On Thursday, March 16, 2017, DJ Mu and I attended Sammy J’s Spring Tour ‘17 at The Catalyst in downtown Santa Cruz, which featured special guests Jordan T and Analea. DJ Mu and I were able to get two out…
In the never ending, open seas of modern rap, Fatimah Warner, known better by her stage name, “Noname” is like a glimpse of land or a taste of fresh produce. She is so many things that I, as a hip…
On Thursday, February 24, 2017, I attended the Grammy Award Nominee and Island Reggae artist J Boog’s concert for his “Washhouse Ting” Tour here at The Catalyst in downtown Santa Cruz. I was unable to get an interview with J…
Many students here at UCSC live either on campus or within the city of Santa Cruz. Catching the City Metro, riding a bike, or simply walking out of their dorms and straight to class is the most commuting that the…
I caught up with the hottest artists on the block right now, from my hometown Vallejo, located in the North Bay Area, SOB X RBE. The group was on tour with Platinum recording artist and producer Sage The Gemini, and…
I caught Vallejo rapper, Nef The Pharoah last week during his Changuary Tour stop at the Catalyst. We talked about his extensive amount of vlogging done in high school, Nardwaur, and alcohols endorsed by other rap artists. Enjoy that and…
The Artists on Art show for January 18th, 2017, featured spiritual activist and author, Ami Chen, community activist Miriam Stombler and Didje Koffa to talk about the protests happening in Santa Cruz County in response to the inauguration of the 45th President…
Some people say that the dawn of the digital era is synonymous with the end of traditional radio. The rise of Internet radio stations would have made the original ones become obsolete. Their emergence, at the beginning of the 90’s,…
Anuhea's Coming to Town! And she's bringing Justin Young! Playing Moe's Ally Thursday, December 15th, a show that features holiday jams direct from the Hawaiian Islands. In the cold of midwinter, this might be the touch of warmth you can use.
Wassup radio family, Last week I caught up with Berkeley rapper, Caleborate for a hefty interview before his headlining show in the Atrium. Rizal Aliga aka Mr. Hella Hyphy himself was also in attendance and wrote a solid concert review which…
The Santa Cruz and Hawai'i surf connection was solidified again, recently. Fletch and JD, of the aSanta Cruz Board Builders Guild and Jeffery Devine Rockets, who work out of Doug Haut's surf shop on the Westside of Santa Cruz, conspired with Wiki Wiki Wednesday music program founder MB for a tremendous surprise—an original art surf board!
Warm Brew is quintessentially West Coast – the two are synonymous. Their lyrics, though, are anonymous. (you’ll never hear ‘em copy! Top Notch Baby! Never coming less, sky’s the limit, you gots to believe up in… the Brew!)…
Hip hop is uniquely powerful because it sits comfortably at the borderline between poetry and song. It bridges the gap between the two, and in turn contains the qualities of both song and spoken word. Unlike poems (or any other…
DJ Sweet Tea (Tim Beckman) catches up with Sean Tillman about Har Mar Superstar's recent touring--appearing on Election Night (11/8) in Felton at Don Quixote's This recording will be aired on KZSC is also available on our Soundcloud
In San Francisco, the foggy summer is host to the annual Outside Lands concert, held every August in Golden Gate park. The event takes place over one weekend, starting on Friday and ending on Sunday and draws crowds who enjoy…
Here's the recap video for the first annual Day N Night Festival in Orange County. This was actually the first music festival I'd ever been to, and while I'd love to comment on all the things I felt went wrong or…
When you think of the year 2016, do you think you'll remember what you were listening to constantly on the way to work, on the way to class, or even on your way home? Yes? No? We've seen grand releases by artists ranging from Kanye West to Blood Orange, Kendrick Lamar to G.L.O.S.S., Beyoncé to The Julie Ruin, and plenty more that would be impossible to mention in a singular blog post. There'll always be something to praise, so here are some of KZSC's very own disc jockeys letting you know what you might've missed so far in 2016!
Ah, the Mountain Winery: a venue always been defined by its excellence. On the night of August 29th, there was a fantastic show featuring the impeccable post-rock band, Explosion in the Sky, and Calgary post-punk outfit, Preoccupations (formerly Viet Cong). Both bands had just played FYF Fest in Los Angeles and this show was a very stark contrast to the festival setting they played the weekend before. Although the Mountain Winery is an amphitheater, the very little amount of space between the seating and the stage allowed a more intimate performance from both bands throughout the night.
It was a dusty hot mid-July day in Laytonville, California. Driving up Highway 101, I finally came across a "Special Event" sign and cones leading me directly off the road and into the Will Call area. Taking my car down…
“Did you tell me to shut up!”, howls Jehnny Beth, lead singer of UK post-punk group Savages, during the opening song of their punishingly direct hour and a fifteen minute set last Wednesday night at the Catalyst. “Shut Up”, the…
This past Tuesday night at the Catalyst here in Santa Cruz was one filled with dimmed stage lights and dark clothing as seasoned LA-based post punk band Moving Units payed their tribute to the Joy Division. The band have not been shy talking about the tour on social media and the hype was building since the tour date pop-up on the Catalyst’s concert calendar. Needless to say the crowd that night was dancing and singing along to every Joy Division and Moving Units song played.
