SFist had some repressed fantasies of sticking it to the man when we were a corporate thrall at a big San Francisco retailer. We never did manage to get ourselves fired, but we have full respect for those who have. Like todays interview subject, Marco Panella and all of his friends. SFist salutes you.

New bands are always getting compared to other bands. Most of the up-and-comes suffer by this comparison. In rare cases, it may be helpful. Such is the case with Panella’s band, Dark Side of the Cop. Comparisons to The Postal Service are going to be inevitable, but they don’t do DSC justice. They are a less glib, more subdued version that is well worth checking out. They’ll be playing the Rickshaw Stop this Friday and the Hemlock Tavern November 15th. Gotta love locals making good, good music. Listen to “Love Me From Above" here for starters.

Best show you've ever played and what made it great?
The best show we've ever had was our CD release party at the Hotel Utah Saloon in July. All of our friends were there. My mom even made it out from Vermont.

Best venue in the world?
The Rickshaw Stop. We're playing our next two shows there.

Best fans in the world?
Ours, of course.

What's your favorite song to perform?
Probably a toss-up between "Sherry Darling" or "Please Do Not Go". My band mate Roger and I used to play them all the time on the street when we lived in Rhode Island. As far as our own songs go, either "Sugar Farmer" or "Flying Fists." They both have wanky guitar solos.

Favorite collaborators?
We just had a djembe player sit in with us when we were in Colorado. It was a first for us and might top the list. We ran out of songs and the people in the bar in South Park weren't ready to go home. We did some instrumental repeats.

Lamest request from the crowd?
Either "turn the guitar down" or "don't take so much time between songs." That totally ruins our concentration.

Name
Marco Panella

Introduce yourself in one sentence
I am the singer and guitarist for Dark Side of the Cop.

Age and Occupation
26, musician, production assistant and ex junk-mail truck driver.

Home Town
Marlboro, VT

How long have you lived in the Bay Area and Where
I've been here for three years, all spent in the mission. All my friends live closely and we get the best weather.

Favorite place to spend time online
The Viper Fantastic blog that my friend Roger edits. It's at www.xlr8r.com/viperfantastic.

Favorite local business
Workingman's Headquarters on Mission Street.

What I'm currently Reading
Raymond Chandler.

Best Deal in San Francisco
Postage stamps, tacos, anything but rent.

Favorite mode of transportation
My bike.

Best Band or Musician to come out of the Bay Area
The Mr T Experience are my favorite, but there are too many to choose.

Favorite Bay Area Stereotype, and whether or not you buy into it
That it's cold in the summer. It's true.

Favorite local hangout
Dolores Park.

SF has the BEST
Views. It's the prettiest city I've ever seen.

You've never lived in SF until
You've ridden the Waller Wiggle.

Favorite Bay area politician of past or present
Willie Brown.

Now that Mayor Gavin is single, who are you going to set him up with?
My CD.

You can tell someone is a local here IF
They have a full cycling sponsorship for their morning commute.

SF would be soooo much better if only
It was not so expensive.

Best Burrito
The chile verde burrito at Papalote.

Best Restaurant
Me Lindo Peru. I love their seafood soup.

Best movie scene filmed in or about SF
Bullitt. My dad and I used to watch it when I was younger for the car chases.

Favorite artist to come out of the bay area
Too many to choose from.

Favorite author to come out of the bay area
Frank Portman.

Place you always tell visitors to check out
The Marin Headlands.

Favorite Bridge in the area
The Golden Gate. I used to drive a 16 foot box truck over it every day and it never got old.

You have two hours and $15 bucks to kill in SF, what are you going to do?
Save my money and go to the park.

I have found/sold/bought the following on craigslist
All of my furniture, some guitar pedals.

I want all the SFists out there to know
About our new record label, Auger Down Records. Send us all your demos. We're at www.augerdownrecords.com.

Tell us a San Francisco Story
My friends and I used to drive trucks for Williams-Sonoma. We all got fired for different reasons. Roger got canned because I forgot to load some kitchen aid mixers onto the truck. They blamed him. Another friend got caught selling drugs to our food stylist. I still don't know why they got rid of me. I think somebody had a problem with all of the hand-modeling I was doing.

Question you'd ask if you were doing this interview
Should Barry Bonds go to jail?