You know The Great 2013 U.S. East Coast Cicada Invasion is in full effect when local restaurants begin to tout cicada-centric menu items with hearty "if you can't beat 'em, eat 'em" gusto. For those unfamilar with the phenomenon, the Cicadageddon that emerges from the ground every seventeen years, North Carolina to New England, is a fleeting affair that has everything to do with sound and vision -- the pulsating reverberations of their billions-stong buzzworthy mating calls drowning out the din of daily life, outdoor concerts and all. But you don't have to live inside the E.C.C.S.Z. (East Coast Cicada Sex Zone) to get in on the sonic action as this sort of thing happens in other parts of the world and the well-traveled field recording gurus down at Sublime Frequencies want you to indulge your senses with their oh-so-timely vinyl release of Brokenhearted Dragonflies: Insect Electronica from Southeast Asia.


This limited edition LP pressing of the long out-of-print CD from 2004 presents for your listening pleasure the sounds of swarms of male dragonflies gathered together to join in choruses of high-pitched tones for one purpose: they're looking for sex. The ones that don't succeed in wooing and winning their mates eventually scream so loud that their chests explode and they drop dead to the ground, or so the legend goes. These recordings are a tribute to this legend.

Droning cicadas, dragonflies, and other insects display their charm as masters of the high frequency airwaves, recorded live and unprocessed by Tucker Martine in the lush settings of Laos, Thailand, and Burma -- the occasional thunderstorm included. Enter the supernatural world where entomology and electronica converge in a tropical hallucination of alien sound. Anyone who has ever wondered if these strange symphonies could be recorded or preserved as precisely as they sound in the field need look no further. Martine has done it and you will be transported to the exact experience one would encounter in these mysterious lowlands.

This Sunday (May 26th) Trannyshack, San Francisco's biggest drag club night, celebrates Memorial Day Weekend at the DNA Lounge with the biggest tribute night of all!

Yes, it will all be about the Material Girl with Madonna-inspired performances from Heklina, Exhibit Q., Raya Light, Cookie Dough, Becky Motorlodge, Lindsay Slowhands, Miss Rahni, and more!

Doors open at 9:30pm and the show starts at 11pm. Get advance tickets HERE!

 

Amoeba Music has an array of collectibles available, from rare LPs lining the walls of all three stores to Amoeba Hollywood's display cases by the stairs, by the registers and at the back of the store, and Amoeba SF's brand new display cases, located by the books section.

Our collectibles range from discontinued toys and hard-to-find promo items to signed books and merchandise. At Amoeba Hollywood you'll find rarities such as an Elvis trivia game ($15); Beach Boys paraphernalia, including a Brian Wilson promo pennant ($25) and Beach Boys Mojo magazine ($20); a book of Led Zeppelin guitar tablature ($60); a Smiths Tapes limited edition box set ($280); Ravi Shankar’s autobiography Raga Mala, signed by Shankar ($200); and Beatles goods galore.

If you can’t make it into the store, there’s always our online Merchandise section, with Amoeba swag, rare posters and books, and more. See our currently featured items here. And if you need extra cash or credit for those rare items, don't forget we're always looking for your used CDs and LPs, and you'll get 30% more value if you trade in for credit.

Laura Marling visited Amoeba Hollywood May 20, on the eve of releasing her latest album, Once I Was an Eagle. Appearing solo, she demonstrated the range and power of her deep, droning strum and her voice, which she wields magnificently, going from a high, quavering coo to deeply intoned phrases that land like a dull arrow to the heart. "Damn all those people who don't lose control" she sang in passionate monotone on her extended opening track, "You Know," immediately drawing in the sizable crowd gathered to see her. She pulled out bluesy riffs for "Master Hunter," which spurns a would-be lover by turning around a key Dylan phrase — "if you want a woman who can call your name, it ain’t me, babe."

