King of Sticks
est 1996
Artists //
San Francisco noise rock scoundrels The Tunnel have been perfecting their unique blend of haunted post-punk and swampy atmospherics since 2008. Crooked and restless, The Tunnel's discography draws apt comparisons to The Jesus Lizard, 16 Horsepower, Killing Joke, and The Birthday Party - an intoxicating mixture of outlaw ballads, cranky drum machines, sprawling sci-fi blues, and pummeling, angular deathrock.
Sam Black and Jeff Wagner have served as the black heart of the band since 2010, with Black handling bass/electronics and Wagner howling haunted prose and heaving guitar tones. Drummer Michael Jacobs (ex-pOrch) has transformed the rhythm section with his brawny dynamics since joining in 2018.
Lower Forty-Eight
Formed in 2000 in San Francisco by Phil Becker (drums) and Andrew Lund (vocals, guitar) with intentions of pushing music in new directions. Ian Swanke joined on bass shortly thereafter and the ep “Gentle Tyranny” was released. Local shows continued into 2002 and “Halfback” was recorded with Myles Boisen in Oakland, CA. Ian left the group to pursue a collegiate degree in music and Grady Mutzel joined on bass in 2003. “Skin Failure” (2004) was the first of two releases on Monotreme Records. A tour of UK and Europe followed in Sept 2004. In May 2005 LFE recorded “Apertures” with Justin Weis at Trakworx, San Francisco, with a final tour of UK and Holland in April 2006.
(Photo: Gabriella Marks)
Thought Leaders are a modern post-punk band from Oakland, CA. The group was formed in late 2018 by Bay Area music scene veterans united in their passion for late-70s/early-80s post-punk bands like Wire, Echo and The Bunnymen, and Bauhaus.
Ville V: vocals | Tyler Cox: bass guitar
Kirk Snedeker: drums | Andrew Lund: guitar
The Mass
Oakland, CA math-punk-jazz-metal purveyors of sonic headfuckery, THE MASS, garnered critical praise throughout underground rock and metal circles with a pair of full-length CDs released by indie labels Crucial Blast and Monotreme. "City of Dis" (2003) and "Perfect Picture of Wisdom and Boldness" (2005) saw the band hone their unique hybrid of angular, jazz-inflected math-metal, prog and hardcore by fusing disparate genres into a seamless and disturbing sonic brew. Punishing, angular riffs collided through rollercoaster song structures capped by violent screams and incendiary, free-jazz saxophones. The band capped off the era with the blistering self-released 4-song ep “Holocene #6” (2007).
Produced once again by Tim Green (THE FUCKING CHAMPS) at his Louder Studios compound in 2016, “Ghost Fleet” sees THE MASS taking their already inimitable sound into deeper levels of cohesion, aggression and dark psychedelia. The album is both the most accessible, song-oriented affair the group has ever put together and its most intense, thought-provoking offering to date. Two and a half years in the making, “Ghost Fleet” represents THE MASS in its most vital state: focused, recharged and determined to push music beyond defined boundaries.
Matt Waters - vocals, sax, synth; Tom O’Donnell - guitars; Tyler Cox - drums; Andrew Lund - bass
Winchester Revival
Combining wide ranging influences from post punk to 70s LA pop, WinRev concentrates on writing solid, compelling music that is accessible while maintaining an underground spirit.
David Rosenheim: vocals; Andrew Lund: guitar, backing vocals;
Ron Cruz: bass guitar; Matt Glick: electronics; Kirk Snedeker: drums
The band members come from former groups Hugh, Lower Forty-Eight, Sons of Oswald, The Locals (Chicago), Driftwood Castles, Culty Smothers, The Weather Band, Spackle, Rule In Exile, Omissa, and The Rail Gun Ensemble.
The Rail Gun Ensemble
This exploratory project was founded by Gavin Foster, Ian Swanke and Andrew Lund. The music is all improvised, blending rock, punk, progressive and metal into an explosive maelstrom of sound texture. Foster is always on the drums. Swanke and Lund toggle between bass and guitar depending on the mood and the moment. Starting in November 1998, Rail Gun has recorded and released nine albums, with “10” finally released in January 2010. “10” is their first album in 8 years, improvised in one 2 hour session on a chilly day in December 2009, and it carries on the Rail Gun traditions with updates in sound and maturity. Albums 1-6 are only available via special order from KOS. “7”, “8”, “9”, and “10” are available from all digital outlets. Rail Gun has also been joined by other musicians including Tiber Scheer, Allan Moon, Mike Drake and Greg Burns.
Guilt Trip City
The original art-rock supergroup consisting of Steve Folta (guitar, vocals), Ian Swanke (guitar, vocals), Tiber Scheer (bass) and Andrew Lund (drums). GTC’s heyday was 1997-8 with one brilliant album, “Unisphere-B”.
The band did reunite for one benefit show in San Francisco in 2006.
Wrack is the solo project of San Francisco-based multi-instrumentalist Tyler Cox (drums, THE MASS; guitar/vocals,MAUSOLEA).
Sons of
Oswald
Just a little ol’ metal band from Oakland, CA consisting of members from Lower Forty-Eight, Greenlight The Bombers and Omissa. Shannon Corr (drums) and Andrew Lund (guitar) started playing together in June 2006. Ron Cruz joined on bass later that year and Kenny Moore on vocals. SoO played a few dozen local shows and released one album in 2008, “Ascending Mt. Brolympus”.
The Weather Band
The solo project of David Rosenheim. So far Dave has produced his self-titled album and we expect more in the future. There’s a voice, sometimes two voices, and sometimes there’s one voice pretending to be two. There’s a songwriter, and some songs. Excellent songs. On a good day - or maybe on a bad day - these are songs that sound like he wrote them for me. (You’ll probably disagree. You’ll probably think he wrote them for you. Maybe you’re right.)
Spackle
Formed in 1992 by Andrew Lund (guitar, vocals) and Ian Swanke (guitar) with dreams of playing shows in San Francisco, recording albums and taking music to its logical extreme. By January 1993, along with Scot Callis (drums) and Colyn Wohlmut (bass), they were doing just that. In 1994 William Dyer joined on bass and the first “self-titled” album was recorded and released by Timmi-Kat records. By the release date of the first album, the group had already embarked on a new musical direction with the beautiful ep “Bow Down To American Superiority”, recorded in early 1995 with Steve Folta. The second album, “The Flux Capacitor”, was recorded in 1995 and early 1996 and further enhanced this dramatic musical shift in the group. No longer were the songs indie rock missives; the music and the lyrical content took new directions with harmony, theme and counterpoint, drawing from 20th century classical composers. Scot was replaced on drums in late 1996 by Matt Ashleigh and the final album “Way Beyond Fucked” was written and recorded at CRI studios, San Francisco over Easter weekend 1997. This final recording pulled together all of the Spackle hallmarks into a cohesive, intense and pummeling musical document.