Music

There’s So Much Music at Charlie’s Cafe This Weekend

/ Todd_Lappin / 1 Comment

The City Buds at Charlie’s Cafe

Charlie’s Cafe on the corner of Folsom and Precita on the west end of Precita Park is a neighborhood institution. Yet apart from the cozy daytime vibe and tasty humus, Charlies’s has also become known as North Bernal’s premier site for live music.

This weekend, Charlie’s will be particularly musical, with acts performing on both Friday night and Saturday afternoon.

On Friday evening, Dec. 15 at 7:30, Charlie’s Cafe plays host to Maurice Tani and Mike Anderson:

Charlie’s Cafe is proud to have Maurice Tani and Mike Anderson return to our Friday Night music series.

Like all great songwriters/storytellers, Maurice uses humor, pathos, and metaphor (he loves that word!) to spin tales of sometimes heroic, sometimes conniving, seductive and/or hapless characters. Characters deep in the throes of urban/country angst, unrequited love, love affairs gone wrong—in a nutshell—country noir.

A master of clever lyrics and gorgeous melodies that make for ear-worms almost impossible to dismiss, Maurice’s warm powerful voice animates the songs into a kind of technicolor experience’. Doors 7pm Music 7:30pm $10

Then, on Saturday afternoon, Dec. 16 from noon to 2 pm, Charlie’s Cafe will play host to The City Buds:

Elisa M Welch and Jim McLaren are two East Coast transplants who arrived separately in the San Francisco Bay Area in the mid 1980s. They met ten years ago on San Francisco’s vibrant singer-songwriter open-mic scene and have been making various kinds of trouble together ever since. They often perform with the garden-rock band, The Buds, delighting audiences of all ages and whipping up toddler moshpits at farmers markets all over the Bay Area.

Jim plays acoustic guitar and harmonica, and as a singer he’s known as a virtual encyclopedia of Dylan. He plays lots of other folk rock favorites, too, and he and his rock-solid rhythm guitar were a mainstay on the streets of North Beach for many years.

Elisa has a classical music degree, but she doesn’t let that get in the way of her playing. She used to play just about any instrument she could lay her hands on, but these days she has whittled it down to keyboard and pennywhistle, tho not at the same time. People always tell her she has an amazing voice, and she’s inclined to believe them.

Scenes from PianFrancisco 2017 on Bernal Hill

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Photo: Telstar Logistics

Photo: Maria Lanigan

On Sunday afternoon, everything went according to plan. The piano appeared on the top of Bernal Hill, with help from a team of meadow gnomes and musical sprites. A small crowd arrived, including many musicians. And because it’s Fogust, Karl the Fog made a celebrity guest appearance, though he very kindly kept the temperatures somewhat warm on Bernal Hill.

Photo: Maria Lanigan

The Bernal Hill edition of PianFrancisco 2017 was wonderful, but if you missed it, here’s a video sampler, filmed live by the Bernalwood Mobile Uplink Team:

Thanks to all the sprites from PianFrancisco for bringing their magic to Bernal Hill, and a very special thanks to all the pianists and wannabe-pianists who created the music that brought so many smiles to so many Bernalese faces yesterday afternoon.

Saturday: A Super-Special Outdoor (Farewell) Edition of Photographic Memories

/ Todd_Lappin

Phonographic Memories is a very special thing: A cozy series of live events held at the Bernal Heights Library for first-person storytelling about the relationships people have with the vinyl records they love. This Saturday, July 8 from noon to 4 pm, the library will co-host an extra-special outdoor edition of Phonographic Memories at the Bernal Rec Center (just behind the library).

The event is free, and all are invited. Here are all the details:

For over two and half years Phonographic Memory has put on free monthly shows at the Bernal Heights Library. The program’s creator, Corey Bloom, is moving to the east coast so we’re going big with the last session in the neighborhood.

On July 8th, from 12:00-4:00 PM, at the Bernal Heights Recreation Center we’re throwing an outdoor park jam with DJ’s, record vendors, community groups, a food truck and, of course, storytellers. Corey has curated the lineup to pay tribute to the depth and dimensions of the Bay Area music scene, which have impacted his life in a variety of ways.

