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Cable Ties Rocks Cafe Du Nord on 9/26/23

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Photos and review by Hannah Rohret.

Cable Ties packed the house last Tuesday on their inaugural visit to the Golden State. Opening for East Coast Indie Rock band, Pile, at San Francisco’s historic Cafe du Nord, the punk trio from Melbourne lit up the stage in the intimate, basement-level speakeasy with their exuberant and blissful stage presence.

The crowd quickly grew throughout the first opening act with local, Oakland-based group Sour Widows. The buzz about them started outside the venue in the line to get in and it was clear folks intentionally made their way out on a Tuesday night to catch the Alternative/Indie band from the East Bay. There was a grateful feeling overall among the crowd to be at a gorgeous venue with great music on a Tuesday night in San Francisco.

Wasting no time, Cable Ties hit the ground running with an enchanting, extended version of “Sandcastles” off their 2020 album Far Enough. All eyes were on guitarist and lead vocalist Jenny McKechnie as she warmed the crowd up with extended instrumentals and a playful but hypnotic, wide-eyed gaze into the soul of the crowd.

After a few songs of pure energy, McKechnie slowed it down halfway through the set with her dreamy vocals in “Deep Breath Out” off their most recent album All Her Plans, absolutely captivating the audience.

Drummer Shauna Boyle’s gleaming moment came swiftly after as her classic/edgy/raw punk vocals and powerful drumming absolutely drove this live performance of their 2023 hit “Thoughts Back” (a personal favorite).

The show ended as it began with McKechnie’s sparkly, fun-loving stage presence and obvious love for her bandmates on full display as she playfully danced, rolled and strummed the guitar behind her head after groovy bassist and the “glue” of each song, Nick Brown, connected with the crowd with feelings of gratitude to be in The Bay, playing music on a fine, San Franciscan night. The feeling is mutual, Cable Ties. Take us back to Melbourne with you!

KALX live with Katherine Park and friends

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Tune into KALX Live on Saturday, Sept. 30th at 9pm to hear a special live performance from Katherine Park and her friends!

Katherine Park is a biracial Korean and British American recording artist, new ethereal singer, songwriter, musician, and actor from the Alameda, CA.

“Think oranges apples and sunshine and a road of yesses. Katherine Park has a voice like an angel riding the wish of all seasons, moods and moments, traditionally left to poets, painters, to dreamers and lovers. Think Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory of Goldfrapp, meets the silky tones of Marilyn McCoo from the Fifth Dimension.” – Jerry Thompson (Lifoti Magazine)

She will be performing on KALX live with a few of her great, dear friends:

Clara Kebabian (violin)
Mjoy (guitar/bass/harmony vocals)
Frances Ancheta (guitar/percussion/harmony vocals)
Jennifer Morrill (flute)

She will be also performing on October 29th at The Hotel Utah Saloon in San Francisco, CA

Welsh Rock and Roll Midnight Express

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Tune in on at 11:59pm on Tuesday October 3, as the night becomes the first hour of Wednesday October 4. That’s when KALX DJ The Berkstir will host a Midnight Express on Welsh rock and roll featuring the Welsh band Man and related Welsh bands including, The Bystanders, The Jets, The Flying Aces, Deke Leonard’s Iceberg, The Neutrons, and Help Yourself. “We’re not an English rock band, we’re a Welsh rock band.” Find what makes the difference!

SASAMI at Through the Looking Glass

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When you think you’ve seen it all, the East Bay finds a way to surprise you. After a couple of dry weeks upon returning to school, I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect when signing up to cover Atlas Obscura’s “Through The Looking Glass” event on September 16th at Fairyland — but I was hoping for something good. Atlas Obscura is an American travel website that highlights unique destinations to visit across the United States and around the world. One of their featured destinations, Oakland’s historic Fairyland, was chosen to host their music event, “Through the Looking Glass”.

Children’s Fairyland is one of the nation’s oldest theme parks and has been cited as inspiration for Walt Disney when designing Disneyland. Its whimsical, fairytale-style design makes it a joy for both children and adults, but access to the park is normally limited to children under the age of 8. This made it particularly special for the park to be open to all ages after dark, allowing for an experience of Fairyland that is not usually available to adults.

Upon entering the park through its iconic shoe archway, I immediately felt transported. The park was dimly lit, with a map indicating all the different stages and booths around the park, with performances taking place at whimsical sets like the Emerald City and Aesop’s Playhouse. Booths were located in small playhouses, with fun activities to draw you in like tarot card readings and screen printing. The list of offerings was so enticing that I found myself disappointed that I couldn’t find them all, getting lost in the maze of the park. I explored the home of the Merry Miller, rode on the Jolly Trolley, and walked through Alice’s card maze as I waited for SASAMI’s set to begin, becoming fully absorbed in the darkly mysterious energy of the park at night.

