Their roster reads like a gang of street thugs or super-antiheroes: Stunner. Dirty Dave. Crystal Van Hart. They’ve got the look to match, sexy, stoic, sweaty, and buttoned up to the nines. Their songs play out like proto-punk power-pop infused with a touch of Che and more than a little…
Anointing themselves “the world’s greatest party band,” the B-52’s established a rather high standard, but the quirkaholic Athens four-piece more than lives up to the job. Despite their rock-as-art mentality, the B-52’s somehow got stuck in the mass consciousness, and now “Love Shack” is heard as much on commercial radio…
If DJs flock to vinyl like moths to a flame, then Tom Laroc better get used to wiping the bloody debris of other turntablists out of his grill. The man literally has thousands of records, and every Thursday, he brings upward of 2,000 of them to the Pawn Shop to…
With the year running down and school winding up, now’s the time to get some rock in you. Long-running emo/pop/punk band Good Life Cycle is at it again. After dealing with endless, almost Spinal Tapesque, drummer problems and losing its lead guitarist to South Florida’s favorite doom-metal sons, Torche, the…
Although he first landed on the scene in 1989 with his classic Frankie Knuckles collaboration “Tears,” it would be another decade before Satoshi Tomiie emerged in the national dance-floor consciousness with his critically acclaimed 2000 debut, Full Lick. That album featured the hits “Love in Traffic” and “Up in Flames”…
Although he took his musical apprenticeship with the legendary Junior Wells, Albert Castiglia doesn’t just cruise through the blues. A consummate showman, Castiglia peppers his performances with witty repartee, offbeat and impromptu asides, original songs, and material mined from a diverse classic-rock repertoire. The Coral Gables homeboy and fixture on…
An R&B fable: Once upon a time, performers didn’t employ DJs or lip-sync on stage — there were musicians playing with them real-time live. Call us Luddites or incorrigible old-schoolers, but cuts and samples don’t convey the fiery immediacy and spontaneity of horn-blowers like Pee Wee Ellis. A lifelong member…
It has certainly been a long, strange but beneficial trip for Perpetual Groove since it began touring in the fall of 2002. Singer/guitarist Brock Butler and bassist Adam Perry met in 1998 as freshmen at the Savannah College of Art and Design. Once they added a drummer and keyboardist in…
George Clinton’s musical career began 40 years ago when he literally stepped out of the barbershop with his doo-wop outfit, the Parliaments, and scored big with the hit “(I Wanna) Testify.” Not bad for a teenager from North Carolina. Once the throbassonic mothership from planet Funkadelica landed in his brain…
In addition to purchasing copious libations at music fests, we’ve been making a habit of stuffing ourselves with vitamin supplements and our pockets with granola bars. Such training will come in handy for the Non-Stop Rock Fest, which promises to be a long and varied showcase of kick-ass, local rock…
Born in Germany to a Chinese-German father and a Hungarian mother, Ottmar Liebert began his love affair with the guitar at age 11. By the time he was 18, he was educated into the many ethnicities of music, and he began traveling as a musician throughout Europe and Asia before…
The man may have one of the unfunkiest names in showbiz, but Brian Stoltz is actually one hell of a ripping dude. Check the Crescent City six-string slinger’s CV and you’ll find him backing some of the most iconic performers of the past 30 years: the Neville Brothers, Bob Dylan,…
Along with billions of barrels of black gold and the occasional successful stab at beauty pageants, Venezuela has a rather vibrant music scene that has flown under the radar for far too long. At the modern forefront, slowly gaining momentum and venturing into the mainstream, are Los Amigos Invisibles —…
It’s a question on everybody’s mind: When will orchestral indie rock and atmospheric drum and bass finally get it on? Even though it’s an unlikely union, Brothers Past somehow woo both styles enough to create an undeniable spark between them. The Philly four-piece has been lurking in the underground for…
India.Arie made it clear with her 2001 hit, “Video:” “I am not the average girl from your video.” Far from it: the 29-year-old songstress is a Grammy winner and one of the reigning queens of neo-soul, sprinkling the classic sound of Motown with a twist of modern hip-hop. Living in…
When music historians/collector geeks (these are my people) chat about colossal production styles of the 1960s, they always mention Phil Spector and his Wall of Sound. But Teddy Randazzo has yet to get his props — aside from being a singer and songwriter himself, he produced the classic ’60s sides…
Since its introduction in the 1930s by Willie and Troman Eason into the Pentecostal Church’s musical worship, the steel guitar has quietly become a triumphant instrument for praising the Lord. Sacred Steel, the genre of music born out of the African-American Holiness-Pentecostal Church, takes up the original “Hawaiian” steel guitar…
Detroit is notorious for spawning some of the world’s definitive wonders: Motown, Devil’s Night, Madonna, Eminem, and, lately, minimalist techno. But ADULT., the nervous trio of Nicola Kuperus, Adam Lee Miller, and newly inducted Sam Consiglio, may be among the most chilling and thrilling of them all. Tingling spines since…
For every hundred bedroom guitar heroes, there’s a Bryce Avary, the kind of driven kid who doesn’t just dream it. Avary recorded an EP at 18, setting the stage for his terrific self-recorded ad -produced debut, Calendar Days, as the Rocket Summer. Channeling the pop impulses of Weezer and Saves…
First, a couple of facts: (1) Cyndi Lauper was 30 years old when her solo album made its way onto turntables across the land, and (2) contrary to popular belief, Lauper can sing — you know you love “Time After Time” and “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.” A far…
As if it weren’t hot enough in hurr already, now we’ve got Nelly playing a Budweiser-sponsored freebie at Revolution in Fort Lauderdale. Basically, this whole concert/promotion/publicity stunt is a shameless marketing ploy for pop consumables: cheap beer, swizzy radio (winning tickets on 99 Jamz is the only way to get…
While the Experience might be Jimi Hendrix’s better-known backing crew, few would disagree that the Band of Gypsies was the better-playing. And while Hendrix provided the Gypsies’ six-string pyrotechnics, the heart of the group was Buddy Miles and his supremely in-the-cut drums. Miles wrote and sang the classic “Them Changes”…
