When the ancient Polynesians invented surfing, they often used a paddle to help them navigate. Fast-forward a few millennia, and Stand-Up Paddleboarding, or SUP, finds itself trendy again. Part of its increasing popularity is that standing upright allows surfers to spot waves more easily and thus catch more of them, multiplying the fun factor. Paddling back to the wave becomes less of a strain as well. The ability to cruise along on flat inland water, surveying the sights, is another advantage. Finally, it’s a good core workout. If you’re sold on the idea, schedule an intro SUP lesson, free with board and paddle rental, and you may find yourself riding the waves like a Polynesian king.More
Many of us remember coming home from our elementary schools with freshly glazed pinchpots, cups, or whatever else our young imaginations could conjure up. Saturday mornings at the Randall Museum can bring that memory back, or create a new one for the youngsters. Ceramics make great gifts — especially on Mothers' and Fathers' Day. Hop on board for the Randall's once-weekly class, and for $6 and two weeks to have your work fired and glazed, you'll have all the materials you need.More
December is almost over - the New Year is coming up and everyone is busy drying off from the rain or holiday shopping. Let's take a look at what's happened this month.
It is uncommon for someone to wake up for work each morning and immediately set about looking for ways to terminate her own employment. But that is exactly what Greta Gustava Martela does — every day — passionately. Martela, 46,…
In late 2012, nearly a year after the release of Tramp, her acclaimed third album, Sharon Van Etten was summoned to Avatar Studios in Manhattan to record a remake of the 1923 Irving Berlin ballad "What'll I Do." The song…
Barely post-slumber — definitely pre-caffeine — and nearing the exact midpoint between two seven-hour band rehearsals, Merrill Garbus appears both irreparably frazzled and warily content. It's 7:45 on a Thursday morning in mid-April, and Garbus, the 35-year-old creative epicenter of…
On the evening of Oct. 22, 2009, Annie Clark donned her guitar and stepped onstage at Castaways, a garage-sized dive bar in Ithaca, N.Y. Situated between a muddy canal and a gleaming fitness center, the venue was stippled with garish…
Certainties are not easily extracted from Angel Olsen. She does not pluck them from the air like floating candies, nor does she rattle them off in conversation, nor do they routinely bubble up in her songs. If present at all,…
Can anyone giftwrap emotional turmoil with more kaleidoscopic flair than Papercuts' Jason Quever? "Still Knocking at the Door," the first single off his forthcoming fifth album, "Life Among the Savages," is in many ways a return to form: It was…
@All Shook Down
by Byard Duncan
February 14, 2014 @ 3:30 pmTags: Video
There's a bit of a Sharks/Nets-style dust-up happening in the world of electronic music these days. On one side, you've got the wildly successful club acts -- Skrillex, Disclosure, Avicii -- perched atop their neon stages as throngs of…
@All Shook Down
by Byard Duncan
January 31, 2014 @ 5:09 pmTags: Holly Herndon, Video
As if tailored to match San Francisco's schizoid weather patterns, this week's selections -- Sharon Jones, St. Vincent, Damien Jurado Nick Waterhouse and Chuck English - oscillate between wintry, kinetic and utterly peculiar. We tried to cover all our bases…
New year, new group of songs to enjoy and dissect. This very first High Five of 2014 is a joyous affair. From Painted Palms' eruptive jingles to Linnea Olsson's taut cello work all the way down to Danny Brown's unexpected,…
This week's selections are less a 2013 retrospective (it is, after all, the last High Five of the year) and more a preview about what sort of stylistic diversity the coming year might offer. Between Rick Ross's throaty boasts, St.…
Tough to tell what's crazier: that we expect more precocity from our young rappers than we ever have, or that they actually keep delivering. When 20-year-old Chance the Rapper's sophomore mixtape, Acid Rap, dropped in May, it landed like a…
Sub Pop recording artists 'clipping.' brought their brand of noise-driven experimental hip hop to the closing night of 2016's San Francisco Electronic Music Fest this past Sunday. The packed Brava Theater hosted an initially seated crowd that ended the night jumping and dancing against the front of the stage. The trio performed a set focused on their recently released Sci-Fi Horror concept album, 'Splendor & Misery', then delved into their dancier and more aggressive back catalogue, and recent single 'Wriggle'.
Opening performances included local experimental electronic duo 'Tujurikkuja' and computer music artist 'Madalyn Merkey.'"
