Posts Tagged ‘San Francisco Bay Area’

COLD BLOOD – ” Cold Blood “

Posted: July 31, 2020 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Cold Blood is a long-standing R&B horn funk band founded by Larry Field in 1968 and was originally based in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Lydia Pence was the the lead singer of the Bay Area Funk Band, Cold Blood, has been delighting audiences for over 50 years. The group formed in 1968 found a mentor in Rock impresario Bill Graham who signed the band to a recording contract with his San Francisco Records after an audition in 1969. Pence, a powerhouse singer, is known for her soul stirring vocals on such barnburners as the cover of Sam & Dave’s “Hold on I’m Comin,’“ , Muddy Waters’ nugget “I Just Want to Make Love to You,” both from Cold Blood’s debut self-titled album from 1969, and her take take on Stax vocalist Mable John’s “Your Good Thing (Is About to End)” from the bands sophomore effort “Sisyphus,” with the Pointer Sisters joining in with some gospel laced backup vocals.

The band’s heyday was 1969-1976 during which time they released six albums and built up a faithful following opening for headlining acts at Winterland and Fillmore West such as Albert King (1969), Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (1969), Alice Cooper (1971) It’s a Beautiful Day (1973), and Montrose (1976). The combination of a horn heavy funk Band and Pence’s impassioned singing kept the band busy until it broke up in 1978. After a period of raising her daughter in the early 1980s, Pence and band members came together again in 1988 with some new personnel and have been funkin’ ever since. Pence may have been lost in Janis Joplin’s shadow because of similar styles and the fact that the Joplin reigned supreme in the late 1960s until her death in 1970.

No matter, Pence has continued to perform over the ensuing decades, earning nothing but raves from her loyal fans and new converts. Lydia Pence has stood the test of time and still does some mighty soul shouting in performance, Catch her and cold blood while you can. One of my favourite bands that featured an super horn section. Was totally taken in by the powerhouse vocals of Lydia Pense coupled with the great musicianship of the band. Their debut album was phenomenal and these two songs were a definite highlight.

The term “East Bay Grease” was been used to describe the San Francisco Bay Area’s brass horn heavy funk-rock sound of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, Cold Blood was one of the pioneer bands of this sound, Other bands include Tower of Power, Chicago, and Blood Sweat And Tears. The Tower of Power horn players have performed with Cold Blood on a regular basis since the early 1970s. Skip Mesquite and Mic Gillette have been members of both Tower of Power and Cold Blood.

Original band members were founder Larry Field (lead guitar), Lydia Pense (vocals), Danny Hull (tenor saxophone and songwriter), Larry Jonutz (trumpet; born Mar 15 1947), Pat O’Hara (trombone; born May 25, 1946 (?), died August 1977 of an overdose), Raul Matute (Hammond organ, piano, arranger and songwriter, born Feb 19 1946), Jerry Jonutz (baritone, alto and tenor saxophone; born Mar 15 1947), David Padron (trumpet; born May 4, 1946), Rod Ellicott (bass), and Frank Davis, who was replaced on drums by Sandy McKee (real name Cecil James Stoltie, born 12 July 1945, died 15 October 1995) during the “Sisyphus” sessions.

TONY MOLINA – ” Kill The Lights “

Posted: August 28, 2018 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Tony Molina’s, writes classic, accessible pop melodies, and drops them into fun-size songs often clocking in under the minute mark (almost always under two minutes), he also kicks around in local hardcore bands in the West Bay part of the San Francisco Bay Area and isn’t it weird that he does both maybe?.

West Bay native Tony Molina has been following a fascinating trajectory on his recent string of releases. Early entries like the “6 Songs EP” and “Dissed And Dismissed” LP combined the best bits of Weezer/Teenage Fanclub-style power-pop with Tony’s smart, touching songs, shredding guitar pyrotechnics and ironclad DIY HC roots. 2016’s “Confront The Truth” EP flipped the script in a big way, leaving the guitar crunch behind in favor of mostly acoustic arrangements that owe as much to “Horizontal”-era Bee Gees and the Fanclub’s mellower moments as they do to Georges Harrison and Martin. It’s a masterful record, packing more melodic flair and emotional truth into 11 minutes than most bands manage in an hour.

