Bam!Bam!

Zola Goodrich of Bam!Bam!

Happy Birthday, Amoeba! Some of our favorite good times at Amoeba include CocoRosie’s instore on June 29th, the day copies of Bikini Kill’s Peel Sessions, Frumpies Frumpies Forever and The Spells Age of Backward were found in the used 7” new arrivals section one after another. And when Zola, Wes, and Spencer played Amoebapalooza as Polaroid Babies. Looking forward to many more good times at Amoeba Berkeley! - Amoeba Records Blog

Hey San Francisco, meet Bam!Bam!. This all-female, lo-fi, garagey, pop punk duo are the greatest band in the Bay Area that you haven’t heard yet, and lucky for you, they are playing a free show at the Uptown in Oakland tonight. It would very much be in your best interest to be at this show. This is a bold statement, but it's the absolute truth, and there just isn’t any other way to say it. Grab a beverage, a snack, and get the story behind the next band whose pin you’ll be sporting on your denim jacket.

Guitarist Zola Goodrich and drummer Chloe Turan had been playing around the Bay in Boyskout and Stiletta, respectively, and met each other while both working at The Uptown as bartenders. They had spent many a night getting friendly over libations and talking about joining forces to start a kick ass band, but busy schedules and college classes kept them from finding time to kick out the jams together. Turan finished her last final at SFSU in June, and the following day she and Goodrich jammed together, bringing the band to life.

The result of their collaboration is catchy yet dirty garage punk reminiscent at times of Bratmobile, Go Sailor, Beat Happening, and Holly Golightly. For only being drums, guitar, and voices, the band still manages to sound big and full sonically, and their two-pronged vocal attack delivers witty, charming lyrics via sassy and sultry melodies catchy enough to stay in your head for days at a time. The band sent us some unmixed demo material, and we never would have believed they had only been playing together for eight months considering how well crafted and genuine their songs are. They make their peers, some of whom have been playing together for well over eight years, sound outdated and lazy.

Since June, Bam!Bam! has played Oakland, San Francisco, and completed a short tour of Southern California in late November. While in LA, the band recorded a John Peel-esque session for KXLU, which they plan on self-releasing in addition to the not-quite-finished demos they sent our way.

There’s talk of some NYC shows in April, and next weekend sees the band heading to Monterey to give that sleepy, beachside community the best Friday night it's had in years. They will also be joining Judgement Day and Street Eaters for a Noise Pop 2011 Happy Hour Show at Amoeba Records on February 24th, which, as far as show line ups go, is a shining example of the Bay putting its best musical foot forward.

However, you can catch them at the Uptown tonight for FREE with Grass Widow, Human Baggage, and Death Sentence: Panda! as a part of the First Friday/Art Murmur that takes place on the first Friday of each month in Oakland. The show kicks off at 9PM, with Bam!Bam! rumored to be hitting the stage around 11 or so. The Uptown is at 19th and Telegraph Ave, which puts it close enough to a BART station for justify a Friday night excursion to “the Town”. Come out and catch the next awesome Bay Area band on their rise to fame and infamy.
- SFist

Bam!Bam! - Bam!Bam! is the East Bay duo of Chloe Turan from Stiletta, and Zola Goodrich from Make Me and Boyskout. The two play a unique brand of tweeish punkish music that is inspired by early 90’s riot grrrl bands like The Frumpies, and Slant 6. The band is offering a free download on their Bandcamp site. - Noise Pop- Amoeba Records

Bam!Bam! is an indie pop duo from Oakland/Berkley, CA area. They have breathy vocals with strong harmonies. Great for fans of The Pipettes, Kate Nash, Hunx & His Punx, and OKC’s own Feel Spectres.

For more information on Bam!Bam! check out Facebook, Twitter, MySpace. - Oklahoma Lefty

Photo Recap: Bam!Bam!, the Hot Toddies, Agent Ribbons at the Uptown - bay area bourge

Saturday Night’s show at the Hemlock was a reunion of sorts. Most people there probably didn’t realize that each band was a new project of a former member of the queercore band BoySkout. What that gave the audience was a varied show with seasoned musicians that somehow fit together just right.

