I was just talking with friends last week about how band residencies in big cities like LA and NY seem to work well for rock acts. The Strokes gigged at the Mercury Lounge (I believe that was the club) regularly before hitting the national tour circuit, and LA’s lovely Silversun Pickups (about whom I slogged last week—they cracked the Crocodile wide open with their euphoric indie rock) hit the Silverlake Lounge hard before embarking on a West Coast tour. Now the High Dive is trying out the residency concept. Shawn Smith (Brad, Satchel) has a new band called Diamond Hand with Kent Halverson, Kimo (Nu Sol Tribe/Marmalade), Thaddeus (Maktub) and Kevin Sawka(Siamese..KJ Sawka) that will play the High Dive every Sunday….I’m not sure what the group sounds like, but they may be a good test of how a residency works here.