What would you get if you mixed The Bump Foundation’s funk, The Absynth Quintet’s jazz and the jam-based sounds of Likwefi? Not what you might think, at least based on Unstable Table’s debut eponymous CD. The band consists of Ryan Roberts (The AQ, Likwefi), Tim Lane (Likwefi, The Bump Foundation), Tommy FitzMaurice (Spank, The Bump […]
Music
Coverage of the music scene in Humboldt County with upcoming shows from locals and out-of-town acts, reviews, interviews and more.
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Clear As a Mountain Stream
The first heard time I heard Tristan Clarridge and his big sister Tashina play music, they were pre-teen fiddle prodigies wowing a crowd at the Humboldt Folklife Festival. At the time, the kids were living with their mom in a teepee out in Burnt Ranch; she was home-schooling them, basically allowing them to pursue fiddling […]
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Blood Bank/More of the Past
Blood Bank (EP). By Bon Iver. Jagjaguwar. More of the Past (EP). By Vetiver. Gnomonsong. Back in the day "Extended Play" records — aka EPs — were released on both in 12" and 7" vinyl formats to distribute yet-unreleased material, perhaps by an artist whose popularity was on an upswing, or for those with a […]
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Truth with Melody
Formerly local bluesman/songwriter Thad Beckman is one of many who made the move from Humboldt to Portland. In Thad’s case, it was via Austin, Texas, and since he was born and raised in Portland it was a homecoming. Thad’s back in Arcata for a Friday night show at a club he knows well, the Jambalaya, […]
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Magnum/Side Iron
Would someone unfamiliar with the guys in the band find Magnum entertaining? Laugh at Terrence’s antics, express amazement over his falsetto? Would he or she notice how seriously Bohner takes his drumming, note the fun Steve S. has on bass? Would someone who doesn’t know Deric Mendes recognize the irony in his guitar playing? Or […]
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Is It The Sea?
Kentucky-based singer/songwriter (and part-time actor) Will Oldham has had a number of noms de plume or personas that can be a bit confusing, especially when going through, and sorting out, his musical history. He has recorded as "The Palace Brothers," under his own "real" name, Will Oldham, and, since the 1999 release of I See […]
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808s and Heartbreak
Kanye West has come a long way since The College Dropout, way back in the distant, innocent year of 2004, when he was idealistic and almost naïve (if a record full of raps about how awesome he is and how he deserves to be a best-selling rapper can be deemed naïve). 808s and Heartbreak would […]
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Collective Consciousness
Is there such a thing as the Humboldt sound? Maybe, but then again, maybe not. There are a lot of distinct music scenes in the county, some of them intersecting, some discrete. Identifying a common thread is well nigh impossible. There is, however, something of a Humboldt groove that ties together one big slice of […]
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Cryland
The sound of American blues has progressively changed, leading to different breeds of music since the use of the electric guitar. In turn, this opened the door for rhythm & blues and subsequently rock ’n’ roll. Blues "hybrids" are numerous, from hard rock of the late ’60’s (bands like Cream, Led Zeppelin) to late ’70s […]
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NPK’s Mission
It was five and a half years ago when I met the self-described “Humboldt independent high-energy dance-rock quintet” called NPK backstage at Reggae on the River. A lot has happened to the SoHummers since then: Members went from 20-something to 30-ish, babies were born, the band grew from a trio and recorded three full-length albums. […]
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Sunday At Devil Dirt
With Sunday at Devil Dirt, Scottish singer/songwriter Isobel Campbell, a former member of Belle & Sebastian, has released her second excellent collaboration with former Screaming Trees vocalist Mark Lanegan. The comparisons to late 1960s/early ’70s pop singing duets, namely Lee Hazelwood/Nancy Sinatra and Serge Gainsbourg/Jane Birkin are obvious: sexy vocal duets that fell into the […]
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Don’t Want To Hear No Blues
It was back in the days when vinyl records were the primary means of music delivery. I mostly shopped at a store in Northtown called The Recordworks (which would eventually spawn The Works). Unconcerned with the latest hits, I always checked the cut-out bin, where remaindered treasures could often be found. At some point I […]