http://www.sdcitybeat.com/sandiego/articles.sec-34-1-music.html For Mrs. Magician, the past several months have been an indie-rock band’s dream. They’ve recorded an album with John “Swami” Reis, the veritable rock ’n’ roll laureate of San Diego. They’ve toured with Cults, a red-hot indie-pop band that’s been selling out shows across the country. ]]> “Epic” is not a word that music critics should use lightly, but in the case of Spiritualized, the honorific fits.]]> Alex Jacobelli, guitarist for local hardcore foursome Griever, sums up his band in one simple sentence: “I don’t think we’ll be anything other than a punk band.”]]> Howard, the prolific, 34-year-old songwriter and percussionist who plays in local bands The Heavy Guilt and The Black Sands, is big on synchronicity. ]]> Gilbert pokes fun at race issues in a lighthearted way. His stage voice, gravelly but high-pitched, reminds you of Dave Chappelle’s outrageous impersonation of Rick James on Chappelle’s Show. His name was originally “El Un Negro,” and the phonetic similarity is a joke on first-time listeners who mishear the name as something potentially racist.]]> Known for his breezy, sleazy, punked-out garage-pop, 32-year-old Bogart’s gained a reputation as one of the most fun-loving characters to emerge from the Bay Area garage scene.]]> I’ve got some news for the naysayers: Coachella isn’t your little bitch anymore. At 13 years old, the Indio festival is all grown up. And it’s done caring about what you think.]]> When a friend and I visited on a recent Wednesday afternoon, the office had all the trappings of a freewheeling internet enterprise set to expire.]]> Lately, Black Resume has turned Porter’s Pub, a venue on the UCSD campus, into one of the best spots for live hip-hop. ]]> As anybody who goes to the festival knows, the “official” stuff is just the start of it. ]]> Hadreas sounds as inspirational as ever on the gentle opening track, “Normal Song,” as he croons, “No memory, no matter how sad / And no violence, no matter how bad / Can darken the heart, or tear it apart.”]]> Partch composed raw, intensely human—even sensual—avant-garde music. He heralded the idea of corporeality: connecting musicians to the music they play, and to the audience.]]> But what is it that makes her the holy-tight-jeans-Batman-you-gotta-hear-this artist of the moment?]]> To many listeners, Arab on Radar was the most obnoxious band ever. But to their devoted fans, they were the second coming of no-wave.]]> There are plenty of detailed personal accounts of problematic relationships on Hello Sadness. There’s also a song about the agony and ecstasy of football (that is, soccer). ]]> Though it’s been a slow climb, the band’s built up a loyal fan base thanks to constant touring and a steady stream of new material— six albums since 2002, including their latest, Be the Void, which hits shelves on Feb. 7.]]> Their songs are meticulously arranged, driven by slinky, clear percussion and guitars that sound like they’re rearing up to knock you in the skull (but never do). Their piano lines twist and twirl with economical movements.]]> This month, Crowel will drop Welcome to the City, a self-released digital EP that finds him collaborating with a young, untested local producer named AbJo. ]]> The world of The Body is a dark one, indeed. The duo’s captivating hybrid of metal, experimental noise and choral music has won accolades from Pitchfork, NPR and The New York Times. But while plenty of bands don’t practice the darkness they preach, these two avid gun collectors— King and drummer Lee Buford—share a doom-centric frame of mind.]]> Scraping by on a shoestring budget, the Ché Café Collective, the all-volunteer group that runs the venue, is struggling to raise $12,000 for insurance fees. ]]>