Eventually, my wanderings brought me to the Emerald City stage, where SASAMI was warming up for her set. This was my first time seeing her live, and her stage presence did not disappoint as she bantered with the crowd about her move from LA to Bolinas, CA. As a SoCal transplant myself, I resonated with her desire to leave the more superficial elements of LA culture behind. Her performance consisted largely of unreleased songs she had written during her time here in the Bay, building my anticipation for their release. It created the perfect ethereal mood, making me feel like a fairy from the storybooks, dancing the night away deep in the forest.

The rest of the festival was filled with sets by other local Bay Area performers, many of them showcasing their new, unreleased music as well. Highlights included sets by Oakland based artist SPELLLING and Sun Ra Arkestra, all delivering amazing intimate performances. Upon leaving for the night, my only wish was to stay longer in this magical world that “Through the Looking Glass” had created for me.

Interview with Cosmic Psychos

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Join DJ Donut Monoxide on Saturday, September 30th @ 4:30PM when she speaks with guitarist, John “Mad Macka” McKeering, of long standing Australian punk band, Cosmic Psychos, before the band plays The UC Theatre in Berkeley on October 1st.

The Cosmic Psychos are (almost) an Australian punk rock institution who formed in Spring Plains, Victoria in 1982, spearheaded by founding member and bass player, Ross Knight. The band’s repetitive lyrics, fuzzed out guitar and wah wah bass sound has remained unchanged over their 30 plus year career and continues to win over new audiences.

To date, the band have released 10 studio albums since their self-titled debut  (1987) and their influence has been global, with UK band The Prodigy sampling their music on 1997’s The Fat of the Land LP and Nirvana producer Butch Vig proclaiming them an influence on both Nirvana and the Seattle grunge scene of the 1990’s.

A documentary by filmmaker Matt Weston, released in 2013, titled Blokes You Can Trust featured a who’s who of global indie tastemakers and music makers espousing the Cosmic Psycho’s legacy in Australian musical history. The documentary has given the band new life and they currently find themselves fielding touring and interview requests as far flung as Spain, Germany and Costa Rica. 

It’s been a wild ride for the Psycho’s mainstay Ross Knight who originally formed the band in 1982 for ‘shits and giggles’.  He’s been trying to balance the demands of fronting one of Australia’s defining punk bands and managing his vast third generation farm ever since; which includes running cattle, tending a vineyard and  volunteering his time and tractor to the local fire service.

Rounding out the Psycho’s line-up since 2005 is Melbourne born Dean Muller on drums and John ‘Mad Macka’ McKeering on guitar. Macka (formerly of Brisbane  stalwarts The Onyas), has spent time as a lawyer, pizza delivery driver, carpet factory worker, bartender and swim coach. These days, when not hanging with the Psycho’s he teaches punk rock chords to guitar students and regales beginners with  stories about the time he once beat Olympian swimmer Kieran Perkins in a medley  race. 

The Cosmic Psycho’s have survived the passing decades, musical trends and  fashions with ease. Most fans will tell you they’re simple blokes (you can trust), just making straight-ahead, good-fun, Australian influenced punk rock.

Interview with The Chats

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Mr. Green Genes recently sat down with singer // bassist, Eamon Sandwith, of Australian self proclaimed “shed rock” punk band, The Chats.  Tune in on Friday, September 29th @ 2pm to hear their conversation ahead of the band’s show at The UC Theatre in Berkeley on October 1st.

Hands down the world’s greatest post-millennial punk-rock group, The Chats have skipped past the unimaginable banana skin of COVID-19 to emerge tougher, faster, funnier, more riotous – even better for 2023!

The trio, originally formed in Australia’s self-explanatory resort Sunshine Coast, are a once-in-a-generation band who reconnect popular music with its roots in ultra-raw rock ‘n’ roll, inject their own fresh perspective, and have duly made an instantaneous connection with their youthful peers right across the globe.

Most people know them for their 2017 breakthrough banger, ‘Smoko’, but that has proved to be just the party-starter, merely the entrée to a high-volume, full-throttle world where intoxication, excitement and laughter rule supreme – the kind of kinetic thrills which have all but drained out of contemporary pop/rock.

As the 2020’s dawned, The Chats were building enviable momentum right across Europe, North America and their homeland, ready for the arrival of their full-length debut, High Risk Behaviour. Replete with further rowdy classics including ‘Pub Feed’ and ‘Identity Theft’, the album dropped just as the pandemic struck, and The Chats have duly been through the same frustrating two years of broken dreams and shredded itineraries as every other combo.

Latest album, Get Fucked, is out now on Bargain Bin Records.