Last week’s Pipette’s show was, as predicted, fantastic. The surprise highlight was one of the openers—Social Studies. When we found out they were local we fell in love with the Bay Area all over again—so much talent and so little time for us to check it all out. Luckily for us, and you, Social Studies is playing again—tomorrow night at the Rickshaw Stop. Their sound is complex pop—sort of like Mates of State, but better. We know, not a lot to go on. Listen to “Sparrow” here, and form your own opinions. Just make sure you do, you’ll be telling the world you saw them way back when.

SFist is clearly biased, but we think locals make the best interviews, so, Social Studies (somewhat collectively) has answered our most pressing questions. Read on—it’s educational.

Best show you've played and what made it great:
Maybe not our best show but one that stands out is from our last tour. We played at an anarchist co-op in Missoula, Montana. The previous night we'd gotten pretty wild in Portland, then drove 12 hours through foggy mountains. The kids in Missoula went absolutely crazy during our set. Everyone was dancing like their lives depended
on it. People were literally getting naked and crowd surfing. It was a blast.

What's your take on the Bay Area music scene?
This is a really exciting time for Bay Area music. The spectrum of quality music coming out of this area is daunting. We have a lot friends making really inspiring and challenging music. For the most part, we find local bands and audiences to be very supportive. About half of the new music i listen to is local.