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Tag: <span>Music</span>

Estranged Individuals win Battle of the Bands at Milpitas Library

Moon Dough takes first place in the adult category

Estranged Individuals celebrate their victory in the teen category at the Battle of the Bands, held July 22 at the Milpitas Library. Members of the Milpitas-based band are Lucas Guzicki, left, on vocals and guitar, Mohamed Ibrahim on bass and Aiden Kawamoto on drums. (Photo by Mylene Stolpe/Charismatic Photography)

Teen and adult bands faced off live on July 22 at Milpitas Library at the Battle of the Bands produced by the Santa Clara County Library District.

With this second annual event, the district hoped to give a chance for these half a dozen bands to make an impression and maybe make it big, and to celebrate and encourage the local music scene in Santa Clara County.

The local bands competed in teen and adult categories. Interested bands first submitted their application online with an audition tape of one song. Over 5,000 votes from the community helped selected the top three bands in both categories to perform live. Each band invited to the showcase had 20 minutes on stage to wow the audience and the judging panel.

The teen division featured the Funky Monkeys, made up of Bradley and Zach on guitar, Josh on the drums and Isaac on piano. The Estranged Individuals, a Milpitas band, had Mohamed on bass, Aiden on drums and Lucas on vocals and guitar. Znnia took the stage playing the audience favorites from the ’80s to rock classics.

The adult division featured Charles Bronson & the Sundance Kid, a comedic experimental new wave duo based in the East Bay Area. Smokehouse and their lead vocalist Emma brought country rock to the auditorium, performing covers and originals. The last band of the night was Moon Dough, a Filipino cover band composed of Gavin, Christian, Yuri and Jude, whose set covered many musical genres.

Bands were judged by Juan Guzman, George Peter Tingley and Chris Dang for musicianship, stage presence and technical ability. Guzman is a professional mariachi musician with experience playing in jazz, classical and brass ensembles throughout his high school and college years. Tingley is a composer whose music has been heard on TV, in film and in concert performances; he served as composer for Olympic figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi in the 1990s. Dang is a Santa Clara County Library District employee who’s been playing guitar for 10 years and piano for 20.

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PUBLISHEDin the Milpitas Post: | UPDATED:

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Rules for Writing the Blues

1. Most Blues begin, “Woke up this morning…”

2. “I got a good woman” is a bad way to begin the Blues, unless you stick something nasty in the next line like, “I got a good woman, with the meanest face in town.”

3. The Blues is simple. After you get the first line right, repeat it. Then find something that rhymes… sort of: “Got a good woman with the meanest face in town. Yes, I got a good woman with the meanest face in town. Got teeth like Margaret Thatcher, and she weigh 500 pound.”

4. The Blues is not about choice. You stuck in a ditch, you stuck in a ditch–ain’t no way out.

5. Blues cars: Chevys, Fords, Cadillacs and broken-down trucks. Blues don’t travel in Volvos, BMWs, or Sport Utility Vehicles. Most Blues transportation is a Greyhound bus or a southbound train. Jet aircraft and company motor pools ain’t even in the running. Walkin’ plays a major part in the blues lifestyle. So does fixin’ to die.

6. Teenagers can’t sing the Blues. They ain’t fixin’ to die yet. Adults sing the Blues. In Blues, “adulthood” means being old enough to get the electric chair if you shoot a man in Milpitas.

7. Blues can take place in New York City but not in Milpitas or any place in Canada. Hard times in Milpitas or Mountain View is probably just clinical depression. Chicago, St. Louis, and Kansas City are still the best places to have the Blues. You cannot have the blues in any place that don’t get rain.

8. A man with male pattern baldness ain’t the blues. A woman with male pattern baldness is. Breaking your leg cause you were skiing is not the blues. Breaking your leg ’cause a alligator be chompin’ on it is.

9. You can’t have no Blues in an office or the Great Mall. The lighting is wrong. Go outside to the parking lot or sit by the dumpster.

