Mission Mission

Janee_ just pointed out that the music video for Third Eye Blind’s 90′s hit Semi-Charmed Life was shot in the Mission:

This is almost as cool as that Chumbawumba video shot in Hayes Valley. (On second thought, maybe I dreamt that)

Jorge P. sent us a note about the inaugural event for a cool dance/BBQ party he’s throwing at El Rio:

The idea behind the event is that we want to modernize, takeover, revamp, trick out, revive, do up, the Outdoor Afternoon Dance Party Scene in the Mission… We want a party for everyone, a party, where drag queens mingle with lesbians, leather daddy’s soul dance with cholas, sharps share hot dogs with activists, jocks make out with twinks, brown meets white meets purple meets gay guy meets ladies meets q and everyone leaves with excited feelings for the next party.

The party is being Dj’d by Resident DJ newcomers and soul music wizards Dj Carnitas and DJ Brown Amy. They along with the rest of the Hard French crew are our music curators and throughout the summer, promise to bring it! with live bands, guest dj’s, performers and the like. All in the spirit of the maximum that is Mission SOUL Afternoon Dance and Food.

BBQ and Soul music! A bunch of subcultures which I’m not familiar with!! Sounds like a cool way to spend a Saturday. See the flyer for details.

Only thing is, I don’t know what the French have to do with it. Some say that the term “barbecue” comes from the French “barbe à queue, meaning “beard to tail” which sounds like how you would grill a hipster furry. That’s right, I made a crack about cannibalism, hipsters, and furries! If you were offended by all three simultaneously, we’d like to hear from you.

Seth Augustus is playing two record release shows at Porto Franco Art Parlor this weekend, on Thursday 3/4 and Friday 3/5 at 8pm.

If you don’t know about Seth, he’s a mission-based bluesman who incorporates Tuvan throat singing techniques into his songs. It’s pretty much impossible to describe what this sounds like, so you’re just going to have to click this link to see the current world master droping jaws on the Letterman show.

You may have seen the incredible documentary on San Francisco’s late/great Paul Pena, Genghis Blues who was the first American to self-teach himself the Tuvan way and even went on compete in the annual throat singing festival in Tuva. Seth was a great friend and caretaker to Mr. Pena in his later years.

Check out this video I shot of him freaking out the normals at Patricia’s Green in Hayes Valley with an old Tuvan classic: “Eki A’Ttar” (Good Horses).

Seth’s new album, “To The Pouring Rain” will be on sale. Pre order tix here.

Just caught wind of this gorgeous video of Mission singer/songwriter Sean Hayes. His new album drops on March 2. The video was produced by clean white lines, a video blog that has been doing some amazing work for local bands.

While you’re on a Sean Hayes kick, check out this tune he wrote inspired by stories of the Mission area during 1906 earthquake, “Dolores Guerrero”:

So now that Blow Up is officially dead, where will the under-21 crowd flock to next?  Hopefully not to the Attic, because Danny White will be taking over the place as he does every time the last Friday of the month rolls around, and I don’t want to feel like a creep while I’m there.  Furthermore, the pitcher-plant-like nature of the Attic conspires to trap every Mission fly who wanders through the door and down its liquor-lined corridor in that tangle of limbs, sweat, and flannel that is the dance floor, so there’s really no escape.

I captured the above scene last month at the Attic, and I must say that the man knows how to keep a crowd moving and captivated.  His energetic mix echoed everything from Holy Ghost and Hot Chip to the Pet Shop Boys and Yeah Yeah Yeahs.  And look how he gets into it over there on the left!  He’s been at it for a while too, as this Flickr page from 2005 can attest.

Maybe it will even give those Debaser folks a run for their money.

Ps.  No flame war plz!!!

This video is going to catapult someone to stardom.

That someone will probably be Myles Cooper, whose exploits we’ve been following for a while now. Most recently, Myles did some time as a Boy George impersonator. Before that, he was Myles the Free Barber. And we won’t soon forget his performances in such viral video classics as Gay Bath Fail and How Myles Got Dumped.

Today we just might be looking at the pinnacle of Myles’ myriad achievements thus far. Gonna Find Boyfriends Today is a joyous new video for a joyous new song. Director Skye Thorstenson is due a fair share of the credit too, but Myles is the man. And Mission Mission is proud to say it got the scoop straight from the horse’s mouth late last night:

Allan: Your new video is NUTS. Where’d you get the director?

Myles: I met Skye at a gay pot luck.

And how did you all come up with this CRAZY video?

Skye came up with most of the imagery and built all the puppets and animations. There were a few things I really wanted like a Precious Moments boys choir, a Latin drummer and the scene with my shirt being ripped off like the Right Said Fred video “I’m Too Sexy.”  Skye was happy to create all of that and a lot more from his imagination.

Couldn’t have done it without the song though. ‘Sup with it?

