By Amahli Vivian SPY has become one of my favorite hardcore punk bands since seeing them support Gel nearly two years ago. I was lucky to see SPY as the headliner at their SF show at Neck of the Woods…
By DJ Amygdala A crowd packed into a sweaty basement, bodies moshing together, screaming every word to a song that means everything. Or maybe it’s a guitar circle on the beach, strangers-turned-friends passing rhythms back and forth like a secret…
Date: Friday, January 31, 2025 Venue: Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, San Francisco | Show: 7:00 PM Excision deleveried an exciting Friday night’s performance in San Francisco. As someone who has never seen him live and isn’t the biggest fan, I still…
By Charissa Zeigler I’ve been scrolling for an hour through half-American half-Chinese music blogs searching for clues about A-Mei, the artist behind the album Mei-Rok. I’ve been playing her eight tracks on repeat for the last few months and it’s…
By Amahli Vivian March 7, 2025, was not the first time The Garden had come to Santa Cruz. They had played at the Catalyst back in 2022, although I was unable to attend. Their most recent “Nine Desperate Dates” tour…
Defunding Public Media Through Project 2025: Implications for Rural/College Radio Funding and Media Diversity by Faith Ellis In the United States, public media stations similar to PBS and NPR, have long served as critical platforms for local journalism, non-commercial programming,…
Sasscore and the Emergence of Counter Counterculture By Peyton K. It may seem impossible to envision a genre of music that somehow rebels against both mainstream culture and counterculture. However, the genre of sasscore manages to exist in a unique…
By Cindy Becerra Berlin’s IT girl finally made her way to the States for her grand US tour with DBBD. Miss Bashful was born in Mexico City and is proud of her Mexican and German roots. Living in Berlin, Mexico…
By Peyton K. A Youth Crew revival is on the horizon, and it's coming to a town near you. After hearing raving reviews of Start Today after they opened for Knumears' 2 Year Anniversary show on the 22nd, I knew…
By: DJ Alla The sound of folk music is alive and well today in Haley Heynderickx. This past Friday the 31st I was lucky enough to see Haley at the Rio Theatre here in Santa Cruz. Haley is a Portland-based…
By Roktima Godhuli I Am Trying to Break Your Heart by Wilco is the perfect opener to their 10/10 rock album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot(2001). Don’t play this at the function, though; it might be a bit of a party pooper…
By Roktima Godhuli PSUE DONIM, aka Ben Phipps, and I met in August. We immediately bonded through music, hanging out in the car on those hot summer nights and listening to the good stuff. We talked about our favorite songs…
By Amahli Vivian On December 4th, I was lucky enough to interview Tom Katsaras, the frontman and vocalist of Twine. Initially a solo project formed in 2021 by Katsaras, Twine later solidified into a full band. The South Australian band’s…
Photo by Colleen Barrett By Cadence Baker On Saturday, November 23rd, KZSC Santa Cruz journeyed to San Francisco to attend Brooklyn-based digital hardcore band Machine Girl’s first of two sold-out shows at the Regency Ballroom. We sat…
By Amahli Vivian Hometown shows tend to be more lively compared to other shows. Scowl, a local hardcore punk band took over the Santa Cruz Catalyst stage on November 30 for their "Annual Dance Party 2024." I was lucky enough…
The second to last city on the My Anti-Aircraft Friend tour. Berkeley, my first concert in the Bay Area. What better concert to be at than at a Julie concert? A Los Angeles trio consisting of Alexandria Elizabeth on vocals/bass,…
By warlock On Monday, November 18th, I had the pleasure of seeing AJJ in concert at San Francisco’s The Chapel. The venue certainly lived up to it’s name, as this show was an experience that could be described as religious…
by Jack Rudy Photo by Yis Kid The Greep In the midst of a larger prog-rock (Progressive-Rock) wave that's hitting the States, no other emergent artists stand out as much as Geordie Greep does. Hailing from Walthamstow, England, Greep found…
Dreamy Melancholy: A Night with Cigarettes After Sex Photograph taken by dj stutter Attending a Cigarettes After Sex concert feels less like a show and more like stepping into a movie. Their recent performance was no exception, they demonstrated exceptional…
From the deep underground of Chicago’s dancefloors to international stages of dance music, Ron Trent never followed trends, he always created them. As one of the few pioneers of the sub-genre deep house, his produced and mixed sound is more…
by Iman Abedi LONG LIVE THE LOCAL SCENE!!! If you’re hunting for local musicians, look no further! Whether you're new to the scene or have been involved for a while, this playlist is for you. Listen to some NorCal hardcore…