AuthorDaniel Bromfield of Country Risqué    Mitch Rocket is a familiar figure in the San Francisco music scene thanks to his theatrical performances, mellow style of self-described “yacht grunge,” and championing of the Bay Area music scene through his popular Bay Area Sounds playlist on Spotify (though he strongly prefers listeners check out both his own and his friends’ music through Bandcamp, which actually pays artists). If you’ve spent enough time in SF music venues, you’ve likely seen his distinctive stickers; incredibly, Mitch Rocket is his real name, and he was born and raised in SF. 🤯
Was there a lot of music around you growing up? Totally. It's in the family. My grandma was a piano teacher. My mom played in a garage rock band back in the ‘60s. They covered Ten Years after and Santana and stuff. She played keys and guitar. My dad was a recording engineer. There was a recording studio in my house growing up. His clients would come over and I'd hear trombone or whatever he was working on at the time coming through the door. Did you make anything with that setup? I messed around with MIDI keyboards and GarageBand and stuff, that’s kind of how I learned to record. Some of the tracks on Petting Zoo were actually recorded all track by track in his studio there at home. “Hands Won't Touch” was done like that, and “Fading Away” was done like that, some of the more acoustic stuff on the second half of the album. Why did you decide to split Petting Zoo between electric and acoustic halves? The album was made over a pretty long period of time. Most of the recording on “Hands Won’t Touch” was done in 2017, so it ended up being a few different visions. It’s not really a very cohesive album, I’ll be the first to admit it. It got to a point where I was like, “I need to put this out or I'm not going to put this out.” When I actually released the album, I was on a six-month break between two jobs. It's really hard to record a whole album and also be working 40 hours a week at the same time. That's why I've been less prolific since then, honestly. Stream Petting Zoo You started out studying jazz—did you always write pop and rock songs or did that come later? I didn't really listen to jazz when I was, I was learning like theory of jazz. I was playing jazz in school and in summer camp, but I wasn't a very dedicated jazz listener. The earliest things I recorded, I don't know what to call them. It sounds more like soundtrack music. Some of the stuff on The MIDI Years, a compilation I put out, is some of the earliest stuff that I made in GarageBand. If not jazz, what did you listen to growing up? My dad used to listen to put on a lot of XTC and Toad the Wet Sprocket and the Beatles and ‘60s stuff like the Lovin’ Spoonful, so that's kinda what I was raised on from that side. Mom was more into George Benson and Van Morrison, she also liked Whitesnake and Scorpions, ‘80s hair-metal stuff. Tell me about your live performances, which can be very theatrical. Why did you decide to get silly with it onstage? I'm glad you say theatrical, because sometimes I feel like we're not doing enough on stage. I sometimes feel very confined on stage because my mouth has to be within a certain radius of the mic, and I have to be able to hit the pedals so I can't run around on stage and dive off or do any crazy real theatrics that I would love to do. To me shows are shows, not just concerts, so there's a visual element. There’s even a physical element to it. So I try to do that as much as possible within the constraints I’m given. What's next for Mitch Rocket? Are you planning on recording anything? I know you have a bunch of new songs. There's a ton of new songs and we gotta get something recorded, but we have like one and a half songs recorded. One of them is actually mastered. It’s a live favorite we've done for a long time called “Dirty and Wrong (Fuck You Jeff Bezos).” That one's fully recorded. Unfortunately we can’t play that song at the bandshell gig that we're playing on Saturday. There's a lot of kids around. Have you run into any resistance to that song? Honestly, I mean we're in San Francisco, so it's kinda hard for people to like “Jeff Bezos is great” or “I love Elon Musk.” ---- Trixie's Note: See The Retro-Future Revue live at the GG Park Bandshell in San Francisco this Saturday, 5/25!
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AuthorMichael Bang of Tell Me Tell Me  Have you ever been to Hooktown USA? It’s not a place it’s a state of mind, or music I guess. It’s where The Hot Takes live. If you’ve ever seen them or listened to them, congratulations you’ve been there!
