Select Five

In the late 70s and early 80s, San Francisco was home to a thriving punk and new wave scene and a scrappy independent label that launched the careers of bands like Romeo Void, Translator, and the Red Rockers. Music journalist Bill Kopp captures this moment in time in a new book called Disturbing the Peace: 415 Records and the Rise of New Wave published by HoZac Books. Listen to Bill chat with Pam about the label's brief but fascinating history, and five of his favorite tunes from the 415 Records catalog.

Bill's Selections:

1. Pearl Harbor and The Explosions - Drivin' (1979)

2. SVT - Always Come Back (1980)

3. Romeo Void - Never Say Never (1981)

4. Pop-O-Pies - Truckin' (1981)

5. Translator - I Need You To Love (1986)

Dive into the 415 Records catalog by listening to Bill's companion playlist: https://tinyurl.com/y7nrfy2u

Check out the book or read more of Bill's music writing: https://blog.musoscribe.com/

Get Liberation Hall's reissue of 415 Records early (pre-Columbia) recordings: https://tinyurl.com/mr2rdwxw

Shaina Evoniuk is a classically trained violinist who leads the string section for the Bay Area-based musical collective Jazz Mafia. She has also has lent her talents to some of the biggest pop stars in the world. Hear Shaina share with Pam what it's really like being a recording artist, and how the violin adds texture and emotion to all styles of music, as demonstrated in five different tunes she performs on.

Shaina's Selections:

1. St. Panther - These Days (2020)

2. Monophonics - Last One Standing (2020)

3. Shawn Mendes & Camilla Cabello - The Christmas Song (2020)

4. Dougie Stu - Henny (2020)

5. Otis McDonald - Holiday (2019)

Bonus Track: Lizzo - Lingerie (2019)

Hear a complete playlist of recorded songs Shaina performs on: https://tinyurl.com/2p95s7wv

Shaina's website: https://www.shainaevoniuk.com/

Find out when Shaina is playing with Jazz Mafia: http://www.jazzmafia.com/calendar

Watch the live version of St. Panther's "These Days" featuring Jazz Mafia: https://youtu.be/uI5QObq-N-4

We're trying new things, folks! In the first of our "Five Questions With" mini-episodes, we're honored to feature Philly-based/Pacific Northwest-bred musician Karl Blau. Karl is a prolific DIY artist with over 40 albums under his belt. His adventurous pop tunes have often defied genre, but he's been traveling down country roads since his breakout 2016 album Introducing Karl Blau, and his brand new album Love & Harm follows a similar soulful country path. Hear Karl talk to Pam about the making of this album in his hometown of Anacortes, Washington, and his own spin on what "cosmic country" music is.

Download Karl's new album "Love & Harm" (or buy the LP version called "Scream Time"):

Getting a new bar & restaurant off the ground is hard enough. But during the height of the pandemic it became a crazy roller coaster ride for Matt Meyer and Daniel Paez, the co-owners of Low Bar in uptown Oakland. Now that their business is one year old and thriving, Matt & Daniel reflect on the wild journey that got them here and five songs that capture the vibe of this popular Chicano bar/eatery.

Matt & Daniel's Selections:

1. Time Hard - The Pioneers (1972)

2. Como La Flor - Selena (1992)

3. Un-Break My Heart - Toni Braxton (1996)

4. For You - Ago (1982)

5. I Want To Be Your Man - Roger (1987)

Listen to the Low Bar companion playlist, featuring the five songs we talked about in this episode + more.

Follow Low Bar’s Instagram to find out about events, specials, and what-nots.

Another crappy pandemic year comes to a close, but at least we had good music to get us through it. And for the first time since early 2020, the Select Five team got their vaxxed and boosted selves together IRL to record this very special year-ender episode at their old stomping grounds, Bar Shiru! Whether it's old comforts or new discoveries, we'll dive into the five albums Brian, Kate, and Pam loved the most in 2021.

BRIAN’S ALBUMS

Joyce Wrice - Overgrown (2021)

Hiatus Kaiyote - Mood Valiant (2021)

Little Simz - Sometimes I Might Be an Introvert (2021)

Herbie Hancock - Headhunters (1973)

Lewis Taylor - Lewis Taylor (1996)

KATE’S ALBUMS 

Alice Coltrane - Ptah, the El Daoud (1970)

Sofiane Pamart - Planet Gold (2021)

St. Vincent - Masseducation (2017) 

Tash Sultana - Flow State (2018)

Lorde - Melodrama (2017)

PAM’S ALBUMS

Sitka Sun - All the Way West (2021)

Brijean - Feelings (2021)

Sun Ra - Lanquidity (1978/2021 Reissue)

Emma Jean Thackray - Yellow (2021)

BadBadNotGood - Talk Memory (2021)

Listen to all the songs we discussed and many more in our year-ender companion playlist:
https://tinyurl.com/4ctkdf92

Back in the mid-'80s, Vietnamese American teens bonded over a shared love of sports cars, spiked hair, and a style of electronic dance music they called New Wave (now known as Euro and Italo disco). Vietnamese New Wave is now the subject of a forthcoming documentary by filmmaker Elizabeth Ai, who discusses the fascinating history of this subculture through five songs she grew up with. Elizabeth's Selections: 1. Brother Louie - Modern Talking 2. Jump In My Car - CC Catch 3. You're a Woman - Bad Boys Blue 4. Say You'll Never - Lian Ross 5. I Like Chopin - Gazebo There's a lot more where that came from! Check out Elizabeth's companion playlist of Viet New Wave classics, including the five songs discussed in the episode: https://tinyurl.com/4zmz76ks

Pandemic or not, Antibalas bandleader and saxophonist Martín Perna always stays busy. But what tunes does this Grammy-nominated musician groove to when he's not laying down grooves of his own? In this episode we find out, as Martín raps with Pam about five soul-soothing tracks from five of his favorite jazz sax players and bandleaders of the early 70s. (Photo courtesy of Martín Perna)

Martín's selections:
1. Astral Traveling - Artist: Pharoah Sanders (1971)
2. Journey in Satchidananda - Artist: Alice Coltrane (1971)
3. Earth - Artist: Joe Henderson (1974)
4. Eight Years After - Artist: Tommy McCook (1972)
5. Never Can Say Goodbye - Artist: Rahsaan Roland Kirk (1972)

Listen to these tracks and many more in this companion playlist curated by Martín: https://tinyurl.com/33pevrfb

It's Pride Month, folks! A time to reflect on how far we've come and the work still to do in the movement for LGBTQ+ rights. With that in mind, this episode introduces us to new organization called Oakland Black Pride and its fearless leader, Olaywa Austin. Olaywa is an Oakland native and a community-minded entrepreneur whose mission is serve and support the needs of Black, LGBTQ+ communities. In a candid chat with Pam, Olaywa talks about five songs that tell the story of their journey to discover and accept their own queerness.

Olaywa's Selections:

I Would Die 4 U – Artist: Prince (1984)

That’s the Way Love Is – Artist: Ten City (1989)

Heaven Help Me – Artist: Deon Estus/George Michael (1989)

Can We Talk? – Tevin Campbell (1993)

Criterion – Artist: Me’shell Ndegeocello (2002)

Hear these five hot tracks and many more in this companion playlist curated by Olaywa: https://tinyurl.com/urb53wu3