First up was Bam! Bam!, a two piece of drums and guitar. They played straight from the 90's riot-grrrl DIY indie rock, though on the softer and more experimental side, but the rawness of the music kept the feeling there. Plus, Bam! Bam! shone the most when they were playing the music hard. All the more upbeat and driving songs were the ones that got my blood flowing. My only complaint being that there weren’t more of those fast songs in the set. They particularly showcased the drummers energy and skill and would have helped hold my attention. - Spinning Platters

Bam!Bam! is the East Bay duo of Chloe Bam! from Stiletta, and Zola Bam! from Make Me and Boyskout. The two play a unique brand of tweeish punkish music that is inspired by early 90’s girl bands like The Frumpies, and The Breeders. The band has been together a little under a year and in that time they have opened for Shonen Knife, The Forgetters, and Grass Widow amongst others. In May the band released the first video for Why I had to Go the title track for their upcoming 7” which earned them acclaim from Bust magazine and the SFist who proclaimed them “the best band you haven’t heard yet. ” In October Bam!Bam! will embark on a west coast tour. - Bagdad By The Bay

East Bay duo Bam!Bam! is prepping its first 7", Let it Go, which comes out on October 22nd. The band’s video for “Hi-Fi Widows” is described as “inspired by early Veruca Salt and L7 videos.” - The Bay Bridged

Rear In Yr View 2011

Billboard-Adele-2011-Year-End-In-Music-issue-December-crop

By Mike Turner

Well, it’s that time of year again. The time where lazy editors get even lazier writers to crank out lists of boring old same old same old repeats of what the writer has already gone over. Imagine my surprise when I was told I better turn one of these lists in or find another place to write for. I can’t afford to lose my big chunk of change I get for each one of these effortless pieces of brilliance that you are being graced with that seem to get knocked out rather quickly when the electric or cable bill is coming due. So with all that set up above, get ready for what might have been the most boring and what should have been exciting moments of 2011.

1. Wild Flag’s debut album has taken women all the way to the top and proves they can write an album as uninspired, predictable, and shallow as any man. I almost wonder why they didn’t credit the boyfriend who wrote these songs in the first place, at least then all the cock-rocking guitar machismo would make sense. These indie-rock veterans could learn a lot from the scrappy bay area duo Bam! Bam! who should have been everywhere you look already. - The Collaps Board

When I was a kid my mother plopped me in front of MTV in my playpen and let me dance it out to The Police and MJ while she cleaned the house. So naturally, I love me a good music video-- it’s in my blood. When Zola and Chloe of Bam!Bam!, a California-based girl duo hailing from the Oakland/Berkley area of San Francisco, sent along their video for "Why I Had to Go" I was pretty excited to check it out. Inspired by Beat Happening, Elastica, Bratmobile, and Can these ladies have a summertime twee-pop sound reminiscent of 90’s girl bands like The Softies, Go Sailor, and Tiger Trap.



This video is adorable, and totally captures how we all (or at least I) should be spending our meandering summer days. Zola and Chloe begin by walking around, drinking coffee, and playing music in their apartment until they dress up like superheroes (an ensemble that includes an awesome batman mask/cape), capture a man in a metallic skull mask, and punch him. Their adventure culminates with a trip to the grocery store for cupcakes and stuffed animals, and a brief meeting in the parking lot between their sundress-outfitted selves and their superhero-donned counterparts. I’m not really sure I did it justice, but you can watch it here and make your own assessments. - Bust Magazine

When I was a kid my mother plopped me in front of MTV in my playpen and let me dance it out to The Police and MJ while she cleaned the house. So naturally, I love me a good music video-- it’s in my blood. When Zola and Chloe of Bam!Bam!, a California-based girl duo hailing from the Oakland/Berkley area of San Francisco, sent along their video for "Why I Had to Go" I was pretty excited to check it out. Inspired by Beat Happening, Elastica, Bratmobile, and Can these ladies have a summertime twee-pop sound reminiscent of 90’s girl bands like The Softies, Go Sailor, and Tiger Trap.



This video is adorable, and totally captures how we all (or at least I) should be spending our meandering summer days. Zola and Chloe begin by walking around, drinking coffee, and playing music in their apartment until they dress up like superheroes (an ensemble that includes an awesome batman mask/cape), capture a man in a metallic skull mask, and punch him. Their adventure culminates with a trip to the grocery store for cupcakes and stuffed animals, and a brief meeting in the parking lot between their sundress-outfitted selves and their superhero-donned counterparts. I’m not really sure I did it justice, but you can watch it here and make your own assessments. - Bust Magazine