FYI

Welcome to F.Y.I! What is FYI? Well, basically, I'm a fan of San Diego Music history. Okay, I'm obsessed. I dig up lots of info that is just too detailed for use in my regular writing gigs. This is what you'll find here. News and Trivia. Details on pending releases, upcoming festival dates, discographies, anecdotes, lists, trivia and more will be the staples here. A huge thank you to the San Diego Troubadour for adding FYI to their group of terrific columns. Please send in any music news you might have, especially info on upcoming releases.

FYI February 2008 Contents:

Upcoming releases has been moved to the end of the column

This Month

1. Festival News! N2NP, Adams Ave Street Fair and lots more...
2. Certified San Diego 2006 -2008 (who scored gold & platinum discs)
3. Jason Mraz Grammy’s, SNL and more
4. Licensing News
5. Bits and Pieces (San Diego Music News)
6. Top 10
7. Upcoming San Diego Releases 2009

N2NP / Adams Ave St Fair (etc) Dates Announced
Yes, we have the best music scene going...

Nothing to do? No place for your band to play? If you ever think that in San Diego, you haven’t been trying very hard. The ease of access to press, TV and radio locally is unprecedented (just ask touring bands). Things are taken for granted here, but unlike other cities, there are lots of places to get coverage locally. We are fortunate to have a more active music scene than just about anywhere else in the world, just check out the list of possible fests to play! The single most asked question each month is what festivals are coming up locally, so I’ve compiled a list of some of the major events to look forward to in the next year. This is only a partial list...

Looking ahead: Save the dates! North To North Park will take place on August 8-9 this year! Note the slight name change. http://www.sandiegomusicfoundation.org/nxnp/ - Everyone who was at last year’s event knows just how incredible the whole thing was, from seminars to live music showcases. If you are a musician, you need to attend this.

Also the Adams Avenue Street Fair will take place this year on Saturday and Sunday, September 25-26 2009. http://www.adamsaveonline.com

Other future dates of note:
Feb 20-22 International Pop Overthrow
March 17 Shamrock

March 28 Indie Music Fest / North Park

Apr 18 Blues Day / Carlsbad Flower Fields

Apr 19 Poway Springfest
April 19 Earth Fair / Baloboa Park  
Apr 25 Rhythm and Wine Festival / La Mesa

Apr 25-26  Artwalk / Little Italy

Apr 25-26 Adams Avenue Roots Festival
May 8-10 Gator By The Bay
May 17 North Park Festival of The Arts
May 22 - Sept 9 Concerts on The Green / El Cajon
May 23 KIFM Jazz Festival
May 2009 Street Fair Jazz Festival / Imperial Beach
May - Sept 2009 Coronado Summer Concert Series
May 30  Games for May / Che Underground Reunion

May 31 Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon

June 2009 City Heights International Village Celebration

June - Aug 2009 La Jolla Concerts By The Sea

June - Aug 2009 Carlsbad TGIF Jazz in The Park
June - Sept 2009 Del Mar Twilight Concerts
June - Sept 2009 Seaport Village Summer Concerts
June - August 2009 Lemon Grove Concerts in the Park

June - August 2009 North Park Bird Park Summer Concerts

June - August 2009 Santee Summer Concert Series
June - August Balboa Park Twilight in the Park Series
June-July 20009 Alpine Summer Concert Series

June 6-7 2009 Fiesta Del Sol / Solana Beach

June 7 Rancho Bernardo Alive Street Fair
June 12 - July 5 San Diego County Fair
June 27 - Ocean Beach Street Fair and Chili Cook Off

July - Aug 2009 Standley Park Concerts in the Park / University City

July - August 2009 Trolley Barn Park Summer in the Park / University Heights
July - Sept 2009 Pacific Beach Concerts on the Green

July - Sept 2009 Point Loma Summer Concerts
July - Sept 2009 Village Vibes Festival / Chula Vista

July 17-18 Pride Celebration
July 22 - Sept 9 Del Mar Racetrack Concert Series

July 2009 Mission Hills Concerts in the Park                     
August 8-9 N2NP
Aug 2009 Cityfest / Hillcrest
Sept 2009 - 19^th Annual San Diego Music Awards
Sept 2009 Ocean Beach Jazz Festival
Sept 2009 - Julian Bluegrass Festival
Sept 2009 Street Scene          

Sept. 12-13 Artwalk on the Bay
Sept 24-27 San Diego Film Festival (includes music entries)
Sept 26-27 - Adams Ave Street Fair
Oct 2009 Octoberfest / La Mesa
Oct 2009 Oceanside Music Festival Omfest

Dec 31 2009 First Night Escondido

Dec 2009 Blue Christmas in the Gaslamp (blues and rock)
Dec 2009 Poinsettia Bowl Battle of the Bands in the Gaslamp Quarter (marching bands!)