10. Good places for the Blues:

a. Highway
b. Elmwood Jail
c. An empty bed
d. Bottom of a whiskey glass

11. Bad places for the Blues:

a. Nordstrom’s
b. Gallery openings
c. Ivy league institutions
d. Golf courses

12. No one will believe it’s the Blues if you wear a suit, ‘less you happen to be a old ethnic person, and you slept in it.

13. You have the right to sing the Blues if:

a. You older than dirt
b. You blind
c. You shot a man in Memphis
d. You can’t be satisfied

14. You don’t have the right to sing the Blues if:

a. You have all your teeth
b. You were once blind but now can see
c. The man in Memphis lived
d. You have a pension fund

15. Blues is not a matter of color. It’s a matter of bad luck. Tiger Woods cannot sing the blues. Sonny Liston could. Ugly white people also got a leg up on the blues.

16. If you ask for water and your darlin’ give you gasoline, it’s the Blues

17. Other acceptable Blues beverages are:

a. Cheap wine
b. Whiskey or bourbon
c. Muddy water
d. Nasty black coffee

18. The following are NOT Blues beverages:

a. Perrier
b. Chardonnay
c. Snapple
d. Slim Fast

19. If death occurs in a cheap motel or a shotgun shack, it’s a Blues death. Stabbed in the back by a jealous lover is another Blues way to die. So is the electric chair, substance abuse and dying lonely on a broke-down cot. You can’t have a Blues death if you die during a tennis match or while getting liposuction.

20. Some Blues names for women:

a. Sadie
b. Big Mama
c. Bessie
d. Fat River Dumpling

21. Some Blues names for men:

a. Joe
b. Willie
c. Little Willie
d. Big Willie

22. Persons with names like Michelle, Amber, Debbie, and Heather can’t sing the Blues no matter how many men they shoot in Milpitas.

23. Make your own Blues name Starter Kit:

a. name of physical infirmity (Blind, Cripple, Lame, etc.)

b. first name (see above) plus name of fruit (Lemon, Lime, Melon, Kiwi, etc.)

c. last name of President (Jefferson, Johnson, Fillmore, etc.) For example: Blind Lime Jefferson, Jackleg Lemon Johnson or Cripple Kiwi Fillmore, etc. (Well, maybe not “Kiwi.”)

24. I don’t care how tragic your life: if you own even one computer, you cannot sing the blues.

Thanks to Steve Briante for the original joke.

Radio Stations to Listen Live Online

Most, but not all of these radio stations can be picked up in Milpitas, but several stations have been added for your online listening enjoyment that can only otherwise be picked up in nearby counties. Still, these are all northern California radio stations. First radio station link usually goes straight to their streaming service; second to the station’s home page. Most stations can also play through your Echo (Alexa). Just say “Alexa, play ….” and say the call letters of the radio station. If there is no comment that the station will work with Alexa, then it doesn’t work when I set up this page. I have not tested with other home devices, but if they can receive TuneIn or iHeart Radio, they should, too.

Live Audio – Santa Clara County Repeaters
If anything real major going on, you can listen in on the emergency radios here. Ones with most listeners usually the most interesting.

FM

KQED 88.5 FM
Informs, educates, and entertains listeners throughout the Bay Area, the state, and beyond with a wide variety of news, public affairs, and cultural affairs programming. Works with Echo/Alexa through TuneIn.

KCEA 89.1 FM
The sounds of the swing era provide the basis for the KCEA musical format – from the original big band and small group recordings of the 30s and 40s to the best of the swing sounds recorded in all the decades that followed. KCEA’s studios are located on the campus of Menlo-Atherton High School in Atherton, CA. Works with Echo/Alexa through TuneIn.

KDFC 89.9 / 90.3 FM
KKSF & KDFC let you listen live or learn more about classical music. Win concert tickets. Works with Echo/Alexa through TuneIn.

KSJS 90.5 FM
San Jose State University’s radio station. We aim to deliver underground, local and upcoming music to the Bay Area community and beyond. Station information. Works with Echo/Alexa through TuneIn.

