#sfappeal

[ayetalian]

All The March Hits

So, I have been incredibly neglectful with this blog and I plan on doing a lot better in terms of updating it. And not just posting instagram photos of food. As a way to catch up, I’ve decided to summarize the past two months in dedicated posts. Good for me, right? Below is some of the writing/photo work I did for the month of March:

I kicked off the month by having my lengthy, beautiful, over-the-top profile of New Orleans legend Adelaide Brennan (she owned a royal Rolls Royce! Her home had a functional ballroom!) published for Narratively’s Diva’s Week. It’s a piece I’m especially proud of and one I’d hope Adelaide would love.

I wrote about the fascinating history of the Madame X Mansion for Curbed NOLA, which is still up for sale. If you’ve got $3.6M, I’d highly suggest giving that place a spin. I also summed up the creepier moments of Robert Durst’s first New Orleans hearing. Three words: natural skin mask.

I covered Wrestlemania with @igetwet and took tons of photos for SFAppeal! I also wrote about its Bay Area impact as well as how (not) prepared we are for the upcoming Super Bowl.

I had one of my most read stories ever published on Bustle about Scientology leader David Miscavige’s MIA wife Shelly and wrote about all the awful things y’all do to your Sims.

[ayetalian]

Happy Outside Lands y’all! This should give a pretty accurate representation of who I’m seeing this weekend. For a detailed list of recommendations, check out my article via SFAppeal (as well as my OSL meal plan) & be on the lookout for live coverage from myself & igetwet on twitter via @SFAppealOL / sfappeal.com

[ayetalian]

Back to Your Regularly Scheduled Round-Up

Okay. Want to know wtf I've been up to lately? Here's wtf I've been up to:

All sorts of cool features with SFAppeal, one of which even caught the attention of ABC 7's Dan Ashley. Thanks for the love, Dan: Yellow Ostrich, SKATERS, Galactic, Linda Perhacs.

Even more rad album reviews with mxdwn: Future Islands, Desert Noises, Kaiser Chiefs.

I also covered Buku with mxdwn. Here's day 1 & day 2. If you haven't read my SXSW coverage, it's all right here.

A bit of ire and shade thrown at Edward Sharpe frontman Alex Ebert's ridiculous SecondGov idea via Antiquiet.

Even more with the Lens and Louisiana Weekly.

I've got some exciting stuff coming up quite soon. For the first time ever I'll be covering Jazzfest & manning the helm of the beingnola twitter account. Look for me on twitter @beingnola April 27-May 4 and on CraveOnline, where I'll be providing full, full, super freakin' full Jazzfest coverage.

[ayetalian]

Semi- Pre-SXSW Round-Up

It's technically SXSW like right fucking now but I figured I might as well make a round-up before I head to any showcases. So, here ya go: what I've been up to since the last time I checked in with you fine folks.

Some rad articles for SFAppeal: Royal Teeth, Quilt, Ages and Ages, Diane Cluck.

Some seriously rad album reviews for mxdwn: Gardens & Villa, Fanfarlo, St. Vincent, (my favorite album of the year so far!) Kimono Kult

A surprisingly confessional review of the new Broken Bells album on Antiquiet here.

Quite a bit more hard news with the Lens and Louisiana Weekly.

Be sure to check back on my SXSW post for links to what I've been up to & photos of what's awesome in Austin. Follow along in realish time via twitter (@ayetalian) & instagram (@knottedkitelines).

[velovoodoo]

Despite the fact that increasing numbers of San Franciscans are making the choice to live without private vehicles, the number of cars in San Francisco continues to increase.

[ayetalian]

What Do Grouplove Really Think of Glee, Others Covering Their Songs?

I recently interviewed Grouplove frontwoman Hannah Hooper in anticipation of two homecoming shows in SF this weekend. Hooper grew up just down the street from the Independent, where the quintet will be playing this Saturday. They'll hit the Chapel the very next night for an acoustic performance. Be on the lookout for my article via SFAppeal (article right here!) but in the meantime...

A friend (the wonderful Emily Gonzales; follow her right here on tumblr) was curious what Hooper thought of Glee's rendition of Grouplove's breakout single "Tongue Tied" so I asked. In Hooper's words:

I love seeing anyone promote or reinterpret our music but I was kind of bummed that it was a montage and not a full routine. It's cool and really, anything to get it out there. It's a reminder that you've affected so many people. Like, people make youtube montages of their summers to our music. Just to be able to say that our song is tied to a memory of a graduation or a wedding is so powerful. It's way bigger than us.

[ayetalian]

Bonus Breeders: Where Did Those Photos Come From?

The Breeders are set to play their second show at the Fillmore tonight, closing out somewhat a homecoming run in San Francisco by playing their first album, Pod, in its entirety. They'll also be performing the album that made them famous and was recorded in the city by the bay, Last Splash. As I previously noted in my article on the aforementioned shows, the Breeders have a lot of positive memories in the Bay Area. Those hikes to Point Reyes and recording sessions weren't just fond recollections & the occasional musical moment, however. Bassist Josephine Wiggs recently unearthed photo evidence of the pivotal time in the band's life. In Wiggs' words:

I actually hadn't seen the studio photos until the end of last year. Daniel Presley had them & I met him in his studio in New York & asked for the photos. He produced these beautiful 8x10 black & white photos of us. They were really lovely & he'd treated them so kindly. He let me take them & we reproduced them in the booklet for the annivesary reissue.

Along with Mark Freegard, Presley was one of the audio engineers for Last Splash and the man responsible for taking Wiggs up a hill to show her the panorama of SF. Salut to all who worked on Last Splash & happy twentieth to such an iconic album.

[ayetalian]

Thank You, Best Coast

...for validating my opinion that Selena Gomez is a damn fine pop artist. I'm writing a feature on the band to preview their upcoming SF show at the Fillmore this Thursday. Naturally, I was curious what Bethany Cosentino & co. had been digging while on the road & in general. Per our email interview:

I've been listening to a lot of hip-hop, actually; Westside Connection mostly. I dunno why. I just got really into hip-hop lately, and it's really all I can listen to. We leave for tour tomorrow and I've got a lot of good stuff on my iPhone that I plan on listening to. Sadly, one of those things is the new Selena Gomez record. I swear to god it's really good and undeniably really poppy and catchy. 

Be on the lookout for my article via SFAppeal (article right here!) & catch Best Coast at the Fillmore Thursday, August 15th.