Her next song belied its sweet melody and charming country arrangement with dark lyrics about depression and loneliness ("I couldn't get out of bed, I was all in my head" she sings before warning her paramour, "just don't go bleedin' me dry"). Marling expressed her excitement about playing Amoeba, saying it even surpassed playing L.A. for the first time, at acoustic music haven Hotel Cafe, and said she'd bought a psychobilly comp at the store. Her next song, a languid, prairie ballad saw her calling to mind Emmylou Harris-style heartbreak. On her closing track, Marling took listeners on a more serene journey, chanting "pray for me" over a steady jangle, channeling quiet pain into exquisitely lovely music.

Crocodiles Announce New Album, Premiere ‘Cockroach’

Though they just released their last album, the fine Endless Flowers, last year, San Diego-bred rockers Crocodiles are already back with a new album. Fans of loud, creeping, melodic rock rejoice! “Cockroach” is already up for streaming via Stereogum. The Raveonettes’ Sune Rose Wagner adds extra noisy strut as producer. It’s from Crimes of Passion, due Aug. 20 on French Kiss.

 

 

 

 

Sonny & the Sunsets – “Palmreader”

Sonny & the Sunsets have premiered the third single from their upcoming Antenna to the Afterworld (due June 11 on Polyvinyl) and it’s another winner, full of gleaming synthesizers, grimy guitars and a beachside attitude. It’s like a perfect California afternoon captured in a song, with a shivers-inducing chorus. Sounds like Antenna to the Afterworld is gonna be one of the albums of the summer.

Lalo Alcaraz is a Mexican-American award-winning editorial cartoonist and the creator and author of the first nationally syndicated politically themed Latino comic strip, La Cucaracha. A leading figure in the Chicano community, Alcaraz contributes political cartoons for the LA Weekly publication and hosts the Pocho Hour of Power radio program for KPFK 90.7fm in Los Angeles. 

Lalo Alcaraz's work has appeared in the New York Times, Village Voice,  Los Angeles Times, Variety, Hispanic Magazine, Latina Magazine, Mexico’s La Jornada, Germany’s BUNTE and many other publications. He and his work have been featured on CNN, the CBS Evening News, ABC, NBC, Univision, Telemundo, PBS, Al-Jazeera TV, NPR, and on Spain’s Radio Nacional de España. Alcaraz has also been featured by Rolling Stone Magazine, Los Angeles Magazine, Associated Press, Editor & Publisher and profiled extensively in the Comics Journal.

It's that time of year — spring cleaning! Time to get rid of the old and usher in the new.

Amoeba Music is gonna help you out by taking those dusty CDs and LPs off your hands. Bring in your old stuff and get cash or 30% more value in a credit slip that you can use to shop whenever you like. Right now we're especially looking for those used CDs, so bring them in and trade up to vinyl, MP3 or whatever your preferred format. See our price breakdown here; we pay anywhere from 10 cents to $5 for used CDs, depending on condition and desirability.

Come to the buy counter in the front of the store and see what our expert appraisers have in store for your collection. And if you're looking for something other than media to use that credit on, Amoeba Music has a bevy of books, T-shirts, posters, collectibles and other goodies on hand throughout the store.

Check here for more information about Amoeba's buy counters, including hours per location.

 

The good news from New York City this week is that, following a few false starts of promising good weather following an elongated winter that cut into spring weather, the warm weather has finally arrived and looks set to stay. The bad news of the past week is that, despite all of the advances in human rights especially in this incredibly diverse heavily populated city, that hate crimes are reportedly on the rise - a sad reality that was brought to light over the weekend when a gay man was shot and killed in Greenwich Village in an apparent hate crime. The tragic irony of this unprovoked cold blooded murder was that it occurred just a few short blocks from the Stonewall Inn - the landmark of the beginning of gay rights revolution - when, according to NYPD, 32 year old Harlem born Brooklyn resident Mark Carson was fatally shot in the face with a .38 caliber revolver by homophobic slur throwing 33 year old Manhattan ex-con Elliot Morales who has been charged with second-degree murder as a hate crime. This hate crime, according to NYPD records, is the 29th (reported) anti-gay bias attack this year in the city - a startling statistic since that is over double the number for the same period in 2012. In reaction to this fact, and following this latest hate crime, on Monday (May 20th) thousands of New Yorkers, including some Pols, took to the streets to march in protest. The rally was organized by openly gay City Council Speaker/mayoral candidate Christine Quinn who promised both a new anti-hate initiative in NYC public schools and increased NYPD presence in both the heavily gay populated Greenwich Village and Chelsea districts.

