Let me know when the funeral is being held, because Fort Lauderdale’s music and party scene is just about dead. Local audiophiles might as well start dressing in all-black to observe the mourning. Although the Riverfront area in Fort Lauderdale was once a vibrant place that, at its best, looked…
There’s a line in Gogol Bordello’s 2002 song “Let’s Get Radical” that goes something like: “You know mother, some things are actually sacred, and tapping your foot to the ceremony just won’t do.” The song has one of the New York group’s more abrasive and melancholy lyrics (it actually starts…
Over the course of 20 years and nearly a dozen albums, Melissa Etheridge has been through quite a lot: breast cancer, a struggle with her sexuality, fickle fans, and the difficulties of being a high profile (out) entertainer in a conservative society. Etheridge has taken these hurdles and employed them…
High Times magazine’s “Stoner Band of the Year” in 2006; two-time guest judges at Amsterdam’s “Cannabis Cup”; Hidden Stash parts one, two, and three. It’s no secret what the Kottonmouth Kings like to do in their spare time. And by spare time, I mean all the time. The Orange County-based…
Live performances are the way musicians prove their mettle, and this recording showcases the raw energy of this Louisiana-born singer and guitarist, who is at the top of his game both as performer and songwriter. Captured during a single night in Nashville in the spring of 2007, the set opens…
South London dubstep veteran Benga operates on several (next) levels when he plants himself in front of a synthesizer keyboard and a hard drive of edited drum patterns. The producer’s Diary of an Afro Warrior, in its array of divergent sonics, speaks to how far this key player has come…
Back in the mid-1980s, brothers Tony and Frank Marsico had a revelation: They decided to quit their punk-rock bands and form a space-age jazz combo called the Martini Kings. Known for their exotic, retro-style, jazzy vibraphone licks and sonic resemblances to the ’60s surf-rock sounds coming out of Hawaii, the…
In the northwest corner of South Africa, the Kalahari is a small patch of dry rock and red sand where meerkats roam and thirst is part of the landscape. On the corner of 20th Avenue — a hair east of Federal Highway, between Commercial and Oakland Park on 45th Street…
Regardless of if you’re headed to the Pearl Jam show tonight in West Palm Beach, within the next two weeks, you’ll be able to buy or download a live bootleg of the concert to your computer or Verizon cell phone. Known for their ability to stay one step ahead of…
Last year’s Rock the Bells was headlined by Wu-Tang Clan, with all nine living members onstage (until Meth jumped into the audience). Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s son, “Young DB” was up there, carrying on his father’s legacy. This past January, I spoke with Raekwon and Ghostface about the future of the…
Lil’ Wayne Tha Carter III (Cash Money/Young Money/Universal) Possibly the most anticipated hip-hop release since Jay Z’s The Black Album, Tha Carter III is Lil Wayne’s 6th studio album and the final in the Tha Carter Trilogy. There’s been much hype surrounding this release seeing that many of the tracks…
Here’s an old school jem from way back in the day. I remember the first time I heard the track, “A Lo Cubano” while I was on holiday in Managua and it blew my mind. The groove is all hip-hop and African via Cuba and Colombia with just the right…
It’s been a while since I’ve gotten one of these Lost and Found requests, but I’ve actually managed to reunite a few musicians (thanks Internet!) so I hope this one works out as well. Steve Satterwhite is looking for a fellow musician who goes by either Nes, Raraavis, or Nestor…
Here’s an oldie but goodie from the disco years. Foxy was formed right here in Miami in 1976, led by the Cuban-born Ish Ledesma — and also featuring Tito Puente’s son Richie on percussion!. The group’s big-time hit, “Get Off,” was released in 1978, and hit number nine on the…
Either go to college or you’ll end up like this deer. No pressure. Michigan based rocker Ted Nugent has sharp a message for high school graduates this year. The highly vocal 59-year-old conservative recently penned an Op-Ed piece in the Detroit News that he wants to circulate throughout the country…
Stevie Nicks Saturday, June 7 Hard Rock Live Better than: Watching Stevie Nicks 10 years from now. The body of Stevie Nicks turned 60 last month. Her voice has been 60 for a while. Maybe it was all that coke in the ’70s, or maybe it was that her vocal…
Little Brother with Double-O of Kidz in the Hall Paid Dues Tour Saturday, June 7 Club Cinema Better Than: Believing hip-hop is deceased. It would be great to say the hip-hop extravaganza known as the Paid Dues Tour went off without a hitch this past Saturday night. The vibes were…
Photo Courtesy of VBS.TV/VICE Films When it comes to documentaries, it takes a lot to make me say, “holy shit.” You put enough news headlines in front of someone’s face and, unfortunately, real life stories become less and less shocking. But Vice Film’s “Heavy Metal in Baghdad” had me holy-shitting…
…And so is the band’s whole tour, apparently. Here’s the official scoop: “YES CONCERT SCHEDULED FOR AUGUST 1 AT HARD ROCK LIVE HAS BEEN CANCELED HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – The Yes concert scheduled for August 1 at Hard Rock Live at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino has been canceled…
I may be late to the Internet viral video game again with this one, but it made me LOL pretty hard so I had to share. Of course, the most common criticism of musicals is that in real life, people don’t just burst into narrative song. But what if they…
Yesterday evening, 99 Jamz’s K. Foxx and numerous hip-hop blogs announced that Lil’ Wayne had finally gone Hollywood and checked himself into rehab for drug addiction. The news wasn’t that hard to believe after Wayne’s admitted dependence on cocaine and syrup, and since a Styrofoam cup full of sizzurp seems…
She whirls like a dervish and seems to evoke thoughts of witches, dreams, leather, and lace. But Stevie Nicks’ career extends further than the chiffon-garbed earth mother she portrays on stage. When she and former lover/collaborator Lindsey Buckingham were recruited into the ranks of Fleetwood Mac — after attracting the…
