We are so pleased to be opening for such a notable band in the history of our kind of music, The English Beat. If you have never been to Stern Grove before it is a long-standing San Francisco tradition to pack a picnic, a blanket, and a sweater for this renown concert series in a beautiful natural amphitheater on the southwest side of San Francisco.
We will be headlining the night, supported by the indie hip-hop sensation, Le Vice. The night will start out with a DJ set by Bortvan Ltd. (all vinyl by DJ Carlstone Rock and our very own Rebecca). This will be your first time to get your paws on a copy of our new CD, Friction and it will be blissful.
$10 for advance tickets (highly recommended). $12 at the door. 21+.
5 days+4 band members+1 Anthony+181 Kickstarter funders+many snacks+1 studio dog= 10 songs recorded!
We had a blast recording this album! We started out at a professional studio here in San Francisco, and then moved the show to Dave’s house. Wanna see how it went down? Check out our studio-destroying (album-recording) video!
So now what? We all in the midst of some bi-coastal mixing with Anthony Molina, our New York-based producer. Boy oh joy, are the songs sounding splendid, if we do say so ourselves. We are hoping for a spring release and some national touring! Stay tuned!
As part of our Kickstarter project, we’re doing a bit more behind-the-scenes stuff for this upcoming album. Today we’re sharing some of the songs that have inspired us as we were writing the album.
I love hearing rave-y synth sounds in a new context, and I’m a sucker for basses that sound like a kick drum with a discernible pitch. The vibe is upbeat without being cloying, it takes its time with a slow build. We’re still a bit hasty about getting to the business right away.
Those of you who’ve seen ‘Bagels in LA’ on YouTube already know we’re putting some rave-y synths to work, and I couldn’t resist using a similarly bouncy bass on another song still in the works.
I’d love to write an indie rock album using only symphonic instruments, and not just in a Sufjan Stevens kind of way. The drumbeat on the toms reminds me of kettle drums. We’ve got some strings one song and a french horn on another, so there’s still a tiny symphony peeking out.
The song also has a nice progression: pianos and toms, then move onto the effected bass and heavier synths, and even that string sample. We like to mix up our sound quite a bit — generally more across songs than within — so I appreciate that this one keeps morphing throughout the song. Beck was a master of that on Midnite Vultures.
The simple build from that Cure-ish beat and the bass adding in the pulsing synth and single note guitar line. That’s how to start a song. The entire song hits such a good balance between high energy and relaxed and in control. We’re still working out exactly how to begin a few of our songs, so perhaps this will yet inspire us.
Women’s voices are generally more challenging than men’s in an indie rock context. St. Vincent does it admirably. The backing chords are unpredictable enough that they draw me in every time. This whole album juxtaposes the ugly (overdriven guitars, semi-morbid lyrics) with the beautiful (her voice) in such a weirdly compelling way.
Rebecca’s voice has a similar kind of clarity, though our own attempts at juxtaposition are a little more prosaic.
A few songs have continued to inspire sound across multiple albums. This is one. Something about the way the beat bounces, with just a little bit of hip-hop and the guitar that fits in tight in the pocket. More about the instruments and the arrangement than the vocal delivery, it still keeps us in thrall.
Good beats are hard. It’s too temping to revert to the open hi-hat on 2 and 4 dance rock disco beat, and this remix avoids the cliche nicely. You’ll hear lots of rough and tough hi-hat action from Andre throughout the next album.
Guilty confession: we have a song we’ve just called ‘Spinto’ for months now. Songs lacking real names are odd beasts, the hot girl who hasn’t yet lost her braces. It’ll have a real name soon enough. It doesn’t sound *that* much like this band, but those who know what to look for will be able to pick it out.
Anyhow, this is my favorite Spinto Band song – the AABA song structure gives it an old-school vibe, and the chords are dark without being too melancholic.
This band is so much rougher than we could ever be, but if Rebecca was a man and we were all Canadian, well, we still wouldn’t be Wolf Parade. But it’s still a good example of how to make synths and guitars play nicely in a song, and it’s stuff like this that influences how Chad and Dave play together.
Ok ok, this was actually an inspiration for Pick Up Stick Up on our last (free!) EP, but since it’s such a good song and we didn’t do this last time, I’m shoving it into this pile and feigning ignorance. Also, they’re from San Francisco, and the bands we do hear and play with locally definitely impact how and what we play.
Anyhow, this song has that timeless quality, that’s exactly what we wanted on Pick Up Stick Up.
We were lucky enough to play with No-Fi Soul Rebellion twice, and we still talk about it. Mark (lead singer, composer, master-of-all) is some kind of pied piper of rock — we’ve seen entire rooms of drunken hipster lies on a grimy bar floor after he convinced them it was a good idea. His music is upbeat without being too earnest, and he’s fun without being funny — both are things to which we aspire.
