What he says: “Hello, my name is Kevin and I record as Sad Eyed Beatniks, Present Electric, and Tam Lin. I also run the label Paisley Shirt Records that has put out releases from artists like Flowertown, Hits, Tony Jay, Cindy, April Magazine, Galore, Whitney’s Playland, Mister Baby, Nights Templar, Plastic Candles, R.E. Seraphin, Portabella and more. I’ve been making music under the name Sad Eyed Beatniks since 2014; when the original intent was to make simple 4-track cassette recordings with vocals, guitars, bass, and drum machine and post to Soundcloud with screenshots of various musicians. In late 2019, I stopped recording line-in and learned to play the drums; the releases after tend to have a bigger sound. Sad Eyed Beatniks performed as a live band for the first time in 2021, with Karina Gill (Cindy, Flowertown) on guitar, Mike Ramos (Tony Jay, Flowertown) on drums, and Kati Mashikian (April Magazine, Mister Baby) on bass. While the last Sad Eyed Beatniks album, Claudia’s Ethereal Weaver focused on the themes of change and rebirth, the new album, Ten Brocades, looks at a series of vignettes from the eyes of different characters. Mike Ramos plays drums/keys and Karina Gill plays guitar/keys on a number of tracks, while Karina painted the wonderful cover of a Peking Opera singer”.

“Where do you fit in? Where do you belong? There’s a church with a “You Belong With Us” banner down the street from me, but I don’t think that it’s true. Sometimes the things you love can drain you. Sometimes the people you love can drain you. Where do you look to find support?”.

“Four Parisians meet and walk along extravagant galeries while a revolution is brewing outside the palace gates. Will it reach them? Were they caught off guard? The beaujolais runs dry. Rhinegraves eventually tear.”

About Ten Brocades

“When I was a kid, I would spend the summers with my father and step-mother at their apartment in a suburb just north of Stockholm. Most mornings, I would wake up to the smell of burning incense, the sounds of recorded shamisen & koto ensembles, and the sounds of my dad tending to his extensive orchid collection. One summer my dad gifted me a number of graphic novels that were translated and heavily adapted versions of classic Chinese novels for young readers; Journey To The West and Outlaws Of The Marshwere my favorites. The vast casts of characters, mythical adventures, and humorous situations that take place in these historical settings allowed me to connect to a culture of mine I always had a hard time accessing. “Ten Brocades” is like those comic books – but maybe these characters, adventures, and settings are a little more local.
The title “Ten Brocades” is the literal translation of a Cantonese chop suey-like dish, subgum, which means “numerous and varied.” The merging of multiple identities and the image of many silken adorned fabrics helped guide which tracks ended up on the album. The songs on Ten Brocades explore encounters in short moments in time, fading memories, friendships, and relationships; all from personalities whose stories seem to interweave with one another.“

His Mixtape: “My Mix, titled Strip Mall Minarets”

Now – Loose Strand

Now have become a staple of the San Francisco scene, playing regularly with Will (Now, Cindy) on guitar/vocals, Oli (Now, Famous Mammals, Violent Change, etc.) on drums, and Hannah on bass. The second half of their album And Blue Space Is Burning Noon (Sloth Mate Production, 2023) is truly amazing; solidified by great performances from Will and Oli. Oli’s drumming/percussion on “Loose Strand dazes me, while Will’s lyrics and delivery make it perfect. Oli will be playing bass in Sad Eyed Beatniks this summer/fall.

Spatulas – Somewhat Alike

Beehive Mind (Post Present Medium, 2024) came out earlier this year and I immediately loved the spacious feeling on all of the songs on this album. The guitar tones and Miranda’s meandering vocals really take you on a trip. Of the performers, I was only familiar with Kyle Raquipiso who played on releases from Portland bands LOX and Mope Grooves. Portland and Post Present Medium keep on putting out great music.

The Gomidas Band – Lady With The Black Silk Coat

I love coming across free piles of records, cassettes, CDs, stereo equipment, instruments, etc. There’s something exciting about finding something you’ve never heard before, not paying for it (or paying very little), stumbling across it then taking it home to discover how great it is…A couple of years ago I replied to a Craigslist ad for free records from an elderly man in the Haight and found the album “Rendezvous In Istanbul” by The Gomidas Band with a number of bellydancing, new age, and Bix Beiderbecke records; in surprisingly good condition, too. When I heard the track I immediately loved it, when I read the title of the track, I loved it more.

