Music
After just a few days on the job, Brian McAndrews, the new Chief Executive Officer of Internet radio giant Pandora, is already faced with a serious challenge. As of Wednesday, the company is competing with Apple’s new iTunes Radio service, which many analysts believe could end Pandora’s long-standing domination of the Internet radio market. McAndrews’ arrival comes at a challenging time for the 740 person company. iTunes Radio has 27 million tracks in its catalog compared to Pandora’s one million. …
Oakland’s first International Cassette Store Day on Sept. 7 featured a celebration of the music medium by vintage music store VAMP with Oakland-based tape label Nice Ass Tapes.
With Mayor’s endorsement in hand, Oakland hip-hop collective Hieroglyphics makes their way out of the underground.
Maybe it’s their charming, upbeat sound. Maybe it’s because they’re tiny, portable and cheaper than guitars. Whatever the reason, ukuleles are all the rage these days — from Eddie Vedder albums to Oakland cafes. Every month, local musician Madeline Tasquin, also known as Mana Maddy, hosts the “Ukulele Love-In” at Actual Cafe. Dozens of die-hard ukulele enthusiasts gather for a ukulele lesson, a featured ukulele performance, and a ukulele sing-a-long. You can catch the next event on May 11th. After…
On Friday, the Betti Ono art gallery in downtown Oakland hosted a panel discussion about women and Hip-Hop. The “My Art, My Culture: Women, media, and Hip-Hop” three-part discussion was the product of the combined efforts of a number of Bay Area arts organizations including Beats, Rhymes, and Life, which uses Hip-Hop to empower young people, and the Daughters of Dilla Project, which offers media arts programs for girls.
Pandora Media, Inc., the Oakland-based radio station, plans to expand its workforce. “We’re in big growth mode and we’re adding staff across all our offices,” said Vice President of Human Resources Matt Morgan.
With its new series, “In-the-Mix: Music Tour,” the Oakland Museum of California is offering a new way for lovers of the arts to experience the works of visual arts, masters and musicians. Each part of the series is the musical tour of the museum’s galleries given by musicians who will stroll through them and interpret the objects and the experience for themselves.
You won’t often come across three accomplished koto players in one place—let alone in the same family. But Oakland is home to three generations of musicians who have dedicated their lives to the music of the Japanese harp.
“One, two, three” says Ben Ofori to a neat pile of fifth graders sitting cross-legged in front of him at the Eastmont Library. They squirm a little, but mostly stare in wide-eyed wonder at the man in brightly colored clothes.