To my San Francisco musical brothers, where to move?

beats me · Post by **beats me** » Fri Aug 10, 2007 7:53 pm

Believe me, parking will be a factor in this. Where my friend lives in the Mission is ideal. There are a lot of lofts around and street parking where you park perpendicular to the sidewalk instead of parallel. I've never spent more than 5 minutes looking for parking and naver had to park more than a block away. It's also good that I get off work at 3:30 so I can beat the rush hour to the parking spots. Once I'm in the city I don't plan to drive anywhere.

I can also reach that point of status pretention where I never leave the city to visit any of my friends that don't live in the city. Even if we are just going to hang out in their nicer house with plenty of parking it's still better to kick it in my shithole just because it is in The City.

Tone Deft · Post by **Tone Deft** » Fri Aug 10, 2007 9:23 pm

I used to get Taco Bell after work, do a lap around the neighborhood then eat dinner while waiting for someone to leave. I also used to just park on the sidewalk, as long as the tickets were less than the cost to rent a spot ($150) I came out ahead. Now I pay for parking in a lot that used to be a gas station. some time last night my car was hit... for the 11th fucking time. no worries really, they left info and hit #10 was in the same spot and I never got it fixed and I've been waiting for someone to hit it again, sho 'nuff. every car that I know what type it was that hit me was an SUV, stupid fucking assholes. literally HALF of the people leave notes, half are assholes. I know plenty of people that don't have cars, never have. the public transportation is pretty good. the city eats cars, I used to be a car guy, now I just have a '95 miata that's shitloads of fun to drive, first thing I did on it was add a louder horn.

it's also great having a small car, I've watched and waited for people to give up on spots, then I slide right in.

the more I think about it, for the single guy living near the park is major. in my single days the amazing displays of female flesh was more than enough to get my ass up to the park for bike rides and exercise (it's totally ON today, went to the park at lunch), it's also a great place to socialise, get involved in after work sports, stuff like that. for the single guy I also have to recommend that you pop your head into the beauty bar at 19th and mission. beatuy bar should be the official antonym of 'sausage fest'.
http://sanfrancisco.citysearch.com/prof ... y_bar.html
there's hipsters and artists in the mission but it's not like you can go door to door asking "hi, do you make trance?" get involved but if you really want THE experience, sit yourself somewhere that's a short walk to bars, florida's 7 blocks from mission so you're looking at a 10 block stumble through an area I would not stumble through. a coworker who lives at 20th and florida (small world) has told me about people being jumped outside his place. totally your call.

yeah, I haven't left the city limits in months. keep a spot open for people to crash, they'll appreciate it.

sub.mod.ern · Post by **sub.mod.ern** » Sat Aug 11, 2007 11:07 am

I'm living in the Haight area and love it... I can walk to Amoeba Records to buy CDs, walk to Robotspeak to try out gear, walk to the Independent to see shows, go running in Golden Gate Park down to the ocean, and I can stumble to and from some great bars. I got rid of my car when I moved here and don't miss it, although I do rely on being able to borrow the girlfriend's when I need to get out of town. My music partner lives in the Mission and he loves it down there, very cool bars and restaurants, lots going on. I also have another musician friend who lives in the Tenderloin, it's a little noisy and sketchy for him there and he's looking to move back to the Sunset. It can be intense living in a city, and I'm not sure I'll be able to put up with it for the rest of my life, but like others have said it's very very much worth doing at some point.

A couple very cool guys, Onyx and Mark, have been doing a monthly sign-up electronic music thing, it is pretty low key but great to be able to have a couple beers, listen to random peoples music and talk to other people who are using Ableton/etc. The one thing it needs is more people showing up... the next one is Aug 20, and looking at the lineup it should be a good one. I won't be playing (like I said, it should be good!) but I'll be there, so say hi if you show up and I'll buy you a beer or something...

http://www.myspace.com/backlitloungesf

Robotspeak also host live local music, and have classes on Ableton/Reaktor/etc where you can meet other musicians.

I checked out your myspace, you also might be interested in hooking up with the Ambi-Sonic guys:

http://www.myspace.com/ambisonic

They do a monthly downtempo thing at Madrone Lounge in Western Addition, and throw other chillout/ambient related events around the city They are releasing a compilation CD of local ambient/chillout tunes this fall. We'll be playing at one of their parties next weekend, along with some other live electronic acts + DJs.

It definitely helps to find some people to hang out and work with on a regular basis, which is why I listed all those things above. The city can be inspiring but also a little intimidating at first, and very distracting if you aren't careful...