The song came to me in August when I was staying at an apartment in Washington Heights, the neighborhood in Manhattan. I was staying with my friend who is a hard-working singer. It is where a lot of people who work in theater live, so you can hear people practicing trombones, flutes or whatever. It’s pretty inspiring and totally not punk rock. I take Ambien to sleep, and one night I dangerously and unknowing stayed awake and somehow made a YouTube video of me singing this song. I woke up in the morning with no recollection of making the video. I erased the video and started to work out the instrumentation when I got back to San Francisco. It took a long time to program, and a long time to make the video, but I feel it was all worth it.

No doubt! When’s your album drop!?

Yes, I am working on an album. But first I want to release a few songs as singles. Optimally the “Gonna Find Boyfriends Today” single is gonna have the radio edit, an extended mix and a Spanish version on 12″ vinyl.

How will you perform this jam live? And who is in your band?

I perform this song live now, and the setup of the live show is always evolving. I am creating a huge family band called Myles Cooper USA. Right now my friend Ryan Froemming plays keyboard while my bestie Alexis Blair Penney sings backups. I sing and do live drum machine stuff on my Atari Mega ST 2 music computer. The computer is over 20 years old so it’s a trip to see on stage. People go crazy. We mix in a few backing tracks in at random moments as we don’t have enough people in the band yet.

NOTE: Looks like Myles Cooper USA is playing TONIGHT at El Rio! Lucky us!

Hey, stop playing an ironic version of “Smoke on the Water” on that oud (it sounds better on the shamisen, anyway). It’s time to take it to the next level and learn to play in Turkish 9/8.

Zambaleta is a new music and dance school on 19th and Florida. The are offering a free five days of music classes in early March. Here’s the scoop:

If you could play all the music in the world, where would you begin? We’re not there yet, but we have put together 50 classes for you to find that one sound you’ve always wanted to make. From March 1st to March 5th, you can come and try any of these classes for free and decide whether you want to go down that one road. So come to one, come to fifty. Bring your friends and your grandmothers. We love to hear you play.

Among the 50 (!) classes being offered next month are:

• DJ I with DJ Lamont Young
• Balkan Brass Ensemble with Gregory Jenkins
• Composing Without Your Brain with Cornelius Boots
• Indian Classical Theory with Gautam Tejas Ganeshan

Check it out, there are a lot more classes for instruments whose names I can’t even begin to pronounce, as well as more exotic stuff like “Blues Guitar”.

Your favorite dimly lit music venue Amnesia (Valencia b/t 19th and 20th)  is hosting a great Mardi Gras themed party tonight! They start at 9pm and the cover is $7-10 sliding scale.

Headlining are the California Honeydrops, a smokin’ rhythm and blues band out of Oakland and one of my favorites in the bay area. Opening is Damon and the Heathens, a kick-ass punky soul band. Go for the awesome party; stay for the cheap plastic jewelry.

Vids of these fine bands after the jump.

(more…)

Clearly our taste in music is catching on. DJ Bazooka Joe just got in touch to tell us about his new gig:

I’ve got a night at the Elbo Room, spinning glam rock, bubblegum, and powerpop. It’s rock music that doesn’t get played out too often, but it’s actually pretty OK for dancing. Sweet, Slade, Cheap Trick, Dwight Twilley, Mud, Suzi Quatro, Roxy Music, Soft Boys, to name a few – basically the best of the UK 1971-75, and the US 1977-80.

I’ve got two mixes and all the info up on my website.

Joe rocks Elbo Room TONIGHT starting at 9:30 — and it’s FREE.

Okay, you guys, take a deep breath. Noise Pop and Mission Mission are about to give you free tickets to the concert of the decade: !!!, Sugar & Gold and My First Earthquake at Mezzanine on Saturday, February 27, 2010.

Jerry Fuchs is one of my top three or five favorite drummers of all time, so when !!! got him I was pumped. Now that he’s dead, part of me wants to wonder whether the band’ll ever be as good without him, and the other part of me says, “Fuck off, self! !!! rules!” And I’m pretty sure I’m right. I can’t wait to see how much they still rule.

Sugar & Gold is a great band too. They make me want to dance just as much as !!!, plus they’re quite a bit less screamy, and thus all the more pleasant. Also, they’re from SF, not Sacramento, and maybe largely for that reason they’re a lot more physically attractive. And they have a new album coming out later this spring.

My First Earthquake has the advantage here of being led by our pal Rebecca Bortman, a force of rock ‘n’ roll nature if ever there was one. Pretty soon, you’ll have to pay Live Nation $35 plus service charges and parking fees to see Becky and MFE headline the Warfield or whatever, so best enter this here contest and see them for free at an intimate venue while you still can.

The only way this bill could be any better is if Scissor Sisters showed up last minute to play their as-yet unreleased new album in its entirety.

TO ENTER: Okay, if you submit a good Jerry story (or remembrance or whatever) you’ll probably win. Otherwise, good stories about any of the above bands will probably do you good. Winners will be decided based on merit or something by Mission Mission staff. Contest ends this Thursday at 6pm.

!!! photo by abzflickr; S&G photo by Rachel Weinstein; MFE photo by spencercrooks.