Scranton - Oct 10 @ El Rio & Oct 16 @ Pissed Off Pete’s

First film day of "Jenny" video shoot. photo by Jane Tyska

Margaret Scranton (guitar) Wendy Russell (vocals) Jane Tyska (bass guitar) and Steven (drums)

LittleBook: Why did you start a band??

Margaret: I set out to be a songwriter and needed a group. My heroes, such as Randy Rhoads, Eddie Van Halen and David Gilmour were in rock bands, so I thought I should do that.

LB: How did you find each other??

Margaret: I've spent 20 years playing in bands in the Bay Area and this group came together through friends, family and fellow musicians.

Jane: I'm from the East Coast and I've been playing for 20 years also and had the fortune of meeting Margaret through a drummer I met at a jam night. We're also both photographers and enjoy sharing both artistic pursuits. I feel really fortunate to be in this band.

LB: What's your most memorable moment as a band??

Margaret: Playing on the huge stage in front of City Hall in the Battle of the Bands at this year's Pride celebration.

Jane: Ditto with the Pride show, great wall of sound! Also the "She Riffs" show we played at the Red Devil Lounge with Gretchen Menn of Sticks & Stones, Shelley Doty, Dolorata and Groovy Judy. It was a awesome celebration of Bay Area female lead guitarists.

LB: Where do you practice?

Jane: My garage. Classic right? The neighbors fortunately love us.

Margaret: Yeah, I'm old school.

LB: What do you drink at practice?

Margaret: Sierra Nevada or Sierra Nevada, it depends on my mood.

Jane: She's the boss.

Wendy: (our singer) I'm a rebel and drink Guiness.

LB: What do you do at practice when you’re not practicing?

Margaret: Talk.

Jane: Listen to Margaret talk.

Wendy: Listen to Margaret talk.

LB: What's the hardest thing about being a band in 2009?

Margaret: The global competition. The internet makes it easier for us to be out there but we could be lost in an ocean of countless artists.

Jane: Some people's short attention span and inability to recognize the depths in art.

LB: What's the best / worst thing about being a band in San Francisco??

Margaret: The best thing is I get to sleep in my own bed and the worst is that I'm not on tour.

Jane: The best and worse thing is having a friend base while trying to build a fan base.

LB: What do you want people to know about your band, what are you doing next??

Margaret: We write songs to inspire the soul and we plan on doing a new recording and release next year.

Jane: Margaret's really modest, but she just had a nice little write-up in the November issue of Guitar Player magazine. We're planning another "She Riffs" show in early 2010 and are making our way to L.A. again soon. We'll also be playing a bunch of shows in the Bay Area.

LB: What’s up with your CD where can I get it, where did you record it??

Jane: Margaret's "Born Ready" CD is distributed through Tunecore and Snocap (dubious, we're checking them out!) and also ITunes and CDBaby.

Margaret: We recorded with Tim Ryan at 7th Circle Studios in Oakland, CA. Tim perfected the N-72 microphone pre-amp that you can find on www.seventhcircleaudio.com

LB: Favorite local Band or a memorable show??

Jane: Margaret's side project the Hormones, a kick-ass all-girl Ramones tribute band. You guessed it, she's Johnny. Also, Sticks & Stones and Zepparella, featuring the amazing Gretchen Menn on lead guitar. I also love Luvhed. There are so many talented musicians in the area, I can't even begin to name a fraction of the ones I enjoy.

Margaret: My favorite local band is Wire Graffiti featuring Katherine Sawyer on vocals. Katherine sang on "Maggie's Butterfly" on my "Born Ready" CD. My most memorable show was seeing Van Halen at the Cow Palace at 1982. That was the moment I decided to become a guitar player.

LB: Favorite venue to Play??

Margaret: Slims or Jane's garage. I'm old school, remember?

Jane: Red Devil Lounge or the Uptown in Oakland. In lieu of that, my garage.

LB: Have you played El Rio before?

Margaret: Yes, many times.

Jane:Not yet, looking forward to it and helping out Rocket Dog Rescue. Woof!

LB: What do you like about it?

Margaret: Love the Patio!

Jane:Don't know yet, get back to me after Oct. 10th!

LB: Do any of the members ever take their shirts off at a
show or at practice?

Margaret: No.

Jane:Only in my garage.

LB: Who's the smelliest member after a sweaty gig?

Jane: It depends on how you define smelly.

LB: Favorite pre / post show; food, indulgence or ritual??

Margaret: Pre-show, like to grab a cheeseburger or chicken burrito. Post-show, ice-cold Sierra Nevada and re-apply my Chapstick. I think Sierra should sponsor Scranton.

Jane:Love to protein up on pre-show sushi. Post-show a couple of beers and yoga with Margaret the instructor.

LB: Where do you think live music is heading?

Margaret: Right into the back pocket of our youth.

Jane: Hopefully in our newly digital world it will have a resurgence complete with smell and sweat.

LB: How do you feel about people downloading your songs for free , do you offer free downloads?

Margaret: No one sets out to work for free, but I do understand the need for promotion.

Jane: It's just about the same as the analog way of giving out free CDs for promotion which all fledgling bands do.

RadioStar SF - Jul 29 @ Kimo’s

Jay Skyler - Guitar
Skarkrow - bass
Cameron Landers - Drums & Backing Vocals

LittleBook: Why did you start a band??
RadioStar SF: Jay Skyler (Lead Vocals & Lead Guitar): I think
everybody has something to say in life. And there are
certain things that can really only be expressed with a
distorted guitar, at high volume, through a wall of
4x12’s, playing with a killer band. There’s
nothing else I’d want to do with my life.

