KZSC Santa Cruz » music

KZSC Special This Afternoon

Michael Bryant — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 07:00:49 +0000

Paul Gilbert remembers when KZSC was a little 10-watt station on the UCSC campus. “If you lived off campus or near a hill, you practically had to climb on your roof to get a signal.” Back in 1975 when Paul was a DJ here, “Saturday Night Live” premiered on TV, Led Zeppelin was still recording and Bill Gates started a little company called Microsoft. Paul liked the idea of coming back to KZSC to do a 35th Anniversary Special, playing tapes from his old shows, LPs and reminiscing about what it was like in Santa Cruz in the Seventies. We did too.

You can hear Paul’s 35th Anniversary Special on KZSC Saturday, September 4th from 2-6 PM.

Spirits of the Red City interview tonight!

Music Director — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 18:00:53 +0000

When was the last time you saw a band you weren’t familiar with, and left with your mouth hanging open? Spirits of the Red City are an 8-piece acoustic folk band based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, that includes two sets of siblings, the sounds of a cello, mandolin, viola, drums, guitar, accordion, trumpet, banjo, upright bass, and well-crafted harmonies. The band recently stopped by Santa Cruz on their west coast summer tour, and played a few shows, which were jaw-droppingly good. Their songs seem to create space, and evoke natural imagery frequently. If you like absolutely beautiful folk, this band is for you.

Tune in to the Rising Tide, Friday night from 8:30 to 10:30 to catch an interview with the band. Also, check them out at http://www.spiritsoftheredcity.com/

Furniture-weaving/tape-recording his way to a club near you

Music Director — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:00:33 +0000

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.

Rude and Adorable Post-Punk

Music Director — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 22:57:28 +0000

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”:

Boys that dress like retirees. Striped athletic socks that come up to your knees. Asymmetrical hair piled up on one side. I’m only looking at you if you’re pretty on the outside. POTO: Pretty on the Outside.

Death of A Reggae Giant

Michael Bryant — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 20:45:33 +0000

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.

Sugar Minott passed away on Saturday, July 10th. KZSC reggae programs this week will be honoring his life and career with special tributes and guest interviews. Tune in Tuesday and Thursday from 9 AM – noon and this Saturday night beginning at 6:30.

Nursery live on The Rising Tide tonight!

Music Director — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 16:06:12 +0000

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.

Tune in live at KZSC.org at 8:30 pm tonight to hear the entire interview/performance!

KZSC Welcomes: The Growlers & The Entrance Band – June 23rd

Station Manager — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 00:00:14 +0000

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!!!

Advance tickets are available at The Crepe Place.

Seahorses EXPO’d

Music Director — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 16:00:50 +0000

Wolf Parade just picked the world up and dropped it on my head. An advance copy of their latest Sub Pop release, Expo 86, just landed at our station, and our pet seahorse is still recovering from the impact. We don’t really have a seahorse, I just needed an excuse to embed this video:

Firstly how cool is it that male-bodied seahorses give birth? What if I could give birth to a sea horse? What if I could be reborn as a seahorse? Incidentally, the opening track of Expo 86 grapples with the mysteries of reincarnation. Krug cries, “You’re gonna be okay come morning, / find your legs and find your horns. / Everybody’s gotta be reborn, / but you will never be born as a scorpion.” So according to Wolf Parade:

scorpion reincarnation – no

seahorse reincarnation – undeclared (I’m taking it as a maybe.)

Yes, this album is fantastic, and you should totally pick it up, or at least tune into our summer indie rock shows soon for a listen. (I’d be remiss to not let you in on a lil’ secret: Pitchfork has two tracks available for free download.) Spencer Krug and Dan Boeckner team up again on the songwriting for this album. If Krug and Boeckner’s collaboration on Wolf Parade’s sophomore release Apologies to Queen Mary was nothing short of magical, then Expo 86 is an act of merciless sorcery. The symbiotic blend of Broekner’s infectious melodies, his guitar driven dance rhythms and Krug’s unearthly synths and vocals will exhaust, inspire and delight. The sixth track, “Ghost Pressure” is a must summer for dance parties; think The Boss meets Culture Club in a dungeon dance hall. THIS TOUR IS GONNA BE AWESOME! And hey, Wolf Parade will play with The Moools at the Catalyst in Santa Cruz on July 29th!

KZSC Welcomes: Magic Bullets, Good People, Hermit Convention – June 19th

Station Manager — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 23:00:05 +0000

Magic Bullets

This Saturday, June 19th, KZSC Welcomes: Magic Bullets, Good People, and Hermit Convention at The Crepe Place in Santa Cruz. Magic Bullets is an indie pop/rock six-piece hailing from San Francisco. They have played shows with bands such as The Walkmen, Perry Farrell, Voxtrot, and Cold War Kids. Both opening bands, Good People and Hermit Convention, are awesome local Santa Cruz bands. Everyone at KZSC is psyched. Don’t miss out on this fun-filled show!

Advance tickets are available at The Crepe Place.

Active Child Spooks and Spoils

Music Director — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 02:43:09 +0000

Yep that’s a kid wearing a Chewbacca mask. Totally adorable, right?! Well, this is the cover of Active Child’s new Curtis Lane EP (Merok), and its just as creepy and lovable as this photograph implies. Active Child is Pat Grossi, a Philadelphia Boys Choir alumnus, who layers Antony-esque choral harmonies over luscious synths and drum samples. Grossi’s bold instrumentation reminds me of M83 with a darker, more New-Orderly underbelly.

Active Child have a couple hard-to-find releases under their belt (a cassette, Sun Rooms, on the tape-only label Mirror Universe, and a 7-inch on Transparent), but this EP is totally worth your record-finding efforts! On track 3, “When Your Love Is Safe,” Grossi’s haunting vocals reverberate against a foggy soundscape of 80′s neon synths and perky hand claps (or booty slaps?)! And the siren swells of “Wilderness” are downright terrifying and enchanting.

Check out the vid below for a taste of Grossi’s talents as a harpist!

Active Child @ SXSW