James & Evander Presents: Peter Stanley, The Waste Band, & Silian Rail at Book Zoo.

All bands will be playing acoustic sets and there will be a reading by Andrew Macy. The best part is that it's free! Now that it's the holiday time, free is a good thing.

Saturday, December 5th. Book Zoo [6395 Telegraph Avenue Oakland, California 94609]. Free!

Just in time for the holidays, Bay Area Girls Rock Camp will host its first ever silent auction featuring art, handmade crafts, and seasonal treasures donated by local artists and popular Bay Area institutions such as Pixar, Oaklandish, and more. All proceeds will go towards our programs that serve girls all over the Bay Area.

The night will be an exciting evening of art, music, and festivities and is open to the whole family. Do all of your holiday shopping while raising money for BAGRC! Camper alumni band Poison Apple Pie will play an enchanting set of original and cover songs and the female-owned and operated Local 123 Cafe will provide snacks and beverages.

Friday, December 4th, 7-10pm Local 123 Cafe [2049 San Pablo Ave, Oakland].

This entry is from our open blog. You can post about your Bay Area band band by visiting this site.

The third full-length offering from British born songwriter Southway was recorded in a variety of hotel rooms and bedrooms in South Korea whilst touring Asia. On Suitcase, Southway, a seasoned multi-instrumentalist/producer and longtime San Francisco resident, exposes his powerful voice and songwriting expertise from a palette of raucous guitars reminiscent of the glory days of Brit-pop before Radiohead discovered drum machines and the Gallagher brothers Oasis had bank accounts. The resulting 11 tracks are modern rock fueled by the road and lost love, but with Southway's perpetual optimism, there's always a chance that good times are right round the corner.

The San Francisco 5 piece, Stomacher, sounds like they listen to a lot of Radiohead. The first CD under their new moniker (the band was formerly known as In Reverent Fear) plays like what could be a more commercial Radiohead record from a few years ago. Jarrod Taylor’s vocal style sounds like a more angsty Thom Yorke without being a complete rip off. His voice carries the songs with a slow and relaxed delivery, at times layering with itself to create a lush blanket of voices.Sentimental Education has a very diverse 10 songs, constantly varying in tempo and arrangement without making the songs feel out of place.

Stomacher sounds more at home with the slower more sparse songs on Sentimental Education. “The Devil” features a lush organ sound, twinkling electronics, and a bed of strings slowly brewing for three and a half minutes below the high and slow vocal. The album closer “Untitled/Dark Divider” has a consistent acoustic guitar rhythm and a catchy yet relaxing electric guitar melody. The song builds but never becomes overly epic, rather blurring itself into a murky mess, drowning Jarrod’s voice before returning again to its original form.

Sentimental Education may at times sounds a little too much like it’s influences but never the less is still impressive.

-Glenn Jackson

Stomacher play Bottom of the Hill Saturday, December 19th with Mata Leon and Halfway.