In other words The Hot Takes slap. Their high energy new wave pop is so infectious there should be a public service announcement. Latest release “The Hot Takes II” is a five song party. You’re welcomed at the door with “Drop Dead on the Dancefloor” and before you can even get a drink they hit you with “Up All Night”. These titles tell you everything you need to know, and they deliver! I feel like I’ve lost pounds of sweat dancing while they’re on stage. On “Barely In Love” aliens land to keep the party going and tell us about how strange we humans are. A short breather on the intro of “Heaven on Radio” lets us vibe and finally get that drink, or so we think until the chorus hits. Desperation peaks through the transcendent vocals, handing out those feels like party drugs. “Cannonball,” another on the money title, reminds us that every good night ends too soon. Loop that playlist, turn the record back over, fill it up again. Even though it’s on another release I have to mention my personal favorite song of theirs. On “Hallelujah Superstar” singer Jared Savas uses a joyous, celebratory groove to exorcise childhood demons, singing “I’ve had enough I’m all done being lonely and I hated growing up, I hated growing up,” all to a hook with a capital H. No one can party on the edge of despair quite like The Hot Takes! They recently took their glamorous neon rock to Elbo Room in Oakland, along with Tell Me Tell Me and Modern Monsters and it was glorious. You have another chance to check them out on 6/21 at one of the hottest venues in the Bay Area, Bottom of the Hill, coming up next Friday! Get tickets for that HERE. (Note: apparently there actually is an unincorporated community in Kentucky called Hooktown! What a world.) 5/5 🥵 ⭐️ 💃 🤩 💖 AuthorTrixie Rasputin  "We don't even know about all of the former fires..."
That's how "Former Fires," the 2023 single from Bay Area powerhouse rock duo Tell Me Tell Me begins, with lyrics that burst through the music like juicy gossip about someone you thought you knew better than that. The way this line is delivered makes you wonder why you weren't already questioning these former fires, and why there were so many. The light tapping of a high hat and a simple repeating riff lead the listener further into the story, "...simmering below the coal that only needed just a little air.." GASP. WHAT? The former fires are still lit? Hands fly up to cover mouths gone agape at hearing of this unfinished business. The verse continues on this riff with more lyrics to explain: "Haven’t even felt that the hunger has gone missing/The appetite to fill the hole oh where oh where did it go." The shock! The awe! The sting of a limb waking up! You think this sad story of a life half lived ends here?? Think again! Now we get swept into a crescendo of bold chords, more electrified and powerful than before, as the anger of realization starts bubbling up. Maybe it was under the surface, but now all the past hurts have come back loud, angry, and refusing to be ignored. This chorus section of the song has my favorite line of all, "The yearning/the aching/the pure intensity/requires delay." Days, months, years later, and all the feels are suddenly fighting it out for their free rent. I love you/I hate you are locked in a standoff. I really appreciate the vivid fire imagery in this song ("breathe fire, breathe in"), conveying the idea that big emotions can smolder beneath a veil of apathy. It only takes but a breath of air to set the whole thing ablaze. Later in the song, more lyrics drive home the point of it all: "Shock into the mind to come to terms with a liar." Aha! So, somebody was certainly up to no good, and just look at the mess they made. Tsk tsk. But the final line of the song is everything... I won't say it for fear of a spoiler, but in the end you're left wondering, who was actually the one to blame for these former fires? The music that accompanies this tale of belated woe is the signature sound of Michael Bang, a music school educated songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who understands the power of a well timed burst of electricity. He is known for playing an acoustic guitar in a way that sometimes turns it into an electric guitar, and sometimes you might believe it's a keyboard. Drummer Dan Coxon keeps a mean beat that gives Michael lots of freedom to wile out. Tell Me Tell Me makes the most of this unique and interesting perspective on what they call "dance-grunge", and I recommend you treat yourself to a live show as soon as you get the chance. Perhaps 5/18 in Oakland? The whole Tell Me Tell Me catalog is an awesome listen that will remind you of bands like LCD Soundsystem, Frightened Rabbit, Arcade Fire, and The Fiery Furnaces. It's a 5/5 for me! 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 |
Trixie Rasputin PresentsA glimpse inside of the rock and roll machine! Archives
July 2024
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