Good luck! And Tone Deft's big long post is spot on and full of great info.

kuniklo · Post by **kuniklo** » Sat Aug 11, 2007 4:02 pm

Tone Deft wrote:one thing about the north bay and music that you have over SF is that you guys can find places to practice and get LOUD. studios in SF are rare and not cheap, even finding someone who has a space is tough

You can't overestimate the importance of this. How is art supposed to flourish in a city where no artists can afford to even *live*, let alone find work space. Interesting art almost never comes from affluence.

I've been here in S.F. for way too long and honestly I think if you're interested in a healthy local electronic music scene there are much better and cheaper places to live.

KU · Post by KU » Sat Aug 11, 2007 7:08 pm

Tone Deft wrote:dunno if I ever hit Aptos. is it like montara/moss beach/half moon bay further north? santa cruz mountains are a jewel.

aptos is just south of Capitola and east side Santa Cruz. I can be in the water at pleasure point within 15 minutes from my house. Moe's alley is my closest hip bar with nice soundsystem. The outdoor parties here are where its at. Hunter from STS9 lives here up in the redwoods.

debu · Post by **debu** » Sat Aug 11, 2007 7:18 pm

Tone Deft wrote: some time last night my car was hit... for the 11th fucking time. no worries really, they left info and hit #10 was in the same spot and I never got it fixed and I've been waiting for someone to hit it again, sho 'nuff. every car that I know what type it was that hit me was an SUV, stupid fucking assholes. literally HALF of the people leave notes, half are assholes. I know plenty of people that don't have cars, never have. the public transportation is pretty good. the city eats cars, I used to be a car guy, now I just have a '95 miata that's shitloads of fun to drive, first thing I did on it was add a louder horn. it's also great having a small car, I've watched and waited for people to give up on spots, then I slide right in.

Sorry to hear bout your car man.. I got hit on Stanyan Tuesday cycling.. Guy was acting like a complete jackass revving his engine and playing like he was gonna run me off the road. 6 blocks away he did. I came out with a nice concussion and a full body bruise on one side. The twat was driving a jacked up pickup truck, black tinted windows, with a large Giants sticker in the back. Judging by that, the perp probably lives in Walnut creek.
A med student next door brought me brownies and bandages so I guess it's not all bad

beats me · Post by **beats me** » Sat Aug 11, 2007 8:05 pm

Thanks everybody. A lot more to soak in here than I even hoped for and it's for the most part positive. Nobody informed me of any possible negative aspects that I wasn't really already aware of.

It also sounds like I'll have a lot of people to either meet or hang out with. Good shit. The friends I have now are getting old and I mean that literally with all that entails. I'm the odd ball black sheep that isn't rushing out to get married or buy a house. I'm more of a home body then I used to be but I still enjoy going out. Shame on anybody who lives in SF that hardly leaves the house.

Tone Deft · Post by **Tone Deft** » Sat Aug 11, 2007 8:28 pm

debu - holy fuck, glad you're ok. I've had run ins with cars and have dented a few rear quarter panels myself, on foot and on the bike (and more but I'm not posting that here

.). part of city living is being really close to people, 99% are good, just a few bad ones can make a difference (just like this board.)

beats me · Post by **beats me** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 3:47 am

A month or so from moving into the city.... BUT I heard on the radio that they are debating having some kind of toll to get into parts of the city during certain hours of weekdays from any road, something ridiculous like $10. WTF?!?!?!? So between the toll bridge and this stupid fee it could cost me $14 a day just to go to work and back, and that's not including gas. As if it isn't expensive enough to live in SF and it's not like there are enough jobs within the city limits to keep people there or that public transportation reaches every part of the Bay Area. Well, unless you want a 3 hour commute in each direction. That is beyond fucked up.

chrysalis33rpm · Post by **chrysalis33rpm** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 3:36 pm

Beats Me, I'm getting here a bit late but wanted to throw in my 2 cents:

First of a do it, go, SF is fantastic if you can make the bills. Second, its all about transportation - muni lines are your ticket to being able to park your car and not use it except to get out of the city. Or not have car, have you looked into using Caltrain to get to work? Have you thought about how much money you'd save without a car? If I had to have a car, I'd get parking to go with, save years of your life from stress.

From what you say, beats, the mission seems like your hood. All the bars and restaurants, hipsters, Dolores Park (whoa, great view!) central location, good weather, and good transit connections. Other interesting parts of the city are just coming into their own (Dogpatch, SOMA, Mission Bay) or are great but more family oriented (Potrero, Noe Valley, Bernal Heights). Skip North Beach (expensive and too many tourists, forget ever parking), the Tenderloin (depressing), the Sunset, Richmond, or the Marina. I would never live west of Divisadero because of the fog...its not bad in the eastern part of the City, really.

For places to practice and get LOUD, look into warehouse spaces. I lived in a warehouse in Hunter's Point for 6 years, and there were at least 3 different practice spaces in the building, parties that went all night spilling into the street, etc. Those were the proverbial days.

Have a great time!