Throughout the '90s, there was no unifying force or predominant genre in the Bay Area's clubs. This mixed bag of lo-fi, slick production, R&B, and folk is typical of the eclectic singer/songwriters and bands working in the region. Former Loved Ones and Kinetics singer
Bart Davenport wraps his silky, soulful voice around a folk melody on "Cool New Shoes"; Etienne De Rocher works in similar vocal terrain.
20 Minute Loop handles indie-rock while singer/songwriter Ian Brennen does grunge. Multi-taskman Eric McFadden puts on his surf-rock hat for the instrumental "Ride." Children of the Fog's noir "Altitude Sickness" is A-one hip-hop. Deadweight sound an awful lot like
the Police, while
John Vanderslice of MK Ultra turns in the adolescent rock rant "Bill Gates Must Die." In all of its peculiarity,
Fortune Cookies is a testament to the live-and-let-live spirit of the Fortune roster and the City by the Bay. ~ Denise Sullivan