Matty Healy of The 1975 and Dan Smith of Bastille. The mohawked frontman of Manchester’s The 1975 drops the phone just as our call is connected. “Oh, for f—‘s sake,” Matty Healy cringes, and I can tell I’m not his first interview of the morning. But just as quickly the…

The 1975 performs at The Fillmore in San Francisco on April 17, 2014. Roman Gokhman/STAFF. Matty Healy describes his life, at this moment, as a series of surreal situations strung together by his and his bandmates’ tales of other surreal stories: being approached by David Bowie; opening for the…

Daniel Lanois and Emmylou Harris perform at the Warfield in San Francisco on April 5, 2014. Roman Gokhman/STAFF. Check out my most-recent Q&A with Daniel Lanois, and stay tuned for a full story about the ‘Wrecking Ball’ tour and album re-release in Paste Magazine. Daniel Lanois and Emmylou Harris…

BottleRock Napa Valley 2014 lineup. While tens of thousands flooded the Napa Valley Expo last May for five days of music, gourmet food, wine, comedy and parties, and most of them went home happy, the two men who organized the inaugural BottleRock Napa Valley — without previous festival experience — lost millions…

Daniel Lanois, photo: Roman Gokhman. I’ve interviewed producer-musician Daniel Lanois three times, now, and have been able to meet up with him a couple of times. In fact, you should check out one my previous stories. He’s very thoughtful in conversation, and a great guy to get to know…

Lorde performs at the Fox Theater in Oakland on March 27, 2014. Roman Gokhman/STAFF. Photos and a video from the March 27 Lorde concert at the Fox Theater in Oakland. Lorde performs at the Fox Theater in Oakland on March 27, 2014. Lorde performs at the Fox Theater in…

The Kin, courtesy. New York rock trio The Kin really love heist movies. Brothers Isaac and Thorald Koren (who hail from Australia) and drummer Shakerleg, formerly a Big Apple subway performer, appreciate stick-ups in general. Party Corps‘ Music for Good party with The Kin in concert and in conversation with…

The Family Crest. As much as the lives of the seven musicians in San Francisco’s The Family Crest have changed since signing with Portland label Tender Loving Empire a year ago, the one thing that hasn’t changed is the pressure to succeed, now that the success of others rest…

Johnny Cash, courtesy. In the ’80s, Johnny Cash recorded an album that was never released. That’s happening this year, and it will include some new mixes, including this song, which was remixed by Elvis Costello. Check it out below.

The Soft White Sixties, courtesy. Interviewing a band at the same time is always a challenge when it comes time to transcribe the audio. When I met up with the Bay Area’s The Soft White Sixties at their Berkeley recording studio shortly before the New Year, I wasn’t anticipating…