Shizuka – Lunatic Pearl

I forgot about this album until a few weeks ago. Mike Ramos and I were assembling the new Tony Jay cassettes at my place and were jumping from different artist Bandcamps – I pulled up Shizuka’s III (re-released on Concentric Circles in 2023) and immediately remembered how great it is. It seems like it fits within the world of the “Fog Pop” inspirations which seem to orbit around acts like Rose McDowall, The Cat’s Meow, Flying Saucer Attack, and the ever-expanding Roy Montgomery universe.

Headroom – City Lights

I bought this EP from ever/never (2019) near the time that it came out, but didn’t make the connection that this was the project of Kryssi from Mountain Movers until the last year or so. “City Lights” is that meeting point between creeping noise and song; and it’s really beautiful. Kryssi’s guitar work on the Mountain Movers albums is truly something to aspire to play.

Famous Mammals – Let The Light In

The genius of Stanley Martinez and company shines the brightest on the second Famous Mammals album Instant Pop Expressionism Now! (Siltbreeze Records, 2023). With Andy (Non Plus Temps, Naked Roommate, The World, Andy Human And The Reptoids), Amber (Non Plus Temps, Naked Roommate, The World), and Matt (Violent Change, Cuneiform Tabs) playing up a Swell Mapsian storm of noise, ‘78/’79 British indie punk (aka “post-punk”), and drawing from a slew of other deep cuts of the era. The first time I saw them live was at sunset on a pier in Oakland. They showed up almost an hour late, but the set was truly amazing.

Paris 1942 – Hex

Any music associated with Alan Bishop and Rick/Sir Richard Bishop of Sun City Girls is going to be ethereal, insane, or generally interesting. In Paris 1942 (recorded in 1982, released on Majora 1997) they are joined by Moe Tucker and a few others to make noisy, White Light/White Heat style recordings. “Hex” is one of the more accessible songs on the album, but still ends in a barrage of sound. I have only listened to this album online – hoping to find a vinyl copy at some point.

Amps For Christ – Memorial Immemorial

Since about 2019, every Paisley Shirt Records cassette order has been shipped with an extra cassette: be it mixtape by me, a mixtape by the artist, or an entire extra tape of music. It’s been a fun way of sharing my music interests, the interests of the artist, or just bombarding someone with an entire tape’s worth of music (if they wanted it or not). For the Portabella album, Return To The Fountain Of Olives, Jason made this great mixtape that included the Amps For Christ track Edward from their album Circuits (Vermiform, 1999). I had only heard the Jean Ritchie version (which I believe the AFC version takes from heavily), but I loved the crunchiness of the recording and the vocal melody contrasting with the Eastern instrumentation. I listened to Circuits a lot around this time: I loved the transitions from sludgy noise, British folk music, Eastern influenced hand (tabla?) drumming, and the great guitar and key lines. Tara Tavi is still making interesting music in Kris & Tavi, they had a Post Present Medium album in 2021 that is worth checking out.

Cuneiform Tabs – Gonged Fantasy

One of my favorite releases of 2024, Cuneiform Tabs s/t (Sloth Mate, 2024) combines lo-fi scrappiness with 60s pop melodies. Matt Bleyle (Violent Change, Famous Mammals) and Sterling Mackinnon (The False Berries, Violent Change) apparently exchanged tapes from multitrack cassette recorders from the Bay to England. There are a number of tracks I love on this album, but I keep coming back to Gonged Fantasy.

Radio India: The Eternal Dream Of Sound – Radio Varanasi

Next to early American folk and blues, I would say that the Sublime Frequencies discography is what I spend most of my time listening to. Their releases are these amazing mixes of field recordings, pirated radio recordings, or (possibly also pirated) collections from musical eras in regions that are often dismissed or simply ignored. The label is run by Hisham Mayet and Alan Bishop (Sun City Girls, The Dwarfs of East Agouza, Paris 1942, etc.). I am slowly collecting all of the CDs of the “Radio…” series and found “Radio India: The Eternal Dream Of Sound” (Sublime Frequencies, 2001) at a garage sale in Golden Gate Heights – I have loved its sprawling tracks. Alan Bishop compiled this while in India and pairs static radio sounds with all of these really interesting radio recordings. “Radio Varanasi” is really three tracks: the first is a pop male vocalist with traditional instrumentation, the second is a static-filled drone (possibly religious) male vocalist, while the third is this beautiful sounding female vocalist possibly from a musical.

Ten Brocades is out now on Meritorio Records. Look HERE for more information on Sad Eyed Beatniks.