Local legend Charlie Pickett was there before Wilco, before the Jayhawks, before the onslaught of roots Americana and the dilution of rock ‘n’ roll. His masterpiece, Live at the Button South, was released in ’83, when Pickett was a college dropout from UF who returned home to Dania Beach and…
Hard rockers Planeside have been slowly picking up momentum and accolades from peers and fans, and it’s easy to see why. The rhythm section of Craig Sala (drums) and Ken Hirasaki (bass) has been at it since the boys’ teenaged years with Joni’s Butterfly, a New England band whose name…
If you’re anything like me, you spent much of your childhood wondering just what the fuck was up with those perennially sad and generally bothersome parents. With 1988’s “Parents Just Don’t Understand,” DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince managed to capture those feelings of generational separation. The Fresh Prince…
It’s a little scary when a talent as huge as Shawn Elliot arrives so suddenly on the scene. Which is not to say that the longtime Floridian hasn’t worked his way up: In a former life, the syrupy-flowed MC/songwriter/producer was a stock broker, a career he traded in 2001 for…
Back home in Michigan, way before he nailed Pam Anderson, Kid Rock had a tatt-spangled stooge — lackey, flunky, bitch — (you get the idea) in Uncle Kracker. His first major-label release, 2000’s Double Wide, did little to change that image, but his second, with its tone-deaf rendition of Dobie…
Few R&B divas have the career longevity of Patti LaBelle. Born in Philadelphia in 1944, LaBelle, like virtually every singer of her generation, began singing in church. The Lord beheld her mighty pipes and said, “You go, girl!” Early on, she hooked up with Cindy Birdsong, Nona Hendryx, and Sarah…
Make no mistake — Paris Is Burning has nothing to do with 2005’s widespread turbulence in France, the 1966 film about the last days of German occupation in the capital, or the 1990 documentary of New York’s finest drag queens. This Paris burns in South Florida, and it’s of the…
The passionate-almost-to-a-fault brand of pop rock that we call indie is brought to full bloom by Portland’s Kind of Like Spitting. Chief songwriter Ben Barnett has unleashed a deluge of recorded material since 2000, extolling the virtues of full-on engagement with life, love, and music. He’s persisted through an evolving…
Few local bands can claim a stronger love/hate relationship with the world than Radar O’Reilly. It’s hard to say where exactly it fits into the heavy metal world, though due to its outspokenness, it may be somewhere near classic/stoner rock. At least it ain’t nü-metal, emo, or pop-punk. I’ll tell…
There’s Americana music, and then there’s American Music, and in the anything-goes days of the early 1980s L.A. punk scene, the Blasters’ American Music blew the barnyard doors wide open with a then- shockingly un-punk mix of pre-Beatles rock, country blues, and rockabilly firepower. Led by brothers Phil (vocals) and…
With heavy hearts, we report that indie fixture the Brand is trading sunny South Florida for the gray skies of London. Over the past three years, few bands have been as instrumental in helping foster Miami’s fledgling indie community. Musically, the band made an instant impact after its 2002 formation,…
He might not be as famous as the legends he’s played with, but veteran saxman Pee Wee Ellis gets credit for being one of the primary architects of James Brown’s brand new bag. As Brown’s musical director in the late ’60s, Ellis helped coin the emerging language of funk, whittling…
If you grew up in South Florida in the ’90s, you probably love metal. You probably dearly miss ZETA. And every year, you probably thank your lucky stars that Nonpoint, Miami’s premier Latin American rap-metal icons, are still holding it down. Formed in 1997, the band features a lineup that’s…
The last time Galactic played Fort Lauderdale, at an overcapacity show at the Culture Room, fans immediately noticed a missing element: vocalist Theryl “Houseman” DeClouet was no longer with the band. The sextet has since nixed lyrics from its repertoire and returned to its roots, focusing solely on instrumental explorations…
As any tourhead knows, there’s no better way to spend New Year’s Eve than with a free-spirited, anything-goes kinda band. The big night may have just passed us by, but there’s still time to catch the wave of New Monsoon while it is in full, fresh New Year’s glory. The…
There was a time when men proudly sported tight, stonewashed jeans and had long feathered manes. A time before indie became a genre, when the gods of rock reigned supreme. Yes, it was a magical, legendary era called “The ’80s.” Once again, those bygone gods smile upon us as they…
Poor Loudon Wainwright III. In less than a decade, his son Rufus has achieved more success than he has in 35 years, and his daughter Martha wrote the title track of her debut, Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole, about him. Seems his kids have a penchant for personal confession in their…
Punk rock, regardless of what the more militant camps will tell you, has always survived on its underlying humor. Sometimes it takes a little digging to uncover it, and sometimes it doesn’t. Guttermouth has never been shy with its comedy. Hell, it might be its only saving grace — Lord…
Few hip-hop outfits can pull off the high-flying balancing act that the Roots have maintained since their early-’90s inception. Way above its peers and imitators, the Philly collective walks a tightrope between street cred and pop appeal, intellectualism and b-boyism, jazzy musicianship and rugged MC mastery. Through the course of…
Missed Moonfest on the infamous 500 block of West Palm’s Clematis Street? The 500 Block Rocks New Year’s blowout is another chance to experience the eclectic, street-party atmosphere that the Honeycomb’s Steve Rullman is so adept at assembling. The booze-drenched, multistage shebang features every local band you love to love:…
Back just two months after its last capacity show at the Culture Room, the Benevento-Russo Duo brings a secret weapon to its New Year’s Eve eargasm: dorktastic former Phish bassist Mike Gordon. That adds up to a drum ‘n’ bass ‘n’ keys trio that jam-fan wet dreams are made of…
Here’s a cool idea to ring in the baby new year: Find a reborn band playing at a reborn bar and make the most of a brand new thing. You’ll find that freshly minted vibe at the Beach Bar, that corner spot on A1A and Sunrise that recently reopened under…
