Mission Mission

Meet BFF.fm, a brand-new radio station broadcasting from deep inside the Secret Alley, right here in the Mission. “[We're] a community of music-obsessed radio enthusiasts,” according to founder Cosmic Amanda, “We’re excited to share the stuff we love as we discover it and we hope you’ll tune in and find something new that you love.”

I think the key there is bringing DJs on board who are really excited about music and who can’t wait to share their discoveries with people. We have one DJ who is really passionate about radio- so much so that he doesn’t own a television. We have another who quit his gig at a popular commercial station when they switched their DJs over to a corporate-mandated playlist and he couldn’t share the 60s R&B influenced rock he loves. We have some really awesome DJs on board so far and we’re still on the hunt for more quality DJs to join our ranks- people who live and breathe music, or ran their college radio station, or write a music blog…people, like me, who HAVE to be doing this. It’s almost a matter of compulsion.

How have you gone about putting your roster of DJs together thus far?

In the spirit of BFF, all the credit for our ever-growing cadre of awesome DJs goes to our friends. The moment I saw the space at The Secret Alley, I knew I had to make this happen. I ran home, drafted a mission statement, and then started telling everyone I knew. Some friends immediately wanted to be DJs, and others knew people they thought would be perfect and recommended them. It’s funny how in sync and tight-knit our DJ staff feels after only a month. But, it’s because everyone is a friend or a friend of a friend or a friend of a friend of a friend.

And, actually, this friendship-fest goes beyond our DJs- BFF.fm has an amazing support network, too. My husband Forrest took on the crazy complex task of building our studio and acting as our station engineer. Our friend Allison Gore fixed up my janky self-made logo and put it on some buttons. Caryn aka Small Crimes is heading up the music department. Sierra Frost helped us book our first official station event. And there a bunch of other people who have just been super cool and bought t-shirts, liked our Facebook page, and helped spread the word. But I guess I should hold off sounding like I’m giving an acceptance speech until we actually (hopefully) win some sort of award some day.

Tell us about the first official station event!

We’re having a big launch party at Bottom of the Hill on November 27th. (that’s the Wednesday before Thanksgiving) Local bands Kitten Grenade, Deep Dimension, The Happy Hollows, and DJ Jackson Sandland are all pitching in to help us throw an awesome event. Everyone should come on down to hear some awesome local music, meet our DJs, buy some BFF.fm merch, and support independent radio!

And you personally are DJing the Bold Italic’s pleasure cruise to and from the Treasure Island Music Festival this weekend?

Yes! Small Crimes and I are working on the playlists as we speak- we’re planning playlists based on this year’s line up to get you psyched up on your way across the Bay to the festival. And be sure to save some energy for the cruise back each night- I’ll be spinning dance jams from every era to keep the party going til the boat hits the dock. If you’re on board come say hi and we’ll give you a BFF.fm sticker!

And then what’s your #1 main focus moving forward?

Our main focus is supporting emerging and underground artists, and we’ll do that not only by spinning their tunes, but by reaching out into the local music scene and forging partnerships with bands and labels. I want us to become a go-to resource for spreading the word about awesome new music.

My goal in creating this station is to build a professional-quality studio in an amazing space that inspires DJs to put forth their very best content. This has been a labor of love for me, taking up all of my free time and money, but even in just the short amount of time we’ve been around the response has been amazingly positive and I can’t wait to see where we can take this.

Thanks, Cosmic Amanda! Now TUNE IN!!! Or get involved!

Also, follow BFF on Facebook or on Twitter!

UPDATE: I posted this just as technicians showed up to upgrade the Secret Alley’s internet connection — so BFF.fm is down for a little while. But don’t worry, BFF will BRB!

UPDATE: BFF is back! Forrest is currently powering the entire station using his phone!!!

Here’s why:

Looks like there are still some tickets left!

Opening act The Blind Shake are TOTALLY FUCKING MIND-BLOWING. Check them out one way or another.

And how about this ‘gram by Annie Southworth?!??!

[via Annie Southworth]

Look at these great photos our photographer Jess Kelso took at the Iggy and the Stooges show at C2SV in San Jose last week!

I guess people weren’t into going because A.) it was in San Jose (fair, but to be fair there’s a great Hawaiian food place there called Grub Shack) and B.) it was “a tech conference” (fair, but to be fair it was also a music festival in which IGGY AND THE STOOGES played on a tiny little stage in a tiny little park on a beautiful late-summer night).

Anyway, those of us who made it had an incredible time. Here’s the scene, during height of the Stooges set:

Iggy Pop himself did poke fun at the tech element of the event a couple times. “This has a syncopated rhythm… but here in San Jose you could call it… an algorithm,” he says, “Here’s an algorithm up your ASSHOLE!” (And then they launch into “Funhouse.”)

And then during “Search and Destroy,” as he sings the “I’m using technology” line, he grins and points at bandmate James Williamson, who had been an electronics engineer and executive at Sony and gave one of the event’s keynote speeches.

Also notable: there were two Dammits onstage that night, current Stooges drummer Toby Dammit (whose “percussatory chops” were on display in the Mission about five years ago) and current Oh Sees bassist Petey Dammit (whose chops will be on display in the Mission later this week), who, along with his band, warmed up the crowd before the Stooges went on:

I don’t think the two Dammits are related.

[via Trevor Hill, Comedian]

Haçeteria is always a killer party, but tonight is extra special because it is our last chance to see the great Black Jeans live on stage!

Russell Butler has been recording and performing under the moniker Black Jeans for the past 4 years. His sound pulls from various elements of minimal synth, electro, and techno while retaining a cathartic emotional core. Russell will be hanging up the Black Jeans handle with one final techno-infused live hardware set at the Haceteria, which will give a sense of some of the post-Black Jeans directions he is planning on heading in.

RSVP and invite your friends!

I know, DJ Purple is pretty damn rad, and we still think he’s the best DJ (not just KJ) in the city, but apparently this dude from Portland records his own songs and is the guy from whom DJ Purple gets his music!  The New York Times even went as far as to declare Baby Ketten “America’s greatest karaoke,” but why don’t you just come and judge for yourself tonight at the Knockout!

Details here!

Johnny Cash – At Folsom Street Fair

— al pal (@sowjets) October 3, 2013

In glorious black and white! And daaaaaaaang is this jam a banger!!

Sweat Lodge performs tonight at Thee Parkside btw!

Tunes4Tubes, the annual party and fundraiser for the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, is going down tonight at the Rickshaw Stop.

The lineup includes hometown funk/soul masters Con Brio and Whiskerman plus the Balkan-fusion outfit Cradle Duende and comedy from Sean Keane; silent auction items include prints and photography from SF artists and gift certificates for massages, sweet bike gear, and local food and booze. What more could you want? Stop being so demanding.

Facebook deets here.