Sandenut's Summer Short List 2010

5. San Jose Music In The Park Playlist - Don't mean to start off with a disappointment but I thought #5 should go to last place. San Jose's music in the park's playlist of artists sucked this year! Gaslight Anthem not withstanding. Too much reggae and radio promotion bullshit. Gimmie Black Joe Lewis and Leela James, Fuck!

4. Los Olvidados@ The Blank Club in San Jose - 80's punk rock at my favorite dive bar atmosphere, wow I needed that.

3. Hillstomp/Darker The Night - "Up Here" is amazing, awesome album. The banjo is making a comeback, always a good sign of things to come, in life, in general.

2. The Black Keys/Brother - Another rippin album from one of the best bands ever, need I say more?

1. Bo Diddley/The Chess 50th Anniversary Collection - Been kind of in a musical funk lately and rediscovered Bo, carried me through. Example: Blastin' "Ooh Baby" at a stoplight, not really payin' attention with the windows down. Turned to my right to see a convertible 66' Impala with two gangster black dudes totally rockin' out. When the song was over they said "Yo man, who is that?" So I popped out the cd and said "Mr. Bo Diddley young man." And tossed him my burned copy as the light turned green. Just the thought of them crusin' the streets listening to "Ooh Baby" makes me smile.

Los Hot Boxers - Uno (2009)

Los Hot Boxers are a San Jose ska band that I checked out randomly at my local venue and was thoroughly impressed. I bought their EP and have been playing it a ton. They have a very similar sound to Santa Cruz's own The Expendables, another band I like a lot, but these guys have a more jazzy feel with Latin undertones. At the show I felt like they are the kind of background music played at a party you had no intention of attending, and ended up meeting a bunch of stand up folks and having a blast. To put it more in real life context, say you had hard week at work, and all you want to do is drink a stiff one and watch the game, but you feel guilty cause you told your coworker you would show to his party, and you go begrudgingly, and it ends up being the highlight of your month.

My favorite jams are "Hold You Close" and "How's It Gonna Be". The only thing that disappoints me is that I am only finding out about them now, during the winter and rain, and they are a total summertime BBQs, beer pong, and Tecate 30 packs type of groove. The singer has some awesome lyrics that I personally can identify with, like when he talks about hesitant phone calls and their negative repercussions in "How's it Gonna Be". Solid band, and a solid find, definitely would recommend picking up the album and seeing them live.