KKUP 91.5 FM
KKUP is a community radio station broadcasting a Variety format. Licensed to Cupertino, California, United States, it serves the greater Bay Area. The station is currently owned by the Assurance Science Foundation, Inc. Works with Echo/Alexa through TuneIn.

KALW 91.7 FM
Programs from the San Francisco Unified School District. Previous shows. Works with Echo/Alexa through TuneIn.

KPFA 94.1 FM Berkeley
Much of our programming is local, original and eclectic, with a well produced mix of news and in depth public affairs, an ongoing drama, literature and performance series, interviews, and reviews. Click their Listen Live button. Works with Echo/Alexa through TuneIn.

KBAY 94.5 FM
Soft Rock out of San Jose. Web site offers lots of community connections and fun events. Click on their button to listen live. Works with Echo/Alexa through iHeart Radio.

WILD 94.9 FM
The Bay Area’s party station. Enter contests. Find concert dates. Station information.

Alice 97.3
Sarah And Vinnie, 5:30 AM TO 10:00 AM; Lexy, 10:00 AM TO 3:00 PM; Jayn, 3:00 PM TO 7:00 PM. Works with Echo/Alexa through TuneIn.

KFOX 98.5 FM
Classic rock and the broadcast home of the Sharks! You’ll hear all your Sharks games right here. Station info.

KKIQ 101.7 FM
Hot adult contemporary hits. Heard in Alameda, Contra Costa and San Joaquin communities. Click on their streaming button. Works with Echo/Alexa through TuneIn.

KBLX 102.9 FM
The Quiet Storm. Soft and smooth R&B from the 70s and 80s and today. Station information. Works with Echo/Alexa through TuneIn.

KFOG 104.5 FM/97.7AM
Don’t close the pop-up too fast: it is your entrance to their live music online…. but it only works on Windows. Works with Echo/Alexa through iHeart Radio.

The New ALT 105.3 FM
Live 105 from San Francisco. Alternative music. They take requests online to play songs on the radio. Station information. Works with Echo/Alexa through iHeart Radio.

KMEL 106 FM
Features Northern California hip hop and R&B radio station. Station information. Works with Echo/Alexa through iHeart Radio.

KCBS 106.9 FM and 740 AM
With a news style reflecting the Bay Area’s hunger for up to the minute information, KCBS proudly serves the latest CBS Network News, Local News, Traffic, Weather, Business, and Sports. Additional KCBS features include Entertainment, Food, Finance, and Health reports. Station information. Works with Echo/Alexa through TuneIn.

AM

KNBR 680 AM
Broadcasts whole sporting events.: Giants, 49ers, Quakes, and more. Station information. Works with Echo/Alexa through TuneIn.

KGO Newstalk 810 AM
All sorts of community resources and news. Station information. Works with Echo/Alexa through iHeart Radio.

Real Talk 910 AM
Plays smooth jazz all day long. Check for free concerts or have them email you their daily schedule. Works with Echo/Alexa through iHeart Radio.

KFAX 1100 AM
Christian station. Listen to sermons or read articles online. Works with Echo/Alexa through TuneIn.

RadioMirchi 1310 AM
Listen live to our Milpitas-based Indian radio station. Check weekly schedule here. Works with Google Play.
162 S. Hillview Dr.
408-934-1310

On Air or Podcasts – But Not Streaming

KSFO 560 AM
Hot Talk: news and views you won’t here anywhere else. Podcasts available of recent shows. Works with Echo/Alexa through iHeart Radio.

KRTY 95.3 FM
Hot Country music from San Jose. Read album reviews, enter contests and enjoy celebrity interviews. Works with Echo/Alexa through TuneIn.

KEZR 106.5 FM
Today’s Best Mix has everything you need: Brooke & Jubal Fun. Works with Echo/Alexa through iHeart Radio.

KSAN 107.7 FM
Be a bonehead. Listen for music news and interviews, concert events. Join with other boneheads for chat online. Works with Echo/Alexa through iHeart Radio.