Have you ever drifted asleep at the bottom of a dried up well, but when you woke up you realized that you’d actually been floating on a crude bamboo raft on a murky urban river, the bends and bows of which had deposited you on the beer-sticky parquet floor of the dive-est night club in your town?

When this does happen, Paul A. Rosales–performing under his own name or as Wonder Wheel–will be crafting a sonic wicker lounger upon which you will be tempted to dance and, eventually, melt.  Rosales’ sound is an excavated pop, stripped of it’s syrup and shine, leaving behind a lustre of echoing vocals that spiral around the fuzzy color wheel of lo-fi synths and beats that Rosales manipulates with the terrifying dexterity of an artist whose bodily extremities can materialize the nightmares and sex fantasies that lurk deep within in his–and our own–sub-conscious. Honing his chops through collaborations with R. Stevie Moore, Rosales cuts some bomber tracks.

See for yourself in this video for “Crimes”

“Crimes” is currently available as a 7inch single on Care in the Community Recordings. It’s also the first track on his debut full-length, Wonder Wheel I –a welcome addition to our summer indie rotation.

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We just got this record in from Crustacean Records:

It’s the new release from Screamin’ Cyn Cyn & The Pons, “Damn Girl.” Behind the plastic-gem bedazzled gold acrylic nails is a band that appear not to take themselves very seriously. If they are serious about anything, it’s penning irreverent and offensive songs that poke fun at just about everything: trophies, hairdos, and cats that dig pop culture icons. This record may not be for everyone–our world music director describes it as “painful.” Hey, sometimes punk hurts, but this punk tickles. Check out the lyrics to track eight, “POTO”:

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His name was Lincoln, but most of the music world knew him as Sugar. Starting a recording career in the late 1960’s as part of The African Brothers band, Sugar Minott became popular as a solo artist in Jamaica during the mid-70’s. Sugar was an early pioneer of reggae’s dance hall sound; he developed a talent for writing new songs to fit over existing rhythms (which at the time was common when singers performed live but rare in the studio), often proving more popular than the original songs. His career skyrocketed in the U.K. and the U.S. after the release of “Herbman Hustling” in the early 80’s. Sugar focused his fame (and money) into championing up and coming talent through his Youth Promotion sound system. Decades later, he was still recording and touring around the world.

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Nursery electro-dance two-piece is comprised of composer Frank Wong and singer Emma Jean and has been tearing up a storm around town recently, playing to both captivated house shows as well as an impressive late-day performance at May’s SCUMFest. The electrifying duo will be making their Crepe Place debut on September 22nd (opening for electro-folk balladeer Casiotone for the Painfully Alone), and will appear on The Rising Tide this Friday night, July 9th, at 8:30 to perform some of their electro bangers and talk about the trials and tribulations of being an upcoming electronic dance act in a town not necessarily known for churning them out like other metropolitan cities.

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The Growlers

Next Wednesday, June 23rd, KZSC Welcomes: The Growlers & The Entrance Band at The Crepe Place in Santa Cruz.  The Growlers are a pop and rock band from Long Beach, California and put on one hell of a live show.  The Growlers play a variety of different styles including 1960’s influenced rock and roll and psychedelic rock.  Joining The Growlers will be Los Angeles favorite local rockers, The Entrance Band.  We are so excited for this show!!!

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