & the City has released a new song entitled, Steady Trippin. Here´s your chance to listen to an amazing local jazz group who has consistently released well composed, entrancing music!

Oakland outfit Ghost & the City is dedicated to elevating style and experience to create music that embodies elements of soul, trip-hop and jazz. Traveling across numerous musical genres to appeal to many tastes, Ghost & the City creates music that defies conventionality, yet solidifies a distinctive sound. Over the past five years, the project has successfully performed at venues all over the Bay Area, supporting such acts as Shabazz Palaces, Hiatus Kaiyote, Incognito and Marco Benevento. This year will see the release of Patchwork Soul, a 6-song EP that features fresh collaborations and a new direction.

Musician and composer, Ash Maynor and the awesome vocalist, Kia Fay have given us the opportunity to share this new song with you and we love the sound, style and vibe of this sensual trip hop inspired track. Steady Trippin is a free download via Soundcloud so you can listen to this track straight from your hard drive whenever you desire!

"Lyrically it reflects struggles with self-doubt as an artist, those moments when you’re really just ready to throw in the towel. The concept of "Steady Trippin" comes from the idea of feeling caught in limbo, a place where you aren’t walking but you’re aren’t quite falling, and yet you still find yourself moving forward" – Kia Fay

"With this tune we were trying to capture the ideal blend of jazz + trip-hop, both genres we’ve been exploring more with our new EP Patchwork Soul. The track features trumpeter Ross Eustis (Brass Magic, Guy Fox) doing what he does best, and largely reminiscent of Guru’s Jazzmatazz volumes." – Ash Maynor

Ghost & the City has a string of local shows coming up. Make sure you catch this band live!

9/26 – OMF Festival w/ Anderson .Paak, Trails & Ways and more
11/6 – Leo’s Music w/ Zakiya Harris
12/4 – Awaken Cafe w/ Guy Fox
12/5 – KALX Live

The San Francisco based indie-dream pop band, Mammoth Life has released a new EP entitled, Baycation. Out now on cassette on Wiener Records and 45 rpm, 10 inch surf green vinyl on Satisfying Records, Baycation is a breath of fresh air as we enter this new fall season in the Bay Area!

The EP permeates a combination of California surf rock and a brisk shoegazey compositional style. You can hear similarities to Brian Jonestown Massacre and the alternative styles of Kim Deal and Kim Gordon. Take a listen to this record and buy yourself a physical copy from Wiener and Satisfying Records!

The San Francisco based electro pop band, Starlight Kid will be performing Friday night at DNA Lounge, along with the local Emily Whitehurst fronted band, Survival Guide. Make sure you head out and support local artists!

Both ensembles will be supporting the Brooklyn based experimental songstress, GABI:

"Gabrielle Herbst’s experiences writing for chamber orchestra and experiments in mixed instrumentation inspired her to develop a repertoire of short-form, vocal-centric compositions under the name Gabi. These solitary explorations in early 2013 with dual-track loop pedals led to the nine songs which composed the album, "Sympathy". Embracing the vast potential of the human voice as instrument, story and landscape, these open-ended sessions yielded a suite of compositions that captured Herbst’s personal metamorphosis into Gabi. Which rendered past influences and new collaborations into a personal statement on the desire for human connectivity and emotional catharsis via an intimate exploration along the edges of common songwriting."

This is going to be a great show. If you’re into highly experimental, female vocal based electro art rock, you should definitely do your best to make this show on September 25th at DNA Lounge!

Nelsen & Farney consists of San Francisco based singer/songwriters, Devin Farney and Mark Nelsen. You may know Mark from the heavy psych rock band, Electric Shepherd and Devin as the keyboardist of the 60s revivalist band, The Love Dimension.

We’re always excited to share new music and Nelsen & Farney have given us the honor of premiering their latest musical effort entitled, One For Many Roads. If you like Simon and Garfunkel-esque folk music, you’ll be into this record.