The list includes:

  • Cassidine: The first female MC on the West Coast to get a record deal, who released her debut, Man Handler, on 75 Girls in 1988.
  • Davey D: Famed journalist, historian, professor, DJ, syndicated talk show host and activitst.
  • Equipto: Pioneering and prolific San Francisco MC and community leader
  • Teeko: World famous DJ (DMC, ITF), producer (Mark Ronson, D’Angelo) and funky innovator

DJ B Cause (Four One Funk) will warm up the turntables before the stories. DJ Marz, of the infamous Bullet Proof Space Travelers, will be holding down the music throughout the afternoon.

 

There will be an El Tonayense Taco Truck and record vendors on hand, as well as community partners from the Saint Francis Homeless Challenge.

Phonographic Memory is a nationally recognized 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to examining and celebrating the human experience as framed through vinyl records. Bridging cultures and generations, heavy collectors and casual fans, our goal is to create a global community through individuals’ stories, providing folklore to the physical artifact. We accomplish this through a combination of our free monthly live events at the Bernal Heights Library, which we have been hosting since 2014, and other live events throughout California and even Rome. Our podcast, which was chosen for NPR’s Earbud.FM, features our favorite stories from these events, all archived and available for download via our website PhonographicMemory.org, as well as iTunes and Bandcamp.

Saturday, July 8 | Noon – 4PM
Bernal Recreation Center | 500 Moultrie, San Francisco | FREE EVENT

 

In Praise of Musical Friday Nights at Charlie’s Cafe

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charlieswindow

charliessign

Charlie’s Cafe on the corner of Folsom and Precita on the west end of Precita Park is a neighborhood institution. Normally it’s a laid-back daytime coffee shop and deli, but on Friday nights Charlie stays open late to host live music.

Tonight, Friday, December 2, Charlie’s will play host to the Trance Mission Duo, a musical collaboration by Beth Custer and Steven Kerrit.

Neighbor Mary is a Friday Night regular at Charlie’s, and she shared this summary of the scene:

It’s becoming a tradition: For years when Charlie’s, the cafe on Folsom and Precita, holds musical events, neighbors come in droves, steam up the windows, crowd the doorway, spill out onto the corner, and peer into the windows if they can’t get in.

The warmth of Charlie’s Cafe brings a special sense ofbelonging to all of us in these dismal post election days. It’s an exceedingly bright spot on the dark north side of the hill.

The lights are bright food is hot, the music is from nieghbors who show off mighty talent. Yes, Paul Griffiths and Beth Custer, neighbors you have greeted over the years, or just know by face (or by dog) have hefty portfolios of music behind them and are well known original talents. You will be amazed.

Children abound and bound around, and there’s plenty of crayons to color with) as yummy plates of Steak Tacos pass under your nose.

You can come fill up on food at the friendliest place in town and hang with your neighbor friends.

Or you can stay home and watch the news.

The Old Bus Tavern Now Has 2.5 Bauer-Stars and Music on Sundays

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oldbusface2

The Michael Bauer returned to the fabulous Old Bus Tavern at 3193 Mission (near Valencia) recently to take new chef David Zboray’s food out for a test-drive. Two-and-a-half stars later, he says he liked the experience:

The most substantial main course was grilled swordfish ($29), expertly cooked and presented next to a salad of kohlrabi, pickled fennel and charred scallions. The only flaw was the mushy butternut squash risotto underneath.

While [former chef Max] Snyder’s top-class chili didn’t make the cut for the new menu, Zboray retained the must-order quail eggs ($10), brined, poached and arranged on a nest of fried leeks, hot from paprika. He’s also included the cheeseburger ($14) made with sharp cheddar, pickles, a secret sauce and ketchup, an ingredient I usually avoid for anything but french fries — but in this case it worked well.

The waiters are good salespeople for their products; they know the menu and are adept at explaining the beers and cocktails. They are also attuned to the finer points of service, a surprise in such a casual environment, where the crowd becomes more animated as the night wears on. Oftentimes there are gaggles of people dining or standing at the bar, separated by a counter from the 49-seat dining room.