Cameron Landers (Drums & Backing Vocals): I've wanted
to start a rock band ever since I was 10 years old and my
best friend's big brother had a rock band out in their
garage. I told my parents, “I already know what I'm going
to be when I grow up!"

LB: How did you find each other??
Cameron: Jay and I have been working together since May 2002 going through at least 13 different bass players along the way! We first met when our two previous bands played a show together back in Oct 2001. Due to irreconcilable differences with his band members Jay ended up leaving the band immediately after the show.

Not long after I was let go from the Tribal Goth band that I was playing
in for playing too loudly and replaced by a drum machine. Two weeks later after
I was let go one of my bandmates contacted me to let me
know that Jay was looking to try out members for his band
and would I be interested? Well I responded immediately,
went in to audition and the chemistry between Jay and I
meshed immediately...therefore I was hired right on the
spot!

LB: What's your most memorable moment as a band??
Cameron: Going up to Medford, Oregon to play a show and
being both played and interviewed on a major radio station.

Jay: The night we got banned from Alameda was pretty
memorable, but I’ll agree with Cam on this one.

LB: Where do you practice? What do you drink at practice? What
do you do at practice when you’re not practicing?
Jay: We practice in the basement of an old San Francisco
whorehouse.

Cameron: Better known as Francisco Studios in San
Francisco. I always have my 64 oz 7-11 double gulp of either
Sunkist or Barqs Root Beer...need loads of caffeine while
I'm pounding my skins! When not practicing we're usually
sitting around talking smack.


Jay: I like grape soda. We’re partial to the dumb
flavors. We save the booze for afterwards. Better to
go out and get drunk with beautiful women then to get drunk
in a sweaty rehearsal studio with a bunch of dudes.

LB: What's the hardest thing about being a band in 2009?
Jay: Cash, plain and simple. It’s harder nowadays
to hustle up $1500 bucks in venture capital to fund my crazy schemes, like our skateboard company.

Cameron: We’ve paid off our investors with a profit
every time though. People have always loved our
merchandise.
Jay: We basically make what we like with the
understanding that we’re really not that different from
anyone else.

LB: What’s the best thing about playing in SF?
Cameron: Playing in a town where people have more of an
appreciation for artists, originality and just being from a
major city.

Jay: Free drinks, hot women, a tradition of mind blowing
rock n roll, and if you skate, the hills just rule. Well
going down anyways. Going up them blows.

LB: What do you want people to know about your band, what are
you doing next??
Jay: We turn it up, we tear it up. We are not hobbyists. We
are the real deal. We play every dive bar like its Madison
Square Garden or the Cow Palace. Come see us and rock the
fuck out. We have a damned good time.



LB: What's up with your CD where can I get it, where did you
record it??
Cameron: You can find both our CD's on CD Baby and iTunes.
The links to both of those are on both our website which is
www.radiostarsf.com and on our MySpace page at
www.myspace.com/radiostar. We recorded it at House of Faith
Studios in Oakland with Bart Thurber and mastered it at
Armin Hammer Studios in San Francisco where major bands like
Creedence Clearwater Revival were mastered.

LB: Favorite local Band or a memorable show??
Cameron: I'd say that our most memorable gig would have to
be Davidson's Distillery in Reno. Our favorite local band
would probably be Ring Children.

Jay: Ring Children’s definitely one of my favorites. Lots
of great bands in S.F.

LB: Favorite venue to Play??
Cameron: My favorite venues where we've had the most fun
have been The Eagle, Thee Parkside, The DNA and Davidson's
Distillery.

Jay: Had a great time at The Knockout last Wednesday as
well. Great sound guy too.

LB: Have you played at Kimo's before, what do you like about it?
Cameron: We played Kimo's all the time when we were starting out. Playing there was always a lot of fun, always a lively crowd!

Jay: Our first show was actually at Kimo’s. Kimo’s is rock n roll to the core.

LB: Do any of the members ever take their shirts off at a show
or at practice??
Jay: We feel that’s the drummer’s exclusive privilege.

Cameron: I always take my shirt off at both being that I'm
the drummer I sweat the most!

LB: Who's the smelliest member after a sweaty gig??
Cam: Self explanatory!!!

LB: Favorite pre / post show; food, indulgence or ritual??
Cameron: Pre: McDonald’s loads of caffeine and warming up
on the drums before going out and playing live. Post: Beer,
beer, and more beer!
Jay: I don’t eat anything particular before or after a
show. But a couple of shots of Old Granddad can hit the spot
before a set. I’m pretty notorious, however, for
stupid dive bar guitar tricks like drinking a bottle of
whiskey with my right hand and continuing to solo with just
my left hand.

LB: Where do you think live music is heading??
Cameron: I feel that eventually independent bands are going
to get bigger through the internet than bands already signed
to a major label. Smaller venues are drawing larger crowds
due to the bad economy.
Jay: Yeah, mainstream corporate rock is out of ideas and
out of excuses.

LB: How do you feel about people downloading your songs for
free, do you offer free downloads??
Cameron: No we do not, this is how we feed ourselves and
pay for our recordings. It always seemed weird that people
could just download band's music for free. However if our
fans want our music so badly that they're willing to go
through the hassle of trying to steal it from us then our
props go out to them!
Jay: Yeah, the truly bad ass would steal it from the
Corporate Megastore. 99% of people won’t listen to a free
CD. Bottom line, people think something is worth
exactly what they pay for it. If they pay $10 bucks for it,
they’ll play it over and over again.
But you can always listen to a bunch of our stuff for free
on www.Radiostarsf.com, and www.myspace.com/radiostar.
Plus I see bootlegs of our performances pop up on you tube
as well, if you want to do a little hunting. There’s
something very cool yet profoundly disturbing about a
RadioStar SF show bootlegged on cheap cell phone.