"We’re a songwriting project and live acoustic band that began in 2013, peripherally to our respective solo work. We have since played a handful of local shows while working on our debut LP, "One for Many Roads" – produced by Devin at his home studio. This collection of songs contains melodically rich vocal harmonies and heavy Americana/folk + British/indie-psych-pop influence. Some key inspirations for Nelsen & Farney include CSNY, Lennon/McCartney, Simon & Garfunkel, Dirty Projectors, Everly Brothers, and Kings of Convenience. The songs on "One for Many Roads" were individually written by me and Devin, but shaped together as a band." – Mark Nelsen

"… It’s good to have finally found a home for these songs, some of which have been lying around dormant for the better part of a decade. It took a while to finish, but it happened very organically, which is how it had to be." – Devin Farney

Take a listen to the album in its entirety and don’t miss the duo’s album release show at The Lost Church in San Francisco on September 30th!

The inaugural Bay Area Vibez music festival officially announces its 3-stage, 2-day music, arts and urban lifestyle festival being held at Middle Harbor Shoreline Park in Oakland, California on Saturday, September 26th and Sunday, September 27th, with more than 25 artists to represent the line-up. The festival was created in celebration of music, art, diversity and the rich culture that mirrors the Bay Area and its unique characteristics.

The first round of artists to be released are Grammy©winning artist, Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley, Nas, who has a #1 album on American Billboard top 200, eight time Grammy© winning artist/producer, Stephen "Ragga" Marley, Grammy© nominated Meshell Ndegeocello, #1 Billboard reggae performer Morgan Heritage, Tarrus Riley, Jo Mersa; son of Stephen Marley, Fiji, Fishbone, Krooked Treez, Richie Spice, I-Wayne, Queen Omega, Ghetto Youths, The Courtney John Project, Black Am-I and the Oakland based fan-favorite band, Forrest Day, along with a few big surprises!

"…The eclectic mix is what constitutes the urban festival and represents the very nature of the Bay Area," says festival coordinator, Yurel Hassan Cooke. "The location is impeccable for an annual festival. With other surrounding fest locations as California Roots, Outside Lands, Reggae on the River and Treasure Island, the Bay Area Vibez seemed to fill a void on the map, and blending the genres for the Bay Area just felt right."

The water-lined breathtaking views of the city of San Francisco and the Bay Bridge have made Middle Harbor Shoreline Park in Oakland the perfect backdrop for this urban lifestyle festival. 

"Keeping the music alive for the next generations is key. Collectively, we need to support the creative flow of our children and open their eyes to a new world filled with creativity and a universal appreciation for diversity," says festival co-founders, an Oakland native; Tressa Wells, along with tour manager to Damian Marley, Albert "Pretty" Cooke.

General Admission are set at $85 for 1-day passes, $160 for 2-day passes and $225 1-day VIP, or $400 2-day VIP passes, which include early entrance to grounds, special VIP viewing and lounge area, VIP beer and wine garden and select organic foods and snacks. Shuttle services will be available for convenient entrance to the festival. Parking passes are $29 per day. Festival hours go from 11am to 10pm daily. For more information, or to secure tickets, visit www.BayAreaVibez.com.

Well, you’re certainly in for a once in a lifetime line up on September 23rd! Music Box Presents and the Elbo Room will be hosting an incredibly well curated pre-party for the Desert Stars Music Festival. The San Francisco based neo psych outfit, Cellar Doors and Rachel Fannon, formally of the SF based band, Sleepy Sun will be shining beacons on the line up. Portland’s new ensemble, Hollow Sidewalks which features the legendary neo psych rock aficionado, Jason "Plucky" Anchondo will be performing as well. If Cellar Doors, Rachel Fannan and Hollow Sidewalks are not enough incentive to attend this pre-party celebration, the lead singer of The Black Angels, Alex Maas will be sharing a very rare Bay Area solo performance.

If you’re in San Francisco and you don’t make a sincere effort to attend this show, you’re going to miss a very unique night that you’ll probably remember for some time. Make your way down to The Elbo Room on September 23rd to celebrate the dawning of the 2015 Desert Stars Music Festival.