Clean Bandit, courtesy. Electronic music fans have likely had English quartet Clean Bandit on their radar for some time. Everyone else followed suit last year, when “Rather Be,” a collaboration with Jess Glynne, reached No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and won the Grammy Award for Best…

HEARTWATCH San Francisco’s HEARTWATCH (formerly known as The Tropics) is one of many up-and-coming acts in a busy music artist community in the Bay Area. We spoke about the band’s origin a couple of years ago, the direction of its new music, its semi-forced band name change and much more. RIFF: Let’s talk…

Shakey Graves perform at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley on Aug 2, 2019. Karen Goldman/STAFF. A couple of weeks ago I spoke to musician-actor Alejandro Rose-Garcia, known as singer-songwriter Shakey Graves, who’s performing at the Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival this Sunday. The talk was supposed to last…

Benjamin Booker performs at the Greek Amphitheater in Berkeley on July 28, 2017. Jay Demetillo/STAFF. Blues-punk singer-guitarist Benjamin Booker, who’s playing at Outside Lands, is also a well-educated man. He attended an International Baccalaureate supplementation in high school in Florida, which means that he has not one but two high…

Alison Mosshart and Jamie Jamie Hince of The Kills. Courtesy. Check out my complete story about the The Kills and their ever-busy vocalist-guitarist Alison Mosshart HERE. RIFF: On how despite their tinkering with their sound, the live show finds a link between new songs and old songs. Alison Mosshart: The beautiful…

I interviewed Heloïse Letissier, better known as Christine and the Queens, prior to her opening set for Marina and the Diamonds in San Francisco last spring. I didn’t know much about Letissier as a musician and performer before our interview, but I was blown away by her combination of being able to sing (well)…

Echosmith Childhood, for many siblings, is a very competitive time. Sisters and brothers try to out-do each other, which leads to fighting, and eventually, many can’t stand being in a room together. That four siblings would get along with each other enough to commit to spending extra hours each together…

Marina and the Diamonds, Courtesy. Marina Diamandis of Marina and the Diamonds is both smart and charming in person, taking the time to answer questions thoughtfully. Here are some from our most recent conversation. You can catch the full story here. Related stories: More about Marina Diamandis Was writing “Electra Heart”…

Anthony D’Amato, courtesy. There are those who wait for their big break, and those who put themselves right in its crosshairs. Singer-songwriter Anthony D’Amato was not content to keep making music in his college dorm room and wait to be discovered. In college, at Princeton, he sought out a…

The Sonics, Courtesy. Do you know The Sonics? How about Nirvana? The Cramps? Pearl Jam? The White Stripes? All of those other artists know the Sonics and would likely not exist if it were not for their influence. The seminal, and possibly first, garage band has returned from a…