Stellar Om Source

Elite Excel

RVNG Intl.

Teaser 12-inch for Christine Gualdi's upcoming LP on New York institution RVNG Intl (Max D, Blondes, Sun Araw/Congos). Stellar Om Source's recent Image over Image 12" saw her integrating tough beats into her synth vistas -  on Elite Excel, Gualdi combines raw, adroit drum programming with the time-warp qualities of her earlier work. Everything is in its right place - at 2:30 a pristine C2-esque synth vamp emerges over the hazy acid. The momentum picks up as the track spans on, Gualdi continuing to strike the balance between rough acid techno and synthetic mind-music. The remix finds Kassem Mosse  exploring the cubist funk he pulled off so well on 2D. Buy Elite Excel

Kyle Hall

The Boat Party

Wild Oats

Assured full-length debut from the producer whom many expect to carry Detroit's legacy forwards. What's on display here is not a producer buckling under decades of dance music history, rather, a singular talent who began his career taking risks and continues to double-down. KMFH's use of isolators is unparalleled. The first half of this album holds skittering drum tracks, yet remains compelling due to Hall's nuanced filtering and effects work. "Flemmenup" welds the recent footwork fixation onto classic Detroit electro-styles, while "Crushed" shows the producer can cut a sample alongside legends like KDJ and Terrence Parker. "Finnapop" is a Dancemania tribute which ends in a solid 2:30 minutes of spooling noise, emphasizing the experimental nature of Hall's production and listening (Hall enjoys shopping for outre records at Windy and Carl's "Stormy" records). The final track, "Measure 2 Measure" shows Hall effortless skating around a pair of soul samples, juggling insane hi-hats and morphing the soaring female vocal into an endless, abstract delay trail. There is a perfect sloppiness to what Hall does on the record, light years away from marathon Ableton sculpting sessions.

      

Since news first broke yesterday of the passing of legendary rock keyboardist Ray Manzarek, who co-founded The Doors in 1965 with Jim Morrison, people have been playing Doors music and sending out tributes. I never realized just how many people loved the Doors so much but such is the sign of a truly great band. Some people, upon hearing the news at first, didn't believe it and questioned if it was a hoax. Such is the ere we live in. But soon everyone found out that sadly the news was no hoax and that the greatly admired musician/author/film director, who maintained a consistent passion for his art throughout his life, had left this earth. Yesterday, Monday May 20th, the South Chicago born Manzarek died at the RoMed Clinic in Rosenheim, Germany following a battle with bile-duct cancer. Manzarek was 74.

While Jim Morrison - the late great vocalist and front man of The Doors - might be the first one to come to mind when the average person thinks of the Doors it was the blues rooted keyboard playing of Manzarek and his signature hooks, that also doubled as the bass backbone of the group's sound, that helped distinguish the Doors' warm sound. And the fact that the Doors even came about in the first place is thanks to Manzarek's intuition and foresight. As the story goes; following a chance encounter on Venice Beach with Morrison, who he first met at UCLA before the two film students had graduated, Manzarek convinced the future Doors front man, who considered himself a poet and not a musician, that his poems/songs would be best presented with the backing of a blues-based rock band. And the rest as they say is rock n roll history. Manzarek's soulful musicianship was instrumental in defining such Doors classics as “Light My Fire,” “Riders on the Storm,” “Love Her Madly,” and (my personal favorite) “Roadhouse Blues.”

