Ralph Tashjian, a former radio promoter, has seen some shit – good shit, bad shit – well, just all of it. He’s seen, and done, Scarface-esque amounts of cocaine. He has worked with icons like Prince and Madonna. He’s had notable Bay Area rappers lay their guns down on his desk. In 1989, he pleaded guilty to bribing radio stations...
Julie Rulyak Steinberg has taken the helm of the Community Music Center on Capp Street, assuming the role of Executive Director in mid-September. She comes to the Mission from a similar program in New York. Mission Local sat down for a quick interview about her plans for the future at the 92-year-old institution. The interview has been edited for clarity...
Rush hour at San Francisco’s Civic Center BART station brings one word to mind: nightmare. Whether being sandwiched between other strap-hangers during your commute or braving pedestrian road rage en route to holiday shopping, the experience ranges from monotonous to downright offensive. But when riders get off at Civic Center, they’re greeted by a reprieve from the madness: the sweet...
“Come in from the cold,” says the Community Music Center: On Dec. 8 and 9, Martha Rodriguez Salazar and Jennifer Peringer are putting on the December Fiesta. What’s that? It’s music — from the Mission District Young Musicians Program, the Children’s Chorus, Coro Solera and the Cuban Charanga Ensemble — plus a piñata, hot chocolate, tamales and dancing. Here’s a...
Love dogs and country music? Swing by the SF Armory to see country-folk legends Emmylou Harris and Steve Earle (and others) sing their hearts out to save homeless and abandoned pooches. “Bummer’s Ball,” named after a member of a legendary stray-dog duo, is a fundraiser for Rocket Dog Rescue, a nonprofit dedicated to saving dogs from being euthanized. Also in...
Musicians Joan Baez and Lila Downs took the stage at the Mission’s Brava Theater on Sunday and offered hundreds of people a roadmap for coping with uncertain times. In front of a packed house of about 360 people, Baez and Downs took questions from Chicana Latina Foundation Executive Director Olga Talamante as part of Voices of Resistance — a benefit...
Four stages with music and entertainment took over the Calle 24 Latino Cultural District on Sunday from 11 p.m. to 5 p.m. featuring rock as well as traditional Mexican music and dancing. Parked low riders gleamed in the afternoon sun, and booths filled wth T-shirts and jewelry lined 24th Street. No place was more active than the stage at at...
The Lost Church, a small theater at 65 Capp St. that has provided an intimate music and theater experience for six years, came somewhat closer to becoming a legitimate space in June when the Planning Department approved a conditional use permit. “It is a huge step,” said Brett Cline, the director/owner, who has been trying to get the theater fully...
Stroll down Valencia Street on a warm spring evening and you’re likely to find, within barely two blocks of one another, two variations on a theme: Mobile theater. One is Mr. Brandy in his van – the ex-Texan pianist lives and works out of a van draped in sparkly fabrics and oddball decorations, crammed in next to the piano he...
What would San Francisco sound like expressed in south Indian percussion? In a new work called “7 x 7” premiering at the Community Music Center on April 29, composer, percussionist and educator Rohan Krishnamurthy has given that concept a go. Krishnamurthy took field recordings from around San Francisco’s nature and neighborhoods, as well as conversations with San Francisco artists, and reinterpreted them in solo composition...
Regulars at Atlas Cafe might have seen the farewell note taped to the window from the collective of musicians who have played bluegrass music there for nearly 20 years. “Come on by for one more night of fun. Thanks for all the love and support over the years,” the note reads. Thursday, March 30 from 7 to 10 p.m. will...
Music samples in this story are played and recorded by Matt Rupert from a theme and variations called Aubada composed by Suad Bushnaq. Inside a music center called “Little Mission Studio” on a semi-industrial block of Hampshire Street, proprietors Claire Plumb and Matt Rupert are exploring big themes. Their upcoming concert series, UnRest, takes direct aim at the narratives of...
Returning to 24th Street this Saturday is Paseo Artistico – a free art crawl that will enliven the 24th Street corridor from Valencia Street to Potrero Avenue with song, art and film. Activities for the event will kick off at 11 a.m. at the Precita Eyes Mural Arts Center. In celebration of Women’s History Month, participants are invited to embark on a bilingual, guided mural...
A family of engineers made it abundantly clear what Stephen Gibson should be when he grew up, and for years, he worked in tech as a computer programmer and project manager. But when the most recent of those jobs came to an end, Gibson took the plunge and tried to make it as a musician – inspired in part by...
“Frak,” the hip hop moniker of Alex Fraknoi, grew up in the Mission and has seen it change – particularly when he returns on visits from Southern California, where he’s studying writing and media studies. That change inspired a rap song and music video set in the Mission, in which Frak walks the neighborhood hidden behind a fixed plastic emoji...