Now Tony is back with his brilliant, long-awaited album “Kill The Lights.” The ten songs on “Kill The Lights” continue in his evolution towards stripping the songs back to reveal each one’s emotional and melodic core. But where “Confront The Truth” was mostly acoustic, “Kill The Lights” adds back some full band arrangements to brilliant effect. Album opener “Nothing I Can Say” is a lovely 12-string pop tune that would sit snugly in The Byrds’ songbook – it’s that good. “Wrong Town” is gentle and subtly wrenching, recalling prime Elliott Smith in its simple truth. “Afraid To Go Outside” expands on some of the pastoral early Bee Gees/Kaleidoscope/Tomorrow flavor revealed on “Confront,” aided by some great organ lines. “Now That She’s Gone” features some gorgeous guitar finger-picking, while “Jasper’s Theme” is a rootsy mid-tempo groover that leans towards Gram-era Byrds.

Everywhere on “Kill The Lights” we hear Tony synthesizing his influences with great skill and intention; these classic folk and pop styles are being employed in the service of stellar songs and universal lyrical truths rather than just as aesthetic filigree. This is why beautiful, elegant songs like “When She Leaves” and “Before You Go” aren’t really so far from Molina’s punk roots — they reflect a dedication to craft combined with an intense commitment to self-expression that transcends simplistic genre boundaries. The sonic palette may be shifting, but the tunes are all Tony and we should all be grateful

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Molina’s latest, Kill the Lights, is a cool step forward from his prior work, by the way, largely stripping back the loud guitars of his earlier solo releases in favor of ornate, almost chamber-pop-style arrangements. This isn’t an entirely new move—Molina’s old band Ovens wasn’t afraid of acoustic guitars and mellower arrangements—but he seems to enter the zone this time with more confidence than ever.

Meanwhile, he’s already at work on the next one, and he’s also probably starting another hardcore band as I write this (one of those bands, Healer, just also released a split 7″ with Dank Goblins on the Warthog Speak label this year). If you haven’t kept up with Molina over the last few years, though, don’t worry: Any music writer will be happy to pithily inform you that it won’t take long to get up to speed.

The ASTEROID No4 – ” Collide “

Posted: May 18, 2018 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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The Ninth studio album In honor of their 20th anniversary, the psych veterans The Asteroid No. 4 return with eight new songs merging paisley vibes with fluid shoegaze moves and dots and dashes of ’60s-style psychedelia.

The Asteroid No.4 are an American psychedelic band based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Originating from Philadelphia in the latter half of the 1990s, the band began their relocation to the west coast in 2011.

Since forming, the band has endured several lineup changes. Over the last ten years, however, they have consistently included Scott Vitt (vocals, guitar), Eric Harms (guitar), Adam Weaver (drums, vocals), Matty Rhodes (bass, vocals), Ryan Carlson van Kriedt (guitars, vocals), and most recently, Nick Castro (keys, guitars, vocals).

The band is known for their dynamic live act, integrating multi-textured guitars and reverb-drenched vocal harmonies over an unwavering rhythm section. However, it’s been their prolific recording output, including what will soon be their ninth full-length album, that’s helped build their dedicated fan base within the flourishing underground psychedelic scene. With well over a dozen compilation appearances, digital-only rarity releases, and multiple singles and EPs, the band is said to improve with each release.

The Asteroid No.4’s sound has been called a “hypnotic hybrid of several different genres filtered through the kaleidoscope of all things psychedelic.” Whether it be “Krautrock”, “shoegaze”, folkrock, or even the occasional dabbling in “Cosmic” countryrock, the band have never shied away from wearing their influences squarely on their sleeves.

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TONER – ” High and Dry “

Posted: February 14, 2015 in MUSIC
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Samuelito Cruz is known around the San Francisco Bay Area for playing with breakout bands Happy Diving and Never Young, but he’s also been releasing a significant number of songs since May of last year under the Toner moniker. Over the course of five months, Cruz recorded a series of songs alongside his brother in a shed behind his old house in Oakland. The result is his debut self-titled LP, which is set to be released in the spring of this year. On “High And Dry,” Cruz attempts to dive into the murky waters of self-reflection, but his effort turns into more of a bellyflop as each new verse emanates exhaustion. The track is inaugurated by a statement, of disaffection — “We’re all so tired of living and breathing when everyday’s the same it gets deceiving” — but Cruz’s lofty contemplations of existence begin to narrow and become more specific by the song’s close: “I know you’re sitting at home while I’m stoned & alone as I’m heading back to sleep.”