Wah Chang was a Chinese-American artist and prop designer. Today he’s most recognized for his iconic designs on the television series Star Trek. He was born on this day in 1917 and with that in mind, it being Asian-Pacific Heritage Month, me planning on going to see the Star Trek Into Darkness tonight, and The Wrath of Khan on in the background, now seems like a good time to reflect on his genius.


EARLY LIFE

Wah Ming Chang (鄭華明) was born 2 August, 1917 in Honolulu, when Hawai’i was still a territory. His father, Dai Song Chang, owned an art store and framing gallery. The Chang family moved to San Francisco in 1919 and the parents opened Ho Ho Tea Room on 315 Sutter Street, which quickly became a popular hangout for artists and bohemians. Wah’s mother, Fai Sue, was an artist and graduate of the California School of Arts and Crafts. As a young child, Wah also displayed a talent for art and at seven, he began a tutelage under artist Blanding Sloan. Wah had his first solo gallery show when he was just nine years old. His mother passed away when he was eleven and his father moved to Europe, leaving the child with Sloan and his wife, Mildred Taylor. Taylor, was a feminist writer, organizer and lecturer who in the 1920s displayed a strikingly non-stereotypical interest in East Asian cultures. Taylor introduced Wah to puppet-making, a skill which he would employ when he eventually began working in film.

UPDATE May 24 at 4:25PM: We are sold out of passes to see Disclosure at Space 15Twenty!

The UK pop leaning garage duo Disclosure, made up of multi-instrumentalist brothers Guy and Howard Lawrence, are bringing their infectious UK garage and 2-step sound stateside! See them play an intimate show in the courtyard at Space15Twenty (across from Amoeba Hollywood) to celebrate their new album Settle (Cherrytree/Interscope; out June 11th on CD, June 18th on LP). 

Get a free ticket to this intimate, all-ages show by pre-ordering Settle in-store at Amoeba Hollywood beginning Thursday, May 23. Limit 2 purchases / 2 tickets per person. No phone or online orders available for this show - you've gotta come into Amoeba Hollywood to snag a ticket. But don't hesitate because quantities are limited.

What:  Disclosure live at Space 15Twenty

When: Thursday, May 30 at 8pm

Where: Space 15Twenty (1520 N. Cahuenga Blvd, LA, CA 90028)

How: Pre-order new album Settle on CD ($12.98) or LP ($29.98) in-store at Amoeba Hollywood starting Thursday, May 23. Limit 2 purchases / 2 tickets per person. Quantities are limited. No phone orders or online orders for this event.

CDs and LPs pre-purchased will be available for pick up at Amoeba Hollywood beginning June 11th (CD pre-orders) and June 18th (LP pre-orders). Retain your receipt and numbered ticket to pick up yours. No replacement for lost/stolen tickets.

I decided not to see Iron Man 3 because it seems a return to old way of adapting superheroes to the screen: focus on the star, not the costume (e.g., Stallone's Judge Dredd); throw away most everything ever established in the comics about the character and/or his villains (e.g., just about any TV adaptation from the 70s on, such as Spider-Man); and those behind the adaptation are more interested in making the superhero more "believable," which is another way of saying they're not particularly interested in the character but in "telling their own story" (e.g., Ang Lee's exploring what went into Bruce Banner's rage in Hulk, or Superman giving up his powers in Superman II to live a boring bourgeois life with Lois for 30 minutes of screen time). That is, we get a Tony Stark pondering what makes him Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr., is tired of wearing the suit, basically), a funny kid sidekick for him while he's hanging out in Tennessee, and the Mandarin becomes just another white guy in a business suit. It's not that I'm some purist about the comics, which are often quite terrible, but these alterations tend to come from people who are less imaginative than the comics creators, believing they can improve upon the original by throwing out the more outrageous and fantastic qualities that served to make the comics distinct.

