Aaron Carnes

United States

Freelance Writer at Freelance

Author of the Expanded 2nd Edition of In Defense Of Ska (Releases Oct 29, 2024 @CLASHBooks). Host of the @indefenseofska podcast on @consequence

Articles

Otilia Donaire Band in Redwood City

1 week ago | metrosiliconvalley.com | Aaron Carnes

.Otilia Donaire Band in Redwood City BLUESIN IT UP: Personal, autobiographical and sassy (Photo Credit: Tina Abbaszadeh) Claiming Koko Taylor and Janis Joplin as inspirations, Otilia Donaire is a sassy and powerful singer and band leader. Her funky and big-sounding blues album, Bluesin’ it Up (2024), features personal, autobiographical lyrics.
Sweet Charity in San Jose

1 week ago | metrosiliconvalley.com | Aaron Carnes

.Sweet Charity in San Jose SWEET CHARITY: Literally one of the most popular musical theater productions in history Composed by Cy Coleman, with lyrics by Dorothy Fields and book by Neil Simon, Sweet Charity premiered on Broadway in 1966. The musical follows Charity Hope Valentine, a New York City taxi dancer, a hopeless romantic, but unlucky in love.
Maxx Cabello Jr. in San Jose

1 week ago | metrosiliconvalley.com | Aaron Carnes

.Maxx Cabello Jr. in San Jose BLUES MAN: Maxx Cabello Jr is a local treasure (Photo Credit: Jose Loera) Versatile South Bay blues guitarist Maxx Cabello Jr. is already making waves regionally and beyond. He’s opened for Earth, Wind & Fire, B.B. King, and other big names. A breakout performance was his 2018 date at San Quentin’s lower yard. Drawing from across musical genres, his music adds flavors of reggae and pop into his version of the blues.
Brainchamber in San Jose

1 week ago | metrosiliconvalley.com | Aaron Carnes

.Brainchamber in San Jose BRAIN MELT: Brainchamber plays metal that will blow minds (Photo Credit: Josh Bays) Brainchamber is a band of heaviness and mystery. They hail from the school of “less is more.” This translates into a stripped-down, fuzzed-out, psychedelic sludge sound with vocals that teeter somewhere between a whisper and death rattle scream.
Dusty Slay in San Jose

1 week ago | metrosiliconvalley.com | Aaron Carnes

WORKING CLASS COMEDY: Dusty Slay is your favorite blue collar comedian's favorite blue collar comedian (Photo Credit: Todd Rosenberg) Having been raised by a single mom in a trailer park in Opelika, Alabama, Dusty Slay is more blue collar than anyone involved in The Blue Collar Comedy Tour. He cites Jeff Foxworthy as an influence, but he comes across infinitely more authentic and genuine. He spins tales from his working-class upbringing and his life before discovering stand-up.
Japantown Returnings in San Jose

1 week ago | metrosiliconvalley.com | Aaron Carnes

.Japantown Returnings in San Jose HISTORY: 135 years of San Jose's Japantown is captured in this upcoming performance (Photo Credit: Courtesy of Japanese American Museum of San Jose) San Jose is awash in history, but none of its neighborhoods has a richer and more diverse past than Japantown. The world premiere of Japantown Returnings seeks to capture that energy and commemorate 135 years of the neighborhood.
Rotary Club in San Jose

1 week ago | metrosiliconvalley.com | Aaron Carnes

TELEPHONE PUNK: Don't question what it is, just rock out to it! (Photo Credit: courtesy of Rotary Club) In the world of punk, there are a lot of subgenres. Pop punk, hardcore, skate punk, cowpunk, horror punk, and more all have a near and dear place in the hearts of the tattooed and spikey-haired. But whoever heard of telephone punk? Hailing from Reno, Rotary Club is a telephone-based band that plays music for landline lovers.
Snapshots of Pride in Los Gatos

1 week ago | metrosiliconvalley.com | Aaron Carnes

.Snapshots of Pride in Los Gatos SAN JOSE PRIDE: Important moments in the local gay rights movement are on display in this new exhibit (Photo Credit: Image by Ted Sahl, courtesy of the King Library Digital Archives) San Francisco usually gets all the credit for historical events within the LGBTQ+ community. But South Bay’s history is also quite noteworthy. This NUMU exhibit looks at just that, specifically the period in the ’70s and ’80s.
12th Night in Los Altos

1 week ago | metrosiliconvalley.com | Aaron Carnes

SHAKESPEARE UPDATED: Los Altos Stage Company's take on this classic is very modern and amazing (Photo Credit: Dave Lepori) If anyone thinks the conversation about gender, gender fluidity, and gender’s relation to identity is something new, The Bard was tackling this stuff on the stage way back in the 17th century.
Lszee in San Jose

1 week ago | metrosiliconvalley.com | Aaron Carnes

JOIN FORCES: Lszee are having too much fun! (Photo Credit: Butter Creations) Sometimes, established artists join forces and create a sum greater than their parts. Lszee is the brainchild of producers LSDREAM and CloZee, born out of Illinois Summer Camp Festival in 2021. Sensing cohesion and mutual respect, LSDREAM and CloZee melded their respective styles into Lszee. Their sound is both familiar and uncharted, oscillating between dubstep, trap, hip-hop, and even world music.