On Feb 14., Valentine’s Day, KDVS is holding an event featuring the bands Farallons, Taughtme, Pablo and Big Buff at the music, art and retail venue Third Space.
In a collaboration between KDVS and Third Space, DJ Drew Evans, host of the KDVS Monday morning radio show “Apartment 5,” and Chandler Lavin, director of materials at Third Space, worked together in scheduling the bands, who all hail from Northern California.
Both Evans and Lavin expressed excitement toward this event’s showcase of lesser known local talents whose sounds fall within the indie-rock spectrum.
“We look to exhibit and promote art that’s not already accepted or common in the community,” Lavin said. “Davis, as much as it’s diverse, is very homogenous in the [arts] culture. We’re trying to be an alternative venue, whether it’s music, theatre or performance art.”
Farallons, a band recently discovered by Evans, released their first EP Outer Sun Sets in 2013 and will be performing for the first time in Davis. They offer a hypnotizing blend of surf-rock coupled with vocal harmonies and synthesizer sounds.
Andrew Brennan, who performs vocals and guitar for the band, described his settling in the Ocean Beach neighborhood of San Francisco from the East Coast as a seminal and vital point in his musical career, whether through learning to surf or how to collaborate more seamlessly with other musicians.
“NorCal is instrumental to our music. Between the entire environment here [Northern California] and the place where we live [Ocean Beach], it’s an inspiring natural environment. It’s been really informative and eye opening, revealing a new music sensibility and a lifestyle I didn’t know growing up on the east coast,” Brennan saidj.
Brennan expressed the value of community arts venues and college radio stations because they are invaluable resources for the preservation of authentic talent in community art and music.
“They [community venues and college radio stations] are a springboard for everything music. Third Space seems like a really neat place to play … I love college radio; I think it’s the most relevant and enjoyable radio to listen to. Whether I’m on the east coast or here [Northern California], I seek out a college station for music. The DJs care about what they put out,” Brennan said.
Third Space, which recently reached nonprofit status in January, seeks to provide a venue for all artists, regardless of financial constraints or skill level. According to Lavin, their do-it-yourself, resourceful ethos has attracted a lot of enthusiasm amongst the Davis community, especially as the venue has offered an increasing amount of music and arts events, along with the availability of workshops and studio space.
“We get a lot of enthusiasm about what we’re doing here. There’s a lot of popularity for music events, of which we hold about five a month, and we’re getting art shows back on track and those have been pretty popular as well,” Lavin said.
Evans said this event is a testament to the strength of KDVS’s presence in the art community.
“KDVS is going strong — we’re holding a bunch of events,” Evans said in a phone interview. “We have DJs that hand pick music; there’s a human touch that’s very integral to our community. We’re hoping to be doing a lot more stuff with Third Space in the future.”
Third Space is located at 946 Olive Drive. The suggested donation for the event is $5.