Meanwhile, as a special bonus, neighbor Ned Buskirk of Elsie Street is working with the Old Bus Tavern team to fill the space with music on Sundays. Neighbor Ned says:

The Old Bus Tavern owners are about as down-to-earth & sweet-hearted as any good Bernalite would hope for AND the food/beers fit the tastiest of additions to our local options.

So, I’m booking regular music there every Sunday now, and we want to start making a name for the local spot, for all the right reasons… music being a big one of them.

This Sunday, December 4, the lineup includes amazing food by Soul Cocina and live music by John Elliott (aka The Hereafter)! Bar opens at 5pm and food starts at 6pm. Check out details about Sunday’s menu right here.

PHOTO: Old Bus Tavern facade, via InsideScoop

Bernal Neighbor Launches “30 Days, 30 Songs” Voter Registration Music Project

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franz-demagogue

Bernal Heights neighbor and celebrity music impresario Jordan Kurland has joined forces with author Dave Eggers to create a voter-registration project that seeks to ensure Donald Trump does not become the next President of the United States.

Neighbor Jordan tells Bernalwood:

I wanted to let you all know about a project that we launched. It is an independent campaign website called 30 Days, 30 Songs and it was conceived by myself and author Dave Eggers. It features a collection of amazing artists who contributed amazing songs that champion a diverse, inclusive, and prosperous America. In other words, everything Donald Trump opposes.

We started with a brand new Death Cab for Cutie song, titled “Million Dollar Loan,” and will be posting a song per day up through Election Day. It features original compositions, live versions, and remixes. I can’t divulge every act that we’ve confirmed but the first week will also feature Aimee Mann, REM, Jim James of My Morning Jacket, Thao Nguyen and Josh Ritter.

The songs will be released on the 30 Days, 30 Songs website and as a playlist on Spotify and Apple Music. Any proceeds generated will be donated to The Center for Popular Democracy and their efforts towards Universal Voter Registration.

The music is fab, and the cause is righteous. Today’s song, for example, is the world premiere of Franz Ferdinand’s “Demagogue,” featuring original artwork from Shepard Fairey (shown above).

Check it out, tell your friends about it on the Facebook, and big ups to Neighbor Jordan and Dave Eggers for making this happen!

30days30songs

Carlos Santana’s Former House on Mullen Avenue Is For Sale

/ Todd_Lappin / 2 Comments

205mullen2016

Last week, the house at 205 Mullen Ave. in northeast Bernal Heights was listed for sale. The asking price is $975K for the 2BR house, which prompted our friends at the CurbedSF blog to weep that “a starter home in San Francisco is now officially a touch under one million” — which is a totally legit thing to weep about.

Yet with that said, CurbedSF didn’t account for the fact that 205 Mullen comes with one very, very unique feature: Carlos Santana used to live in it.

It’s true.  Sanata lived in northeast Bernal in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and during the early years, when he was playing epic, ad hoc concerts in Precita Park, he lived here, at 205 Mullen.  Later, a few members of Journey lived there too (Trivia Fun Fact: Journey was founded by a manager and musicians who started out working with Santana.)

Anyway, Neighbor N owns the Santana House now, so Bernalwood asked him to describe what it’s been like to live there:

I still think about the first time I came to the house. Stupidly, I had no real conceptions of Bernal’s north slope view. It was also probably the first house I looked at in Bernal.

I walked in the door and said, “Wow, I had no idea the view was that good.”

I didn’t find out till later (possibly from a certain neighborhood blog) that Santana (and some members of Journey) used to live here. A few people came by to snap pics that week. Everyone is always very respectful.

I really do wonder what the house was like when Santana lived here. At some point, someone put up a solid, nearly seven-foot-tall fence, with spikes above that. There were shutters on the bay window, closing off the southern light. The house was very, very walled off from the street. Here’s how it looked in 2012:

old205mullen2

That never felt like Santana to me.

When I refaced the fence with pickets, we worked hard to get both the height and the spacing just right. I didn’t want another Wall on Mullen, as I used to call the old fence. But I wanted privacy. I also didn’t want the house to be hidden behind the fence. From the beginning, I wanted to open up the house, because it’s such a quintessentially San Francisco house.

