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Volunteer Pioneer is a three piece folk-pop band from San Francisco featuring Kyle Williams (guitar/vocals), Sabrina Duim (harp/vocals) and Jason Byers (drums). Their songs feature delicate harp driven melodies set against a backdrop of acoustic guitars, drums, bells and tambourines woven into tales of sinking cities, wavering ships and dead presidents. Influences include David Byrne, The Walkmen, and the Fiery Furnaces. Its going to be louder than you think its going to be.
Sabrina and Kyle formed Volunteer Pioneer in 2004 when Sabrina added the sounds of her harp to Kyle's acoustic guitar based pop songs. The two set out to emphasize the harp and Sabrina's vocals to create songs situated between the glamour side of folk and the luxury side of rock. After Sabrina took time off to tour with Bright Eyes in 2005, the duo reformed and expanded to a trio when Jason joined on drums in 2006.
Sabrina, whose musical credentials include work with Bright Eyes, Feist and Rilo Kiley, is finishing her degree in mathematics at Stanford University and will graduate in 2007. Jason has played in several Bay Area bands and runs an art gallery in Oakland. Kyle works in an office and recently was moved to a cubicle with a window.
Edward Burch started Foma back in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 2002 with Heather Trost. The band toured a bit and played locally, but Heather became increasingly more busy with her band A Hawk and A Hacksaw. With the help of fellow Albuquerquean Isaac Bonnell, Edward polished up the Foma recordings, wrote and recorded a couple of new ones; and Foma released the Sci-Fi concept album Phobos in March of 2006. Phobos was received extremely well in the indie press and on college radio, so Isaac and Edward packed their bags and headed for San Francisco in summer of '06. They began working with Chani Hawthorne (New Mexico native, now bartender at 12 Galaxies) and played their first show, thanks to the Make-Out Room on Dec. 5! They now collaborate on all of the songwriting, and plan to tour in the spring and summer and want to have a new album no later than the end of this fine year, 2007.
The Trenchermen's "buffet of rock" melds influences ranging from "Smile"-era 60s rock, 80s power pop, 90s indie rock, 00s alt-county, Zen koans, dairy cows, boy-girl harmonies, Mel Brooks and most things in-between. Add water, stir, and you get a "jangle-tastic pop explosion." This 6-piece East Bay band will release their debut EP, "Threading the Machine," early in 2007.
playinginfog.com
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