Twin Steps
Plague Songs
Son of Sam b/w Century Home
Dingo discovered Oakland’s Twin Steps at 1234Go records in Oakland (the old fashioned way – searching through the bins). We loved the blend of punk energy and funk, picturing the band bouncing on stage as they performed these tracks. We also loved the morbid subject matter – a copy of Helter Skelter being read on the cover and the first track named after a serial killer who claimed that he was commanded to kill by a demon that possessed his neighbor’s dog.
Twin Steps consists of guitarist Jonathan Reddick (Summer Blondes), vocalist Drew Pearson, and drummer Nick Cowman (Religious Girls). Their sound is equal parts Phil Spector girl group pop, Stax soul and garage rock. “Son of Sam” includes a classic horn sample from Eddie Bo’s “From This Day On” a great example of how this bands infuses those diverse sound.
Jonathan explains that Twin Steps “bases all their songs on a small piece of a familiar sound; using samples of old soul songs and recording drums, guitars, and vocals directly on top.” What they end up with is a soul influenced garage rock song
While their music has similarities to other soul based garage rock bands (The Heavy, Fitz and the Tantrums, King Kahn and the Shrine) classic samples layered with a vintage garage rock sound is all Twin Steps.
The Botticellis
Old Home Movies
Antenna Farm 2008
We need to start off by saying the reason you should join this club is for records like this month’s 12”. There are less than 30 copies of this record available anywhere and unless you have access to the closet of the Botticellis’ guitarist you aren’t getting a copy.
The first time we saw the Botticellis was at a Cake Noise Pop show in 2007. We had no idea who they were – we were there to see Cake. One of the great things about San Francisco’s Noise Pop Festival are the bills Noise Pop creates putting diverse bands together on the same night (an approach pioneered by CBGB’s). Their live performance was great from the vintage equipment, awesome tone (we are suckers for surf guitar reverb) and the tightness and confidence of the performance. The Botticellis wear their influences on their sleeves and their songs owe equal parts to Big Star (more Chris Bell than Alex Chilton) and The Beatles (more George than John and Paul), with a healthy dose of Pet Sounds era Beach Boys (check out the two pre Pet Sounds albums – The Beach Boys Today and Summer Days both available in Mono on Spotify!!)
The fact that they held their own sharing the stage with Cake says a lot about the quality of the performance (below is the poster from that show by local poster artist Lil Tuffy – Dingo loves Lil Tuffy!).
The week after the show I met Botticellis’ frontman Alexi Glickman (AKA Sandy, occasionally Sandman) at Blue Bear School of Music in San Francisco’s Fort Mason. At that time Alexi was just finishing Old Home Movies (for a second time – he recorded and mixed the album twice looking for the right sound) and I got to know more about the band and the making of the record.
The Botticellis began in Southern California when Zack Ehrlich and Alexi Glickman met in middle school and wrote songs together. The name Botticellis comes from the nickname the two of them gave to the waves they surfed (Botticelli means “little barrels”) While studying music together at UC Santa Cruz, they met Burton Li. He helped them produce an early album and then became a member of the band. The group moved to San Francisco and released The Botticellis in 2004. The group lived together and worked four years on Old Home Movies released in 2008.
Now back to the statement “the reason you joined this club is for records like this month’s 12”. We have been listening to this album consistently sense it’s release in 2008. The Botticellis make no excuses for their heavily influenced sound, instead they celebrate those early bands by combining those influences into a unique Botticelli’s sound. Case in point – the last time I saw the Botticellis, at the Bottom of the Hill in support of Movies, Alexi kicked off the gig by launching into the intro to Big Star’s
“Oh My Soul” with the full band in support they seamlessly transitioned to “The Reviewer” from Movies, it was like the intro was written for their song.
A large part of what moves their nostalgic sound from retro to fresh (even six years after it’s release) are Alexi’s sometimes haunting other times rocking vocals. This is an album that deserves multiple plays to really digest it and once you have it won’t be easy to shake. . We just have a feeling that 10 years from now a track from Movies will be featured in a Tarantino or Wes Anderson movie, it’s that good.
Many reviewers have lazily labeled this a summer album and they’re not wrong, really it’s an end of summer album. Both lyrically and musically there’s an overarching wistfulness, and a sense that something is almost over.
We’ve been playing this record on Sunday mornings and on weekday evenings with an after dinner glass of wine (red) as the summer sun goes down slightly earlier than the day before Years later after the Botticellis broke-up we saw Alexi playing with his new band Sandy’s at the Make-Out out Room in the Mission District. Even though it was a last minute gig, the performance was equal to any of the Botticellis shows. Towards the end of the set they broke into a semi- acoustic, dreamy tune that was familiar – we knew it was a song we loved we just couldn’t place it. After singing along to the first verse the chorus cleared up the mystery – we were singing along to Whitesnake’s “Here I Go Again” played as if it was co-written by George Harrison and Jeff Lynne. This guy sweats his influences through his pours.
We knew we wanted to include Old Home Movies as an early Dingo Vinyl 12 inch, and reached out to Alexi. It took him a few weeks to get his hands on the records (I think the guitar player had them), but we eventually met up at the Latin American Club (also in the Mission) on a warmer than average, July Sunday evening, and after a few beers, and a smoke break at the corner of Valencia and 22nd, he strolled back into the bar with a cardboard box full of Old Home Movies. We had a few more beers and called it a night.
The Botticellis are no more, but you can and should check out Alexi’s current band Sandy’s. You can hear their new album, Fourth Dementia, on Spotify or Soundcloud Or buy the vinyl copy from the Dingo store and we will include it in your next month’s shipment!
Reviews for Old Home Movies:
NPR – “The San Francisco quintet’s music is radiant and lushly orchestrated. Guitars shimmer with ringing flourishes. The glowing harmonies and melodies are timeless.”
Pitchfork – “7.0” “In the spirit of classifying any remotely poppy album released between May and August as a “summer album,” Old Home Movies really hits a sweet spot right about now. There’s surfer reverb, slouching croons, and sunny melodies all over the Botticellis’ debut album, and, to top it off, the band hails from San Francisco. Written over the last four years in between day jobs,Movies proves an airtight first effort, the band’s deliberation is apparent in every shrewdly placed nook and cranny. Old Home Movies meets its sun-soaked influences with a firm high-five. Hot dogs on the grill, anyone?”