After turning down a major record label (long story) to stay true to making what we love (good music and nice friends), we are teaming up with Kickstarter.com, a site that helps small-budget creative groups like us fund their projects.
The new album’s songs are written and oh-so good, the recording studio and producer are all picked out right down to the mics, but the deal is, we will only make the album if we reach our goal of raising $5000.
We are offering a bunch of cool rewards for fans who get involved: from early access to the new album, a song written just for you, a spot on the guestlist to all our shows for the next year. We will even fly our biggest fan out for a weekend with the band complete with a hipster picnic! Check out all the fun rewards here.
We will be documenting every bit of joy (and drama. oh the drama) of the recording process and sharing it with all fans who donate. Kickstarter doesn’t give much time to raise the money and that time starts right…now. If we don’t raise the complete amount, we don’t get any money for our project and we’ll go into a deep depression and write stoner rock ballads til the end of our days. So get involved today.
After much sweat, tears, and sparkles, we are pleased to announce that you can actually play Outta the Band on Rock Band! I know, how meta: playing a song about band breakups with your imaginary band on Rock Band. It’s going to be awesome!
We are very pleased to be one of the first few hundred bands to independently get our song on the Rock Band Network for your Xbox-rocking pleasure. Wondered what that rocking will look like? Check out this music video.
We are proud to present our newest recording, Crush. This (free!) 4-song collection is already getting great reviews.
The Bay Bridged writes, “Its four songs ring true to MFE’s fun, clever pop with its upbeat rhythms and catchy melodies.”
The Examiner writes, “Although a dash more polished and sophisticated, “Crush” is another dose of pure MFE awesomeness. Even with their sound a tad bit dressed up, MFE remains a uniquely funky and fresh sounding hidden San Francisco electro-rock gem.”
Along these auditory enjoyment, we invite you to experience some visual overload with our latest fan-made music video for Neon For You. It’s crazier than anything we could have made ourselves! And that’s saying something!
We are pleased to announce that our new EP,Crush, will be out June 17. This four song collection was recorded at the famous Hyde Street Studios over the course of one long non-lazy Sunday with super engineer, Scott McDowell. The EP was mixed by our favorite producer and world’s best hair haver, Anthony Molina. The album art was done by our designerly front femme, Rebecca.
Oh, and not to forget the best part…we are giving away CRUSH for FREE! Sign up for our emailing list to be the first to hear it!
We will be releasing our third recording on this splendid evening and we will be absolutely pumped to play for you as always.
Ticket price is $10. Buy tickets in advance! All ages.
Also playing: Dave’s awesome other band, Sir Salvatore and Total B.S. yep, that’s a Bob Seger cover band.
We are very excited to be a part of this benefit to raise money and awareness for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. Noelle and Shawn need our help to raise money for the AIDS Lifecycle! That’s why they’re throwing a kick-ass dance party! Cheap cocktails! Cheaper beers! Tandem bike photo booth! RSVP on Facebook.
Thanks so much to everyone who downloaded our album in January. We donated all the profits to Save the Children’s earthquake relief efforts in Haiti. $278 in total! Your contribution was very much appreciated!
Didn’t get on on the donating in exchange for a free album? Haiti still needs help. Donate to The Red Cross.
With a name like ours, our traffic rumbles every time the earth does. Most times, it’s small quakes and we hear folks’ reports to their bookshelves shaking for a few seconds. But the recent earthquake in Haiti was much more serious.
Listening to Bill Clinton and relief workers today on the radio, the resounding need is for money. So for the month of January, My First Earthquake are donating all the profits from our album downloaded through our site and Bandcamp to the Haitian earthquake relief efforts. Thanks in advance for your contribution.
Even if we don’t all celebrate the same holidays, we can at least agree that those ridiculous holiday sweaters are consistently made of unbreathable fabrics.
Therefore My First Earthquake brings you Holiday Sweaters for your listening and viewing enjoyment!
Hey Bay Area, October 17 is the 20th anniversary of the Loma Prieta Earthquake. In addition to gussying your survival kits, why not rock out all weekend?
Saturday, Oct 17, 11am: The Big Rumble [map] We rock early so you can practice safety drills for the rest of the day! FREE!
Our Pacific Northwest tour went so well that we can’t wait until we accrue enough vacadays to do it again! We met tons of awesome fans and bands in Seattle, Portland, Burlington and Bellingham; found out what it’s like to drive up the 5 with no A/C in the summer on seats made of duct tape; and how to love each other more deeply. Overall: a grand tour! Here’s the tour videos to prove it: Part 1, Part 2 & Part 3
We are absolutely ecstatic for you to hear our new album, DOWNSTAIRS: 10 new songs, amazingly produced by Mercury Rev’s Anthony Molina. We love our song, Cool in the Cool Way so much we think you should have it for free!
