interview Archive
30 Apr 2021
Pop music’s Terrestrial Paradise: Joel Selvin’s ‘Hollywood Eden’
Many authors have sought to chronicle the cultural ferment that gave rise to the Southern California pop music explosion of the 1960s. And while some efforts have yielded worthwhile books, […]
16 Apr 2021
WWNBB: An Italian-American Confederation to Combat Boring Music
The global pandemic hasn’t stunted the creativity and output of indie musicians. Far from it: especially when it comes to DIY-leaning artists who create and record their original music at […]
14 Apr 2021
A tUnE-yArDs Extra
I recently engaged Merrill Garbus of Oakland-based indie group tUnE-yArDs; our conversation was the basis of my recent feature in SF Weekly. But a few of the topics we discussed […]
13 Apr 2021
Different by Design: tUnE-yArDs Get Comfortable Being (a little) Less Weird
When Merrill Garbus made Bird-Brains – the 2009 debut recording from her Oakland-based project tUnE-yArDs – part of what earned the album critical plaudits was its quirky, offbeat character. Eleven […]
12 Apr 2021
Tower of Power: Towering Achievement, Powerful Homecoming
Tower of Power celebrates a half century of funk & soul with new live CD+DVD recorded in Oakland When Emilio “Mimi” Castillo launched Tower of Power with fellow sax player […]
09 Apr 2021
Kirk Fletcher’s Pathway to (and Through) the Blues, Part Five
Continued from Part Four … Fletcher celebrated his 45th birthday in December 2020; that’s still relatively young to be taking a look back at one’s life journey. But in some […]
08 Apr 2021
Kirk Fletcher’s Pathway to (and Through) the Blues, Part Four
Continued from Part Three … I’m Here & I’m Gone was Fletcher’s attempt at making what he calls “a sort of business card, so I could get gigs.” Looking back […]
07 Apr 2021
Kirk Fletcher’s Pathway to (and Through) the Blues, Part Three
Continued from Part Two … When Fletcher was 13, an affiliated congregation invited him to play guitar with their youth choir. He recalls thinking, “Okay, someone wants me to come […]
06 Apr 2021
Kirk Fletcher’s Pathway to (and Through) the Blues, Part Two
Continued from Part One … Even as he grew to adulthood and launched a career as a professional musician, Fletcher would remain in California – not in Compton, though – […]
05 Apr 2021
Kirk Fletcher’s Pathway to (and Through) the Blues, Part One
An edited version of this feature was published previously in Living Blues. Frequent Blues Music Awards nominee Kirk “Eli” Fletcher is known as a lead guitarist, but he considers himself […]