Stern Grove with The English Beat

Sunday, July 17, 2011.

Show starts at 2pm. Arrive early for a good spot.

Stern Grove Amphitheater in San Francisco [map]

RSVP on Facebook

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.

This is a free concert!

Friction: Album Release Party

Wednesday, June 8, 2011.
Doors at 8:30. Show at 9:30pm.

Cafe du Nord in San Francisco [map]

RSVP on Faceebook

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+.

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!

Pop Roxx Reunion

Saturday, January 29 at 9pm.

DNA Lounge in San Francisco [map]

We perform at 11pm. DJs and dancing all night: KidHack (Future Universal), Aaron (Popscene), Mitch (Meat), Starr (Apocalypso)

Cool kids aged 18 years or more welcome!
$5 before 10pm. $10 after.

We are honored to be playing the first of a new monthly event called The Neighborhood. We will be playing with a band favorite, Maus Haus!

RSVP to be on the *list*

Give a listen below, or download the entire mix (55 MB .zip file)

My Girls – Animal Collective

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.

Rich Doors – New Villager

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.

One, Two…One – Say Hi

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.

Actor Out Of Work – St. Vincent

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.

Pile Of Gold – The Blow

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.

Be Good (RAC Remix) – Tokyo Police Club

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.

Oh Mandy – The Spinto Band

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.

Dear Sons And Daughters Of Hungry Ghosts – Wolf Parade

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.

Fables – The Dodos

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.

Dark Arts – No-Fi Soul Rebellion

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.

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.

We play first followed by Sky Larkin and one of favorite bands as a band, BLOOD RED SHOES! and the always vibrant, DJ Aaron Axelsen of Live105.

Playing with The Dont’s, Spiro Agnew (CD release party) and Phantom Kicks. A night of severe rocking indeed!

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’ve got a bunch of new songs to play! We are thrilled to be accompanied by LA’s Little Red Radio and SF’s Elissa P.

$8 Buy tickets in advance.

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!

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!

The Rickshaw Stop [map] in SF

Playing with The Downer Party and The Attachments

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.

Thursday, May 6 at 9pm.
1015 Folsom [map]

Guest of honor and subject of all our songs: Joan Rivers
Tickets: Film Society Members $60 & General Public $75

See you there, film fans!

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.

Didn’t get on on the donating in exchange for a free album? Haiti still needs help. Donate to The Red Cross.

!!! (Chk Chk Chk)
and local favs, Maus Haus and Sugar & Gold.

This show is a NoisePop Music Festival show and boy are we excited to play it!
Buy TICKETS early! ($20 and going fast!)

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.

The Rumble at Cafe du Nord [map]. Playing with Jaguar Love, The Butterfly Bones, BAGeL Ted and more.

This is an official NoisePop warm-up partaytay! The 5th Anniversary of The Owl Magazine and freakin’ FREE if you RSVP!

Therefore My First Earthquake brings you Holiday Sweaters for your listening and viewing enjoyment!

Saturday, Oct 17, 11am: The Big Rumble [map] We rock early so you can practice safety drills for the rest of the day! FREE!

Saturday, Oct 17, 9:30pm: The Hemlock Tavern [map] with The Chop! and Goodbye Nautilus. We play first. 21+ $6. RSVP to our Facebook event.

Sunday, Oct 18, 11am: Bernal Heights Fiesta on the Hill [map] with pony rides, a petting zoo, and a pumpkin patch! All ages. Free!

Monday, August 24: Eugene, OR
At The Samurai Duck [map] with Shining Through and A Makeshift Resolution

Tuesday, August 25: Portland, OR
At Dunes [map] with Soft Tags and The Timbreines

Wednesday, August 26: Seattle, WA
At Sunset Tavern [map] with Elba and Man Rockwell

Thursday, August 27: Open for suggestions
Email us if you have a house party or venue

Friday, August 28: Burlington, WA
At Common Ground [map] with No-Fi Soul Rebellion, Vera, The Ghost, and Pillow Army

Saturday, August 29: Bellingham, WA
At The Rogue [map] with No-Fi Soul Rebellion and Thee Satisfaction

Wednesday, July 22 (LA): Playing West Hollywood’s The Viper Room [map] with Heavy Water Experiments and Pericardium. We play at 10pm/$10.

Tickets are going fast for our release show, so get your ticket soon!

Because you love our bodies, not just our minds: we made a music video for Cool in The Cool Way.

My First Earthquake: Our last 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

My First Earthquake: recording our second album

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.

Coming up: MFE at the Knock-Out: February 25th.

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 podcast features 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!

“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.”