Bay Area Band Reviews and Student News

Students Wary Whether De Anza at Risk for Mass Shooting In 2001, police arrested Al DeGuzman , a De Anza College student who had been planning a mass shooting and bombing to take place in the campus cafeteria. 17 years later and school shootings are still a problem on the minds of a number of students at De Anza College, who want to know what strategies the school district is using to safeguard its campus from this type of gun violence. Meera Kohli, 18, computer science major, said that there have been times on De Anza’s where she has felt unsafe, and that the school should take extra precaution to make sure a school shooting doesn’t happen here. “The more I hear about mass shootings, the more concerned I feel like that sort of thing can happen anywhere, at any school,” Kohli said. “Maybe there should be a little more security on campus, especially at night in parkings lots.” According to De Anza College’s 2017 Annual Security Report , available online, there were thre...

For a band that's been steadily producing albums for 16 years, Scotland's Franz Ferdinand is wonderfully consistent and reliable in their talents for releasing great music. Alex Kapranos and his troupe of Glasgow-based bards first caught the public's attention with their  hit single Take Me Out in 2004. The track earned a Grammy for 'Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal' and their debut album that the song featured on has since gone triple platinum, selling 3.6 million copies worldwide. Named after the Austro-Hungarian archduke whose assassination launched the seminal catastrophe of World War I, Franz Ferdinand see themselves as catalysts for musical transformation, to the same degree that the archduke's demise triggered irreversible global change. The band occasionally nods to their name's origins with songs like "All for You, Sophia" in honor of the Austrian duchess, shot alongside Ferdinand.  Musically, ...

The Fratellis- No they're not your favorite family run Italian restaurant. No, they're not related to the criminal 'bad guys' from the Goonies . They are however, the greatest rock band to come out of Glasgow in the past 20 years, (closely followed up by   Franz Ferdinand ) , and they're back this Spring with their new album, In Your Own Sweet Time . I've been a long time fan of The Fratellis, at least since they came back together to make We Need Medicine in 2013. A long time ago, These Scottish kings of alternative grabbed everyone's attention seemingly overnight with their first album, Costello Music, and its energetic, pub-rock melodies.  The debut album of this newly formed band, charmed everyone to death with it's glib, boisterous sound. People couldn't stop humming the irresistible hooks on Chelsea Dagger and Henrietta, both tracks that bring Music Hall raunchiness to the modern ear. Whistle For the Choir had me feeling sentimental ...

Dreamwave expressionist Pastel Ghost is as visually striking as she is musically. Pastel Ghost sounds exactly like her name suggest, colorful and ethereal, her vocals echo in the background of spirited, moody beats. With album art painted in neon pinks and cyan, this Oakland synth-pop talent borrows aesthetic elements from vaporwave, as well as from Post-punk and electronica. Her production feels clean and spacey, the kind of lo-fi, nostalgic-for-80's sound that is so smooth and gentle, it's intoxicating. Perfect music to stare at your shoes to, Pastel Ghost's heavenly and distant voice, takes the listener away, to a serene plain, dark and dreamy. Her last album, Abyss, was released in 2015, and offers listeners 10 tracks of relaxing pop to chill out to. The songs all melt into each other, but the singles like Clouds and Embrace stand out as some of the catchiest, mellow dance tracks in the artist's repertoire. Pastel Ghost has a deep artistic quality; ...

One thing I've learned from studying bands in the Bay is that every group has a heritage and someone to pay homage to. Bang Data is a funky, Latin-alternative rock band from Oakland, California, that pays its respects to Credence Clearwater Revival and Latin-American musical tradition. The band derives their sound from traditional Cumbia music, hip-hop and rock, but like cultural alchemists, they mix and meld different traditions, hoping to create gold in the process. Formed in 2009 by Hip Hop emcee Deuce Eclipse, the band has been in Oakland for almost 10 years. As their website's bio describes them, "Bang Data is like California itself- built on Latin traditions but deeply hybrid in expression. After producing three original albums, Bang Data was invited to feature on Quiero Creedence, a compilation album of Latin-rock covers of Creedence Clearwater Revival. Their track, Fortunate Hijo (a cover of Fortunate Son) blends modern rock and rap, adding verses ab...

If you've been following Lil Skies recent rise to fame, you might've come across a feature with an especially pre-pubescent voice. That boyish voice belongs to the 14-year old Oakland rapper Suigeneris, one of only a handful of such young and talented musicians in rap. Not even old enough for a licence, Suigeneris is a foot shorter than the whole crew he rolls with, but confident and suave beyond his years. In the past few months, the boy-rapper has already built a considerable repertoire with songs like Now (ft. Lil Skies) , Pull Up , and his first album The Cheat Code that came out two weeks ago. Suigeneris has a long and promising career ahead of him so be sure to check him out and his music videos which are shot in Oakland. Below is the track list for Suigeneris's new album The Cheat Code .