We play Cafe du Nord [map] with the femme-fabulous Blue Rabbit and the pop-not-crackle B an Not B. We will have copies of our new album for sale, we will have awesome surprises, and we will have the excitement of small children around the winter holiday season. We recommend buying tickets pre-sale! $10. It’s going to rock! Rb
We play The Make-Out Room [map] with Sir Salvatore. Not only do they make awesome “breezy jangle-pop,” they are fronted by your favorite guitarist, our bandmate, Dave Lean. We are so excited to play that we all got new outfits. The Make-Out Room is so classy! $7! Start your Saturday night out rockously! Rb
Excitement! This Friday, we head up to the rural Oakland hills to start a five-day all-out banging-singing-noodling fest (aka album recording) with hopefully no bird sounds caught on tape. Here’s some footage of us getting of crazy nervous at last band practice before recording.
In other news, we are one of Art Star’s picks for the month of February! They recommend us for road trips and the confused. Score! Glad we could help.
We are doing our first radio interview on Pirate Cat Radio this Thursday, February 18 at 9:15. Stream it or listen live: 87.9FM in SF. We will be spinning some songs we like, some songs we made, and fighting like sibs…on air!
As a final offering, here’s another song off our upcoming album. It’s a live recording called Outta the Band. It’s a real punker of a song and I love singing it! //Rb
All the songs are written, so now it’s time to record the next album. We’re flying in an overly-talented friend of ours from New York:Anthony Molina. He’s played with Mercury Rev and Longwave, and now he’s playing producer on our full-length album. We’re shacking up in a little house in the Oakland hills in a next week. Quaint alert!
We’ll be posting songs in progress, photos, and videos along the way. To wet whistles, here’s a live recording of one of our favorite new songs, Vow to Vowels.
We’re very excited to return to the guaranteed goodtimes venue and site of our virginal stage voyage, San Francisco’s The Knock-Out [map] for a ball of a time hosted by the lovely, The Lower Class Revolt. We will be headlining with the support of other dangerous elements, Raised By Robots and Bears! Bears! Bears! What a Wednesday. All for $5! / see you there, Rb
Oh, joyous joy! We get to play Bottom of the Hill (map) again! This time with “radiant and lushly orchestrated” headliner, The Botticellis and the”multi-instrument pop attack”, The Old-Fashioned Way who will be celebrating the release of their newest EP! We are so excited to open this fun night! Score!! 18+/$8
Playing at Bottom of the Hill (map) with Oh My God and Highway Patrol. We are so smiley excited! Our first time playing the famed BoTH! A heart-fluttering thought for any SF band (or any band for that matter)! We play first so come early, and stay for Chicago’s un-laxing indie monkey rock, Oh My God and San Francisco’s own queen of The Road, Highway Patrol. It’s going to be such a memorable night I’m already having flashbacks (err..forwards?…err) $8! //Rb
Tune your (radio) knobs:
We are on “The Next Big Thing” on KALX-FM 90. 7 & kalx.berkeley.edu, Monday Sept 8: 6-7pm PT.
Some nice blog rumblings:
“They’re snappy, energetic, and just plain playful” Mainstream Isn’t So Bad
“What do graphic designers do in their spare time? If you said make catchy pop music, you’d be correct.” Howard Who
“I was very pleased when their song “Teleprompt” was really catchy and had an interesting story” Appetite For Distraction
“My First Earthquakes non solo scrivono ottime email di presentazione, con buona dose di autoironia e pomposità” Brugo. (you know Italian, right?)
A podcast complete with robo-impressions! The contrast podcastfeatures musicians introducing their own songs. We give good intro if we do say so ourselves…
The latest in socio-networking technology! Bump us on The Sixtyone!
There’s a new way to buy our music that rewards you for being such a Sally-Come-Early to our music! It’s called Popcuts and we currently the #1 top artist on the site! Buy now to get a 30% cut of our future profits! We are also mentioned on TechCrunch! Horray for the interwebs!
Playing at Amnesia (map) with Young Moderns. They start off the night with awesome power pop-bop, we go second doing our thang, and DJ Dirty Dishes showcases his vintage soul collection in between and all around! Rock! $7!
Our first EP and the show this Sunday are getting some hot coverage. This week, we were featured in The Bay Bridged, SF Weekly and this from The Deli SF:
“This first EP from My First Earthquake, entitled Tremors, is totally fun and infectious. The six tracks are adorned with plenty of synth and hip-shaking bass lines, making for a continuous stream of well-executed, straightforward indie pop.”
Our shipment of The Tremors EP CDs arrived in the mail yesterday in time for the show on Sunday. We are really happy with them! Hope you will be too! Here are some hot shots.
Our EP release party at The Makeout Room (map). 8pm/ $7. Playing with the magestically awesome Jonesin’ (Matt Jones of Master/Slave). And as if that’s not enough fun, we’ll have a post-punk dance party with DJ Carlstone Rock after the live music! RSVP: Facebook & SonicLiving.