Certified San Diego 2006-2008

Though music sales are down to a mere percentage of what they were just five years ago, a few San Diego related acts have managed to score gold and platinum records for their walls. Keep in mind that these sales figures are just for the U.S. Only acts with a direct San Diego connection listed - Pearl Jam and Heart are not included, neither is material covered by local songwriters, notably with The Eagles and Steve Miller, both of whom were awarded numerous gold and platinum discs during the time frame listed. An exception is made in Miller’s case to include albums that feature guitarist Greg Douglass as a band member.

Jason Mraz at the Grammy’s Feb. 8 2009

No doubt about it, Jason Mraz has had a good year. On Feb. 8, he will be up for three trophies at the 2009 Grammy Awards. His single, "I’m Yours," was nominated for Song of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. The album "We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things" was also nominated for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical. The three nominations cap what would be an incredible year in anyone’s book. He next embarks on a major world tour Feb. 12 2009, with a show at the Ryan Center, in Kingston, Rhode Island wrapping up May 8-9 with a pair of shows at The MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas. Two shows in Paris (including one at the Olympia!),  and one in Lyon, France, as well as concerts in Brussels, Belgium and Dublin, Ireland are already sold out

So what got Jason to this point? If his music seemed to be just about everywhere in 2008 - it was.

In 2008 Jason Mraz’s song "I’m Yours" was been covered and released as a single by Sindre Dybvikstrand, of Norway and his song "I’m Yours" was included in the film Jumper, released Feb. 14, 2008. An instrumental passage in the song was also used in a nationwide AIG Insurance commercial.

Limited edition Jason Mraz Logo Keds Shoes were issued in blue or red and a special "I’m Yours" shoe was also relased : www.zazzle.com/jason_mraz_red_logo_shoe_kedsshoe-7364943251647577
There are nine pages of Mraz 2009 tour merch!

On May 19, his song "Plane" was included in an episode of Fox-TV’s House.

On Sept. 2, Mraz’s "I’m Yours" was included on Fox-TV’s 90210 on Sept. 02, while Make it Mine" was included in "Brothers and Sisters" on Sept. 28.

On Tuesday, Oct. 7 Mraz showed up on NBC-TV’s Tonight Show in comedy bit on "Best and Worst Sellers on Amazon.com." with his latest album held up as a big seller.

The following day Mraz kicked off a 42 date tour, October 8, in Scranton, PA at the Scranton Cultural Center. The tour stopped in at SDSU’s Open Air Theatre on Halloween night and included a headline date at London’s Royal Albert Hall

Mraz performed "A Beautiful Mess" with a full orchestra at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway on December 11, 2008.

On Jan. 1 2009, his song "Details in the Fabric" was featured in an episode of Without a Trace.

Most recently, On Jan. 31 2009, Mraz was the musical guest on NBC-TV’s Saturday Night Live.

Licensing News

In addition to the Mraz TV sightings:

01/16/09 Delta Spirit on Jimmy Kimmel Live (they were on Late Night with Conan O’Brien on Sept 2 2008)

 01/019/09 P.O.D. "If You Could See Me Know" was included in Fox-TV’s Gossip Girl.

The soundtrack to the film Pineapple Express, just out on DVD, includes Arthur Lyman’s classic "Hilawe."

International Pop Overthrow in S.D.

International music festival IPO makes its San Diego debut Feb 20-22 at O’Connell’s. Dedicated to the more melodic side of rock (i.e. power-pop). The showcase events are held annually in cities from Liverpool to San Francisco. Short sets are the order of the day with between band time kept to a minimum by a shared back line. The Sunday show is an early show 4- 9 p.m. www.internationalpopoverthrow.com

Friday, February 20:
.7:30 Jed
.8:00 Wendy Bailey
.8:30 The Tearaways
.9:00 The Shake-Ups
.9:30 Suite 100
10:00 The Cherry Bluestorms
10:30 Sven-Erik Seaholm
11:00 Four Eyes (featuring Mark DeCerbo)

Saturday, February 21:
7:30 Blackout 101
8:00 Windsor
8:30 The Minor Keys
9:00 We Should Be Dead
9:30 Roxy Monoxide
10:00 Cindy Lee Berryhill
11:00 The Loons

Sunday, February 22:
4:30 Baby Scream
5:00 The Bigfellas
5:30 The Bobbleheads
6:00 The Dave Humphries Band
6:30 The Anna Troy Band
7:00 The Shamey Jays
7:30 The Modlins
8:00 The Shambles

Bits & Pieces (San Diego Music News)
Since it wasn’t  mentioned elsewhere, I wanted to point out that the most recent edition of Guitar Hero: World Tour (out in January) includes three Blink-182 related songs; Blink-182’s "What’s My Age Again?", Plus 44’s "Lycanthrope and Travis Barker’s remix of Flo Rida’s "Low."

Bobby Fantasy is working on a new album at Jason Hee’s studio. Tentitively titled Makeout City, the album is set for March release. "The sound is poppy, soaring, dancey and synthy," says mainman Bobby...

circaNow will be heading into the studio with Alan Sanderson (Rolling Stones / Weezer)...

Peter Case (The Plimsouls) is producing the new Dead Rock West album. Special guests include Exene Cervenka, John Doe and Mark Olson.

