San Francisco is home to some of the most interesting politicians, musicians and artists I have ever seen. I was surprised to find out that these talented folks include the likes of past and present SF Board of Supervisor Presidents Matt Gonzalez, (bassist) & David Chiu, (violinist); Public Defender Jeff Adachi, (guitarist and filmmaker), the Sierra Club's John Rizzo, (guitarist) & Arthur Feinstein, (saxophonist), Port of SF's Rich Berman & Mission activist Eric Quezada, (saxophonists), activist Judy B. Onze, (singer), Fog City Journal's Luke Thomas, (guitarist), OVC's Brent Turner, (guitarist), BMW&L's Mark Mosher, (guitarist) and Beyond Chron's own Paul Hogarth, (pianist), just to name a few. Add Brightline Defence's Joshua Arce, (singer, songwriter, guitarist) and his band "Addison" to this eclectic mix.During the day, Arce is doing battle as an attorney and activist with PG&E, Cal ISO, and championing the cause of public power and community choice aggregation. By night, he rocks with his quartet "Addison", alongside Luis Baptista, (bass and backup vocals), Yoshi Takebuchi, (lead guitar) and Paolo Asuncion (drums), playing clubs in and around SF and as far away as Liverpool, England. Addison's latest effort is entitled "Lay The Buddha Down". On Friday, February 19, Addison will be celebrating the release of their new EP at Café du Nord. The four-piece band is hot on the heels of being featured on BBC Radio by the legendary DJ Billy Butler, who interviewed the band and played two tracks from their recent "Freeze Out" EP.
It’s quite a story on how a local SF band ended up being featured on BBC Radio with little to no recognition overseas yet. It boils down to the ties that the band has to Soccer (or should we say “football”). Lead singer Arce and bassist Baptista are long time die-hard Liverpool F.C. fans, who recently recorded a cover of “You'll Never Walk Alone," a show tune from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, Carousel. The song became popular with football clubs and their fans as it was performed by a massed chorus of supporters on matchday, but since the 1960s has become singularly associated as the football anthem of Liverpool F.C.
Addison's cover of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” (from the Freeze Out EP) caught the attention of DJ Billy Butler, who was so impressed and intrigued that he interviewed the band about their football stance, SF’s music scene, and had Gerry from Gerry & The Pacemakers on air with them. Gerry & The Pacemakers version Of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” is the official one used by the Liverpool F.C. team. Gerry even gushed, “It's better than ours!" Quite a flattering response from a band that’s more than 5,000 miles away. You can check out their entertaining interview here: http://www.addisonband.com/bbcinterview.cfm
The band’s latest EP, Lay The Buddha Down, came out of recording sessions from their as-yet-untitled debut album. Addison has combined the diverse international influences operating within the band. Baptista’s affinity for the feel-good pop sensibilities of Weezer meets the hard rock sound of Japanese band X Japan favored by guitarist Takebuchi. Studio drummer Nicolas Priario’s love of rock trio Soda Stereo, from his native Argentina, complements the anthemic sound of British bands influencing Arce, such as Oasis and Muse. When Arce isn't raising hell at San Francisco City Hall on behalf of low-income communities, you will find him with the other band members playing their alternative rock tunes in local venues such as the Hotel Utah Saloon and Cafe du Nord.
Lay The Buddha Down will be sold at the show, a few days before the official release date and will include a radio edit of the title track, “Shanghai,” “Screws,” and rounding it out with “Vallejo.” Co-headlining alongside ADDISON is The Junior Panthers, another homegrown SF band who plays lush, head-filling indie pop. Also performing is the Hi-Nobles who play 60s mod garage soul returning to the 21st century. Don’t miss a night full of SF’s finest musicians ready to break out.
Like the aforementioned folks at the beginning of my column, Arce and Addison embody the spirit of what makes San Francisco unique. Dedicated activism, sensitivity and fighting for a just cause. It shows in their work and the passion that these people bring to their music, art and poerty. From those of us "too young to die and too old to rock and roll", (to quote Jethro Tull), rock on Addison, rock on.
ADDISON @ CAFÉ DU NORD with Junior Panthers & Hi-Nobles
Record Release Party for “Lay The Buddha Down” EP
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 19th
2170 Market Street, San Francisco, CA
$10 / Doors 8:30 pm, Show 9:30 pm / (415) 861-5016
www.addisonband.com
