She & Him perform at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco on March 2, 2008. This story originally appeared in the Oakland Tribune. SAN FRANCISCO — You knew she could sing retro after Will Farrell walked in on her belting out “Baby It’s Cold Outside” in a…

The Hives perform at her Warfield in San Francisco on Sept. 10, 2012. Roman Gokhman/STAFF. This story originally appeared in the Oakland Tribune. The five members of garage punk band The Hives gave themselves rock nicknames and credit many of their songs to a man who most likely does…

Mika, courtesy. This story originally appeared in the Oakland Tribune. Despite taking Europe by storm the last two years with an infectious mix of glam-pop — he went from singing radio jingles to selling out arenas, winning awards and being compared to David Bowie and Freddie Mercury — Mika isn’t…

Andy Palacio and the Garifuna Collective, courtesy. This story originally appeared in the Oakland Tribune. The Caribbean music community and the country of Belize lost an icon this week after Garifuna singer and punta musician Andy Palacio died after a series of strokes and heart attacks. He was 47.…

John McCrea and Cake, courtesy. This story originally appeared in the Oakland Tribune. The New Year is a time of earnestness. It’s usually celebrated with a renewed hope for the future — not snarky cynicism, which is generally the type of lyric that rattles out of the mouth of…

Amy Millan of Stars and Broken Social Scene, courtesy. This story originally appeared in the Oakland Tribune. Montreal singer Amy Millan has two theories about why her hometown is now a den of great indie music artists. The sweet-voiced chanteuse’s first theory is based on two climates.  “I think…

Ghostland Observatory, courtesy. This story originally appeared in the Oakland Tribune. The two gentlemen of Austin, Texas, electronica-rockers Ghostland Observatory are blue-collar guys. Onstage, singer-guitarist Aaron Behrens wears two chest-length braids as he gyrates with moves from the’80s, and drummer/synth-man Thomas Ross Turner wears a cape while laying down…

Carrie Rodriguez, courtesy. This story originally appeared in the Oakland Tribune. Friends and family, all of them musicians, contributed to make Carrie Rodriguez a successful singer and fiddler. Since she was a child, folks working in the country and folk music realms would appear whenever she seemed to be…

Ziggy Marley, courtesy. This story originally appeared in the Oakland Tribune. ZIGGY MARLEY embarked on a tour of China expecting to see despair on the faces of its people.  “I was looking for that stereotypical Communist oppression,” Marley, eldest son of reggae legend Bob Marley, said a day after…

Andy Palacio and the Garifuna Collective, courtesy. This story originally appeared in the Oakland Tribune. It’s a bad sign for a touring musician when, going through customs in a foreign country, the customs agent does not recognize the state seal on his passport.  Just like a popular slogan in…