Before the influence of movie studios, the comics industry used to practice the Jack Kirby Rule: a ridiculous premise is always better if realized with a cosmic roundhouse from some brute in a colorful costume. There's nothing particularly interesting about Tony Stark questioning his status as a superhero. It would, at least, be weird if he were doing this in a soliloquy while wearing his armor in the middle of a space battle, though. Otherwise, it's just some normal looking dude worrying about a problem that has no relevance to anything in life. So why would anyone want to sit through that?

Daft Punk – Random Access Memories

CD $12.98

LP $36.98

Daft Punk’s outrageous new album starts with a bang, a fanfare of funk guitars, synths and growing static noise that sounds not unlike the opening of Guns N’ Roses’ “Welcome to the Jungle.” From there Random Access Memories takes off into a nearly double-album length set of songs pairing musical heroes both new (Panda Bear) and beloved (Chic’s Nile Rodgers) to deliver something that is inspired by funk and prog-rock albums of the 1970s while retaining the musically adventurous spirit that has thus far defined Daft Punk. On the album’s best songs, Rodgers’ unmistakable riffs breathe excitement into Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo’s arrangements and give purpose to their robot-rock voices — “let the music in tonight … give life back to music” they intone on “Give Life Back to Music” while Rodgers and co. make dancefloor resistance futile. One of Daft Punk’s heroes, Giorgio Moroder, appears in interview before classic Moroder oscillating synthesizers take us into vintage German discotheques in “Giorgio by Moroder.” Detractors may find Random Access Memories’ pacing questionable, as the set loses a bit of steam until a mid-album set of tracks really send the album into the stratosphere — Pharell brings hip-hop edge to “Lose Yourself to Dance” and the already indelible first single, “Get Lucky,” while “Touch,” featuring Paul Williams of “We’ve Only Just Begun” and “Rainbow Connection” fame, is one of Random Access Memories’ truest joys. Even with numerous party-starters, Random Access Memories is by no means an easy album, taking prog’s excess to heart with its long running time and more soundtrack-ish instrumental passages, but even these have a certain magic, like the beautiful digital washes of “Motherboard.” The album’s lived-in, layered feel is a remarkable achievement in an era of instant-pleasure electronic jams that Daft Punk themselves helped usher in with their dynamite early singles and albums. The wide-open, warm feel of Random Access Memories represents new ground for Daft Punk. Its singles already feel like new classics, while its expanse rewards the patient listener.

"I think it's beautiful that we all contributed to this cultural movement of hip-hop, though some unwillingly, from the engineers to the marketing guys to the DJs, that's how instruments change history when they're taken out of the original context.. Just like how the Hammond organ was designed for church music and Leslie speakers came along to jazz things up, or when distortion was introduced to the electric guitar, and so on. The invention of mixing breaks and scratching transformed the idea of music as we know it, and it owed a great deal to Technics SL-1200s, which was only meant to be a high-end record player for audiophiles." - That's DJ/producer/musician and occasional contributor to the Amoeblog Shing02 talking to me recently on his clearly passionate feelings towards the Technics SL-1200 turntable and its importance to DJ and hip-hop culture. His admiration for the Technics turntable is so great that, along with fellow  SL-1200 fanatic DJ $HIN, Shing02 recently unveiled the webpage Wheels of Steel: Technics SL-1200 series folder icons dedicated exclusively to that  beloved DJ instrument that a few years ago, to the shock of many DJs, ceased being manufactured.