I’d like to think we got it pretty right. As soon as the new fence was up, there was a much nicer sense of connection to the rest of the neighborhood, and the light was totally different. Same when I replaced the shutters with curtains and added a new frosted front door to let in more of that southern light. I get a ton of light now, and I still have that crazy-good view from the back.

Now, when you walk by the house, you can see the sun setting through the house. I think that’s pretty special.

After the fence, the other big thing I changed was the color. I have always liked dark houses. I used to own a funny little ranch house on eastern Long Island that I painted charcoal about 15 years ago. I liked the idea of all dark on the outside and all light on the inside.

For San Francisco, I wanted dark, but definitely a color, so I chose this charcoal-y blue, but it’s definitely blue. I really like it when neighbors say “You live in the blue house!” To me, that means they get it.

I like monochromatic houses because it makes it more about the house and less about the paint *on* the house. I wanted to really show off the house.

I’d like to think Santana would like it too. I really tried to let the house be what it should have been all along, which is probably more like it was when Santana lived here.

PHOTOS: 2012 photo by Telstar Logistics. Contemporary photos courtesy of Neighbor N.

Wednesday: Phonographic Memory with Bernal Rockstar Matt Nathanson

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nathansonmemory

Oh, how time flies when you’re enjoying the memories…

On Wednesday evening the fabulous Phonographic Memory project celebrates its second anniversary. First launched in 2014, Phonographic Memory was created by Bernal Neighbor Corey Bloom. It’s an exchange of recollections through vinyl records, during which guests are given a few minutes to share a personal story or memory about a song or the record, and then play a song from that album. Since then, Phonographic Memory has also spawned a podcast, so you can listen some of the stories presented in the series as they were shared at our very Bernal Heights library.

Wednesday’s second anniversary edition of Phonographic Memory will be pretty special,  with a memory presentation by Bernal’s own celebrity rockstar-in-residence, Neighbor Matt Nathanson.

Bernal library’s celebrity branch manager Valerie Reichert tells Bernalwood:

Bernal Branch Library is psyched to announce a very special guest participating in Wednesday’s anniversary celebration of Phonographic Memory: Bernal neighbor, platinum artist, Matt Nathanson will be on board!

The program format will be as always — a story in mind and a record in hand. It’s an evening about vinyl records, personal attachments and storytelling. Special guests also include David Bustamante, Dug Infinite, and Jon Bernson, The event will be held upstairs in the main area of the branch.

Phonographic Memory: 2nd Anniversary Celebration!
with Special Guest presenters:

  • Matt Nathanson – Singer/ Songwriter
  • David Bustamante – 70s Rock Band Dakila
  • Dug Infinite – Hip-Hop Producer/ DJ
  • Jon Bernson – Vocalist, ExRays

Wed. Sept 21
7 -9 pm – FREE
SFPL Bernal Heights Branch Library
500 Cortland Ave., SF, CA 94110

phonographicmemory_poster-sept2016-1-1-1

PHOTO: Top, Bernal neighbor Matt Nathanson, courtesy of Phonographic Memories

China Films Moody New Music Video in Bernal Heights

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chinamary

Ah well. So it goes: Another week, another ridiculously sexy music video filmed here in Bernal Heights.

This one comes by way of China (the local Americana-folk band, NOT the famous Asian nation of 1.4 billion people). China recorded their newest video on the undiscovered streets around The Lost Tribe of College Hill, and the Bay Bridged explains the rest:

China went up to Bernal Heights to record a video for “Everyone Thinks I’m a Loser.” Royal Oakie founder David Glassebrook produced and directed the visuals, with his partner Yasamine June chipping in as co-director, art director, and cinematographer. Shot entirely on Super 8, it’s a dark, lovely, grainy ride, with a touch of humor to make sure you aren’t totally wallowing in self-pity. It all feels just right:

Bonus: The Bay Bridged adds that China is doing a release show at the beloved Make Out Room on Sunday, June 17, so if you like what you hear today, you can go see China on Sunday.

New Song Is Called “Bernal Heights,” But the Video Is Somewhere Else

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Bernalheightsduckworth

This week, Duckwrth released a new video for his song “Bernal Heights.”

