Cindy - Further Listening Playlist

2021, Cindy, Dinked Edition, Further Listening, Playlist, Tough Love -

Cindy - Further Listening Playlist

San Francisco has been turning up a lot of our favourite bands these past few years, with the SF labels Mt St Mtn and Paisley Shirt, along with Tough Love in the UK, bringing most of them to our attention. Cindy's third record, 1:2, has been on heavy rotation here for months and has finally seen release this week (as a Dinked Edition, or on blue vinyl). 

BUY: Cindy - 1:2

To follow up the Further Listening playlist Cindy's Karina Gill made us for her other band Flowertown, we have another here. As usual (these San Francisco bands all seem to have impeccable taste) there's some great stuff here. But before we get to that, the band kindly answered a few questions for us

- Tell us a little about how Cindy came together?

Cindy has a somewhat haphazard origin story. Karina started writing songs, after working out a few simple covers on a found guitar with the help of the internet. She wasn't connected to the music scene in San Francisco yet and wasn't thinking about having a band. Simon lived in the same house, overheard Karina and offered to play drums. They played a few times together, and, on one of those days, Karina was at the grocery store and Jesse was the cashier. They'd met once before briefly through friends of friends, but couldn't have told you each others' names. Jesse did the polite cashier thing of asking how Karina's day was and she said it was great because she got to play music. Jesse said he wished he'd played music that day and Karina asked if he played bass and they exchanged phone numbers. Karina met Aaron a year or so later at a party in a small beach town north of San Francisco. Karina had been wanting to find a keyboard/synth player since the band started and Aaron's joining the band felt really natural. 

- Were you all in bands previously?

Simon has been playing music for a long time and has played in a number of San Francisco bands, including Curse of the Birthmark and Fuckwolf, and currently plays with other projects. Aaron was in POW! (LA) and has a project with a friend called Gravité. Jesse has had other projects, including a longstanding current project called Names. Cindy was Karina's first experience of playing music.

- What were the bands that changed it all for you growing up?

For Karina, it's not so much about a band in particular but encounters with music. Maybe most central was a series of mixtapes that a penpal made for Karina around age eleven. There were all sorts of music on these tapes, but the early punk and early post-punk tapes really made an impression. 

Simon was exposed to nothing but Top 40 growing up, and didn't discover classic rock until high school. Exposure to punk rock and the rest came even later. It wasn't until first hearing the band Arab On Radar in his twenties that Simon became inspired to start making his own music.

BUY: Cindy - 1:2

Cindy, like a lot of bands, took a hiatus from playing shows for much of the last year or so. But, shows are back and it's fun to be reminded of what it's like to play for people. This playlist compiles some bands we've played with over the years, or are connected to memorable shows one way or another.
Thank you, South Records, for inviting Cindy to make this and for all your support!
Blades of Joy, Be Kind
Cindy has had the chance to play with Blades of Joy over the years a few times, and Inna, the singer of the band, contributed backing vocals to a song on Free Advice and a song on 1:2. Blades of Joy played with Cindy for the first generator show in a string of really fun generator shows that sprouted up as the venue shutdown dragged on last fall.
The Wind-Ups, I Wish You Would Call

https://thewind-ups.bandcamp.com/track/i-wish-you-would-call

Cindy hasn't shared a bill with The WInd-Ups (yet) but we are label mates on Mt.St.Mtn., and Jake, who fronts the band, booked Cindy for what turned out to be a very fun show in Chico (a few hours away from San Francisco). It was 115' but the bar was full of people who were really happy to have live music back after the long shutdown. Someone even got up on stage to shake Simon's hand in the middle of our set. 
Hectorine, Don't Cry
Cindy and Hectorine played many shows together and went on two little California tours, playing LA, Joshua Tree and Ojai. Sarah was considering a different name for this song, but we think the matching of their song "Don't Cry" and Cindy's song "Don't Try" may have tipped the balance (or not).
RE Seraphin, This Time There's No Happy Ending
Here is RE Seraphin doing a cover of a Television Personalities song. Cindy got to play a livestream with RE Seraphin in the midst of the shutdown thanks to Paisley Shirt Records and Mt.St.Mtn. 
Jonathan Richman, A Mistake Today for Me
Speaking of covers, Cindy made a version of this song for a Jonathan Richman cover project soon to be announced. 
The Clog, An Ordeal
In the first weeks of 2020, Cindy got to play at a local venue called The Chapel -- a place pretty squarely above our pay grade -- because they were letting their staff book local bands on the mezzanine. Keith, who is in The Umbrellas and played drums with The Clog that night, kindly asked us to join the bill, and we got to see our name on the marquis for a night. This is a great track off of The Clog's recording although I don't think they played it that night.

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