As both a fan and practitioner of hip-hop Shing02 says that he cannot but hold deep respect and love for the Technics SL-1200. It was this feeling of awe for the turntable as to why he and DJ $HIN decided to set up the the icon series dedicated to "one of the most impressive runs in modern design achievements." The icons in the image above were each assembled from dozens of pictures found online, and reflect every model upgrade including function, buttons, lights, and finish. The website also outlines the history of the model which began back in 1970 when Japan's Matsushita Electric (later to become Panasonic Corp.) introduced direct-drive turntables (SP-10), updating and upgrading the model throughout that decade. It was in 1972 when they introduced the SL-1200 MK1. The website notes how the 1210 series was the European counterpart to the 1200s as well as how the company continued to manufacture many direct drive models before the MK2 in 1979 which would go on to become "the de facto industry standard." The following three decades of models resulted in only minor alterations in design. The very last model would be the MK6 Technics SL-1200 model in 2008. Two years later, in October 2010, the company ceased all production of the beloved turntable. Below is my conversation with Shing02 about the turntable and the new icon series whose future updates will include interviews with some retired Technics engineers.

Amoeblog: What made you guys decide to do this icon series dedicated to the 1200's?

Bay Area transplant Chris Stroffolino is a former Silver Jews member, a Ph.D.-holding Shakespearean scholar, published author of eight books of poetry, AND a one-time Amoeba Music Home Grown Artist of the Month. Now in Los Angeles, Stroffolino and his rescued, upright piano reside and perform in his 1980’s Ford Econoline van. The van serves as his part-time stage, rehearsal space, recording studio, and full-time living quarters. A prolific singer/songwriter, a chalkboard paint-covered sliding van door announces his influences: Indie, Punk, Brill Building, Motown, and Velvets.

This guy is the real deal and he's mobile. You can catch him playing wherever the van takes him -- Griffith Park, outside a Trader Joe's, in parking lots of music venues -- but we suggest following him on Twitter at @Piano_Van to get updates on his next coordinates.

Jeff Feuerzeig, the director of the documentary The Devil and Daniel Johnston, is recording a series of videos with Stroffolino. Here's the latest, his infectious interpretation of Toby Keith's "I'm Just Talkin' About Tonight."

Big news! The lineup has just been announced for the inaugural weekend of the First City Festival, which takes place at the Monterey County Fair and Event Center on Saturday, August 24th and Sunday, August 25th.

Join Goldenvoice and Amoeba Music in welcoming Modest Mouse, Passion Pit, MGMT, Neko Case, Beach House, Toro y Moi, the west coast debut of Avey Tare's Slasher Flicks (featuring Dave Portner of Animal Collective), and so many more.

Two-day General Admission and VIP tickets go on sale Friday, May 31st at 10am at FirstCityFestival.com!

 

 

To read more Behind The Grooves, go to http://behindthegrooves.tumblr.com.

On this day in music history: May 20, 1967 - "Groovin'" by The Young Rascals hits #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks (non-consecutive), also peaking at #3 on the R&B singles chart on the same date. Written by Felix Cavaliere and Eddie Brigati, it is the second chart topping single for the New York City-based blue eyed soul/pop rock quartet. For the band's sixth single release, they will venture into new musical territory. Taking an interest in Afro-Cuban music, keyboardist and lead vocalist Cavaliere along with percussionist Brigati will come up with a leisurely paced groove with that sound in mind, and begin crafting a song around it. Lyrically, it will be about how the only time the two busy musicians could spend with their respective girlfriends was on Sundays. When they get into the studio to cut the track, they will enlist the assistance of veteran studio bassist Chuck Rainey to play on the song. Once it's completed, the band will present the song to Atlantic Records, who at first are unsure of the song's commercial potential. Famed New York DJ Murray "The K" will convince the label to release song after he expresses his enthusiasm for it. Released on April 10, 1967, it is an immediate smash. Entering the Hot 100 at #79 on April 22, 1967, it will rocket to the top of the chart just four weeks later. "Groovin'" will prove to have major staying power once it reaches the summit. After two weeks at the top, it will be bumped from the #1 spot by Aretha Franklin's "Respect" for two weeks, then it will return to the top for an additional two weeks. "Groovin'" will be certified Gold in the US by the RIAA.

Orchestra Da Camera from Quiet ensemble on Vimeo.