The Drabs are working on a new 10 song album, but with a new drummer as their old one headed home to Detroit...

It’s been reissued scads of times, but there is another re-issue of Iron Butterfly’s immortal "In A Gadda Da Vida" album on the horizon. This time it will be on colored vinyl.

Vanja James has been singing back up with the Gift/Curse and Laserwolf & Thunderbolt.

Singer/songwriter Gary Jules heads out on tour this month with Donavon Frankenreiter in support of his new album, Bird.

Candye Kane has signed with Los Angeles label, Delta Groove Records. Kane heads into the studio to record her ninth album this month.

Danielle LoPresti is featured in the upcoming film, "Noah's Arc:Jumping The Broom." She plays the part of "Brandon's" Mom...
www.logoonline.com/shows/dyn/noahs_arc_jumping_broom/about.jhtml
 

Louis XIV has lost their rhythm section, auditions are underway for replacements...

Anya Marina rated a full page article in Spin’s January 2009 issue - cool pic too...

Ace producer/keyboard player Ben Moore has started a new side project called The Styletones. "Drums, bass, gtr, singer, B3, and 3 horns. Some funk 45's, some rare soul, some original stuff," says Moore.  "We should be in the studio cutting some new songs in about a month."

Nickel Creek songwriter/fiddler Sarah Watkins has signed with Nonesuch, and will release her self-titled solo debut on April 7. It’s an all star recording start top finish, produced by Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones and featuring Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, Elvis Costello drummer Pete Thomas, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench, Soul Coughing bassist Sebastian Steinberg and Nickel Creek bandmates Chris Tile and Sean Watkins.
Covers include Tom Waits ("Pony"), Jon Brion ("Same Mistakes"), Jimmie Rodgers ("Any Old Time") and Norman Blake of Teenage Fanclub.

Only one 2008 album from San Diego made it into important British magazine, Mojo’s, annual list of "Top 50" albums; The Night Marchers See you in Magic at #30.

Sixties icons The Strawberry Alarm Clock, featuring Randy Seol, are working on an album for Spring 2009.

The Tornado Magnet’s new album is done; Double Wide is due this spring, and includes work from past & present members The Beat Farmers, The Johnny Cash Band, The Bastard Sons Of Johnny Cash, Convoy, West Coast Pin Ups, Whiskey Tango, The Hideaways, Hazel O'Connor and Tony Sheridan bands respectfully. http://www.myspace.com/thetornadomagnets

The latest installment of Wicked Cool Records/ Steven Van Zandt's eclectic collection of rock music, Little Steven's Underground Garage Presents the Coolest Songs in the World Vol. 7, features tunes by Elvis Costello and The Imposters, John Fogerty, Kaiser Chiefs and R.E.M as well as locals Flogging Molly ("Requiem For A Dying Song") and Rocket From The Crypt.

I’ll say it: I like the new Rolling Stone, sort of like an American Mojo with politics. The Nov. 12, 2008 issue managed to include a lot of San Diego-centric info: The Random Notes Section has the pic of The Killers with Paul McCartney and Ray Suen as well as a pic of Jason Mraz picking avocados at his Fallbrook abode. Meanwhile Tom Waits turns up as in the "all time best singers" cover story. Finally, The Rapture’s new album gets a review.

Top Ten

I listen to a lot of music each month, these are the tracks with the most time on the hi-fi set in the last month.  Performers with a San Diego connection in bold.

1) Deathcab For Cutie - Cath

Perfect pop.

2) Echo Revolution - Knapsack

Wow. Atmospheric and melodic to a fault.

3) Irradio - Call The Nation

Great song across the board, this really kicks - but check out the live fake out ending that starts at 4:15 - that’s soul at it’s best...

4) Lesley Gore - Hey Now

A whole lot of attitude on this 1964 tune. No sunshine or lollipops here...

5) The Comeuppance - Unfinished album

I was gifted with a copy of this excellent disc at a recent show. I have no details including song titles, but it’s stark acoustic music, acoustic guitar, stand up bass and viola tunes are quite beautiful at times. Favorite track is #5 which has a terrific pop edge, but the whole thing is very, very cool. Though based in San Francisco, this features Dave Fleminger formerly of the Answers/ Manual Scan etc.

6) Marie Haddad - The Chauffer

A moody take on the Duran Duran classic...

7) Wendy Bailey - She Walks Groovy

A great, smooth, garage rocker with an incessant hook....

8) Pocket - S/t

Go with the vinyl on this groove tinged disc - though he’s no longer in the band, spotlight keys are from Ben Moore...

9) Klattu - Sub Rosa Subway

From 1976. Like listening to Sgt. Pepper again and - this time - discovering a previously unknown, and awesome, hidden track.

10) The Nashville Ramblers - Live at the Casbah 1/02/09

You missed a fantastic show - they played a lengthy set, though not as long as their other reunion shows. Hopefully it won’t be another 15 years before they perform here again...

Upcoming Releases

Since we didn’t run a column last month, I’ve included releases for January - June 2009. Please send in info on new releases!