The song is a sweet jam, but fair warning: The words don’t match the visuals. Duckwrth was raised in San Francisco, but he now lives in Los Angeles, and the video for “Bernal Heights” was filmed on the streets of South Central.

Oh well. Still, the song does owe its genesis to this place we Bernalese call home, as Duckwrth explained to the Free Bread blog:

“Bernal Heights, the majestic hill that lives on the southside of San Francisco. In 2014, I wrote this song (produced by Spencer Stevens) about a shroom trip I had with a girl on this hill. Due to the push of the Nowhere project, I never got a chance to drop this song. So recently, Emmeline Kim, Free Bread and I came together to create visuals for BH. Unfortunately we couldn’t get to San Francisco to shoot this, so instead we used my old neighborhood in South Central, Los Angeles to create this story about romance, envy and sweet fuckin’ victory.”

Check it out:

Yeah, that sounds about right: “Bernal Heights… where the grass is greener, with a chill-type demeanor.”

Despite the offsite location scouting, we hope “Bernal Heights” helps make Duckwrth a superstar. There’s precedent for this, after all: Jhameel got a bump when he released his “Bernal Heights” back in 2010. Here’s hoping the Bernal muse will work her magic twice.

Tuesday Afternoon: Hear Beethoven at the Bernal Heights Library

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beehtovenbernal

Valerie Reichert, manager of your Bernal Heights public library, shares this announcement about a special, live performance of Beethoven’s music happening on the library patio on Tuesday, May 10 at 4 pm:

Cypress String Quartet
Beethoven in the City: Opus 127
Bernal Heights Library: Front Patio!
Tuesday, May 10th, 4 PM 
All Ages Welcome

We’re excited to announce that we are a host for Cypress String Quartet’s 20th year celebration Beethoven in The City. The celebration featuring Beethoven 16 String Quartets takes place this month throughout (11) districts of the City. All concerts are free and publicly accessible.

Beethoven in The City was conceived by the CSQ as a way not only to give back to the city that has fostered and inspired their music making, but also as a celebration of San Francisco. Through Beethoven in The City, the CSQ aims to bring Beethoven’s music to the broadest range of individuals possible. As a composer who overcame severe personal challenges to propagate his belief in the equality of humankind, Beethoven is a great ambassador for both classical music and human rights, and CSQ believes his music can speak to anyone. Come join us this May for an incredible City-wide musical celebration!

This is a feature event, and given that good weather is forecast for Tuesday, it should be really lovely.

Neighbors Gather on Bernal Hill to Celebrate Prince

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raspberryberet

RIP Prince. You were amazing, and you left us far too soon.

As San Francisco mourned the death of Prince last night, Mayor Ed Lee announced that the lights on City Hall would  glow purple, and your Bernalwood editor received a sad text message from one of the paternal units from the Bernal Dads Racing Team:

Uh, so no Prince on Bernal Hill?

This was Obviously Unacceptable, so within a few minutes a sound system was conjured and a power source was procured, and at about 8:30 your Bernalwood editor was ordered to transmit a call to action:

An hour later, the sound system was up and running on Bernal Hill, and a cozy group of people gathered to listen to Prince’s music. The weather was warm(ish), the moon was full, Prince’s music filled the air, and City Hall glowed purple on the horizon. It was lovely. Here’s a quick taste:

PHOTO: Top, a classic Prince moment in Bernal Heights, shared on Bernalwood, January 6, 2011

Play Ball! Neighbor Matt Nathanson Sang the National Anthem at Yesterday’s Giants Season Opener

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Yesterday was Opening Day for the 2016 San Francisco Giants season, and Bernal neighbor and rockstar-in-residence Matt Nathanson was there to sing the national anthem. You can watch it here.

A few hours later, the Giants went on to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 12-6, with help from a Hunter Pence grand slam. So to recap: Neighbor Matt sang the national anthem, and the Giants crushed the Dodgers. Coincidence? Hold that thought.

Neighbor Matt got a pretty swell souvenir out of the deal:

Of course, this isn’t the first time that Neighbor Matt sang the national anthem at a Giants season opener. Historians will note he also sang it in 2010, and we all know how that turned out. Coincidence?

We think not.

PHOTO: Top, via Jason Snell. Hat Tip: kc!