They wanna know why South Florida is runnin’ shit right now,” Rick Ross howls into a microphone during a recent performance as sweat drips from his brow. ” ‘Cause we got hits man!” And with that, his DJ drops the beat for “Hustlin’,” Ross’ megawatt single that propelled him straight…
(Photo via Lanzallamas’ Myspace page.)Formed in 2006 by former Suenalo percussionist Fabi Patiño, Lanzallamas Monofónica epitomizes what is often described as the “Miami Sound” – a hodgepodge of musical influences from the South Florida melting pot. “Lanzallamas is a project that I created based on my experience in Miami,” explains…
Currently based in Seattle, prodigal Miami troubadour Sam Friend returns to the Vagabond this Friday for a little soul-soothing in his hometown. The UM School of Music grad eschews the tropical-funk-fusion or synth-driven weirdness of so many of his local peers for a more straightforward, rollicking approach. In the jangly…
Silverchair’s Daniel Johns wants an inflatable sheep. No, really. It’s after the jump.We’ve been having trouble figuring out what to buy our friends and family for Christmas this year. To help out on the idea front, we decided to draw inspiration from some of our favorite musical artists’ Christmas wishes…
Back in my days over at Miami Nights, I liked to close out the year by looking back at all the music I discovered where I spend most of my time — in nightclubs. It’s always interesting to see what makes it big the following year, because downtown club in…
To read past installments of Miami According to Brooklyn, click here. Since I’ve lived and worked in both Ft. Lauderdale and Miami, I want to talk about the differences between the scenes, and also just getting around in each place. First off as far as Ft. Lauderdale goes, transportation sucks…
Virgins Miscarriage (Kiss of Death) It seems like just a few months ago, Sam Johnson was wandering around Orlando, telling people that his longtime band, New Mexican Disaster Squad, was ending, but that he had a new thing cooking — and maybe this next band would be recording some demos…
You don’t need a half-wit music critic to tell you it’s been a remarkable year for America, one historians will be discussing and researching for centuries to come. War, financial collapse, politics, technology: All have been dinner-table topics for many Americans. Racial barriers in 2008 were demolished by a Midwestern…
WAUMISSWAUMISS (Little Ramona Records)The Carrboro, North Carolina-based duo WAUMISS traces its roots back to Florida, to a series of early-Nineties Tampa and St. Petersburg bedrooms that produced many beautifully skewed pop songs. The musicians who comprise WAUMISS became two of many who wandered beyond their original Florida circle, but remained…
New Jersey’s Streetlight Manifesto deserve a couple props, first, for still carrying the torch of third-wave ska as it was largely played at its tail end in the late Nineties: in a group of many, many musicians, and with a heavy punk edge. Second, this is impressive because the band…
We aren’t kidding when we say times are tough. Money isn’t as disposable as it once was, and we’re all just praying that we’ll come out alive once the recession is over. So to make sure you still have one rockin’ New Year’s Eve we decide to do a little…
If you know anything about Blowfly, the self-proclaimed Original Dirty Rapper, then you know he’s one of the last people on earth who should be talking to kids. The legendary Miami songwriter, who used to perform under his given name, Clarence Reid, has spent the latter part of his…
Picking the best folk and Americana records of the year isn’t nearly as hard as discarding those great records that just didn’t feel right stuck in the category. Releases by Calexico and DeVotchKa felt far too worldly to pigeonhole as folk or country, for instance, while Blitzen Trapper’s fantastic Furr…
It’s time for that once-a-year event that’ll leave you bright and shiny and glowing. No, I’m not talking about the wonderful feeling you’d get buying me all sorts of awesome Christmas presents — it’s the Dayglow party happening at Space. And okay, I sort of lied. Though billed as a…
The local alt-rock trio Corner 3 may have only formed in 2007, but the band is based on a longtime friendship, begun when the trio’s members were students at Columbus High in the Eighties. Frontman/guitarist/keyboardist John Lopez and bassist/vocalist Rick Sanchez began their music collaboration while still in school, and…
It’s time to rank the best of what went around and came around again. BILLY JOEL The Stranger (Columbia/Legacy) As punk and disco exploded, the Piano Man’s deeply unhip 1978 breakthrough proved that top-shelf Broadway/Brill Building songwriting could still sell – and, occasionally, rock. “Scenes From an Italian Restaurant” and…
Hip-hop A-listers including Rick Ross, Akon and Plies were caught grossly exaggerating their gangster credentials this year. (Turns out they were painfully law-abiding. The horror!) But even if your favorite rapper wasn’t caught in a lie, you can bet he or she put out a hilariously absurd record or two…
(Insert bad joke about Katy Perry being “hot and cold” about when she wants to play Ft. Lauderdale. )Whatever; the basic facts are thus: Katy Perry was originally scheduled to play Revolution as part of her debut headlining tour on Monday, April 27. That date has now been moved two…
Known for dark melodies laden with churning guitars, chunky riffs, and lead singer Lajon Witherspoon’s haunting timbre, Sevendust carved its niche in the alt-rock/nu-metal landscape some years back. The release of the band’s third record, Animosity, in 2001 is largely regarded as the quintet’s breakthrough into mainstream popularity. Still, by…
It seems like every time Deadmau5 leaves the house, he has to stop over for an appearance at Mansion; his last time at the club was just this past August. So what has he been up to since then? Well, there was the highly anticipated release of his debut artist…
A couple of weeks ago, an expert on the Harry Potter series told an audience of high school kids how lucky they were to have this Big Shared Experience–these seven books and 41,000 words in common. What does Harry Potter have to do with hip-hop in 2008? In an age…
This one deserves to be debated for awhile. In a somewhat shocking proclamation, Spin Magazine, recently named current Miami resident Lil Wayne as Rock Star of the Year. It’s a nice gesture but you’ve got to wonder if he’s really earned it?Before everyone jumps and curses Spin for trying to…
