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Beat Street
By Todd S. Inoue

Local Vocals:
New singles offer release from sickbed boredom

Whassup. Three days of laryngitis and a throat dry as turkey jerky kept me bedridden. S'aight, though. I got to listen to some of those local releases that been piling up (I can't handle daytime TV, see?). So let's go.

Aiko/"Can't Go On" 12-inch/Wake Up!: Sick of Hi-NRG? Get with Aiko--a South Bay jewel priming herself for entry into the R&B vocal world with this impressive debut. Aiko's on the smooth, saucy vocal tip with beats to match. The "House of Doom" remix identifies itself with loping West Coast bass style. Wild 107 and KMEL should have a duel at dawn to put this on their playlists. Definitely not to be slept on.

Betty's Love Child/Double 7-inch EP/17th Street: Three fellas with springy guitar, plucky bass and machine-gun drums double-dipped in emo punk. "Tattered" and "Success" are slamming singles with undeniably catchy openings. The double EP stretches them out a bit--it's hard to take Rich's pained voice for long periods--so proceed with caution. One of San Jose's future bright spots.

Cain/There is No Tomorrow EP/Missing Music: Not only does this pick up where Mindslam left off, Palo Alto trio Cain goes beyond parameters of intelligent, informed punk pain. "No Tomorrow" and "Never Again" has that Bivouac-era Jawbreaker firmly in place. "I Can Fly" is just plain heavy. Futility has a face, a band you can get with during these uncertain times.

The Donnas/Let's Go Mano!/Palo Alto High: Primitive, anti-fi, hip-shaking rock & roll that's perky as hell. The sweetness of "I Wanna Be a Unabomber" may get the man in the pullover sweatshirt to devote his manifesto to these plucky Shallow Alto residents. If you're down with the 5-6-7-8's, Jackie and the Cedrics, or the Trashwomen, then this 7-inch will fit in with your dorky Barbie surf groups collection.

Bulletin Board

Another cool CD shop has opened its doors. If you're into hip-hop, trip-hop, reggae, jazz or any combination of the above, get over to The Groovesmith. It's located at 400 Florence, on the corner of Lytton and Florence in Palo Alto. The great selection of hip-hop vinyl and rare jazz is nonpareil. Plus, they have a cool selection of T-shirts; the Groovesmith logo is a takeoff on the Golden State Warriors logo. Totally fresh. With Pirate Cat Records in Campbell, record shopping in the South Bay can become an all-day excursion. ... A new acid jazz club concept is taking over the first floor of Dimensions on Mondays, Wednesdays and Sundays. Club Sofa will feature quartets and DJs. Two events worth peeping out is a multiple DJ night called Premiere on the 14th and heralded acid jazz troupe One Nation Underground on the 16th. ... If you got the blues, don't mope around online. Drop into Britannia Arms Almaden on Sunday nights to tell the world about it. Drop-in players are welcome starting at 8:30pm. ... Remember those Saturday nights at F/X when King Raffi would devastate the dance floor with his quirky modern mix? He's taken his game over to the Cactus Club, only it's on Thursday nights and 21 and over. ... On the underground tip, Hickey and the Wynona Riders have a show at the Los Gatos Teen Center on Jan. 20.

Last Word on '95

At a Dec. 29 show at Palookaville, Spearhead's Michael Franti learned there's no such thing as grievance time in the music business. He also learned the healing effects of rock & roll. After a stunning set, Franti came out solo. He explained how he had flown in from Boston the night before. He and his family returned from burying his Grandma Brown--a huge influence on his life and the basis of "100,000 Miles." In between tears, Franti performed the song a capella to a hushed club in her honor. It was haunting, the most revealing look into an artist's soul ever. After the emotional reading, the band re-entered--all stopping to comfort the visibly shaken Franti--and closed the show with "Hole in the Bucket" and "People in the Middle."

"I have to admit, at the beginning, I didn't want to do this show," Franti said. "Now I'm glad I did. Let's do it again real soon."

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