The Jingle Bell quadrant of the year is upon us, and hey, why not pick up something for the music lover, art geek, or otherwise rather hip person in your life?
Holiday vino? Pick up a snazzy Filmore Wine Opener from that lauded concert venue for a mere 10 bucks. It’s functional and affordable. They’ve also partnered with Green Apple Books on some mighty stylish record slipmats ands bags, available exclusively at Green Apple stores.
Speaking of Green Apple: Like to swim and read books at the same time? Purchase a nifty Green Apple Books swimcap for under 13 bones. It’s the perfect gift for the underwater intellectual in your life.
Fiending for traditional Christmas tunes equipped with East Bay funk? World-famous Tower of Power is releasing its first-ever holiday album this year.
Or snap up a slice of legendary DJ Blackstone’s vinyl collection, being sold after he passed two years ago, to benefit the DJ Blackstone Grant to help local DJs build their careers.
Maybe donate to some art non-profits like WAM, Womens Audio Mission in SF, the nonprofit dedicated to the advancement of women, girls, and gender-expansive individuals in music production and the recording arts, or Hip-Hop For Change, uplifting the wave of positive art in our communities.
Get the point, peeps? It doesn’t have to break the budget to show you care. Consider this guide a no-presh holiday look about. Have a laugh, and use the dang wine opener, as we run down gift ideas for your Special Holiday Ham or Ooh La La Santa Baby. Â
Let’s go:
CREEM MAGAZINE GOODIES AND BUNDLES
Need to know why moshpits always go counter-clockwise? Haunted in your dreams by “Boy Howdy!“? Legendary rock magazine Creem, founded in Detroit in 1969 by a group of scruffy rebel journalists, relaunched in 2022 as a awesome large-format quarterly Creem. “America’s Only Rock ‘n Roll Magazine” also brought back a fleet of delectable merch, for that voracious reader in your life who can’t quit underground rock chic. There are some tasty underground bundles, too, that’ll make their stockings rock.
Check it all out here.
TODD KURNAT: NATURE TEES
The Bay Area has a distinct t-shirt culture all to its own. You might have caught artist, designer & muralist Todd Kurnat’s work around town. From large murals to cozy tees, hoodies, and hats, Kurnat’s depictions always maintain this unmistakable energy around the bond nature and humans share via an animal’s watchful eye. It’s a sharp, wordless jab on how we desperately need to look out for our friends who were here way before us.
“Eyes are the windows to the soul,” stated Kurnat via email. “The inclusion of eyes in much of my work stems from this sentiment. However, it has taken on new meanings as my work evolves. While my intention to connect humans with nature remains the same, I now hope that connection also stirs curiosity, leading to the protection of the endless beauty of my favorite artist, Mother Nature.”
His Eye Heart long-sleeve tee brings the sun out in any month. Check out more prints and wearables here.
TASTE IN MUSIC: EATING ON TOUR WITH INDIE MUSICIANS (CHRONICLE BOOKS)
Whenever I talk to musicians who are heading out on the road for a tour, I always try to ask them, “Hey bud, what are your ideas for eats once you hit the road?” ‘Cause that’s the most important thing, next to packing wet wipes, when touring, right?
Taste in Music: Eating on Tour with Indie Musicians, written by musician Alex Bleeker of Real Estate and food and travel journalist Luke Pyenson, formerly of Frankie Cosmos, gives gritty, off-the-cuff detail meets wisdom tales from Weyes Blood, Fleet Foxes, Bob Mould, Dawn Richard, Sylvan Esso, Kevin Morby, Pavement, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, PUP, Portugal. The Man, The Beths, Talking Heads’ Chris Frantz, and many more. Shared meals do indeed lead to other types of bonds that have nothing to do with music—and help avoid the dreaded “tour bloat.”
Buy it here.
DUB MISSION COOZIE CAN COOLER
No matter how many hot rewinds you get in a set, dub reggae hero DJ Sep ensures your beverage stays cool and refreshing. Feel free to peruse through DJ Sep’s Dub Mission collection, fully loaded with tees, stickers, and coffee cups; but we all know Christmas just ain’t Christmas without the coozie. Thank you DJ Sep!
Hop in and buy some here.
AMELIA RAY MUG & NOTEBOOK
A San Francisco native, writer, composer, and performer, Amelia Ray will make you feel something. So why don’t you sip and write about it? Take in and document those or your moments with Ray’s “Family Wherever I Roam” notebook and mug. Both items feature a lyric from the 2020 single, “Constant Traveller”.
“Between singing the blues
And long nights with cheap booze
I make family wherever I roam
There just ain’t no way to be homesick when you’ve got no home”
Make a toast and jot some thoughts down with this year-round holiday double-pack present.
Good on ya, Amelia Ray.
Grab them here.
