My favorite new Aussie dance-pop band Strange Talk is doing a small US tour this week, with two dates in California and a few dates in New York around CMJ.

The band, which formed after a former classical violinist (Stephen Docker) and a DJ/Producer (Gerard Sidhu) met at a house party in Melbourne, released their self-titled debut EP on Neon Gold in 2011 and is working on their full-length album which is due out in 2013. In the meantime, they have released a few singles, most recently "Cast Away," and have been busy remixing tracks for other artists, including Foster the People, The Naked and Famous, and The Temper Trap. They also found time to record a pretty amazing version of "Roxanne" by The Police (listen here).

If you're in San Francisco, you can catch Strange Talk tonight at Rickshaw Stop (get tickets here). Or join me tomorrow in Los Angeles at The Echo (get tickets here). Don't forget to bring your dancing shoes!

They'll be in New York for a few dates too:

October 17 - Mercury Lounge (CMJ Windish Showcase)

The kick off of this year's CMJ Music Marathon and Film Festival is today in NYC! The CMJ (College Music Journal) event, now in its 30th year, runs from today (Tuesday, Oct 19th) through Saturday night (Oct 23rd) and features so many different bands and artists and films (and workshops and music panels) playing at countless venues (mostly in Manhattan and Brooklyn) that it is physically impossible to attend all of them. Thus, if you are attending this year's festival, you'd best carefully plan each day ahead of time. Here is the overwhelming list of all the artists to play over the next five days and here is the guide to the films screening.

Films include the documentary Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone, which is directed by Lev Anderson & Chris Metzler. The film tells the story of the unique Cali punk-funk outfit that is Fishbone (who are still around and gigging -- they played the DNA Lounge in SF last Thursday) and also covers the political and racial environment (namely Reagan’s America) during which they rose to fame. With members of Fishbone offering their insights, the documentary is narrated by Laurence Fishburne and also includes figures like Ice T, George Clinton, Flea, Gwen Stefani, Perry Farrell, and Branford Marsalis all offering their thoughts and stories. It screens at 4pm Friday at Norwood Private Club in Manhattan. Another film is the French language L’Enfant Prodige (The Child Prodigy) directed by Canadian Luc Dionne, which tells the true story of six-year-old child prodigy Andre Mathieu. He wowed concert halls in Paris, London, New York, and other major metropolitan centers around the world and was billed as the “Little Canadian Mozart” but when all was going well his story took a tragic turn. Screens at 10pm Thursday at Clear Cinemas on 23rd Street.
As a hip-hop fan I of course tend to gravitate toward the hip-hop shows. Though once not very well represented at this traditionally indie rock themed event, now there are a decent amount of hip-hop events that include Mickey Factz and GZA this year. One of the best all hip-hop shows this year is tonight's big retro (as in mid to late nineties) event with Boot Camp Clik crew's Buckshot, Sean Price, and Smif-N-Wesson, Pete Rock, Jean Grae, 9th Wonder, Pharoahe Monch, Strong Arm Steady, and Skyzoo and Illmind. This guaranteed-to-be-packed showcase is at Le Poisson Rouge in the Village tonight at 10pm.

Greetings from New York, New York! CMJ kicked off at the beginning of this week and NY became a mammoth showcase for new music. I love autumn in New York -- it's ridiculously beautiful. Walking is of course the greatest pastime while in the city. The weather was nice, so nice, for the first couple nights, which made it easy to get around and still look half way put together by the time you got to your final destination.

Unfortunately, by Friday night, it was cloudy with a chance of matzo balls, which meant an extra change of clothes was imperative. Luckily, it was short lived. OMG, there was so much going on. I was overwhelmed with work, with a lot on my plate, and didn’t get to see nearly as many acts as I would have liked to, but I made notes of the little I was able to soak in.

Green Label Sound hosted a party sponsored by Cornerstone at The Brooklyn Bowl with Chromeo, Thelophilus London, Amazing Baby and Solid Gold that was off the chain. DFA's Holy Ghost provided a dj set. This new bowling/concert venue is ginormous, 1,000 capacity at least, and it was packed wall to wall. An eclectic mix of industry folk, unbigoted music-minded individuals, people dressed like hipsters, aspiring and established artists roamed the joint. The night's festivities lasted well into the night, but time just seemed to fly by. I enjoyed great food, had a couple rounds on the lanes with friends, enjoyed the live acts in a concert setting, and danced till I broke a sweat all under one roof. If you get the chance to go check out this spot, do, and order the cajun catfish, it's scrumptious!

                                   Amoeba Music San Francisco Hip-Hop Top Five: 10:23:08

1) Jake One White Van Music (Rhymesayers)

2) Mighty Underdogs Droppin' Science Fiction (Definitive Jux)

3) MF Doom Operation Doomsday (Traffic)

4) Micheal Franti & Spearhead All Rebel Rockers (Anti)

5) Devin the Dude Landing Gear (Razor & Tie Music)

Thanks to Luis at Amoeba Music San Francisco for this week's top five, which includes super talented Seattle producer Jake One and his guest-heavy (over two dozen emcees!) album White Van Music on Rhymesayers in the number one slot. Also with many guest shots, but not near as many as Jake One's record, is the Bay Area supergroup the Mighty Underdogs (Lateef the Truth Speaker, Gift of Gab, & Headnodic) and their recent Def Jux release Droppin' Science Fiction which is the number two top selling hip-hop album at the Haight Street Amoeba this week. As is the case over at the Berkeley Amoeba, the Bay Area's much loved Michael Franti and Spearhead's new album All Rebel Rockers on Anti is also selling well in the San Francisco store. Others on the hip-hop top five include Devin the Dude's Landing Gear and the MF Doom album re-release of Operation Doomsday courtesy of Traffic Entertainment. 

As the saying goes, there's no rest for the wicked. If that's the case, then DJ 4AM and Dopestyle just may be one of the wicked-est teams in San Francisco, if not the world.

Almost four years in the making, "The Little Happy/Fool's Pool" double album (officially released November, 2007) contains some of the most slick production ever unleashed by 4AM aka Jason Chavez. That's a bold statement considering he's provided the beats and soul for projects such as OCTAVIUS, SOFAKING MASSIVE, his own successful series of mixtapes and recently in SF bands SEXX and Black Fiction (the latter of which he's a full-time member).

From the get-go, "The Little Happy" propels us on a positive journey through a hip hop-meets-shoegaze amusement park. Dopestyles' rhyming technique seems effortless, yet intricate-and fits perfectly over 4AMs' intricate and lush landscapes. "Wrap It Around Me" is like a Sunday morning: cuddly and chill, while "Dominator D" commands your soul ... "Patty Cake" punches us square in the jaw and "Stress Reducer" winds us down to the end of the first record. Nice and easy, right? Wrong.


"Fool's Pool" is the polar opposite from its' Brother disc. Yes, the dynamic duo is in full effect, but this story is much darker than its' predecessor. It's "good" Dopestyle versus "bad" Dopestyle. Genius. Power of the P, indeed...