The other night a friend and I were driving around looking for something to do when we happened upon Old Ironsides, an old school cocktail bar and music venue on S and 10th street. It looked like a pretty sweet spot so we decided to stop for drinks. A few minutes before we arrived though there had been an accident across the street from the bar – evidently a car full of young hipster chicks crashed into a light pole.
We paused outside watching the scene when a bearded man emerged from the side door to see what was going on as well, and as most rubber-neckers do, we struck up a conversation. He told us he was in one of the bands playing at the bar that night and described their sound as Electronic Pop. He wasn’t sure about the cover charge, nor what type of music the other bands played, but encouraged us to check it out. And as most people who are broke and don’t want to pay a cover to see an unknown band do, we said, “Yeah man, sounds cool!”
We weren’t planning to stay for more than a drink but my curiosity was piqued. I like discovering new places and new music and meeting new people. I was game to hang around but I had just given my last ten bucks to get into what turned out to be a Catholic Church organized benefit for Haiti that featured a bunch of elderly poets reciting old poems (some good, some not so much). So I told the bartender, Gonzo, that I was a writer with an awesome online zine and I would write this here profile if he put us on the guest list. He gamely told me if I could produce a business card, and it looked legit, he would. Little did he know I am the queen of business cards! I have many. I think of them as artworks in miniature that do double duty as information dispensers. Card produced, agreements made, beers poured. Our night of happenstance, your gain.
The San Francisco trio, Blood & Sunshine, is an eclectic mix of Motown inspired vocals, poppy guitars, drum machines and then an actual drummer. I was impressed with their energy – even though there were maybe fifteen people actually paying attention to them – they performed like they were at Roseland Ballroom, or at least a more notable, less sizable venue, like Bottom of the Hill, which they have played. It was a short set but memorable. I was immediately smitten (The guitarist, Joseph, was wearing penny loafers with skinny jeans!) and thrilled I had discovered a cool new band. They agreed to give me a cd – for free – and answer a few questions.
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