As witnessed by the positive reaction to the YouTube cat videos and the recent Oakland Internet Cat Video Festival clearly felines (as well as canines) have been hogging the popularity polls when it comes to viewer hits of online videos of creatures. But that stronghold by kitties may soon witness some competition if mice videos, like the one above uploaded a couple of months ago by the Rome, Italy based Quiet Ensemble, start to gain in popularity. That video above is the intricate Orchestra Da Camera musical installation that shows the "forty elements of the chamber" - mice running on their wheels with each wheel connected to a carillon.  When the wheel turns (activated by each mouse) it in turn triggers the carillon to begin playing its corresponding musical note. As the Vimeo video description for the video notes, "The great number of carillons and the random actions of the living creatures makes unrecognizable the melodies (lullabies by Brahms, Schubertand Mozart) creating an unexpected musical carpet determined by the mice."

Amoeba has entered into a partnership with L.A.’s Moheak Radio to provide the Amoeba Song of the Week every week for a recorded segment to air on Moheak’s online radio station.

This week it’s The Cyclist’s “Visions,” from the U.K. producer’s latest album, Bones in Motion, on Stones Throw Records. “Visions” combines clanging percussion, analog synth sounds and bits of white noise for a song that tunnels down new corridors in your mind. The track also was included on the album Dual Form, a double-disc compilation to kick off L.A.-based label Leaving Records’ distribution via Stones Throw that also features Sun Araw, Dntel and others. 

A bit about Amoeba’s Song of the Week: Every week we’ll provide a song hand-selected by our own staff to Moheak Radio for a recorded segment that will run four times a day (at around 8 a.m., 1 p.m., 5:45 p.m. and once overnight). Besides hearing what our expert staff is into, you’ll get the chance to win prizes from Amoeba Music. The giveaways will happen once a week with announcements at least once every four hours leading up to the giveaway, which will take place on Moheak’s Facebook page. Check it out, support local/online radio and win some prizes along the way.

As reported here in the latest weekly Amoeblog Hip-Hop Rap Up Colorado's Wheelchair Sports Camp (WSC), who got added at the last minute to a one-month national tour supporting the Flobots, got booked into the non-wheelchair accessible Cafe Du Nord - something that appears to be an honest oversight by the promoter/booker and or the club, given the last minute nature of WSC been added to the tour. Regardless the oversight caused somewhat of an uproar among the many wheelchair using fans of WSC who cannot make it into the show featuring krip hop star Kalyn Hefferernan along the percussionist she is touring with this time out.  Since earlier in the week Kalyn had been scrambling to try and find an alternate space (I was among those trying to locate somewhere) to do a wheelchair accessible free show in San Francisco this afternoon. But when nothing had materialized by this morning the ever resourceful Hefferenan announced plans to do an impromptu, free pre-show on the sidewalk outside the Market Street, San Francisco club at 4pm this afternoon. See just made flyer left about the last minute show that proudly proclaims "The More Wheelchairs The Better."

A little earlier today I caught up with Kalyn. "I'm usually good at posting whether or not venues are wheelchair accessible but because it was so many shows [on the heavily booked one month tour] and getting ready for the road was so nuts I haven't had the chance to find that out for every venue. I didn't realize the San Francisco show was inaccessible until a few crips hit me up disappointed they couldn't come," she said stressing that, "As a disabled rapper I can't shit on my people! I know what it's like to be excluded from a venue and it blows. I tried to find a way to do a show in a more venue type setting but it was so last minute we figured just take it to the streets!" This is good news to disabled Bay Area fans who, said Kaylyn, were initially "understandably pissed that I'm playing an inaccessible venue in the first place." She added that, "Because my band is support and was added on after all shows were booked I didn't have a say in where we played. And I'm lucky to be small so I can be carried up and down more easily than most. Eventually I hope I have enough leverage to play only accessible shows. This is a great way to start the conversation on how to deal with unaccessible venues."